Durgen - 3x Gunners, 2x Blasters, Rorsh + Brine, Gun Mages + UA, Pressgangers, pAlexia + Risen, eEiryss, Aiyanna + Holt, Piper, Reinholdt, Dougal, Tinker
Objective: Effigy
At about the deployment stage I realised I'd tried this battle group before and disliked it. I'll drop two of the Bunnies and add another Pressganger unit to handle the Corpse collection/Primed Skornergy. I'd drop Alexia, but multiple heavies feel like a problem.
Anyway, first of two Monday games, into I-Can't-Believe-It's-Marty with ye old pSkarre.
pSkarre - 2x Helldiver, Aikos + Kraken, Bane Knights, Tartarus, Scrap Thralls, Skarlock, Gerlak, Necrosurgeon + Stitch Thralls, Mechanithralls + Skarlock Commander
Objective: Effigy
Rolled up Incoming, no clock. Brown circles are hills, forest on the top left, Linear on the top right, trench bottom right.
Merc Deploy: Stuff. Realisation I can't run the full battlegroup and cast Prime. Groan at my stupidity. Rorsh AD deployed to have Brine outside of his control area to have a Souie! move.
Spray Bunnys on either Flank, Gunners in the centre.
Cryx Deploy: Banes tot he left, Kraken to the left of the Centre point, Mechanithralls on the right.
Merc 1: Brine Souies, then the Pigs fly up the left. Press Gangers spread out, two Gunners run in front of where Durgen ends up, Both Blasters run forward, one onto a hill and one into a trench. One Gunner limps in the backfield.
Theorising that Press Gangers will die, I put Primed on Alexia for the Risen that will spawn to have worthwhile attacks.
Eiryss hangs way back, if I want any hope of threatening Skarre later in the game I'll need the elf.
Cryx 1: Banes and Mechanithralls spread out, Aikos, Gerlak and Tartarus hang way back around the Kraken, Skarre sticks near the Objective, Necrosurgeon hangs in the backfield of the Mechanithralls.
Kraken advances, tries some shots at Press Gangers and misses everything.
Merc 2: Risen plan failed, but no Press Gangers died so yay?
One Gunner and right Blaster get a focus.
I was expecting Skarre to feat defensively, as she didn't that meant I had to kill as much as possible to blunt the wave of death.
Dougal puts Artillerist on Durgen and Double Powder Rations.
Durgen gets reloaded, advances, feats, Carpet bombs and kills about eight models including the Necrosurgeon and puts Primed on the Press Ganger.
Gun Mages advance, kill four Bane Knights.
Press Gangers charge/jam in, they kill a Mechanithrall and a Knight.
One Gunner, the right Blaster and Tinker make a line of please don't kill Durgen, said Gunner also kills a Mechanithrall.
The Gunner with a focus moves onto the central hill, misses Gerlak.
In the Valorous activation department, Eiryss runs in the backfield to the right side. Of the backfield. Rorsh and Brine go the far left table edge.
I reasoned Rorsh and Brine would either draw the Bane Knights out of position or be in a location to wait out the Cryx feat and hunt out something important in turn 4.
Cryx 2: Skarre feats for five. Knights and Gerlak clear off some of the Press Gangers, the pair of Stitch Thralls run into my zone. The Krakens moves up, shoots at Alexia, puts her on one box and three Risen with the little gun, Unicorn Cannon scatters directly forward hitting Reinholdt, Aiyanna and Holt. The Gobber splats, but the Elf is uninjured and Holt lives on a pair of Boxes. Armour 11 for the win!
Merc 3: Try to kill what I can, start the scoring and get Durgen away from the advancing Helldiver markers is the plan.
Gun Mages spread around, one Thunderbolts Gerlak back and one Knight fails to be critted 6 times. The Press Gangers get up and take stabs, one without actually takes out a Knight, another kills the last Mechanithrall.
Alexia runs onto the hill to be mean.
Eiryss moves into the Trench, shoots down the Stitchthrall under Skarres feat.
Durgen goes into the trench, kills the other Stitchthrall in the zone.
Gun Bunnies move around, two shield Durgen.
Rorsh and Brine move up, kill a Knight, toe the left zone and hide behind the forest.
Mercs go to 1 CP.
Cryx 3: Skarre hides behind the Objective, goes to cast her to hit buff but doesn't when she is in Arcane Interference range.
Knights charge around, one dings a Bunny, another fails to kill a Pirate.
Gerlak goes for a sweet killing Spree attempt, but misses Alexia on his opening attack.
That was the last serious move, then it all looked bad and Marteen conceded (There was a non-serious moment of Aikos leaping to attack a Press Ganger and dying to the Primed blast).
Had the Helldiver been filled up it could have gone for a Durgen kill as I ran to the Tinker to a stupid not-blocking spot, but outside of that I was pretty happy with my position.
Dropping two Bunnies and adding Press Gangers is the current plan, pending the need to swap Alexia and Piper back to Gorten if the new version doesn't work out.
