A quick walk around reveals.....Skaverous....Circle.....Rhulics.......
Thexus was probably a terrible choice (Well, Circle might be be specifically bad, so much as Eyeless vs forests is an interaction I'm not used to yet and the tree huggers have always caused me some discombobulation).
Huh. Thought I spelt that incorrectly at first. It really does have "bob" in the middle.
Anyway, it's the same junk:
Thexus1 - 3xWreckers, 3x Wardens, Subduer, 3x Agitators, 2x Eliminators + Dominators
Objective: Stockpile
Yacoboxx plonks down that wanker with Implacability.
Doomy3 + Minion - Mulg, 3x Mauler, Dire Troll, Stone max + UA, Moses, Feralgeist, Whelps
Alas feat, we hardly knew ye.
The saving grace is that I got the first turn and can run up on a table without a forest ready to force itself upon the world, plus the scenario being glorious Incursion. I can spread out a fair bit more than a list that wants the stone aura on everything.
Relevant terrain is the outer flags are mired in forests, there's a trench/wall combo off the mid flag, my side gets a hill.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPUdDZDwLNwhyphenhyphenZCAZUo7wO7paOdVMmS9K4tYelWMoxZL5DV2mdtsW461YFsGN9BbrnVOFC-kjZjyuiso96_YDPs2522bx_7Auq_kISuEgSFMnHyC_xV_3cBkC9VYLFFenHcpSjI_DThpA/s1600/011+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc Deploy: Its a line of Monstrosities, double Wrecker on the right, Subduer in the left lot.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrOGfPTOxBIGS5ZNSRuEUksM7M-Y3cFh98xzFJyCh41jo7SDtZriQfyhdZVVfgp3mrYRsg8fkn8H3jDS7md_y0577OZ2TTijFbRQXRDSk54gCAOnSpJwLoyfAAmvbFUr1y0CyHzG4s_Eo/s1600/012+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Troll Deploy: It's a lump of Blue with a green ghosty fella out on the right. Dire Troll is the one leaping over a pile of red rocks on his base on the right corner of said brick.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQJAfSstpvo8EhQqx0RBtQ40Yzt4LezC3Zrb7JvoEPtCS_ks00aHFMGqhLsKFlslHqgR7rJqjGV7jx1bvos6uAdRt1ueESgFtpvei0gb50K7lDPsNj08CGQVfv047T16IHavLp0O3vEw/s1600/013+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 1: Slam's, stabs, TK's, runs. Usual shticks.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr5aE4fsX975mcouTKudf1mSQVl4qbyEFgQq9-YOIqnRU0Kq3q8o7czdjSXRI7o_QBhvbfUTA4LdXODPdadxgtnLEK9oWQK-D6QbSurBbYG3Iel2-4rPv5-BehktCGGdp1MgKt1-Q3oQY/s1600/014+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Troll 1: The Feralgeist goes to contest range on the right flag. The Bricks runs up, the Dire Troll gets a rough terrain speed boost and gets on the other side of the wall, ahead of his compadres.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6gd_pncKPtQRPkyoSwg0LXHxwoKeHwgZTE-k7h4rC-OUqvftQ3MmdJIfKzAButYUxWvw548-IxA0MObn39qpEu_dFmZZS8iDfyTkhUOO05j5N_tVNHnVG4tgLMuenm1Mm44ozgJOwKE/s1600/015+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 2: Alright. Need a plan. Can TK friendlies. Feat affects the Stone unit and Moses. Can't land attacks on them this turn, so that's out.
What I do have, after a careful read of Implacability is Rampager and Trolls heavies with a very definitive, limited threat range the Wreckers out pace naturally and TK's net on all the other Monstrosities.
Doomies feat turn will be awful, but oh well.
An agitator goes to each outlying flag, the left one protected by the forest, the right one by distance from the Feralgeist.
Most of the monstrosities cruise around, going 9.5 away from the line of Maulers. Thexus then Rampagers the Dire Troll forward, the Wreckers go in and handidly kill him.
I clock over, content that I've found the path to victory, I'll just Rampager a beast a turn and ride that train. That glorious, wonderful, half my focus to cast a turn train.
In other words, mistakes were made. Atrocious, awful, frightful,about 34 other synonyms for "terrible", mistakes.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlMCXlPDwq8JoLU4aizMp2sjU-C-5k9O7mB3OscsACYww95m8cau7O1hmPbm4G8IwpXO_zqqAz08XKzkL4KS8LYngbTURO76seSzxSgW30fcgLrJ6i8KUTaXYMzWqEeALwdoUVoY2B9Vk/s1600/016+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Troll 2: So, the thing about staying out of charge range? Doesn't mean you're out of run-to-engage-pop-stupid-heal-feat range.
So that happens. Two of the Maulers run up and engage. Mulg goes into the Trench and pops Arcane Interference, then gets Admonition. Doomshaper goes behind him, has his minuscule (Missed the "c", so the obvious word suggestion was "Leninism". Swing and a miss PC. Swing and a miss.) slave with the giant book pop his once per game more costly spells thing to. Awkward.
The other Mauler runs to the left, goes to contest range on that flag, Feralgeist does the same deal on the right flag.
Trolls go to 1 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv4-Akx7HWmLEzE7FtH7wbovCwRmn2-8Rn7APTOX-DF8dP94Ho_yXxZK0lDYUNCNarbP9d_F8Kb2bXzvLiELmrUmm9obDDuykEDnD6JJCW8g76NHeULfG0fm56JyheVvTzLCge2T9kFI/s1600/017+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 3: This is probably my worst turn of the day, so basically assume every sentence in this paragraph is followed by slight echoing tonk noise of some self inflicted head blows.
I had a vague notion of killing the stone guy, Thexus feats the unit back and the leader forward, backs up out of the anti spell casting stuff, casts....spells? He has no focus, the hell did he do with it?
Ah, thats right. I ran a Wrecker to the right flag and moved the Subduer on the left, used the left one to TK forward the stone leader, the right one to arc a Hex Blast and kill the Feralgeist.
The Left Wrecker goes up and kills the Stone guy. Jraye promotes the Stone to a different dude.
I blink and try to work out why the hell I threw away a Monstrosity for one infantry dude.
Well, ingeniously I've left Thexus in range of two Maulers. Better fix that. Warden moves up to the right Mauler, grabs him and Throws him back at Mulg. Haha! I erroneously think. This'll knock down Mulg and I can move in to contest without that wannabe lumberjack triggering Admonitions
I hit, won the strength off (2 dice versus dice + 2, Trolls being stronger, but not as handsy, than oily humans), throw him at Mulg. Get reminded about the spell I read two minutes earlier that stops the battlegroup being knock downed. Sign at my incompetence.
Well, at least the Mauler isn't in range to kill Thexus. Better do that with the other one. The other Mauler also gets grabbed. I lose the Strength roll.
Well......bugger........
I run an Eliminator to be in the way for greater annoyance, contemplate if I have time for a drink before the end of the tourney.
Anyway, what I should have done was have the Wardens each grab a Mauler and hurl it toward Eliminators in my back field. Obviously one of those fails, but Thexus activates afterward to scuttle out of his threat range, using Rampager in the back arc to walk the Mauler out of Doomie's Control area and using a Wrecker to kill it.
Given I wouldn't be killing a second Mauler, I could either TK some stuff or arc a Rampager at Mulg, moving him off the flag, turning him around and stopping the score.
Hindsight aside, both sides go to 1 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JenOHZNlCkA8G1GgrNFH8G663OOlMCZqjgM55-kzKUM3i925KrCe4RGW73wgKm3KOndiEL6CuJn9uJIuwNfCytH2cOXtD2x_LUjHIYYSv3LlUhmUMpHDfx3u53WmSRV9Q0aYCaW6VQs/s1600/018+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Troll 3: Doomy cruises in the back field, his (presumed?) hetero life mate Silent scroll bearer pops the cheap Animi scroll. That guy is such a jerk.
Mulg gets Rage from Doomy, walks up to the Monstrosities blocking the forward Mauler. Easily kills the Subduer, hurts the Warden.
The Mauler I threw back charges the Warden/Wrecker pair, eats them both.
While the Mauler doing that was bad, it means the assassination Mauler isn't able to trample to Thexus and straight up kill him. I get more turns!
The no-longer assassinating Mauler happily finishes off the Warden Mulg mauled, then fails to hit the Eliminator in front of him.
The Mauler on the left flag goes up and kills the Wrecker I used in a fashion pitiful.
Nothing went base to base with the centre flag, so Mercs now lead the CP race 2-1. Yeya!
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKdhsfjHSxJCnLD7AlTrnE24-hpAhOgkgu3oozt9ES3jOyS5mkgmx5iI3VDrqvzKTfGNmzK28_AIOPHVXyPvbeb4Op0jruaC3BJpEmQ51WRrk8hK0PwSYaET7pmUOfv5OYZ5bsv8QcbI/s1600/019+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 4: I'm still going! While leading in CP's!
Time to be super careful. I have score off the right flag, threaten the left and carefully trickle in warrior models to contest the centre flag.
Thexus walks back, only his legitimate Chrome dome and eternally grasping claws are in the photo. I Hex Blast Mulg, Admonition is super annoying, then Rampage him across forgetting to do his attack.
The right Agitator Instigates, the last Wrecker charges the right Mauler, takes his full stack but manages to kill him.
One unit of Eliminators legs it to the right flag, the other unit has the Dominator cower back while his minions charge the spawned Whelps, killing them and hopefully stopping the forward Mauler getting into the Wrecker.
The other remaining Monstrosity, a fully loaded Warden, runs for free with Thexus' thingymajig to the far left, his base just toes the photo. His supporting Agitator moves to be just in contesting range of the left flag while out of the line of sight of that Mauler.
Mercs up 3-1 in CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1jVvbi7G_lwM1RoZnBM_OrKBi8x45ZKYp9FpEk890mBBi0Q7t9GCGrG7o8puAYLkqVB2zexGmw80XBJDvSpXlvairDnUlYn1t8lyVytgLtXCHCfU8-tNbkrAGhy4pDIbULEp9YFmhKf0/s1600/020+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Troll 4: There's a lot of Fury on the table. Loads in fact. The forward Mauler gets his Fury taken off, the other two do Threshold checks. The Mauler on the left flag passes, Mulg fails, hits the Stone Bearer who passes his tough check.
The Stone units moves around, one of them caps the leader, moving the Stone to the middle of the board where he pops the Strength buff. Curses.
Doomy goes to the middle flag, his scrawny holder of buffet menus pops his final ability, giving warrior models the signs and portents treatment on all attacks. He then pokes his long stick of model knockdownability to turn one Eliminator into a smear, casts Implacability, does a Strangehold to kill the Eliminator twin.
Moses then moves up to contest the right flag, does a Strangehold to kill the Eliminator on the right flag.
The left Mauler sits on the left flag.
Forward Mauler finally invokes my fear, casting Rage and trampling to my Wrecker (Had Line of Sight issues). Buys three attacks, takes out the Wreckers left arm and movement, fueling him to three focus.
CP's now 3(M) - 2(T).
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjamWh_ty0Lii1J1knzKl8ZhEQ9MTSxgZi9FQjP9HYtGHjjOTb5DN2gY7HfgKC6qcHOQ9yJM_MsaUNzsechAxx4kP70JahjUaz-AYgo1bSMICztz-WeQta4nbzPQoEpSZq2xaRmUvIwG3o/s1600/021+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 5: Doomy is camping 1 and in walk range of the Wrecker.
Thexus goes, walks up, Psycho Surgery restores systems, Hex Blast kills the Stone guy.
Agitator moves up and Instigates, Wrecker walks around and kills Doomshaper.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij4WQanHvA3LdOY0-c5K3oOe7NbLiLYKtZLIOvtRl6KlH1KoBjImirZ4eO38wxFu8P9UkP9A1UjRjga8RRIXiegK8HeuE_RpscNvIuR7ytc4SJi7Twdc6_4f7088YxC-IpxB775vArxc0/s1600/022+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Me on the right, so 24 minutes to my 7 without the clock bonus.
Lucked out here, would have taken one trample to die super early here. Once I worked out Throws and Rampager were my tools, I should have worked on using them efficiently instead of the model by model wastage I did. Trading Monstrosities up is a necessity, my biggest crime was leaving them in pairs to be hit by the same opposing hard hitter.
