Something awkward that cropped up is I've well and truly fallen out of the beginning of spiel game habit of clarifying my position on take backs (The answer is no, don't ask) and dice being cocked (if it ain't flat, it's cocked). Need to get back into that, even with the regular opponents.
Anyway, per the plan it's Swans!
My desire to field Trenchers and personal despising of fielding unpainted models (Other peoples don't bother me, my own are the equivalent of nails on chalkboard every time I look at it).
However, in order to paint my trenchers I had to finish off the three Drudge units. I also had to paint the whole Trencher unit rather than the min unit in my lists otherwise they'd never match up.
Basically, that's a lot of words that fail to excuse that I was ready to drop for the day, should have just stayed up rather than getting one hour of sleep. Got 50 models painted though. Badly painted, but I stopped caring too much when I looked at the pile of Drudges and it just became to hard to give a damn.
Alright, my lists which I changed an hour before the tourney now that I knew it was painited and ready (Like you do):
Haley1 - Stormwall, Squire, Jakes + Thunderhead, Gun Mages, Arlan, Trenchers (Min) + 3x Grenadiers
Objective: Bunker
Haley2 - Irrelevant stuff, I'm enjoying trying to get Haley1 off the ground and played her every round. No D and C, so skadoosh.
Round 1 is Extraction, my least played non-Linebreaker scenario in SR16/17 for some reason.
Into my former long term Skorne and newly declared Vendetta target, Jarius.
Now a convert to the correct faction, but the soul destroying part, it's double Kingmaker of Damiano and Magnus 1.
I naturally drop Haley1 per the plan, it's into Damiano. We played this when I had the Sentinels in place of Trenchers, he changed up his battlegroup and a unit or two.
Damiano1 - Rocinante1, Rover, Freebooter, Steelhead Riflemen/Halberdiers/Cavalry, Stannis Brocker, Kell, Saxon, Trencher unit + one Grenadier
Objective: Bunker
Load of infantry, so that doesn't worry to much. it's the life mission of Thunderhead and Gun Mages to kill that stuff, though the Trencher on Trencher clash I expect to go basically no where.
Table wise, one side gets an inconvenient forest, a trench and a concealment wall, then one zone has an out of the way hill in the centre and the other side gets some water, a good wall and a usable hill.
I took first, got given the forest/trench/lame wall side, which is the correct choice I think.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvA_ZF7M4lERwTAPPHwd6741TwTZpKpyE1-IfTv3NMdZWvbGgrScojdFGvcDQNAud24boYkBfeCXJ0VAsJyrNagdWclffJnElnc7D7GKbK6un70pywx-q5NQkCPZd4bW7BXHQA5XwEmus/s1600/002+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img
Cygnar 1: Nothing super evocative here, Stormwall romps through the forest, intent being to use pods as throw away contest pieces in the Merc zone. Centre is my Gun Mages, with Haley/Thunderhead/Most of the Trenchers angling for the Swan zone. My basic expectation is I'll win the attrition, slow scoring my zone usually helps with that.
I didn't feel the need for any dramatic redeploy's, the blob of opposing infantry either gets the choice of dealing with Covering Fire or Thunderhead's Pulse.
Thunderhead gets Sidekick, Haley gets Arcane Shield.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGLz9p8NCVWP1DxBS69_yY_64cWQR0W2cHfqvmcvoyMdOa-LQdonlnte11vAIOkSvwtkRb_r_m_VKX5LHRVwBkiL1YtrDya9uYDRxZzP1Y2qpf4-wZ9mAzG8gBfZFavSFwtexdMaRGgyz2/s1600/003+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 1: The horde advances upon we weary few. Sure Foot goes on the Trenchers, who then advance and dig in. Damiano puts up Road to War. The infantry all advance, Rifles on the left, blob of doom on the right.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijgCdO7_0IzPlqBVvtaNIl81IACwEOOVhvnCGn5xEWxG3qrM2ap0bB7TE2AxFt973R3z6-50W5N4EFn7S7LCKkyt7N5VHzIHBRCfkbxPzkEwbkDNDcIulqrqtaeOgKHw05kV5NHZ4HpP1/s1600/004+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Cygnar 2: Looking at it, I decide I can live with not heavily contesting my zone. Damiano's decision to join Kell behind the wall is sensible, but means he has to run to get either Dominate, which means no feat or spell casting which works for me. My only real contesting piece of value on the swan zone would be Thunderhead, who'd then get cav in the face that he doesn't handle to well.
Haley stays back, Temporal Barriers ensuring all of the opposing Jacks are in the extended control area.
Trenchers move around and cloud up, Grenadiers kill some halberdiers (probably wasteful, but something has to occupy the Cavalry's attention).
Thunderhead moves up and provides more Haley protection, though really it was just to keep him in a safe spot. He should have gotten focus and done some pew pews on the Freebooter, but Trencher activation issues stymied that alas.
Stormwall shoots the Freebooter and puts down some covering fire, takes out the Movement. Glorous. Gun mages then spread out in the backfield, knock back the Freebooter and kills a Steelhead Riflemen in the Merc zone.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvLdaWEGf8JqZpXM0lrsNIAGSVS-i2kPLIszXOes2SHQipSxeg5PUt0-KhkNgvyJtdI_lAAxDybAa5wqkb2udqzxomYMIAl7AYV1LmjWPkTjt05hUJ_E66-r_pRbZlmr3pk9xgmRg7tZ04/s1600/005+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 2: So it genuinely wasn't until this point that I even twigged the Steelhead Riflemen weren't Halberdiers. I'd automatically substituted them in my brain, as I don't believe I ever saw the gun unit fielded before. Not so great a covering fire template after all.
The infantry blob advances menacingly, most of the Trenchers Dig In though a couple do shots and the Grenadier goes out to the middle of the table to do a bang on something.
Steelhead Cav come in, pop the Objective and stab away.
The Rover/Rocinante hang back, Damiano goes behind them. Kell aims and cracks a couple shots that trigger Ride to War.
At the end of that I'd lost a couple Gun Mages, the Grenadiers and a couple of the regular Trencher dudes.
Mercs go to 2 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjde-J3WECD1fesZixzB4ALwl2PmRq8EjPTj-SkX16PN6Gyb6J4pQNhTXvrzRdxiDZSfA30NDytWVAwkTZY5r78Leek_iif4yBxMI4yzELWOyiaBkj2B560sKQBj3OvL3vnPSfNXT44dkb7/s1600/006+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Cygnar 3: No feat up, so plan is to pop mine and kill as much stuff as possible.
Haley activates, hangs back for now as I couldn't be sure the threats to her would definitely be gone.
Thunderhead moves into the zone, pops Pulse, butcher's a ton of the blob. Bought attacks hurt Stannis but don't kill him.
Gun Mages then move around toward the Swan zone, knock back the Freebooter a bit to stop him getting to engage Thunderhead range, kills some Riflemen and Stannis.
Jakes moves around in the backfield, finishes off some of the injured cav with Handcannon shots.
I leave behind two of the cav, the Freebooter, maybe three Trenchers, Orin and half the Halberdiers.
That's the right zone done, I then go into the tank hardcore for the Merc zone.
I have to put something in the zone, I'd given a focus to the Stormwall thinking he'd go in and pop the Objective and the Rover, but then saw that as suicide. Even though there was a point where a pod would have killed six or so Riflemen.
I end up looking at the clock and realise that any move was better than none.
Stormwall charges the Objective, puts a Stormpod in the far corner of the zone (Frawley maneuver as I think of it). Lightning and fisting in concert kill most of the Riflemans, though now the Stormwall is absolutely doomed.
Remaining Trenchers then cloud up in front of Haley.
Scores now 2v1 Mercs leading.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2FiawAP9V51iOJHQd0H7zDGrP9-VWPko2BU7v3vG-uj_3yfi3xX17sXYwrpZilVFSV2-naB6w_plQXsomRMWaMnatJ-DI1Xr50qDlXY4pPi3HinyytfKhLwfHteIMcXQCtmYhrqDezHX/s1600/007+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 3: Damiano goes back to the wall and feats. Sure Foot is dropped
On the right, Orin lightnings down some Gun Mages, triggering Road to War for the Heavies to get in Stormwall murder range.
The Trenchers then kill two of my Trenchers and causes the last one to tough.
halberdiers go, most run. One tries to charge Thunderhead but would block a Cav charge, so instead runs somewhere else.
Cav charge Thunderhead, put damage on both sides but fail to knock off any arms. One then repositions out and dies to a freestrike, the other stays engaging.
Freebooter limps forward.
The remaining two rifles, Rover and Rocinate all attack the Stormwall and kill it with ease. Sadness.
No scores this turn.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NWRe3sAOo5h9oELyNaDQp-4nq8kqQOvTLe91V4RDO3zQdIQF-249K1e5EQ4zuntWaXBOwlz1tmkdQIYXAq2rsFKxlGMdHK4t_qaWFb33EFd1xI3-BKuDSqvy7h77SO0qLtvpwsY_pcUs/s1600/008+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Cygnar 4: Got to clear out all the stuff in my zone and start the defensive scoring.
On the left, Ragman and Arlen both move up into the edge of the forest, in position to run into the Merc zone as throw away pieces. Ragman also missiles down a riflemen, using the free move and attack to murder his cohort.
On the right, the most important thing to do is clear off the Steelhead Cav so Thunderhead can kill stuff. I sadly lack the pieces to do so, Haley has an activation order issue (She wants to go where Thunderhead is) and Jakes hits with her Handcannon but fails to damage.
Thunderhead eventually cops the freestrike, as it is unlikely to take out his Cortex which is the only arm he gives a damn about.
Sure enough he lives (I think he loses an arm but can't quite remember). Pulse and bought attacks kill the remaining Trenchers, the Cav and most of the Halberdiers. Two Halberdiers, Orin and the Freebooter are all that live in front of the zone now.
Haley moves into the zone and scrambles the Freebooter, here's where I fail my moral compass.
I didn't have line of sight and didn't realise until I'd rolled to hit. Normally I'd accept that and move on, instead on this occasion I moved Haley to get Line of Sight. Had a short conversation here that ultimately ended up with it being okay with my opponent as far as I know, but it's awful practice and hopefully I pass the test next time.
Haley doesn't Temporal, instead electing to camp as the reduced opponent threat ranges aren't an issue.
Incidentally I've since come to the realisation that when Scramble comes up in means things are down to the wire, certainly true here.
The last Trencher stands up and moves to be behind the Concealment wall.
Scores level at 2 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFO-WjXHKaws5BnN6q_zPeO_z0mCUJs2quUpHSn34kxt1bIM_L3yM8fWE0NTmz-rtmsZjPNMw4gilwjHpaj7uFwWY7yoFCGsLY0oh2hfBfE0RNutOcsdCTF9jA0K2wxsovpq_Hh9rRCdDF/s1600/009+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 4: Rover, Rocinante and Damiano all move into the left zone, face toward the right zone. The various Gun Shots kill Arlen (Who has 8 boxes. Weird).
The Steelheads charge Haley and miss, Orin tries to Lightning but gets Arcane Vortexed, Kell pops a Gun Mage.
The Freebooter moves into the Swan zone, flails impotently at Thunderhead.
Mercs try to score, but in the fulfilment of the Frawley plan I point at the Stormpos I'd put in the corner of the zone.
Scores remain at 2 all.
Cygnar 5 (No Pic): Time to slow burn scenario win. Haley falls back in the zone as much as she can, stabs down the Steelheads.
Thunderhead kills the Freebooter.
Jakes moves up next to Haley and shoots down Orin.
The last Gun Mage hangs out in the Trench, fall back just out of Kell's range.
Ragman runs way to the left, ready to run into the Merc zone if they don't deal with him.
Swans get ahead, 3-2.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKdgGtDJ7rLVBUXKEfy0H7V3m2J5mgjQ6wMhiKtM9AV9HfxACiyc9kPj2BLQYb7pHJxzg0LLK2dO4Dn8z_-_swoNict1_ik9HTIyDAx0l1JSDW72hGbnaaOKQmiKtIhF4Dh5vmUOXBtPA/s1600/010+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Merc 5: Kell moves into the open, kills the Stormpod.
Rover gets Deadeye, moves in the Merc zone and kills Ragman.
Rocinante charges Thunderhead, alas clock pressure was hitting now and he wasn't allocated outside of Power Up so he misses and is sad.
Score equalise at 3 once again.
Cygnar 6 (No Pic): Kill as muchas I can, if I can arrange it so no Merc piece can get into my zone then I should get the win.
Thunderhead kills Rocinante with some luck/
Trencher moves up and misses Kell, Haley moves up, Deadeyes herself, boosts to hit and pops the damn sniper. Jakes hangs around in the back. Gun Mage moves to the top of the zone, Thundershots the Rover back.
Squire runs into the Merc zone.
Swans gain, 4-3.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8h3Vz0YZNZaI97bB0q-bjwcXmIyBVAbm_ZHZd3Sn_zP61WmSNBqfXhJ_GQ4g_yYbQae7vvPlqwV17ReM3DJq39U-RDDIUxMsuZ6u41TMJ5DeBWN_fcyjRxiYO3YoVET4k3l3AfCFVZbz/s1600/011+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Mercs 6: Photo taken at end of game, Gun Mage is actually still in the trench.
Damiano kills the Squire, Rover Road to Wars forward but can't get into the Swan zone, tries a random shot and that's game ending 4 CP's to 5.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDSjBKTFry5RhhHnre2E3SR0Q8nZMn1CRA5CI3qMjhpfGSE68pIQVx1Ts5urw76Ygkn9fTn0mDrWkZItkPfYFyqjVERky4ECFMdVOJDGIQLs6z5O7-n10FIMr1zjtdQHzmVuOrRN6MgFM/s1600/012+%2528800x450%2529.jpg [/img]
Me on the left.
Tourney ethic issue aside, great game. Easily the closest of many.
Most glaring mistake is probably the Stormwall waste, he could have just hung back and shot down the Freebooter. This and Incursion are probably the worst scenario's for my list to face, as I lack that many expendable pieces to go out and score, something to ponder if I keep Haley tinkering.
In any event, winners bracket onward.
