Hot off my sweet.....Ashlynn.......experiences......I decided to melt my brain a different way and play a list I've made and deleted about four times in Warroom.
Cyphon1 - 2x Wrecker, Warden, Subduer, 2x Agitator, 2x Mind Slavers (Max), 2x Mind Bender (Min), Dominator, sub Alexia1 with Risen undead furniture (I assume copious latex is involved)
Objective: Bunker
vs
Hexeris2 - Tiberion, Gladiator, Scarab Pack, 2x Scarab Soldier, Keltarii (Max), Soulward, Paingivers (Min)
Objective: Bunker
This was almost Hexeris1, I'd have happily accepted the clock win with the 6 models I'd have left after the feat.
Anyway, Thexus is better than Cyphon, but the Cognifex can actually survive an Ashes to Ashes run, so that's....something?
Basically trying to use an industrial grinder on my rusty mass-infantry clock skills. Though I have a bones level theory that starting with a list with such clear clock issues at the start inclines to better timing performance than a middling list with more valuable activations.
You've never felt true disregard for your models lives until you've fielded a bunch of Drudges.
Scenario is Recon, the zone has a house and forest either side of it. Other than that there is some scattered terrain around the edges, the only other relevant terrain being a trench/wall on one side.
I lose the roll, get given second and thus get Cyphons hidey hole trench. Glorious.
NOTE: I suck, each Mind Bender unit had a grunt more than they were meant to. A mistake generated from many a year loathing non-Maxed units.
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Skorne 1: The beasts all move up, sheltering in a line behind the house. They sit in some water, it has no real bearing on the game.
Hexeris stays about 6 inches or so behind the Objective, the scarabs sit in front of him.
The Keltarii spread out on the right, get Cloak of Ash.
Cyphon is repped by Scrapjack incidentally.
Merc 1: It's essentially battlegroups opposing each with a far obstruction blocking the way and an infantry battle on the right over some forests and a hill. I'll lose a few models to an impending Hexy feat, but ultimately all I need is the Mind Bender units to survive and it's all good.
I tot my battlegroup up behind the house, Cyphon ducks into the trench. Hexys feat is an annoying conniption, as focus put on the Monstrosities or camped on Cyphon will just get nicked and make me sad. Ergo the hiding behind Monstrosities, in a trench with Persevance up on him. I wanted Onslaught for the Drudges to deal with the forest, but oh well. I'm down for Drudges to die.
Fearing a slothful clock performance, stuff runs up to not super optimal locations. I bunch up Drudges so that the Cephalyx unit leaders don't get Ashes to Ashes. Deployment/activation errors mean that the Risen, who in hindsight should have been the front rank, instead are a useless line behind. One of them was positioned with a bit more foresight, as he becomes a Thrall Warrior who runs to the right side of the board.
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Skorne 2: The Scarabs spread out around the central forest, ready for sweet arcnodage. The Battlegroup essentially stays where it is, doing a light shuffle and rile part.
Hexy feats, puts Banishing Ward on the Keltarii and spams Ashes to Ashes amongst the Drudges. low bounce rolls and a fair amount of tough rolls limit casualties before the Keltarii come in, mostly running with just a few charges. I end up losing about eight or so Drudges I think? I'd forgotten how annoying to deal with large numbers of tough models could be (Having blissfully wiped out the Stalingrad list from my mind, as sane people do).
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Merc 2: Not many corpses gathered alas, Alexia can only cover so much of the list.
Normally at this point I'd push for scenario really hard, but given attrition is going to work out well for me and I want to hold my feat to kill Tibbers, plan is to just grind it out.
Thexus palms off focus to Monstrosities, the longer the game goes the more efficient the Monstrosities in this situation will be. Suck your Fury Hexy.
Alexia goes behind the wall in order to get some Keltarii souls. She spawns another Thrall, who charges the Scarab in the zone and kills it.
The Mind Bender units send in a couple of Drudges each and explode them, popping a Slaver Drudge and causing another to tough, also killing half of the Keltarii.
overlords run up, but alas I don't get them far up enough as the Pink Slaver unit charges in and replenish their ranks a little with Prep for Surgery.
The previous turns Thrall runs up into the backfield, sadly concealed in the photo by the tree in the right most forest blob. He's super far back at any rate.
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Skorne 3: The Keltarii with Ashes to Ashes support is faring poorly against the hordes of doodz, so it's time for the reluctant Piece trading to begin.
The Skorne beasts mostly stay where they are, contesting the zone and staying in hiding, aside from one Scarab that trundles in and stacks some Fury eating Drudges and the Thrall, finally giving me some sweet Risen fuel. The Keltarii keep stabbing, assisted by Hexeris putting Black Spot on the Pink Slavers, the most forward unit. Tough rolls stop me losing much.
In the backfield the Extoller shoots down the Thrall that was trying to Murder him. Oh well.
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Merc 3: I'd like to say this was my plan all along, but it really just sort of panned out that way. The scarab can be dragged in by the Subduer at essentially no cost.
In the zone, the Monstrosities barely move as the Subduer drags the bug in and alongside a Wrecker.....wrecks it? That's some weak writing that is.
The horde of Risen then flood into the zone as the other Wrecker positions at the bottom of the zone, in charge range of the opposing Objective or potentially Tibbers if he stays contesting (Might have to kill my objective to clear the line, but that is an acceptable cost).
Cyphon stays in the trench, puts up Onslaught so the forest can stop bothering me.
One the Bender units Adrenals the Pink Slavers so they can Prep for Surgery a couple Keltarii, which they do. The Overlords kill a couple Drudges spraying down a Scarab. Drudge lives have so little value they could be immi....no, that jokes probably to real.
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Skorne 4: Black Spot hangs around, letting the Extoller move up and kill two Slaver Drudges. Apparently the most fearsome Skorne warriors are the damned Soul Collection Agency before they get downgraded to be made of stone.
Zone wise, the Scarab tries to eat a Risen. He toughs. The remaining Aradus tries eat three Risen. They all tough. He manages to eat one.
There was some staring at the table, then the Skornites concede. Utterly fair, there was no chance of a clock out or assassination, I'm just going to flood my infantry in to get my Monstrosities in position for feat and instigate to kill everything.
I ended with 31 minutes remaining, which I'm very happy with. Match wise doesn't feel immensely super? Basically the Drudge horde goes in and tries to put out any feat/kill opposing infantry, setting up the battlegroup to get somewhere. Definitely a poor list match for Skorne here. When the Dakaar comes out this'll transition to theme naturally, so that would be a tad more annoying (Reiver targets for daaaaays).
