Our grids were somewhat.....garbage into this. Yellows and Oranges for days. Scenario is Entrenched, and I correctly guessed the matchup I would go into, though know one seemed that enthused to go into Fundges.
Pretty much every table on the set we had featured one side with a Thexus hidey hole option, so that didn't change anything.
[Theme] Operating Theater
Objective: Bunker
(Thexus 1) Exulon Thexus [+29]
- Wrecker [14]
- Wrecker [14]
Cephalyx Agitator [3]
Cephalyx Agitator [3]
Alexia Ciannor & the Risen [10]
- Cephalyx Dominator [1]
Cephalyx Mind Bender & Drudges (max) [11]
Cephalyx Mind Bender & Drudges (max) [11]
Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges (max) [12]
Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges (max) [12]
Cephalyx Mind Slaver & Drudges (max) [12]
Cephalyx Overlords [0(8)]
Cephalyx Overlords [0(8)]
[Theme] The Ghost Fleet
Objective: Bunker
(Deneghra 1) Warwitch Deneghra [+28]
- Deathripper [6]
- Deathripper [6]
- Deathripper [6]
- Nightmare [18]
Captain Rengrave [0(5)]
Hellslinger Phantom [0(7)]
Pistol Wraith [0(5)]
Pistol Wraith [5]
Blackbane's Ghost Raiders (max) [17]
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous (min) [9]
- Revenant Crew Rifleman (3) [6]
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous (min) [9]
- Revenant Crew Rifleman (3) [6]
Revenant Crew of the Atramentous (min) [9]
- Revenant Crew Rifleman (3) [6]
Sigh. Really? Someone bought the damn Hellslinger already? Bah. Bah I say!
I'm not super confident going in, as the limited test runs have featured Ghost Fleet eventually out attritioning me, as it kneecaps all my own recursion while having a mechanism that I struggle against. Stupid Deathbound. The version here is a little better for me I feel, as I dislike the concept of having to go against Wraith Engines, a thought I'll have to examine some other time.
I lose the roll, because Ghost Fleet and all. I take the side with a defensible forest in the centre of the board, also getting an a tiny obstruction of dubious merit and a hill.
There's a blob of water in the centre of the table and some other terrain bits that don't matter.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAOAVOJyuxLCkbCr8AIs9xJH5Y0DC_tbpT0bFhuzDSYfYcGkbx8HLGUrMkKmeXReZf62Tpwe9fHj9VkkRY6agWAtPczB7IubAvjrVANqa7Q6k89U7w4wO5SCEddmXKpWZEzPT7VODXgoEl/s1600/029+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Round 1: The undead come forward, a droob from each Revenant unit is so far back that they're out of shot. There's a left side slant in the formation, though not onerously so. Nightmare PRey's one of the Wreckers. Arc Nodes spread throughout. Blackbanes are out the front.
I run my own dudes forward, Thexus stays hidden in a central spot behind the forest and Wreckers. Overlords flank per the usual.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLCXjgtA24WH3rXZ1c0WdEGcAhm7rsnpc2PLNFYhS2U7Qfnj4sgBXqCJtnBKNWKMrTZMJzPGRNN7dZ_IxQoJuy9e_3AlTR2sJDoUe4i-w3t2sVIHQ7Uet06qC7rGqXQE4AU7yXipaXSny/s1600/030+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Cryx 2: Let the long slog truly begin!
The Blackbanes apparition forward, then charge up, munching two Drudges and toughing another.
Everything else advances up the board, nothing outrageous happens.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFBl2Dn25bUYi5_dfiChwcfJXZmZh8zHbDiec1JDIuGSSu-4yFAimzXONClYCma8e3PX7FYQfWli3HVTbTbV23TWTv9pIR6LT3PIkdyVhIOby-0RvtI3n75_00bghz9QhaPV5FqUTpPke/s1600/031+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Merc 2: Easy enough planning at this stage. The Blackbanes have to die, otherwise a few charge Thexus on Denny's feat and bam, down the floaty chewed up Red Indian goes. Ambushers also will be appearing, there's an arcnode they can nab, which is nice if I somehow get attacks on the others at some point and get rid of a late run magic pew pew death scream attack on, again, the shrivelled bit of meat that tells the Drudges what to do. Ambushers can then try to get to the damn reserve pirates.
Between Alexia Dominating, spraying Benders and Drudges attacking the Corporeal ones the Blackbanes all pop.
The left most Overlords move up, two of them spray down the most extremely placed Pistol Wraith.
Ambushers go in, a pair of two Drudge CMA's go into the arcnode and botch it, one lot misses ergo it's left with it's movement and arcnode. Alas. The other ambushers are further up, waiting to go into the reserve Revenant smucks hopefully.
Thexus backs up a bit, I don't feel an especial need for him to be up the board at this point.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6jfbH3VC-gvevPwxMDDmi1x7p8WLw4Kdm3IoJCKEC0d-x76DlpiVTgbg1rp_GCVyO2-tVtipJ0cW5HEoSC3hO32lUXTG-hTKTZnsgiJVxjyG0T05vw8-cyOabWSX3gYDR1NM1YCserE2F/s1600/032+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Cryx 3: Denny toes her friendly zone and camps it up. Revenansts move around, they kill most of the Pink Slavers and one of the Ambushers. The Hellsligners eats a pair of the Ambush Drudges, the first of many.
Everything else just advances a short distance.
Cryx go to 1 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQXZzSoGOGCeL_ABPOipf8hfK74XDyi1SJR6A-7Tc8o0EWPudSfEBAu7xPUkS2go0cS3BgJYgKhP-wZiAe3CiBnBCkOF1IlNx-mQVQ3Rj7aRhGjKdtH4fd8_9-6we86XQJdqrIEYlQxg4/s1600/033+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Merc 3: I plan out a rough assassination. Thexus can move forward, feat push models aside, then I can ADrenal the remaining pair of Pink Drudges, who can charge into Denny after the out of activation move. The distances aren't quite there alas, I can get one in but not both. In theory I could run a Wrecker over and TK the Drudge into distance, alas I genuinely didn't think of it at the time, it maths out at just shy of 50% assassination. Should have gone for it, my real problem here being besides clock I'm not pushing any win condition, Ghost Fleet attritions better and I'm poorly positioned on the scoring front, an error I fundamentally made in deployment.
Ambushers go forward and kill the left most Revenant crew flunky.
Left side Overlords do some good sprays.
Few remaining Pink Drudges contest the Cryx zone.
The right Overlords try to spray down Revenants and roll......poorly.....the Green Drudges actually have to go in and kills some Revenants to stop the Overlords being immediately killed next turn.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHWQPwMqxNG5Gkh-GevDvrJQnXnnupG3jwxDbR6zZ6L9gfzusM328ppZbTJKxTAmoHVE7QelnlmOHsCSD5Qbozf6uF4aPcMf8KOYHUDKe9cIB5u7cxjx04Z-icG1_6fnQCFeboOwobiKSF/s1600/034+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Cryx 4: Revenants surge forward, the Riflemans pop more of the Ambush Drudges as does the Hellslinger, leaving them just a pair of smucks. They also kill one of the left Overlords and two on the right. Pink Drudges get reduced to just their Cephalyx unit leader, the Green fellas also get chomped on considerably.
Cryx go to 2 CP.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma_J10Muu1GOhW5lU4SBJDgFYcfGXOGzQAmYZt-HxJYfKTS717Hwlq5vEyryYVDNXJFj7-tE6kRcpotS3Mm26XagHQA0NdJQ-aJXhns80yFLGgGmSfMhlT8c2o1bPL-SfNU8tKAmZ19d8/s1600/035+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Merc 4: I've got nothing. It's feat to try to claw something back time.
Thexus moves up behind the Wreckers, feat pushes everything together.
Benders and remaining Overlords do sprays, I wipe out the left Revenant crew. I awkwardly discover that Rengrave has Call to Sacrifice.
After some thinking, I curse my lack of play experience into Ghost Fleet, as after wasting some attacks Alexia goes up, uses her power to move Rengrave out of Call to Sac range and the Pink Cephalyx Slaver charges and kills him off.
The Green Drudges kill some more dudes on the right, the last Overlord on that flank does an average spray.
I forget completely to activate the pair of Ambush Drudges, oh well.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjODT04X1UJnOZf7KPWd1Ved_YK5TqkZ2t5eGGcbrUbcUipNktagYrT2UIMhGBEDPskYILIRJO43_oeO5ei6r98G5uEdP2FhRiHtDjQXsd8ztW6h8ZfWxiOtO44LR6Z2wpQqPCxd0ucuC7m/s1600/036+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Cryx 5: Denny moves up a little bit and feats, because she might as well.
Agitators get killed by Revenants, the Hellslinger finishes off the Ambush Drudges and sidesteps to shoot Green Drudges as well, having moved further this game off Sidesteps than his actual Movement score.
Pirates charge and eat my objective.
An Arc Node and Nightmare move to be in front of Denny.
[img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7kUfRXhiKrg0eowg8uyYBYiNy4ECri79LfvLjpzohSaYNVuF3JMxNFDGIQXxYFJxd2U7xTRTxRtsf3PnPf8ug8xEA_AskQZc8yn2uHLEKVR3oxocOo-Gn63ErcR8wMv1_KX-rMnk-6Bi/s1600/037+%2528800x450%2529.jpg
[/img]
Merc 5/Cryx 6: I have to go fr a desperate Wrecker assassination.
Alexia stabs a Wrecker and fuels him up, Thexus ends up having to move forward and TK himself, TK the arc node and the Monstrosity forward. I screwed up and allocated one out, which ends up being fatal on the already low odds assassination run. The Wrecker goes in and tries to beat back to Denny, flubbs it then Nightmare kills the Wrecker and Hellslinger kills a contesting Drudge.
Looking at it hindsight, the game is far more winnable than my pessimism at the time was treating it, simply committed a classic flaw of not determining my win condition early. I should have been making the long term scenario play, sending Drudges into the Cryx objective ont eh bottom of two and keeping Thexus less uber protected, but going for the defensive score. The Crux leaned deployment actually would have assisted with such a plan. Doh. At least it was a game into Drewbru, who is a sweet dude.
Alas, our team goes down as well. Fortunately, outside of NSW dominance, most teams are going 2 v 2 and we have a decent amount of game wins (Most wins being 4v1 and losses 2v3) so we have good odds of getting into the semis if we win the next round on the morrow.
