Standoff
Have successfully made the first step of Merc Anonymous and pulled out the Winions. Let the failure to make a Cancon pairing commence!
My new non-wealth driven horde of minions aspirations immediately suffered an attempt to be crushed by a horde of cogs rambling down the stairs. I can only assume it's one of my natural predators.
All of Winions is super exploratory territory for me, but Arkadius + Beasts seems like something that should just work.I basically choose between either Retaliatory with Farrow options or Overtake and flashbacks to the Nature of the Beast. The Latter had the weight of good mark 2 memories plus Will Work For Food lets me take my favourite models to play with in the game, ye old lesser warlocks.
Arkadius (WWfF) - 2x Road Hog, War Hog, 3x Gun Boar, Battle Boar, Gorax, Dahlia and Wriggling Length of Poison Spewing Meat, Swamp Gobbers, Targ, Alten, Efaarit, Hutchuck
The triple Gun Boar is a model consideration, if I had them available it would be Splatter/Batter boars of some combination (As it is, I only have a BB thanks to the lovely Chap-chap).
Gorax was both convenient and Azahul convinced me not to hate him (Greater late game impact versus harder targets than the Battle Boar by dint of Pain Response/+1 Strength).
Dahlia and Snake. Because like Madmartigan they are great.
Gobbers are a point fill that happens to be a unit for scoring stuff.
Alten/Hutchuck/Efaarit are free models I wanted to try out. Grievous, ambush goodness and repo 5 pew pew all seem like they should be good.
Abeddon meanwhile finds himself in a bewildering landscape. What is this madness with a second tier list?
Aurora (Clockwork Legions) - Conservator, Diffuser x2, Corollary, 3x Obstructors, Reductors + UA, Eradicators, ADO, 4x Enigma Foundry, Steelsoul
So loads of Advance Moving Shield Wall units, some Vengeance Medium Base Side Steppers, super low range spray dudes, token Jacks there to throw out Beacon.
On paper this seemed.....poor. Loads of recursion dudes. All my beasts had Overtake, which can do some work, but is a lot of time consuming effort and doesn't help when the 12 dudes respawn. I expect I'll have to use my long range sprays to finish units off, which becomes the single point of failure in plans style of play that is my natural demise. Other than that what I'm really hoping for is to assassinate Aurora, if not that then use my feat after Overtaking to get charges deep in the field into the Enigma Foundries.
Rolled up Standoff, throw down a central house, some outlying clouds, forests on the left. After that one side gets a wall, the other a trench.
My hopes of getting first turn and ravishing the concept of board space sadly weren't to be as CoC win the roll. The house slightly favours one side, however it would still be further forward than I want Arkadius to be, so I take the side with the more useable wall.
I take the pathfinder obejctive, I think Convergence took repair? As far as I know it never triggered.
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CoC 1: The metal hordes are coming right for us!
Obstructors are the first wave, then the Enigma Foundries pair up on either flank. Eradicators and Battle group stuff is in the centre.
Reductors are on the right flank.
Admonition goes on the Conservator.
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Minion 1: Well, I wasn't going to get to use the speed boost to hyper threaten Aurora. I decided to shift my stuff out to the left in a semi-refused flank play as CoC lean toward the right the Conservator and Reductor placement. Alten, the Efaarit and when he ambushes in Hutchuck will be the contesting pieces on the right, though Hut man will also be the clutch play to kill an Enigma if the comes up (Ideally it goes kill some infantry, fill Enigma with souls, kill Foundry, sneer at their puny glorified calculator they call a Goddess).
To that end, most things run across. Alten ducks behind the wall and shoots the Diffuser. It is in range of the Conservator Shield Guard, alas Lin-ris correctly deduces this is an attempt to bait out that defensive tech to allow for the Armour Piercing shot from the Efaarit. I get some damage, so that's nice. The Efaarit then runs back to the right, outside of camera shot.
Forced Evo goes on a Road Hog, who also ends up so far left that it's out of the camera shot. In a shocking turn of events, I continue to not be employed for my leet Photography powers.
Beasts basically make a line outside of the CoC threat range, hang super back. I opt to put up Guardian Beast on Arkadius. Multiple Counter Blasts go up from the Snake and Gun Boars.
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CoC 2: The Cog Teeths react extreme conservatively, the Obstructors falling back in the left and centre with the Enigmas, coming forward slightly on the right with the Reductors.
The Eradicators instead move up as the front line, one Diffuser toes my zone with teh Admonitioned Conservator not far behind it in the right zone.
The Steel Soul runs up into the left zone.
There was excellent use of homework determining my threat range, however to much value was placed on my threat ranges. Symptomatic of going from a list where most models have value (Destruction Initiative) to one where 95% of the list is chaff on the wind.
The Diffuser contesting was also odd, as it just gives me a free model to kill and won't stopme scoring next turn, whilst models not being in the right zone nullifies the need to contest, letting me eke out another turn of suicide solos running into that circle to contest.
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Minion 2: I have the option of clearing out the left zone and getting a slight lead on scenario, Aurora appears to be sufficiently cagey and aware that grinding it out in the meantime has to be the play.
I needed something to Maltreat, so a Gun Boar shot the nearest Eradicator, hits, boosts damage, to my horror kills it. This is a problem because he was the ideal Crippling Grasp target and I thought he'd survive the shot. Oh well. had other CoC elements been further forward this would have been an appaling problem.
As it is, Arkadius moves up, Crippling Grasps a different Eradicator, Repositions back.
The left Forced Evo Road Hog hurts hismelf for speed, charges the Steel Soul who misses her Defensive Strike. Flame Thrower damages Eradicators, he kills the Steely in melee then he Lightning Strikes backward. Sweetness.
Gorax kills a nearby suicide Obstructor.
The Snake moves up into the left Zone, throws down Counter Blast, kills the two nearest Eradicators and puts up Counterblast. Dahlia stays the hell back and drains her Fury.
Around my Rectangle, Alten, the Efaarit and Gun Boar shots kill the Diffuser. I forget to Repo the Efaarit back. The Road Hog on this side charges an Eradicator to teh right of the central house, forces the Admonition trigger on the Conservator. Kills the chump in melee, sets the last Eradicator on fire and quite damaged, Sprints back to be behind the wall.
War Hog and Battle Boar functionally stick back as reserve pieces.
Both sides score their Rectangles, by dint of Swamp Gobbers I get the left zone.
2-1 to me.
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CoC 3: For the record, every round Aurora goes early and pops the stupid "everything-has-wings-why-doesn't-Helga-have-a-version-of-this-spell-instead-of-dash" spell.
Continuing to live in fear, she flies over to the right and forgets to feat.
On the left, Obstructors come in, Skarath sprays down some of them with a Counterblast. A two man CMA does some damage to said Danger Worm.
Centrally, around the Convergence rectangle the second unit of Obstructors chills in the back, the remaining Diffuser shoots my objective and does no damage. The ADO arc node chump runs to contest my rectangle.
Right side, the Conservator walks up to the Road Hog that was cowering behind the wall, burns all his focus to kill it.
This flanks Enigmas, the last Obstructor unit and the Reductors all crowd in the back of the circle zone.
Convergence score their rectangle and the right zone, they take the lead 2-3.
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Minion 3: Simple enough, clear out the left zone, maintain the scenario lead, kill relevant stuff.
On the left zone between the Snake, the Road Hog and Targ Ancillary on the snake the Obstructors that can contest all die. Those sprays and a good Gun Boar shot kill the Diffuser, freeing a spot for another Gun Boar to run and toe the CoC rectangle (Gained pathfinder from the objective).
Arkadius chills out in the forest, ready to score the left zone when the Swamp Gobbers get nutted.
In my rectangle, the Battle Boar sits their waiting to chew on future chain of dudes.
Alten moves out, shoots the ADO and repos back in position to run into the right zone next round.
The Effarit moves up, shoots the Conservator in the back, Repo's to toe the right zone.
The War Hog then charges into the Floaty Vector, hurts himself for damage, kills it with his initials.
I score my rectangle and the left circle, now 4-3.
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CoC 4: Aurora stays chilling in the back, feats, Aero-lameness.
Enigma Foundries respawn the Obstructors that are available.
CoC Rectangle, Obstructors go in and kill the contesting Gun Boar, they move into the Circle zone. I forget to trigger Counterblast like a numpty.
In my Rectangle, Obstructors from the right charge in and Reductors spray, all going into the War Hog. They do damage but fail to kill it.
CoC right Circle, the Efaarit predictably explodes.
Convergence score their rectangle and the right zone, now 4-5.
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Minon 4: Continue the plan, contest, clear the left, move pieces up to start the fighting over the CoC rectangle.
Skarath goes up, uses reach and Overtake to clear out the left zone. Road Hog, Gorax and left msot Gun Boar all move up and toward the right, given we're now fighting from the flanking board edges. One of the Swamp Gobbers gets up and contests the CoC Rectangle.
In my rectangle, Arkadius pokes his head through the bushes, Crippling Grasps the Reductors, Primals the Battle Boar, repo's back to safety of the left zone behind the trees.
The Battle Boar then chews on Reductors, turns out the Primal was super overkill, he pops 6 of them and then hangs back.
The War Hog kills the last contesting Obstructor, ducks back to behind the wall with the Overtake move.
Lastly, Alten charges into the right circle. He misses.
Once again, it's the friendly rectangle and the relevant circle. 6-5.
Early into round 5 CoC clocks, the natural danger of running a horde of screaming nobs with chains.
We play it out for a bit, a Counterblast shot hilariously stops theone CoC model that went to contest my left zone. The War hog and Alten die.
In reply I get my Road Hog and Skarath up toward the Coc Rectangle, mess up the objective. The lights contest my rectangle. Hutchuck ambushes in from the right to contest that circle, kills an Enigma Foundry in the meantime.
Top of 6 Obstructors fail to kill the Battle Boar, CoC concedes as the attrition and scenario play are both out of the picture.
That didn't play as expected, though it will be laods mroe difficult once Abon gets some infantry reps. Heartening for the list though, Overtake was super good to have.
Thought Raw Adrenaline would be super handy, positioning and the relevant targets never made it super relevant versus jsut boosting. Lack of opposing Guns let me feel super free to drop Arkadius to sod all fury, plus always having the fat in reserve to clean up the tokens on teh baord if needed.
Realistically the Gun Boars are the largest eyesore worth looking at changing, though I am reticient to change it up after one game. Weirdly tempted by Razor Boars.
