Spread the Net
So we break for the night, the event morphs to be a 5 rounder to account for lame inter-staters with poorly thought through flight times (aka me), everyone was super lovely and accommodating about that (Was originally a 4 round with a top 4 cut, so 6 games if you are near the top of the leader board).
Anyway, our dreams of some sweet Space Communal Hiveism running some evil anti-demon faeries appearing as our foes falls through our fingers like an Australian Prime Ministership (For future reference: This was the week the Matador Clown failed his bid to hold onto power and a potato, a sociopath and a desperate moderate vied for his red nose of power. The sociopath one, sadly taken as a positive over the potato when really its still not great).
I draw some scrub who hardly wins anything I hear. Also super lovely to be around, peeps should go to the Penal Colonies own Penal Colony for games.
It's Skarre3 (DA FLOATY BOAT) and Gaspy 9 Slayers. Honestly I call it the middle ground for me list wise out of the three potential opponents, the other Cryx having Denny2 for which I had no real answer (The Rask list being tuned toward Primal Terrors means it lacks room for a Mist Speaker, so Magic attacks aren't suitable to killing Heavies plus the second list has a Wraith Engine).
Anyway, the presence of a Huge base caster predictably forces the Gaspy 9 Slayer drop.
Some regret at lack of reps into the slayer list, pretty sure I have to feat early and remove 4-5 Slayers with my War Hogs. After that I'm out threated, however a fully buffed light should kill a Slayer so we get to trade back and forth if I position correctly.
Technically I can play to kill Gaspy, however that's incredibly unlikely with player skill, spare slayers and his own feat that he doesn't otherwise need.
It is also Spread the Net and the opposing list isn't overburdened with solos, chief point being if Orin can lightning the Machine wraith and the other two solos die then I've got a reasonable scoring option advantage.
I sadly lose the die roll, I take the side with a building on the right I can potentially use as a Road Hog Ghostly yo-yo. This is less about going first being a be all end all so much as its been a long time since I've needed to deploy with the plan of feating on turn 1.
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Cryx 1: All the stuff runs up, the forward central Slayer has Ashen Veil.
The Machine Wraith is carefully placed in line with the Cryx flag, but up back to prevent an early far reaching electro leap from Orin (Lightning being magical is definitely one of the Iron Kingdoms Mad Science moments, starting as it does where physics ends).
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Minion 1: Alright, this is the key turn of the game, if I execute this properly and use my War Hogs to strike hard enough then we have a game.
A large number of considerations here, being both proper feat application and long term game positioning for both contesting and piece trading.
After some range measuring, the plan is to get both War Hogs into melee and one Road Hog up there to knock down the Ashen Veiled Slayer, this means the War Hog doesn't have to try to dice through 7's to hit (Primal Mat 8 versus pseudo defence 15).
Razor Boars run out to various points, two go way left to dribble in and contest the Cryx rectangle.
One goes out super wide for a free charge on the Cryx arc node beside their flag.
Two go up the guts for Arkadius feat trigger targets.
Witch Doc ghosts up the left War Hog so he can get over that wall in front of my deployment.
The Road Hog with a destiny and the War Hogs all get Primalled.
Arkadius goes, throws out upkeeps, he doesn't advance so that he can Raw Adrenaline stab the Road Hogs. Feats. I go up and do the Razor Boar on the Arcnode to get it out of the way.
As I track back towards the important stuff, I remember the last round played yesterday, where I forgot Razor Boar frenzies. I see a Razor Boar that gets a lols charge on a Slayer. He goes in for a minor poke.
Sodding disastrous.
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Because Arkadius didn't advance and that wall exists, there is now no way for the already Primalled right War Hog to get up into the line of Slayers.
This is an instant shift from the game being yellow to red.
The Left Road and War Hogs still move up, so at least we'll get something.
Arkadius also panic casts Primal on the Road Hog still in front of him. Leaping from mistake to mistake here, for that 'hog to get into the Slayers the War Hog would need to not kill the Ashen Slayer. Egads. Guardian Beast goes up.
Arkadius repo's up a bit, Orin cancels his plan to run behind the building to instead Arcane Vortex camp to stop a loss to Hellfire as the Gobbers cloud.
Forward Road Hog Head Butts the Ashen Veiled Slayer to the ground, the forward War Hog gets up, kills two slayers and damages another. Also had the worst result mathematically wise as I leave a slayer on a box, so I spend an attack viciously overkilling it instead of doing a solid multiple column whack on a jack elsewhere. Curses.
The War Hog I failed runs to my rectangle zone, basically need to ride through all my heavies being dead or frenzied next turn and see what we can do.
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Cryx 2: The Slayers move around, Gaspy chills behind his wall that he isn't shifting from anytime soon.
The three forward suicide charge placed Razor Boars/Road Hog/War Hog are all killed with ease.
The Troll mechanic repair dudes unit all toe the central zone.
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Minion 2: Alrighty, it's Spread the Net, so the plan has to be to try to eke out a scenario win. This is my opportunity to score first plus bring my heavies back online, so lets do it.
Road Hog frenzies and fails on the wall, War Hog goes into a Razor Boar and belts it upside its rump for some damage.
Hutchuck pops out on the left, he rusts the Slayer contesting my flag.
The Rabo's in his vicinity shuffle, one toes the Cryx rectangle.
Arkadius shuffles back, the left Gorax gets Forced Evo, Primal and I Crippling Grasp the Rusted slayer. Gorax goes in and horribly overkills it.
Gobber Chef goes to my friendly flag.
One of the Bellows Crew moves up to toe the centre zone, for the greater good.
I score just my flag alas, 1-0.
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Cryx 3: In the Cryx rectangle a Night Wretch shoots the contesting Razor Boar and straight up kills it. Well....damn.....
It's bro does fail to touch Hutchuck, so that's something.
Mechanics move around, one of them applies curse. This leaves one of them outside of the circle zone.
Slayers converge on Arkadius' location, one easily kills the Gorax that did the punchy punchy in the previous turn.
Two go into the Road Hog, one without focus does a good belt, I attempt to Guardian Beast knock down the other and sadly don't succeed. Road Hog is brutally murdered.
The Machine Wraith goes to the Cryx flag, so they score that and their rectangle. The Slayer previously contesting my rectangle behind the house went into the Road Hog, so I score my own rectangle. 2-2.
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Minion 3: Alright, next step in the eke along: Kill the mechanic unit so they can't get back into the zone next turn and slam the slayer near my flag for another cheek point. Can't kill it as that requires Arkadius casting and he needs to run away from the two Slayers near him, they are out of control however I can't afford even mild attacks on Arkadius as the transfers would kill what models I have left.
Orin Lightning kills a mechanic and the soul trapper, he also contests the centre zone.
The Battle Boar fails to land the slam roll, so....sod. How dare these plans with low odds of success fall apart on me?!
Left Razor Boar and Hutchuck go in on the Cryx rectangle, the Ogrun misses his attacks.
War Hog runs back to a Guard Beast position for the next turn.
I flubb the placement of the right most Razor Boar, so I score my rectangle and fail to contest the Cryx flag. 3-3. Urk.
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Round 4/Cryx 5: We play on a bit, ultimately Cryx kill the War Hog in their next turn then they just clean up until the scenario win. I kill a Nightwretch, so you know, clear moral victory win over here.
Well, obviously there's an over riding mistake of that War Hog not getting to go up, though that was compounded by other areas.
Arkadius should have advanced instead of pointless adrenaline application, the choice of a Road Hog for that Slayer knockdown feels both necessary and awful at the same time as I need that to succeed and lights have a harder time of it.
The correct play in hindsight is to do Primals after the feat movements some of the time, enough for flexibility while still allowing some fury clearing. A Gorax and the Battle Boar should have frenzied up in order to Primal and Slam.
This is the first game in a long time that makes me want to change the list. I think while this is in the meta I need to drop one lot of Razor Boars for another Gorax, more painfully I think I really want a puppet strings in the list which probably means dropping Hutchuck for Eilish. The former already has the models moved to the case, the latter I'm still begging and pleading with my love of ambushing rust.
Anyway, we still have a round to play and it is time to kneel and beg lady Strength of Schedule for a podium finish.
