Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Prince (Vlad1) vs. Kommander Oleg Strakhov (Strakhov1)

Once again there is civil unrest in Khador. This time, Strakhov or an imposter is plaguing the land. He is wandering around with a colossal, a few ‘jacks, and is supported by the female Kayazy. Vlad is dispatched to contain the threat. It appears to be going quite well. Until, Vlad gets this brilliant idea of not just hanging back, enjoying the scenery, and handing out Signs & Portents. 

Unfortunately, civil unrest is happening in Khador again. Last time it happed, it was the Butcher running amok (battle report here). This time it seems that Strakhov is on the wrong side of the fence. I have an ok idea about his capabilities, yet I have never played him myself. Vlad brings an experimental version of his WGK-list, along with his (ex) girlfriend. (see further down for a walk through of a tale of two lovers).

Strakhov1 brings a handfull of very capable spells, and the ability to upkeep for free; not to mention a feat almost as good as Vlad’s. The least interesting spell is probably Battering Ram, which is a POW 12, range 8″ spell, which also pushes d3″. On the more interesting side, there are three upkeep spells: Occultation, which gives a unit/model stealth. Pretty nifty when facing a lot of shooting; Sentry, which allows a model to shoot an extra shot in the Maintenance Phase. This will probably go on Victor; and Superiority, which gives a ‘jack +2 SPD, MAT and DEF, and immune to knockdown. Finally, he can also cast Overrun, which allows a model to move when the target model kills something.

Finally, his feat is a slightly different and perhaps slightly worse than Vlad’s. ‘jacks can charge and slam for free, and when a friendly faction model targets a model in Strakhov’s control area, they get Pathfinder and +4″ to their normal movement. The most important difference to Vlad’s is that for Strakhov the target has to be within 12″ of Strakhov; whereas, for Vlad only the charging model must be within 14″ of Vlad. This is a pretty big difference. Also, the extra Pathfinder from Strakhov’s feat is of little use as the Jaws of the Wolf theme already gives ‘jacks Pathfinder.

Strakhov’s battle group includes a Victor, a Marauder and he has an Adjunct attached. The latter is a marvellous addition to most ‘casters. The Greylord Adjunct offers two really good passive abilities: Arcane Assist and Spiritual Conduit. The former allows a free upkeep, which is not terrible important for Strakhov since he most likely can upkeep for free. The latter extends Strakhov’s casting range by 2″, which is nice for Strakhov. His most important ability is probably Guidance, which can give Eyeless Sight. He also has a cloud and a spray.

Victor is one of our Colossal. It has a really big gun. Range 20″, AOE 5″, POW 15 with three different modes of attack: leave a crater, drop a flare, or cause continuous fire. This is a good target for Senty and Overrun. It addition, Victor has two smaller guns, which are quite infantry unfriendly, and the obligatory big fists. The Marauder we already know and love.

Strakhov also brings two other guys ordering Warjacks around. Sorscha0 with Beast ’09 and a Greylord Forge Seer with a Marauder. Sorsch0 is our very good Junior Warcaster, or as she is colloquial known “Boundless Charge on a stick”. In this list, this is why she is here. The combination of Strakhov’s feat and Boundless Charge (BC) can propel a standard Khador ‘jack an impressive 13″ when charging (4″ base + 4″ feat + 3″ charge + 2″ BC).  As a bonus she can also give Concealment inside an 8″ bubble. Sorscha brings Beast, which is a rather expensive ‘jack to put on a junior. Yet, it is her pet Juggernaut with Shield Guard, Hyper-aggressive and Murderous (addition dice to hit against warrior model). A 2″ reach P+S 19 axe and a fist. So, with all the trimmings Beast can bring four axe attacks to face from 15″ away (and a fist from 14″)!

The final Warjack is yet another Marauder, this time attached to a Greylord Forge Seer. The Greylord’s Drive gives magical attacks to the Marauder, which in this battle doesn’t really do anything. He can give an extra focus, cast an attack spell, and put Winter’s Wind on either himself or Beast.   

The units are two units of Eliminators, who are free in this theme; and a unit of Widowmakers. The Eliminators are among the best mercenaries around. The are fast (SPD 7, Acrobatics, Parry and Side Step), hard to hit (DEF 15, Stealth and Duelist) and deadly in melee (Two attacks, POW 9 (or 13 Combo Strike), Anatomical Precision and Gang. Kind of along the same line is the unit of Widowmakers. They are our nimble, precise and Advance Deployment hunters. RAT 7, Marksman and Sniper is a very nice combination.

Finally, Strakhov brings three additional solos: the Hermit, Yuri and a Marksman. I have never really understood the Hermit. I personally think he is a fashion statement. In this list, I think he only adds the -2 ARM via Whispers at the Gate, which is neat but still. He is also good at contesting or scoring flags, as he really needs five attacks to die (Ancient Shroud). Yuri, on the other hand is a cruise missile of Winter Guard killing. A reach 2″, P+S 13 weapon master, with thresher really spells trouble for most stuff caught in his track. Finally, the Marksman is a super Widowmaker. Not only does he shoot better, but he also grants Swift Hunter to the Widowmakers (move 2″ when killing a model). 

A Tale of Two Lovers

We are playing Steamroller 2019 Spread the Net. Vlad wins the roll-off and decides to go first. He is a bit disappointed as there is no wall or trench to stand in. Strakhov did naturally select that side of the table.

Vlad deploys very much in the standard manner. A Gun Carriage on each flank. However, since a tale of two lovers apparently is pretty low on artillery, Vlad has to deploy with the infantry unit and a single Marauder. The two other Marauders deploy slightly to the right. Sorscha deploys to the right with her Rager; and since Vlad can’t find a wall, she can, just in front of her.

Strakhov deploys in the middle with basically everything except what can Advance Deploy, the Greylord and one unit of Eliminators. The two latter deploys on the left flank. Whilst, Yuri and the Widowmakers deploy near the forest in the middle or inside the one brought by the theme. The picture above depicts the end of deployment. 

First round is always rather uneventful. Yet, as always, the only way is forward.

The only way is forward. Both of the Gun Carriages thunder forward, one on each flank. The Winter guards also moves forward. They stay in a rather scattered formation, as they really don’t want to be close together when Victor starts firing. The rightmost Marauder moves forward, and the other two moves to the right and foward. Joe says Courrage of the Motherland to the Rifle Corps. This is a nice combination with Sorscha’s No Sleeping on the Job. Sorscha moves towards the fence and casts Fog of War. Her Rager stays put, ready to do its Shield Guard duty. Finally, Vlad moves forward and casts Wind Wall. The picture above depicts the end of Vlad’s uneventful turn. 

Strakhov starts by casting his spells. Overrun goes on Victor, as does Sentry. Superiority goes on Beast. He then moves forward in front of where Victor will be shortly. On the left flank the Eliminators run into the zone to contest. The Forge Seer and his pet Marauder move up behind the fence.

On the right flank, the Widowmakers and Marksman moves about a shoots at a Rocketeer, who dies; they also put a few shots into the Gun Carriage. Victor moves forward and shoots his really big gun at some Winterguards. One of the gets caught in the blast, dies and triggers Overun on the Marauder on the right flank. Everything else move forward. The Marauder runs surprisingly close to the rightmost Gun Carriage. The picture above shows the end of round 1.

OK, so nothing interesting here. Two annoying Eliminators on the left, and Yuri in the woods in the middle. The rest, more or less as expected. 

There is still only one way: forward. Vlad just stays put and casts S&P. On the left flank, the Gun Carriage moves forward into the zone and drops two cannon shots towards Strakhov in the hope of getting rid of something. Nothing really happened. The leftmost Marauder runs around the corner of the building (thus, is currently out of sight on the picture above).

On the right flank, the Gun Carriage charges the Marauder in front of it, and slams it to the left slightly into the forest. It the proceeds to shoot Widowmakers. Sorscha moves up to the fence and casts Boundless Charge on the rightmost Marauder, which the proceeds to charge the enemy Marauder. It combo-smites it into the forest and kills Yuri in the process†. Everybody else move forward. The picture above shows the end of turn 1.

† Here we made a little mistake. Pathfinder does not apply to involuntary moves. So, the Marauder would not have killed Yuri.

Strakhov is a bit pissed. He ordres Victor to charge the leftmost Gun Carriage, which it proceeds to smash to smithereens. The leftmost enemy Marauder moves forward to score the zone. On the right flank, an enemy Marauder charges the Gun Carriage and kills it. Beast moves into the forest. The Widowmakers kill a few Winter Guards, and the Eliminators in the middle does the same.

Strakhov scores one scenario point for the left zone, Vlad scores one for the right zone. This leaves the score at 1-1. The picture above depicts the end of round 2.

So far, it is not too bad. Despite loosing the two Gun Carriages there is hope. There are still three Marauders left. 

It is feat time. Vlad allocates focus to the Marauders on the left. He then activates, feats and cast S&P, He now makes the tactical mistake that will cost the game: he moves. This is what happens when Vlad gets bored. He moves. He should not. More on this later.

The left most Marauder charges the enemy Marauder on the left. It does a fair amount of damage. It would have preferred to charge Victor with his pal. But, due to a combination of positioning and distance it could not get there. However, his fully loaded pal in the middle charges Victor. One Marauder is a bit too little to actually kill Victor, but the Marauder does make a huge dent into it. The rightmost Marauder charges Beast, but manages to do not a lot of damage.

The Winter Guards move about a shoots a bit. Vlad manages to contest on the left zone, and score on the right zone. This leaves the scenario score at 2-1 in Vlad’s favour. The picture above shows then end of turn 1.

So, Vlad should just learn to stay put. Sorscha starts by filling Beast up; Strakhov fills Victor up. The Victor starts by sliding towards the rightmost Marauder and smashes it with its mighty fists. Sorscha then moves up and drops a Boundless Charge on Beast. Beast then charges Vlad. Guess what, Vlad doesn’t really like Beast. End of game. Sorscha manages to score one point on the flag. Vlad scores on the right zone. This leaves the scenario score at 3-2 in Vlad’s favour. The picture above demonstrates the situation when Vlad can’t stand still. 

It was actually going pretty well. Despite a few cock-ups, Vlad was doing OK. There was a reasonable chance of getting rid of Victor and one, or two more ‘jacks. That would still leave Vlad with his girlfriend and her pet ‘jack, as well as some Winter Guards; and himself, obviously. Finally, Strakhov was getting really low on the clock. So, if he just didn’t move, everything would be fine. This is clearly a lesson learned. Think through the consequences of your action before you do them. I should have seen Beast being able to reach Vlad.  

Until next time.

For the Motherland!