Kommander Tatiana Sikora – The Greylord Archives

The Motherland at the WTC – third time’s a charm? (day 2)

Igor Khador — Sat, 31 Aug 2024 20:06:00 +0000

This is the third time in a row the Motherland goes to WTC. This year it is in Düsseldorf. Mark IV is now a real thing, compared to last year where it was very much in transition. So, I’m finally brining two proper Winter Korps lists. I’m bringing Tatiana, with all the Man-O-Wars and Baranova with a Mastodon. This is the second day of action. The first day went far over expectation. So, let’s see how day two proceeds.

I went to WTC in 2022 and 2023. Both times were so much fun that I’m returning this year (for a walk through of my experiences for 2022, see here; and for the 2023 experience see here). All list for this year’s WTC are available online. I’ll do this in two parts. This is the second part, covering the second day. For the report on day one see here.

My ambitions is, as always to win at least one and not end up last. So currently I’m over performing. I’m 2-1 so far! I’m not going to do a long a complicated write-up; I’ll just go briefly go through each battle and see if there are any lessons learned.

This year’s Winter Korps lists are Kommander Tatiana Sikora in a heavy armour Man-O-War list and Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova is a (Khador) nimble list. Winter Korps is a big thing at this year’s WTC. According to Longshanks, there were 17 players using the Motherland. The third most popular army. I’ll include the lists and the short description here for completeness sake. So, without any further ado, here are my two lists:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]                             

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Command cards

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Khador – Winter Korps
Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova

   – Avenging Force

   – Fog of War

   – Freezing Grip

   – Mastodon [34]

     HEAD – Fire Support

     RIGHT SHOULDER – Heavy Cannon

     LEFT SHOULDER – Heavy Cannon

     RIGHT ARM – Great Axe

     LEFT ARM – Grinder Fist
AC-2 Bison [10]

AC-2 Bison [10]

Battle Mechanik [2]

Battle Mechanik [2]

Magziev Zariyah Volkova [4]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]
Command cards

    – Blessing of the Gods

    – Break Through

    – High Alert

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell
Total Points   100/100

Winter Korps under Kommander Tatiana Sikora

What can I say? I like Man-O-Wars. Big stumpy infantry, which according to the ad material are neigh unstoppable. So, the arrival of the Annihilator Cadre really made my day as the Suppressors finally got some company in the shape of the Wrecking Crew, a sergeant and an new Man-O-War ‘caster (we all remember the last incarnation of Sorscha).

I have basically taken all the Man-O-Wars that I’m allowed to; save for two Kontrollors (who actually might be pretty cool, but that is for another time). Who better to lead this wall of steel than Tatiana; herself in a Man-O-War armour? As a side note, it seems that female Man-O-War soldiers are smaller than there male counter parts. Once again, she is only on a 40 mm base, whereas everybody else in on a 50 mm base.

The plan is pretty simple. Walk across the field with the Suppressors in front shooting stuff. Follow up with the Wrecking Crew once the lines meet. Finally, have som ‘jacks as a backup plan. Snipers for score, contesting and being annoying. That’s it. How hard can it be?

Winter Korps under Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova

I have been playing Tatiana to some degree. The second list is quite new to me (yes, I’m really well prepared). I got a Mastodon and really wanted to field it. I did manage to paint it. It was done, along with the rest of the army the night before I left for Germany.

I also have two Bisons, and true to my creed of always duplicating I wanted two in the list. Baranova seems like a pretty good choice. Obviously, I’m not going to use the whole “get focus when stuff gets killed by magic” (which I actually think is a trap). However, her main spell Invocation of Wrath is golden for a shooty list of things that are not terrible good at hitting.

To fill up the list, I took all the Pike men I’m allowed. I actually thing that they are the unpolished gem of the Khador military. But more on that in another post, perhaps. Finally, a bit of support to keep everything running smoothly.

Again, I’m sticking to simple plans. The Mastodon in the middle with its entourage (Mechaniks, Volkova, Arkanists and Baranova. A Bison on each flank with two units of Pike men coming up behind it. Shoot alot and finish off with the Pike men. Again, how hard can it be?

Round 4 — Spanish Khymera

First up is a Spanish team. Despite having argued that I can’t see how Khador (or at least my Khador) can do anything about Khymera, I manage to get paired up with exactly that. This list contains two Wyverns and the ubiquitous pig.

Perhaps even more importantly, the time of nation relevant armies seems to been over. I fail to find any thing linking Spain to Khymera. The closest I get is black foot pigs, which is a delicacy. Yet, this year pigs are everywhere. So…

We are playing Wolves at our Heels with two 50 mm objectives (Cohort models), two 40 mm objectives (units) and two caches (pick up the opponent’s cache). In addition, we get to move objectives. I don’t think it is a match for Baranova (nor Tatiana, for that matter). I’m pretty sure that I can’t protect the Mastodon from the two Wyverns and the pig; and the Mastodon is a pretty big investment in the list. So, Tatiana fields her Man-O-Wars. The very nice Spanish player, who it turns out is a mercenary, plays the following list:

Khymaera – Shadowflame Shard
Shyryss, the Flawless Dark

   – Silence of Death

   – Execration of Blackest Night

   – Curse of Shadows

   – Vipex [10]

     HEAD – Asp [1]

     TAIL – Hunter’s Mark [3]

     ARMS – Cleavers [6]
Wyvern [1]

Wyvern [1]

Bellighul, Master of Pain [4]

Carver Ultimus [20]

   – War Boar MMD47
Quick Fang Stalkers [7]

   – Quick Fang Master

Quick Fang Stalkers [7]

Talon Lashers [7]

Wyrmspine Shadowmancers [5]
Command cards

   – Blessing of the Gods

   – Break Through

   – Careful Reconnaissance

   – Hit & Run

   – Power Swell
Total points 100/100

The roll off happens and Shyryss decides to go first. The picture below shows the battle field before all the mayhem.

End of deployment

Shyryss’ first turn is quite uneventful. All the troops move into position. It is a very matriculate advancement with lots of measurement and sticks on the table. It seems that the single shot assassination plan is already taking place. The picture below shows the end of the Khymera advancements.

End of turn 1, round 1

Tatiana looks at the pig and the two mighty Wyverns. She has earlier, during camping done some maths and figure out that actually hurting the pig with the Suppressors is not really a possibility. The Wyverns are a bit easier.

It is quite important to not get charged by the Wyverns. So, the army advances in a pretty well ordered straight line, staying out of the Wyverns’ range. The picture below depicts the end of Tatiana’s first turn.

End of round 1

Round two, party time. Shyryss is still very much in love with the measuring tape and measuring sticks. The advancement is slow and attempts are made to bait Tatiana into moving. It is only on the left flank where somebody is approaching the objective. The picture below shows the end of Shyryss’ second turn.

End of turn 1, round 2

Tatiana is a bit bored. Objectives need to be grabbed in a small hope of actually doing something clever in this game. The Snipers on the left flank moves about, trying to fight whatever small models have arrived near the objective. The snipers on the right flank advances to get near the objective.

Most of the action is in the middle. The Suppressors to the left advances and shoots the pig. One model get a Reposition card to get base to base with the pig. One of the Dire Wolfs also runs to the pig to try and engage it. Everybody else advances and spread out to ensure that the Wyverns can’t land anywhere near Tatiana. The picture below shows what happens when Tatiana takes the bait.

End of round 2

From here it goes really fast. So fast that the photographer forgot to take a picture. More reprimands will be given once back home.

In short, the pig does pig things, move, bulldoze and shots the crap out of the Dire Wolf and one of the Wrecking Crew. Somebody else contributes and clear a landing spot for a Wyvern. The Wyvern has all sorts of spells cast on it by Shyryss, so does Tatiana. In goes the Wyvern and eats Tatiana.

That was it. Quite as expected. I was thinking that it really was pointless to put models on the table. But, it is interesting to see what they could do. Basically nothing. I’m not going to complain about double Wyverns. They are dangerous but can probably be managed. Combined with the pig. That is just silly. I do have to admit, though. That my game was the only one that my opponent won. So, that clearly points to the core problem being the pilot of the Khador list, which is not an unfamiliar problem.

Nevertheless, nice opponent and good game. Our team managed a 0-5. So, I was not the only one messing it up.

Round 5 — US Brineblood

Final opponent this year is saltwater trolls from across the great sea. I have never faced the pirate trolls before. So, this will be fun.

We are playing Battle lines with two 40 mm objectives (units), two 30 mm objectives (solos), and two flags (models). I think planting the Mastodon in the middle between the two 40 mm will be nice. So, Baranova is summoned. The lovely American fields the following US-pirates:

Southern Kriels – Brineblood Marauders
Admiral Boomhowler

   – Black Spot

   – Fortify

   – Fortune

   – Deepborn Dire Troll [14]

     HEAD – Cantankerous [3]

     FIN – Spearback [3]

     TAIL – Hammerhead [5]

     ARMS – Shark Skull Gauntlet [3]

   – Reef Troll [7]

     HEAD – Matey

     BOOZE – Grog Cask [1]

     RIGHT ARM – Harpoon [4]

     LEFT ARM – Boarding Axe [2]
Vorogger [12]

Booty Boss [3]

Booty Boss [3]

Fire Guardian [1]

Fire Guardian [1]

First Mate Hargor Stormjaw [4]

Madame Moriarty [3]

Pyg Battle Brig [11]

Surgeon [3]

Surgeon [3]
Marauder Crew [6]

   – Marauder Crew Bosun [3]

Marauder Crew [6]

   – Marauder Crew Bosun [3]

Marauder Crew [6]

   – Marauder Crew Quartermaster [4]

Marauder Crew [6]

   – Marauder Crew Tapper [1]
Command cards

   – Blessing of the Gods

   – Careful Reconnaissance

   – Hit & Run

   – Power Swell

   – Put the Fires Out
Total points 100/100

Boomhowler wins the roll off and goes first. She deploys everything in a nice line. Baranova follows the standard deployment with the Mastodon in the middle, and a Bison plus two units of Pikeman on each flank. The picture below shows the deployment. Please note that my opponent forgot to deploy the two Fire Guardians as he mistook it for terrain. He was allowed to “deploy” them after his turn. So they pop up on the left side of the next picture.

End of deployment

First turn, Boomhowler advance her troops and spread them out a bit. She really would like to keep out of range of the Mastodon’s guns. That it. The picture below shows the end of the first turn.

End of turn 1, round 1

Baranova is up. On the right flank, the Bison and two units of Pikemen advance in the standard manner. On the left side, an attempt is made to do them same. However, I discover that I forgot that the 2D terrain was actually an impassable. So, they need to move around it. The officer runs to the behind the house to get into position to the objective for the next round. The Mastodon move up the middle, with the rest trailing behind it. The picture below shows the end of round 1.

End of round 1

Second round starts with Boomhowler moving Marauders forward on the right flank. Some of all the attachments and solos does all sorts of tricks to make them tough and what not. The balloon moves into the forest. The rest of her models move cautiously forward. The picture below shows the end of Boomhowler’s moving her troops about.

End of turn 1, round 2

Baranova needs to get stuff rolling. On the right side the Bison charges into the Marauders. It does a little and puts some shots into the balloon. The Pikemen follow up the charge into the Marauders. Marauders are pretty hard to kill. The Mastodon moves up and kills the Balloon. It also slams the Reef Troll, I think.

The two remaining Pikemen units moves up and lines up next to the Mastodon. The leftmost Bison also moves up to put some pressure on the objective. This is best done by killing one of the Fire Guardians. The rest moves up behind the line. Baranova feats. The picture below depicts the situation after first blood.

End of round 2

Boomhowler strikes back; and what a strike. Maraudes are pretty hard hitting. Despite Baranova’s feat, I basically loose all Pikemen, save one. Also the right most Bison disappears in a cloud. This is horrible.

In one short turn, Baranova goes from being kind of OK to be really on her heels. Pikemen do not survie charges from Marauders. ARM 18 and 5 boxes is not nearly enough. Anyway, the picture below shows what remains after Boomhowler’s revenge.

End of turn 1, round 3

Baranova is in trouble. Yet, there is only one way and that is forward. Attempts are made to clean up the objective on the right. However, the Pikeman is clearly shaken and doesn’t really perform. As so many times before it is up to the Royal Mechaniks Society. A Mechanik charges and removes two Marauders.

The Mastodon start up cleaning services. It removes the Vorogger, or Frog with the tongue. A few Marauders and slams the Reef Troll once again.

In the middle, Baranova moves back into the woods. The Arkanists move forward. So does Volkova. On the left, the Bison attempts to do things, without much luck. The Officer charges the remaining Fire Guardian and does nothing. The picture below shows how it looks when Baranova is hanging on with what little remains.

End of round 3

Boomhowler is in great form and is ready to continue the onslaught. On the left side, the Marauders clean out the Bison and the Officer, and moves towards the flag in the bottom left. On the right side, the last Pikeman and the Mechaniks keep the line. In the middle, the Deepborn charges the Mastodon and does some damage. Boomhowler moves out of harms way. The picture below depicts “going down hill in snow” by Ekaterina Baranova.

End of turn 1, round 4

Scenario is actually 2-1 in Baranova’s favour. So not all is lost. The Mastodon is in shape. On the right side, the combined might of the Pikeman and the Mechanik finally clears out the objective. Baranova moves up behind the Mastodon and it goes to work. Some Marauders go away. Not an impressive amount, though. The last Officer runs to contest the objective on the right. That is it. The picture below shows Baranova on overtime.

End of round 4

Boomhowler continues the pressure. Marauders are now at the flag. The last Officer dies valiantly. Some troll moves to the objective on the right. The picture below shows further down the slippery slope.

End of turn 1, round 5

Not a whole lot of time left on the clock. So, it is a matter of grabbing scenario points. The Mastodon moves to the flag on the left. The right side is attempted to be cleaned out, with no luck. Time’s up. We end up at a scenario score of 5-7 in Boomhowler’s favour. The picture below shows the end of the slope.

End of round 5, end of game

This was a really fun game. Very lovely opponent. I loose on time, but was loosing anyway. Scenarion was 5-7 in Boomhowler’s favour.

Saltwater trolls are surprisingly rough. On paper Maraudes look almost benign. However, they can really stack buffs, making them really hard. I don’t think I managed to kill many of them. More experience with these pirates are clearly needed.

The team again went 0-5. So, I’m not alone.

Summary & Lessons Learned

This was fantastic. This year’s WTC was very well organised. Everybody I met were fantastic, as they always are in the Warmachine world.

Somehow I managed to over perform. My goal was to win one match. I managed to go 2-3. As a sweet bonus I became the best placed on my team. I would not have guessed that. Our team went 1-4 and did not end up last. So our goals achieved.

I it always really good to go to these tournaments. There is a lot of good player around, and I get showed how to actually play Warmachine. It is always a very educational experience; and fun!

Pigs on parade – all 119 of them

I can’t write about the WTC 2024 without discussing pigs. 74% of all players brought a little pig and a big pig. An amazing 119 war boars were present. That is just silly! No wonder our friends at Euromachine named WTC, War Boar Team Championship this year. I haven’t gone through all lists. But I suspect that our team was the only one without a single pig.

So, Steamforge or Privateer Press please don’t do that again (I had hoped that you had learned your lesson from the Archon incident at the end of Mark III).

I’m not sure about the idea of mercenaries working for all armies in itself is a good idea. I am sure, however that making one that is clearly so over the top that everybody and their grandma brings one is just dumb. Not only is it pretty hard to deal with. But the ubiquity of a specific model really risks ruins the fun of the game.

Surprisingly, I only faced one. But that was also sufficient. It really needs a lot of work on the rules before it becomes sensible.

That was it. Another fantastic year. Next year is in Sweden. I’m already looking forward to it. the game.

See you all in Sweden.

For the Motherland!

The Motherland at the WTC – third time’s a charm? (day 1)

Igor Khador — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 12:18:00 +0000

This is the third time in a row I go to the WTC. This year it is in Düsseldorf. Mark IV is now a real thing, compared to last year when it was in transition. So, I’m finally brining two proper Winter Korps lists. I’m bringing Tatiana, with all the Man-O-Wars and Baranova with a Mastodon. Based on previous experience, it is going to be a blast. Not only will I get to play a lot of really nice people, I was also be taught a lesson or two on how you actually play Warmachine.

I went to the WTC in 2022 and 2023. Both times were so much fun that I’m returning this year (for a walk through of my experiences for 2022 see here; and for the 2023 experience see here). All list for this year’s WTC are available online. I’ll do this in two parts. First part will cover day one of the tournament and the second instalment will arrive later, covering the second day.

My ambitions is, as always to win at least one and not end up last. I’m not going to do a long a complicated write-up of the lists; I’ll just go briefly through them and focus on describing the battles. Finally, I’ll see if there are any lessons learned.

This year’s Winter Korps lists are Kommander Tatiana Sikora in a heavy armour Man-O-War list and Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova is a (Khador) nimble list. Winter Korps is a big thing at this year’s WTC. According to Longshanks, there are 17 players using the Motherland. The third most popular army. Without any further ado, here are my two lists:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]                             

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Command cards

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Khador – Winter Korps
Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova

   – Avenging Force

   – Fog of War

   – Freezing Grip

   – Mastodon [34]

     HEAD – Fire Support

     RIGHT SHOULDER – Heavy Cannon

     LEFT SHOULDER – Heavy Cannon

     RIGHT ARM – Great Axe

     LEFT ARM – Grinder Fist
AC-2 Bison [10]

AC-2 Bison [10]

Battle Mechanik [2]

Battle Mechanik [2]

Magziev Zariyah Volkova [4]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]

Shock Trooper Pikemen [7]
Command cards

    – Blessing of the Gods

    – Break Through

    – High Alert

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell
Total Points   100/100

Winter Korps under Kommander Tatiana Sikora

What can I say? I like Man-O-Wars. Big stumpy infantry, which according to the ad material from the Khadorian department of materials are neigh unstoppable. So, the arrival of the Annihilator Cadre really made my day as the Suppressors finally got some company in the shape of the Wrecking Crew, a sergeant and a new Man-O-War ‘caster (we all remember the last incarnation of Sorscha).

The plan is pretty simple. Walk across the field with the Suppressors in front shooting stuff. Follow up with the Wrecking Crew once the lines meet. Finally, have som ‘jacks as a backup plan. Snipers for scoring, contesting and being annoying. That’s it. What could possibly go wrong?

Winter Korps under Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova

To fill up the list, I took all the Pikemen I’m allowed. I actually think that they are the unpolished gem of the Khador military. But more on that in another post, perhaps. Finally, a bit of support to keep everything running smoothly.

Again, I’m sticking to simple plans. The Mastodon in the middle with its entourage (Mechaniks, Volkova, Arkanists and Baranova. A Bison on each flank with two units of Pikemen coming up behind it. Shoot a lot and finish off with the Pikemen. How hard can it be?

Round 1 — Italian Skorne (Zaal)

First of is Skorne under Zaal and all the little stone men you can think of (and two rather large ones). This is in some way quite fitting, thinking of all the stone statues the Italians have produced in the last couple of thousand years. They are really hard to kill, in particular under Zaal’s feat. Yet, I don’t think it is an impossible task.

We are playing Payload with two 50 mm objectives (cohort), two 40 mm objectives (units), one 30 mm (solos) and two flags (models). So, objective galore. Despite the fact that the two 50 mm objectives are far appart, and it would be good with more than one ‘jack, I don’t think that the Suppressors are going to do anything against small based and high armoured models. So, Baranova gets the honour of opening the ball. The very nice Italian player is fielding the following army:

Skorne – Exalted
Zaal, The Ancestral Advocate

   – Agonizer [4]

   – Basilisk Krea [6]

   – Basilisk Krea [6]
Supreme Guardian 1 [16]

Supreme Guardian 1 [16]

Abidan the Keeper [4]

Ancestral Guardian [4]

Ancestral Guardian [4]

Extoller Novitiate [2]

Extoller Novitiate [2]

Hakaar the Destroyer [5]
Immortals [6]

Immortals [6]

Immortals [6]

Immortals [6]
Command cards

    – Arcane Forces [1]

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Grave Robbing

    – Hit & Run

    – Put the Fires Out
Total points 100/100

My plan is to shoot a lot, in particular at the large stuff. These Supreme Guardians are dangerous. Also, I hope to survive long enough to chop away at the little stone men with the Pikemen. They should be able to kill a few, in particular if they get to charge.

Both parties roll off. The Italian wins and decides to go first. The picture below depicts the situation after deployment.

Italian statues trying their luck against Khador (deployment)

The little stone man (a two big ones) spend the first turn just advancing. More or less just straight ahead, spreading out a bit. Zaal also drops some spells on different models. Not a lot of stuff happened. The picture below shows the state of the battle field after Zaal’s advancement.

End of turn 1, round 1

It is time for Baranova to react. Her forces advance, and lo and behold, Zaal is actual within range of some of the Mastodon’s guns (when it has Superiority on it). So, Baranova might as well begin by casting Superiority. She also casts Invocation of Wrath (IoW) and Avenging Force. Everybody advances and the Mastodon puts a few shots into Zaal, removing half his boxes. The opponent’s expression was priceless. The picture below depicts the end of round 1.

End of round 1

Round two is typically where the action starts happening (unless you are the lucky owner of a Mastodon). Zaal goes ballistic and feats. He moves in behind an obstacle to avoid the barrage from the Mastodon. All the little stone men runs forward under feat and presents a serious ARM problem. They are now at least ARM 22, which I have often heard is annoying to face. The picture below shows the state of play after the great little stone men rush.

End of turn 1, round 2

This is actually a problem. Have an uncountable small stone men at ARM 22 in my face it difficult. It puts a real scenario pressure on Baranova. There really isn’t a lot to do, but try to chew through it, feat and hope for the best. Everybody chips in, advances and tries to kill stuff. Unfortunately, chip is the key word here. ARM 22 is hard, and chipping is mostly what happened. The only exception is on the left flank where a unit of Pikemen runs along the edge of the board to be near the objective. The picture below shows the sorry state after the army’s attempt at ruining sculptures.

End of round 2

Zaal is clearly in the lead. At least a lot of his stuff can’t charge this turn due to Tatiana’s feat, and the really big stone men can hardly move. Nevertheless, small stone men just walking up still hurts. A unit of Pikemen on the right flank is removed along with an Officer. On the left flank, one unit of Pikemen barely survives with only on model left, and yet another Officer dies. In the middle, the Mastodon is swamped and surrounded. Zaal makes a Cygnar advance to stay out of range of the Mastodon. Scenario score is now 4-1 in Zaal’s favour. The state can be seen in the picture below.

End of turn 1, round 3

Baranova is in trouble. Far too much stuff in her part of the field. The pressure is less on the right flank, so Baranova needs to focus on the left flank to see if something can get around the obstacle and threaten Zaal. She does what she always do and cast IoW. She then moves left and let her troops loose on Zaal. The Bison moves up and shoots everything at Zaal, with some effect. The Mastodon follows suit and offload in to Zaal. It does quite a lot of damage, but Zaal can transfer. Beasts go down. Yet, Zaal finally goes down as well. The picture below shows the result of Baranova’s valiant last stand and how it looks when she looses on scenario, yet pulls a victory out of a Mastodon.

End of round 3, end of game

Zaal and all the statues is still a viable opponent, despite it being a Legacy army. Baranova was loosing on scenario 7-1 in round 3. They produce a tremendous scenario pressure. If the combined shooting of a Bison and Mastodon had not been where it was she would surely have lost. It was a fun game and the opponent was lovely. We both had fun.

The round ended with our team loosing 2-3, where only our Orgoth player managed a victory. Our Storm Legion player lost to Dust, Circle to Grymkin, and Cryx to a second Dusk player. The excellent thing is that I have already achieved one of my goals: win at least one match! It was a good start to the day and the WTC.

Round 2 — Canadian Orgoth

Second round is against one of the Canadian teams. This time I get Orgoth. So far, there seems to be connections between my opponents’ nationalities and the lists I face. This time it is Sea Raiders coming from across the Western sea. My impression of Canadians are quite different. They are normally polite and pleasant. Who would have guessed that they are actually the Orgoth? I have traditionally had som trouble with Orgoth. I know I don’t like Harriers, so they need to die fast. Also, I have never faced a Sky Bomber before. So, that’ll be a treat.

We are playing Recon with two flags (two models within 2″), two 30 mm objectives (solos) and two caches (pick up the opponent’s cache). I don’t think this is a list for Baranova, with actually any hard core arguments, except for Suppressors liking to shoot stuff that is not on small bases. This will be a job for Tatiana. The very pleasant Orgorth – I mean Canadian is fielding the following list:

Orgoth – Sea Raiders
Horruskh, The Thousand Wraths

   – Redline

   – Second Sight

   – Jackal [6]

     HEAD – Arc Node [2]

     RIGHT ARM – Mace [3]

     LEFT ARM – Clawed Fist [1]
Sky Bomber [15]

Grhotten Champion [5]

Grhotten Champion [5]

Grhotten Keeper [5]

Grhotten Keeper [5]

Halexus the Warlord [4]

Maulgreth, The Charnel Plague [4]

Reaver Commander [3]

Reaver Commander [3]
Gnashers [9]

Gnashers [9]

Rhok Harriers [10]

Ulkor Axers [8]

Ulkor Axers [8]
Command cards

    – Blessing of the Gods

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Put the Fires Out

    – Savagery [1]

    – True Inspiration
Total points 100/100

We both roll of and Horruskh goes first. The picture below shows the clean battle field after deployment.

End of deployment

Horruskh’s first turn is as event full as most other first turns. Everybody basically just moves forward. Some upkeep spell goes onto the Rokh Harriers, and another one on Horruskh. The picture below shows the state of the battle field after the Orgoth advance.

End of turn 1

Tatiana follow up on the Orgoth advancement by just moving the wall of steel forward. Iron Flesh goes on a unit of Suppressors, Puissance goes on a unit of Wrecking Crew and Avenging Force on Tatiana. That’s it. End of the shuffling forward round can be seen in the picture below.

End of round 1

Horruskh is playing it safe. Only the Sky Bomber actually does anything. It moves forward shoots at the middle of Tatiana’s line and moves back again. One of the Dire Wolfs catches fire. Most other troops just shuffle about. Shield guard are brought into better positions. The picture below shows the end of the first turn in round 2.

End of turn 1, round 2

Tatiana is slightly bored. She need some action. So, she starts by giving Desperate Pace to the Suppressors on the left side and cast Tactical Supremacy on the Wrecking Crew just behind them. The Suppressors move forward and the two teleporting models end up sufficient close to shooting something. One of the Axers are killed and some pressure is put on Horruskh. Everybody else just walks forward and stays out of charge range. The picture below shows the result of Tatiana’s baiting.

End of round 2

It is unclear if Horruskh took the bait; or perhaps more if it was a bait at all. What is clear is that stuff happened. First and foremost, the ambushing unit of Gnashers arrive on the left flank. The Harriers fly way forward and put damage onto the Dire Wolf in front. This is followed up by a unit of Axers and Halexus. Who, in combination kills the poor Dire Wolf.

On the right flank, the Sky Bomber kills all the Snipers – but the dog survives! Axers and Gnashers move forward. Finally, the two Grhotten Keepers line up in front of Horruskh to hide him from the horrors of the battle field. Horruskh feats. The picture below show the result of Orgoth actions.

End of turn 1, round 3

OK, the Orgoth have arrived at Tatiana’s doorstep. She is clearly going to feat (perhaps she should have done it in the last round?). She casts Positive Charge on the remaining Dire Wolf in the middle, and moves a bit forward to catch as many of the troops as possible in the feat.

On the left flank, the Sniper move into the cloud a tries to shoot the Gnashers, but only does one point of damage per shot. On the right flank, the dog is now alone and moves towards the middle to supply Mark Target to the rest of the army. Now ‘axe to face’ can commence in the middle, and ‘bullet to face’ on the right flank.

An Officer gives Pathfinder to the Suppressors on the right, who can then move forward through the forest and shoot at anything and everything. The unit of Gnashers are partly removed and some damage goes into the Sky Bomber. They are followed-up by the unit of Wrecking Crew, which removes the Gnashers. All in all, not terrible successful. But, Horruskh’s feat is hard to chew through. +3 ARM and super tough is difficult (not that any tough rolls were successful). The Dire Wolf follows suit, just to be ready for next round.

To the left, the Wrecking Crew and the last Dire Wolf cleans out the Harriers. Tactical Supremacy bring one model further into Horruskh’s lines. The picture below shows the battle field whilst waiting for Horrukh’s revenge.

End of round 3

Horruskh is going to strike back. On the right flank the Sky Bomber flies behind the Man-O-Wars and clean out all of the support models, except for one Arkanist. It seems that these flying blips needs to be taken care of earlier. The Gnashers follow up and attempts to chew through the Man-O-Wars. So far, the right flank is actually solid. Nothing much happens on the left flank, save for the expected eating of Snipers by the ambushing unit of Gnashers.

More stuff happens in the middle, where Horruskh commits his soldiers to attempt a kind of wedge manoeuvre aimed at getting to Tatiana. He himself hides out in the back. I guess they did pick up on Cygnar tactics the last time they were around. Two Wrecking Crew goes down. That is about it. The picture below shows the result of Horrukh’s revenge. Scenario score is actually 6-4 in Tatiana’s favour.

End of turn 1, round 4

It is a difficult point in the game. Tatiana is up on scenario, but scoring is becoming more difficult. Also, there is a Sky bomber in the back yard contesting an objective. I’m thinking scenario is still an option. Tatiana orders the Arkanists to spray the Gnashers in the scenario terrain on the left, which doesn’t do a lot. The Officer assist, which helps a bit. She will have to clean up her self. She shouts Desperate Pace to Sergie, charges and after some axe to face two of them are down. Still one left unfortunately.

On the right flank, the Dire Wolf cleans out the Sky Bomber, with a bit of help from some Suppressors. The now allows Sergei to move over to the objective to score. The last remaining Wrecking Crew member picks up the cache. A single Gnasher disappears along the way, somehow. The dog contests the terrain.

I’m running really short on time (41 seconds), so that’s it. This leaves the scenario score at 8-5 in Tatiana’s favour. The picture below shows the situation.

End of round 4

Horruskh needs to do something or Tatiana is getting a victory on scenario. Unfortunately, he has 15 minuets on the clock. I can’t understand what I have spend so much time on.

On the right flank, my dog is killed. There really isn’t a lot of dog people around. That is one scenario point secured. A Grhotten Champion charges Sergei and cleans out that scenario. That is another scenario point secured. The last Gnasher charges Tatiana. The rest doesn’t really matter. 41 seconds before doom is depicted below. Scenario is 8-7 in Tatiana’s favour.

End of turn 1, round 5

OK. So 41 seconds to make sure I win on scenario in the next turn. How hard can it be? Plan is as follows: both ‘jacks run to contest. Tatiana kills the Gnasher and Officer joint to score. That will leave the scenario at 9-7, which unfortunately is the best I can do.

Hey ho, here we go. ‘jacks run. Tatiana starts hitting, or rather attempts. After a lot of dice rolling, including missing and low damage, she finally makes the killing blow. The Gnasher rolls tough! I think it is the first time in this battle that my opponent actually made a tough roll. Time’s up. Below is a rendition of the end of Tatiana’s stand.

End of round 5, end of game

Horrusk is hard. I do, however think it was a pretty good game. With some better piloting, I’m pretty sure a victory was within reach. A bit more aggressive and scenario pressure would be good. I have no idea what I spend so much time on.

Our team managed to go 0-5 against the Canadians. Nevertheless, spirits are high. We are having a blast.

Round 3 — Italian Infernals

Last round for today is against the second Italian team. The logic of playing an army that matches your country seems to be recurring. First it was Skorne stone men fittingly reflecting the long and proud tradition of stone statues in Italy; the raiders from across the western seas; now, is is Infernals reflecting the long religious fascination of such creatures in Italy; and not the least the birth place of Dante Alighieri.

I have always had a pretty hard time with the Infernals. All of this summoning beast in the middle of the game by sacrificing solos is highly disruptive of well formulated battle plans. So, I guess solos must die for my hand, rather than the Infernals.

We are playing Invasion with two 50 mm objectives (Cohort models), two 40 mm objectives (units), and two flags (models). Here also objectives are moved. In a sense, this is probably a scenario for Tatiana. However, I need to kill solos fast, so I’m opting for long ranged fire power. This is a match for Baranova. The second pleasant Italian for today is fielding the following list:

Infernals
Zaateroth, The Weaver of Shadows
   – Lamenter [7]

   – Tormentor [12]

   – Tormentor [12]

   – Tormentor [12]
Great Princess Regna Gravnoy [4]

Foreboder [3]

Hermit of Henge Hold [4]

Lord Roget D’Vyaros [4]

Saxon Orrik [4]

The Wretch [4]

Valin Hauke, the Fallen Knight [5]
Cultist Band [4]

   – Master Preceptor Orin Midwinter [3]

Cultist Band [4]

Griever Swarm [6]

Howlers [7]

Howlers [7]
Command cards

    – Blessing of the Gods

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Grave Robbing

    – Hit & Run

    – Power Swell
Total points 100/100

My plan is to move up fast. Shoot as many solos as possible as fast as possible and take it from there. Both parties roll off. Zaateroth decides to go first. I pick the side with a hill where Baranova must likely is going to hang out the rest of the game. After deployment, the field looks like the picture below.

End of deployment

First round for Zaateroth is as uneventful as most other first rounds. Everything just goes forward. The most important thing is perhaps Regna Gravoy casting Deceleration, which we don’t like. Zaateroth casts Rites of Torment, which probably is going to be important further on. The picture below shows the end of Zaateroth’s advance.

End of turn 1

Baranova’s first turn is also quite uneventful. On the right flank, a unit of Pikemen run to the objective to be ready to score. I suspect they are camping there for the rest of the battle. Baranova casts Avenging Force and IoW, expecting the Mastodon to be able to shoot something. She then moves up on the hill, where she most likely is going to camp for the rest of this skirmish.

The Mastodon moves forward into some fire and unleash a shot towards the Desolator. I think I might have measured wrong or something. Nothing happens. Everybody else just moves forward to be ready for next round. The picture below shows the result of Baranova’s movements.

End of round 1

It is apparently Zaateroth’s feat turn. +3 DEF for everybody and models can be placed 3″ if I miss a model. Mostly everything advances. Most importantly, a unit of Howlers make it into contact with a unit of Pikemen of the left flank; and kill one of them. Naughty Howlers. One of the solos gets sacrificed, and yet another Tormentor appears. That is basically it. The result can be seen in the picture below.

End of turn 1, round 2

Action turn. Baranova needs to make some trouble. She is obviously going to feat and cast IoW. She’ll upkeep Avenging Force and Superiority. But before that, the Mastodon takes the Avenging Force shot and removes some of the Griever Swarm.

Baranova carries out the very complicated plan and continues camping on the hill. Camping looks like fun, so the Pikemen on the right flank follows suit at the objective. In the middle, the Mastodon advances, after being filled up by the Arkanists and commences the barrage into the enemy’s line. The rest of the Griever Swarm disappears, as does the guy on the horse (Valin Hauke) and two cultist from having a Tormentor slammed over them – Momentum is fun. The Bison and a unit of Pikemen move up, leaving the Arkanists and an Officer to score.

On the left flank, it is a bit more complicated. The Bison moves up and hammers the Howlers. The Officer follows suit. The, until now engaged Pikemen unit is now disengaged and can charge to the middle of the table to kill a Howler from another unit and screen the Mastodon a bit. This opens up a charge lane for the last unit of Pikemen, who proceeds to take out the Howler unit to the left. That’s it. A somewhat successful turn, I think. Scenario score is 3-2 in Baranova’s favour. The result is depicted in the picture below.

End of round 2

Zaateroth is somewhat annoyed with the lack of success of the feat round. Even more annoyed when I re-read Baranova’s feat text out loud. Nevertheless, trickery is the game of Infernals and Zaateroth demonstrates how. On the left flank, a unit of cultist run to the objective to score. Some solo runs towards the Bison and becomes yet another Desolator. A Tormentor and the centre unit of Howlers make it to the Pikemen and kill one of them. They are dangerously close to Baranova.

The Infernals haven’t got anything on the right flank. In the middle, stuff just shuffles around cursing at Baranova’s feat. Scenario score is now 4-5 in Zaateroth’s favour. The picture below shows the situation.

End of turn 1, round 3

Baranova needs to get something done. She is behind on scenario score and there are Infernals in the front yard, ruining a perfectly fine camping trip. Luckily, her army is more or less intact. She will as always upkeep Superiority but drops Avenging Force. She will also go first and cast IoW, and take a pot shot at a Howler.

On the right flank, the Pikemen are still enjoying the out in the nature camping experience. The Bison, on the other side, rams into the Desolater and does some damage. The Arkanists fuel up the Mastodon and hangs back to score. The Officer moves forward to look closer at the battle line. Finally, the other unit of Pikemen charges the Tormentor, but does an unimpressive amount of damage.

In the centre, the Mastodon walks forward and apply axe to face. This is followed by the fist and small cannons. Finally, ending with more axe to face. Unfortunately, it does not succeed in being disengaged. So the main guns remain silent.

On the left flank, the Bison moves to contest the Objective and shoots at some cultists. Not everybody is cleared out. The only main problem now is the Desolator being a bit too close to Baranova. The two Officers must step up. The first charge is so-so. Yet, the second Officer has her eyes on a promotion and charges with all she got. Weapon Master is sometimes impressive. The Desolator is ARM 19 and 24 boxes. The Officer is only POW 9 – but Weapon Master. She rolls 6,6,5,6 resulting in 8 points of damage going through. Since they have Dual Attack and Pistol, this is followed up with a shot from the Hand Cannon rolling 6,5 on the damage dice for an additional 6 points of damage. That is 58% of the Desolators boxes removed. Medals are on the way. That’s it. Scenario score is at 6-5 in Baranova’s favour. The picture below shows the result of a pretty OK turn for Baranova.

End of round 3

This is clearly a setback for Zaateroth. The Mastodon is in her face, she has lost the right flank and is slowly loosing the left flank. It is time for more trickery. Assassin run upcoming.

Somehow she managed to get a Tormentor near Baranova. There must have been some solo able to run down there. Luckily, I think it can’t attack when being summoned. The Lamenter almost makes it down to Baranova as well. The Pikemen unit in the middle are killed along with the Bison. Finally, a little Foreboder is put in front of the Mastodon to stop it from walking up to Zateroth.

That is more or less it for this turn. Baranova is partly in control of the scenario. So, score is now 8-5 in her favour. The situation is shown in the picture below.

End of turn 1, round 4. Almost end of game

Turn 2 of round 4 can begin. Baranova is close to being in potential trouble. There are horrors in her face. And there isn’t really anybody near to help her out of this pickle. Also, the Mastodon can’t walk up or charge Zaateroth due to lack of landing space. The Bison is occupied so there is no good way of getting rid of the Foreboder. Am I really about to snap defeat from the jaws of victory (again)?

Whilst thinking out all sorts of creative manoeuvres to get rid of the Foreboder, it hits me. The Mastodon is an arc node… This is an almost unheard of feature in the Khadorian army. In addition, Baranova has Gallows. So if the Mastodon can’t come to Zaateroth, Zaateroth will have to come to the Mastodon. New plan: cast IoW, cast Gallows and boost to hit. Then walk briskly away from the Tormentor, just in case. Gallows hits and I actually roll a 6 on the dice. Zaateroth is now in the face of the Mastodon. I guess there is no point is detailing what happens when a POW 24 axe (times two), a POW 21 fist, and a bit of Grinder shots connects with an Infernal master. However, it turns out that Infernals can transfer like a Hordes faction (I completely forgot). I will just look at this as a bonus. Not only does Zaateroth go down, but a few of the Horrors do as well.

Baranova takes the game. The royal photographer was so thrilled that he forgot to take pictures. Reprimands will be given.

Infernals are still dangerous. I think they could have won given they have had some other priorities. Nevertheless, the Empress is victorious and I have managed to over perform. I’m now 2-1. Two of my colleagues are also victorious. So, the team is now 2-1. We had a fun an intense game and our team is doing pretty good. What a lovely way of ending the day.

Summary & Lessons Learned

So far, it has been a marvellous WTC. The germans have managed to organise a fantastic event. I have, as always only met nice people and have had fun games that both players enjoyed. I’m so much looking forward to tomorrow. The second instalment of battle reports describing day two will arrive shortly, I hope.

Until next time. For the Motherland!

Kommander Tatiana Sikora vs. Lord Exhumator Scaverous

Igor Khador — Sat, 06 Jul 2024 14:39:00 +0000

Cryx is at it again. After their loss by Skarre, Scaverous is send to the shores of Khador to wreck havoc. The Empress dispatches Kommander Sikor and her Man-O-Wars once againg to deal with the Cryx menace. This Cryx detachment consists of all lot of ghostwalking banes. It is a close one. Yet, all of this ghostwalking becomes troublesome for Tatiana.

This is the second time within a short period of time that I encounter Cryx. The last time was quite a success (see here for details). This list is quite different, except that it in a sense also is dude-spam. I actually think that the Man-O-Wars and Tatiana can make the cut. However, this is still one of my first trial runs with Tatiana and the new Man-O-Wars. So, I’m still learning how to pilot this list. The two lists facing off are:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]                             

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Command cards

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Cryx – Dark Host
Lord Exhumator Scaverous

   – Deathripper [4]

   – Deathripper [4]

   – Erebus [14]
Wraith Engine [11]
Bane Lord Tartarus [5]

Machine Wraith [2]

Necrotech [1]

Necrotech [1]

Necrotech [1]

Pistol Wraith [4]

Pistol Wraith [4]

Soul Trapper [1]
Bane Knights [7]

   – Bane Knight Officer [2]

Bane Knights [7]

   – Bane Knight Officer [2]

Bane Riders [9]

Bane Warriors [7]

Bane Warriors [7]

The Winthershadow Cobine [6]
Command Cards

   – Break Through

   – Duck and Cover! [1]

   – Infiltration

   – Grave Robbing

   – Power Swell
Total Points   100/100

A note to the reader: I’m proxying two units: One of the Wrecking Crews is Shock Trooper Pikemen on large bases. The other one, is one of the Suppressor units that are Shock Trooper Gunners on large bases.

Initial Thoughts

Cryx are back. This time it is in a completely different configuration than the last time (see here for details). There is a whole lot of Banes and a bunch of solos; yet, not many ‘jacks. Quite a lot of Stealth, which is annoying as Tatiana’s list relies on quite a lot of shooting (in particular against larger bases).

The Banes are really mobile. They are all Ghostly. So, except for line of sight, Ghostly basically ignore all obstacles and models. So, hiding and board control is difficult. They can hit pretty hard, in particularly on the charge. The Knights and Riders have Brutal Charge (24 or 25 points of damage on average) and the Warriors are Weapon Masters (25 points of damage on the average). There are many of them and Tartarus can bring Banes back when he kills stuff, so can Scaverous when casting Excarnate.

Scaverous, himself is no slouch in close combat. He is effectively MAT 8 and has a Thresher attack. Luckily it is “only” POW 14. So, the Man-O-Wars are comparatively safe. His feat reduces his cost of spell casting by one and increases Tatiana’s with one (assuming she is wihtin 14″ of him). The latter is not too important as Tatiana is not the big spell caster.

He brings four spells, where Telekinesis is probably the main attraction. Under feat he can cast it 7 times, potentially through his two Arc Nodes. Feast of Worms makes a hazadarous could. I’m guessing that is no the most prominent spell in his arsenal. Excarnate can add grunts to most of the Banes if it kill a dude. Finally, Death Ward gives +2 ARM to a model or unit. This could bring Knights to ARM 20 or Warriors to ARM 17.

There are only three ‘jacks. Two Deathrippers, which probably are there primarily as Arc Nodes. Erebus is the main beatstick. Since it is bonded to Scaverous he is also an Arc Node. He has Overtake and Poltergeist, which doesn’t really matter a lot as the Man-O-Wars are Sturdy. The Dire Wolfs are obviously affect. Erebus is quite dangerous in close combat. He is POW 17, yet he has Freeze on his attack. So, stationary on a stick.

Finally, there is the big guy. The Wraith Engine, which honestly looks a bit scary. It has Dark Shroud (enemies suffers -2 ARM within 2″), which is highly annoying with such a larg footprint. It also has Unhallowed giving +2 ARM within 10″ against ranged and arcane attacks; also annoying.

Tatiana runs the same list as against Skarre (see here for details).

Deployment

We are playing the Steamroller 2024 scenario Payload. Tatiana wins the roll-off and goes first. Scaverous picks the side with the extra objective (Payload is asymmetrical) .

Tatiana deploys with a ‘jack on each flank. There is a Man-O-War module adjacent to each ‘jack towards the middle. Everything else goes in the middle. She deploys quite a lot to the right. This might be a wrong move as the extra objective is in the diagonal corner. However, there is kind of a plan of escorting the moveable objective forward whilst protecting the house from the opponents moveable objective.

End of Deployment

Scaverous deploys a kind of sub-group on the left flank, consisting of a unit of Bane Knights, the Machine Wraith, a Necrotech, a Deathripper, the Soul Trapper, and a Pistol Wraith. That is quite a good group to capture both objectivs and escort the 50 mm one.

On the right side, the Bane Riders on the far flank. There is also a Pistol Wraith and the seond Deathripper. Everything elses goes more or less in the middle. Also the Wraith Engine.

The picture above depicts the situation after deployment.

Round 1

Of we go for round 1. I’ll try to execute my plan and secure the right half of the table whilst having some annoyance ready for the left side.

End of turn 1

On the righ side the Dire Wolf moves up and prepares to hug the obejctive. The Snipers move into the forest of benefit from concealment. The Suppressors moves as far ahead as possible to be ready to shoot stuf, and the Wrecking Crew tags along behind them. Behind it all, the Arkanists prepare themselves for Empowering in the coming turn.

Tatiana casts Avenging Force on herself. Iron Flesh on the Suppressors on the left and Puissanceon the Wrecking Crew on the right. She shouts Desperate Pace to the Suppressors with Iron Flesh and moves up behind the wall.

On the left side, the Dire Wolf moves side ways behind the house to be ready to defend the objective against the moving 50 mm and perhaps at some point harass Scaverous’ left sub-army. The Snipers moves fra ahead behind a big rock to be ready to pick out models. The Suppressors run forward, followed by the Wrecking Crew. The final Dire Wolf moves to Tatiana along with Sergei. The rest just distrubute behind the front line.

The picture above displays the result of Tatiana’s advancement.

End of round 1

Scaverous starts of as expected. The gruop on the left flank moves forward and secures the two objectives.

On the right side, the Bane Riders push very far ahead to harass the flank. The Pistol Wraith also runs wide. Finally, the Deathripper tags along behind teh Bane Riders.

In the middel, the Wraith Engine moves up in the middle as an anker. Banes spread out on both side of it. Tartarus tags along on the right side. Scaverous decides to hang back behind The Winthershadow Cobine. That was it. A whole lot of Banes quite far up the table.

The picture above shows the battlefield after the extended deployment phase.

Round 2

Round 2 — the party can begin. There is a lot of small Banes in the middle of the battlefield. Let’s see if it is possible to get rid of them.

End of turn 1

Tatiana kicks off the party. She upkeeps her spells; moves in behind the well to make sure that her feat can cover enugh area, without getting too much into harms way; and feats.

On the right side, the Suppressors move forward and peppers the Bane Riders until the disappear. A few remaining shots go into the Bane Warriors in the middle. The Snipers can now move forward mostly into the field and take out three Bane Warriors. So far, so good.

In the middle, the Officer shouts Press the Advantage to the Suppressors giving them Swift Hunter. They then aim and starts shooting. Unfortunately, they are shooting a small bases; and despite rerolls they can’t really hit anything. A few Banes die, but nothing amazing. They do, however spread out making room for the Wrecking Crew that charges Banes, after the other Officer have shouted Pathfinder to them.

On the left side, the Dire Wolf runs forward along the wall of the house. It is now ready for the next round. The Snipers move out from behind the rock and pick out some Banes and kill two. They then Reposition to fill up some area.

Back to the right side. There is now room for the second Wrecking Crew to enter the fray. This also opens up the possibility for the Dire Wolf on the rigth to move in front of the Objective and for the Arkanist to follow behind. The few remaining models just move up behind the frontline.

All in all, an OK turn. Not impressive in killing power, but OK. The picture above shows the disarray after Tatiana’s turn.

End of round 2

Scaverous’ troops ready them selfs to hit back. He feats and probably cast some spells. For some reason that is beyond me, I managed to make a very nice Wraith Engine size hole behind my front line. There is just a single Wrecking Crew standing in the way. However, being moved 2″ forward by Telekinese and charging, and with the help of being Incorporeal, it is now in the middle of Tatiana’s army. Luckily, it doesn’t really manage to do any significant damage against Man-O-Wars under feat.

On the right side, the Pistol Wraith runs forward to contest the Objective. Tartarus moves in and kills the dog (why is it always the dog….) and a single Sniper. This means two additional Banes in the unit next to him. The Deathripper kills the Sniper near the forest on Scaverous’ half.

The left flank is plauged the whold group of Banes and a Pitol Wraith, who manage to remove the entire Sniper unit (including the dog!).

The Bane Warriors in the middle removes a Wrecking Crew and cluttes up the centre. This leaves room for Erebus who charges and kill another Wrecking Crew in the same unit. Also a Wrecking Crew from the other unit.

That was it. Except the small and insignificant Wraith Engine that appeared smack in the middle of Tatian’s army, it was actually a pretty good turn for her. I’m pretty sure it could have been much more bloody.

The picture abow shows the chaos at the end of the second round.

Round 3

OK. There is a Wraith Engine in our midst. But besides that, Tatiana and her loyal army is actually in a pretty good state. Let’s see if she can press the advantage.

End of turn 1

First of all, there is the roar of Vengeance from the two Wrecking Crews. One whacks the Wraith Engine, the other one a random Bane. Tatiana uses her move from Avenging force and also hits the Wraith Engine. But it is a hard target. A base ARM of 18 + Death Ward from Scaverous gives it ARM 20. That is rough.

The turn can now begin for real. Tatiana moves back to her well. Hitting Wraith Engines makes you thirsty. She drops Avenging Force, upkeeps the other two and cast Positive Charge on the Dire Wolf to her right. The Supperssors to the left moves around a bit and starts shooting at the Wraith Engine. Despite the effective POW of 14, damaging ARM 20 is difficult. So, one of the Suppressors change target to the unit of Bane Warriors, which improves it’s self esteem a bit. Anyway, it is clear that help is required.

Help arrives from the Dire Wolf to the left. The Arkanists fills it up with focus; and finally, Damien remembers that he can cast Positive Charge. The Dire Wolf walks leisurely up to the Wraith Engine. Being POW 19 helps. The Wraith Engine disappears.

The Wrecking Crew from the right moves in, kills a Bane and Smites Erebus. This makes it easy picking for the Dire Wolf equiped with a Long Axe and Positive Charge. POW 18 against ARM 18 is straight dice. 28 boxes is not a lot; in partiuclar when it has already been damaged. It dissapears.

The field is slowly opening up. The right most Suppressors can now move behind enemy lines. They kill a Necrotech and put a few pot shots into Scaverous. It does not damage him a lot. By the effect of having three Man-O-Wars at your door step has aome effect.

Finally, the Arkanists on the right sprays the Pistol Wraith off the board. The Dire Wolf shuffles left to cover a bit for Tatiana and the two Officers runs in front of her to screen her. The picture above shows how a Cryx army under pressure looks.

End of round 3, end of game

Scaverous is on his heels. He needs to come up with something. He activates first, charges the Suppressors and take out two Suppressors and the contesting Sniper. Tartarus the charges the Officers, take them out and returns two Banes. This now leaves room for the Bane Warriors on the right. After a lot of measuring and measuring and measuring they make the charge on Tatiana. Four Banes arrive. Despite a heoric defence by Tatiana, and some shouting of obscure remarks, she goes down.

The picture above shows the result of a Cryx hail Mary (or whatever the hail). Scenario is at 4 to 3 in Scaverous’ favour and the game is done.

Final Thoughts

Once again I managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of vitory. It was very much like the battle against Sparkhamme (see here for details). Screening is quite difficult in MK IV. Nevertheless, this was yet another game where we both had fun.

I’m clearly getting better at piloting this list. I still think that Snipers are a bit lacklusting. The Man-O-Wars are peforming. Suppressors are not good against small bases. Perhaps I should thing about exchanging Snipers for Shock Trooper Gunners. There is an extra RAT, yet worse range and they do have a larger footprint.

On the positive side, Damien remebered that he can cast a spell — hurrah!

Until next time.
For the Motherland!

Kommander Tatiana Sikora vs. Mechanik Adept Sparkhammer

Igor Khador — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:39:00 +0000

Cygnar is on the move again. Probably encouraged by Madison Calder’s success at the last crossroad. This time they are sending their Cadre ‘caster Sparkhammer — and what a hammer it is. Tatiana is dispatched again to make up for her past mistakes. She is again bringing her Man-O-Wars. She does a pretty good job until the last second where a ‘jack breaks through and ends the game.

I have a thing with Cygnar. I can’t seem to break them. I’m guessing most of the problem lies with the man behind the scene. He (yes, that is me) is simply not proficient enough with this list. However, practices makes perfect so I’m trying again with the same list as the last time I got beaten (see here for my last loss). So, let’s see what happens. The two lists are as follows:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance
   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Command cards

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Cygnar – Storm Legion
Mechanik Adept Sparkhammer

   – Deflection

   – Lighting Pulse
   – Courser [8]

     HEAD – Arc Node

     RIGHT ARM – Heavy Stormthrower

     LEFT ARM – Voltaic Punching Spike

   – Courser [7]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Heavy Stormthrower

     LEFT ARM – Voltaic Punching Spike

   – Stryker [12]

     HEAD – Relentless Charge

     RIGHT ARM – Voltaic Halberd

     LEFT ARM – Stormblazer Cannon

   – Stryker [12]

     HEAD – Relentless Charge

     RIGHT ARM – Voltaic Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Stormblazer Cannon

   – Stryker [12]

     HEAD – Relentless Charge

     RIGHT ARM – Voltaic Javelin

     LEFT ARM – Stormblazer Cannon
Weather Station [3]

Weather Station [3]

Weather Station [3]

Weather Station [3]

Zephyr [7]
Arcane Mechaniks [5]

Arcane Mechaniks [5]

Storm Callers [5]

Storm Callers [5]

Storm Lance Legionnaires [10]
Command cards

    – Blessing of the Gods

    – Break Through

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – High Alert

    – Old Faithful
Total Points   100/100

A note to the reader: I’m proxying two units: One of the Wrecking Crews is Man-O-War Demolition Corps on large bases. The other one, is one of the Suppressor units that are Man-O-War Bombardiers on large bases. Both are painted red.

The Cygnar player is also proxying: Three of the Weather Stations are just blank bases, so is the Zephyr. One of the Storm Callers are a unit of Storm Vanes.

Initial Thoughts

Sparkhammer is very new to me. I have basically no idea what he does. He has a machine on him that allows him to extend his control range to 16″, add 2 to electric damage rolls within his control range, or reduce the cost of each spell he casts by one. Pretty nifty. His feat gives him all three and friendly models can reroll storm call attacks. Seems a bit weak, but there is probably something in the details.

He brings Inhospitable Ground, which I’m not too worried about; Jackhammer, which he can actually cast 7 times when picking the ‘redcue cost’ ability — that is quite a lot of extra attacks on a ‘jack; Mobility for +2 SPD and Pathfinder for his battlegroup — pretty good; Sunhammer, which gives d3 damage om ‘jacks advancing in his control; Deflection for +2 DEF against ranged attacks — for everybody!; and Lighting Pulse, for a kind of POW 10 chain lighting. A pretty good set of spells.

He brings five ‘jacks: two Coursers and three Strykers. The two former brings sprays and one of them is an arc node, which doesn’t really makes any sense in this list. The latter are the normal beatsticks. Three different hand weapons, but all the same POW 14 gun and POW 10 hazard.

In addition to the five ‘jacks, he is bringing a load of stuff that can bring lightning down: four Weather Stations and two Storm Callers. They are annoying. There are two units of the best mechanics in town. A unit of the Storm Lancers, which are normally very annoying. Finally, the new apperance (or in this case not-apperance) of the Zephyr. It is a bit uncelar what this does that is particullary dangerous.

On paper I think Tatiana and the Khadorian wall of steel should be good here. Except for the Strykers and the Lancers it is not a particular hard hitting list; even though Sparkhammer can stack stuff for damage. I’m not going to go through the list i details here. There is some more information here.

I think I’ll just stick to my standard plan for Tatiana and Man-O-Wars: move as fast as Khador possible up the board and grab some real estate. Then feat, survive and kill stuff. No point in making plans to complicated.

Deployment

War are playing the Steamroller 2024 scenario Two Fronts. Sparkhammer wins the roll-off and goes first. Tatiana picks the side with the nice L-shaped wall, which will be very nice to hide behind.

Sparkhammer deploys far to the left with only a unit of Storm Callers on that flank. He is probably going to be hiding behind the houses for the whole game. All the ‘jacks, save for one Courser deploys next to him towards the middel. There are two Weather Stations on each side of the ‘jack brick. The fast stuff goes to the right.

End of deployment

Tatiana deploys a unit of Snipers on each flank (as always). A Man-O-War module (Suppressors, Wrecking Crew and Officer) on each side. The Arkanist of each side to be able to Empower but also spray stuff. Everything else goes in the middle.

This picture above shows the situation after deployment.

Round 1

The first round is probably going to be just as eventful as all other first rounds. Let the extended deployment phase comence.

End of turn 1

Sparkhammer sends his Zephyr up the right flank along with a unit of Strom Callers that move into the forest. A unit of Mechaniks moves in behind thee forest. The Storm Lancers move forward and one of the repositions into the forest. They are making room for two advancing Weather Stations to move though next round.

On the left flank, a unit of Storm Callers, along with a Weather Station moves slowly forward shielding themselves behind the two houses.

Everything else moves up in the middle. The three Strykers line up from the house to block line of sight. Sparkhammer himself moves up and hides behind the house. He casts Deflection and Sunhammer. The remaining Mechaniks also move forward. That was it.

This picture above depitcs the battlefield after the inital Cygnar turn.

End of round 1

It is Tatiana’s turn to do extended deployment. She puts Desperate Pase on unit of Suppressors along with Iron Flesh; Puissance on a unit of Wrecking Crew; and then moves up behind the wall. Finally, she casts Avenging Force on herself.

Both of the two Snipers move up their respective flanks and into the forest. I know the Storm Callers ignor forests. But they like it in the woods.

The two Man-O-War modules move up the board to claim some real estate. Two Dire wolfs tag along for the ride. One of the makes sure to stay within Shield Guard range of Tatiana. The rest of the troops just hag back.

The picture above shows the result of the invigorating first round.

Round 2

The second round is where the action is. Let’s see which way the wind blows.

End of turn 1

This is Sparkhammers feat round. He fires the feat up, and perhaps casts some spells. In claccic Cygnar style he boldly stays hidden behind the house.

On the right flank, the Storm Callers move forward and obviously kill the poor dog and at least one Sniper. The Storm Lancers charge forward and helps clean out the remaing Snipers. The Zephyr moves forward and might get a shot of at something. Finally, one the the Strykers charge a Suppressor and kills him.

On the left flank, the Storm Callers move forward and attempts to reproduce the result on the left flank. Supprisingly, the dog and one Sniper survive!

In the middle, the two Coursers moves a bit forward. The Mechaniks do their thing and a fully tanked Stryker charges the right most unit of Wrecking Crews. It manages to take two our; one from each unit, trickering Vengeance. The second fully tanked Stryker charges the left most Wrecking Crew and manages to kill one of them. Everything else shuffles forward.

The picture above shows the result of the Cygnar drawing first blood.

End of round 2

“Vengenace is mine” shout two units of Wrecking Crew. The left most moves a far forward as possible and whacks a Stryker. This also brings him within charge distance of the Courser. The second Wrecking Crew moves forward a whack the second Stryker. Finally, a Dire Wolf move forward and smashes a Storm Lancer, except that it misses. Now, the turn can really begin.

It is feat turn! Tatiana drop her upkeeps, feats and cast Positive Charge on a Dire Wolf. She has to kill the Storm Lance in front of her to make room for the Dire Wolf behind her. Thus, she is left with only one focus.

Inititally, the Arkanists fill up the ‘jacks and enjoys the view. Damien forgets he can cast Positive Charge and moves next to the objective in the forest on the right. The left Officer says Pathfinder to the unit of Suppressors and the right Officer says it to the unit of Wrecking Crew. Everybody is now ready to rumble.

The remaining Suppressor on the right side backs of and shoots at the Stryke. He does some damage. The Dire Wolf charges the Zephyr and kills it. This accidently exposes Tatians right side, so Sergei moves up to block and shoots at the Stryker. It is still alive.

On the left side, the remaining Sniper actually manage to kill a Storm Caller. This makes room for the Suppressors to move into the swap. They fire up and kills the Weather Station and chips away at the Courser and the left most Stryker. This also makes room for the two remaining Dire Wolfs.

The two Wrecking Crew on the right moves forward and hammer away at the middle Stryker. The middle Dire Wolf charges one of the Strykers and kills both. Nice Dire Wolf. This, of course leaves the last Dire Wolf with no target, yet three fokus. This releases the last of the right Wrecking Crew, which can then charge the Courser.

That is it. A rather brutal round leaving Sparkhammer on his heels. The picture above shoes the beatiful sight of Cygnar under preassure.

Round 3

Sparkhammer is under heavy preassure. Howver, Tatiane has left her right side potentially exposed. Everything can happen.

End of turn 1, end of game

Not only is Sparkhammer under pressure, he is also quite low on time. The only way to go is to attempt to break through on the right and kill Tatiane. This requires some finesse and hefty rereading of the rules for charging and Unstoppable. The plan is to make room for the Stryker to get to Tatiana along the wall and hammer her to a pulp. The requires that Sergei is removed.

The Storm Lancers charge since one of the models are unengaged. Both Storm Lancers can reach Sergei. One with no issues and the other one because it does not leave the engagement with the Dire Wolf. This is more than Sergei can handle and he goes down. A corridor has now been opend for the Stryker.

The Stryker are fully load by the Mechaniks and moves down to Tatiana. It hammers away with surprisingly little damage. For a brief moment Tatiana feels safe. Then Sparkhammer activates. He does Vexing Alignment and 7 Jackhammers later Tatiana is pulp.

Final Thoughts

I managed to snap defeat from the jaws of victory. It was going so well and then I messed up by making it too easy to get to Tatiana.

The list is working better and better as I get to now it better. There are still some issues around focus management. I left a ‘jack with three focus that Tatiana could have used. I’m pretty sure that some simple calculations would have told me that it did not need focus.

I still forge that Damian can cast Postitive Charge and has a spray. The main reason he is there. Snipers still die like flies to attacks that really wouldn’t touch Man-O-Wars.

On the positive side, I getting better at the Man-O-War modules. They are beginning to feel good. Obviously, the main point is to have fun and we did. We did also get to reread a lot of rules around charging, being engaged and Unstoppable. Unstoppable units are really powerful and Man-O-Wars are Unstoppable…

Until next time.
For the Motherland!

Kommander Tatiana Sikora vs. Pirate Queen Skarre

Igor Khador — Fri, 24 May 2024 11:56:00 +0000

The remains of the pirate kingdom of Cryx is still stirring. Skarre, the pirate queen is moving into Khador territory. She is escorted with all the girls with long spiky chains. Obviously, the Empress will not stand for such insolence. Tatiana is sent to defend the coast along with a detachment of the newest Man-O-Wars. The battle is fast and furious. Yet, the rampaging pirates is no match for Khadorian steel.

It has been a long time since I encountered Cryx. I’m pretty sure it is the first time in Mark IV. I kind of like Cryx, at least in the Satyxis version. It is fast, furious and deadly. I just hope that the new Man-O-War and ‘caster can make the cut. This is one of my first trial runs with Tatiana and the new Man-O-Wars. So, I’m still learning how to pilot this list. This can clearly go both ways. The two lists facing off are:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]                             

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Command cards

    – Careful Reconnaissance

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Cryx – Blackfleet
Pirate Queen Skarre

   – Deathripper [4]

   – Slayer [9]

   – Slayer [9]

   – Slayer [9]

   – Slayer [9]
Aiakos, Scourge of the Meredius [4]

   – Kharybdis [14]

Axiara Wraithblade [4]

Satyxis Raider Captain [3]
Satyxis Blood Witches [6]

Satyxis Raiders [7]

   – Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [3]

Satyxis Raiders [7]

   – Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [3]

Scharde Dirge Seers [4]

Scharde Dirge Seers [4]
Command Cards

   – Break Through

   – Duck and Cover! [1]

   – Infiltration

   – Old Faithful

   – Power Swell
Total Points   100/100

Initial Thoughts

The Skarre list is kind of daunting. There are a tremendous amount of small horned women with whips and a wall of Slayers. That is basically it.

The Satyxis are really fast. On paper they do not really hit very hard. However, they have build-in Gang; it is a chain weapon, so not shield; they have Feedback (one point of damage to the ‘caster whenever a ‘jack is damaged); under Dark Ritual from Skarre they hit DEF 16 on the average; and if they are feat targets, an additional +5 to damage rolls. This means that they can reach out at touch something 12″ away at MAT 9 on three dice (DEF 19 on average) at POW 16. Pinging Khador ‘jacks with Feedback and Backlash from Skarre makes for a really dead ‘caster.

If that doesn’t work there are four Slayers and Kharybdis (under Aiakos). They can also put a dent in most things. This is going to be interesting.

Tatiana basically runs the same list as against Madison (see here for details). Except that she dropped Defenses for Careful Reconnaissance.

On paper, this could go either way. I have said that before and lost. So, let’s see how it goes.

Deployment

We are playing the Steamroller 2024 scenario Battle Lines. Skarre wins the roll-off and goes first. Tatiana picks the side with easy access to an L-shaped wall, which will be very nice to stand behind. There is a cloud in the middle (the four 3″ circles), which is very nice for the Cryx player, not so much for Tatiana (the opponent can trivially see through it).

Tatiana deploys in a variation of a standard pattern. There is a unit of Snipers on each flank; all the Man-O-Wars are in the middle in two gruops. The ‘jacks evenly spaced; an Officer and a unit of Arkanists on each side close to Tatiana; Tatiana in the middle; and the Slave and Sergei also in the middle.

End of deployment

Skarre deploys a unit of Blood Witches on the right to move up and hug the objective. They have company of the Deathripper, which for some reason is left outside Skarre’s control area. The left flank is assigned to Aiakos and Kharybdis.

Everything else goes in the middle in the order: two Slayes and one unit of Raiders on either side. The other stuff in centre.

The picture above depicts the situation after deployment.

Round 1

Round 1 is always the extended deployment phase. However, the Satyxis are fast, so stuff might happen.

End of turn 1

Hey ho, here we go! The Satyxis blast across the field to almost the midpoint of the board. They are followed up by the Slayers just behind them.

On the right flank, the Blood Witches move into the forest to hug the objective. The lonely Deathripper moves slightly towards the centre to be near it’s master.

On the left flank, Aiakos and his little pet cautiously moves forward. Finally, Skarre stays in the trench.

The picture above shows the result of Skarres advancement.

End of round 1

Tatiana needs to get up the field. As she has recently learned, scenario means a lot in this Steamroller version. Yet, she really doesn’t want to be hit by both the Satyxis and the Slayers at the same time. So, a bit of caution is required.

On both flanks, the Snipers advance to be ready to shoot stuff. Slightly shorter on the left, due to the objective. On the right, they need to get forward to start annoying the Blood Witches. They so much hope that the dogs will make it this time.

The two groups of Suppressors and Wrecking Crew moves forward in two blocks. The Suppressors in fron and the Wrecking Crew just behind. The little people stay behind to avoid the Satyxis. The Officers add Stand your ground to the Suppressors. Not that it will do a huge difference, but sometimes it good to just do things to get into the habit.

Finally, Tatiana casts Iron Flesh on the Suppressors on the right and Avenging Force on herself. After some internal debated she decides not to feat. This is perhaps a mistake. She got greedy wanting both the re-roll to hit and the additional armour.

The picture above shows the battlefield after the extended deployment phase.

Round 2

Round two is where the action is. Most games I play are more or less decided in this round. So, let’s see what happens when the fast women activates.

End of turn 1

As expected the tsunami of Satyxis hit the frontline. However, before that, Skarre has to do stuff. She feats and adds the +5 to hit and +5 damage to all the raiders (that is 12 points of damage to herself). I think that is the most I have ever damaged a ‘caster in one “hit”. She has three boxes left. She also tries to get Backlash off on the ‘jack behind the wall, which is at a mighty DEF 15. So, she fails (luckily). I think she might have done Ritual Sacrifice for more focus and then cast Dark Guidance.

The Satyxis charge in. The long and the short story is that they managed to kill first the ‘jack on the left side, causing quite a lot of damage to Tatiana as well. The second group of Satyxis would not be worse and killed the middle Dire Wolf. I think it left Tatiana on five boxes. In a sense, it might be good that she didn’t feat. The Satyxis do quite a lot of damage thereby killing the ‘jacks pretty fast. This gives less damage via Feedback. Also, Skarre didn’t get Backlash off, which is good or Tatiana would have been dead.

The rest of the models on the Cryx side was more or less inconsequently. The picture above shows the result of the first wave crashing into the wall of steel.

End of round 2

So, I am going to argue that it is luck that Tatiana is still alive. She could probably have improved her odds by playing the ‘jacks slightly less aggressive. They would be happily alive if the Satyxis would have to crash into the Man-O-Wars instead. Anyway, vengeance is her’s.

There is a group of Satyxis right next to Tatiana. They need to disappear. First off are the Vengeance moves from both Wrecking Crews, which the Satyxis managed to damage. After that Tatiana is going to use the Avenging Force move. That cleared out a few Satyxis. Noe she can properly activate. She starts by feating and whack a Satyxis. Now she is happy.

On the left flank, the Snipers run up the board to bring the dog close to Kharybdis (the dog is still alive!). The left unit of Akanists move to the objective to score and sprays the unit of Satyxis of the board. The two remaining Suppressors move forward and peppers Kharybdis (this is a lot of fun under feat and near a dog). Finally, the Wrecking Crew charges and almost destroys it. I think it has 2-3 boxes left.

In the middle, Sergei hits two Satyxis and kills them. The second unit of Arkanists almost cleans up with their sprays. There is only one left standing, which an Officer can kill by shooting it.

On the right flank, the second Wrecking Crew moves to the middle of the board and makes a wall of steel ready to receive any Slayers wandering in this direction. Damien runs up behind them, just because. The second Suppressor unit moves forward and shoots a Slayer to death. Finally, the Snipers charges the Blood Witches to at least contest the objective.

The leaves the scenario score at 2-1 in Tatiana’s favour. My opponent is running out of time. The picture above depicts the end of the second round.

Round 3

Tatiana is in a good place. She has her feat up. There is a wall of steel facing the middle of the board. Kharybdis is almost dead, she is ahead on both scenario score and time. This can only go in her direction.

End of game

Skarre is in trouble. There is only so much she can do in a panic. Aiakos moves in and kills the dog (again!) and a sniper. The Slayers do their thing and take out two Man-O-Wars. The Blood Witches kills the snipers on the right flank. Since there is nothing left, Skarre also charges the Wrecking Crew and really doesn’t do anything. She runs out of time and the game is over.

Just for the fun of it, we do take the Vengeance move on the Wrecking Crew, and yes one trooper kills Skarre.

I think we formally end up at a scenario score of 3-2 in Tatiana’s favour. The picture above shows the sorry remains of the Cryx incursion.

Final Thoughts

First win ever for Tatiana! This is fantastic. However, one should not get too ecstatic. There is probably something to learn.

First and foremost, it was perhaps a blessing in disguise that she forgot to feat. I’m pretty sure she would have died had she. Also, I should have kept the ‘jacks back. If Skarre had managed to cast Backlash Tatiana would most definitely have died.

Snipers still die without doing a lot. They can’t really hit anything important. I need to figure them out or exchange them for something else. I also have to remember that Damien actually can do other stuff than casting Positive Charge. He has a pretty good spray. Speaking of sprays, the Arkanists under Tatiana’s feat are fun.

I still think I’m not sufficiently scenario-aware and Tatiana can probably do some work on her own. I’ll have to try.

Anyway, we had fun. The man of the hour was the Wrecking Crew that killed Skarre on his Vengeance move. That was spectacular.

Until next time.
For the Motherland!

Kommander Tatiana Sikora vs. Captain Madison Calder

Igor Khador — Thu, 23 May 2024 15:38:00 +0000

Apparently, the new shiny version of Cygnar is not sufficiently preoccupied with the Orgoth invasion. They are back to their old tricks of invading the Empress’ rightful domain. Captain Madison Calder is leading the army. For the first time, Kommander Tatiana Sikora is dispatched along the new Man-O-Wars to intercept her. It could have gone both ways. However, Calder comes out on top.

I have always had trouble with Cygnar. It is a long ans proud tradition to loose. So, I’m worried. In addition, it is NuCygnar, which I honestly don’t really know a lot about, except my complains about Cygnar getting the long end of the stick in the army starter boxes. You can read my complaining here. Nevertheless, I’ll do my best. I’m going to try out some version of Tatiana and Man-O-Wars. Probably not the last iteration, though. Let’s see what happens. The two lists facing off are:

Khador – Winter Korps
Kommander Tatiana Sikora

   – Iron Flesh

   – Puissance

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [9]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Ice Hammer

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield

   – Dire Wolf [10]

     HEAD – Shield Guard

     RIGHT ARM – Long Axe

     LEFT ARM – Plow-Shield
Koldun Lord Damien Korovnik [3]

Sergeant Sergei Krol [5]

Winter Korps Officer [2]

Winter Korps Officer [2]
Arkanists [4]

Arkanists [4]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Suppressors [11]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Man-O-War Wrecking Crew [10]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]

Winter Korps Snipers [4]

   – Winter Korps Hunting Dog [1]
Defenses

   – Barrier

   – Barrier

   – Barrier
Command cards

    – Defenses

    – Hit & Run

    – Old Faithful

    – Power Swell

    – Put the Fires Out
Total Points   100/100

Cygnar – Storm Legion

Captain Madison Calder
– Arcane Shield
– Deflection
– Electrify
– Courser [7]
Head – Advance Deployment
Right arm – Heavy Stormthrower
Left arm – Voltaic Punching Spike
– Courser [7]
Head – Advance Deployment
Right arm – Heavy Stormthrower
Left arm – Voltaic Punching Spike
– Courser [7]
Head – Shield Guard
Right arm – Heavy Stormthrower
Left arm – Voltaic Punching Spike
– Stryker [11]
Head – Relentless Charge
Right arm – Voltaic Halberd
Left arm – Power Fist
– Stryker [11]
Head – Relentless Charge
Right arm – Voltaic Hammer
Left arm – Power Fist
– The General [17]
Head – The General
Left arm – Polarity Fist
Right arm – Quicksilver Mk III

Legionnaire Officer [3]
Legionnaire Officer [3]

Arcane Mechaniks [5]
Arcane Mechaniks [5]
Storm Callers [5]
Storm Lance Legionnaires [10]
Storm Vanes [4]
Stormguard Legionnaires [7]
– Legionnaire Standard Bearer [2]

Command cards
– Break Through
– Careful Reconnaissance
– Duck and Cover! [1]
– Old Faithful
– Power Swell

Total points 100/100

Initial Thoughts

Tatiana Sikora is the new shining Cadre ‘caster clad in Man-O-War armour. In an sense that brings back memories of Sorscha3 who was surprisingly brittel give she was in aa huge armour. I wonder if looks also deceive when it comes to Tatiana?

I’m not going to do a very thorough walk through of Tatiana’s list; that will be for a later time. Yet, she is bringing three Dire Wolfs, all with shields (never leave home without them), two with the nice Ice-Hammer and one with a Long Axe for a bit of extra reach. Dire Wolfs in this type of configuration must be among the cheapest beat sticks in the game.

At a mere nine points a Dire Wolf comes with 30 boxes, ARM 21 a POW 17 weapon and a POW 14 Shield. In addition it is a Shield Guard with Anchor and Girded. We get to pay an additional point to exchange the Ice-Hammer with a POW 16, reach two Axe without critical freeze. This is a steal.

The ‘jacks are supported by two units of Arkanists, which might be a bit over the top. However, after power-up, six Arkanists can fill three ‘jacks with focus; and I like duplicating stuf. So, why not?

The main force consists of two units of Man-O-War Wrecking Crew and two units of Man-O-War Suppressors (look, duplication again!). This is a lot of boxes with some armour (I still believe that Khador should have one or two points more of armour).

They are supported by their Sergeant, Sergei Krol. He gives them tough, which us nice; in particular in combination with build in Steady. They can also be helped by Tatiana’s Iron Flesh spell, and clever use of Puissance and Positive Charge. Suppressors can’t hit anything smaller than large base. So, feating at the right time will bring them from large and noisy lumps of metal to killing machines.There are also two Officers that can help with Pathfinder and perhaps Swift Hunter.

To take out small stuff and perhaps assist the Suppressors in hitting, two units of Snipers with dogs are around. They still need an extra point of RAT to be truly useful. Also, the dogs tend to die very fast. Apparently, I’m only playing cat lovers.

Finally, Damien is here. He can only Spell Slave Positive Charge, which can be useful. He also has a nice spray, which I tend to forget. Also, he is a solo so there are probably some objective around he can work with (or against).

Madison Calder is brings the ability to ignore clouds, forrest and intervening models to her battlegroup. That is highly annoying as it remove most options for hiding. She also brings Arcane Shield (+3 ARM). How I wish we could learn that; Crusader’s Call (+2 SPD for everybody); Deflection (+2 DEF against ranged and arcane attacks); Electrify (+2 melee attack for a ‘jack); and Rhythm of War (kind of 3″ reposition for all ‘jacks). Her feat gives her battlegroup +3 DEF, Dodge (advance 2″ if an attack misses this model), and Riposte (if an attack misses a Cygnar battlegroup model, it gets to hit back). This all makes for a pretty mobile force with a decent amount of Armour.

She brings six ‘jacks! The main beat-stick, the General is there; Two Strykers with hammer og halberd; and two Coursers with sprays. Except for the General, the remaining ‘jacks are also quite cheap. So so well protected (without spells) as Khador ‘jacks. Yet, they are full of tricks.

Despite having six ‘jacks there are still room for quite a lot of boots on the group. Primarily, there is a unit of Storm Lancers, Cygnar’s fast, hard hitting and well armoured cavalry. I really don’t like them. A unit of Stormguards who are really dangerous agains ‘jacks. A unit of Storm Callers who are really annoying. The tend to move forward, kill my Snipers, and then make an Cygnar advance (running away). They are also rather hard to shoot. Effective DEF 15, plus any terrain. That means a 9 to hit on the average for Snipers.

All of this is support by the extremely good Mechaniks; they are basically our Mechaniks and Arkanists wrapped into one nice heavy armoured package. There are also two Legionnaire Officers and a unit of Storm Vanes.

I’m not completely sure what to do about this army. I’ll just stick to my standard plan for Tatiana and Man-O-Wars: move as fast as Khador possible up the board and grab some real estate. Then feat, survive and kill stuff. No point in making plans to complicated.

Deployment

War are playing the Steamroller 2024 scenario Battle Lines. Tatiana wins the roll-off and goes first. Madison picks the side with the nice L-shaped wall, which will be very nice to hide behind. Tatiana drops two barriers where the Suppressors should be able to reach them before the opposing force gets there.

Tatiana deploys in a standard pattern. There is a unit of Snipers on each flank; all the Man-O-Wars are in the middle with ‘jacks evenly spaced; an Officer and a unit of Arkanists on each side; and Tatiana with slave in the middle.

End of deployment

Madison deploys herself in the middle, ready to run and hide behind the wall. She packs all of her troops and one of the light ‘jacks, save for the Storm Callers and Storm Lances, to the left where they are protected by the Storm Vanes. The two remaining units goes on the right flank. The five remaining ‘jacks are placed around Madison in the middle.

The picture above shows the end of the deployment phase.

Round 1

Tatiana starts by sticking to the plan. She puts Iron Flesh on the Supressor unit to the right to make it annoying for the Storm Lancers to deal with. She puts Puissance on the Wrecking Crew to the left and finally casts Tactical Supremacy.

Everything with armour then moves forward with the Suppressors attempting to move in and screen everything behind. It quickly turns into a trafic jam. However, the unit movement rules in MK IV actually makes it less messy.

Arkanists and Officers move in behind the wall of steel to be ready to support. The Snipers move forward, hugging a forest on the left where there are no Storm Callers and trying to hide behind stuff on the right.

The picture below shows the result of attempting to navigate 16 large bases in the middle of the board.

End of turn 1

After the eventful first turn it is now Madison’s turn. She casts Deflection to annoy my Suppressors, and I think Arcane Shield on one of the ‘jacks. She feats to speed up the army and basically make it more annoying.

She then basically moves everything up. Though, surprisingly not the Strom Lancers. They normally tend to be in my face before I know it. She also draws first blood and kills the dog on the left flank. My opponent is clearly not a dog person. It gets sprayed from the light ‘jack. Finally, Madison moves up and hides behind the wall. I suspect she will stay there forever.

End of round 1

That is basically it. A rather uneventful round. The picture above depicts the end of the first round. The game is still very much open.

Round 2

Round 2 is normally when the action happens. Games are won and lost here. Let’s see what happens.

End of turn 1

Tatiana starts by upkeeping her spells. Having watch her precursor, Sorscha3 die too many times by standing in the frontline trusting her armour, she decides to hang back and watch the show. She does, however remember to feat. She also says Desperate Pace to the Wrecking Crew on the left to enable them to get into the opposing ‘jacks on the left.

On the right, the Snipers are well aware that there is no chance of them actually hitting the Storm Callers, so they just charge them instead. Not that it actually helps a lot, but it does get the remaining dog near something that the Suppressors wants to shoot.

The Suppressors starts unloading into the the General. Even with the feat they do miss a few times. This activates Dodge and the General moves forward until it is in the Suppressors faces; stopping the barrage. The Suppressors do have Pistol on their weapon (ignores the target in melee bonus). I just think I forgot that. The right most Dire Wolf moves in for the kill but leaves the General at 2-3 boxes.

The right most Wrecking Crew attempts to box in the Stryker in the middle to stop Dodge. But it is too far, leaving room for it to escape. I was fishing for knockdown (actually Smite) from the Ram Piston. But no fish would bite.

The second Suppressor unit opened fire on the dog-killing Courser getting it to Dodge out of range, which is nice as it leaves room for the second Wrecking Crew. This one could actually charge the Stryker (with a bit of help from an Officer, giving them Pathfinder). However, the Stryker survived.

The two remaining ‘jacks were caught in a trafic jam. The picture above depicts the end of Tatiana’s feat turn. I think the damage output was lacking.

End of round 2

Madison strikes back. She now has Rhythm of War up; Electrify on the Styrker to the left and Arcane Shield on the second Styker.

On the right side, the Storm Callers moves out of combat, using the Break Through card and shoots my Snipers to kingdom come; including another dog! The Storm Lancers charge in along the right flank, but does really nothing to write home about. It is followed up by a Courser, also not really doing anything. The General is in a bad shape and can’t really contribute. Finally, a unit of Mechanics also join the fun. All in all, the right flank is solid. Unfortunately, the Storm Callers can score and a Legionnaire Officers runs to the right most objective and can also score.

In the middle, I loose two members of the Wrecking Crew. To something I forgot. This opens up a route for the Stryker to move into the Suppressor unit. But, again without must effect.

On the right, the combined work of a Courser, a unit of Mechanics and a unit of Storm Vanes removes the Wrecking Crew. It really means a lot being outside Tatiana’s feat. This enables the Stryker to move up to the wall.

Finally, the unit of Stormguards now have a free line to the left Dire Wolf. Despite being under feat, five Stormguards are too much.

At the end of this turn Madison manages to score 3 points whilst denying any for the Empress. The picture above shows the sorry state of affairs after the second round.

Round 3

I’m in trouble. Unless something brutal is pulled out of a helmet I’m loosing on Scenario. Assassination is out of the question. Madison is dug in too good. I need to contest and score… a lot.

End of game

On the right flank the Dire Wolf get to work after being Empowered by some Arkanists. It gets rid of the General and the Courser. Freeing the Suppressors to shoot stuff. They remove one Mechanik and makes a decent attempt on the left Stryker.

The Suppressors in the middle moves up to the objective to contest and shoots the Styrker and some Stormguards. The Styrker goes down and as a miracle so does a few of the Stormguards. This leaves room for the Dire Wolf with the axe that takes on the last Stryker, without killing it.

On the left side, Officers, Sergei Krol and Damien cleans out the remaining Stormguards, leaving room for the Snipes to move and contest the objective. They also shoot and kill the Legionnaire Officer.

That is really it. Madison manage to score an additional two points and Tatiana only one. That leaves Madison the three points ahead and the game ends. The picture above shows the end of the pary.

Final Thoughts

This was rough. It is strikingly clear that scenarion is so much more important in this version of Steamroller. Having 3 additional scenario points after scoring in the opponent’s turn is nice in the sense that the opponent gets a chance. However, contesting hard becomes really important. The old approach of just killing enough stuff seems deprecated.

I’m convinced that Tatiana with Man-O-Wars has game. There is a lot of boxes and armour. I still think that Khador needs an extra point of armour. It is basically only under feat that we are somewhat safe.

It is also clear that shooty Khador requires much more finess than I can currently manage. The Suppressors are good when they can use Volley Fire against their opponents. Snipers are still underwhelming. I need to figure out how to keep the dog alive.

Nevertheless, we had fun! More practice with Tatiana is required and perhaps some fine tuning of the list.

Until next time.
For the Motherland!