BR: 35pts eHaley vs. Xerxis

I played a game vs. my friend Skorne tonight and it was pretty educational overall.  It was the first time he played against eHaley and it was not a game that he'll forget in the near future.  This BR will be written in  my classic bullet point format and it will highlight the important plays.  Overall, I wasn't really happy with my performance but it has been a long while since I played Haley.

My list:

Points: 35
Major Victoria Haley (*5pts)
* Thorn (8pts)
* Stormclad (10pts)
* Squire (2pts)
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team (4pts)
Stormblade Infantry (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
* Stormblade Infantry Officer & Standard (3pts)
* 3 Stormblade Infantry Storm Gunner (3pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord (2pts)

His list:

Points: 35
Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)
* Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
Bloodrunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)

Random thoughts and overtime

It's been a year now since I started WM and I must say that things have changed for the better.  Since I started learning the game, I must say that Warmahordes (Warmachine and Hordes) is just very solid.  In many ways, it takes me back to my Starcraft days where if you mess up, you're done.  The game is very precise on execution amongst other things and the competitive atmosphere is fantastic.  It's basically a game I wished 40K was since I'm not super happy about Steam Punk stuff compared to GW fluff.  I basically only play this game because of the game rules and playstyle is everything a competitive gamer hopes for in a table top.

Speaking of which, there are also rumors of 6th Ed. Warhammer 40K coming out in 2012.  What are some improvements you want to see?  TLoS was the big thing in 5th Ed and I'm almost 100% certain that it's here to stay.  Here are some things I'd like to see for 6th Ed. 40K:

• Cover system tweaked, 4+ cover on everything everywhere is just too generous.
• Remove wound allocation and bring back torrent of fire.
• Maybe a consolidation roll after vehicle kills or bringing back massacre rolls to go back into combat.
• Bring back vehicle destroyed results on the glancing chart.

On another note, I'm doing overtime again, hence why you see very little posting.  What's funnier is that last year, at around the same time I got into Warmachine, overtime hit me in the face too.  Awesome.

Circle and other news

I finally decided to pick up Hordes.  Since there were no Circle players in my group, I'm officially the first Circle player!  This actually means two things:  One, I picked up Circle obviously, and two, I've put my Grey Knights on hold for now.  Many of you are probably wondering why I put my GK on hold and the reason is quite simple:  The new GK book is not the same army I fell in love with those many years ago.  It was a tough choice, but in the end the dudes are going to sit there until I feel the urge to build the entire army up from scratch.  After all, I have Dark Eldar, Blood Angels and Space Wolves to cater to, and some say that's enough armies already!  I'll still play games with the GKs though, I have a ton of friends that started the army as well.  Bandwagoners.

Now that that's out there, let's talk about some other random stuff.  First, I'd like to say that I'm going to be doing a Podcast per week on miniatures gaming.  Most of the time, it will be about 40K but every now and then I'll throw in a Warmachine or WHFB segment.  My friend and I were discussing the finer points of wargaming and we dawned upon something invigorating and fun.   I've seen other videocasts before like Beast of War or some of the battle reports on BoLS and frankly, I'm not too impressed.  Beast of War is too nerdy and loaded with false hope and information and BoLS lacks the tactical acumen that I desire.  That said, I think I'll do my own thing and talk about the finer points of tactics, army lists, metagame and strategy.  I picture this kind of like the Day9 dailies of wargaming, except it'll be weekly, hopefully.

BR: 35pts eCaine vs. eDenny

First game of Warmachine in a long time and boy do I miss it.  This game was a standard 35pt caster kill game vs. Cryx and overall, I think it went pretty well.  I'll tell you one thing though:  I was definitely pretty rusty.  Let me elaborate on rusty for a second; if you don't a wargame in a while, you start losing some essential things that makes you a good player.  I second judged my ability to guess range, double-checked on multiple activations and played a little slower than I usually do.  These are things you get from playing the game, and I feel bad for not playing my beloved Cygnar for so long.

Anyways, back to the game.  How did this game go?  First, the list:

WM: Cygnar Tricks

This will be the first of many mini-articles that I'm putting out for Warmachine.  The purpose of these articles is to teach players all the "tricks" that each faction can put out.  Keep in mind that I'll only speak from the factions and warcasters that I have experience with.  By experience, I mean combat experience either on the table or in Vassal.  You won't find any theory hammer here.

Oh and yes, I'm also going to need your input on how I can format this better.  For now, I'll start with the warcasters and what kind of units you'll see with them.

Siege
Playstyle: Massive ranged damage.
Feat: The first time a model takes damage in his control area, it's at half armor.
Gimmick: The complete and utter destruction of the opposing army on feat turn.
Units: Defenders, Stormclad, Rangers

On feat turn, Siege and his army can wipe out an entire opposing army.  Every single model taking damage will be at half armor means that ATGM will be doing straight dice to Khador 'jacks.  A Stormclad will be hitting at dice +9 and each POW10 Electro-leap will be killing any infantry around him.  Ground Pounder will also do massive amounts of damage to infantry coming in range of Siege and on feat turn, it's going to absolutely destroy shield walls.  Due to Siege's fantastic assortment of spells, he can make Defenders do magical AOE3 shots and give his ranged army constant cover and immunity to blast damage.  Mage Sight reveals stealth and Foxhole can drop enemy 'jacks into a hole and open LoS to the enemy caster for ranged assassination.

eHaley
Playstyle: Using spells to move units into advantageous positions.
Feat: She controls the order of activations of enemy models in her control range.  Those models effected have to forfeit their movement or combat action.
Gimmick: Jack Bullet or Bullet Jack.
Units: Defender, Stormclad, Stormblades, Lancer

eHaley has the ability to inflict massive damage to your opponents and then deny them any chance of retaliation.  Her Feat allows her to control the order of activations for your opponent's models and they have to either forfeit their movement or combat action.  That's absolutely huge; especially if nothing is in combat reach.  You can also use her feat to completely deny your opponent's chances of an assassination or successful jack kill.  With Telekensis and Temporal Acceleration, she can launch her Stormclad at her opponents with a threat range of 16" with Reach.  This is her ideal jack bullet and her other is the Defender.  By casting TA on the Defender and moving stuff around with TK, the Defender can claim a aiming bonus with two boosted shots at the enemy warcaster for an assassination.  Haley also likes to run with Stormblades because she has access to Deadeye and can increase their chances to hit dramatically.

BR: 35pt eCaine vs. pGaspy

OK, a quick BR on a 35pt game of WM I played last night.  It was standard caster kill format with my eCaine list vs. Chad's pGaspy.  This game showcases the options offered in a Cygnar list and all the different tools a player can use to his disposal when fielding eCaine.  Even though the assassination run didn't go as planned, careful target priority on feat turn can still make for a devastating turn.

Article: Do or Die Scenarios are Bad

Here's a teaser of an article I wrote recently for Bell of Lost Souls:

Warmachine is a game where if you play carelessly with your warcaster, you can lose the game immediately.  When I read battle reports from other players, I shake my head every time I read the dreaded "do or die" scenario.  What does this scenario mean?  It means that if you don't do something big this turn, you will lose the game.  It's literally do or die.  This is exactly the type of scenario that you should avoid.

Recently, I read a battle report where someone got himself in close proximity to pButcher.  He was trying to pull off a kill on pButcher but when all things failed, he figured his warcaster should go try!  Now I don't know about you guys, but I can't fathom why you would ever get anywhere near a MAT9 Reach POW16 Weapon Master.  To make matters worse, you're not running eEiryss and the Butcher is camping focus with Iron Flesh on himself.  For those of you that are not familiar with Warmachine, pButcher is a slaughterhouse on two legs.  He's the size of most armies' light 'jacks and his melee swings as strong as most heavies.  Under no circumstance you should ever be near him unless you're prepared.  If you're running a melee beast warcaster yourself, you still might want to invest in another strategy since going up against Butcher with camped focus and buffs is going to be tough.  If you're ranged or a spellcaster and you're going for it, you're doing it wrong.

You can find the rest here.

My Tier2 Rahn list

Cygnar is a great faction and I love playing with them, but sometimes you just need something different!  That's why I chose Retribution as my second army.  Nobody around here really plays them, no one understands them and the rarity of the faction is what really appealed to me.  Just because no one really plays them (there's like 5 Cygnar players here) doesn't mean they're bad.  In fact, I find Retribution to be one of the trickiest factions to play against.  They have strong shooting in the form of Invictors and MHSF, powerful melee thanks to Sentinels and Halberdiers, and ridiculous manipulation in the form of Battle Mages (mittens).

BR: 35pt Siege vs. eGaspy

The battle begins with a map with a fair share of terrain.  This battle highlights the importance of utilizing knockdown and positioning so Breach turn can inflict the most damage.  By destroying and severely crippling my opponent's warjacks, I can stay ahead in the attrition game and deliver game-winning results.  The guy with the last warjack is always ahead.

My list looks like this:

Points: 35

Major Markus 'Siege' Brisbane (*5pts)

* Defender (9pts)

* Defender (9pts)

* Ol' Rowdy (9pts)

* Squire (2pts)

Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team (4pts)

Captain Arlan Strangewayes (2pts)

Eiryss, Angel of Retribution (3pts)

Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator (1pts)

Stormsmith Stormcaller (1pts)

BR: 35pt eHaley vs. pGoreshade

The battle begins with a map with a fair share of terrain.  This battle highlights the importance of Haley's spells in combination with her Feat.  When used correctly, her feat can utterly cripple the opposing army and essentially give Haley's army another turn.  Her two win conditions in this list is the Defender and the Stormclad so both must be protected to make the win happen.

My list looks like this:

Points: 35
Major Victoria Haley (*5pts)
* Thorn (8pts)
* Defender (9pts)
* Stormclad (10pts)
* Squire (2pts)
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team (4pts)
Stormblade Infantry (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Captain Arlan Strangewayes (2pts)

BR: 35pt eCaine vs. eVlad

The battle begins with a map with a fair share of terrain.  This battle highlights the importance of target priority over the ambition of caster kill.  Sometimes the quickest way to victory is not the shortest path.  By killing key targets and destroying your opponent's ability to maximize his turns, the game can be yours without the need of assassination!

My list looks like this:

Points: 35
Captain Allister Caine  (*5pts)
* Ol' Rowdy  (9pts)
* Squire  (2pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts)  (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer  (2pts)
* * Hunter  (6pts)
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team  (4pts)
Rangers  (5pts)
Captain Arlan Strangewayes  (2pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution  (3pts)
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator  (1pts)

Tried some hardcore

Well, not really too hardcore.  We played 35pts eCaine vs. Kaelyssa with 5 minute turns for a standard caster kill game.  Since we played on our lunch break and this is our first time trying out the stress of "hardcore", we wanted to see what it was like.

Man.. it really IS hardcore.  On my first turn, this is what I did:

1. Squire gives Caine a focus.
2. Reinholdt reloaded Caine.
3. Rangers ran to give Caine the +2 bonus on Eiryss and a Sniper.
4. I casted Trueshot on Caine, killed both with normal shots and then magic bullet the MHSF guy next to Eiryss.  Caine GCs back to safety.
5. Time - My turn ends.

WHAT?!  I was so shocked that that happened.  Maybe I'm getting old or something, but I barely did anything before turn was up.  I literally still had an entire army to move around and position myself.  In short, I wasn't able to shoot with my Hunter, run with Ol'Rowdy or move my ATGM into a more favorable location.

You know that saying "time flies when you're having fun?"  At the end of the game (Ol'Rowdy smashed Kaelyssa's face in), we decided that playing 5 minute turns was a bit too much.  Since we only have an hour lunch, we decided on 7 minute turns next game!  By my 2nd turn, I got used to how fast the turns ran but it still didn't help us in the most important aspect of all:  tactics.  A lot of mistakes were made and once Kaelyssa was exposed in range of Ol'Rowdy because of the mental pressure, I knew the game was over.

I am now officially impressed by the skill and precision it takes to play "hardcore", but I think I'll play something a little more casual.  Like they say.. "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Defender or Hunter?

Here's another one of my army lists based on eCaine.  Unlike my other army list, this one uses a Hunter instead of a Defender.  With the extra points, Caine can take the B13 - which is a great toolbox unit plus the fact they do quite a bit of damage.

Points: 35
Captain Allister Caine  (*5pts)
* Ol' Rowdy  (9pts)
* Squire  (2pts)
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts)  (6pts)
* Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer  (2pts)
* * Hunter  (6pts)
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team  (4pts)
Rangers  (5pts)
Captain Arlan Strangewayes  (2pts)
Eiryss, Angel of Retribution  (3pts)
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator  (1pts)

So I guess the question is:  Defender or Hunter?  The Hunter allows me to make AP attacks vs. Medium-Large base models (halve their armor) and can do the same damage to those models as the Defender.  Add in some Runeshots from the marshaled ATGM UA and you've got the same amount of tricks as the Defender.  The downside to that is that against small base models, the Hunter only does 8 damage vs. the Defender's whopping POW15.  On the plus side though, the Hunter has AD, Pathfinder, RAT7 and DEF14.  Since it can move freely in terrain, it's basically floating around DEF16 and is an excellent harassment tool.

The Defender, on the other hand, has more damage boxes, more armor and a RNG16 POW15 cannon that shoots at RAT6.  He also has a MAT7 Cortex Hammer that can hit for a respectable PS16 and does 1 point of Cortex damage with each hit.  Since he does equal damage all around with his cannon, he can reach out and slap vulnerable warcasters/warlocks for a shit ton of damage.  The 16" range also allows the Defender to aim at most targets for an effective RAT8.

The big thing to note about these two is cost.  At 6 points vs. the Defender's 9, taking the Hunter gives me the B13 or A&H vs. the Defender + Stormsmith.  So far, I've been having good success with the Defender, but I guess I have to play around to see what's good and what's not.

Feelin' some Warmachine

You know what game I like?  Warmachine.  It's one of the most down to earth, get in your face table-top games I've ever played.  After playing 8th Ed. Fantasy for a good long time and getting back into 40K as well, I think to myself:  I feel like I'm missing something.  Could it be the risk of instantly losing the game?  Could it be the more realistic cover system?  What about the more robust combat system?  Or how about the fact that the game is just faster to play?  I think it's a combination of all them.

Blasted Heath Campaign

Here is where I'll record all my league games.

6-8-10 - WIN
25pts eCaine vs. pKreoss in Kill Box
The game was pretty much hit and run with eCaine picking off choir boys with Magic Bullets.  Eventually, my ATGM pushes the Revenger that was blocking LoS to Kreoss of the way with Thunderbolt shots and Caine follows up with 10 shots to Kreoss' face.

6-15-10 - WIN

35pts Siege vs. eThagrosh in Fight Club

Siege and Defenders kill the Carnivean on Breach round and does heavy damage to his Typhon.  Shredders, Soldier and the Raek puts heavy damage on the Stormclad on his Feat round but he stays in the fight.  Next round, the Stormclad fights back with full focus and kills the Nephilim Soldier and puts heavy damage on the Shredders.  The left most Defender sees melee and kills the Raek.  His next turn kills the Stormclad and Thagrosh leaves the Defender with 6 damage boxes but the Shredders are out of melee.  On my turn, I was able to aim, shoot and boost to destroy the rest of his warbeasts  for the game.

6-22-10 - WIN

35pts eCaine vs. Ravyn in Caster Kill

Didn't get to play scenario so we just played caster kill for this game.  I forgot to move eCaine further away from the MHSF and they get in range to shoot.  Caine survives the barrage from the under-strength squad with 7 boxes.  Next turn, I punish with Ol'Rowdy charging Ravyn and using Tremor.  I knock her down with a boosted attack roll and Caine goes to town with 10 shots and Overkill.

Why you should play Warmachine

I'm taking a break from 8th Ed. rumors because they're driving me crazy.  Fresh rumors come in every day and things get discredited left and right.  Bah.. that's what rumors are after all.

So for now, let me make a quick post on why you should get into Warmachine in case you haven't already.  Take everything you read here as honest opinion, coming from someone who has been a faithful GW player for 10 years.  There are 3 key facets that drew me to Warmachine and these are it:  Money, time and fun.

The first and most important reason to play Warmachine is because it's affordable.  I live in the USA and we don't have the greatest economy right now.  With the economy on the decline, hobbies take a back seat.  For me, 40K/Fantasy is the most expensive hobby that I ever owned.  When a box of 5 plastic dudes costs 35 bucks and you need 20 of them, things can get quite ludicrous.  Now I'm not saying that PP is dirt cheap, but when you factor in the cost needed to play a full scale game, the differences become quite noticeable.  For example, a 35 point game is considered the "standard" for Warmachine.  Compare that to 40K and you're looking at 2K points or 2250 points for Fantasy.  Let's be a little generous and say that 40K is actually 1500 points.  That's because 35pts for WM can be played in an hour and a half.. about the same time as a 1500 point game of 40K.  Don't worry; we'll touch upon the time issue later.

BR: 35pt Rahn vs. eVlad

So I played another game yesterday and this time it was against my friend's eVlad list.  Here are the two lists:

Points: 35

Vladimir Tzepesci, the Dark Champion (*5pts)

* Berserker (6pts)

* Berserker (6pts)

* Drago (8pts)

Great Bears of Gallowswood (5pts)

Man-o-war Demolition Corps (Leader and 4 Grunts) (9pts)

Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)

Widowmaker Marksman (2pts)

Points: 35

Adeptis Rahn Shyeel (*6pts)

* Manticore (8pts)

* Phoenix (10pts)

Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)

* Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard (2pts)

House Shyeel Battle Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)

Arcanist (1pts)

House Shyeel Magister (2pts)

House Shyeel Magister (2pts)

Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)

The deployment was pretty standard.  I let him go first and he set up his army relatively close to eachother with Drago on this right side and everything on the left.  My deployment was basically a wall of infantry with my two 'jacks behind me.  The MHA advance deployed slightly further up from my infantry getting ready to head into terrain.

BR: 35pts Retribution vs. Protectorate

Before we begin, yes, I have a Retribution army.  I caved in, bought and assembled the army over the weekend.  My wife hates me a little.. but I promised her this is going to be my last big purchase in a long time!

Anyways, the game was 35pts, Retribution of Scryah vs. Protectorate.
It was Adeptis Rahn vs pFerora.

His list consisted for Ferora, max unit and full command of Errants, Templar 'jack, Vaquisher 'jack and the Avatar. Oh, and the standard Choir and a Vassal.

My list is as follows:

Points: 35
Adeptis Rahn Shyeel (*6pts)
* Manticore (8pts)
* Phoenix (10pts)
Dawnguard Sentinels (Leader and 9 Grunts) (9pts)
* Dawnguard Sentinel Officer & Standard (2pts)
House Shyeel Battle Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Arcanist (1pts)
House Shyeel Magister (2pts)
House Shyeel Magister (2pts)
Mage Hunter Assassin (2pts)

My favorite warcasters

Recently I've been playing with 3 main casters:  eHaley, Siege and eCaine.  I won't cover eCaine because I already did an article about him so I'll just focus on Haley and Siege.  The point range that the guys around here play is relatively low.  A lot of them play at 15 and 25 because they prefer faster games, but I think once they get more familiar with the unit rules and behaviors, 35 points will come rather naturally.  I mean after all, everyone on Vassal and on the forums say that 35 is the norm.  Not that I'm super pro at it already, but aside from all the different matchups and special abilities, the game mechanics is pretty easy to understand and get a hang of.

So let's analyze eHaley really quick.  The reason why I love her is because she's very mage-like in the way she plays.  She has amazing abilities and a amazing feat, but she has paper thin armor and very low armor.  Basically that means if she gets touched or shot at by anything worthwhile, she's going to die.  Here's what my current 35pt eHaley looks like:

Points: 35
Major Victoria Haley (*5pts)
* Thorn (8pts)
* Defender (9pts)
* Stormclad (10pts)
* Squire (2pts)
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team (4pts)
Stormblade Infantry (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Captain Arlan Strangewayes (2pts)

I has an army

So today, I have assembled:
pNemo
eHaley
pStryker (to be used as eStryker)
Hunter
Stormclad
Charger
Thorn (special Lancer)
Reinholdt
pEiyrss (to be used as eEiryss)
Jorneyman Warcaster

I started to pin.. and after a while, I said fuck it and just used gorilla super glue, green stuff and accelerator.

I doubted the hold until I tried to pry the hammer arm off my Charger to reposition it and the metal arm started to give before the joint.  This super glue is seriously the best stuff I've ever used.

Tomorrow I'm getting my magnets and I should be able to finish my two plastic Ironclad/Defenders and add it to the rest of my army..

..which currently consists of:
eCaine
B13
Squire
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
ATGM Officer
Gun Mage Captain Adept
Arlan Strangeways.

I guess it helps to know that I also pre-ordered Gorman and Stormblades to be picked up next week.

I am now broke.
My wife hates me.
I lost all feeling to my left foot, right leg and lower back from sitting down for so long..
..but I'm very happy and excited to get some games in.