Argh... conflicted...

Every time I look at Scaverous I think up a new army concept, and it's getting annoying. I might end up just taking an entertaining army, and then rolling with Terminus until I loose. Then if nothing else, I can have fun the rest of the tournament.
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Scaverous, take two...

With my Terminus army locked in, it's time to tweak my Scaverous list. I usually find myself hard pressed against horde lists, since I'm a lot less familiar with the mechanics behind Fury and transfers, and with no time left to learn, I figure I need to bring a list that can cover my lack of familiarity. This is what I began working from...

Lord Exhumator Scaverous

- Deathripper

- Deathripper

- Malice 

- Skarlock Thrall

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 9 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan

Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile

Ragman

Saxon Orrik

Gorman di Wulfe 

It just feels "wrong", but it's fairly small at 34 models, and packs a hefty punch against living models. It does have a few tricks against Warmachine armies as well, but I'm conflicted about several parts of the army. I feel my Focus economy is stressed, I'm lacking Bile Thralls, and I'm strongly considering removing Malice. If I do, I will limit myself to attrition, and that sucks badly...

The list does pack a surprising amount of shooting. The Skarlock, Croe's, WSC, Dougal, and Saxon can all pour out some ranged attacks, giving me a potential 19 ranged attacks per round. Madelyn and Telekinesis, will allow Slaughterborn to hide waaay behind the army, and still get a chain going. I'm also lacking a way to negate tough, which is pretty lousy since there's bound to be plenty of Trollblood lists at the masters, so perhaps it's time to rethink the list.

Lord Exhumator Scaverous

- Deathripper

- Deathripper

- Skarlock Thrall 
Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)
The Withershadow Combine

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan

The Ragman

Saxon Orrik 

That's a solid core, and leaves 23 points to play around with. With Madelyn & Telekinesis, I can get Slaughterborn up to 17" threat without activating Scaverous, and if I can pull a target closer he can reach 19" threat. Saxon Orrik handles terrain, and the Ragman increases PS to acceptable levels for the Bloodgorgers, that act as screening and shock-troopers. Adding another unit of Bloodgorgers could be interesting, but then I would have to borrow them somewhere, and I could only have Death Ward up on one unit anyway.

Time to think up some new shenanigans...
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Erebus, the second coming...

Since I just received my Erebus, and had a game tonight, I decided to see if my theory machine ideas would hold up in real games. I got a game against a 50 point Hexeris list, and I was facing 40+ infantry, including Swordsmen, Cataphract Cetrati, and Reivers (I was a bit puzzled at first, but having a ranged threat actually made sense). I was using my Terminus army, with Malice/Erebus instead of two Leviathans.

We had a Mexican standoff, with me having a slight charge range advantage (Overrun scenario), and Stealth to negate his shooting, which forced him forward. He couldn't advance to much without getting in Bile Thrall purge range, and one of his models got 0.1" to close to Erebus.

3 Focus, Puppet Master, Ravager, and an infantry army bunched up between terrain and in preparation of his assault the following turn... sixteen kills from Erebus. I was a sad puppy since I didn't feat and charge Terminus in range, but I wasn't expecting sixteen kills at all...

I know this won't happen every game, and Erebus has a terrible charge range, but a heavy jack version of Slaughterborn is godlike. I know Slaughterborn could have done the same, but with the incoming fire directed at Erebus, he would have been dead twice at the time.

I LOVE my new pet, almost as much as Terminus does. I guess Malice did fine as well, and cleared a lane for Terminus after the Bile Thralls had softened the Cetrari lines a bit, but he had his Harpoon shot of and had to do it by hand. My army suffers a wee bit from a lack of range, so I think I need to put Darragh Wrathe back in. The game ended with Hexeris failing the "do not get within 11" of Terminus" test, after half my army vanished during his feat round.
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Qualified...

Just found out I'm qualified for the Danish Masters, due to a pass down.

While I would probably be allowed to participate anyway, it's nice to know I've got a spot secured. This also means, that missing the final qualification round won't matter much, which is pretty darn nice, since I'm pretty sure it's on the day of my stag party.

I'm also quite certain I'll be bringing Scaverous & Terminus, since my games with Mortenebra are to close for comfort, eGaspy takes to long to move around, and I lack experience with anyone else. I also lack experience with Scaverous, but so does everyone else, so it should even out nicely.
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Erebus is being shipped...

Wonders never cease... Erebus is being shipped, which means he might make it in time. I won't have much time to test him on the table, but suddenly my Terminus list seems viable. Erebus allows for some interesting new plays with Terminus.

As a bodyguard for Terminus they don't come much better than this. Erebus is defense fourteen, armor eighteen, and has the Poltergeist ability. This means that missing him means the end of most models attacks on him, and that infantry will have a hard time hitting and damaging him. This is the helljack that was meant to stand in front of Terminus and go "Thou shall not pass". Erebus will probably pay for that assignment with his life, but so did my Leviathans, and with Erebus one bad roll can spell disaster for an opponent.

Secondly he has Overtake, and Terminus has Ravager. This means that we now have access to eSlaughterborn, though he needs some tightly packed infantry to make it work. The problem was always getting Gerlack Slaughterborn across the table, but this time we've got it in a defense fourteen helljack package, though his potential for kills is entirely dependent on opponent placement. I don't think an Erebus killing spree will be a common sight, but the potential is worth something as well.

Overtake also allows for some Molik Karn like action. Assign Erebus three Focus, have the Skarlock pop Ravager on him, and have Tremulus put on puppet master. As long as there are more infantry models in range, Erebus will keep going towards a caster (if the chain stops he has a second claw to initiate a new chain of berserk attacks, and two focus as well). This means that an opponent cannot allow himself to saturate the area around his caster with infantry, but he also can't leave it open (or Terminus has a place to land).

Erebus gives Terminus something he's been lacking for a while, which is a viable assassination threat beyond himself. Erebus is also the king of getting in the way and messing up charges and combinations, and he punishes bad dice as well. If all this actually works in real games remains to be seen, but I'm looking forward to trying it.
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Ramblings: Running a blog

A friend of mine spoke to me about his blog the other day, and wanted to quit, because he wasn't getting the response he felt he needed, but blogging isn't something you should do, if you're looking for recognition

Whenever I encounter a new blog, I can instantly tell if the author is looking for ratings, or simply writing because he likes it. There's nothing inherently bad about wanting good ratings, and anyone that tells you he/she ignores the ratings is a damn filthy liar, but there's a difference between liking your ratings, and writing because of them. I think my friend caught on to this rather quickly, but it got me thinking (and thus posting) about blogs in general.

This blog was created in order to organize my experience with Warmachine, and having it become a success is something of a surprise. I don't get a lot of comments here, but I get a couple of hundred visits a day, which is quite frankly about a couple of hundred more than I expected. This is what I feel makes up a good blog, and even though I love seeing the graphs go up, the important thing is, that I like what I do.

I hope my readers come here for the occasional insight, and the fact that I'm trying to deviate as much as possible from internet wisdom. They/you could also be coming because of my spotlight articles, but I know you're not coming because of my great battle reports or paint guides. I'm a poor painter, and I get so involved in playing, that I never remember to note down details or take pictures, but there are hundreds of sites out there dedicated to just those things (and every one of them better than mine).

The most important thing to remember is, that you should be blogging for your own benefit. If you're trying to make money with commercials, or simply hunger for attention, you will end up with a poor blog and no readers, which incidentally is what you should have been aiming for in the first place. If you want to blog then find whatever it is you do well, and stick to it.

/Lamoron
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Maelstrom... again...

I know Maelstrom has a lot to do, and they even explained the delays quite well, but it really annoys me to see Erebus kits being in stock, when mine is still processing after 37 days.
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Current list in progress...

Lich Lord Terminus

- Erebus

- Malice

- Skarlock Thrall

Bane Thralls (Leader and 9 Grunts)

- Bane Thrall Officer & Standard

Bile Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

Darragh Wrathe

Gorman di Wulfe

Madelyn Corbeau

Warwitch Siren

30 models in an Terminus army should send most people reeling in shock, as the normal Terminus bullet shield easily exceeds that number on it's own. Erebus is able to munch tightly packed infantry, and Malice is able to pull in important heavies unless there's a tightly packed shield in front of them. With Gorman around I can push Terminus/Erebus/Malice to PS22, with Rust + Dark Shroud + Malediction, so I should be able to take out important heavies without draining to much Focus, but keeping my army intact will be an issue.
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No game today...

Due to a bad case of the munchies, I was fifteen minutes late, and there were no opponents left. It was alright though, since I was feeling very uncomfortable about my list anyway, and I got to watch some great players duke it out instead.

I've gone up against, and beaten, both of them before, but every time I watch one of them play, I learn something new. I know the rules about as well as they do, and I know my units and statistics better than they do, but they constantly pull moves I didn't expect. They seem to have a much easier time combining abilities, and making their armies use every available action to it's full potential

I hope it's just a matter of experience, but in the meantime I'm mentally cataloging every dirty trick they pull for future use. The main source of dirty tricks actually inspired my Mortenebra Light Jack list which has done so well, when he performed backwards slams with Helldivers, and taught me that keeping my caster safe is always priority number one (by killing Mortenebra before I got toll a single dice).

So what did I learn today by watching...

• Krielstone bearers don't like being seduced by Warwitch Sirens, and moved out of Self Sacrifice range.
• With so many things causing Terror/Abomination, something will eventually fail if you keep remembering to make him roll those dice. I'm writing "Terror" on the back of every model that has it from now on.
• Malice may use possession out of activation, which makes free strikes from her a royal pain in the arse.

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Reapers...

It just hit me that someone might like an explanation in regards to Terminus with two Reapers. If you've been following my Blog a while, you'll remember that I've been running a Gunslinger list with two Leviathans, and doing fairly well with it.

I sat around looking at those two Leviathans, and thinking I should be able to find something that performed the same function, and didn't set me back eighteen points at the same time. There were two main reasons for bringing Leviathans with Terminus in the first place, and those were to block charges, and to have something that was able to take a couple of rounds of continuous effects and live to tell about it. The final reason was to have something that was able to handle Cygnar Cyclones, and I do think the Reapers can come through on that one.

First of all they're a good deal cheaper, and will block a lane just as effectively against melee threats. Ranged threats never bothered Terminus much, so the fact that they can be knocked down isn't a huge deal like with Mortenebra. The reaper also performs well with Terminus' only Battle-group spell "Ravager", which gives it a Thresher like ability against infantry. With just one Focus assigned, the Reaper can charge a unit, and potentially kill every model within 2" of it. I think I'll be giving them two Focus each, so they can initiate a new round of attacks if I roll poorly, since MAT 7 isn't enough against a lot of light infantry

Against heavy targets the Sustained attack means reliability, and I love reliability. Where a Leviathan would need average dice on every attack against high defense heavies, the Reaper needs below average and will then hit with every remaining attack without rolling. With the mass of Bane Thralls around, getting a Dark Shroud debuff on the target shouldn't be impossible, and with Gorman around the Reaper will munch heavies with Sustained PS20 attacks.

It will certainly need testing, and I'd love to be able to include some Warwitch Sirens to keep them active in rounds I need to camp, but then something else is leaving the list. I'm also entertaining the thought that Malice would be a welcome addition, but stealing souls might become an issue on feat turn. Then again, having the ability to turn his biggest problem (opposing heavies), into the one thing he needs the most (heavies that won't drain his Focus), is tempting.

<<Random idea warning>>

Terminus with Malediction, and a friendly bane with Dark Shroud, on either side of the heavy warjack that just turned it's back to the WSC, means hitting DEF 13 on 3+, and rolling 4d6+17 damage with the WSC, even without Gorman. Very tempting actually... perhaps fewer Bane Thralls...

Erebus would also be nice, as he performs the Road Block job even better, and also works very well with Ravager. That would leave me with no real Reapers, and I'd have spent 17 points on them, but it would help me mix it up a bit here and there... choices choices.
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I've been having doubts....

Since the release of Wrath, and our beloved Lord Exhumator, I've been having doubts.

I've been playing Mortenebra a while now, and it pains me to admit, that my games are simply to close for comfort. I've been having fun when playing Mortenebra, but every game is a mad scramble for the win, and praying that my opponent makes a mistake. When I'm running Terminus it's clear sailing, and if I can keep my mind on the objectives, I'll be in good shape.

My motivation for painting is also virtually non-existent at the moment, so I could really use an army that features more models that are already painted. With the Talos Pain engine kit still pretty much intact, I'm considering making myself a new Terminus model, and bringing a Terminus/Scaverous lineup. It's a finesse caster, with seven million different tricks up his sleeve, or Lich Lord Freight Train, ramming his army down your gullet. In addition they're both able to camp, and I like casters that can make it through some tough rounds.

Lich Lord Terminus

- Reaper*

- Reaper

- Skarlock Thrall*

Bane Thralls (Leader and 9 Grunts)

- Bane Thrall Officer & Standard*

Bane Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)*

Bile Thralls (Leader and 5 Grunts)*

The Withershadow Combine*

Bane Lord Tartarus

Darragh Wrathe*

Madelyn Corbeau*

Saxon Orrik*

* are fully painted, and in a pinch I have a backup painted Tartarus though he looks like a burning Christmas tree. That leaves me a paint que of one Reaper, 10 Bane Thralls, and a dismounted Darragh Wrathe. Combined with the things I'm missing in my Scaverous army, this puts me at a grand total of 18 models without paint. If I decide to make new Terminus model, that will need to be added of course, and I still have a few points left in my Scaverous army I don't know what to do with.

• Terminus; will be done last; can be done in one night.
• Scaverous; can be done in one night.
• Reaper; can be done in one night.
• Bane Thrall unit [10]; can be done in two nights, since I have an easy scheme, and I did it
• Bloodgorgers [4] ; can be done in one night.
• Darragh Wrathe [1]; dismounted, can be done in one night.
• Ragman [1]; can be done in one night.

So that's about a weeks worth of painting, and I've got... four days or so available. I might need to free up some more time, or just take an hour here and there to get things done. Sigh... I hate painting.
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Training game...

We had an player turn up today, that had his last game in MK1, and I volunteered to run a training game for him. He was more or less up to speed on the rules for MK2, and a veteran player of old, so we had a semi-competitive game, but I pointed out mistakes he was about to make, and gave him the odd suggestion for rules he was obviously unaware of.

He did very well, but in all the confusion he forgot about objectives, and put himself in a bad position where he had to come to me, in order to avoid loosing outright. He was playing Hexeris, which I'd never faced before, and dear god that's an amusing feat. I had half my unit of Croe's trying to assassinate my Warwitch at one flag, and my Bloodgorgers punching each other on the other. In the end Malice got him, and while it wasn't a "real" game, I did learn a few things.

• One unit of Bloodgorgers is not enough to bear the brunt
• General Slaughterborn either dies or does nothing in the game
• I need to play Croe's more defensively.
• Ragman still rocks, and allowed Malice to kill a Titan Cannoneer
• I don't think I need Saxon Orrik, with the Skarlock available
• I don't think I need two Warwitch Sirens. Then again, why not

So... either I find something I like for four points, or I figure out a way to find two extra points, and include a couple of Pistol Wraiths. I also found the idea of running a couple of machine wraiths funny, as Telekinesis can increase possession range to 12", and kicking out two machine wraiths could wreck his focus economy. Then again.. Warjacks go in the belly and become Seethers, so maybe it's not worth it.
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Spotlight: Malice

Mrs. Malice is an incredibly popular release. She is a character Helljack, based upon the Reaper, but Malice has increased power and accuracy with it's ranged attack. This is important, because the Reaper was already a great Helljack, and it's only problem was lacking power and accuracy. This is what people see, when they look at Malice, but I feel there's more to her, than simply being a better Reaper.

First of all we have a great set of abilities. The Battlecollege will handle the explanation of individual abilities, but many of them will need further explanation.

• Ghost Shield; Allows Malice to add a point of ARM for each soul she has.
• Soul Taker; Allows her to grab souls within 2", and keep three of them.
• Well of Souls; Allows her to start with one Soul.

This means a bit of added survivability, and the possibility of getting to Khador levels of ARM. It also means, that her primary ability is already primed when the game begins.

• Possession; When Malice slaps a Warjack with a functional Cortex, and spends a soul, it get's to full advance that Warjack, and make one attack with it. This is the ability most people notice first, because of the obvious synergy with the Withershadow Combine and Dark Industries.

We all know what Malice will be doing if you face a Warmachine list, but what do we do with our nine point lady, if we're fresh out of enemy warjacks, our Combine died, or we're simply playing against a Hordes army?

• Soul Taker; A Malice with a full complement of Souls and Focus, has a frightening amount of attacks. 

Have your Withershadow Combine grant Malice a re-roll, and have her reel in an enemy. The enemy will be Harpooned, and then clawed in the face up to seven times. This has the potential of doing very large amounts of damage, and applying even a single buff or debuff, takes Malice to "Heavy kill on average dice" territory.

• Death Claw; It's a Magical claw, and has the Open Fist icon.

While it's very rarely needed, having a Magical Open Fist can really mess things up. It means that incorporeal creatures cannot easily circumvent her, and she has a large base so she takes up a lot of ground. She can also throw things (even incorporeal ones), in case that ever becomes relevant. This is a very versatile Helljack, and getting those three souls makes her a huge threat on the field. You can load up on souls by granting her a few Focus and having her munch on nearby enemy Infantry, which also adds to her ARM, so she has a better chance at surviving the retaliation.

Malice: Dragging

Being able to drag models is great, but being able to do it reliably is fantastic. You don't need to kill that Warbeast, if pulling it away means open season on the enemy caster. You could also grab the enemy caster himself, and remember that a Warlock transfer will not stop the actual drag effect from taking place. Dragging an enemy Warlock away from his transfer targets, or the transfer target away from the Warlock, is also a funny way of getting a kill on a camping lock.

Malice: Support

Nothing; That's the beauty of it. Malice gets along fine on just one Focus. If your caster can't spare a Focus, you can always bring a Warwitch, and solve that particular issue.

Malice: Casters

Everyone. There's not a single Cryx caster, that does not benefit from bringing Malice, either because she does something for them, or they do something for her. Going through every caster would be pointless, but in general.

• Armor; Anyone with the ability to increase her ARM score.
• Offense; Anyone with the ability to increase her damage output.
• Range; Anyone that can increase her threat range.

We all know that Malice is Dark Industries easy mode, but knowing what else she can do, is key to always getting the most out of her. She's a support character, a tank, and a damage dealer all packed in one rather cheap package. What's not to like?

Malice is a girl...

Our beloved Malice, is the first female Helljack in Cryx.

The Deathjack has humongous claws, the Nightmare has giant claws as well, but Malice has the same size claw as the regular Slayer, and just a few stylish accessories on her Harpoon. This means that Malice does not suffer from Penis envy, and that's a very strong argument.

When a regular Helljack slaps or hits you, he's an offending asshole, and you either beat him up or run away if you can't. When Malice slaps you one, even though it makes you angry, you will go stand in the corner and await further punishment. No man can ever make another man do that.

This is also why no Warcaster claims affinity with Malice, and why she's in no theme forces either, because You don't own me. Malice is a woman...
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Anticlimactic...

Having been struck by some heavy migraines, vision problems, regular headaches, nausea, and other annoying things during the last couple of tournaments, and now the entire last week, I decided to have someone look at it.

It so happens, that my brother in law is one of the best, though fairly anonymous, physical therapists in Denmark, so I had him take a look at it. After a substantial amount of poking and prodding, he asks me if I'd been driving on/before the days of my attacks. As it turns out I had borrowed my fathers Mazda MX-5 either the day before, on on the day of the tournaments. The week long attacks began shortly after a three hour drive in that very car, and the diagnosis was clear.

Taxi arm...

That's about the dumbest thing I've ever suffered. One arm resting on the door, and the other on the stick, apparently means making a twist in the neck and back, that when exposed to draft, or simply held to long, will mess up your neck and shoulders badly. So after about thirty minutes of excruciating pain, I felt a difference. I still have the flashes, but no more pain and nausea, and here's to hoping the flashes will be gone tomorrow.
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My Wrath book arrived...

Damn that fat lady to hell... she sat on my book as well.

The first thing I noticed was, that Privateer Press should work a bit on their writing. I'm only up to the Khador stories, but I don't think it will change much throughout the book. The storyline is actually better than expected, but the conversations are mediocre, and the fights are horrible.

I don't mind the fact that people use full titles in conversation, as this is easily explained by etiquette, religious rules, or military ranks. What bugs the hell out of me is every friggin time I see "Captain Kara Sloan raised her rifle", "Karchev the Terrible did something", or the worst one by far: "Thyra, Flame of Sorrow, did something something". It's such a small detail, but it makes the whole thing incredibly unbelievable, and ruins any hopes of immersion in the storyline.

Characters in the story are crammed into "game related" actions, which make them appear like stumbling dumbasses, and the fights themselves have been better described in random online battle reports. This makes it really really hard to focus on the good things in the book, and while I accept that it's a game accessory, I feel this could have been done better without increasing the cost by much. Have the current writers do the actual work, then run everything through a good writer, that can change details, remove the worst clutter, and create a bit of immersion and flow.

With that load of bile out of the way, I'll admit that there are some nice parts in the book so far. Thyra's Daughters of the Flame get an attempt at depth, which fails because of the already mentioned lack of immersion, but makes them slightly more interesting. Irusk has a fight with an old Cygnar warcaster, and since he's not in the game, we get to witness an actual Warcaster death, combined with some actual personality from Irusk. Harkevich manages some cliche Russian comradeship, but it does give Khador a bit of warmth that they've been lacking.

Still, even the very low expectations I had, turned out to be to much to ask for. The short introductions to every model/unit are fine though, as these are more "historical facts", than actual drama, but in the overall picture these matter very little.
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Deathrippers...

For the longest time I've been playing Nightwretches, but suddenly I see it. Deathrippers are Arc Nodes that can fight, and fight well. It hit me while writing about the Ragman, that with all the trouble I'd be going through to debuff targets, I might include more things that could benefit.

Feast + Rust + Dark Shroud on the Jack, and that little chicken is hitting at PS19 with sustained attack. With just one Focus from a Siren, that chicken is putting 9 damage on a Khador Heavy, or 12 if it's within walking range. That damage can be matched by a Nightwretch though, but when you load up a Deathripper with Focus, the damage becomes ridiculous, and the Nightwretch has no shot at keeping up.

So, another couple of models I've never really used... three cheers!
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Ragman... Initial thoughts

It's a bit pretentious to write an article about him after one game, so I'll stick to my initial thoughts. The Ragman struck me as rather pathetic when I saw him first, though this could have something to do with Dark Shroud being available from other sources. I preordered him, so he's been hiding on the shelf for a while now.

Sacrificial Pawn [Living]: He increases the power of Bloodgorgers, and they take the hits for him. Since he's small based he can also hide behind them. This presents a couple of unique problems, but Telekinesis solves most of them, as I can either move a Bloodgorger out of the way, or give the Ragman a little needed boost if a path is already opened.

Bone Shaker: Range 8 means this better count, because Ragman is joining his minions if it doesn't. Ragman isn't even a faction model, so Dark Gate from Scaverous won't help him either.

Death Field: He gains Dark Shroud, and so does friendly models within (not completely within) 3". The thing about Bloodgorgers is, that they're just a tad on the low side when it comes to damage output against heavy armor. A Bane Thrall on the charge averages out at 27 damage, while a Bloodgorger will do 23/20 on his attacks. If I apply Dark Shroud to the Bloodgorger, he will have the same charge damage against ARM 20, and every additional debuff will increase the damage on each attack.

Applying Death Field...

This is what has made Ragman a rare sight on the battlefield. If he activates first to grant them Dark Shroud, he'll be stuck behind the lines, or dead if he tried to spend a round on the front lines. With Bloodgorgers I can keep him on the side, and perhaps team him up with Gorman (they need to be in the same area anyway). This will allow him to be Def 16 against shooting, and with a couple of Bloodgorgers within range, I just need to worry about blast damage.

Usually this would be a problem, as Bloodgorgers are ARM 15 and thus become targets for blasts. With Scaverous though, they become ARM 17, and pull out of blast damage deaths on average dice. Since they're also tough, it needs to be some heavy duty artillery to take them out. Incidentally I need three Bloodgorgers to take down most heavies with all the debuffs up, and getting more than three in range of Death Field is very hard. So I hereby present "Team Ragman"...

• Ragman
• Gorman di Wulfe
• Three Bloodgorgers.

The team also becomes an asset with the Withershadow Combine, as rolling 4d6+17 damage each, will make pulling of Dark Industries a lot easier. If I apply a feast to the jack first, the WSC will have a good chance of scrapping it from new, in a single charge.

With Telekinesis there's also an addition trick, because I can actually move the Death Field around a bit. I don't see it happening often, but if the center of the field clogs up, I might be able to apply Dark Shroud to one kill, and then move him 2" and assist on another afterward. Ragman is on the team, and he also fits Scaverous perfectly as a theme.
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A little bit of Scaverous on my mind...

I took the Exhumator to a tournament today.

I made him a model last night, and though the picture is crappy phone quality, I think you get the idea. It's a work in progress of course, and the scythe arm looks clunky on the picture but rather elegant in real life. His arms are magnetized so they/he can be posed and transported, and most of the flight stand will be covered in terrain of some sort when I'm done.

Ftaghn?

Now equipped with a model, I noticed that it was two in the morning, and I needed to get up at eight. That left me with little time to crunch the numbers on a list, so I mostly just threw together what I'd been considering for the last couple of weeks, and hoped for the best. Though I seem to be suffering from a strange disorder that makes me ill at tournaments, I did manage a third place and got a shiny new coin.

Lord Exhumator

- Nightwretch

- Nightwretch

- Skarlock Thrall

Bane Knights (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 9 Grunts)

The Withershadow Combine

Bane Lord Tartarus

General Gerlak Slaughterborn

Necrotech & 1 Scrap Thrall

Ragman

Warwitch Siren

Round 1: Exhumator Vs. pIrusk
I was very unsure about the army, so I mostly just trundled ahead and tried my best not to be destroyed by shooting. The game turned, when a Telekinesis got Admonia within range of his Winterguard Deathstar, and managed to unbind Iron Flesh. Scaverous put Icy Grip on them, and Tartarus cursed them and Threshered up two new Bane Knights, and then the Knights charged. With most of his unit destroyed by Bane Knights, I turned my attention to his jacks. Scaverous had applied a Feast on his Juggernaut, and the Ragman had made it close enough to the lines, that charging with my Bloodgorgers became a possibility.

Feast, Dark Shroud, and Gang had the Gorgers rolling at PS 17, and three of them took down the slightly damaged Juggernaut (I had two more ready to hit, though outside Ragman range), while the rest were munching on random Manhunters or the remains of the WG. That round totally broke his back, and after the following round he gave up. I didn't feel the fight was completely lost for him, but it was his choice and I respect that. I also didn't feel like I was using the list to it's full potential, but I did learn a lot of things.

Round 2: Mortenebra Vs. eVlad
I should have gone with Scaverous, but I couldn't resist a shot at the top five list of bad match-ups. I decided I'd go for it, and prove my non-tier list could rock eVlad, but alas I was sadly mistaken. The game itself was incredibly uneventful, and I was squashed like a bug. I had one shot at Vlad, with a reasonable chance of success, but it didn't pan out and Mortenebra got hit by Fenris.

Round 3: Exhumator Vs. Karchev
I had to take a seat for a couple of minutes, because the room began behaving in strange ways. You know that feeling just before you pass out, or if you're really really drunk and the world just doesn't want to stay were it's supposed to... well I had a solid five minutes of that. Then it passed, and we got down to it.

I never faced Karchev before, and I get him with just the caster I needed to mess him up beyond belief. I learned a lot from my first game of the day, and the poor guy never stood a chance. Bloodgorgers messed up his jacks with the help of Ragman & Feast, while Bane Knights tore through his support on the right flank, and Croe's were making sure he couldn't just swing around to face them.

I got a Nightwretch through, and Karchev was hit in the back by the two Croe's Cutthroats that were in charge range after he was turned around. Watching two grunts carve about half of Karchevs hitpoints was fun, and charging him with my shiny new WSC brand Seether (Again with Feast & Ragman) took out some more vital systems. He pondered his options for a while, and the gave up, as he couldn't escape Croe's, and had no chance at taking down the Exhumator behind the wall of angry Bloodgorgers.


Post-game Thoughts: I'll go through this more thoroughly in the coming days, but these are my initial thoughts on the army composition, and Lord Exhumator Scaverous.

I had way to much infantry. I know it's awesome, but moving 45 models around is tough when you're under a time limit. That means something must go, and I think it's going to be my Bane Knights. I ordered the Exhumator to use the models and units I otherwise wouldn't, and one of my melee units has to go. The Exhumator also needs protection, and a wall of steady trolls is just what the doctor ordered. With the points left over by the Knights and Tartarus, I can put in Gorman di Wulfe, which should allow the Gorgers to munch some jacks. I also think I might bring a Ogrun Bokur, as I was hit by pEiryss in my first game, and had it happened a round earlier I would have been in big trouble. I'll try a few more games without one, as I might be able to keep him safe and save those points.

The Ragman is awesome in this list. It's just crazy how hard Bloodgorgers can swing, when they've got backup. I'm using some of the points from the Bane Knights to put in Gorman, and then I can have three Bloodgorgers take down a Khador heavy. Feast + Dark Shroud + Rust + Gang + Charge, equals 15.5 damage per Bloodgorger, and if the feast took just a couple of points of it, then two of them could take down a Juggernaut on average dice.

The Withershadow Combine also likes that combination. Getting at a jack, and rolling 13 average damage each, will make some fine Seethers. I don't think I can avoid bringing Malice, as that combination is simply to good. With a few points left over, I'm thinking I could use another Warwitch Siren.

Finally I think I might bring in Saxon Orrik. Having Pathfinder available to the Bloodgorgers, Withershadow Combine, or Slaughterborn, could prove valuable. I know I've got Ghost Walk available, but that's a lot of Focus I could use elsewhere, and there are plenty of units that will work just as well with just Pathfinder. Saxon can also help out with the odd warbeast, or shoot some key models if needed.

Lord Exhumator

- Nightwretch*

- Nightwretch*

- Malice

- Skarlock Thrall*

Bloodgorgers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

Croe's Cutthroats (Croe and 9 Grunts)*

The Withershadow Combine*

General Gerlak Slaughterborn*

Gorman di Wulfe, Rogue Alchemist*

Ragman

Saxon Orrik*

Warwitch Siren*

Warwitch Siren*

* means painted, which is actually a selling point for me. With the whole marriage, honeymoon, apartment, and countless other things to do, I'm not going to have much time for painting. The Bloodgorgers are actually 6/10 done as well, and Malice just needs a touch up, so that means 4 Bloodgorgers, Exhumator, and Ragman to paint. That's a huge amount of time saved.

Scaverous in the house...

He arrived in box that looked like a fat lady on the bus sat on it. Despite the crushed box, the model survived, and the Talos Pain engine I'll be using to convert his sorry ass, was intact as well. There is one thing bothering me though, because this parcel was shipped a week after my Wrath book, which has not yet arrived.

Either way, I'll be trying him out tomorrow, If I can manage to assemble something that can actually be used in a tournament (non-painted). As my main, I'll be bringing the non-tier Mortenebra, as hope for some good match-ups, so I won't have to put Scaverous/Terminus on the table. I have enough experience with Terminus, and none with Scaverous, so either would be a poor choice.

Mortenebra
- Deryliss
- Helldiver
- Helldiver
- Scavenger
- Scavenger
- Stalker
- Harrower
- Harrower
Blood Witches (Leader & 5 Grunts)
- Blood Hag
Withershadow Combine
Gerlack Slaughterborn
Warwitch Siren

This should allow me to make some crazy assassinations, with Gerlack under Recalibration to clear a path through the first line of infantry. Horde armies should be easier to handle, with a way to ignore tough, and an infantry unit with two attacks each, and gang. As far as I can tell, the only match-ups I should really fear, is a true tank caster. That also means, that my backup list needs to be able to handle just that. I'd really like it to be Scaverous, but I'm not sure I've got time to put him together.
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