Wolves of Orboros

I just ordered Nuala so I can field the unit of Bloodtrackers I got in an army deal, and then I noticed Wolves of Orboros. Eight points buys eleven attacks that with Mirage can threaten 13" with Powerful charge and Power swell (15" with Hunter's Mark). If I add in Curse of Shadows that's eleven accurate attacks doing 25 points of damage on average, which is like having Satyxis Raiders hit something with The Withering activate.

We like buffs!

To the theory-machine!!! If just our new apartment would magically furbish itself so I had the time to write and play something instead of just ordering things online... oh well *wanders off to buy some more Wolves of Orboros".

Bone-weary: Mohsar Vs. Old Witch

My wife is a spirited woman, which is code for stubborn of course, and in order to avoid living in a house of girlish colored horrors I have to take every single discussion to the next level, which takes a lot of energy. These last few days I've been to tired to even think about updating, but Monday is game night come hell or high water.

After spending half an hour just soaking in the atmosphere I got a game against an Old Witch list, and since my Cryx is still in a box somewhere I had to bring my Circle, even though I had the mental capacity of a retarded monkey.

Zevanna Agha, the Old Witch of Khador

- Behemoth

- Scrapjack

Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters (Cylena and 9 Grunts)

- Koldun Kapitan Valachev

Doom Reavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Great Bears of Gallowswood

Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts)

Winter Guard Rifle Corps (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Gorman di Wulfe

Kovnik Jozef

It's almost embarrassing how poorly I played, and it's pointless trying to remember what I actually did, but I do remember some highlights. (Plenty of Proxy models as always with this Circle project).

I wish my Gallows would arrive soon.

I forgot to feat or pop Anti-Magic with my Druids, which got my Shadowhorn killed. I was half an inch out of range with the Warpwolf which meant that Behemoth and most of the Great Bears survived, and in turn killed the wolf. The Gorax came to close to Scrapjack and was taken down. The Bloodweavers were molested by the Nyss Hunters, and both my Gallows Groves were lost to stupid mistakes, though one of them made for a funny picture.

Raaagh SMASH PUNY TREE!!!

My turn three began with the following status on the table. I had killed 4 Doomreavers, Aiyana, and one Great Bear. I had Shifting Stones + UA, 4 Druids, Lanyssa, Megalith on 1 box, and Mohsar left. I can't move because of her feat, but in a fit of "this game is in the bag" he forgot to put up a cloud on the Old Witch, which meant I had a theoretical shot, and just then my brain decided to join the party.

• Megalith heals 2 boxes.
• Megalith throws the Behemoth at OW, and a good scatter sees them KD.
• Megalith Geomancies Crevasse on OW (7.999" away) and does good damage.
• Shifting Stones teleport up, but the Stone Keeper is more than 8" away from OW.
• Mohsar casts Sands of Fate and telefrags the Stone Keeper.
• Mohsar Maltreats Megalith, hoping to kill him and open up LoS to a Nyss Hunter but fails.
• Mohsar kills Megalith from behind with melee.
• Mohsar casts Crevasse on a Nyss Hunter.
• Crevasse spray on OW and she dies.

Didn't even need the Druids, which is good because they were out of range. I had a unit of Shifting Stones, Lanyssa, and 4 Druids left, but a win is a win. I really need some non-magical shooting, because magic immune models are impossible to shift with my current list. The Bloodweavers really fail, and the Shadowhorn keeps dying to my stupid mistakes and will have to come back later when I've got the experience to run it, so I might have to try something like this next time. 

Mohsar the Desertwalker

- Gorax

- Megalith

- Warpwolf Stalker

- Warpwolf Stalker

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers

Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt)

Gallows Grove

Gallows Grove

Lord of the Feast

In other news my Terminus list has received a challenge from a Kraye player that should prove interesting, and the first qualifiers for the Danish Masters 2012 will be next month, so there should be more Cryx updates soon.

New appartment

Yesterday was moving day, so the next few days will probably be used getting things in order.

Mulling on Mohsar

Hemingway had a few suggestions in the comments to my Mohsar list, and I feel they're worth commenting on.

There's one rule of thumb that dramatically improved my game with Mohsar (to the point that it's warping my local metagame): don't cast Sands of Fate unless it's an assassination run.

I figured that one out on my own. There are several casters in the game with "trap" spells, that supply abilities that look incredible on paper but actually reduce the amount of options you have in a turn, and Sands of Fate is one of them. This shouldn't be much of a problem with the release of Gallows Groves anyway.

Your third heavy really needs to be Megalith. The animus is an amazing force multiplier and a great denial tool to stack on top of pillars, while Geomancy lets you put Curse of Shadows onto an important target

That's very interesting actually. I discounted Megalith with pKrueger because PS 16 on his fists is ridiculously low for an eleven point heavy, but with Mohsar he can Geomancy Curse of Shadows on his target before he goes to town (or have Mohsar put it up if he needs all his Fury to buy attacks). He's also the perfect target for Maltreatment in the first round, and will allow Mohsar to put up all his spells and still have Fury left to put down some Pillars in the first turn.

Mohsar the Desertwalker

- Gorax

- Megalith

- Shadowhorn Satyr

- Warpwolf Stalker

Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Druid of Orboros Overseer

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Blackclad Wayfarer

Blackclad Wayfarer

Gallows Grove

Gallows Grove

Q&A: pBaldur Vs. Terminus

A friend came asking why Will Pagani was calling his pBaldur list "almost auto-win" against Terminus. You'd think I would be able to answer that, so I took a look at the list and came to the conclusion that it would be against a standard Terminus list, but mine might stand a chance.

Baldur the Stonecleaver
-Megalith
-Woldguardian
-Woldguardian
Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)
-Druid of Orboros Overseer
Sentry Stone (Leader and 3 Manikins)
Shifting Stones
-Stone keeper
Shifting Stones
Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers
Stoneward and 5 Woldstalkers
Blackclad Wayfarer

Against a standard Terminus list the Woldstalkers will eliminate the models in front of Terminus. The Druids will then pull out Terminus since he can't pawn away magic attacks. Wold Guardians will then molest him unless poor dice and tough saves him. If this is somehow impossible, the list can increase terrain to ridiculous levels with forests, clouds, Megalith, and feat, and win on scenario instead.

I love this model!

I had a talk with Will about his thoughts on facing Bane Thralls instead, and I'm expecting my ETC list to stand a chance (depending on terrain actually, since my Machine Wraiths really need cover in order to survive the Woldstalkers), but in the case of equally skilled opponents the odds are definitely in pBaldurs favor.

• Bane Thralls will remove the option of aiming for the Woldstalkers, and reduce their range to 14" including Zephyr, which means he can't hit and run like he could against Mechanithralls.
• Bane Thralls will make it a lot harder to pull out Terminus, by virtue of being harder to remove in the first place, and they can hurt his Wold Guardians without charging which is vital.
• Machine Wraiths will make it easier to avoid losing on scenario, though it requires cover or the Woldstalkers will simply blow them away. 

Then he offered to kick my ass if he makes to the ETC. I can't lose that one, because even when I do I'll learn so much about Circle that it'll be worth it.

/Lamoron

Shenanigans: Curse of Shadows

In the true spirit of The Overseer, I'm going to share an idea I got last night that's so incredibly stupid that it might be worth exploring: debuffing your own models. I got the idea when my opponent asked me if he could advance through his own cursed models, and the rules allow it. 

Target model/unit suffers –2 ARM and cannot make free strikes. A model can advance through an affected model if it has enough movement to move completely past its base.

There's no friendly/enemy limitation, and that got me thinking. I have a real problem with activation sequences because my Druids get in the way of each other and everyone else, but what if I could advance through them?

Druids

These guys need to be out in front, spaced with less than two inches between them in order to produce a wall of clouds blocking LoS. This means they block my own charge lanes, advances from large bases, and the need to activate them first is bloody annoying.

Druids are armor thirteen, and there is a difference between eleven and thirteen. POW six blasts drop from needing above average rolls to below average, which is a huge threshold and makes it really risky, but if I'm facing single target shooting or melee lists it's worth considering, since it makes the druids a lot easier to work with.

If I have the first turn I can cast it one them, upkeep it, advance through them and then pop CoS on an enemy unit to remove it from my Druids. If I go second I can wait until round two, since shooting will be less problematic after the lines clash, and in round three I simply won't upkeep it.

Cryx

There are quite a few Cryx units this trick could be used on actually. The spell is found on Wraith Witch Deneghra, Goreshade the Cursed, and The Coven, and these are the units I would consider for a turn one Curse of Shadows.

• Mechanithralls
• Satyxis Raiders
• Croe's Cutthroats
• Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters

It's not a huge list, but Cryx has a secret weapon that turns Curse of Shadows into a pure utility buff, though a very expensive one: The Skarlock! If you don't need him for anything else he can put CoS on something, have the relevant units move past it, and when the caster activates he can throw CoS on something else (preferably something that doesn't belong to you) which removes it from your important models.

/Lamoron

Mohsar is fun!

I grabbed Mads at the club since he never has problems facing proxy models, and our games always feel like taking a well deserved nap. Mads is very verbal about his lack of skill, but I'm sure the answer to his many defeats are found in his list construction principles instead, and his "Trolls that point" list was my favorite.

Today he was working on his Fiona list, and I asked for a 35 point game. His list was mostly what he happened to have in the bag, and it turned out like this.

Fiona the Black

- Nomad

Arcane Tempest Gun Mages (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Arcane Tempest Gun Mage Officer

- Mule

Herne & Jonne

Lady Aiyana & Master Holt

Sea Dog Deck Gun, aka "The Cultist Cannon"

Steelhead Halberdiers (Leader and 9 Grunts)

First Mate Hawk

Master Gunner Dougal MacNaile

The Cultist Cannon has become something of a celebrity in his lists, and always performs better than expected. I will never understand why Fiona is considered a poor caster, because that feat hurts. I was fielding my Mohsar list, which will undergo some serious reconstruction but this was it.

Mohsar the Desertwalker

- Gorax

- Shadowhorn Satyr

- Warpwolf Stalker

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt)

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Druid Wilder

Gallows Grove

Gallows Grove

Lanyssa Ryssyll

Lord of the Feast

In hindsight I should have had another Warbeast, but hindsight is always 20/20. I chose to go second again, and the standard turn one running began. The Feral is obviously a Stalker, the Stonekeeper is some old model I had that sort of looked like him, Mohsar is the Druid UA, and the Gallows Groves...

Circle deployment, can you spot the Gallows Groves?

Heavy thinking is not recommended, Mercs turn 1.

Circle turn 1

One five inch cloud isn't enough to activate prowl and grant concealment to an entire army, so I tried for some Pillars to block the Gun Mages and sent out the trees (because 5" place effects means move or be left behind). The Bloodweavers shifted to the left flank to take care of the Self Sacrificing Halberdiers (They're really really annoying). Mohsar spanked his beasts like crazy and used Maltreatment, but that Fury pool is impressive. I put Mirage on the Stalker and lined up Lanyssa to abuse Hunters Mark, but I forgot the Mule.

The Mule scored a critical hit on the first Pillar of Salt, and sent a Shifting Stone and my Shadowhorn sailing through my lines killing Lanyssa and the Swamp Gobbers as well as pushing the Shadowhorn out of range of everything: epic! Then he used his feat, killed half my Bloodweavers with Herne & Jonne, and I was facing a round of being useless.

Fionas feat is hardcore!

The Shadowhorn managed to take down Hawk despite being within feat range, but that feat is crazy and it took three Fury to kill a single two point solo. Mohsar popped CoS on the Mule since the Stalker was within range and with Primal, Warp Strength, and CoS the Mule should die anyway. I needed 2+ to hit on 1d6, and did 1d6+4 damage with every attack, which should have brought down the Mule but it didn't and the Stalker was stuck.

Gallows Groves are slowly getting there!

Lord of the Feast managed to teleport up and engage the Gun Mages but couldn't hit them since he was in feat range, and the Gallows moved forward again. Mohsar killed a couple of Gun Mages with Crevasse, but I need to find some other way of dealing with infantry. I also used my feat which did nothing at all, and ran the last three Bloodweavers to engage the Steelheads since they were out of charge range.

His turn sees the Nomad head-but the Stalker, and leaves him on 9 boxes but then Dougal MacNaile fires up his gun. He didn't even need the fourth shot to finish the Stalker, and who cares about dice -6 anyway! The Steelheads failed miserably and left two Bloodweavers alive, but Fiona managed to take down another. The Shadowhorn was down to five boxes, and my side of the board was empty as both Groves had unfortunate encounters with heavy objects, but the Shadowhorn was in range, or so I thought.

I decided to play smart for once, and Mohsar put CoS on the Nomad in case my jump would be unable to reach Fiona, and since the Nomad was parked exactly where I needed to be in order to make it, I had to settle for wrecking that instead (bugger). The Bloodweaver stripped the upkeep from the Steelheads which allowed me to clear a zone that nearly got me the win (and I was about half an inch away from winning), and the girls continue to excel. I had to tele-frag my own Wilder to get out of dodge, but I knew it was probably going to end there anyway.

Holt decided he would just go shoot Mohsar and did so. Sure Fiona took down the Shadowhorn and left the Gorax on 1 point, but Holt just walked down there and told Mohsar to go bugger himself with that stick of his, which left him on 1 box. Then Jonne shot him with a drifting AoE and it was game over. I loved the game, though it leaves me at with a negative win statistic again.

Things to consider

I need a Guardian or Watcher in the list. Mohsar is very funny, but I need a way to protect him from ranged attacks and another heavy warbeast would be lovely as well, so I'm having a hard look at the Guardian. I don't really need the Wilder with Mohsar since his control area is enormous, and the Gorax never does anything so it might as well generate some fury doing something useful. 

The Stalker is just crazy swinging at PS 22, and the Shadowhorn at PS 18 is nothing short of fantastic, so while I actually feel pKrueger is a more powerful choice with Lightning Tendrils I think me and Mohsar will become very good friends indeed.


/Lamoron

Comparing Mohsar & pKrueger

I'm working on the next chapter of the "Beginning with Cryx" series, and the Amphibious Helljack Plastic Kit made for some interesting new ideas. I also ordered Mohsar on eBay as I'm not completely satisfied with pKrueger as my Warlock, and I find myself missing some shenanigans and armor debuffs. I think my current selection of models (including what I've ordered) will do well with Mohsar, and I've been comparing him with pKrueger.

Chain Lightning Vs. Crevasse

Chain Lightning has more potential, but Mohsar actually has the Fury to cast his spells as most of his power is in upkeep spells, and he has a potential nine Fury in a round. Crevasse is also less prone to "poor dice" syndrome, but more vulnerable to good placement. I don't think I'll ever use any of them much, so I'll call that even.

Deflection Vs. Curse of Shadows

Mohsar is the clear winner here, with pKruegers ability buffing models he really shouldn't be using. Curse of Shadows also puts the Shadowhorn at PS 18 with Primal, and the ninja goat become really bloody dangerous. The ability to charge straight through a unit is also amazing with a Stalker with Mirage and Hunter's Mark on the target, going 15" straight through as long as it can draw LoS.

Lightning Tendrils Vs. Mirage

Lightning Tendrils is the winner due to positioning and electro leap, but the increase in threat range is actually larger with Mirage (0.5" inches, but still). Mirage also has defensive applications, and can increase the threat range of models that already have reach. Lightning Tendrils are still better, but not by much.

Skyborne Vs. Sands of Fate

Skyborne is the winner since the added defense puts him way above Mohsar in survivability, but the unlimited range could make for some interesting plays with teleports. SoF also allows some seriously weird turns when combined with Shifting Stones, but I think it's mostly an "oh shit" button.

Tornado Vs. Sunhammer

Right now I'd rather have Sunhammer, but when the Gallows arrive I think Tornado might see some use. It's still the only spell beyond skyborne pKrueger will be casting in a round, and it means no upkeep spells if he does, unless he feels like hanging out without transfers. Sunhammer is an upkeep spell that passively damages big scary things, and it completely prevents the problematic "1 box Molik Karn healing two and taking down your caster" problem. I'll pick Sunhammer as the winner of this one.

Storm Ravager Vs. Pillar of Salt

Yes it's a feat compared to a spell, and the spell is winning. The last two games I've blocked my opponents advance with Storm Ravager, and while Pillars can be destroyed it's going to mess up his advance a lot, and I can reposition these babies. They can also mess up charge lanes, block LoS without needing the Druids, and that's what I really need. They don't do damage, and I won't always have the Fury to put up three (rarely actually), but they'll do.

The rest

Mohsars feat is devastating against Hordes, and useful against a few Warmachine lists, but pKrueger can assassinate personally while Mohsar cannot. Mohsar has no trouble with stealth models which i think is a huge bonus when it comes to stealth models/casters. Mohsar is much weaker defensively unless he uses his pillars to block LoS, which is possible but would reduce my offensive capacity a lot. I'm looking forward to trying it out on the field when everything arrives, but I think Mohsar will give me a slight boost in power, and suit my style better with access to debuffs.

Mohsar the Desertwalker

- Gorax

- Pureblood Warpwolf

- Shadowhorn Satyr

- Warpwolf Stalker

- Warpwolf Stalker

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt)

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Druid Wilder

Gallows Grove

Gallows Grove

Lanyssa Ryssyll

pKrueger Vs. Siege & eMadrak

We had a lot of people cancel due to illness, and it turned into an organized game day instead of a tournament. Half my models haven't arrived, so it was another list of things I actually own. I think I'm closing in on what works with pKrueger, and a lot of these models aren't on that list.

Krueger the Stormwrath

. Gorax

. Feral Warpwolf

. Gnarlhorn Satyr

. Shadowhorn Satyr

Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Druid of Orboros Overseer

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Blackclad Wayfarer

Druid Wilder

Lanyssa Ryssyll

Lord of the Feast

Let me first take the time to say, that while the Gnarlhorn is a frigging disaster in a pKrueger list the Shadowhorn is a dream come true. I got him last night and stayed up late to work on his pose, which was very rewarding and drew some attention. I've got a crappy picture, but he's had his arms, legs, and horns reposed.

Ninja-goat!

The first game was against the guy who spanked me with siege, but this time I had mostly useful models, though it's still a mile from being tuned. We had reinforcements and a scenario, but we never really got around to going for it.

Cygnar deployment

I won the roll and forced him to begin. After looking at the deployment types, scoring, distances, and special rules, I'm beginning to think it's an advantage to go second, but this time I just wanted to see where his Nyss Hunters would be. They took the right flank, and I was pretty sure they'd be coming through the area between the gate thingy and the rocks on the right: perfect.

Circle Deployment

All my beasts deployed across from Siege himself with the Druids out front to avoid the disaster from last time. I really have to find some way to make that cloud cover easier to handle, because it's a royal pain in the ass to set up and remove.

pKrueger, bastard...

He ran up exactly as I hoped he would, and I popped my feat to stop his entire advance. Nyss Hunters can't go through those lightning storms, and there was no going around them either. It was like removing ten points from his list and I got a few Rangers as well (there are a few proxy models in there in case you're wondering, and the Gun Mages are really Nyss Hunters).

Cloud cover engaged.

I felt confident, but as we all know confidence is something you have when you fail to comprehend every aspect of a situation, and I somehow missed Mage Sight. I know it will be better when I know what my own models can do, so I have time to consider his, but the defense wasn't entirely ineffective.

I will surviiiiiive!

Funny fact: Rangers require LoS to provide +2 to hit. Siege came out in front to catch me in his feat, which I think was game right there, but if he could take out all my Warbeasts I was screwed, but otherwise he would lose. If I were him I would have cut my losses and redeployed, giving me the initiative but keeping most of list intact, but he's a new player and got carried away with the major firepower he could bring to bear. 

Druids... well at least they did something right.

All three Warbeasts survived, mainly due to the fact that he wasn't getting his +2 to hit from the Rangers which caused some critical shots to miss, and Siege was alone with nothing but range and armor to keep him safe. The Junior Warcaster had thrown Arcane Shield on him, but the Druids pulled him forward, the Bloodweavers stripped it from him (I'm never leaving home without upkeep removal again), and the Feral slept with a full belly that night.

I messed up everything again, bunched up, blocked my own lanes, and while the Druids won me the game I think I'll try a few games without them and see how it goes. pKrueger is just some guy that puts up Lightning Tendrils and drop his feat on something, which is a little disappointing, so I swore I'd do something more with him next game, and throw some lightning on people.

Game 2

Trollbloods run by eMadrak: trouble. I've been up against eMadrak a couple of times and it rarely ends well. It was also an incredibly scary list to face with Circle, though I'd love a rematch with Terminus sometime in the future.

Madrak Ironhide, World Ender

- Troll Axer

- Mulg the Ancient

Kriel Warriors (Leader and 9 Grunts)

- 3 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower

- Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper

Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes

- Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder

Trollkin Long Riders (Leader and 4 Grunts)

Fell Caller Hero

Horthol, Long Rider Hero

Stone Scribe Chronicler

The Long Riders are such an amazing unit, and I knew I was up shit creek on this one. Again I got to go second, which in this case was a bad thing but mostly because of that cavalry. It was the "Incoming" scenario, but again we never really got around to it.

Brace for impact!

The Long Riders ran up 14" with Horthol right behind them, and his army followed wherever it could. I pushed up my defense, and hoped a screen of high defense druids would stop his assault short, but sadly I'd missed another little detail: boosted impact hits. I did stop his entire flank with Kruegers feat, and I must say it's a really powerful ability, but it didn't help me much.

I had so much to do that I didn't get a picture, but the Long Riders came in with boosted MAT 9 impact hits rolling my druid screen nicely, and more than a few of them managed to swing at the second line which sadly included a Shifting Stone (sigh). It wasn't as much of an disaster as I thought it would be, but Madrak charged forward after putting up Mulgs animus, forcing me to retreat with several models and making it harder to retaliate (without that move I probably would have won with some throwing action from the Shadowhorn).

I want my Gallows Groves you bastards!

I thought the Feral was in range of Madrak, and while it was unlikely to kill him it might clean up his shield, and with good dice I could do it since electro leap could take down his shield with some luck. I cleaned out the Cavalry that made it to my second line with the Bloodweavers (I love those girls so much), but I needed to pacify Mulg before going in or I'd be pulped. Looking around I noticed Lanyssa, and one critical freeze Ice Bolt later Mulg was looking mighty surprised in his little cage of ice (very funny, though I did have some backup plans).

I pulled the Gorax back to get Primal back, threw Primal (I had Tendrils from the round before) on the Feral and moved it up to kill Madrak... and was a cunt hair out of range (FUUUUCK!). I was in range of Mulg if I could take down a Long Rider blocking my LoS, so it wasn't a complete loss, but it took two hits to bring the Long Rider down, and then he made a tough check as well (I want my Gallows now!), which meant Mulg was left standing with half his boxes left. 

I had to finish Mulg or my army would be a smudge when he was done, so the Shadowhorn got Primal from the Wilder and Tendrils from Krueger, and jumped on Mulg. I love that guy, and I'm really tempted to get a second one for the list. It pulped Mulg, and got a few kills from the electro leaps as well (something the Feral also failed to do because of Tough!), and I ran up the Gnarlhorn to block the remaining Long Riders from moving down into my support, and hoped for the best.

Ouch!

I get a face full of aggressive army, and with Madraks own attacks, his feat, and the list in general my Feral died and the Shadowhorn was left with 1 box and was going to Frenzy anyway. Half the Bloodweavers die, my Shadowhorn and Gnarlhorn are knocked down, but I'm left with one chance. The Druids, Stonekeeper, and Lanyssa, tries to fry his shield but tough saves him (GALLOWS!) , and then I move up Krueger to use his famous infantry clearing abilities (and I did promise myself I'd do just that).

Chain Lightning, 1 leap, one kill. Chain Lightning, 1 leap, 1 kill. Yeah that was really impressive, and I had to use my last Fury to heal the Gnarlhorn so he could try for the assassination, which meant an all or nothing Gnarlhorn assassination run. Then I noticed that his Axer was full on Fury, which means no transfers, and I had managed to take him down to two models in his shield. The Gnarlhorn moves up, needs 6+ to hit and rolls at -2/-3 damage. He leaves Madrak at 8 hp after some really appalling dice, and Krueger dies.

Conclusion

I still have some packing to do, so I called it a day since it wasn't really a tournament and it had gotten late without time limits. I hate the Gnarlhorn. I learned quite a bit about my list, and the Shadowhorn Satyr is just the type of model I love to play. I hate the Gnarlhorn. I love the Bloodweavers and they're staying in my list. I hate the Gnarlhorn. I also believe that pKrueger is supposed to do nothing in his lists, except Cycle Lightning Tendrils and keeping safe. I hate the Gnarlhorn. The Blackclad is alright but I don't think I need him. I hate the Gnarlhorn.

I also hate the Gnarlhorn in case you missed that. I think he'll do well in my eKaya list when I get around to that, but he has no place in a pKrueger list. I messed up positioning with my Druids again, and I think I'll try something else next time. The Feral is still pretty good, but without Geomancy to cycle tendrils he takes up to many resources, and bringing a Geomancer takes up a lot of points as well.

/Lamoron

Circle paint scheme

I was thinking about colors for my Circle army, so I began trawling the web for a little inspiration. I don't much like the green hippie look of Circle in general, and I remembered seeing a couple of very impressive evil Circle themes a while back.

That's some very disturbing Woldwyrds, and I think a "blood & gore" theme might do well with all the wolves. I also liked the blue/silver look a lot, but I'm not sure my skills are up to the task of actually painting something like that.

Evil blood and gore it is then. I did see some form of diabolic Circle theme as well (Satyrs painted up as red satan thingies), but I couldn't find it. If you happen to know where it is, please throw me a link in the comments or on Lamoron.Overseer (gmail).

Getting the last word

Sometimes on a forum you end up in a discussion with a person that clearly doesn't understand or care about basic game mechanics. In other forums you just end up being labeled a nazi or commi bastard. In either case, this handy little image should serve you well as a final word. (I removed it from the site because phones took forever to load it).

Circle: Tournament time!

Saturday is tournament time. I'm going up against a bunch of ETC players running trials on their ETC lists, and I'm bringing Circle. Since I've lost the title as most likely to fail, I'm aiming for the skies and 14th place instead. This will be my list, and I only have to borrow the Stalker and Stone Keeper. 

Krueger the Stormwrath

- Gorax

- Feral Warpwolf

- Shadowhorn Satyr

- Warpwolf Stalker

Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Druid of Orboros Overseer

Shifting Stones

- Stone keeper

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Druid Wilder

Lanyssa Ryssyll

Lord of the Feast

I've come to realize, that unless I'm facing an all infantry list the Gorax cannot be allowed to die (worth remembering when I go up against Circle next time). That means I have to place him somewhere safe, and win the game with 4 points less than my opponent.

Feral Warpwolf

The Stalker brings Lightning Strike, which is pretty darn funny on a Feral Warpwolf with a speed warp and Lightning Tendrils. If I can get hunters mark up on the target, the Feral can charge 13", maul everything with reach (15") and Electro Leap, and then retreat 8" afterwards. This guy is on flank duty now.

Shadowhorn Satyr

I'm looking forward to fielding the Ninja-goat. He can move up 6", then jump 5", then with Tendrils and Primal he can take down most casters that come within 13" of him if there's room to land (MAT 8, PS 16/15/15 and 3 Fury to spare). I keep thinking of him as a really good light warbeast, and I think playing him like one is the key. If I lose the infantry exchange he's cheap enough to go crazy with Tendrils and make up for it as well.

Warpwolf Stalker

I like this one a lot. Pathfinder, built in reach, very high PS attacks, and even Berserk if I really need to blend some infantry. He's a jack of all trades, master of most of them, which is really impressive. Primal and strength can push him to PS 20, so the list of models he can't destroy is really really short. He also has Prowl, which is incredible on a heavy of his caliber, allowing me to avoid losing him to ranged attacks in 95% of my games (all theory of course).

Druids

*shakes fist* work you damn hippies! This time I'll spread them out like mad, and see how that works, and perhaps they don't all need to be on the front line to do their thing. I think I'll try three of them up front to provide concealment, and the rest as second line models.

Shifting Stones

There will be a lot of Cygnar players present (about 25% of the tournament actually), but most of their heavy guns don't ignore stealth. I still don't understand half the stunts these things can perform, but maybe I will after Saturday.

Bloodweavers

I've run into a problem with them, as they need a flank to play well, but the upkeep removal needs to be able to reach both sides of the table. Perhaps my beasts will need to flank more, while the Bloodweavers take the center, but against Warjack heavy lists (I know there will be an eNemo tier list) they'll have to settle for speed-bump duty.

Druid Wilder

Advance, throw Animus on something, then probably die. She'll be flanking with the Feral, so Krueger can remain safely hidden down back when I send the Feral on a Suicide/Sprint mission.

Lanyssa

The first game she died without doing anything. The second game she just didn't do anything. Third game must be the charm. I think she needs to get further up the field, and screw the risk of getting killed.

Lord of The Feast

Stupid Gun Mage, daddy Feast is coming for you. I just need him to advance some infantry within range of a charge, so I can boost the Raven and beam to the GM units. Cygnar players have so many nice things down back they don't like losing.

I've come to the conclusion that all players should run a second faction. It gives you an entirely different perspective on many things in the game, and when facing up against a list you know intimately you'll have a huge advantage (assuming you're not in a mirror match game of course).

/Lamoron

Easy Mold... I think

A buddy of mine ordered some Easy Mold, and I asked him to get me some as well. It's supposedly easy to use (duh) and should allow me to create some of the parts I need (instead of using eBay). Today it arrived...

What... the... Fuuuu...

Game Theory: Spotting Linchpins

As you know I've been playing around with some Circle lists, and I've discovered a few linchpins I didn't know about (since there are so few Circle players in my meta). That got me thinking about the many opportunities I must be missing against other factions as well.

Identifying linchpins can be a difficult task, so I've spent a little time thinking up some guidelines to make it easier. In case you're not familiar with the term, a linchpin is something you can remove to cause a larger structure to collapse. In the case of Cryx our best known linchpin is Bane Lord Tartarus, because Banes are a lot more manageable without him cursing enemy units and replenishing their ranks.

Unit Attachments

The obvious place to begin is with Unit Attachments, because they're easy to spot and nearly always worth killing. The things to look for in Unit Attachments are abilities that are:

• Orders
• Granted abilities
• Mini-feats
• Command range

These things all disappear when the attachment dies, so take a quick look at his Unit Attachments and see if they're worth the extra effort. An example of an Unit Attachment that isn't a linchpin could be the Gun Mage Officer, since he's just a Gun Mage with +1 RAT unless he's marshaling a Warjack, while the Satyxis Raider Sea Witch would leave her entire unit high and dry if she died.

Unit leaders/members

Just like Unit Attachments, there are several unit leaders/members in the character units that are worth another look. If you bring down Blackbane the Ghost Raiders lose Reanimation, the Nyss Hunters lose CRA when Cylena dies, the Great Bears lose Steady when Kolsk dies, Boomhowlers lose 4+ tough, and the list goes on.

You can really neutralize a lot of the character units with a single kill if you pay attention, and there are several abilities based around the number of models in a unit as well, like the Withershadow Combine needing all three members to use Dark Industries and the Shifting Stones can't teleport unless they're at full strength.

Solo characters

These are by far the hardest to spot. It can be hard to tell what one ability does before the hammer comes down on you and it's to late to act, and knowing how every solo interacts with models/units in factions you don't play is almost impossible. Let's take a tour of the common Cygnar solo characters, to illustrate the problem.

• Journeyman Warcaster. This guy is worth considering a linchpin if his Arcane Shield is making your life difficult, but he's not a real linchpin unless he's controlling a jack. If he is controlling a jack it has a huge impact when you take him down, so go get him.
• Stormsmith Stormcallers. Taking down just one has a significant impact on the rest of them. These we can spot because of the way their numbers interact with their abilities.
• Squire. This ridiculous little machine adds so much power to it's warcaster, that it's always a linchpin. Taking it down makes just about every Cygnar caster more manageable, though actually killing it is damn hard.
• Arlan Strangeways. If there's a solo character mechanic hanging out, you can bet he does something interesting. The thing is that he really isn't a linchpin, because while he does add something to his jacks, you're not making a huge impact by killing him, unless of course you have several disruption effects to apply.
• Archduke Runewood. There's a picture of this guy in the dictionary under "linchpin", as his Battle Plan ability is a real force multiplier. Removing Runewood, right when a unit parked itself behind terrain expecting his Pathfinder to help them through, can turn a game around. It's worth noting that his Elite Cadre ability is permanent, so killing him doesn't remove it's effect.

What do these models have in common: nothing. That's a problem with no easy solution right there, and while there are plenty of linchpins that are instantly identifiable like General Slaughterborn (with two abilities that specifically support Bloodgorgers), most of them are hard to spot.

• Things that support a caster. These are models like the Skarlock, Sylys, Hierophants, Druid Wilders, Succubus, Wracks, and more. Terminating these models can mess up your opponents Focus/Fury economy, and activation sequences. These are very often linchpins, though more so in Warmachine lists.
• Things that support XXX. The game has more than a few models that boost/buff  models/units, and some models like Kovnik Joe or Tartarus have abilities that only work on a specific unit, while Rhupert and Fell Callers can support just about anyone and would be harder to spot if we didn't already know where to look.
• Things that break the system: This is Madelyn Corbeau, Anastasia di Bray, and other solo characters with the ability to break the system. In my Terminus list I have Madelyn, and while she lives my Bile Thralls are incredibly potent, to the point of being broken, but when she dies they're reduced to being "a good unit".
• Things that control others: These are things like Lesser Warlocks, Journeyman Warcasters, and Jack Marshals. These are all fairly squishy models that have big expensive models depending on them, so getting them down earns you a solid lead in resources.

Honestly though, most of the solo linchpins are hard to spot, and you'll just have to remember how bad it was and kill them the next time around. In a tournament with limited time to read up on your opponents list, you should stick to watching for easy targets in the UA and Character unit departments, while watching for obvious targets like Kovnik Joe or caster attachments in the solo department.

/Lamoron

pKrueger Vs. Sturm & Drang

Tonight was interesting. I like fielding units without their UA at least once (getting a feel for the unit itself), and since I didn't have the Shifting Stone UA anyway I got that out of the way. My opponent had the following list.

Sturm und Drang

- Gun Boar

- War Hog

- War Hog

- War Hog

Farrow Bone Grinders (Leader and 3 Grunts)

Farrow Brigands (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Farrow Slaughterhousers (Leader and 5 Grunt)

Alten Ashley

Rorsh & Brine
Targ

Vs. 

Krueger the Stormwrath

- Gorax

- Feral Warpwolf

- Gnarlhorn Satyr

Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters (Cylena and 5 Grunts)

Druids of Orboros (Leader and 5 Grunts)

- Druid of Orboros Overseer

Shifting Stones

Tharn Bloodweavers (Leader and 5 Grunts)

Druid Wilder

Lanyssa Ryssyll

Lord of the Feast

Totem Hunter

He won the roll and forced me to go first. I had a giant forest in my deployment zone as we rolled a radial scenario, which forced my beasts to go around, and I had to leave it in round two anyway if I wanted to advance.

Bloodweavers on the left, since stealth took care of their every defensive need in this game. Stones and Feral up the center with most of the solo characters, while Krueger hid in the forest. Druids put down clouds (I really need to find an easier way to place and remove them), and the Nyss Hunters and Gnarlhorn took the right flank. The Gorax is hanging out in the back, since Sturm & Drangs feat can shut down Fury generation almost completely for a round.

He ran his Brigands up to face my Bloodweavers and a Hog up behind them, his Slaughterhouses up to shield his other hogs, and Rorsh took my right flank. I forgot to snap a picture of it, but it was quite clever. I couldn't really engage with my Bloodweavers because Drang can Goad his hogs, and my Bloodweavers would die to a pin-balling MAT 8 Warhog if they came for the Brigands (which were tough so I couldn't even be sure I'd gain anything).

I brought a Lord of The Feast. I don't get why people complain about Tartarus when this guy is around. He charged in and ate three Brigands, then shot himself down the center and munched through half the Slaughterhouses as well: problem solved. The Bloodweavers sent up three ladies to finish the remaining Brigands and tempt the Warhog, while the Feral warped for armor and advanced an inch to far up the field.

I pulled up Brine, despite messing up badly with the Druids (I forgot I had included the UA this time, and that he was the leader, so the critical Druid was out of formation). The Lightning Tendril Nyss Hunters didn't have the impact I would have liked on Brine, since two thirds were out of range due to that missed pull, and I wrote them of as casualties. The Totem Hunter had chosen Rorsh as Prey and took up position near the Nyss, so he could get a shot at Rorsh when he came forward to force.

Rorsh is playing for keeps though, and has to get in range to force Brine. He moves up, throws his dynomite at the Totem Hunter, misses automatically due to stealth but still hits, boost damage and... there was much rejoicing in camp Bacon. Then he shoots a Nyss Hunter just to prove he can, and Brine munches a couple of more Nyss, but the real action was over on the left flank.

I forgot the pictures again, but Sturm pulled my Feral forward with a TK since I forgot all about putting a cloud down he could hide in, and a Warhog came for him (that inch to far I told you about before). My opponent forgot to turn the Feral around though, and since Sturm was driving team S&D this round it was good old MAT 6 against DEF 14 and the Feral lived. Sturm popped his feat, but I had spanked the Gorax really hard down by the forest so I had plenty of Fury to go around, and I thought I had had a win button to push, even with my Feral limited to 1 Fury.

There was an open space by his caster, and it was within teleport range, so the Wilder threw Primal on the Feral and I beamed it to Sturm. I knew he had Watcher up, but I figured I was safe enough with 8+ to hit and some seven damage if he did manage to land it, but I didn't realize that Watcher was a fully frigging boosted attack, and I began looking for damage control options. 

Then my opponent noticed the wording on Watcher "When an enemy model advances and ends its movement within 6˝ of this model", and since the Feral "must forfeit its movement after being placed this turn" it didn't advance at all, and Sturm died. I lost the title of "most likely to fail on Saturday", and got my first win with Circle.

So what did I learn

Warpwolves with Primal end just about anything. I'm really looking forward to getting my Stalker, since the ability to sprint away after killing something is just brilliant. I've never had much luck with it in Cryx, but it's darn impressive on giant furry killing machines.

Cylena is wasted points, and I need more heavy hitters anyway. I didn't get to play around with the Gnarlhorn, but his defensive stats leaves me thinking I'd rather have something else with pKrueger. I can see him working really well with stealth, so I'll run him with them. 

I still suck at using the Druids, but having the UA made everything easier. I need to stop trying to block LoS with the clouds, and settle for concealment on my models instead. It's almost impossible to maneuver when there's a line of Druids blocking everything on round two, and with enough stealth and high defense I should be alright anyway.

Lord of The Feast is a god, and that guy has so many options. When the Stalkers arrive I can have a sprinting Lord of The Feast with Lightning Tendrils, and that makes me all giddy inside. Charge in and kill every light infantry model within reach while bouncing lightning to targets all over the place, teleport to the next bunch and repeat the process, then sprint away to a defensive position.

I don't think I need the Totem Hunter, which is a damn shame since I've owned him for a year and always wanted to field him. I guess I'll have to find another caster where he does something I need, because that model is gorgeous. 

Ideas on beating Circle 

Shifting stones moved to the top of my kill list with Cryx. The other abilities are fine, but that teleport is pretty darn impressive when I think about it. It takes just one kill to neutralize it, so that's on my to do list from now on. 

Get rid of the Blackclad or Lanyssa, because if you see them they're there because he needs them. A Stalker can reach 11" threat which is a lot, but 13" is an entirely different world of hurt when compared to Cryx speed. If you can force him to warp speed on his Feral, or pop bounding instead of Primal when going in, you've got an edge.

The "Circle can't crack high armor" idea is flawed, but they do have very limited models that can do it. Get rid of that Gorax and many Circle casters will be unable to break a solid Cryx camp, since our casters are generally very difficult to hit as well.

/Lamoron