Shooty eHexeris list

I have been attempting to develop a shooty, all comers list for Skorne. To that end, I have gone back to Epic Hexeris and played this list last Tuesday against Adam and his Khador.
Points: 50/50
Lord Arbiter Hexeris (*6pts)
* Basilisk Drake (4pts)
* Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
* Mammoth (20pts)
Cataphract Incindiarii (Leader and 5 Grunts) (9pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)

I must say it did very well despite the fact that I lost due to assassination.
Some high points of the game:
The drake took out almost the entire unit of Black Spotted iron fang pikemen.
The mammoth destroyed Behemoth with fury to spare after Behemoth failed a charge against it.
The incindiarii killed off almost half of the kayazy assassins in one salvo and tied the rest up in combat the whole game.

Low points:
I forgot about Soul Reaver and could have healed up Hexeris.
Adam moved the last remaining widowmaker base to base with the mammoth so I couldn't sling spells through it. It took 3 different attempts to kill her before I remembered bulldoze.
I concentrated all my efforts on killing the pikemen while ignoring the nyss hunters coming round my left flank. The Nyss are what eventually killed Hexeris.

Goth girls are hot.

Did this today.

Epic Makeda - update

I played my eMakeda list against Adam and his eSorscha list last Tuesday. I did very well actually, I got a off a successful assassination on the top of turn 3. Adam saw it coming and tried desperately to kill my Archidon. he removed all but 1 health box. (whew)

Adam had moved Sorscha up against a wall but there was JUST enough space to fit a large base in front of her.
I activated Tiberion, moved him forward, killed a Great Bear.
I then activated Makeda, she popped her feat, healed the Archidon for 2 points, moved forward to make sure that the Archidon would end up in her control area and cast Road to War.
I then activated the Gladiator, he put its Rush animus on the Archidon.
The paingiver beast handlers activated, enraging the Archidon.
So for those of you keeping track, the Archidon is now P+S 17 (that worked out to be dice +1 due to Sorscha's ARM 15 plus 1 camp), charges for free, immune to free strikes, all to hit rolls are boosted and has a 14" charge range. I gave him the extra range because - well, why wouldn't you?
The Archidon activated, charged Sorscha. Needing 10s to hit, the first strike missed. Bought a second: hit. Bought a third: missed. Bought a third: hit and dead.

I almost feel that the game was too short and that the rest of the army was just window dressing for the assassination, but a win is a win. Adam had alot of high DEF infantry on the table, I don't know how I would have dealt with that with the list I picked. I am going to attempt to create a couple other lists specifically for dealing with high armor and high DEF infantry. The latter may include eHexeris with an Aradus and some Incindiarii.

Curse you, caster ADD!!!!!

Quick post: The more I think about eMakeda, the more I want to play her. I think she may be better with the Immortals and the UA than even Epic Zaal. She can give them more SPD, no KD and immunity to free strikes as well as boosted attack rolls. Her Stay Death can even save the UA from an untimely demise. I'm planning on this list tomorrow:
Points: 50/50
Supreme Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
* Archidon (7pts)
* Tiberion (11pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
* Tyrant Vorkesh (3pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer (3pts)
Agonizer (2pts)

Stay tuned....

Reconsidering Runes of War

So it has come to this: after much consideration I have decided that it would be best for me not to purchase the models for Runes of War. I did not reach this decision lightly, I gave it lots of thought.

1. The list is very ridged, I would not be able to swap out elements like I can with other lists. I'm afraid that I'll play the list a couple of times, discover that it's not for me or it's not my play style and shelve it.
I like having a completely modular army list, having the freedom to swap out warbeasts, units, solos and even warcasters if I deem it fit. That's what I find fun about Warmachine: keeping things interesting by changing around your list now and again.

2. I'm really only interested in the models anyway. The thought of collecting the models, putting them together, mounting them on nice cork bases and painting them to the best of my ability is really what I'm after. It'll seem like a waste if all I end up doing is putting them on my shelf. I even had 2 nice foam trays all set aside for them. I planned out exactly how they would fit and how much space each model would take up.

Runes of War would be good to have if already played Trolls, a list that I could just slide into like it was for Fist of Halaak - I already owned most of the models.

I'm not saying that it's never going to happen, but I think that I'm planning this out for the wrong reasons. I may still collect elements of the list just to have and paint.

Epic Zaal List, Update

I did play my Epic Zaal list last weekend, with some unfavorable results. Lets just say that I'm no longer in a hurry to run out and buy 2 Aradus models.

I played against Adam and his pButcher list which included 3 heavy warjacks including Ruin, wardog, 2 units of MOW shocktroopers, Yuri the axe, manhunter and widowmakers.  Adam is no fool, he saw right through my plan. He moved Ruin forward and soon took out the extoller UA for the immortals. He moved Ruin a little bit further to threaten my caster. I made a feeble attempt to stop him with some nihilators and immortals, but the game was already over.

Some things I want to point out:
I have to do a better job of protecting the extoller, maybe not having him so far forward, maybe just keeping him in formation.

My theory on the Aradus' shooting was spot on, however I didn't factor in the lousy dice rolls. I landed an AOE on both of the MOW units but was only able to kill one model outright despite being poisonous and boosting damage. I'm sure the kill count would have been higher against light infantry.
I'm still not sure if I want to go with the dual Aradus battlegroup. I may stick with one and add a shaman for all its toolbox goodness. Adding range to Zaal's spells can't be a bad thing. I could have used a heavy to deal with Ruin, that would have at least bought me another turn or 2.

I think that this was just a bad match up. Having alot of those lately.....

Epic Zaal

I've finally decided to bite the bullet and start playing Epic Zaal. I was going to wait for the extoller advocate to come out but that's a long way off. So I figured I'd just proxy the models I needed.

Zaal, The Ancestral Advocate (*6pts)
* Cyclops Raider (5pts)
* Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
* Aradus Sentinel (8pts)
Immortals (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
*Extoller Advocate (2pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (1pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)

Zaal is definitely a back line caster. His ARM is great but his DEF is only 10. A shooty battlegroup seemed the right way to go with his Magesight spell. With all that infantry, I fear that a melee beast like a gladiator wouldn't get a good charge lane and end up being 8 points wasted. The Aradus has arcing fire and can get up to RNG 14 with Far Strike. The fact that his AOE is POW 13 and poisonous is great; the model directly hit (if living) gets 3 dice of damage plus I can still boost.

The Swordsmen and the Nihilators are the first wave, obviously, doing as much damage as possible and providing souls to Zaal and the Ancestral Guardians. The Immortals will hopefully stay alive long enough to benefit from Zaal's FEAT, getting into position and staying safe through Incorporeal. Zaal is going to sit behind the 2 Aradus with the Raider closeby and the Ancestral Guardians close as well. The beast handlers are there to strip off any access FURY and to Enrage the Aradus just in case. The bellows crew's AOE will hopefully mitigate Zaal's horrible DEF.

I have high hopes for this list, no doubt I'll get beat around a bit but it'll be fun.

pZaal, 50 pts.

I modified my Zaal list a bit:
Points: 50/50
Supreme Aptimus Zaal & Kovaas (*5pts)
* Basilisk Krea (4pts)
* Cyclops Raider (5pts)
* Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
Gatorman Bokor and Bog Trog Shamblers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard (2pts)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Leader and 1 Grunt) (1pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Paingiver Task Master (2pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

I played this list against Adam last night. He played pVlad with MOW shocktroopers, kayazy, Nyss hunters, Behemoth and Drago.  I really like this list, not because I won but it's fun to play and has some interesting synergies. Neither of us scored any points so it was down to the assassination. He ignored my ancestral guardians all game until one of the last turns. He killed Hakaar, bringing the Kovaas into play. He then killed my other 2 AGs and tried to kill the Kovaas but failed by 1 point. I needed to kill 1 MOW to give the Kovaas LOS to Vlad. I did so but forgot that the Koldon Lord had a magical weapon and got a free strike on the Kovaas. He missed. (whew). I had put Last Stand on the Kovaas earlier. 2 hits and Vlad was dead.

I have a problem with spacing. I noticed that my army was too spread out and the Bokor didn't collect and corpse tokens all game.

Quick update

Wanted to post a quick sketch, another VTOL/Aerospace fighter pilot for the upcoming Battletech campaign.

Update

VTOL pilot

The Zaal list is legit. I played last Tueday against a cool dude named Jack and his Haley 3 list. It was a tight game an alot of fun. I lost but that's ok. Everybody did their jobs, except for the totem hunter. Next game he comes out and Saxxon Orrik and the swamp gobbers go in. I really needed pathfinder.

Battletech is progressing along nicely. Adam and I started a new campaign. I need to get better organized with my paperwork, juggling sheets for different mechs, tanks, vtols and infantry is a bother. I need to find a way to create my own vehicle data sheets and come up with a control sheet where at the start of the game I write down everybody's speed and what they did that turn. Playing with infantry last game was fun even though I lost 1 whole platoon. I built transports for them using the Battletech construction rules and used CAV minis from Reaper. 1 VTOL can carry 2 platoons of foot infantry, has enough armor to take a hit, lightning fast and equipped with machine guns and smoke launchers.

More Things n' Stuff

Been bouncing back and forth between Warmachine and Classic Battletech the last few weeks and having load of fun in the process.

I came up with this list for Zaal that I've been itching to try out. His epic version looks really fun and I'm looking forward to eventually picking him up. In the meantime, I want to get better with his prime incarnation.
Points: 50/50
Supreme Aptimus Zaal & Kovaas (*5pts)
* Basilisk Krea (4pts)
* Cyclops Raider (5pts)
* Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
Gatorman Bokor and Bog Trog Shamblers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard (2pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Ancestral Guardian (3pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)
Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)
Paingiver Task Master (2pts)
Totem Hunter (3pts)

More pics, just random stuff.


Oh, and for you playing along at home, my weight is now at around 212.

Epic Makeda

Been away for a while, summer's just about over and folks will be back in the mood for gaming once again. I've rediscovered Battletech and have been playing some games with Adam over the last few weeks. I had forgotten how much fun the game was and I do wish that I had kept at least some of my old rulebooks. I sold/traded my entire collection of books and minis about a decade ago, after convincing myself that I was never going to play again. Life happens, but things have a way of coming back around. I did manage to find some mech figures I bought years ago that are suitable and utilize PDF rulebooks off the internet, so its all good.

Lately I have been modifying old lists for my Skorne. I took the Incindiarii out of my Mordikaar list and replaced them with Keltarii. I played 2 games against Adam and conceded both. I'll chalk it up to being rusty due to my gaming hiatus. Trying something new today, eMakeda.

Points: 50/50
Supreme Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
* Cyclops Shaman (5pts)
* Archidon (7pts)
* Molik Karn (11pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
* Titan Sentry (9pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (3pts)
Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)
* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)
Saxon Orrik (2pts)

Yes I'm going rather beast heavy. I'm trying to avoid the infantry cluster fuck that I normally end up with. I'm planning on using Makeda's spells and feat to deliver the beasts right down the middle toward the caster bowling ball style. We'll see how this works out.

Things n' Stuff...

Random chick

Battletech mech pilot

I haven't been playing much Warmachine lately, tis the vacation season after all. Most everyone is away and unavailable for games. I've been thinking alot about re-visiting other game systems like classic Battletech and Malifaux. I'm in the process of getting miniatures together to play for both game systems as well as painting other random models.

Gonna start putting up some of my artwork here.

Barbarian fighter

Xerxis: Fist of Halaak 50pts.

After the Riven Bonds league is over, I plan on aggressively playing pXerxis and his Fist of Halaak tier list.
System: Hordes
Faction: Xerxis - The fist of Halaak
Casters: 1/1
Points: 50/50
Tiers: 2
Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)
* Tiberion (11pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
Cataphract Arcuarii (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Cataphract Arcuarii (Leader and 3 Grunts) (5pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (10pts)
Cataphract Incindiarii (Leader and 5 Grunts) (8pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Venators Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)

I have all the models, I just need to finish painting them.

Still considering Trolls

Still can't get this idea out of my head. I am watching battle reports and reading up on what everything does and how the army all fits in together. It's a solid list, not just a fluff piece. I also like the size of the army: only 25 models, easy to store and transport. I estimate that I would only need 2 foam trays total, provided I don't get too crazy with bases and modeling. And I can't beat the price: $260 from Discount Games Inc. for everything.
God, I love Warmachine. Try purchasing a playable, tournament level army from GW for $260.

It's still going to be a while before I actually purchase the army and I'll probably have to do it in small chunks, but it will be fun to put together and paint. I can't wait!

pDoomshaper looks like a solid warlock. His feat can be very crippling to my opponent and he packs an impressive spell list, Purification especially. Iron Flesh...nope.

Considering Trolls

Trolls are my favorite models in the game. I love the look of them: big, misshapen dudes in heavy armor wielding giant axes and stone hammers. When I first got into Warmachine, I saw the Trolls and was instantly attracted, especially to the Dire Troll Mauler. I picked up a few models but did nothing with them and eventually got rid of them. Recently I purchased a few of my favorite Troll models and painted a few of them up. At first, I had no intention of playing Trolls, just collecting the models I liked. But I have been giving it some thought and I am considering playing Hoarluk Doomshaper and his Runes of War tier.  The runeshapers are the COOLEST models ever and with this list, I get to have 4 units of them.

Runeshapers!!!!

System: Hordes
Faction: Hoarluk - Runes of War
Casters: 1/1
Points: 50/50
Tiers: 4
Hoarluk Doomshaper (*7pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Trollkin Runeshapers (Leader and 2 Crew) (3pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)

If I actually purchase the miniatures, this will be my FUN list, something I play to take a break from Skorne.

Path of Devastation League - Season 2: Broken Roads

I am participating in Season 2 of the league. This time, the character is an extoller soulward. Shouldn't be a problem fitting her into lists, I use at least one all the time.

Game 1: eHexeris vs. Jagga Jagga, 50pts
I lost the game on scenario, but I earned 6 xp, enough to purchase the Shroud of Sand upgrade giving the extoller +2 DEF.

Game 2: Mordikaar vs. Butcher3, 50pts
I used my standard Mordikaar list vs. Butcher3, so yeah, I lost.
Earned 5 xp.

Game 3: pMakeda vs. Moshar, 50pts
This was one of my more interesting games. I wanted to have some fun so I brought along the mammoth for shits and gigs. I ground his army down pretty good, in the end he conceded after a failed assassination attempt.
Earned 6 xp and purchased an upgrade which gives the extoller eyeless sight and far strike. Can't wait to use that!

Game 4: Naaresh vs. Moshar, 50pts
First time playing Naaresh. He's a bit jankey with his ability to take damage to boost his STR and ARM and then heal himself. He was fun to play, I took a beast heavy list, some Nihilators and alot of beasthandlers. I whittled Moshar's army down pretty good, he conceded.
Earned 4 xp for the league.

Game 5: Zaal vs. Harbinger, 50pts.
I played my standard Tier 4 Zaal list because I thought I was going to play against Cryx. I got to the store and played Menoth instead. I had lots of infantry, my movement was hindered on turn 2 due to Harbinger's feat. I really thought I was going to lose this one, he was up in points by 3. Last turn of the game, I feated, cast last stand on the Kovaas, had the Kovaas charge the Harbinger, killed her.
Earned 6 xp.

Warmachine League: Riven Bonds

I'm participating in the new Warmachine league: Path of Devastation - Season 1; Riven Bonds league. I played 2 games tonight with my hero Ancestral Guardian character and earned 10 XP. More details later.

UPDATE:
I came in 3rd in the league. WOoT!!!

Gaming at Collectors, Epic Hexeris

I'm trying to settle on a new caster, I have been trying out pMakeda and pXerxis. I like them both, but they play very similar to each other, at least the lists I build for them.

Lately though, I have been looking into eHexeris. I dabbled with him a while back and had some success with him. Now I want to try a more serious approach. I looked into his tier and liked what I saw so I went with this list. It's more of a jumping off point, I will no doubt break tier eventually.

Points: 50/50

Tiers: 4

Lord Arbiter Hexeris (*6pts)

* Basilisk Krea (4pts) BONDED

* Bronzeback Titan (10pts)

* Titan Gladiator (8pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)

Praetorian Karax (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)

Praetorian Swordsmen (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)

* Praetorian Swordsmen Officer & Standard (2pts)

Venators Slingers (Leader and 9 Grunts) (6pts)

Ancestral Guardian (0pts)

Ancestral Guardian (3pts)

Ancestral Guardian (3pts)

Extoler Soulward (2pts)

Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)

I played against Dan and his Trolls at collectors last Tuesday. We played the Close Quarters scenario from the SR 2015 rules. 

His list. (He admitted to being 1 point shy)

Points: 49/50

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia (*6pts)

* Slag Troll (6pts)

* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)

* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)

Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (4pts)

* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)

Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)

Trollkin Scattergunners (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

* Trollkin Scattergunner Officer & Drummer (2pts)

Janissa Stonetide (3pts)

Troll Whelps (2pts)

Dan won the roll and went second. I deployed my slingers directly behind the karax on the left flank, the swordsmen and the ancestral guardians on the right flank and Hexeris and the beasts in the center. 

Turn 1 was just straight up movement, getting everything into position. It was Killbox so I was wary to move Hexeris as far as I thought was safe.

The beginning of turn 2 went very well for me. The Drake went first, spraying the Fennblades, causing a wound but the Troll made his tough roll. Hexeris channeled Black Spot through the Drake onto the Fennblades targeting the knocked down troll. He also cast Ashes to Ashes on the troll behind him. The idea was to try to catch as many of the scatter gunners as possible. I did manage to kill a couple. The karax advanced and shieldwalled. The slingers advanced the shot at the Fennblades, nearly wiping out the entire unit. I was impressed. The swordsmen ran at the mauler just to jam him. The ancestral guardians advanced behind the swordsmen, ready to collect the eventual souls.
My flag was well protected and I had a good bead on Dan's. I was actually going to try to win on scenario. Thinks looked great.

Until.....

Dan, seeing no way to win on scenario did a total ball-out move. When he said, "I'm going for the assassination!" I thought, yeah right.

First, he cleared a path to Hexeris with the scattergunners, killing the Drake and a few karax, slingers and swordsmen. Then he ramped up the Earthborne and shot Hexeris in the face. I had 1 transfer but it did little good as the Earthborne had plenty of attacks and fury to pound Hexeris in the dirt.

So that was game, solid victory for Dan. He later lamented that he felt bad. I asked why? He took a risk and it paid off in a game that favors aggression and bold maneuvers. I need to watch that Earthborne in future games. 

Xerxis_50pts

Got to play with my friend Adam at Dark Forest last weekend. We spent the whole day and played 3 games, all using scenarios from the 2015 Steamroller. 

I used the following pXerxis list all 3 games.

Points: 50/50

Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)

* Basilisk Krea (4pts)

* Bronzeback Titan (10pts)

* Tiberion (11pts)

Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)

Cataphract Incindiarii (Leader and 3 Grunts) (6pts)

Nihilators (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 5 Grunts) (3pts)

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor (2pts)

I like it, fun to play. 

Game 1: eSorcha

Surprisingly, he didn't cast freezing grip on anything, he kept Sorcha bricked up all game. Things didn't go well for me, I killboxed myself, I conceded. 

Game 2: Harkevich 

He charged Behemoth straight at my Bronzeback but surprisingly failed to kill it. I finished off Behemoth with a combined effort of Xerxis and Bronzeback. Don't remember how exactly the game went, but I conceded. 

Game 3: Midas, Tier 4

uhh......

Fuck!!!!!

I really need to take notes or take pictures during games. This was our 3rd game of the day and it was getting late. It was a 35 point game, cool things happened, I killed stuff, Adam conceded. 

2 Mammoths

I have acquired a second mammoth recently and am attempting to build workable lists for them. So far the best is this:

Points: 50/50
Archdomina Makeda (*5pts)
* Mammoth (20pts)
* Mammoth (20pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Extoler Soulward (2pts)

Turn 1, Makeda casts Savagery on the Cetrati allowing them to move 10" up the board in shieldwall. Mammoths have a potential 17" threat range with their guns with Assault. Once battle is joined, Makeda casts Carnage giving the Mammoths MAT 8 and the Cetrati MAT 9 and everyone wrecks house.

*Edit*
I may want to swap the extoller for another unit of beast handlers for better fury management.

Week 5 - Tyrant Xerxis

I got in a game last night with Dan and his Trolls. I think that it's fitting that my new regular opponent plays Trolls since there is so much animosity between our two factions in the Warmachine world.

I decided to give pXerxis a try. I had considered him for a while but was stuck on what to use with him. His low fury stat of 5 threw me off a bit, I'm used to playing with casters with plenty of fury to do what they need to do.

My list:
Points: 35/35
Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)
* Bronzeback Titan (10pts)
* Titan Gladiator (8pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Agonizer (2pts)
Mortitheurge Willbreaker (2pts)


Dan's list:
Points: 35/35
Borka Kegslayer (*5pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Troll Impaler (5pts)
* Dire Troll Mauler (9pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer (2pts)
Trollkin Scattergunners (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)

We played Scenario #1 from the 2014 Steamroller rules. I won the roll and went second. I deployed my army as a brick; Cetrati in a line up front and center, one beast per flank, Nihilators and Xerxis right behind the Cetrati and everything else behind them.
Right away I realized that I had made a mistake in my army composition. I should not have taken the agonizer, I was only able to give him 1 whole fury point all game. He just stood there and wet himself. The willbreaker was underused as well. He did put Puppet Master on the gladiator before it slammed a fennblade and got to reroll a miss. Also I messed up on deployment and activation. I was too cautious with the Cetrati and kept them in shieldwall all game. They never even got into the control zone BUT I upkept Defenders Ward on them all game, giving them an ARM 22 and an ARM 24 on feat turn. None of them took a single wound!!

The Trolls owned the control zone and Borka dominated after a combined effort killed my gladiator on turn 3. Mauler got the alpha strike on the bronzeback removing all but 1 damage point. On turn 4 I popped feat and charged the nihilators out at his axer and impaler, 3 on each. They butchered the axer, and wounded the impaler. The bronzeback made short work of the mauler. We called the game because the store was closing. Dan was ahead in points and won square.

Overall I liked how the game played out. I was concerned about beasts wandering out of Xerxis' control area but that didn't happen. I plan on playing a similar list in the future, something like this:
Points: 35/35
Tyrant Xerxis (*5pts)
* Cyclops Brute (5pts)
* Tiberion (11pts)
* Aptimus Marketh (3pts)
Cataphract Cetrati (Leader and 5 Grunts) (11pts)
Nihilators (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
Paingiver Beast Handlers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer (3pts)

I need something to get the Cetrati where they need to be in safety. Marketh can upkeep spells after he collects souls and can hot swap spells when needed. I don't think I needed 2 heavy warbeasts last game, we'll see what 1 heavy and 1 light can do.

I need to figure out an activation sequence where Xerxis can activate, does what he needs to do but not get left behind when the rest of his army advances. I was considering the following steeps:

1. Deploy Xerxis in the forward center of the brick flanked by the Cetrati, the TyComm to one side of the Cetrati.
2. Activate Xerxis, cast Defenders Ward on the Cetrati, use Press Forward on the Cetrati, advance his full SPD (5") and cast Inhospitable Ground.
4. Activate the Cetrati, give them the Shield Wall order, advance them 7" into base to base with each other and forming a protective wall in front of Xerxis.
5. Activate the Nihilators, Run them up directly behind the Cetrati. This will protect the Nihilators and increase their threat range.

Since the Cetrati can only be affected by one Press forward at a time, I may have to use 2 turns to get them into the control zone.