A thoroughly enjoyable weekend, and one which I felt I learned a lot from. Seeing so many different lists and playing against strategies and casters I have never seen before have definitely helped me for when I return to the masters next year. My Borka list once again enjoyed 100% success while Grissel only managed one win out of three.
Grissel was originally brought to give me a denial option to help counter enemy chargers, but only really got to do that in the 5th game. It still left me lacking in hitting power, and I think that is the route I will go next time for the alternative to my Borka list. Anything with an ARM of 20 or higher is just a no go for my Borka list unless Borka himself or the Mauler steps in to deal with it, and then I am running the risk of potentially losing Borka or his source of fury.
I am currently leaning towards an eMadrak list, with Mulg, Axer, Impaler, Long Riders, Horthol and Fennblades for a reach list bonanza. LOTS of hitting power, accuracy and thanks to eMadrak the entire list has pathfinder when charging. He is also a nightmare to assassinate the way that Grissel was in the 4th round game, helping him to survive against similar alpha strike lists himself.
In any case I have a bit of a break between tournament events until roughly September, as I cannot afford to go to the European Team Championships in July or Cardiff Carnage in August (clashes with my best friend's birthday do). By that time the Trollbloods book will also be not far away at all, so with it will come new options and the very very cool looking Captain Gunnbjorn, who may provide a different playstyle for the Trollbloods. Am looking forward to the release of Forces of Hordes: Trollbloods very much.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
UK Masters Overview
OK so the UK masters was amazing, everything I had hoped it would be and then some.
64 players in a tournament, all of which were bringing their biggest and dirtiest lists to try to claim the title of the UK's finest. I brought my Welsh Open conquering Borka list and a Grissel list which unfortunately had to be modified the day before leaving for Birmingham due to the delay in the release of the Dire Troll Bomber.
Match 1: Borka vs Lich Lord Venethrax
This was an unusual list, Venethrax had 2 War Witch Sirens, a Skarlock, 3 Bonejacks, Nightmare, 2 Seethers and 2 Slayers. Against my Borka list with all his infantry this proved to be a fascinating encounter. I won the first turn and ran my army to the 22" point of the board in preparation for my feat turn. His jacks ran up to get get position to attack me next turn. My second turn I popped the feat and gave Pathfinder to the Long Riders plus Rage on 3 of them. One bonejack was wrecked from the impact and charge damage, and every single one of his jacks was either engaged or knocked down and many had suffered pretty serious damage while the Fennblades and Kriel Warriors ran up behind to offer second turn support. He cleared out 3 of the Long Riders and tried to get some blood rain going on my infantry behind, but the KSB protected them from the corrosion continuous effect. My next turn the Kriels charged and heavily damaged one of the Seethers with two CMAs and Horthol and the Fennblades together took down the two Sirens. Nightmare tried to go ghostly and trample to Borka to kill him but with a transfer and only 2 focus to buy attacks it wasn't going to happen. The Mauler killed Nightmare and Horthol and the three Champs killed the knocked down Venethrax thanks to Mosh Pit.
Match 2: Grissel vs Darius
A tier 4 Darius list could have been dangerous for my Borka spam, so I rolled with Grissel for the ability to engage his force quickly. One unit of sword knights on the flank were bombed to death by a unit of Runeshapers over three turns while on the other flank the Runeshapers were directly responsible for the assassination run on Darius. Tremor knocked down the Ironclad and Thunderhead while Mulg killed the Hammersmith sat between Darius and the Champion unit. Grissel gave them heroic ballad and cast flaming fists on two of the three who would be able to reach Darius and the three of them took him out for a 3rd turn caster kill.
Match 3: Borka vs pKreoss
This game was a bit of a steam roller, he had a max unit of Idrians with UA which were mowed down by a Long Rider charge on their way into the zealots who had used greater destiny to prevent them from being killed by the oncoming Fennblades, who instead ran around the back to threaten the choir and book along with the Fell Caller to help mitigate Kreoss's feat. Borka spent the entire game sat behind Windwall while benefitting from Stumbling Drunk, so the Redeemer drop and pop combo was never going to work. Long Riders killed the Fire of Salvation, Kell Bailoch, Visgoth and his Crew and Gorman in a single charge leaving the Kriel Warriors to run the other flank to leave Kreoss boxed in with nowhere to run. He tried a desperate 8 focus Immolate spam run on Borka but only managed 2 damage, so the Mauler walked up and ate him in my turn to make it 3 for 3 at the end of day 1 and a place in the top 8.
Match 4: Grissel vs eMakeda
This game was over in the second turn, as I got caught out by the sheer speed that eMakeda could give her beasts on an assassination run on her feat turn. The Bronzeback was a 1/4" within range to charge Mulg, and even though he survived he had lost both his mind and spirit branches so was next to useless to prevent the Gladiator (who was also only just within 1/2" to Grissel and hit requiring 9's every single time as I left her 2 fury for transfers just in case) but phenomenal damage rolls meant I had to ditch every attack and even passing one tough roll wasn't enough to save Grissel.
Match 5: Grissel vs eAsphyxious
I was drawn in the 5th round to play my best friend who had travelled with me to the UK Masters and this game turned into a real grinder. It was Destruction, and between us the only models left going into the final turn was Grissel, 2 Champions (closing in on the last pillar) and a Stone Scribe Chronicler on my side, plus eAsphyxious on his side. Grissel had no choice but to go for the crit slam to try to keep eAsphyxious away from my last remaining pillar for one more turn but even with three boosted attack rolls I couldn't even manage a hit requiring 9's, let alone a crit. In his turn he finished off Grissel.
Match 6: Borka vs pSeverius
This match turned into a grinder of a melee brawl (Borka's specialty) with several fascinating contests all over the battlefield. A repenter and minimum flameguard cleansers unit vs max Kriel Warriors, max zealots and UA vs max Fennblades, Vanquisher and Templar and Guardian vs Horthol and 5 Long Riders and the Mauler. The Mauler at one point had been reduced to 8 wounds, but ended the watch with only 2 damage boxes filled in as he regenerated and snacked his way back towards full health. The Templar with Defender's Ward was a nightmare, as my Borka list isn't made to take on high ARM so all I could do was continually throw men in the way and rely on tough rolls to keep it busy. Severius eventually died to Fennblades via vengeance after Ashes to Ashes killed only one of the five engaging him.
64 players in a tournament, all of which were bringing their biggest and dirtiest lists to try to claim the title of the UK's finest. I brought my Welsh Open conquering Borka list and a Grissel list which unfortunately had to be modified the day before leaving for Birmingham due to the delay in the release of the Dire Troll Bomber.
Match 1: Borka vs Lich Lord Venethrax
This was an unusual list, Venethrax had 2 War Witch Sirens, a Skarlock, 3 Bonejacks, Nightmare, 2 Seethers and 2 Slayers. Against my Borka list with all his infantry this proved to be a fascinating encounter. I won the first turn and ran my army to the 22" point of the board in preparation for my feat turn. His jacks ran up to get get position to attack me next turn. My second turn I popped the feat and gave Pathfinder to the Long Riders plus Rage on 3 of them. One bonejack was wrecked from the impact and charge damage, and every single one of his jacks was either engaged or knocked down and many had suffered pretty serious damage while the Fennblades and Kriel Warriors ran up behind to offer second turn support. He cleared out 3 of the Long Riders and tried to get some blood rain going on my infantry behind, but the KSB protected them from the corrosion continuous effect. My next turn the Kriels charged and heavily damaged one of the Seethers with two CMAs and Horthol and the Fennblades together took down the two Sirens. Nightmare tried to go ghostly and trample to Borka to kill him but with a transfer and only 2 focus to buy attacks it wasn't going to happen. The Mauler killed Nightmare and Horthol and the three Champs killed the knocked down Venethrax thanks to Mosh Pit.
Match 2: Grissel vs Darius
A tier 4 Darius list could have been dangerous for my Borka spam, so I rolled with Grissel for the ability to engage his force quickly. One unit of sword knights on the flank were bombed to death by a unit of Runeshapers over three turns while on the other flank the Runeshapers were directly responsible for the assassination run on Darius. Tremor knocked down the Ironclad and Thunderhead while Mulg killed the Hammersmith sat between Darius and the Champion unit. Grissel gave them heroic ballad and cast flaming fists on two of the three who would be able to reach Darius and the three of them took him out for a 3rd turn caster kill.
Match 3: Borka vs pKreoss
This game was a bit of a steam roller, he had a max unit of Idrians with UA which were mowed down by a Long Rider charge on their way into the zealots who had used greater destiny to prevent them from being killed by the oncoming Fennblades, who instead ran around the back to threaten the choir and book along with the Fell Caller to help mitigate Kreoss's feat. Borka spent the entire game sat behind Windwall while benefitting from Stumbling Drunk, so the Redeemer drop and pop combo was never going to work. Long Riders killed the Fire of Salvation, Kell Bailoch, Visgoth and his Crew and Gorman in a single charge leaving the Kriel Warriors to run the other flank to leave Kreoss boxed in with nowhere to run. He tried a desperate 8 focus Immolate spam run on Borka but only managed 2 damage, so the Mauler walked up and ate him in my turn to make it 3 for 3 at the end of day 1 and a place in the top 8.
Match 4: Grissel vs eMakeda
This game was over in the second turn, as I got caught out by the sheer speed that eMakeda could give her beasts on an assassination run on her feat turn. The Bronzeback was a 1/4" within range to charge Mulg, and even though he survived he had lost both his mind and spirit branches so was next to useless to prevent the Gladiator (who was also only just within 1/2" to Grissel and hit requiring 9's every single time as I left her 2 fury for transfers just in case) but phenomenal damage rolls meant I had to ditch every attack and even passing one tough roll wasn't enough to save Grissel.
Match 5: Grissel vs eAsphyxious
I was drawn in the 5th round to play my best friend who had travelled with me to the UK Masters and this game turned into a real grinder. It was Destruction, and between us the only models left going into the final turn was Grissel, 2 Champions (closing in on the last pillar) and a Stone Scribe Chronicler on my side, plus eAsphyxious on his side. Grissel had no choice but to go for the crit slam to try to keep eAsphyxious away from my last remaining pillar for one more turn but even with three boosted attack rolls I couldn't even manage a hit requiring 9's, let alone a crit. In his turn he finished off Grissel.
Match 6: Borka vs pSeverius
This match turned into a grinder of a melee brawl (Borka's specialty) with several fascinating contests all over the battlefield. A repenter and minimum flameguard cleansers unit vs max Kriel Warriors, max zealots and UA vs max Fennblades, Vanquisher and Templar and Guardian vs Horthol and 5 Long Riders and the Mauler. The Mauler at one point had been reduced to 8 wounds, but ended the watch with only 2 damage boxes filled in as he regenerated and snacked his way back towards full health. The Templar with Defender's Ward was a nightmare, as my Borka list isn't made to take on high ARM so all I could do was continually throw men in the way and rely on tough rolls to keep it busy. Severius eventually died to Fennblades via vengeance after Ashes to Ashes killed only one of the five engaging him.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Runeshapers
I have always been a fan of these guys but have always been leaving them by the wayside because they have never fit into what I have seen as the "must have" from the Trollblood toolbox and before you know it you have run out of the points for any of the cool extras you were thinking of taking. In an attempt to find my secondary tournament list I have decided to expand my line of thinking in regards to the Runeshapers.
Currently they are looked at as a 4pt unit for 3 guys with AOE templates, instead I have forced myself to look at them as a 4/8 unit which can have either 3 or 6. If you look at them as an 8pt unit you can suddenly match them up on par with Scattergunners, Fennblades and Bushwhackers giving you a more accurate comparison.
Scattergunners gives you 10 POW12 Spray templates at RAT5, but besides that are woefully weak defensively and even worse if they are tied into melee.
Fennblades give you a SPD6 unit with Reach and Vengeance and a respectable MAT of 6, but again are weak defensively and have no ranged threat.
Bushwhackers are RNG14 POW10 RAT4, but have advance deploy, bushwhack and CRA which help to offset their defensive frailty.
Runeshapers provide 6 POW14 AOE3 crit KD spells, steady, pathfinder, magic weapons, Kriel Warrior ARM, Fennblade MAT and 5 wounds apiece.
When Runeshapers are looked at from this perspective as an 8pt unit of 6 you suddenly realise what a great deal you get with them when compared to all our similar 8pt unit choices. Unlike most AOEs they are capable of blasting away in melee combat, and with steady they don't have to worry about knocking themselves down. They are also capable of charging using tremor to KD all within 2 inches. You do have to be careful not to catch your own dudes in it (unless its Kriel Warriors with UA who also have steady) but it can be an excellent tool for clearing LOS to the support behind the front line.
Of course they are not a true 6man unit, so have the benefits of actually being two units, meaning they can be split up to cover multiple areas. It also means three can charge and tremor and the other three can bomb their AOEs elsewhere. The only thing to hold someone back from this unit is its monetary cost, they are like just under £50 for two blisters to get the full 6man allowance.
Currently they are looked at as a 4pt unit for 3 guys with AOE templates, instead I have forced myself to look at them as a 4/8 unit which can have either 3 or 6. If you look at them as an 8pt unit you can suddenly match them up on par with Scattergunners, Fennblades and Bushwhackers giving you a more accurate comparison.
Scattergunners gives you 10 POW12 Spray templates at RAT5, but besides that are woefully weak defensively and even worse if they are tied into melee.
Fennblades give you a SPD6 unit with Reach and Vengeance and a respectable MAT of 6, but again are weak defensively and have no ranged threat.
Bushwhackers are RNG14 POW10 RAT4, but have advance deploy, bushwhack and CRA which help to offset their defensive frailty.
Runeshapers provide 6 POW14 AOE3 crit KD spells, steady, pathfinder, magic weapons, Kriel Warrior ARM, Fennblade MAT and 5 wounds apiece.
When Runeshapers are looked at from this perspective as an 8pt unit of 6 you suddenly realise what a great deal you get with them when compared to all our similar 8pt unit choices. Unlike most AOEs they are capable of blasting away in melee combat, and with steady they don't have to worry about knocking themselves down. They are also capable of charging using tremor to KD all within 2 inches. You do have to be careful not to catch your own dudes in it (unless its Kriel Warriors with UA who also have steady) but it can be an excellent tool for clearing LOS to the support behind the front line.
Of course they are not a true 6man unit, so have the benefits of actually being two units, meaning they can be split up to cover multiple areas. It also means three can charge and tremor and the other three can bomb their AOEs elsewhere. The only thing to hold someone back from this unit is its monetary cost, they are like just under £50 for two blisters to get the full 6man allowance.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Welsh Open Victory
Happy days! The Lost Kriel took first place in the Welsh Open as well as earning the prize for most VPs destroyed throughout the whole tournament.
Grissel let me down (though mostly with bad dice rolling) in the first match, but I switched to and stuck with my Borka list for the remaining five games and clawed my way back into 1st place after the 5th game with the final round of games to go.
Much celebrations to be had, but I do not have time to sit on my laurels as the UK Masters is just one month away and I have to try to paint as much of my Borka list for it as I can. Even though the Masters does not require fully painted armies, the European Team Challenge at the beginning of July does (and my Borka list does have a looooot of Trollbloods in it).
Grissel let me down, so perhaps it is time to reconsider my backup list for the tournament...eMadrak is sitting on my table right now screaming "use meeeeeeee"...
Grissel let me down (though mostly with bad dice rolling) in the first match, but I switched to and stuck with my Borka list for the remaining five games and clawed my way back into 1st place after the 5th game with the final round of games to go.
Much celebrations to be had, but I do not have time to sit on my laurels as the UK Masters is just one month away and I have to try to paint as much of my Borka list for it as I can. Even though the Masters does not require fully painted armies, the European Team Challenge at the beginning of July does (and my Borka list does have a looooot of Trollbloods in it).
Grissel let me down, so perhaps it is time to reconsider my backup list for the tournament...eMadrak is sitting on my table right now screaming "use meeeeeeee"...
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Welsh Open Update
OK so my painting drive came to an unexpected halt due to some real life concerns, but the theorycrafting and playtesting for the Welsh Open has continued and finally I have found my two lists of choice.
Borka leads List A, designed primarily for caster kill and grinding down the enemy through brute force and weight of numbers, making him a great choice against other infantry machine forces and gun line lists. List B is commanded by Grissel and is a force better suited to breaking heavy armour and multiwound forces with a lot of high POW attacks from multiple sources while using the mobility of her feat to force the enemy to come to me or lose via scenario denial.
Without further ado, here are my tournament lists for the 2 day event:
Borka Kegslayer (-5)
> Pyg Keg Carrier (0)
> Dire Troll Mauler (9)
10 Kriel Warriors (6)
10 Fennblades (8)
5 Long Riders (11)
3 Champions (6)
KSB and 5 Scribes (4)
> Stone Scribe Elder (1)
Horthol (5)
Fell Caller Hero (3)
Chronicler (2)
Grissel Bloodsong (-5)
> Pyre Troll (5)
> Earthborn Dire Troll (10)
> Mulg the Ancient (12)
6 Kriel Warriors (4)
> Piper and Standard (2)
> 3 Caber Throwers (3)
5 Long Riders (11)
KSB and 5 Scribes (4)
> Stone Scribe Elder
Chronicler (2)
Swamp Gobbers (1)
List A
Designed around the brute force of Long Riders and Horthol combined with the defensive buffs offered by Borka and the Chronicler to make a very tough front line for the enemy to crack while they are flanked to either side by the rush of Fennblades and Kriel Warriors. On the feat turn the Long Riders become the spear to drive into the heart of the enemy army crushing the front line before hitting the line behind them, or going straight for the assassination run where its possible. While the enemy is driven to distraction dealing with the Long Riders the Kriel Warriors and Fennblades charge or run down the flanks while Borka remains protected by his 3 man Champion bodyguard unit and Wind Wall.
List B
Mulg's mobility is helped with Hoof It and/or the EBDT animus to help him keep up with the army rushing forwards to take control of the objectives before the enemy can get to them to contest. When the grinding match begins, multiple high POW attacks come from different sources, with the EBDT, Mulg, Long Riders and Caber throwers all capable of devastating assaults along with the ability to either follow up with the feat or pull back and protect the objectives once more.
Borka leads List A, designed primarily for caster kill and grinding down the enemy through brute force and weight of numbers, making him a great choice against other infantry machine forces and gun line lists. List B is commanded by Grissel and is a force better suited to breaking heavy armour and multiwound forces with a lot of high POW attacks from multiple sources while using the mobility of her feat to force the enemy to come to me or lose via scenario denial.
Without further ado, here are my tournament lists for the 2 day event:
Borka Kegslayer (-5)
> Pyg Keg Carrier (0)
> Dire Troll Mauler (9)
10 Kriel Warriors (6)
10 Fennblades (8)
5 Long Riders (11)
3 Champions (6)
KSB and 5 Scribes (4)
> Stone Scribe Elder (1)
Horthol (5)
Fell Caller Hero (3)
Chronicler (2)
Grissel Bloodsong (-5)
> Pyre Troll (5)
> Earthborn Dire Troll (10)
> Mulg the Ancient (12)
6 Kriel Warriors (4)
> Piper and Standard (2)
> 3 Caber Throwers (3)
5 Long Riders (11)
KSB and 5 Scribes (4)
> Stone Scribe Elder
Chronicler (2)
Swamp Gobbers (1)
List A
Designed around the brute force of Long Riders and Horthol combined with the defensive buffs offered by Borka and the Chronicler to make a very tough front line for the enemy to crack while they are flanked to either side by the rush of Fennblades and Kriel Warriors. On the feat turn the Long Riders become the spear to drive into the heart of the enemy army crushing the front line before hitting the line behind them, or going straight for the assassination run where its possible. While the enemy is driven to distraction dealing with the Long Riders the Kriel Warriors and Fennblades charge or run down the flanks while Borka remains protected by his 3 man Champion bodyguard unit and Wind Wall.
List B
Mulg's mobility is helped with Hoof It and/or the EBDT animus to help him keep up with the army rushing forwards to take control of the objectives before the enemy can get to them to contest. When the grinding match begins, multiple high POW attacks come from different sources, with the EBDT, Mulg, Long Riders and Caber throwers all capable of devastating assaults along with the ability to either follow up with the feat or pull back and protect the objectives once more.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Painting Update 31/03/10
Day 1 of the painting marathon began today, and it has been moderately successful with touchups to my Mauler complete, as well as the Fennblade leader completed and 3 more stage painted to about 60% or so complete. Pics included here:
Mauler Front: http://yfrog.com/69maulerfrontj
Mauler Left: http://yfrog.com/htmaulerrearj
Mauler Right: http://yfrog.com/eqmaulerrightj
Fennblade Front: http://yfrog.com/jpfennleaderfrontj
Fennblade Left: http://yfrog.com/befennleaderleftj
Fennblade Right: http://yfrog.com/3ufennleaderrightj
Current Progress (work in progress/complete)
Borka Kegslayer
Pyg Keg Carrier
Dire Troll Mauler
3 Champions
10 Fennblades (Leader complete, 3 more 60% complete)
10 Kriel Warriors
5 Long Riders
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (Krielstone Bearer complete)
Stone Scribe Elder
Fell Caller
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Horthol, Long Rider Champion
Mauler Front: http://yfrog.com/69maulerfrontj
Mauler Left: http://yfrog.com/htmaulerrearj
Mauler Right: http://yfrog.com/eqmaulerrightj
Fennblade Front: http://yfrog.com/jpfennleaderfrontj
Fennblade Left: http://yfrog.com/befennleaderleftj
Fennblade Right: http://yfrog.com/3ufennleaderrightj
Current Progress (work in progress/complete)
Borka Kegslayer
Pyg Keg Carrier
Dire Troll Mauler
3 Champions
10 Fennblades (Leader complete, 3 more 60% complete)
10 Kriel Warriors
5 Long Riders
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Stone Scribes (Krielstone Bearer complete)
Stone Scribe Elder
Fell Caller
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Horthol, Long Rider Champion
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Painted Stuff (28/03/10)
OK so here we go with a few pictures (apologies for poor quality still getting used to this digital camera thingy) of what I have done so far.
EDIT: The blog formatting doesn't like putting the pictures up here directly, so here is just web links.
Champs
Front: http://img98.imageshack.us/i/champsw.jpg/
Fell Caller
Close Up:http://img202.imageshack.us/i/fccloseup.jpg/
Front: http://img231.imageshack.us/i/fcfront.jpg/
Rear: http://img88.imageshack.us/i/fcrear.jpg/
KSB
Front: http://img651.imageshack.us/i/ksbfrontgc.jpg/
Rear: http://img710.imageshack.us/i/ksbrear.jpg/
EDIT: The blog formatting doesn't like putting the pictures up here directly, so here is just web links.
Champs
Front: http://img98.imageshack.us/i/champsw.jpg/
Fell Caller
Close Up:http://img202.imageshack.us/i/fccloseup.jpg/
Front: http://img231.imageshack.us/i/fcfront.jpg/
Rear: http://img88.imageshack.us/i/fcrear.jpg/
KSB
Front: http://img651.imageshack.us/i/ksbfrontgc.jpg/
Rear: http://img710.imageshack.us/i/ksbrear.jpg/
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Tournament Countdown - Painting List
OK so my objective for this tournament is to try to get my main list painted, I will be trying to update this weekly with status reports. Tomorrow is my last day of uni for three and half weeks (easter break!) so I intend to sit down and attack the painting list hard.
The tournament is on May 8th and 9th, so I have six weeks to get it done.
Bold - Complete
Italic - Partially complete
Borka
Keg Carrier
Mauler - Painted
10 Fennblades
10 Kriel Warriors
5 Long Riders
3 Champions - Full unit painted
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Scribes - Bearer painted only
Stone Scribe Elder
Fell Caller - Painted
Chronicler
Horthol
The tournament is on May 8th and 9th, so I have six weeks to get it done.
Bold - Complete
Italic - Partially complete
Borka
Keg Carrier
Mauler - Painted
10 Fennblades
10 Kriel Warriors
5 Long Riders
3 Champions - Full unit painted
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Scribes - Bearer painted only
Stone Scribe Elder
Fell Caller - Painted
Chronicler
Horthol
Welsh Open - 6 weeks to go
OK cool so the big tournament is just six short weeks away and I find myself still no closer to deciding on my second list with my Borka force currently looking like the main choice I will take to the table. What can a second army bring that my Borka list does not?
After much deliberation I think I finally have it, a number of spoilers and hordes updates (eMorg I'm looking at you) has seen a significant increase in the number of models in the game that either ignore Tough themselves, or grant the ability to do so to models around them. An army of warbeasts just isn't feasible or possible at the moment, so the alternative is an army made up of warbeasts and multi wound troopers.
I don't currently own two units of champions, so that means one unit of champs and one unit of long riders to form the bulk of the army, plus Horthol to make the long riders awesome. The army needs to be fast, so I choose Grissel to lead it and give her a Mauler for the damage buff and Mulg to help provide raw beatstickery (plus an ideal target for Hallowed Avenger due to reach). Add in the KSB and Chronicler to really push up the survivability of the army and some Swamp Gobbers to help shield line of sight to Grissel and it looks like a decent army.
Fast, tough, hard hitting and nothing in the army that attacks (except the Mauler) has a MAT below 7. This army should be able to frustrate the enemy when it comes to objectives and can provide a pretty significant spellcasting and order deadzone on the feat turn ensuring my boys get the charge.
On another note, Trollblood Runebearer and Dire Troll Bomber look awesome! And initial info appears to put them down as a June release so theres an outside chance that they will be available at the UK Games Expo in June in time for the UK masters. At the very least the Bomber will provide me with another possible AoE source, and hopefully one with RNG10. Makes ranged warbeast lists look more and more possible for us, especially one with AoE saturation with bombers, pyre trolls and runeshapers. Especially if the Bomber's animus (like I hope) will provide Explosivo to a friendly faction model.
After much deliberation I think I finally have it, a number of spoilers and hordes updates (eMorg I'm looking at you) has seen a significant increase in the number of models in the game that either ignore Tough themselves, or grant the ability to do so to models around them. An army of warbeasts just isn't feasible or possible at the moment, so the alternative is an army made up of warbeasts and multi wound troopers.
I don't currently own two units of champions, so that means one unit of champs and one unit of long riders to form the bulk of the army, plus Horthol to make the long riders awesome. The army needs to be fast, so I choose Grissel to lead it and give her a Mauler for the damage buff and Mulg to help provide raw beatstickery (plus an ideal target for Hallowed Avenger due to reach). Add in the KSB and Chronicler to really push up the survivability of the army and some Swamp Gobbers to help shield line of sight to Grissel and it looks like a decent army.
Fast, tough, hard hitting and nothing in the army that attacks (except the Mauler) has a MAT below 7. This army should be able to frustrate the enemy when it comes to objectives and can provide a pretty significant spellcasting and order deadzone on the feat turn ensuring my boys get the charge.
On another note, Trollblood Runebearer and Dire Troll Bomber look awesome! And initial info appears to put them down as a June release so theres an outside chance that they will be available at the UK Games Expo in June in time for the UK masters. At the very least the Bomber will provide me with another possible AoE source, and hopefully one with RNG10. Makes ranged warbeast lists look more and more possible for us, especially one with AoE saturation with bombers, pyre trolls and runeshapers. Especially if the Bomber's animus (like I hope) will provide Explosivo to a friendly faction model.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Battlefoams Case has arrived!
Its taken a little over a month but finally my Battlefoams order has arrived. Complete with one large warjack tray, two 40mm troop trays and two 30mm troop trays. The extra dosh paid out for it compared to the GW cases I have been using is well worth it, to transport my Borka list for example I required two GW cases (including one specifically cut for 40mm models and cavalry) and a tupperware box with egg foam I cut specifically to transport my Mauler Extreme.
I can fit my entire army in the battlefoams case with half a tray of 40mm bases spare and even better it accommodates my Mauler Extreme and Mulg in the extra large warjack pockets with ease, and the normal large warjack trays are perfect fits for the five man unit of long riders.
Also there is the added benefit of comfort, carrying two (frankly fairly heavy) hard plastic cases gets quite tiring on the arms and hands compared to a single bag that can be carried across the shoulder. The fact that it has sockets aplenty too for dice, templates, tokens, tape measure, etc is just gravy.
The case is currently carrying the following:
pMadrak
eMadrak
Grissel
Calandra
Mulg the Ancient
Earthborn Dire Troll
Dire Troll Mauler Extreme
Axer
Impaler
Bouncer
Pyre Troll
Slag Troll
Winter Troll
10 Kriel Warriors + Piper and Standard + 1 Caber Thrower
10 Fennblades
5 Champions
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Scribes + Stone Scribe Elder
3 Runeshapers
5 Long Riders
6 Pyg Burrowers
Horthol
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Fell Caller
Hero
Totem Hunter
Swamp Gobbers
Victor Pendrake
And I still have half a 40mm tray free! The battlefoams case was expensive, but it gets my official seal of approval.
I can fit my entire army in the battlefoams case with half a tray of 40mm bases spare and even better it accommodates my Mauler Extreme and Mulg in the extra large warjack pockets with ease, and the normal large warjack trays are perfect fits for the five man unit of long riders.
Also there is the added benefit of comfort, carrying two (frankly fairly heavy) hard plastic cases gets quite tiring on the arms and hands compared to a single bag that can be carried across the shoulder. The fact that it has sockets aplenty too for dice, templates, tokens, tape measure, etc is just gravy.
The case is currently carrying the following:
pMadrak
eMadrak
Grissel
Calandra
Mulg the Ancient
Earthborn Dire Troll
Dire Troll Mauler Extreme
Axer
Impaler
Bouncer
Pyre Troll
Slag Troll
Winter Troll
10 Kriel Warriors + Piper and Standard + 1 Caber Thrower
10 Fennblades
5 Champions
Krielstone Bearer and 5 Scribes + Stone Scribe Elder
3 Runeshapers
5 Long Riders
6 Pyg Burrowers
Horthol
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Fell Caller
Hero
Totem Hunter
Swamp Gobbers
Victor Pendrake
And I still have half a 40mm tray free! The battlefoams case was expensive, but it gets my official seal of approval.
Friday, 12 March 2010
Welsh Open Countdown - Borka and Long Rider Impressions
So my first game with my Borka infantry spam resulted in a victory, as well as brought a lesson about never to let Borka's wind wall defenses down even if the match looks like it is in the bag after a Siege assassination run left him on 7hp.
Just the one warbeast sometimes feels like it detracts from what makes Hordes and Warmachine such a great game, which is a great big bunch of honking beasts and robots tearing each other to pieces and comes closer and closer to the old infantrymachine that I hated when fighting against the Harbinger or the High Reclaimer. I do still hate the Harbinger but I digress...
Troops under Borka are impressive and his feat allowed my entire army to charge 11-12 inches (most of them with reach) to close the distance on a gunline army while still being able to make attacks at the end of it. Ironically I passed only two out of fourteen tough rolls that match (14.3% instead of the expected 33.3%) but the match ultimately was decided by the three surviving long riders who ran straight through a unit of long gunners into Siege.
No matter what anyone may tell you otherwise, MAT9+3d6 POW14 impact attacks will kill anything and hit standard DEF13 infantry on anything except triple ones (1 in 216 chance) and autokill any infantry of ARM15 or less, reliably killing ARM18 infantry (most shield wall units fall in this category) 83% of the time. Follow that up with MAT11 charge attacks that ignore base sizes smaller than their own at POW14 (POW15 in the game I won due to KSB) that can reliably reach POW18 and there isn't much that will stand up to that.
Long Riders on their own are good, but it is the extra 5 points for Horthol that make them great. On his own he is a decent solo, MAT8 POW15 with reach and POW14 impacts are alright but giving both Follow Up and Linebreaker to Long Riders makes him a steal for 5 points. Granted you have spent 16 points of your army right there (you did take max long riders didn't you?) but they are fast, brutal on the charge and the Bull Rush order gains a vicious new twist thanks to Follow Up. They are very survivable for cavalry (ARM17 8hp) which are easily even more survivable with buffs accessible to any warlock via the KSB and SSC taking them to a formidable DEF14 ARM19 8hp which means against all but the meanest gun lines you won't lose more than two on the way in. Borka and Madrak possess the ability to make that even better with Iron Flesh or Sure Foot bringing them up to a terrifying DEF17 or 16 respectively. Even three as I witnessed on Monday night have the potential to run straight through a unit and end a warcaster with an attack to spare.
Just the one warbeast sometimes feels like it detracts from what makes Hordes and Warmachine such a great game, which is a great big bunch of honking beasts and robots tearing each other to pieces and comes closer and closer to the old infantrymachine that I hated when fighting against the Harbinger or the High Reclaimer. I do still hate the Harbinger but I digress...
Troops under Borka are impressive and his feat allowed my entire army to charge 11-12 inches (most of them with reach) to close the distance on a gunline army while still being able to make attacks at the end of it. Ironically I passed only two out of fourteen tough rolls that match (14.3% instead of the expected 33.3%) but the match ultimately was decided by the three surviving long riders who ran straight through a unit of long gunners into Siege.
No matter what anyone may tell you otherwise, MAT9+3d6 POW14 impact attacks will kill anything and hit standard DEF13 infantry on anything except triple ones (1 in 216 chance) and autokill any infantry of ARM15 or less, reliably killing ARM18 infantry (most shield wall units fall in this category) 83% of the time. Follow that up with MAT11 charge attacks that ignore base sizes smaller than their own at POW14 (POW15 in the game I won due to KSB) that can reliably reach POW18 and there isn't much that will stand up to that.
Long Riders on their own are good, but it is the extra 5 points for Horthol that make them great. On his own he is a decent solo, MAT8 POW15 with reach and POW14 impacts are alright but giving both Follow Up and Linebreaker to Long Riders makes him a steal for 5 points. Granted you have spent 16 points of your army right there (you did take max long riders didn't you?) but they are fast, brutal on the charge and the Bull Rush order gains a vicious new twist thanks to Follow Up. They are very survivable for cavalry (ARM17 8hp) which are easily even more survivable with buffs accessible to any warlock via the KSB and SSC taking them to a formidable DEF14 ARM19 8hp which means against all but the meanest gun lines you won't lose more than two on the way in. Borka and Madrak possess the ability to make that even better with Iron Flesh or Sure Foot bringing them up to a terrifying DEF17 or 16 respectively. Even three as I witnessed on Monday night have the potential to run straight through a unit and end a warcaster with an attack to spare.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Lost Kriel Returns
OK it's been a while since my last post on here, mostly due to letting the carnage of the transition from MkI to MkII settle. A few "starter" tournaments later (once with my Trollbloods and once with my Cygnar) and I feel ready to resume the blog.
The biggest tournament I have yet to attend is in May, the Welsh Open is a 2 day 50pt tournament event with six games and should be a great tournament. The 35pt tournament I went to last week was good and I took my Cygnar with me because I swore off using my Trollbloods until their rules are finalised. My Cygnar has always been a side faction for me, I have always been more of an in your face melee kind of player and as a faction they play far more to a shooting heavy setup than a melee one. I invested in Kraye and a few new heavy warjacks, which admittedly is a very fun and unique playstyle, but I missed the kind of melee zerg that only Trollbloods can bring.
Fast forward a few days later and planning ahead to the 50pt tournament I can only see myself bringing the Trollbloods to the table. As a faction they have always been my favourite, and updated MkII cards or not this time they will be there. The only real question for me is which warlocks do I bring?
Borka
Currently a very firm choice for me, Borka has always been one of my favourite warlocks and he finally has a rule set that makes him a tournament worthy option. I do love my warbeasts however, and I see Borka as a single heavy warbeast type of warlock with a LOT of infantry to back him up.
Calandra
Feels like she got the short end of the stick in the Jan29 update with nerfs to both Soothing Song and Befuddle. Still a decent warlock but can't run the beast heavy lists that I used her for in MkI (950 points with Mauler, EBDT, Slag, Winter, Pyre and Axer) so is not likely to make one of my two lists for the tournament.
Grissel
Born to run infantry lists, while her new Hallowed Avenger spell gives her a little bit more love for warbeasts. Has great synergy with a lot of our solo's and units, and her army becomes terrifyingly fast on her feat turn. A great choice if playing for scenarios.
pMadrak
Terrifying feat, and wouldn't be too difficult to build from the 35pt list I used previously (Fenns, Mauler, EBDT, Mulg, KSB+SSE and Gobbers) to great effect. Has a great spell selection and gained snap fire in the Jan29 update.
eMadrak
Great choice for Killbox, especially if you have the Slag and Pyre Troll in your lists to neutralise Legion, Menoth and a large amount of Cryx shooting. Combined with Grim Salvation and a large amount of infantry, I can feel confident that he could deliver his army and warbeasts where they need to be and then unleash his feat to devastating effect.
The biggest tournament I have yet to attend is in May, the Welsh Open is a 2 day 50pt tournament event with six games and should be a great tournament. The 35pt tournament I went to last week was good and I took my Cygnar with me because I swore off using my Trollbloods until their rules are finalised. My Cygnar has always been a side faction for me, I have always been more of an in your face melee kind of player and as a faction they play far more to a shooting heavy setup than a melee one. I invested in Kraye and a few new heavy warjacks, which admittedly is a very fun and unique playstyle, but I missed the kind of melee zerg that only Trollbloods can bring.
Fast forward a few days later and planning ahead to the 50pt tournament I can only see myself bringing the Trollbloods to the table. As a faction they have always been my favourite, and updated MkII cards or not this time they will be there. The only real question for me is which warlocks do I bring?
Borka
Currently a very firm choice for me, Borka has always been one of my favourite warlocks and he finally has a rule set that makes him a tournament worthy option. I do love my warbeasts however, and I see Borka as a single heavy warbeast type of warlock with a LOT of infantry to back him up.
Calandra
Feels like she got the short end of the stick in the Jan29 update with nerfs to both Soothing Song and Befuddle. Still a decent warlock but can't run the beast heavy lists that I used her for in MkI (950 points with Mauler, EBDT, Slag, Winter, Pyre and Axer) so is not likely to make one of my two lists for the tournament.
Grissel
Born to run infantry lists, while her new Hallowed Avenger spell gives her a little bit more love for warbeasts. Has great synergy with a lot of our solo's and units, and her army becomes terrifyingly fast on her feat turn. A great choice if playing for scenarios.
pMadrak
Terrifying feat, and wouldn't be too difficult to build from the 35pt list I used previously (Fenns, Mauler, EBDT, Mulg, KSB+SSE and Gobbers) to great effect. Has a great spell selection and gained snap fire in the Jan29 update.
eMadrak
Great choice for Killbox, especially if you have the Slag and Pyre Troll in your lists to neutralise Legion, Menoth and a large amount of Cryx shooting. Combined with Grim Salvation and a large amount of infantry, I can feel confident that he could deliver his army and warbeasts where they need to be and then unleash his feat to devastating effect.
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Battle Report: Grissel vs eKaya 750
So my next playtest game was also against circle, this time against eKaya. The lists this time were:
Grissel Bloodsong
Winter Troll
Pyre Troll
Bouncer
10 Kriel Warriors + Standard & Piper + Caber Thrower
5 Champions
4 Long Riders
Fell Caller
Hero
Viktor Pendrake
Totem Hunter
vs
Kaya the Moonhunter
Laris
Megalith
Warpwolf
Woldwyrd
Dahlia & Skarrath
6 Wolves of Oberos
6 Tharn Bloodtrackers
3 Gatormen
Blackclad Wayfarer
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew
Deployment
My opponent won the roll and opted for me to set up and go first, we had a river with three crossings running down the board from my zone to his about 6 inches off center, a forest on the far left just past the midway point of the board, with a building in the middle and a few rock pieces scattered around for cover.
I opted to roll with the Long Riders on the left side across the river with the Kriel Warriors spread out evenly across the center of the board covering both sides of the river. The champions were deployed on the right along with the hero, while Grissel and the Fell Caller took up central position alongside the path of the river. The bouncer went with Grissel, the winter troll on the same flank as the long riders, and the pyre troll nearby the champions.
Circle player chose to deploy Kaya near the front along with all of the warbeasts, with the bloodtrackers (who chose the long riders as their prey) on his far right nearest the woods and the wolves on his left covering the ford across the river. Concentrating his forces on the smaller portion of the river, he deployed the gatormen to cover the river itself with Dahlia and Skarrath loitering towards the back along with the wayfarer.
Trollblood Turn 1
The fell caller used pathfinder on the Kriel Warriors, who ran across the river so that the entire unit was on the smaller section serving as a wide ranging road block in front of the rest of my army, with the Long Riders and Winter Troll running up behind them. The Totem Hunter ran up the river along with Pendrake and the Pyre Troll. Grissel used Hoof It on the champions before running across the ford followed closely by the Bouncer. The Champions and Hero ran up across the open ground towards the central building, intending to flank my opponent and box them in by cutting off any escape routes across the river. End of the turn, the Champions moved a few extra inches.
Circle Turn 1
The Warpwolf made a full advance towards the Kriel Warrior line and opted to go with +2ARM, followed by Megalith who cast eKaya's enforced evolution on the Warpwolf. Laris took up a position between the two heavy warbeasts with the Woldwyrd loitering around behind them. The wolves advanced to the flank of Megalith, keeping pace about 4 inches behind him, with the bloodtrackers doing the same on the opposite side with the Warpwolf. The gatormen moved to face the river crossing intending to intercept the champions, while Dahlia cast her anti orders spell. eKaya cast her stealth spell and waits towards the back of the army.
Trollblood Turn 2
Grissel runs across the ford and uses Hoof It on the Kriel Warriors, followed once more by her trusty bouncer. Seeing that the opponent has no intentions of splitting his forces, the Hero chooses to cross the river ready for where the main melee will happen. The Kriel Warriors pop their mini feat and run full out towards the warbeast line, with the shaman piper and caber thrower hanging towards the back while maintaining cavalry formation. The Long Riders run up behind them followed by the Winter Troll, with the Pyre Troll running up the river to close the distance on the enemy. The Champions run around the building, about twelve inches or so from the top most fording point (which is a stone bridge with lips high enough to count as cover), with the Totem Hunter advancing into a position where he still has cover if necessary but a line of sight towards anyone he can get close enough to. Pendrake similarly runs along the river bank ready to be available to assist the champions or the totem hunter as needed. Hoof it movement brings the Kriel Warriors right into the midst of the warbeast line, engaging every single one of them except the Woldwyrd.
Circle Turn 2
eKaya upkeeps forced evolution but doesn't bother upkeeping stealth. A bit surprised by the tactics of the Kriel Warriors, she opts to go first and pops her feat, but makes a major mistake by forgetting to discard her fury remembering only after activating two warbeasts later. As we are prepping for a tournament game I advise my opponent to stick to the rules and just deal with it rather than going back and dropping the fury even though it's way too late. With his options for spending fury limited, the Warpwolf goes after the Kriel Warriors engaging him, spending all his fury (he hadn't noticed his fury problem yet), killing three Kriel Warriors as I pass only one tough roll out of four before teleporting back to eKaya behind the infantry line. Megalith manages to kill one (doesn't spend any fury for extra attacks) before teleporting back behind the line as well, while Laris fails to kill any before again porting back behind the line. The Woldwyrd takes a shot but fails to kill any, opts to buy a second shot which kills a Kriel Warrior before he too teleports behind the line. The bloodtrackers ambuscade the Kriel Warriors, failing to kill any as the tough rolls are now rolling well, and the Wolves of Oberos manage to kill only the standard bearer, who passes the standard on to the dude behind him. Dahlia casts Skarrath's animus on one wolf, while Skarrath himself does the same on another, before the Swamp Gobbers drop a smoke cloud on top of the two of them.
Trollblood Turn 3
I have lost six Kriel Warriors, but they have performed their job admirably, holding the enemy line, forcing Kaya to waste her feat on the second turn, and even luring in both infantry units. Grissel activates first, advancing into a position to affect the entire army before popping her own feat, giving every unit hoof it and heroic ballad. She takes a pot shot at Skarrath with her handcannon, unfortunately missing him before casting the Winter Troll animus on a long rider and the bouncer. The Winter Troll casts his animus on the Caber Thrower before advancing and using his breath attack through the combat, missing both the wolf and the kriel warrior but killing one bloodtracker and one bone grinder. The Kriel Warriors advance into the middle of the infantry line and go with rapid strikes for three attacks per kriel warrior. One Kriel Warrior manages to kill two wolves on his own even though he requires eights to hit, while a series of combined melee attacks sees two blood trackers die. The caber thrower moves into the combat, using the caber toss special attack, missing one wolf, killing another, the Blackclad Wayfarer and manages to catch a gatorman with the tail end of the attack rolling enough to kill him outright. The piper uses instep for the unit to advance an inch, catching the rest of the wolves, killing all but one of the two who were in the cloud effect who retaliates and manages to kill the shaman (who went for a CMA against him missing three times needing sevens!). The long riders charge into the gaps created by the Kriel Warriors, killing the last remaining wolf of oberos. The champions advance to the river edge with the Totem Hunter sitting behind them, while the Pyre Troll advances to use the topmost bridge as cover with Pendrake sat behind him. The Bouncer runs up ahead of Grissel to interpose any possible charge lanes. Hoof It movement brings all the remaining blood trackers into combat with either Kriel Warriors or Long Riders all of whom have the Winter Trolls animus on them. The bouncer sits just outside of reach of Skarrath while the Champions begin to cross the river. The Hero sits behind the Long Riders ready as the third wave along with the Bouncer.
Circle Turn 3
His wolves wiped out to a man and his bloodtrackers all engaged, it isn't looking good for eKaya. The Bloodtrackers swing ineffectually at the Kriel Warriors and Long Riders, becoming stationary for their Troubles. The Gatormen drop their Swamp to try to keep the Champions occupied before charging one of the Long Riders, one of them taking a free strike from another long rider, leaving him on 1 wound. Between them they kill that Long Rider, but find themselves stationary thanks to the Long Rider they charged past (who they couldnt see to charge). Megalith charges into the Long Rider with freezer, managing to take him down. eKaya casts dogpile onto the Champions and the Warpwolf warps for +2 movement before charging the Champions, failing to land a single hit with two attacks and two purchased attacks before running out of fury. Skarrath kills another Long Rider while Dahlia casts his animus on the Warpwolf while the Swamp Gobbers center their cloud effect on him as well. Laris moves to look after the other flank along with the Woldwyrd.
Trollblood Turn 4
Sensing that victory was drawing near I move to cripple as much of the enemy force as I can. Grissel uses heroic ballad on the Kriel Warriors before casting flaming fists on both the hero and the remaining long rider (who happens to be the leader). The Kriel Warriors advance so two of them are engaging Megalith while the remainder autokill the four stationary bloodtrackers. The piper uses in step to create a gap big enough for the long rider Kithkar to get a line of sight to Laris, he chooses to go for it and manages to land his impact attack, inflicting a respectable ten damage points. His charge attack also hits, inflicting nineteen more damage, taking out Laris by himself. The Hero charges the Gatorman Bokur killing him with his first attack before finishing off the last Gatorman who had one wound left. The Pyre Troll takes a shot at Skarrath boosting his attack roll and getting the critical fire, the AoE also catches one swap gobber and Dahlia, setting them both on fire. An unboosted damage roll only does one damage to Skarrath, but boosts against the Gobber kills him and inflicts eight damage to Dahlia, who wisely chooses to transfer it to Skarrath. The fell caller finishes his trek up the river to give pathfinder to the Champions, who advance across the river and swamp (leaving two champs in base to base engaging the Warpwolf) killing a bone grinder and building up damage on Skarrath, choosing to pass on the remaining three attacks when Skarrath was left on two wounds, the two Champions with the Warpwolf choose not to attack the effectively DEF18 Warpwolf who gets to attack back if they miss! Pendrake walks up and uses dismember on the Totem Hunter who charges Skarrath, rolling enough to almost one shot him by himself before also killing Dahlia, earning himself two totem tokens.
Circle Turn 4
Left with only Megalith (swamped by what will be wave after wave of Kriel Warriors), a Warpwolf (stuck with Champions), a Woldwyrd, eKaya, one gobber and two bone Grinders (failed command check) against my entire army my opponents chooses to forfeit. A crushing victory for the Trollbloods!
Thoughts
Grissel: Once again proved to be a very effective caster, she was never in any danger through the whole battle and constantly forced my opponent onto the defensive. Did nothing more than throw around a few animi and some fell calls but then again was never really called upon to do much more than that.
Pyre Troll: Besides being present for burning fists, he only got to make one ranged attack but the one he made was worth it. If all the models who had been set on fire hadn't been killed already, then there was good chance they would have as they were all fragile models.
Winter Troll: OK I have used him in three seperate games now, and he has caused total carnage and destruction in every game so I cannot see where the hate for him comes from (except the awful pose of the model itself). He was single handedly responsible for the deaths of four out of the six blood trackers and my enemy was constantly wary of his animus being throwned around on my troopers. I think he has definitely made the list over the Impaler for Grissel.
Bouncer: Never had to be called into action all game, he sat there blocking charge lanes to Grissel and just looked big and scary. Didn't have to do anything but was always there if needed.
Pendrake: The totem hunter didn't need dismember, but it was nice to have it there ready in case it was needed. Pendrake didn't do much all game but again he never really needed to.
Totem Hunter: Killed both Skarrath and Dahlia though the Champions were easily capable of finishing off Skarrath by themselves. This had left him in a well protected position where he could easily have moved on up to engage Megalith from behind or possibly even eKaya and continued racking up the tokens. Seemed to justify his points value in this game.
Fell Caller: Spent the entirety of this game just throwing around buffs, but the terrain setup meant that Pathfinder was needed almost every turn, so his activities were limited just because of the terrain factor.
Hero: Killed the Gatormen and was (like the Totem Hunter) in a position to charge the Megalith next turn who was being swamped by waves of Kriel Warriors. Between the two of them, I felt confident that Megalith wouldn't have survived another turn.
Kriel Warriors: The real stars of this battle, they got in the way and kept my opponent bogged down for the entire match, everywhere he turned the Kriel Warriors were there and they just would not die. At the end of the game, I still had 3 Warriors, plus the Standard and Piper (the caber was one of the three surviving warriors) so my opponent scored zero VPs for them. For their points value they were absolutely superb, I would run them with Grissel every time.
Long Riders: Only killed the odd trooper or two, but ARM18 and 8 wounds combined with reach and tall in the saddle makes them ideal candidates for the Winter Troll animus. Driving into the heart of the enemy's army on my feat turn meant sacrificing three of the four long riders, but Freezer on them meant they could not be ignored. The leader killing Laris by himself was just the icing on the cake.
Champions: Didn't get to do much, but they sucked in the Warpwolf into their own brand of Tarpit. The DEF18 trick with counter attack made me choose not to retaliate, but the Bouncer's animus on the guy he was engaging meant that next turn he had one attack maximum to drop him before being pushed out of melee range and at the mercy of the unit in its entirety without the benefits of the gobber cloud or Skarrath's animus, and that would not have ended well for him.
Grissel Bloodsong
Winter Troll
Pyre Troll
Bouncer
10 Kriel Warriors + Standard & Piper + Caber Thrower
5 Champions
4 Long Riders
Fell Caller
Hero
Viktor Pendrake
Totem Hunter
vs
Kaya the Moonhunter
Laris
Megalith
Warpwolf
Woldwyrd
Dahlia & Skarrath
6 Wolves of Oberos
6 Tharn Bloodtrackers
3 Gatormen
Blackclad Wayfarer
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew
Deployment
My opponent won the roll and opted for me to set up and go first, we had a river with three crossings running down the board from my zone to his about 6 inches off center, a forest on the far left just past the midway point of the board, with a building in the middle and a few rock pieces scattered around for cover.
I opted to roll with the Long Riders on the left side across the river with the Kriel Warriors spread out evenly across the center of the board covering both sides of the river. The champions were deployed on the right along with the hero, while Grissel and the Fell Caller took up central position alongside the path of the river. The bouncer went with Grissel, the winter troll on the same flank as the long riders, and the pyre troll nearby the champions.
Circle player chose to deploy Kaya near the front along with all of the warbeasts, with the bloodtrackers (who chose the long riders as their prey) on his far right nearest the woods and the wolves on his left covering the ford across the river. Concentrating his forces on the smaller portion of the river, he deployed the gatormen to cover the river itself with Dahlia and Skarrath loitering towards the back along with the wayfarer.
Trollblood Turn 1
The fell caller used pathfinder on the Kriel Warriors, who ran across the river so that the entire unit was on the smaller section serving as a wide ranging road block in front of the rest of my army, with the Long Riders and Winter Troll running up behind them. The Totem Hunter ran up the river along with Pendrake and the Pyre Troll. Grissel used Hoof It on the champions before running across the ford followed closely by the Bouncer. The Champions and Hero ran up across the open ground towards the central building, intending to flank my opponent and box them in by cutting off any escape routes across the river. End of the turn, the Champions moved a few extra inches.
Circle Turn 1
The Warpwolf made a full advance towards the Kriel Warrior line and opted to go with +2ARM, followed by Megalith who cast eKaya's enforced evolution on the Warpwolf. Laris took up a position between the two heavy warbeasts with the Woldwyrd loitering around behind them. The wolves advanced to the flank of Megalith, keeping pace about 4 inches behind him, with the bloodtrackers doing the same on the opposite side with the Warpwolf. The gatormen moved to face the river crossing intending to intercept the champions, while Dahlia cast her anti orders spell. eKaya cast her stealth spell and waits towards the back of the army.
Trollblood Turn 2
Grissel runs across the ford and uses Hoof It on the Kriel Warriors, followed once more by her trusty bouncer. Seeing that the opponent has no intentions of splitting his forces, the Hero chooses to cross the river ready for where the main melee will happen. The Kriel Warriors pop their mini feat and run full out towards the warbeast line, with the shaman piper and caber thrower hanging towards the back while maintaining cavalry formation. The Long Riders run up behind them followed by the Winter Troll, with the Pyre Troll running up the river to close the distance on the enemy. The Champions run around the building, about twelve inches or so from the top most fording point (which is a stone bridge with lips high enough to count as cover), with the Totem Hunter advancing into a position where he still has cover if necessary but a line of sight towards anyone he can get close enough to. Pendrake similarly runs along the river bank ready to be available to assist the champions or the totem hunter as needed. Hoof it movement brings the Kriel Warriors right into the midst of the warbeast line, engaging every single one of them except the Woldwyrd.
Circle Turn 2
eKaya upkeeps forced evolution but doesn't bother upkeeping stealth. A bit surprised by the tactics of the Kriel Warriors, she opts to go first and pops her feat, but makes a major mistake by forgetting to discard her fury remembering only after activating two warbeasts later. As we are prepping for a tournament game I advise my opponent to stick to the rules and just deal with it rather than going back and dropping the fury even though it's way too late. With his options for spending fury limited, the Warpwolf goes after the Kriel Warriors engaging him, spending all his fury (he hadn't noticed his fury problem yet), killing three Kriel Warriors as I pass only one tough roll out of four before teleporting back to eKaya behind the infantry line. Megalith manages to kill one (doesn't spend any fury for extra attacks) before teleporting back behind the line as well, while Laris fails to kill any before again porting back behind the line. The Woldwyrd takes a shot but fails to kill any, opts to buy a second shot which kills a Kriel Warrior before he too teleports behind the line. The bloodtrackers ambuscade the Kriel Warriors, failing to kill any as the tough rolls are now rolling well, and the Wolves of Oberos manage to kill only the standard bearer, who passes the standard on to the dude behind him. Dahlia casts Skarrath's animus on one wolf, while Skarrath himself does the same on another, before the Swamp Gobbers drop a smoke cloud on top of the two of them.
Trollblood Turn 3
I have lost six Kriel Warriors, but they have performed their job admirably, holding the enemy line, forcing Kaya to waste her feat on the second turn, and even luring in both infantry units. Grissel activates first, advancing into a position to affect the entire army before popping her own feat, giving every unit hoof it and heroic ballad. She takes a pot shot at Skarrath with her handcannon, unfortunately missing him before casting the Winter Troll animus on a long rider and the bouncer. The Winter Troll casts his animus on the Caber Thrower before advancing and using his breath attack through the combat, missing both the wolf and the kriel warrior but killing one bloodtracker and one bone grinder. The Kriel Warriors advance into the middle of the infantry line and go with rapid strikes for three attacks per kriel warrior. One Kriel Warrior manages to kill two wolves on his own even though he requires eights to hit, while a series of combined melee attacks sees two blood trackers die. The caber thrower moves into the combat, using the caber toss special attack, missing one wolf, killing another, the Blackclad Wayfarer and manages to catch a gatorman with the tail end of the attack rolling enough to kill him outright. The piper uses instep for the unit to advance an inch, catching the rest of the wolves, killing all but one of the two who were in the cloud effect who retaliates and manages to kill the shaman (who went for a CMA against him missing three times needing sevens!). The long riders charge into the gaps created by the Kriel Warriors, killing the last remaining wolf of oberos. The champions advance to the river edge with the Totem Hunter sitting behind them, while the Pyre Troll advances to use the topmost bridge as cover with Pendrake sat behind him. The Bouncer runs up ahead of Grissel to interpose any possible charge lanes. Hoof It movement brings all the remaining blood trackers into combat with either Kriel Warriors or Long Riders all of whom have the Winter Trolls animus on them. The bouncer sits just outside of reach of Skarrath while the Champions begin to cross the river. The Hero sits behind the Long Riders ready as the third wave along with the Bouncer.
Circle Turn 3
His wolves wiped out to a man and his bloodtrackers all engaged, it isn't looking good for eKaya. The Bloodtrackers swing ineffectually at the Kriel Warriors and Long Riders, becoming stationary for their Troubles. The Gatormen drop their Swamp to try to keep the Champions occupied before charging one of the Long Riders, one of them taking a free strike from another long rider, leaving him on 1 wound. Between them they kill that Long Rider, but find themselves stationary thanks to the Long Rider they charged past (who they couldnt see to charge). Megalith charges into the Long Rider with freezer, managing to take him down. eKaya casts dogpile onto the Champions and the Warpwolf warps for +2 movement before charging the Champions, failing to land a single hit with two attacks and two purchased attacks before running out of fury. Skarrath kills another Long Rider while Dahlia casts his animus on the Warpwolf while the Swamp Gobbers center their cloud effect on him as well. Laris moves to look after the other flank along with the Woldwyrd.
Trollblood Turn 4
Sensing that victory was drawing near I move to cripple as much of the enemy force as I can. Grissel uses heroic ballad on the Kriel Warriors before casting flaming fists on both the hero and the remaining long rider (who happens to be the leader). The Kriel Warriors advance so two of them are engaging Megalith while the remainder autokill the four stationary bloodtrackers. The piper uses in step to create a gap big enough for the long rider Kithkar to get a line of sight to Laris, he chooses to go for it and manages to land his impact attack, inflicting a respectable ten damage points. His charge attack also hits, inflicting nineteen more damage, taking out Laris by himself. The Hero charges the Gatorman Bokur killing him with his first attack before finishing off the last Gatorman who had one wound left. The Pyre Troll takes a shot at Skarrath boosting his attack roll and getting the critical fire, the AoE also catches one swap gobber and Dahlia, setting them both on fire. An unboosted damage roll only does one damage to Skarrath, but boosts against the Gobber kills him and inflicts eight damage to Dahlia, who wisely chooses to transfer it to Skarrath. The fell caller finishes his trek up the river to give pathfinder to the Champions, who advance across the river and swamp (leaving two champs in base to base engaging the Warpwolf) killing a bone grinder and building up damage on Skarrath, choosing to pass on the remaining three attacks when Skarrath was left on two wounds, the two Champions with the Warpwolf choose not to attack the effectively DEF18 Warpwolf who gets to attack back if they miss! Pendrake walks up and uses dismember on the Totem Hunter who charges Skarrath, rolling enough to almost one shot him by himself before also killing Dahlia, earning himself two totem tokens.
Circle Turn 4
Left with only Megalith (swamped by what will be wave after wave of Kriel Warriors), a Warpwolf (stuck with Champions), a Woldwyrd, eKaya, one gobber and two bone Grinders (failed command check) against my entire army my opponents chooses to forfeit. A crushing victory for the Trollbloods!
Thoughts
Grissel: Once again proved to be a very effective caster, she was never in any danger through the whole battle and constantly forced my opponent onto the defensive. Did nothing more than throw around a few animi and some fell calls but then again was never really called upon to do much more than that.
Pyre Troll: Besides being present for burning fists, he only got to make one ranged attack but the one he made was worth it. If all the models who had been set on fire hadn't been killed already, then there was good chance they would have as they were all fragile models.
Winter Troll: OK I have used him in three seperate games now, and he has caused total carnage and destruction in every game so I cannot see where the hate for him comes from (except the awful pose of the model itself). He was single handedly responsible for the deaths of four out of the six blood trackers and my enemy was constantly wary of his animus being throwned around on my troopers. I think he has definitely made the list over the Impaler for Grissel.
Bouncer: Never had to be called into action all game, he sat there blocking charge lanes to Grissel and just looked big and scary. Didn't have to do anything but was always there if needed.
Pendrake: The totem hunter didn't need dismember, but it was nice to have it there ready in case it was needed. Pendrake didn't do much all game but again he never really needed to.
Totem Hunter: Killed both Skarrath and Dahlia though the Champions were easily capable of finishing off Skarrath by themselves. This had left him in a well protected position where he could easily have moved on up to engage Megalith from behind or possibly even eKaya and continued racking up the tokens. Seemed to justify his points value in this game.
Fell Caller: Spent the entirety of this game just throwing around buffs, but the terrain setup meant that Pathfinder was needed almost every turn, so his activities were limited just because of the terrain factor.
Hero: Killed the Gatormen and was (like the Totem Hunter) in a position to charge the Megalith next turn who was being swamped by waves of Kriel Warriors. Between the two of them, I felt confident that Megalith wouldn't have survived another turn.
Kriel Warriors: The real stars of this battle, they got in the way and kept my opponent bogged down for the entire match, everywhere he turned the Kriel Warriors were there and they just would not die. At the end of the game, I still had 3 Warriors, plus the Standard and Piper (the caber was one of the three surviving warriors) so my opponent scored zero VPs for them. For their points value they were absolutely superb, I would run them with Grissel every time.
Long Riders: Only killed the odd trooper or two, but ARM18 and 8 wounds combined with reach and tall in the saddle makes them ideal candidates for the Winter Troll animus. Driving into the heart of the enemy's army on my feat turn meant sacrificing three of the four long riders, but Freezer on them meant they could not be ignored. The leader killing Laris by himself was just the icing on the cake.
Champions: Didn't get to do much, but they sucked in the Warpwolf into their own brand of Tarpit. The DEF18 trick with counter attack made me choose not to retaliate, but the Bouncer's animus on the guy he was engaging meant that next turn he had one attack maximum to drop him before being pushed out of melee range and at the mercy of the unit in its entirety without the benefits of the gobber cloud or Skarrath's animus, and that would not have ended well for him.
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Random musing: Scattergunners
So yeah, following the rather successful 550point outing of my Winter Troll on Monday night, I have been thinking about trying to include more spray templates in my army, so barring the inclusion of an army of Winter Trolls the only other option for me to look at is the oft maligned scattergunners. But how terrible are they really? Lets take a look...
SPD6 is great for Trollbloods, its on the upper end of the scale in an army where the most effective units are predominantly SPD5. They have average MAT and RAT, values that are easily boosted by our fell callers and by certain debuffs thrown onto an enemy (Grissel and Grim). DEF and ARM wise they suffer a little but in reality they should never end up on the front lines until you are ready for them to go out and do their thing.
So now we come down to their weapons, spray templates have a fixed range of 8 inches, but get to ignore cover, concealment and screening. With good positioning you could spray your own models to attack invisible units (though you would need to roll high to score a successful hit on most such units), but the obvious tactic is to hit big units at an angle, scoring multiple potential hits over and over again. POW12 will kill most single wound infantry on averages, even most shield walled units only reach ARM18, with Grissel (my current lock of choice) you can be hitting POW14 against a unit with calamity, even warbeasts and warjacks will start feeling the hurt.
The true flaws of these guys? Sadly there are two, as well as suffering the eternal curse of being medium based models and thus getting in each other's way when it comes to lining up your attacks, they also suffer from being hideously expensive, 10 points less than Long Riders for a unit which can only hack it in melee if they charge and is as fragile as Pyg Bushwhackers.
Is it possible to make them work? Perhaps at 950 but currently at 750 I just cannot see what I would drop besides the Long Riders, who were just as integral to my victory at 550 on Monday night. Without my Kriel Warriors to provide them with cover (and being cheap enough that I wouldnt mind sacrificing by shooting through them if needed) I start swiftly running out of options regarding what to drop.
SPD6 is great for Trollbloods, its on the upper end of the scale in an army where the most effective units are predominantly SPD5. They have average MAT and RAT, values that are easily boosted by our fell callers and by certain debuffs thrown onto an enemy (Grissel and Grim). DEF and ARM wise they suffer a little but in reality they should never end up on the front lines until you are ready for them to go out and do their thing.
So now we come down to their weapons, spray templates have a fixed range of 8 inches, but get to ignore cover, concealment and screening. With good positioning you could spray your own models to attack invisible units (though you would need to roll high to score a successful hit on most such units), but the obvious tactic is to hit big units at an angle, scoring multiple potential hits over and over again. POW12 will kill most single wound infantry on averages, even most shield walled units only reach ARM18, with Grissel (my current lock of choice) you can be hitting POW14 against a unit with calamity, even warbeasts and warjacks will start feeling the hurt.
The true flaws of these guys? Sadly there are two, as well as suffering the eternal curse of being medium based models and thus getting in each other's way when it comes to lining up your attacks, they also suffer from being hideously expensive, 10 points less than Long Riders for a unit which can only hack it in melee if they charge and is as fragile as Pyg Bushwhackers.
Is it possible to make them work? Perhaps at 950 but currently at 750 I just cannot see what I would drop besides the Long Riders, who were just as integral to my victory at 550 on Monday night. Without my Kriel Warriors to provide them with cover (and being cheap enough that I wouldnt mind sacrificing by shooting through them if needed) I start swiftly running out of options regarding what to drop.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Tourney prep Game: Grissel vs Kreuger 550pts
So I got my first prep game in since starting this blog last night, a 550pt match against Kreuger. The lineups were:
Grissel Bloodsong
Pyre Troll
Winter Troll
Bouncer
Fell Caller
Hero
Long Riders (3)
Champions (5)
Kreuger the Stormwrath
Warpwolf
Megalith
Blackclad Wayfarer
Wolves of Oberos (6)
Tharn Bloodtrackers (6)
Gatormen Posse (3)
Farrow Bone Grinders (4)
The terrain setup had some woods on the middle left, a rock formation on the middle right, a hill at the center of each deployment zone and a building in the center of the battlefield. My opponent won the roll and forced me to set up and go first.
I set up my champs in the center of the battlefield with the hero and fell caller just behind them, flanked by the Pyre and Winter trolls, with the Long Riders to the right of them and Grissel and the Bouncer just behind the champs.
My opponent curiously opted to deploy his entire force in his top right corner in a box formation, obviously intending to use the woods as an annoyance against me. He set the bloodtracker's prey as the champs.
Turn 1
The champs ran up alongside the the right hand side of the building followed by the Winter Troll, Fell Caller and Hero. The Long Riders ran across the front of my deployment zone towards the woods in the center of the table. Grissel used Hoof it on the Long Riders and ran up along with the Bouncer around by the building. The pyre Troll runs up to the left of the building, using the corner of it for cover. The Long Riders used their Hoof it movement to get a little closer to the woods (about 16 inches away).
As predicted, my opponent runs his blood trackers into the woods to protect them from charges, uses the Bone Grinders to boost his spell range, and walks up Megalith to cast Forked Lightning at the Pyre Troll, boosts his attack roll and misses the DEF17 pyre. Kreuger walks up and tries his luck, boosts his attack and scores a hit, arcing onto one long rider. He chooses to boost both damage rolls, scoring 6 damage on the Pyre and no damage at all on the long rider. His Wolves run up to interpose themselves between the champions and Kreuger, with the Gatormen posse running up just behind them. The Warpwolf runs up behind Kreuger ready to jump into the action as needed. The blackclad wayfarer runs up to the edge of the woods.
Turn 2
I start off by activating the Pyre Troll, who walks up and has a spit at Kreuger, but sadly finds himself about half inch out of range, the scatter deviates onto the gatormen but doesn't do a lot. I then run the Bouncer up about seven inches short of Kreuger and turn his back to him to face Grissel, who promptly charges him and misses (hooray!) and pops her feat, catching Kreuger, Megalith, the Wolves, the Wayfarer and the Gatormen in her control area, as well as the entirety of my army except for the Fell Caller. The Long Riders run right up to the edge of the woods, while the Champs, Winter Troll, Hero and Fell Caller all run up around the building. Hoof it movement brings 2 of the Long Riders into the woods, while the other has enough movement to get around the back of the woods engaging all of the Tharn Bloodtrackers between them. The Pyre moves to interpose himself between Grissel, the Bouncer and the Warpwolf, while the Champs and Hero walk up about 4 inches away from the Wolves of Oberos. The Winter Troll follows up just behind them.
My feat has caught my opponent cold, he activates the Bloodtrackers first who all attack the Long Riders and bounce off them without causing any damage. Next he activates Megalith, who walks through the forest to attack the Long Rider engaging the bloodtrackers from the rear, missing his first two attacks, hitting and doing six damage with his first purchased attack, then forcing three consecutive successful tough rolls with his remaining fury. The blackclad wayfarer charges another long rider, but misses with his charge attack. This forces Kreuger to move in to attack the same long rider as the wayfarer, boosting his to hit roll and scoring a hit, but a string of boosted damage rolls only succeeds in bringing the long rider down to one wound remaining. The warpwolf takes the bait and charges the Pyre Troll, taking him down but leaving his back exposed to the champions. The wolves retreat six inches from the champions and the gatormen pull back as well dropping a swamp between the champs and the wolves. Anticipating the possible loss of the warpwolf he conga lines his bone grinders from the warpwolf to Kreuger.
Turn 3
Grissel activates first, boosts an attack roll with calamity against the warpwolf but misses, then resigns herself to firing a shot with her handcannon at him, also promptly missing before using heroic ballad on the long riders, leaving herself with 2 fury just in case of a Kreuger assassination run. The Winter Troll advances and uses his breath attack against the warpwolf from behind, scoring the critical frost and using his animus on the nearest champion. The fell caller then uses pathfinder on the champs who just run through the swamp, before the hero charges through the swamp killing two wolves with his backswing attacks. The champs then run past the hero forming a defensive line facing the remaining wolves and the gatormen, with the nearest champion standing behind the immobile warpwolf. The long riders activate, the leader killing two bloodtrackers, the one engaging the megalith hitting twice, scoring 6 damage off his body, and the other engaging Kreuger decided to take some shots at the Stormwrath himself, missing once but scoring a hit on the second attack, dishing out 7 damage which he cannot transfer because both his beasts are maxed out on fury. The Bouncer charges the warpwolf, taking two free whacks with his reach weapon but leaving his last fury point free for transfers.
Faced with his warpwolf unable to move, he activates him first and just pops +2ARM warping hoping it will save him next turn. The bloodtrackers try to kill the two long riders who are each on 1 wound, but cannot get through their armour values. Megalith (who he could only leach 1 fury from as he took 4 from the warpwolf) misses with a boosted forked lightning against the long rider engaging him, and proceeds to also miss with both melee attacks against the ninja long rider facing him in combat, this bison knows how to duck and weave! Kreuger activates and spams more melee attacks, finally killing the long Rider before camping his last 2 focus points. 3 of the remaining wolves charge the end champion, with the leader having a line of sight to the hero so chooses to charge him. The 3 wolves together just about manage to kill the champion, while the leader takes 3 damage off the hero, who proceeds to smack him into the dirt with his retaliatory strike. The gatormen charge in as well, managing to miss with every charge attack, scoring only one tail slap hit for no damage and one polearm hit for 2 damage to one champ. The wayfarer, warpwolf, 3 bonegrinders all find themselves stationary thanks to freezer.
Turn 4
Grissel activates first, casting calamity on the now DEF5 warp wolf and shooting it with her handcannon, again keeping 2 fury on herself just in case and using heroic ballad again on the long riders. The Fell Caller charges two wolves, killing one with his charge attack and missing the other, but does his job in triggering inspire on the hero and champions. Two champs move into the back of the warpwolf while the remaining two stay in melee combat with the gatormen, the two on the warpwolf proceed to murder him boosting up the concern bonus for the two fighting the gatormen, killing one normal gatorman and the bokur in the process. The winter troll sees an opportunity and advances close enough to use his breath attack, killing two stationary bone grinders, the blackclad wayfarer and chooses to boost his to hit roll against Kreuger, scoring a hit! Its an unexpected bonus and so I choose to boost my damage roll figuring I can whittle him down enough for a long rider or hero to finish him off, but the winter troll only goes and rolls a 17 for his damage roll, putting the Stormwrath permanently on ice.
Thoughts
In this game the mobility of Grissel's force paid off, and the gamble of charging the bouncer and triggering her feat crippled the enemy force leaving my whole army able to move up without taking any damage.
Grissel: Did well, whiffed a boosted calamity attack roll which should have been a foregone conclusion but besides that, she managed to catch my enemy cold with the sudden speed of my army. Didn't really do much killing, just threw around the buffs and debuffs to let my troops do the heavy lifting for me.
Pyre Troll: Didn't do much, but then again he didn't need to. I used him as a sacrifice to draw out the warpwolf and had the unexpected bonus of him requiring the warpwolf to use up his entire fury allowance to kill it.
Winter Troll: Ultimately he was the game winner in this match, he single handedly brought about the death of the warpwolf as well as scoring the very lucky hit on Kreuger that ended the game.
Bouncer: My enemy never did go for the throat against Grissel, but then again he was forced into a corner the whole match and was forced to react to my army the whole game. As a result the bouncer didn't need to do much, just walked around a bit and took a few free whacks at the immobilised warpwolf.
Long Riders: It was a bit of a gamble taking them in a 550pt game alongside the champions, but they effectively neutralised the bloodtrackers, wayfarer and Megalith for the whole match. So they made back easily over double their points value. No devastating cavalry charge, but against circle hiding in the woods it was never likely to happen anyway.
Champions: Did what they were good at and did it well, taking on the remaining wolves, the gatormen and the warpwolf and proceeding to tear them apart. A solid inclusion who always do well for themselves.
Fell Caller: Did his part, threw around a few buffs and even got to kill something for once. Without pathfinder the champion with freezer on him would never have reached the warpwolf.
Hero: Didn't get to do a lot, just killed 3 wolves but was in a good position to charge Kreuger (at an effective MAT of 11 and POW14) so if the winter troll hadn't finished him off, the Hero probably would have.
Grissel Bloodsong
Pyre Troll
Winter Troll
Bouncer
Fell Caller
Hero
Long Riders (3)
Champions (5)
Kreuger the Stormwrath
Warpwolf
Megalith
Blackclad Wayfarer
Wolves of Oberos (6)
Tharn Bloodtrackers (6)
Gatormen Posse (3)
Farrow Bone Grinders (4)
The terrain setup had some woods on the middle left, a rock formation on the middle right, a hill at the center of each deployment zone and a building in the center of the battlefield. My opponent won the roll and forced me to set up and go first.
I set up my champs in the center of the battlefield with the hero and fell caller just behind them, flanked by the Pyre and Winter trolls, with the Long Riders to the right of them and Grissel and the Bouncer just behind the champs.
My opponent curiously opted to deploy his entire force in his top right corner in a box formation, obviously intending to use the woods as an annoyance against me. He set the bloodtracker's prey as the champs.
Turn 1
The champs ran up alongside the the right hand side of the building followed by the Winter Troll, Fell Caller and Hero. The Long Riders ran across the front of my deployment zone towards the woods in the center of the table. Grissel used Hoof it on the Long Riders and ran up along with the Bouncer around by the building. The pyre Troll runs up to the left of the building, using the corner of it for cover. The Long Riders used their Hoof it movement to get a little closer to the woods (about 16 inches away).
As predicted, my opponent runs his blood trackers into the woods to protect them from charges, uses the Bone Grinders to boost his spell range, and walks up Megalith to cast Forked Lightning at the Pyre Troll, boosts his attack roll and misses the DEF17 pyre. Kreuger walks up and tries his luck, boosts his attack and scores a hit, arcing onto one long rider. He chooses to boost both damage rolls, scoring 6 damage on the Pyre and no damage at all on the long rider. His Wolves run up to interpose themselves between the champions and Kreuger, with the Gatormen posse running up just behind them. The Warpwolf runs up behind Kreuger ready to jump into the action as needed. The blackclad wayfarer runs up to the edge of the woods.
Turn 2
I start off by activating the Pyre Troll, who walks up and has a spit at Kreuger, but sadly finds himself about half inch out of range, the scatter deviates onto the gatormen but doesn't do a lot. I then run the Bouncer up about seven inches short of Kreuger and turn his back to him to face Grissel, who promptly charges him and misses (hooray!) and pops her feat, catching Kreuger, Megalith, the Wolves, the Wayfarer and the Gatormen in her control area, as well as the entirety of my army except for the Fell Caller. The Long Riders run right up to the edge of the woods, while the Champs, Winter Troll, Hero and Fell Caller all run up around the building. Hoof it movement brings 2 of the Long Riders into the woods, while the other has enough movement to get around the back of the woods engaging all of the Tharn Bloodtrackers between them. The Pyre moves to interpose himself between Grissel, the Bouncer and the Warpwolf, while the Champs and Hero walk up about 4 inches away from the Wolves of Oberos. The Winter Troll follows up just behind them.
My feat has caught my opponent cold, he activates the Bloodtrackers first who all attack the Long Riders and bounce off them without causing any damage. Next he activates Megalith, who walks through the forest to attack the Long Rider engaging the bloodtrackers from the rear, missing his first two attacks, hitting and doing six damage with his first purchased attack, then forcing three consecutive successful tough rolls with his remaining fury. The blackclad wayfarer charges another long rider, but misses with his charge attack. This forces Kreuger to move in to attack the same long rider as the wayfarer, boosting his to hit roll and scoring a hit, but a string of boosted damage rolls only succeeds in bringing the long rider down to one wound remaining. The warpwolf takes the bait and charges the Pyre Troll, taking him down but leaving his back exposed to the champions. The wolves retreat six inches from the champions and the gatormen pull back as well dropping a swamp between the champs and the wolves. Anticipating the possible loss of the warpwolf he conga lines his bone grinders from the warpwolf to Kreuger.
Turn 3
Grissel activates first, boosts an attack roll with calamity against the warpwolf but misses, then resigns herself to firing a shot with her handcannon at him, also promptly missing before using heroic ballad on the long riders, leaving herself with 2 fury just in case of a Kreuger assassination run. The Winter Troll advances and uses his breath attack against the warpwolf from behind, scoring the critical frost and using his animus on the nearest champion. The fell caller then uses pathfinder on the champs who just run through the swamp, before the hero charges through the swamp killing two wolves with his backswing attacks. The champs then run past the hero forming a defensive line facing the remaining wolves and the gatormen, with the nearest champion standing behind the immobile warpwolf. The long riders activate, the leader killing two bloodtrackers, the one engaging the megalith hitting twice, scoring 6 damage off his body, and the other engaging Kreuger decided to take some shots at the Stormwrath himself, missing once but scoring a hit on the second attack, dishing out 7 damage which he cannot transfer because both his beasts are maxed out on fury. The Bouncer charges the warpwolf, taking two free whacks with his reach weapon but leaving his last fury point free for transfers.
Faced with his warpwolf unable to move, he activates him first and just pops +2ARM warping hoping it will save him next turn. The bloodtrackers try to kill the two long riders who are each on 1 wound, but cannot get through their armour values. Megalith (who he could only leach 1 fury from as he took 4 from the warpwolf) misses with a boosted forked lightning against the long rider engaging him, and proceeds to also miss with both melee attacks against the ninja long rider facing him in combat, this bison knows how to duck and weave! Kreuger activates and spams more melee attacks, finally killing the long Rider before camping his last 2 focus points. 3 of the remaining wolves charge the end champion, with the leader having a line of sight to the hero so chooses to charge him. The 3 wolves together just about manage to kill the champion, while the leader takes 3 damage off the hero, who proceeds to smack him into the dirt with his retaliatory strike. The gatormen charge in as well, managing to miss with every charge attack, scoring only one tail slap hit for no damage and one polearm hit for 2 damage to one champ. The wayfarer, warpwolf, 3 bonegrinders all find themselves stationary thanks to freezer.
Turn 4
Grissel activates first, casting calamity on the now DEF5 warp wolf and shooting it with her handcannon, again keeping 2 fury on herself just in case and using heroic ballad again on the long riders. The Fell Caller charges two wolves, killing one with his charge attack and missing the other, but does his job in triggering inspire on the hero and champions. Two champs move into the back of the warpwolf while the remaining two stay in melee combat with the gatormen, the two on the warpwolf proceed to murder him boosting up the concern bonus for the two fighting the gatormen, killing one normal gatorman and the bokur in the process. The winter troll sees an opportunity and advances close enough to use his breath attack, killing two stationary bone grinders, the blackclad wayfarer and chooses to boost his to hit roll against Kreuger, scoring a hit! Its an unexpected bonus and so I choose to boost my damage roll figuring I can whittle him down enough for a long rider or hero to finish him off, but the winter troll only goes and rolls a 17 for his damage roll, putting the Stormwrath permanently on ice.
Thoughts
In this game the mobility of Grissel's force paid off, and the gamble of charging the bouncer and triggering her feat crippled the enemy force leaving my whole army able to move up without taking any damage.
Grissel: Did well, whiffed a boosted calamity attack roll which should have been a foregone conclusion but besides that, she managed to catch my enemy cold with the sudden speed of my army. Didn't really do much killing, just threw around the buffs and debuffs to let my troops do the heavy lifting for me.
Pyre Troll: Didn't do much, but then again he didn't need to. I used him as a sacrifice to draw out the warpwolf and had the unexpected bonus of him requiring the warpwolf to use up his entire fury allowance to kill it.
Winter Troll: Ultimately he was the game winner in this match, he single handedly brought about the death of the warpwolf as well as scoring the very lucky hit on Kreuger that ended the game.
Bouncer: My enemy never did go for the throat against Grissel, but then again he was forced into a corner the whole match and was forced to react to my army the whole game. As a result the bouncer didn't need to do much, just walked around a bit and took a few free whacks at the immobilised warpwolf.
Long Riders: It was a bit of a gamble taking them in a 550pt game alongside the champions, but they effectively neutralised the bloodtrackers, wayfarer and Megalith for the whole match. So they made back easily over double their points value. No devastating cavalry charge, but against circle hiding in the woods it was never likely to happen anyway.
Champions: Did what they were good at and did it well, taking on the remaining wolves, the gatormen and the warpwolf and proceeding to tear them apart. A solid inclusion who always do well for themselves.
Fell Caller: Did his part, threw around a few buffs and even got to kill something for once. Without pathfinder the champion with freezer on him would never have reached the warpwolf.
Hero: Didn't get to do a lot, just killed 3 wolves but was in a good position to charge Kreuger (at an effective MAT of 11 and POW14) so if the winter troll hadn't finished him off, the Hero probably would have.
Monday, 6 July 2009
Another Trollblood Blog? Hmmm...
Greetings all and welcome to my Trollbloods blog, home of my random hordes and warmachine musings, battle reports and the ongoing development of my Trollblood forces. I might as well kick this off with a list of what I own, and some thoughts about an upcoming tournament on 25th July that I am preparing and playtesting heavily for:
Thanks to some recent purchases, I am now the owner of:
Madrak Ironhide
Grissel Bloodsong
Calandra Truthsayer (already advance ordered and prepaid for)
Mauler Extreme
Earthborn Dire Troll
Axer
Impaler
Slag Troll
Winter Troll
Bouncer
Pyre Troll
10 Kriel Warriors, plus Standard, Piper and Caber
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes, plus Stone Scribe Elder
4 Long Riders
5 Champions
6 Pyg Burrowers
Fell Caller
Hero
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Viktor Pendrake
Last year with my Cygnar I came in second place at this same tournament, but the format this year has changed quite a bit and I have since decided to abandon my blues to the display shelf and focus on the Trollbloods. This year the tournament will be played over only three rounds, one each at 550, 750 and 950 points. You are allowed to have an alternate list at the 550 and 750 point brackets, but only one list at 950. A total wipeout of the enemy's forces awards you a bonus 10VPs, so focusing more on army destruction than an early assassination is key for scoring highly in the tournament.
My plan over the coming weeks is to post regular updates on battle reports with my Trollbloods as I test out armies at different points brackets to find the ones that seem to work the best for me.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see some regular visitors.
Thanks to some recent purchases, I am now the owner of:
Madrak Ironhide
Grissel Bloodsong
Calandra Truthsayer (already advance ordered and prepaid for)
Mauler Extreme
Earthborn Dire Troll
Axer
Impaler
Slag Troll
Winter Troll
Bouncer
Pyre Troll
10 Kriel Warriors, plus Standard, Piper and Caber
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes, plus Stone Scribe Elder
4 Long Riders
5 Champions
6 Pyg Burrowers
Fell Caller
Hero
Stone Scribe Chronicler
Viktor Pendrake
Last year with my Cygnar I came in second place at this same tournament, but the format this year has changed quite a bit and I have since decided to abandon my blues to the display shelf and focus on the Trollbloods. This year the tournament will be played over only three rounds, one each at 550, 750 and 950 points. You are allowed to have an alternate list at the 550 and 750 point brackets, but only one list at 950. A total wipeout of the enemy's forces awards you a bonus 10VPs, so focusing more on army destruction than an early assassination is key for scoring highly in the tournament.
My plan over the coming weeks is to post regular updates on battle reports with my Trollbloods as I test out armies at different points brackets to find the ones that seem to work the best for me.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see some regular visitors.
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