Last Games of 2009

This weekend I got in what will most likely be my last two games of Warmachine in 2009. The first was against Circle, the second against Skorne.

Kromac
Warpwolf
Warpwolf
Gorax
Druids of Orboros and Overseer
Lord of the Feast
Blackclad Wayfarer
Tharn Ravager Whitemane

Early on my Widowmakers caught the Blackclad and then ended up in melee with a few Druids. They managed to hamstring the unit for the whole game since no one could kill the other. I used Sorscha's feat to freeze both Warpwolves after they wrecked my Kodiak, who had been pulled into range by a Force Bolting Druid. The Destroyer took out one while Sorscha and the Demo Corps took out the second.

Kromac came in and killed most of what was left of my army. He was in the open close to Sorscha and I wasn't going to be able to win if I didn't kill him that turn. I tried to kill the Gorax so Kromac couldn't transfer damage to it but the Destroyer had a damaged axe arm and couldn't get it done.

Left without any other units to activate, I had Sorscha charge Kromac with six focus. She boosted the charge attack and got a critical freeze. The charge did 10 damage which Kromac transferred to the Gorax, killing it. Sorscha used the remaining 5 focus to buy three more attacks, boosting the damage on two. I rolled very well and ended up killing Kromac!

Hexeris
Titan Gladiator
Titan Bronzeback
6 Cataphract Arcuarii
10 Immortals
Paingivers

I had a good first two turns with my Widowmakers + Kell killing 6 Immortals and 2 Arcuarii and the Demo Corps finishing the other 4 Immortals. However, I completely misjudged the slam distance of the Bronzeback with Rush.

Sorscha was hiding behind her Kodiak which got slammed right over her. The Bronzeback followed up with three auto-hitting attacks in melee which saw Sorscha get squished very quickly.

This was the same opponent who caught me out last week with a tricky slam. I had correctly avoided putting Sorscha in the charge / slam range of the Bronzeback and had hidden her from LOS behind the Kodiak but again I forgot about slams. I need to be more careful about her placement in the future.

10 Games with Khador - Part 2: Where I'm Going

Yesterday I talked about how I think my current list is performing. Today I'm going to talk about how I think I can improve it.

The three areas I'm unsure about are Kell, the Koldun Lord + Destroyer combination, and the Demo Corps. The first two aren't things that I really feel the need to change - they've been effective for me so I'll keep them in for now and see how they continue to perform.

The Demo Corps however, are up for a change. As much as I love the models and the image of those glowing blue hammers swinging back and forth, I think 9 points for the unit is just too much for what they're giving me. They're quite powerful but are hampered by their speed, are a big target and easy to hit, and are just too expensive.

So, who's going to replace my beatstick infantry? The Great Bears! These guys have everything I like about the Demo Corps (except the hammers) and more. They're functionally ARM 16, which is the same at the Demo Corps, but have better a better DEF of 13. They move much faster at SPD 6, can't be knocked down, and have a 360 degree front arc for making better use of Backswing. They're also Weapon Masters, which means I no longer have to make the decision to get two attacks or boost a single attack - they can always make two boosted attacks!

Great Bears - image from Privateer Press

They hit a little lighter at P+S 12, are only 3 models to the Demo Corps' 5, and have fewer health boxes, but overall I think they're going to be an improvement. Especially considering they only cost 5 points, because that leaves room for me to add a Drakhun.

Man-O-War Drakhun - image from Privateer Press

This guy is a cavalry solo so he's moving at SPD 7 and has ARM 19. He gets a P+S 14 Weapon Master attack per turn, plus whatever his mount can do, and he also has the option for a ranged attack. He can't be knocked down and can make counter charges against models ending their activation near him. He costs 4 points, which means I can add him and the Great Bears for exactly 9 points, the same as my Demo Corps.

I like this option because it gives me to different, fast moving threats compared to my one, slow moving unit in the Demo Corps. Both of these units hit like bricks and are more survivable, plus the models are sweet.

10 Games with Khador - Part 1: Where I Am

I've now played my first 10 games of Warmachine and I thought it would be appropriate to look back on my army and see how everything has performed. I'm 2.5 painted models away from buying some new units for the army and I'd like to look at the strengths and weaknesses of my list to see where I can improve. The list is:

Sorscha
+Kodiak
Koldun Lord
+Destroyer
5 Man-O-War Demo Corps
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Manhunter
Kell Bailoch

Kell Bailoch
Kell is a 2 point solo who operates as a 5th Widowmaker. His MAT is a little better than the Widowmakers and if he stands still he gets a second shot. He looks great on paper but I'm not totally sold on him. If he moves his effectiveness is cut in half and now I'm paying 2 points for one shot when I still get full effectiveness on the move from my Widowmakers. He has his uses but he may be more situational.

Manhunter
I love this solo. He has never failed to be very effective and almost always kills back his points. On the rare times when he doesn't, he ties up quite a bit more than he's worth for a turn or two to allow the rest of my army to be effective. He's a threat on the flanks that causes my opponents to think hard about their deployment and he functions well as a 6th Man-O-War or a bodyguard for Sorscha.

Greylord Ternion
Another very effective unit for me. In my first few games I wasn't using them very aggressively and they weren't performing well but since I've started moving them forward more they've become very good for me. Early on their Blizzard spell helps keep my Man-O-Wars safer from shooting. In the mid and late game their sprays are good for cleaning out infantry or knocking a few damage boxes off a 'caster, and I've used them as a one turn screen for Sorscha to keep her safe. The Ice Cage is a little less useful but the one time I tried I managed to get a 'jack stationary.

Widowmakers
These guys are great but I'm still struggling to be confident using them. I want them shooting every turn so early positioning is important, but often I leave them too far forward to get charged or my opponent moves his army and they can't get shots off at infantry. I haven't had any success yet killing systems on 'jacks but I think as I get better with this unit I'll have more opportunities. I'm going to need a few more games to get these guys down.

Man-O-War Demo Corps
I love these models but of everything in the army they're probably the biggest liability. They're slow, easy to hit, and go down surprisingly quickly when my opponent wants them to. They're expensive at 9 points and once they're gone my army is a little stuck dealing with tough targets. They're also easy to tie up with infantry since good positioning means I can only kill one a turn, even with Backswing. I wouldn't say they've been a liability or ineffective for me but they're the first thing I'm thinking of changing.

Destroyer
This 'jack is hefty at 9 points but quite brutal. Being marshaled by the Koldun Lord means that he can boost the attack and damage rolls on the bombard almost every turn which is very effective. The two of them usually take a flank and sit just behind the main lines arching bombards. They're 11 points in total though, which is nearly a third of my army and sometimes I'm not sure they're doing enough. I'll probably stick with them for a while longer and see what happens.

Koldun Lord
Another two point solo who has been quite effective for me. His 'jack marshal and Power Booster ability make the Destroyer a lot more effective than Sorscha would be able to. He usually hangs back a bit from the front lines and since he's almost always using Power Booster I don't get to use his spells all that much. He and the Destroyer can be game changing but can also be big flops when the bombards don't fall my way.

Kodiak
I'm a big fan of this 'jack. I do my best to use Grab and Smash whenever I can. I'd love it if he did a little more damage in melee but he's still my go-to 'jack. The Heavy Boiler makes him focus light, Pathfinder means I'm not worried about terrain, and the model is sweet. I need to work on getting him more involved while also not getting destroyed because often it's one or the other. I may pick up a second one of these.

Sorscha
The more I play with Sorscha the more I like her style. Initially I wanted her to be a beatstick who used her spells and feat to set herself up to kill the enemy 'caster but I've found that not to be the case. I've had a lot more success using her as a support 'caster for the rest of my army, using her spells and feat to allow my army to more effectively kill everyone. I've had a lot of success using her feat to set up my troops to decimate the opponent's army, using the Hand Cannon and Razor Wind to pick off important models, and generally just have her run around and be a nuisance. I'm getting better at having her kill 'casters but I'm still looking for her to be a supporting model first and a beatstick second.

Coming up next, Part 2: Where I'm Going

Weekend Warmachine

This weekend I managed to get in three games against two different Hordes armies. The first was 35 points against Legion.

Rhyas
4 Shredders
Teraph
2 units of Blighted Swordsmen, one with Abbot and Champion
3 Raptors
Shepard
Strider Deathstalker

Rhyas - image from Privateer Press

I was not prepared to deal with 20 SDP 6 (SPD 7 with Dash), DEF 14, Weaponmasters in this game. My opponent spread them out in a wide front with two or three ranks and then ran them straight at me.

After having Sorscha feat to freeze the huge wave of Swordsmen I killed a bunch of them and largely took no damage in return on his turn since everything was frozen. I saw an avenue to kill Rhyas on my next turn but I missed with the Destroyer and all three Greylord sprays so I backed out.

On his turn Rhyas feated and when everything was done I had lost most of my army, but Rhyas was sitting in the open and only protected by being incorporeal. Sorscha has a magical weapon so that isn't an issue, and a few minutes later I had the win!

The other two games were modified battle box games against a Skorne player. I was using Sorscha, a Kodiak, and a Destroyer.

Morghoul
Titan Bronzeback
2 Cyclops Savages

Skorne Battle Box - image from Privateer Press

This game started off very poorly for me because I didn't realize what Admonition could do. I managed to sneak off a charge on one of the Savages using Kodiak and Boundless Charge, only to have the Savage jump away when I got there. I expected the Kodiak to get boxed and leave me a 'jack down without having done any damage to him, but the Savage and Bronzeback were unable to take it down.

Sorscha used Tempest to freeze both Savages and her and the Destroyer put some damage on one of them. On of the Savages had Abuse cast on it and caught Sorscha in a charge but couldn't kill her. Morghoul moved in and feated, hoping to stall Sorscha for another turn.

I gave my Destroyer two focus and had Sorscha feat, catching the Savage engaging her and Morghoul. Since the Savage couldn't hit her with free strikes anymore, Sorscha moved away and hit Morghoul with a boosted hand cannon shot and a boosted Razor Wind spell. The Destroyer killed Morghoul with a boosted bombard shot.

Morghoul
Titan Gladiator
2 Cyclops Savages

Since these games go quickly we just set up again. The Skorne player took out the Bronzeback and added a Gladiator.

I started a little more conservatively after the early mistake I made last game, but I made another one this game in forgetting that Abuse gives +2" of movement. Sorscha got charged by a Savage and left with two points of health, while a second Savage moved up quite close.

My Destroyer charged the Savage engaging Sorscha but it had Admonition on it and jumped away. I hoped to have the Kodiak use Grab and Smash to throw the other Savage into the jumping one, but he missed his attack roll and I couldn't pull it off. I don't know why I didn't use Sorscha's feat defensibly here.

On his turn, the Skorne player had the Gladiator slam my Destroyer over Sorscha and kill her.

Journeyman Warcaster and Kell Bailoch

The Journeyman was actually completed last month as part of a holiday model swap on Librarium Online. My recipient is starting a Cygnar army so I painted him this guy who is almost an auto-include in any Cygnar army.

It also happens to be a model that I've wanted to paint myself for a while so I'm glad I got the opportunity to do so.

This other guy is Kell Bailoch, a mercenary sniper who I've added to be the fifth Widowmaker in my Khador army.

I used a lot of different browns on him and made good use of Devlan Mud. I tried to add a little color with the red bandanna and blue hat but I don't think the hat worked well.