Before you break my heart...
Last time I posted here was a full year ago. It is full of dust, and mainly speak about Warmachine & Hordes, but now my main game is Underworlds, and it is my blog, so yeah... who knows what's coming next ! Not me.
I decided to take the mic of right today to defend the poor little cutey Wurmspats. That warband seems to throw a huge gooey curveball to a lot of players, and get labelled terribly for it. Now full disclaimer, I am not a Pro-Player. My secret tech in tournaments is usually to stay hydrated and well nourish. My only Shadeglass is from a Relic event that I did last December with Sepulchral Guard and Thundrik Profiteers (I know, weird one that was). My meta may not be the most hardcore (but we sure keep trying).
First, the decklist that I am currently using with them:
Objectives:
Strong Start
Overpower
Unexpected Pitfall
Seeping Rot
Sorcerous Volley
Swift Capture
Team Effort
Path to Victory
Chosen Warrior
Nurgle's Garden Grows
Uncontested
Coveted Spoils
Gambits:
Steady Advance
Restless Prize
Nightmare in the Shadows
Abasoth's Unmaking
Invert Terrain
Side Step
Grievous Riposte
Nauseous Revulsion
Sphere of Aqshy
Buried Instinct
Upgrades:
Tome of Vitality
Substance Siphon
Hulking Physique
Champion Fortitude
Great Fortitude
Faneway Crystal
Virulent Blade
Spiteful Charm
Mandibles of the Ur-Grub
Victor's Speed
It is always evolving, but I tried to make it better every time. You may notice a lot of cards that you don't see often. I don't fellow which are the "best cardz", simply because it is all relative to what you want to achieve. This deck is let you sit back and take your time. Pick your target carefully, try to inspire as soon as you can without overreaching.
You want to cancel the objective markers in your opponent territory with your gambits. The deck itself only ever requires you to hold two of them, and usually, you just need to get rid of one to stop all the Supremacy and Temporary Victory shenanigans. Once that's done, your opponent will have to come to you for the objectives, so you start to pick him apart. And actually, only three objectives require you to do a kill (and the Path to Victory kill can be shared with a Surge), so here again, not a lot of pressure to get those kills in. The other gambits are there to help you inspire. Grievous Riposte is a bold choice but can turn a game on its head, and as a Reaction can stop a few nasty things like the Snarlfang. From there, the upgrades tank up the warband. 3 cards add Wound and 1 heal. Substance Siphon may look like a strange choice, but it is very good on Fecula, or actually, anybody if your opponent runs a lot of Cleave. Remember that this does not stop their ability to diminish damage, so instead of 1 dice, Fecula can get 3 of them, which is huge, and nothing stops you from going on Guard. Spiteful Charm is also a little funny addition to deter the opponent from attacking. I will not go in detail about the choice for every card but will answer any questions.
So far I had a good run with this deck, and while you don't rack a lot of glories, your opponent will have a hard time getting any.
Let me know what you think, and also if it is something you would like me to do more often (blog post and decklist analysis, that is).
Sunday, 16 February 2020
Season 3 Uneducated Guess
(I wrote this 1 year ago, but it is funny to see how much of these came true.)
Good day ladies and gentlemen,
Now thy season 2 is officially completed, it is my belief that season 3 shall come rather sooner then lather. Now this sentence may or may not make much sense, but really who I am to contradict meself ? Exactly. For full disclaimer, I have no real idea what Games-Workshop reserves us for Warhammer Underworlds Season 3 (I mean, sure, there will probably be a starter set...), but based upon my 13 years of gaming with GW and my limited knowledge of Age of Sigmar, I will attempt the unspeakable and try to guess the 8 Mighty Warbands that would compose Season 3, with why I believe they will be there.
Note that this is not a Wishlist and it is only based on cold, hard, unproven assumptions.
Starter Set:
Maggotkin of Nurgle vs Good Guyz
Surprise ! For the Season 3, GW will not go with Stormcast Eternal. Why ? Because GW regularly thrown curveball and the last 2 seasons had Stormcast in the starter. Now wihy these two, you ask ? Let me explain.
Maggotkin of Nurgle:
They would be a 3 Fighters warband. Maggotkin are basically the straight opposite of the Steelheart's Champions. They would fill the same role in the box as the low number, resilient, individually powerful warband, but their personnel objectives and such will be different.
Good Guyz:
That one sound weird, but usually if one side are the "bad guys" (and no, whatever are your personnel believes, 3 half-decay chaos warriors are not the "good guyz"), they other side must be the "Good Guyz", because that's usually what sell. Good vs Bad, so people can root for their warband and it is easy and clear to see their motivation. Now you will notice that I did not call them Stormcast Eternal, because I think GW will go with something completely new here: they will resurface some old Warhammer Fantasy stuff and have a Warband of between 5 and 7 humans that are not Stormcast. That will serve them to also hype the AoS community for an upcoming new faction.
Stormcast Eternal:
Did anyone believed we would escape that one ? There is already a Liberators, Sequitors, Evocators and Vanguard-Hunters, but that still leave a lot of options, sadly (did I said it at loud ? Oups...). If I had to point at the next kind, it would be Prosecutors. There are very different from the others already available option and could be very fast with a lot of options, like 1 with a javelin, 1 with celestial hammer and maybe 1 knight-venator style, with a bow. Of course it is a 3 men warband, because they are Stormcast Eternal.
Skaven Skryre Warband:
1 crazy engineer for leader and either 3 crazy contraptions like a Doom-Flayer, a Warp-Grinder and a Skryre Acolyte or 1 stormfiend and 2 little rats. Since the were release in a dual set lately, I think they would make a coming into Underworlds, just like the Gitz preceeded the Gloomspite or the Thorns followed the Nighthaunt.
Flesh-Eater Court:
People have been wanting a vampire warband for long now, and this will be it with a twist. A vampire will lead this with a bunch of ghouls, just about like the Thorns, but a bit different. Probably a horde warband too.
Beasts of Chaos:
Horde warband lead by a Bray-Shaman, with probably 1 Bestigor and mix of Gors and Ungors. To make a wholesome season, they will need another Horde Warband, and without going with is already out, the Beasts of Chaos are one of the best options to fill this niche.
Daughters of Khaine:
The Aelves are under represented right now, and these girls have a clear style. Will there be 4, 5 or 6 of them, who knows ! But they could make a sweet warband with multiple option ! Maybe a Sorceress, maybe a Melusai, maybe something else !
Ogors:
Now I would like to say it will be 3 Maneaters because they are so cool, but I think it will be something "à la Mollog". Maybe a Butcher with a few grots, or a Hunter with a few kitten. This Warband will be an odd ball, to confuse the meta.
You might notice something here: almost everything is already in AoS. And this is the way it will be, I can assure you. When transitioning from Fantasy to AoS, GW changed the name of just about anything to have the right to put a Trademark on it. Do I personally believe that calling Dwarves "Duardins" is bollocks just to own the name and right of the models: maybe, but that doesn't invalid the fact it is their "modus operandi". That is also a big thing moving forward. All their new models were part of those new groups over which they have total legal control and can actually take legal action against third-party manufacturers to protect their brand. This is why I did not include Seraphon, nor the Dispossessed or Free Guild. The Ogors make the cut because of the Beastriders.
Good day ladies and gentlemen,
Now thy season 2 is officially completed, it is my belief that season 3 shall come rather sooner then lather. Now this sentence may or may not make much sense, but really who I am to contradict meself ? Exactly. For full disclaimer, I have no real idea what Games-Workshop reserves us for Warhammer Underworlds Season 3 (I mean, sure, there will probably be a starter set...), but based upon my 13 years of gaming with GW and my limited knowledge of Age of Sigmar, I will attempt the unspeakable and try to guess the 8 Mighty Warbands that would compose Season 3, with why I believe they will be there.
Note that this is not a Wishlist and it is only based on cold, hard, unproven assumptions.
Starter Set:
Maggotkin of Nurgle vs Good Guyz
Surprise ! For the Season 3, GW will not go with Stormcast Eternal. Why ? Because GW regularly thrown curveball and the last 2 seasons had Stormcast in the starter. Now wihy these two, you ask ? Let me explain.
Maggotkin of Nurgle:
They would be a 3 Fighters warband. Maggotkin are basically the straight opposite of the Steelheart's Champions. They would fill the same role in the box as the low number, resilient, individually powerful warband, but their personnel objectives and such will be different.
Good Guyz:
That one sound weird, but usually if one side are the "bad guys" (and no, whatever are your personnel believes, 3 half-decay chaos warriors are not the "good guyz"), they other side must be the "Good Guyz", because that's usually what sell. Good vs Bad, so people can root for their warband and it is easy and clear to see their motivation. Now you will notice that I did not call them Stormcast Eternal, because I think GW will go with something completely new here: they will resurface some old Warhammer Fantasy stuff and have a Warband of between 5 and 7 humans that are not Stormcast. That will serve them to also hype the AoS community for an upcoming new faction.
Stormcast Eternal:
Did anyone believed we would escape that one ? There is already a Liberators, Sequitors, Evocators and Vanguard-Hunters, but that still leave a lot of options, sadly (did I said it at loud ? Oups...). If I had to point at the next kind, it would be Prosecutors. There are very different from the others already available option and could be very fast with a lot of options, like 1 with a javelin, 1 with celestial hammer and maybe 1 knight-venator style, with a bow. Of course it is a 3 men warband, because they are Stormcast Eternal.
Skaven Skryre Warband:
1 crazy engineer for leader and either 3 crazy contraptions like a Doom-Flayer, a Warp-Grinder and a Skryre Acolyte or 1 stormfiend and 2 little rats. Since the were release in a dual set lately, I think they would make a coming into Underworlds, just like the Gitz preceeded the Gloomspite or the Thorns followed the Nighthaunt.
Flesh-Eater Court:
People have been wanting a vampire warband for long now, and this will be it with a twist. A vampire will lead this with a bunch of ghouls, just about like the Thorns, but a bit different. Probably a horde warband too.
Beasts of Chaos:
Horde warband lead by a Bray-Shaman, with probably 1 Bestigor and mix of Gors and Ungors. To make a wholesome season, they will need another Horde Warband, and without going with is already out, the Beasts of Chaos are one of the best options to fill this niche.
Daughters of Khaine:
The Aelves are under represented right now, and these girls have a clear style. Will there be 4, 5 or 6 of them, who knows ! But they could make a sweet warband with multiple option ! Maybe a Sorceress, maybe a Melusai, maybe something else !
Ogors:
Now I would like to say it will be 3 Maneaters because they are so cool, but I think it will be something "à la Mollog". Maybe a Butcher with a few grots, or a Hunter with a few kitten. This Warband will be an odd ball, to confuse the meta.
You might notice something here: almost everything is already in AoS. And this is the way it will be, I can assure you. When transitioning from Fantasy to AoS, GW changed the name of just about anything to have the right to put a Trademark on it. Do I personally believe that calling Dwarves "Duardins" is bollocks just to own the name and right of the models: maybe, but that doesn't invalid the fact it is their "modus operandi". That is also a big thing moving forward. All their new models were part of those new groups over which they have total legal control and can actually take legal action against third-party manufacturers to protect their brand. This is why I did not include Seraphon, nor the Dispossessed or Free Guild. The Ogors make the cut because of the Beastriders.
Sunday, 13 January 2019
Deep in the jank tank
Good day ladies, gentlemen and everything in-between (it's 2019, gotta starting getting inclusive around here) !!!
Now I know, it has been a very long, long, long, very long time. As such, I'm quite sorry for all my fans out there (Hi mom and dad !). Instead of pushing for a schedule that I cannot keep, I would just publish when I can, so I guess stay tune ?
In the last year, since my last post, I thought about starting Grymkin: did not happen; I thought about starting Crucible Guard: almost happen; now I'm thinking to maybe start Mercenary because I have a few 'jacks and Laellese models. But, what I did start in last year is a house. Not a household though, just a house. I bought my own place which did cut a lot of time in my schedule, and my work also took time with extra formations and frilly bits... Also went all in on Warhammer Underworld, so maybe you'll see some stuff about that too.
But for now, yesterday, I want to a Warmachine Team Tournament. There were 8 teams, including some big Canadians player like Mr McWatters. My team was lovely call CasuQuebec and we had a Protectorate player, a Retribution player and myself with my fearless Legion.
My lists were:
Oracle of Annihilation
Thagrosh, the Messiah
- Typhon
- Carnivean
- Carnivean
- Scythean
- Seraph
- Shreddy da' Shredder
Blackfrost Shard
Sorceress on Hellion (Free)
Forsaken (Free)
Forsaken (Free)
Shepherd
I had some success with this list in the past, namely an Assassination win against Nemo3 and a Scenario win against Krueger2 (ok, I playing that list 3 time total before the event). I was confident he could do something against stuff.
Primal Terrors
Lylyth, Shadow of Everblight
- Ammok the Truthbearer
- Blightbringer
- Ravagore
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
Max Warspears
- Chieftain
Max Warspears
- Chieftain
Warchief (Free)
Warchief (Free)
Now before the event, I played that list once, against my Menoth teammate, and lost. But it helped me see how I should deploy and spread my army, so a very useful game. This list provides a lot of high-quality shots (up to POW 17 + Pin Cushion, against the right foe), and the Ogruns ain't bad in melee, with DEF 14 against a charge and Vengeance.
Round 1
Went against a Cryx player with either Terminus1 in Ghost Fleet or Skarre1 in Dark Host. Both lists had Incorporeal models, so I choose Lylyth.
The game went well, but the recursion was too much for my Ogruns to handle. On my Feat turn, I did kill both Barathrum and the Wraith Engine, but after that Terminus wrecked my poor little Ogruns and I got a bit overwhelmed. Lost 5-0 to Scenario.
All my teammates also lost, so we want 0-1
Round 2
This time it was against Crucible Guard. He had either Mackay or Gearhart, and I never played against Crucible Guard. Since Mackay had two Tanks and a Vulcan, I though Thag couldn't handle it, and since we were in the "Fun Bracket", why not go for Lylyth2 all day.
So Lylyth 2 is was, against Mackay. I won the roll and choose my side of the board, so I could go second and respond to his deployment. First turn, he moved everything forward, just outside of my threat range. On my turn, I move stuff forward and try to get a lucky deviation on a Dragon's Breath Rocket, but do nothing there. Lylyth cast Mirage on a unit of Ogruns, move up and try to cast Pin Cushion on a Tank (16" away) but fail... Then I realise she is just sitting there, with 1 Transfer and her Stealth, in front of a Gunline... First thought was to also move the Bolt Thrower, that hadn't activated yet in front of her, "to screen Lylyth of the Big Bad Tanks". Of course, he is so close to Lylyth that all the AOE would hit her if he is hit... On the bright side, she was in the +2 ARM aura of the Blightbringer ! Guess what, my opponent went for the Assassination. Since it wasn't planned, and because huge bases are very clunky, he had to go first with a Tank, which hit with spray and did some damage, but the AOE did nothing (thanks BB). Then a Rocket applied Withering Humour. After many looks at it, there was no way the Vulcan and Mackay could both shoot at Lylyth since there was a Forest blocking line of sight. So the Vulcan had to move first and only do his Rocket on the Bolt Thrower. Then Mackay moved in and used her Feat. Even with all those boosted damages, she left Lylyth on 2 boxes because some of her spray attacks missed. She did kill the Bolt Thrower which provides Lylyth with a second Transfer ! The second Tank couldn't help being on the other flank with the Forest in the way. A Suppressor did move in the Forest, but only hit once, using one of the Transfer.
To my surprise, Lylyth was alive, the rest of my army was intact, and Mackay had no Focus left... Lylyth kept Mirage to move the Ogruns up. She went first and feated, landed Pin Cushion on Mackay and did 11 damages with her Bow in one big hit (second arrow did nothing). Blightbringer wents second, did +2 STR aura and shot twice with the Aim bonus, both hits landed for good damages. Thirdly, the Miraged' Ogruns activated. Only 4 could get in the "2 shots, bonus Arm and in range area", but only 2 of them were actually needed to kill Mackay. Assassination win.
All of my teammates won their game too, so we were 1-1.
Round 3
Final round of the day, I faced Grymkin. It was either the King of Nothing with tons of Lights or Dreamer and heavies. My opponent went with the Dreamer, with Sacrifice, Pandemonium and All Fall Down and I was set for Lylyth again. The scenario was Stand-Off. I won the roll and choose the side with a Trench, just so I could deny it to my opponent. There was also a big house in the middle and a rubble in the right circle. Objective was Magic Attack, just in case. My opponent deployment heavily on the right side with only 2 Swarm and a doggy on the left, and 2 other doggies plus a Swarm in the centre. I also deployed heavily on the right, with Lylyth, Ravagore and Bolt Thrower more centre-right and 1 unit of Ogruns on the left with Ammok. First turn, my opponent ran everything forward, putting the 3 doggies behind the house, and the center Swarm went right. On my turn, one of the doggy was not hidden well enough and the Blightbinger plus Lylyth made short work on him. I set up myself for the next turn, making sure that only one doggy could go across the house with Ghostly.
On my opponent second turn, he moved forward, entering the right zone and charging forward with a Skin and Moans to kill one Ogruns (or maybe two, not sure here). One doggy also walked through the house and attacked the Bolt Thrower but did about 9 damages and left every aspect running. The left Swarm toed the circle zone, one even in a Forest. On my turn, I decided it was the moment to Feat. First, I ran a Warchief to toe his rectangular zone, and ran Ammok to materialize the two left Swarm. Doing an Assault order, I could only send 1 Ogruns for each, but I managed to hit both of them (needing 9 on the Assault and 8 in Melee), promptly killing them, but because I had sent one Ogruns to help the Bolt Thrower, I could score that zone yet. That particular Ogrun did a great job and left the doggy on 3-4 boxes. Lylyth then activates, used her Feat and shot the remaining two Swarm on the right side with Far Strike, boosting damage 'cause why not, too much Fury anyway (and with so many Arcane Vortex, no need to waste 2 Fury for Pin Cushion). The Nephilim Bolt Thrower then activated, and killed in melee the Doggy, using Quick Work to send a boosted bolt into the Skin and Moans that attacked my poor Ogrun. I scored a crit, knocking down the monster. Blightbinger aimed again and shot the knockdown Skin and Moans, plus a shot on a far Cage Rager outside of the Dreamer's Artifice of Deviation. My right Ogruns declared an Assault Order but the Dreamer used her "Nay !!" card and I couldn't do it... So one walked to the far Cage Rager and the other just shot the down Skin and Moans: between the BB aura and Lylyth feat, he died. 1-0 for me, for holding my own zone.
On my opponent third turn, the last Skin and Moans charged my Ravagore that I had moved too far forward (for almost nothing really) and killed him. A Cage Rager also killed the far Ogrun, another one moved toward the contesting Warchief and the third moved forward. Dreamer killed the contesting Warchief with a spell. Score 2-1 for me.On my turn, I moved my left Ogruns to be sure to take the left zone but also contest his rectangular one and threaten it. The last Skin & Moans was my right Ogruns pray, so the last three of them dispatched him with Assault and melee. A Pumpkin Snowman was killed. Score 4-1 for me.
My opponent managed to clear to right circle by killing 2 Ogruns and a Warchief, plus a new Pumpkin Snowman run in and contest my rectangular zone. He also pushes back the contesting Ogrun in his rectangular zone. Score goes to 5-3. On my turn, I know that if I can score 3 I win. So I use my Vengeance move on the left Ogruns to take position to kill the Objective, which they will manage with 5 Assault. The Blightbringer killed the contesting Pumpkin Snowman, also scoring my zone, and the last Ogrun of the right unit moved into the right circle to contest. Lylyth then ran into the left circle, scoring me the third point. 8-3, Legion victory with about 4 minutes left on the clock.
For this round, my teammates lost their matches, so we went 1-2 for the day.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Lylyth2 again. It was the first time since Mk2, and let face it she is nowhere near the power she used to have. With Pin Cushion range of 17 inches, before moving (no-brainer and funny !) and Mirage, she is more an army support and does less personal work especially with the Reload instead of ROF 2. Most the time, I did just one shot to save the Fury actually. Her small Control also means that you can only fit a handful of models in, usually the BB, Ravagore and Bolt Thrower, which is not bad. If you can fit Spears also, that's great. She is still very vulnerable. She felt to me like a Tier B caster. With the right tool, she can do things, but Soothing Song is a dead spell (I only had Fury issue in the last game, and because she always activates first, I am not paying even 1 Fury to remove 1 Fury on a beast that has passed its Threshold check). The Gunfighter part also only served me in my first game, where some Warspears used it instead of the Charge attack because they had the 1/2" range, but it was very klunky. I would say she could safely go back to ROF 2... [Ah feck me, as I am writing this, I just saw that she had Snap Fire ! It would have changed things in game one, but nothing in the other two. Oh well...] Ok, I would need more testing now that I remember that she has Snap Fire. Nonetheless, Soothing Song really needs to go. It doesn't feel like her at all. Maybe replace it with something like Return Fire: same cost, still won't be used 98% of the time because she only has 5 Fury, but at least it would look like a reasonable option. Or even better, give her Explosivo ! Same cost, actually useful and would really bring something new that no other Legion casters have.
Now I know, it has been a very long, long, long, very long time. As such, I'm quite sorry for all my fans out there (Hi mom and dad !). Instead of pushing for a schedule that I cannot keep, I would just publish when I can, so I guess stay tune ?
In the last year, since my last post, I thought about starting Grymkin: did not happen; I thought about starting Crucible Guard: almost happen; now I'm thinking to maybe start Mercenary because I have a few 'jacks and Laellese models. But, what I did start in last year is a house. Not a household though, just a house. I bought my own place which did cut a lot of time in my schedule, and my work also took time with extra formations and frilly bits... Also went all in on Warhammer Underworld, so maybe you'll see some stuff about that too.
But for now, yesterday, I want to a Warmachine Team Tournament. There were 8 teams, including some big Canadians player like Mr McWatters. My team was lovely call CasuQuebec and we had a Protectorate player, a Retribution player and myself with my fearless Legion.
My lists were:
Oracle of Annihilation
Thagrosh, the Messiah
- Typhon
- Carnivean
- Carnivean
- Scythean
- Seraph
- Shreddy da' Shredder
Blackfrost Shard
Sorceress on Hellion (Free)
Forsaken (Free)
Forsaken (Free)
Shepherd
I had some success with this list in the past, namely an Assassination win against Nemo3 and a Scenario win against Krueger2 (ok, I playing that list 3 time total before the event). I was confident he could do something against stuff.
Primal Terrors
Lylyth, Shadow of Everblight
- Ammok the Truthbearer
- Blightbringer
- Ravagore
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
Max Warspears
- Chieftain
Max Warspears
- Chieftain
Warchief (Free)
Warchief (Free)
Now before the event, I played that list once, against my Menoth teammate, and lost. But it helped me see how I should deploy and spread my army, so a very useful game. This list provides a lot of high-quality shots (up to POW 17 + Pin Cushion, against the right foe), and the Ogruns ain't bad in melee, with DEF 14 against a charge and Vengeance.
Round 1
Went against a Cryx player with either Terminus1 in Ghost Fleet or Skarre1 in Dark Host. Both lists had Incorporeal models, so I choose Lylyth.
The game went well, but the recursion was too much for my Ogruns to handle. On my Feat turn, I did kill both Barathrum and the Wraith Engine, but after that Terminus wrecked my poor little Ogruns and I got a bit overwhelmed. Lost 5-0 to Scenario.
All my teammates also lost, so we want 0-1
Round 2
This time it was against Crucible Guard. He had either Mackay or Gearhart, and I never played against Crucible Guard. Since Mackay had two Tanks and a Vulcan, I though Thag couldn't handle it, and since we were in the "Fun Bracket", why not go for Lylyth2 all day.
So Lylyth 2 is was, against Mackay. I won the roll and choose my side of the board, so I could go second and respond to his deployment. First turn, he moved everything forward, just outside of my threat range. On my turn, I move stuff forward and try to get a lucky deviation on a Dragon's Breath Rocket, but do nothing there. Lylyth cast Mirage on a unit of Ogruns, move up and try to cast Pin Cushion on a Tank (16" away) but fail... Then I realise she is just sitting there, with 1 Transfer and her Stealth, in front of a Gunline... First thought was to also move the Bolt Thrower, that hadn't activated yet in front of her, "to screen Lylyth of the Big Bad Tanks". Of course, he is so close to Lylyth that all the AOE would hit her if he is hit... On the bright side, she was in the +2 ARM aura of the Blightbringer ! Guess what, my opponent went for the Assassination. Since it wasn't planned, and because huge bases are very clunky, he had to go first with a Tank, which hit with spray and did some damage, but the AOE did nothing (thanks BB). Then a Rocket applied Withering Humour. After many looks at it, there was no way the Vulcan and Mackay could both shoot at Lylyth since there was a Forest blocking line of sight. So the Vulcan had to move first and only do his Rocket on the Bolt Thrower. Then Mackay moved in and used her Feat. Even with all those boosted damages, she left Lylyth on 2 boxes because some of her spray attacks missed. She did kill the Bolt Thrower which provides Lylyth with a second Transfer ! The second Tank couldn't help being on the other flank with the Forest in the way. A Suppressor did move in the Forest, but only hit once, using one of the Transfer.
To my surprise, Lylyth was alive, the rest of my army was intact, and Mackay had no Focus left... Lylyth kept Mirage to move the Ogruns up. She went first and feated, landed Pin Cushion on Mackay and did 11 damages with her Bow in one big hit (second arrow did nothing). Blightbringer wents second, did +2 STR aura and shot twice with the Aim bonus, both hits landed for good damages. Thirdly, the Miraged' Ogruns activated. Only 4 could get in the "2 shots, bonus Arm and in range area", but only 2 of them were actually needed to kill Mackay. Assassination win.
All of my teammates won their game too, so we were 1-1.
Round 3
Final round of the day, I faced Grymkin. It was either the King of Nothing with tons of Lights or Dreamer and heavies. My opponent went with the Dreamer, with Sacrifice, Pandemonium and All Fall Down and I was set for Lylyth again. The scenario was Stand-Off. I won the roll and choose the side with a Trench, just so I could deny it to my opponent. There was also a big house in the middle and a rubble in the right circle. Objective was Magic Attack, just in case. My opponent deployment heavily on the right side with only 2 Swarm and a doggy on the left, and 2 other doggies plus a Swarm in the centre. I also deployed heavily on the right, with Lylyth, Ravagore and Bolt Thrower more centre-right and 1 unit of Ogruns on the left with Ammok. First turn, my opponent ran everything forward, putting the 3 doggies behind the house, and the center Swarm went right. On my turn, one of the doggy was not hidden well enough and the Blightbinger plus Lylyth made short work on him. I set up myself for the next turn, making sure that only one doggy could go across the house with Ghostly.
On my opponent second turn, he moved forward, entering the right zone and charging forward with a Skin and Moans to kill one Ogruns (or maybe two, not sure here). One doggy also walked through the house and attacked the Bolt Thrower but did about 9 damages and left every aspect running. The left Swarm toed the circle zone, one even in a Forest. On my turn, I decided it was the moment to Feat. First, I ran a Warchief to toe his rectangular zone, and ran Ammok to materialize the two left Swarm. Doing an Assault order, I could only send 1 Ogruns for each, but I managed to hit both of them (needing 9 on the Assault and 8 in Melee), promptly killing them, but because I had sent one Ogruns to help the Bolt Thrower, I could score that zone yet. That particular Ogrun did a great job and left the doggy on 3-4 boxes. Lylyth then activates, used her Feat and shot the remaining two Swarm on the right side with Far Strike, boosting damage 'cause why not, too much Fury anyway (and with so many Arcane Vortex, no need to waste 2 Fury for Pin Cushion). The Nephilim Bolt Thrower then activated, and killed in melee the Doggy, using Quick Work to send a boosted bolt into the Skin and Moans that attacked my poor Ogrun. I scored a crit, knocking down the monster. Blightbinger aimed again and shot the knockdown Skin and Moans, plus a shot on a far Cage Rager outside of the Dreamer's Artifice of Deviation. My right Ogruns declared an Assault Order but the Dreamer used her "Nay !!" card and I couldn't do it... So one walked to the far Cage Rager and the other just shot the down Skin and Moans: between the BB aura and Lylyth feat, he died. 1-0 for me, for holding my own zone.
On my opponent third turn, the last Skin and Moans charged my Ravagore that I had moved too far forward (for almost nothing really) and killed him. A Cage Rager also killed the far Ogrun, another one moved toward the contesting Warchief and the third moved forward. Dreamer killed the contesting Warchief with a spell. Score 2-1 for me.On my turn, I moved my left Ogruns to be sure to take the left zone but also contest his rectangular one and threaten it. The last Skin & Moans was my right Ogruns pray, so the last three of them dispatched him with Assault and melee. A Pumpkin Snowman was killed. Score 4-1 for me.
My opponent managed to clear to right circle by killing 2 Ogruns and a Warchief, plus a new Pumpkin Snowman run in and contest my rectangular zone. He also pushes back the contesting Ogrun in his rectangular zone. Score goes to 5-3. On my turn, I know that if I can score 3 I win. So I use my Vengeance move on the left Ogruns to take position to kill the Objective, which they will manage with 5 Assault. The Blightbringer killed the contesting Pumpkin Snowman, also scoring my zone, and the last Ogrun of the right unit moved into the right circle to contest. Lylyth then ran into the left circle, scoring me the third point. 8-3, Legion victory with about 4 minutes left on the clock.
For this round, my teammates lost their matches, so we went 1-2 for the day.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Lylyth2 again. It was the first time since Mk2, and let face it she is nowhere near the power she used to have. With Pin Cushion range of 17 inches, before moving (no-brainer and funny !) and Mirage, she is more an army support and does less personal work especially with the Reload instead of ROF 2. Most the time, I did just one shot to save the Fury actually. Her small Control also means that you can only fit a handful of models in, usually the BB, Ravagore and Bolt Thrower, which is not bad. If you can fit Spears also, that's great. She is still very vulnerable. She felt to me like a Tier B caster. With the right tool, she can do things, but Soothing Song is a dead spell (I only had Fury issue in the last game, and because she always activates first, I am not paying even 1 Fury to remove 1 Fury on a beast that has passed its Threshold check). The Gunfighter part also only served me in my first game, where some Warspears used it instead of the Charge attack because they had the 1/2" range, but it was very klunky. I would say she could safely go back to ROF 2... [Ah feck me, as I am writing this, I just saw that she had Snap Fire ! It would have changed things in game one, but nothing in the other two. Oh well...] Ok, I would need more testing now that I remember that she has Snap Fire. Nonetheless, Soothing Song really needs to go. It doesn't feel like her at all. Maybe replace it with something like Return Fire: same cost, still won't be used 98% of the time because she only has 5 Fury, but at least it would look like a reasonable option. Or even better, give her Explosivo ! Same cost, actually useful and would really bring something new that no other Legion casters have.
Saturday, 7 October 2017
Terrore Primi
Buongiorno !
I have to admit, the Theme Force sounds way better in Italian than English.
Just did a small tournament today, the first in a long time (which is easy enough to tell since I actually only did half a journeyman since my last blog post) and I wanted to try new stuff. Ya know, try to renew meself a bit after all those sweet Lylyth 3 assassinations. I brought an infantry swarm with Rhyas 1 in Children of the Dragon, but that list didn't do very well. My other list was Thagrosh 1 in Terrore Primi (yep, gonna keep that name) and I did quite alright with it. I did ended up 1-2, but the last one my opponent admitted I had it if we both didn't play so relaxed (read: we were both slow).
My list was simple, just like my Classic Ogruns List, but in theme.
Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
- Typhon
- Carnivean
- Nephilim Protector
Max Warspears
- Warspears Chieftain
Max Warspears
- Warspears Chieftain
Max Warmongers
Warmonger Warchief
So pretty straightforward. My first game was against Harkevich and 7 'jacks (2 juggies, 2 destroyers, Black Ivan, 1 Marauder & a Clam) with a couple of solo in The Pit II, where I went second. I successfully killed the Marauder during his feat and he did put enough pressure on the right flank. This gave me an early scenario advantage and half my army just jammed him up while I kept scoring on the right for 5-0.
The second game I lost on the clock by like 2-3 minutes. It was against Vindictus with a Battle Engine, 2 Exemplar Errants and 2 Exemplar Knights units. I went first and the game went to turn 7 and was a slow grind fest. I manage to kill an Errants unit top of 2 because my opponent didn't feat, thus giving me an advantage that I slowly pressed. When the clock ran out, I still had a unit of 3 Warspears with Chieftain, Typhon and a feated Carnivean (both about half-life, but functional) against a Mechanik and the Battle Engine at also half-life. We were 8 to 6 for him on the scenario but was starting to come around and he didn't have anything left to stop my beast. So even if I lost, I knew what the list could do.
Now to the interesting part: is Terrore Primi worth it right now, and how should it scale in the future (aka CID).
First, the +2" of deployment is great. Both games I had a good board and scenario presence (although going second really help for that). I was afraid that wouldn't be enough but nope, quite good. I do expect this to become even more powerful with the Cavalry unit incoming, as with might be able to lock the opponent out the scenario.
Second, the Free Stuff. In my list, I have 11 free points. Realistically, you could go to 3 free cards by cutting back the beast (but I love this trio for Thagrosh). The craziness of 5 free cards with Wasps is just that to me: craziness. Sure you have 29 free points, but you lost all you're beast points on useless stuff, so... not worth it in my opinion, in this list (Wasps can be worth it somewhere else, I guess). I will also say that even if I could have had a free Hellmouth, people are used to them now (still good, just not that gotcha-esque) and they are pretty static, so I strongly believe a Chieftain to be more useful. Now we will have to see how much Amök is going to cost and if the Warmongers get a UA, but so far what we already have is pretty good for free.
Third, the Warmongers buff. ... ... In my opinion, it does not cut it sadly. In both games, they didn't come close to make their point, because they just don't have enough power to threaten. I would totally consider putting them out to replace with a 3rd unit of Warspears instead if I had the models. The truth is, they are going to get 1 Vengeance move, some of them will be in charge range of a couple of models, they will charge and probably kill their charge target (infantry of course), but then after that MAT 6 is just not enough to Berserk well enough. That also but them only at 13" threat-range, while the Warspears do 16" (and against the Prey, hit easier and harder then Warmongers even with their buff). After that one turn of fun, they die, simple as that. Also, when the Ogruns Cavalry hits the shelves, I expect there won't even be a reason to talk about Warmongers anymore.
---
Now, now, hush kids. Everything is not doom and gloom for Warmongers. There is a solution ! The CID process is coming, and there is still hope for them. First off, bring back MAT 7, and if need be get rid of that Powerful charge rule. With Berserk, they need to hit steadily, not being some weird ogrun-of-all-trade that want to go straight into pile of dudes but also have a bonus against high DEF target that they can't hit after the first swing. (You might argue that Anamag's Carnage should fix that issue, but I would point out that this will still benefit the Warspears better.) Now about Vengeance in itself: their MAT 6 is still too low to make it reliable and don't improve their big problem, survivability. (Plus outside of Theme, they are very sub-part to anything else.) I believe a rule such has Battle-Driven could be great on the Warmongers. This fit well into their backstory of being crazy lunatic bloodthirsty warriors, as hurting them would only enrage them more. It would also get their survivability up a notch since ARM 18 is not negligible. Maybe then Vengeance would be too powerful has a Theme bonus, but that would make them a true consideration when list building and give a hard choice to the opponent: do I want them to come at me full but sweet, or only half of them but completely enraged. And this is just one option ! Bloodthirsty (+2" when charging living), Take Down (no tough and RFP [which Legion doesn't have a lot]), *Thresher instead of Berserk, Rust, Mischief, AP ! (Ok, the last few might be out of place.)
Overall, you get my vibe. The Warmongers need something else (as in different / in addition to) then Vengeance to make them good, and if a full Theme Force benefit is dedicated to them, it would be sad to leave them at home because they are outperformed by everything else in their own Theme.
I have to admit, the Theme Force sounds way better in Italian than English.
Just did a small tournament today, the first in a long time (which is easy enough to tell since I actually only did half a journeyman since my last blog post) and I wanted to try new stuff. Ya know, try to renew meself a bit after all those sweet Lylyth 3 assassinations. I brought an infantry swarm with Rhyas 1 in Children of the Dragon, but that list didn't do very well. My other list was Thagrosh 1 in Terrore Primi (yep, gonna keep that name) and I did quite alright with it. I did ended up 1-2, but the last one my opponent admitted I had it if we both didn't play so relaxed (read: we were both slow).
My list was simple, just like my Classic Ogruns List, but in theme.
Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
- Typhon
- Carnivean
- Nephilim Protector
Max Warspears
- Warspears Chieftain
Max Warspears
- Warspears Chieftain
Max Warmongers
Warmonger Warchief
So pretty straightforward. My first game was against Harkevich and 7 'jacks (2 juggies, 2 destroyers, Black Ivan, 1 Marauder & a Clam) with a couple of solo in The Pit II, where I went second. I successfully killed the Marauder during his feat and he did put enough pressure on the right flank. This gave me an early scenario advantage and half my army just jammed him up while I kept scoring on the right for 5-0.
The second game I lost on the clock by like 2-3 minutes. It was against Vindictus with a Battle Engine, 2 Exemplar Errants and 2 Exemplar Knights units. I went first and the game went to turn 7 and was a slow grind fest. I manage to kill an Errants unit top of 2 because my opponent didn't feat, thus giving me an advantage that I slowly pressed. When the clock ran out, I still had a unit of 3 Warspears with Chieftain, Typhon and a feated Carnivean (both about half-life, but functional) against a Mechanik and the Battle Engine at also half-life. We were 8 to 6 for him on the scenario but was starting to come around and he didn't have anything left to stop my beast. So even if I lost, I knew what the list could do.
Now to the interesting part: is Terrore Primi worth it right now, and how should it scale in the future (aka CID).
First, the +2" of deployment is great. Both games I had a good board and scenario presence (although going second really help for that). I was afraid that wouldn't be enough but nope, quite good. I do expect this to become even more powerful with the Cavalry unit incoming, as with might be able to lock the opponent out the scenario.
Second, the Free Stuff. In my list, I have 11 free points. Realistically, you could go to 3 free cards by cutting back the beast (but I love this trio for Thagrosh). The craziness of 5 free cards with Wasps is just that to me: craziness. Sure you have 29 free points, but you lost all you're beast points on useless stuff, so... not worth it in my opinion, in this list (Wasps can be worth it somewhere else, I guess). I will also say that even if I could have had a free Hellmouth, people are used to them now (still good, just not that gotcha-esque) and they are pretty static, so I strongly believe a Chieftain to be more useful. Now we will have to see how much Amök is going to cost and if the Warmongers get a UA, but so far what we already have is pretty good for free.
Third, the Warmongers buff. ... ... In my opinion, it does not cut it sadly. In both games, they didn't come close to make their point, because they just don't have enough power to threaten. I would totally consider putting them out to replace with a 3rd unit of Warspears instead if I had the models. The truth is, they are going to get 1 Vengeance move, some of them will be in charge range of a couple of models, they will charge and probably kill their charge target (infantry of course), but then after that MAT 6 is just not enough to Berserk well enough. That also but them only at 13" threat-range, while the Warspears do 16" (and against the Prey, hit easier and harder then Warmongers even with their buff). After that one turn of fun, they die, simple as that. Also, when the Ogruns Cavalry hits the shelves, I expect there won't even be a reason to talk about Warmongers anymore.
---
Now, now, hush kids. Everything is not doom and gloom for Warmongers. There is a solution ! The CID process is coming, and there is still hope for them. First off, bring back MAT 7, and if need be get rid of that Powerful charge rule. With Berserk, they need to hit steadily, not being some weird ogrun-of-all-trade that want to go straight into pile of dudes but also have a bonus against high DEF target that they can't hit after the first swing. (You might argue that Anamag's Carnage should fix that issue, but I would point out that this will still benefit the Warspears better.) Now about Vengeance in itself: their MAT 6 is still too low to make it reliable and don't improve their big problem, survivability. (Plus outside of Theme, they are very sub-part to anything else.) I believe a rule such has Battle-Driven could be great on the Warmongers. This fit well into their backstory of being crazy lunatic bloodthirsty warriors, as hurting them would only enrage them more. It would also get their survivability up a notch since ARM 18 is not negligible. Maybe then Vengeance would be too powerful has a Theme bonus, but that would make them a true consideration when list building and give a hard choice to the opponent: do I want them to come at me full but sweet, or only half of them but completely enraged. And this is just one option ! Bloodthirsty (+2" when charging living), Take Down (no tough and RFP [which Legion doesn't have a lot]), *Thresher instead of Berserk, Rust, Mischief, AP ! (Ok, the last few might be out of place.)
Overall, you get my vibe. The Warmongers need something else (as in different / in addition to) then Vengeance to make them good, and if a full Theme Force benefit is dedicated to them, it would be sad to leave them at home because they are outperformed by everything else in their own Theme.
Sunday, 19 March 2017
Steamroller with Lylyth3 and Bethayne
Hi everyone ! Yesterday I travelled far up North in the mystical land of Saguenay, to the peaceful town of Chicoutimi for a Steamroller. It was about a 2h-2h30 ride, but I was carpooling with someone else and also it was the only tournament I could attend during my 10 days vacation.
There was a list a really wanted to try out with Bethayne. I know she's mainly regarded as a low-tier caster in Legion, but she can pool out some great synergy.
Bethayne, Voice of Everblight
- Belphagor (obviously)
- Angelius
- Nephilim Soldier
- Harrier
- Harrier
Max. Grotesque Raiders
Max. Grotesque Raiders
Scout Striders
- Officer and Musician
Blackfrost Shard
Blighted Nyss Warlord
Grotesque Assassin
Grotesque Assassin
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr
Obj: Effigy of Valour
The idea was to combine the Feat, with either Disintegration and/or Kiss of Lyliss with a lot of Grotesques to take down the heavy targets. The Scout Striders were there for jamming and deal with High-ARM single wound models. I hesitated quite a lot about going in theme or not, but losing the Blackfrost Shard, the Warlord (two very powerful tools) and the Shepherds was too much for me.
My other list was my "Classic Lylyth3".
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
- Archangel
- Typhon
- Nephilim Soldier
- Naga Nightlurker
Min. Blighted Nyss Raptors
Annyssa Ryvaal
The Forsaken
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Obj: Armoury
First round was Extraction against Cygnar. I played Lylyth because of my opponent Nemo3 list with a lot of electro-leap would probably have killed my infantry too easily if I had taken Bethayne.
Theme: Heavy Metal
Nemo3
- Finch
- Squire
- Dynamo
- Reliant
- Reliant
- Firefly
Storm Strider
Capt. Arlan Strangeways
Journeyman Warcaster
- Firefly
Lt. Allison Jakes
- Thunderhead
Obj: Bunker
My opponent won the roll-off and choose the table side with a trench since he was worry about an early assassination from Lylyth. There was also a large obstruction (a house) in the middle of the table, and she will play an important role. I deployed Lylyth and the Archangel centrally, with the lights and solos between them. Typhon was next to Lylyth, with Annyssa on the right flank and the Raptors on the left flank. He deployed his Battle Engine in the middle, with Nemo and Solos close to the trench. A Reliant and Dynamo were also close to the trench, with the other Reliant and Nemo's Firefly on the other side of the Storm Strider. The Journeyman (which was Annyssa's prey) with the Firefly faced Annyssa while Jakes and Thunderhead faced the Raptors. In the early turn, my priority was to kill the Storm Strider to get a view on Nemo. Durgin my opponent Feat turn, he rolled badly to hit, and left Typhon with a couple of boxes and didn't do much against my Archangel either. Thunderhead killed all the Raptors with his pulse, but he was far from the "action" and facing the wrong direction, so I was ok with it. Lylyth also killed Strangeways early, activating Blood Boon (so Wind Wall, basically) and take out his only way to get magic weapon. The turn I finally killed the Strom Strider (just after his feat actually), my Archangel was toeing the left flag but was contested by a Firefly, Typhon frenzied into the other Firefly, and Annyssa killed Finch. On his next turn, my opponent moved back the contesting Firefly and moved closer with Thunderhead, but I still scored once during his turn. On my turn, combined shots from the Bolt Thrower and the Archangel killed his Bunker, and the Nephilim was on the right flag, which put me at 4. Lylyth also killed the last Firefly while hiding being the house and Annyssa takes care of the Squire. My opponent was left with no choice but to come out after me to stop me from scoring. Thunderhead charged my Archangel but didn't close anything. Dynamo and a Reliant didn't successfully kill my Bolt Thrower because of poor rolls, but still both flags were contested by at two 'jacks each (the second Reliant was close to the left one, but not in melee range of the Archangel). That left Nemo open in the trench, all alone with no big 'jacks blocking my line of sight, camping 4 Focus. Lylyth went back right and used her Feat, boosting to hit, needing a 10. I got it, freezing Nemo into place. Annyssa went from behind and shoot 2 arrows. Nemo was on 4 boxes, still camping 1. My Archangel flew over the house, taking a free strike from Thunderhead that closed is Mind. Nonetheless, Nemo being at DEF 5, even in a trench, I only needed a 3+ on one dice to hit. I did it with the first shot and with boosted damage, killed Nemo.
1-0
My second game was against Retribution of Scyrah and the scenario was Recon. Both my opponent list had 3 Manticores, and I believe they were both in theme, so I didn't want to play Lylyth into that. I went with Bethayne.
Magister Helynna
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr
- Discordia
- Manticore
- Manticore
- Manticore
- Chimera
Max. Dawnguard Sentinels
- Officer & Banner
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Arcanist
Arcanist
Arcanist
Lys Healer
Obj: Bunker
My opponent won the roll-off and choose the table side. I deployed from left to right: Grotesque & Assassin, Spell Martyr & Shepherd, a Harrier, Angelius, Belphagor, Bethayne, Nephilim Soldier, Nyss Warlord, a Harrier, Spell Martyr & Shepherd and Grotesque with Assassin. Bethayne was in the middle of the board with the Blackfrost Shard behind her. My opponent deployed from left to right a Manticore, Sentinels in the middle with Discordia in the middle of them and Helynna behind them, the Chimera with the Arcanist behind, and the two last Manticore. I split my Scouts 4 on each side of my objective. My first turn I ran everything forward without going into the Sentinels charge range. Bethayne cast Blood Thorn on the Scouts. My opponent moved forward but did not engage me. He placed his covering fire template so that I couldn't charge anywhere (not sure I had the distance). On my turn, my Scouts put Corrosion on 7 Sentinels (they were ARM 24+) and engaged them with reposition. Bethayne cast Cloak of Ash on them so they were at DEF 17 against the Sentinels. My Grotesques ran and I sent one on each Manticore to stop him from putting down covering fire. On his second turn, 4 Sentinels died from the Corrosion. He only killed 1 of my Scouts and could put down any covering fire, but Discordia killed 2 Grotesque with a spray, and with Rythm of War, his 'jacks came closer, stopping some of my Grotesques from charging. Now on my third turn, I wanted to Feat, because on one side there was a Manticore and Discordia, but only 6 Grotesques, while on the other side, there was 2 Manticore and the Chimera, with about 8 Grotesques. I had to choose a side, and instead, I choose to stay behind my objective, waiting to see which side would need me to most. The out-most right Manticore died to my charging Grotesque (like 5 of them plus the Solo), and the Chimera died to 2 Grotesques and my Warlord. My Angelius charged Discordia, doing some damage. I also sent an Assassin and like 2 Grotesques, but she was left alive on 1 boxes... Still, she was Grievous Wounded so she won't heal back 10 boxes. The left Manticore take some damages from 4 Grotesque, but nothing much. The big surprise came from the Scouts in melee. Bethayne cast Blood Thorn back on them, and besides putting Corrosion on Discordia (which went away, snif...), they hit fairly well and killed four of them in melee (most of them were at ARM 15, but I got some I high roll), leaving only 2 of them with the Officer and the Banner. On my opponent turn, he did use his Feat, and Discordia killed the Assassin and a Scouts, while the right Manticore killed 2-3 Grotesques and the left one only one (some really bad dice roll here). Lanyssa killed my Warlord with an Ice Bolt too, and the Sentinels killed two more Scouts. Back to my turn, I felt like the left side was a good place to punch through, as 3 Grotesques wouldn't take down a Manticore by themselves. I sent a Harrier to tag her then I used my Feat (plus cast a Disintegration on the right Manticore through a Spell Martyr) and make a place for the Blackfrost Shard to charge the left Manticore, killing it on the spot. Despite the Feat, my two Grotesques failed to kill Discordia and I needed my Angelius to do the job. My Soldier charged the Sentinel Officer but failed to kill him... Lanyssa got killed by two Grotesques while the rest of the unit and the assassin went to the last Manticore, but she was under Helynna's Feat so I didn't do much. On my opponent turn, the Sentinels killed all but my Scout Officer, and only 3 Grotesques were left alive on the right flank. Helynna started moving backwards too. On my turn, the TO announced 1 minutes left on global and moved next to our table (we both had about 2 minutes left on each clock). I still want with the plan I had in mind, and ran Bethayne to the left flag since there was no enemy model in a large radius and it would be easy to defend. I also tried to kill the objective with the Angelius but failed, and it was dice down. I went 1-0 on CP, giving me the win.
If the game hadn't ended on the dice down, I was still in a pretty good position. I still had all my beasts at full health, Bethayne sitting on a flag and I would have killed the objective with a couple of Grotesques in that turn, which would have put me at 2 (maybe 3 if I cleared the 3 Sentinels in the zone), with no way for him to contest Bethayne.
2-0
For my third game, the Scenario was Take and Hold. I also played Bethayne. I won't go into any more details about the game as my opponent and I had a disagreement during the game and he conceded.
3-0
Overall, the day went pretty well. It was a big event with a total of 21 players (and a playable bye), and after the third game, we were 3 players at 3-0. I finished 3rd of the tournament from the SOS, which was great ! I would also take the time to thanks the organisation. The emplacement was great and easy to find for someone who never went to the town before, plus the local had plenty of space and each table had about 2 extra feet on the side for model trays and gaming material, which was really nice.
Now onto a more important debriefing: Bethayne, Voice of Everblight. I have heard from a lot of people that she's not very good and all, but I still wanted to give her a try. Of course, I built a list to maximise her Feat and the way to apply the bonus. I find out that Harriers are great for that ! They run very far and people don't really mind them as they are not a big threat. I also loved to Angelius, because he can charge the Debuffed target with his Armour Piercing attack and there is still place for Grotesques between the two bases, and if Grotesques are toe-to-toe with the enemy, they can't hit back the beast unless they have a 2" melee range. The list is also very good at jamming, of course, and you can screen Bethayne relatively well if you want to go after the scenario, which I recommend. Indeed, I realise that in late game, when the number of Grotesques starts running low and the Feat is done, she might lack some big game finisher. Like I'm not sure Grotesques alone, even with Gang, could take down a solid Warcaster/Warlock. Plus, they list would probably struggle against dual Colossal/Gargantuan. So you want to go after the Scenario as soon as you can, but being only 16/13, even with Dodge, you don't really want to commit her until the spot is safe.
Considering it was my first time playing her and playing Grotesques, I would give her a good 7 out of 10. She's no Lylyth 3 nor Absy 2 or Thag 1, but she can definitely do some work.
Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave some comments !
PS: Just a reminder, I leave for a month at sea in a few days, so don't expect too much from me, sorry...
There was a list a really wanted to try out with Bethayne. I know she's mainly regarded as a low-tier caster in Legion, but she can pool out some great synergy.
Bethayne, Voice of Everblight
- Belphagor (obviously)
- Angelius
- Nephilim Soldier
- Harrier
- Harrier
Max. Grotesque Raiders
Max. Grotesque Raiders
Scout Striders
- Officer and Musician
Blackfrost Shard
Blighted Nyss Warlord
Grotesque Assassin
Grotesque Assassin
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Spell Martyr
Spell Martyr
Obj: Effigy of Valour
The idea was to combine the Feat, with either Disintegration and/or Kiss of Lyliss with a lot of Grotesques to take down the heavy targets. The Scout Striders were there for jamming and deal with High-ARM single wound models. I hesitated quite a lot about going in theme or not, but losing the Blackfrost Shard, the Warlord (two very powerful tools) and the Shepherds was too much for me.
My other list was my "Classic Lylyth3".
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
- Archangel
- Typhon
- Nephilim Soldier
- Naga Nightlurker
Min. Blighted Nyss Raptors
Annyssa Ryvaal
The Forsaken
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Obj: Armoury
First round was Extraction against Cygnar. I played Lylyth because of my opponent Nemo3 list with a lot of electro-leap would probably have killed my infantry too easily if I had taken Bethayne.
Theme: Heavy Metal
Nemo3
- Finch
- Squire
- Dynamo
- Reliant
- Reliant
- Firefly
Storm Strider
Capt. Arlan Strangeways
Journeyman Warcaster
- Firefly
Lt. Allison Jakes
- Thunderhead
Obj: Bunker
My opponent won the roll-off and choose the table side with a trench since he was worry about an early assassination from Lylyth. There was also a large obstruction (a house) in the middle of the table, and she will play an important role. I deployed Lylyth and the Archangel centrally, with the lights and solos between them. Typhon was next to Lylyth, with Annyssa on the right flank and the Raptors on the left flank. He deployed his Battle Engine in the middle, with Nemo and Solos close to the trench. A Reliant and Dynamo were also close to the trench, with the other Reliant and Nemo's Firefly on the other side of the Storm Strider. The Journeyman (which was Annyssa's prey) with the Firefly faced Annyssa while Jakes and Thunderhead faced the Raptors. In the early turn, my priority was to kill the Storm Strider to get a view on Nemo. Durgin my opponent Feat turn, he rolled badly to hit, and left Typhon with a couple of boxes and didn't do much against my Archangel either. Thunderhead killed all the Raptors with his pulse, but he was far from the "action" and facing the wrong direction, so I was ok with it. Lylyth also killed Strangeways early, activating Blood Boon (so Wind Wall, basically) and take out his only way to get magic weapon. The turn I finally killed the Strom Strider (just after his feat actually), my Archangel was toeing the left flag but was contested by a Firefly, Typhon frenzied into the other Firefly, and Annyssa killed Finch. On his next turn, my opponent moved back the contesting Firefly and moved closer with Thunderhead, but I still scored once during his turn. On my turn, combined shots from the Bolt Thrower and the Archangel killed his Bunker, and the Nephilim was on the right flag, which put me at 4. Lylyth also killed the last Firefly while hiding being the house and Annyssa takes care of the Squire. My opponent was left with no choice but to come out after me to stop me from scoring. Thunderhead charged my Archangel but didn't close anything. Dynamo and a Reliant didn't successfully kill my Bolt Thrower because of poor rolls, but still both flags were contested by at two 'jacks each (the second Reliant was close to the left one, but not in melee range of the Archangel). That left Nemo open in the trench, all alone with no big 'jacks blocking my line of sight, camping 4 Focus. Lylyth went back right and used her Feat, boosting to hit, needing a 10. I got it, freezing Nemo into place. Annyssa went from behind and shoot 2 arrows. Nemo was on 4 boxes, still camping 1. My Archangel flew over the house, taking a free strike from Thunderhead that closed is Mind. Nonetheless, Nemo being at DEF 5, even in a trench, I only needed a 3+ on one dice to hit. I did it with the first shot and with boosted damage, killed Nemo.
1-0
My second game was against Retribution of Scyrah and the scenario was Recon. Both my opponent list had 3 Manticores, and I believe they were both in theme, so I didn't want to play Lylyth into that. I went with Bethayne.
Magister Helynna
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr
- Discordia
- Manticore
- Manticore
- Manticore
- Chimera
Max. Dawnguard Sentinels
- Officer & Banner
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Arcanist
Arcanist
Arcanist
Lys Healer
Obj: Bunker
My opponent won the roll-off and choose the table side. I deployed from left to right: Grotesque & Assassin, Spell Martyr & Shepherd, a Harrier, Angelius, Belphagor, Bethayne, Nephilim Soldier, Nyss Warlord, a Harrier, Spell Martyr & Shepherd and Grotesque with Assassin. Bethayne was in the middle of the board with the Blackfrost Shard behind her. My opponent deployed from left to right a Manticore, Sentinels in the middle with Discordia in the middle of them and Helynna behind them, the Chimera with the Arcanist behind, and the two last Manticore. I split my Scouts 4 on each side of my objective. My first turn I ran everything forward without going into the Sentinels charge range. Bethayne cast Blood Thorn on the Scouts. My opponent moved forward but did not engage me. He placed his covering fire template so that I couldn't charge anywhere (not sure I had the distance). On my turn, my Scouts put Corrosion on 7 Sentinels (they were ARM 24+) and engaged them with reposition. Bethayne cast Cloak of Ash on them so they were at DEF 17 against the Sentinels. My Grotesques ran and I sent one on each Manticore to stop him from putting down covering fire. On his second turn, 4 Sentinels died from the Corrosion. He only killed 1 of my Scouts and could put down any covering fire, but Discordia killed 2 Grotesque with a spray, and with Rythm of War, his 'jacks came closer, stopping some of my Grotesques from charging. Now on my third turn, I wanted to Feat, because on one side there was a Manticore and Discordia, but only 6 Grotesques, while on the other side, there was 2 Manticore and the Chimera, with about 8 Grotesques. I had to choose a side, and instead, I choose to stay behind my objective, waiting to see which side would need me to most. The out-most right Manticore died to my charging Grotesque (like 5 of them plus the Solo), and the Chimera died to 2 Grotesques and my Warlord. My Angelius charged Discordia, doing some damage. I also sent an Assassin and like 2 Grotesques, but she was left alive on 1 boxes... Still, she was Grievous Wounded so she won't heal back 10 boxes. The left Manticore take some damages from 4 Grotesque, but nothing much. The big surprise came from the Scouts in melee. Bethayne cast Blood Thorn back on them, and besides putting Corrosion on Discordia (which went away, snif...), they hit fairly well and killed four of them in melee (most of them were at ARM 15, but I got some I high roll), leaving only 2 of them with the Officer and the Banner. On my opponent turn, he did use his Feat, and Discordia killed the Assassin and a Scouts, while the right Manticore killed 2-3 Grotesques and the left one only one (some really bad dice roll here). Lanyssa killed my Warlord with an Ice Bolt too, and the Sentinels killed two more Scouts. Back to my turn, I felt like the left side was a good place to punch through, as 3 Grotesques wouldn't take down a Manticore by themselves. I sent a Harrier to tag her then I used my Feat (plus cast a Disintegration on the right Manticore through a Spell Martyr) and make a place for the Blackfrost Shard to charge the left Manticore, killing it on the spot. Despite the Feat, my two Grotesques failed to kill Discordia and I needed my Angelius to do the job. My Soldier charged the Sentinel Officer but failed to kill him... Lanyssa got killed by two Grotesques while the rest of the unit and the assassin went to the last Manticore, but she was under Helynna's Feat so I didn't do much. On my opponent turn, the Sentinels killed all but my Scout Officer, and only 3 Grotesques were left alive on the right flank. Helynna started moving backwards too. On my turn, the TO announced 1 minutes left on global and moved next to our table (we both had about 2 minutes left on each clock). I still want with the plan I had in mind, and ran Bethayne to the left flag since there was no enemy model in a large radius and it would be easy to defend. I also tried to kill the objective with the Angelius but failed, and it was dice down. I went 1-0 on CP, giving me the win.
If the game hadn't ended on the dice down, I was still in a pretty good position. I still had all my beasts at full health, Bethayne sitting on a flag and I would have killed the objective with a couple of Grotesques in that turn, which would have put me at 2 (maybe 3 if I cleared the 3 Sentinels in the zone), with no way for him to contest Bethayne.
2-0
For my third game, the Scenario was Take and Hold. I also played Bethayne. I won't go into any more details about the game as my opponent and I had a disagreement during the game and he conceded.
3-0
Overall, the day went pretty well. It was a big event with a total of 21 players (and a playable bye), and after the third game, we were 3 players at 3-0. I finished 3rd of the tournament from the SOS, which was great ! I would also take the time to thanks the organisation. The emplacement was great and easy to find for someone who never went to the town before, plus the local had plenty of space and each table had about 2 extra feet on the side for model trays and gaming material, which was really nice.
Now onto a more important debriefing: Bethayne, Voice of Everblight. I have heard from a lot of people that she's not very good and all, but I still wanted to give her a try. Of course, I built a list to maximise her Feat and the way to apply the bonus. I find out that Harriers are great for that ! They run very far and people don't really mind them as they are not a big threat. I also loved to Angelius, because he can charge the Debuffed target with his Armour Piercing attack and there is still place for Grotesques between the two bases, and if Grotesques are toe-to-toe with the enemy, they can't hit back the beast unless they have a 2" melee range. The list is also very good at jamming, of course, and you can screen Bethayne relatively well if you want to go after the scenario, which I recommend. Indeed, I realise that in late game, when the number of Grotesques starts running low and the Feat is done, she might lack some big game finisher. Like I'm not sure Grotesques alone, even with Gang, could take down a solid Warcaster/Warlock. Plus, they list would probably struggle against dual Colossal/Gargantuan. So you want to go after the Scenario as soon as you can, but being only 16/13, even with Dodge, you don't really want to commit her until the spot is safe.
Considering it was my first time playing her and playing Grotesques, I would give her a good 7 out of 10. She's no Lylyth 3 nor Absy 2 or Thag 1, but she can definitely do some work.
Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave some comments !
PS: Just a reminder, I leave for a month at sea in a few days, so don't expect too much from me, sorry...
Sunday, 12 March 2017
There's something lurking in the corner...
Guess who's back, back again
Durgil's back, tell a friend
Guess who's back,
guess who's back,
guess who's back,
guess who's back,
guess who's back.
guess who's back...
So let me explain something very important. I'm a sailor, and as such, I have a hard time to produce blog posts while I'm at sea. And since I graduate from Maritime School last Spring, I'm still trying to get a regular job on a schedule, which is kind of hard. Therefore, I apologise to everyone who follows my blog for the letdown. I will try to warn in advance when the blog will be down, and maybe I will be able to produce articles in advance at some point (for my sea period), but for now, this is it.
So, I will be at sea from March 22th to April 19th, so don't expect much from me between those two dates.
Now more on the subject, Grymkin are around the corner and since I like the faction feels, I've given a shot at that CID thing.
Here a battle report of the game I played this morning !
Theme: Bump In The Night
The Heretic +29- Cage Rager 14
- Skin & Moans 15
- Skin & Moans 15
- 2x Crabbits 7
Max. Hollowmen 14
- Lantern Man 0
Min. Dread Rots 7
Min. Dread Rots 7
Murder Crows 9
Murder Crows 9
Lord Longfellow 0
Trapperkin 3
Trapperkin 3
Cask Imp 1
Theme: Forges of War
Adeptis Rahn +26
- Sylys Wyshnalyrr, The Seeker 0
- Discordia 18
- Hydra 15
- Manticore 14
- Manticore 14
- Griffon 8
- Chimera 8
House Shyeel Battle Mages 10
House Shyeel Battle Mages 10
House Shyeel Artificer 0
Arcanist Mechanik 0
Arcanist Mechanik 2
Arcanist Mechanik 2
Scenario: Incursion
My opponent won the first roll and decide to go first, so I choose the side with a hill. I also choose the Arcana Ruins and The Shadow, plus Reckoning since it is the Trump Arcana.
This is after the deployment. As you can see, I use my Legion models for the Grymkin. Scythean/Ravagore are Skin & Moans, Zuriel is the Cage Rager, Swordmen are Dread Rots, empty bases lead by a Pot Grunt are Murder Crows, Shredders are Crabbits, Lylyth2 is Longfellow, Thagrosh1 is The Heretic, The Forsaken are Trapperkin, the Gobber is the Cask Imp and the mix of shooters are the Hollowmen, lead by a Spell Martyr as Lantern Man. Of course, one unit of Murder Crows is in Ambush and the other Prey on Discordia.
The general strategy of the list is to have a unit of Dread Rots to fuel each Skin & Moans, and use the Murder Crows as heavy hitters with the Skin & Moans. My opponent sadly doesn't have much living, but we will try our best.
At the end of both first turn, the Grymkin army is doing great, withstanding 0 casualty so far. The Griffon has the "No Charge" spell and the Murder Crows have Fury. The Cask Imp rolled 1 so he didn't go very far.
After my opponent second turn, the evil Shyeel Mages have killed 4 Dread Rots and Discordia killed 1 Hollowman, and I triggered Reckoning on Discordia at that moment. Sadly she also hit The Heretic, so he won't be able to cast next turn. The Griffon take a defensive stance between the obstruction to block the way for my second unit of Murder Crows, while a Manticore face my Murder Crows and place a covering fire between her and the obstruction, so I don't run in her backfield. A crabbit jump in to protect Longfellow from the Hydra shot. The Cask Imp die to a Mage spell.
Vendetta, vendetta !! I kept the second Murder Crows in reserve. I used the Hollowmen in CRA against Discordia, but I forgot the +2 to hit and miss 3 of my 4 CRA, doing only 3 damages. On the plus side, Longfellow showed them how to do it by doing a lot of damages. A Skin and Moans went next an killed Discordia with his two initial (including a charge attack). The Murder Crows prey went on the Manticore in front of them (niark niark niark, my cunning plan is coming into place) and the general army Reckoning went to the Chimera. My second Skin & Moans charged the Chimera, killed it, and the Reckoning went on the Manticore. Now the trap is all set, and 4 Murder Crows charge the Manticore with MAT 12 P+S 18. She died. She died reaaaall good. The Reckoning went on the black Shyeel Mages and the Murder Crows prey on the white Shyeel Mages. The last 2 Dread Rots on the left issued a Run/Charge Order, and with killed 1 Mages, giving the corpse to the Skin & Moans. I also get 1 Scenario point for the right flag.
On my opponent third turn, he killed the left Dread Rots first, then used his Feat. He cast Chain Blast into the bundle of Hollowmen, but I used Ruin to counter it. He then cast it again and killed Longfellow with 4 Hollowmen, but failed to use Telekinesis on the right Skin & Moans. Rahn was left with 0 Focus. The Hydra attacked the right Skin & Moans and closed his Spirit, while the Manticore attacked the left Skin & Moans. Both 'jacks had some buff on them, like +2 damage and some extra Focus from the Arcanist. The right Dread Rots are reduced to the leader only, but the Murder Crows hold on, losing no one.
Since Rahn is empty and very close to a Skin & Moans, an assassination opportunity arise. Since he used Telekinesis, The Heretic can also do it ! The Dread Rots leader charge the Shyeel Arcanist and killed it, giving a Corpse to the Skin & Moans and opening a nice way for the TK. The Heretic healed the Skin & Moans for 1 in the Spirit, did a boosted TK into Rahn, which hit, and a second on the Skin & Moans. Now I tried to maximise damage on Rahn by killing my own Dread Rots with the Hollowmen and did a CRA on Rahn, for a whopping total of 1 damage. My Skin & Moans then charged Rahn, who was presenting is back. He died to the initial, but I still boosted the charge attack to be sure.
** RED **
Nothing
** ORANGE **
Reckoning: While playing this power, it clearly felt to my as having a Feat Power Level, which is a bit too much, since I also had two other arcanas. On the other side, since it's a Trump Arcana, he is limited to The Heretic, but still feel very strong, as he allowed my to mulch through my opponent 'jack without any dice spike.
** YELLOW **
Murder Crows: In this game, they killed a Manticore with a kind of "gotcha" move and probably that this won't happen every game, but their potential with The Heretic seems maybe a bit too much for 9 pts. Maybe if Reckoning was straight Prey effect instead of just the wording, so it won't stack with the Murder Crows, that could be an interesting option.
The Heretic: I discussed the warlock with my opponent after the game, and while he didn't seem overpowered, both Reckoning and the Godlike ability were pivotal to the Grymkin Victory. His general power level feels strong, but maybe cutting back on Warbeast Point could be an option, or changing Fury for a +2 Str effect instead. Also, if the Reckoning is toned down, he would feel more reasonable.
Cask Imp: He's a nice little solo, and I would need to give him more table time, but I feel like he is too easy to kill.
** GREEN **
Dread Rots: They felt just right for the point cost. They die easily, but are cheap.
Lord Longfellow: Expensive solo that delivers, and that's how we like them.
Skin & Moans: Powerful, but they have a low ARM and SPD. Plus Corpse are not that easy to get so they felt just right.
Crabbit: They are basically Shield Guard and nothing else, but they protect key pieces.
Monday, 6 February 2017
FIIIIIRRREEEEE !!! or March release, whatever float your boat
Good day kidz !
"CASHMEONTHEFLIPSIDHOBODAT!!"
Eh... Ok then.
---
How's everything going people around the world ! (Maybe I should get a standardised introduction, would be easier than something different each week.) Sadly this week, I didn't have any tournament to report for Warmachine, but I did a small tournament of Blood Bowl, 'cause Super Bowl. Still, that's ok because my great friends at Privateer Press just released Kallus and Azrael on War Room ! It was all planned, really. (I have contacts in very high place.)
Let's all dig into that shall ya: I'll assume that all me reader having seen what Kallus abilities are and will go straight into what I think.
He's awesome. He has SPD buff, damages buff and with the Free Fury for the charge either help out do more damage or hit better. Just fantastic ! He just happen to resolve my problem to never now what to play in pair with Lylyth 3. (I had a nice Bethayne list in mind that I will still try to build anyway, but OH ME GAWD KALLUS DEUS.) I think the best way to illustrate what he can do his with a could list:
Kallus, Devastation of Everblight
- Succubus
- Carnivean
- Proteus
- Seraph
- Harrier
- Harrier
Blighted Nyss Swordmen
- Abbot & Champion
Blackfrost Shard
Min. Croak Raiders
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
I wouldn't believe I would say that, but here the Swordmen can easily be replaced by Legionnaire & Farilor. Either you have 12 models 5 damage dice with 13" threat range with Overtake/Cleave or 12 models 4 damage dice with 16" threat range with Vengeance (could give you 2 attacks in a turn). Sure, Swordmen seem like hurting more and the Legionnaires need Vengeance to be triggered, but they survive a lot better to AOE. I just don't own them, but if I did, I would try them out. The Seraph here could also be traded for just about anything. I don't feel like Slipstream is such a big deal here, and since I really want the Kiss of Lyliss, an Ice Cage is just as good as Flare.
What I really like is the potential of the list. The Carnivean with free charge can really crush another heavy to piece, and Proteus just need one enemy model on fire to charge 17" away, (putting him at 13" from his start, so he could still be him Kallus range, and once over there, you can totally by a tentacles attack, drag in a second model, and just let the Swordmen follow up (who can now charge both enemies with +3 SPD since Proteus hit both). The Harrier are there to set-up the Feat, charging way outside off Kallus Control Range to put stuff on fire. Just watch out to not block Proteus drag with them. The Min Croak is there to help too. The Succubus is there for upkeeping Blazing Path (why not) and put Kallus at DEF 15, since he is on the low side (can go at ARM 20 if needed with the Carni animus).
Maybe not the greatest list, but a very fun list to try. Also as a gift, here are 5 songs that I personally selected which are perfect to play when you use Kallus Feat:
Ring of Fire [a classic, really]
House of Fire [a bit more hardcore; probably need 4-5 heavies in your list to use that one]
I See Fire [just make sure your opponent don't start crying with that one]
Just Like Fire [for all the special snowflake out there]
Fire [I mean, if you're into THAT, go nutz]
Now, let's move on to Azrael. And I promise I won't make any Smurf jokes.
As any heavy in Legion, he's not cheap, with a whopping 21 pts. Still, fully worth his price on paper. He's RAT 6 is great to hit without the need to boost, so he can do all his shoot with boosted damage and have Fury to spare. He also has one big thing going for him: his spear doesn't have a damage type. Even if she has Continuous Fire, she's not Damage Type Fire, so he goes in the lovely basket with the Naga and the Bolt Thrower of untyped damage on ranged beast. As for his defensive ability, DEF 12 is ok for a heavy warbeast (against MAT 6, expect one attacks to miss from your opponent), but he has 32 boxes (only Typhon has so much) and ARM 18. Plus "Its burn!" can act as a good deterrent against infantry: Azrael won't die in one hit, so troopers will catch on fire !
I'm already planning a change to my usual Lylyth 3 list with him.
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
- Archangel
- Azrael
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
- Naga Nightlurker
Min. Raptors
Annyssa
The Forsaken
Shepherd
That leave me with 3 pts, so maybe I'll take out the Shepherd for a Succubus. That mean I also switch out Typhon, but that way I gain 2" on threat range, untyped damage, and while I lose an attack, 2x17 or 3x14 do about the same, and that allow me to drop that list against "anti-fire" army like Menoth or Troll because I still can assassinate without fire with Azrael, unlike with Typhon.
---
About that Blood Bowl event, I finished second, losing in the final. I played my brand new team of Norse (whom, with Pro Elf, are my favourite team), and you be sure to see some painted photo of them in the next few weeks ! For the record, I went 3-1 against Goblins, 1-0 against Underworld and lost 2-1 against Chaos Dwarf. Had great fun,anyone !
though, and I would recommend Blood Bowl to
"CASHMEONTHEFLIPSIDHOBODAT!!"
Eh... Ok then.
---
How's everything going people around the world ! (Maybe I should get a standardised introduction, would be easier than something different each week.) Sadly this week, I didn't have any tournament to report for Warmachine, but I did a small tournament of Blood Bowl, 'cause Super Bowl. Still, that's ok because my great friends at Privateer Press just released Kallus and Azrael on War Room ! It was all planned, really. (I have contacts in very high place.)
Let's all dig into that shall ya: I'll assume that all me reader having seen what Kallus abilities are and will go straight into what I think.
He's awesome. He has SPD buff, damages buff and with the Free Fury for the charge either help out do more damage or hit better. Just fantastic ! He just happen to resolve my problem to never now what to play in pair with Lylyth 3. (I had a nice Bethayne list in mind that I will still try to build anyway, but OH ME GAWD KALLUS DEUS.) I think the best way to illustrate what he can do his with a could list:
Kallus, Devastation of Everblight
- Succubus
- Carnivean
- Proteus
- Seraph
- Harrier
- Harrier
Blighted Nyss Swordmen
- Abbot & Champion
Blackfrost Shard
Min. Croak Raiders
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
I wouldn't believe I would say that, but here the Swordmen can easily be replaced by Legionnaire & Farilor. Either you have 12 models 5 damage dice with 13" threat range with Overtake/Cleave or 12 models 4 damage dice with 16" threat range with Vengeance (could give you 2 attacks in a turn). Sure, Swordmen seem like hurting more and the Legionnaires need Vengeance to be triggered, but they survive a lot better to AOE. I just don't own them, but if I did, I would try them out. The Seraph here could also be traded for just about anything. I don't feel like Slipstream is such a big deal here, and since I really want the Kiss of Lyliss, an Ice Cage is just as good as Flare.
What I really like is the potential of the list. The Carnivean with free charge can really crush another heavy to piece, and Proteus just need one enemy model on fire to charge 17" away, (putting him at 13" from his start, so he could still be him Kallus range, and once over there, you can totally by a tentacles attack, drag in a second model, and just let the Swordmen follow up (who can now charge both enemies with +3 SPD since Proteus hit both). The Harrier are there to set-up the Feat, charging way outside off Kallus Control Range to put stuff on fire. Just watch out to not block Proteus drag with them. The Min Croak is there to help too. The Succubus is there for upkeeping Blazing Path (why not) and put Kallus at DEF 15, since he is on the low side (can go at ARM 20 if needed with the Carni animus).
Maybe not the greatest list, but a very fun list to try. Also as a gift, here are 5 songs that I personally selected which are perfect to play when you use Kallus Feat:
Ring of Fire [a classic, really]
House of Fire [a bit more hardcore; probably need 4-5 heavies in your list to use that one]
I See Fire [just make sure your opponent don't start crying with that one]
Just Like Fire [for all the special snowflake out there]
Fire [I mean, if you're into THAT, go nutz]
Now, let's move on to Azrael. And I promise I won't make any Smurf jokes.
As any heavy in Legion, he's not cheap, with a whopping 21 pts. Still, fully worth his price on paper. He's RAT 6 is great to hit without the need to boost, so he can do all his shoot with boosted damage and have Fury to spare. He also has one big thing going for him: his spear doesn't have a damage type. Even if she has Continuous Fire, she's not Damage Type Fire, so he goes in the lovely basket with the Naga and the Bolt Thrower of untyped damage on ranged beast. As for his defensive ability, DEF 12 is ok for a heavy warbeast (against MAT 6, expect one attacks to miss from your opponent), but he has 32 boxes (only Typhon has so much) and ARM 18. Plus "Its burn!" can act as a good deterrent against infantry: Azrael won't die in one hit, so troopers will catch on fire !
I'm already planning a change to my usual Lylyth 3 list with him.
Lylyth, Reckoning of Everblight
- Archangel
- Azrael
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
- Naga Nightlurker
Min. Raptors
Annyssa
The Forsaken
Shepherd
That leave me with 3 pts, so maybe I'll take out the Shepherd for a Succubus. That mean I also switch out Typhon, but that way I gain 2" on threat range, untyped damage, and while I lose an attack, 2x17 or 3x14 do about the same, and that allow me to drop that list against "anti-fire" army like Menoth or Troll because I still can assassinate without fire with Azrael, unlike with Typhon.
---
About that Blood Bowl event, I finished second, losing in the final. I played my brand new team of Norse (whom, with Pro Elf, are my favourite team), and you be sure to see some painted photo of them in the next few weeks ! For the record, I went 3-1 against Goblins, 1-0 against Underworld and lost 2-1 against Chaos Dwarf. Had great fun,anyone !
though, and I would recommend Blood Bowl to
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