Second place

So we fired with just 7 players: 2 Khador; 3 Circle; 1 Menoth and One CGuard.

My first round I pulled one of our newer players. Great opponent and I love playing against her. She is just learning the circle list she was playing with, Iona with Tharn (BTW - this will be a theme) and this was the only list she brougt. Scenario is Reco2n. We have a well-placed house right in the middle of the zone. I want to see if Wolves can work into Tharn so that is what I drop. She has 2 ravenger units and then a unit of the bloodweavers for the ambushing. She makes a mistake with the LotF (a model I will grow to loath today) I win the roll and play reasonably smart on at least the unpacking. I go ahead and move Zerikova and drop 4 clouds, 2 on each side of the aforementioned house. I use Ternions to expend the wall a full 12 inches. 2 of the doomies might die but this seems a pretty good trade if it saves more of the other stuff from the lord. She generally shuffles around. She is scared of the 13-inch threat. I believe Bridget killed something.

Top of 2 I am able to get a unit of doomies deep. I kill off a decent amount. I am unable to kill Loki (boo) but am able to put him in the no healing bubble while also killing some Ravengers. Ponies mistakening flank. I am also able to kill the LofF which is a double-edged sword - I have taken a major pain off the table but I will grow cocky later in the tournament ;-) I push Zerkova forward and feat and position myself to score. I am an idiot and don't move Sylss an 1/2 inch further to toe my flag. This is generally the right feat. Zerkova has advanced up the board and uses apparate to get a Solid alpha. By providing clear lanes she doesn't have an order of activation problems and is able to have clear board position.

On the bottom of 2 she ambushes and really muderates the ponies. She is able to start chewing into the forward doomies not as far as she would like. Bottom of 3 I go ahead and start to get the scenario game rolling. I am able to score my flag and the zone on the right. NExt turn she is able to score her flag and contest but I have the flag so we are 3-1. If I can score 3 I win. I start by killing off some thorn on the right zone and get that cleared. Next I brittle the objective and drop a destroyer shot, a boosted hex blast and then a couple of bonds of woe. I finish with 50 seconds left or so with 3 doomies clearing a contesting model on the left to win 6-1.

Thoughts. A good game. I should have been more focused on staying central in Recon because it really does bunch up. The problem is the ponies - who in that case are sorta more in the way than anything else. I think the play is to keep the ponies back - almost just letting those 17 points be largely mute - or play them like I would eliminators - run the leader to contest his flag and then keep the others back. If he kills leader then promote. As is they did little in the game.

Game 2 Well More circle. This time bones with Wormwood and Iona. My opponent drops Iona because of AC. I figure I want to see how AC is going to be into Thran so I oblige him. Unlike opponent number 1 he has wolfriders. This is a big problem. Plus I leave LOF just a SMIDGEN of a landing spot outside of Vlad2's Pie plate of nope. The result is that AC gets crushed. I lose scenario 6-1 after LoFt eat 4 DC's and 3 Bombers himself. Wolves do work as well. It was a horrible bloodbath. But I will take solace that this player will win the tournament.

Game 3 Even more circle. Same casters. Wormie and Iona. He drops Iona because of the presence of AC in the list. This game I make an error with Zerkova because I am trying to avoid LoFt murdering. What I do is clog her advance on top of 2. It is critical, I think, for you to get her AT LEAST 12 inches up and possibly more by the end of your second turn when you feat. Instead, too far back, I don't catch enough. But we grind it out for 4 turns. Eventually, he goes too far in the tank with trying to get the perfect LoFt turn (he did kill, I think , 4 doomies) but he ends up clocking. I was light on clock as well. 2-1 and SoS means second place. Close and really essentially a tie for 2nd between me and the othher Khador player.

Thoughts.

Well I think that Zerkova does have game into some Tharn but you have to be smart with how much you feed LotF. AC probably not. The corpse mechanic is simply too strong and it is too easy to hit them. Plus Vlad2 has to power through surefoot and the range reducing spell of the Tharn while Zerkova can hex blast it off. The trick, however, is getting her deep enough to catch maximum stuff in the feat. I think next game I will try her but use a "refuse flank" strategy to really maximize her scenario game. I would get the Devestator up the board and just one unit of doomies. The other 3 units and ponies go on the other flank and zerkova get over there ASAP. Try to "Win" leveraging the clouds, the feat to just push scenario hard on one flank, keeping an adequate distance that once he chews through unit 1 he can't overtake to unit two. And ternion clouds are useful here creating LOS problems and Order of activation issues.

All in all a good tournament. Get some painting done before the Superbowl tomorrow - a strike tanker needs to get done and I need to finish the base coating of a MoW Chariot.

Well hello new blog.....

This will be an opportunity for my own musings about my favorite hobby - Warmachine.  Those reading know what it is, those that don't well....you are missing out the sheer fun of pushing around little metal men and singing "Lola" with kids 20 years younger than you asking who the hell are the Kinks.

But I digress.

Figured today was as good as any day to start this since it is a "casual" steamroller and I wanted to try new stuff out.  I am on a BIT (understatement) of a losing streak in my meta - which is, for good or ill, extremely competitive fielding 2 ATC teams and really only S teir lists.  But hey, makes me a better player (yeah right)

Today it is about trying out the new tastiness of the Wolves theme.  My list pair

The Vlad2 list has been something I have been playing for a while.  I am going to try something a bit different with it today - going second (with one exception)  if I win the roll and really working for scenario presence.  That way I can deploy smartly - using the shocks to screen in the most efficient way.  What I have found with the classic "1 of each" lists is that the focus is to attack you where the shocks are not.  So, for example, we have a Skorne Player who LOVES sending Tibbers or Molik Karn in as a missile to wreck havoc.  Well he is more than welcome to do that into tough (or retailating) no knockdown shocks when the demos are there to clean up afterwards...or the Victor.  What I can't do is let this happen into the squishy stuff without exacting a good trade.

Z1 is there for fun and learning.  I have taken her out for a few spins in the past but this will be the second game with her in the new theme and with 10 point doomies.  The idea is to play almost entirely for scenario presence - using the doomie pressure to get up the board to jam and require resources to clear out the clouds to push to the doomies behind.  Since my goal for today is simply to get practice against the sharks I probably will drop her most games.

I expect to see at least 2 Crucible Guard and 2 Circle players.   Into everything but Gearheart I like Z1 because of all the fun she can do on feat turn.  Gotta make it count (a lot) both on the turn itself but more importantly the turn after when you really need to be clearing and hurting stuff after the time walk.  The pair is less solid into Circle (and probably why Irusk2 really should be here) to deal with Wormwood.  That said - I learned a key lesson against Woormie my last SR against him - put the bombers central and then if Worm commits go Arcane might, HoF, and Feat.  Walk 9 through the forest and hopefully start the chain saws up.  At the VERY least the threat of that keeps him honest.  Z1 is also a possibility here - gotta be smart about the twig men to avoid hell mouths clearing out way too many doomies on the cheap.   But the 12 inch stealth ignoring Hex blast AND no orders AND no shooting should allow her to do something interesting on feat turn to put pressure on him.  

So that is the plan.  Next post will be a recap and some lessons learned (I always do ;-)