A quick analysis of the new Mk II Magnus, without Tiers:
pMagnus is a beast and I feel that I have to take him. But he's better at smaller games. Why? His ability for speed is key. Iron Aggression is pop and forget. Bounce Snipe around each turn to other mobile units. Feat is powerful enough. Finally, Arcantrik Bolt slows down enemy warmachine factions.
To go with the feel of the "Hit & Run" tactic:
Croe's for Bushwack. 14" range with Snipe? Plus they fill out the role against Hordes nicely.
Renegade. Obvious choice for Snipe, but think about Temper Metal to get the Renegade up there.
Mangler benefits largely from Iron Aggression. Boosted melee attacks for Thresher?
Idrians + UA. Snipe + Assault & Battery (Shoot then run. Away.) is pretty cool. How about that everyturn? On the plus side, with Prey, I gain +2" movement to actually run away.
Solos? Kell and Gorman. Gorman provides limit screening and debuffing (which Magnus lacks) and Kell is a solid choice for 2 pts.
35pt List
Magnus the Traitor(+6)
-Renegade
-Mangler
10x Idrians + UA
10x Croe's Cutthroats
Kell
Gorman
As we expand into 50 points, there's better reason to take eMagnus, for Control. Steelhead blocks are better at this game, creating a swathe of territory that's deadly for the enemy (Cavalry + flank). Boomhowler makes a great tarpit now and is definitely viable. Trenchers can deny sight issues as well, thanks to cloud effects (sure they're in it...). Magnus' spell choices change too. Mobility helps the entire battlegroup, which makes it better to run Nomads at this level than the focus inefficient Mangler (Thresher needs the boost I feel to work correctly). Calamity can help solve the Mangler issue, but in limited form. Calamity in fact helps Croe's more now. Bullet Dodger makes Kell a lot of fun and can make Magnus a nightmare. Obliteration is powerful and Convection has a one off use. However, given his spell choices, he does need the two arc nodes. Since I'm going minimalistic and using the same models for most of my army...
I see myself taking the following list right now for 50 points:
Magnus the Warlord (+6)
-Renegade
-Renegade
-Nomad
10x Idrians + UA
10x Croe's Cutthroats
6x Trenchers
Kell
Gorman
Orin
I have 2 points left over and can upgrade to a Mangler if I wanted to. I may in fact do it, but will have to see the performance of the two jacks.
That's it for now. Right now I need to prep for Mangled Metal (500 pts). I'm thinking Talon + Mangler + 2x Renegades.
Showing posts with label magnus agenda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label magnus agenda. Show all posts
Monday, October 26
A lackluster of updates lately
Well, I've been trying to get things off the ground and running. We'll have to see how things perform, but all in all, I'm facing burnout from the game if I keep the tempo up. I am gunning to get everything painted by the end of the year, so I can roll into Mk II fresh. The main issue though is looking at the Tier game play for the Merc Contracts. The smoke-nerf to Trenchers reduces their role somewhat, but I think I can make a case to use them still. Just like the Idrians.
Anyway, I have to review my list choices for Mk II and come out with a solid list. I'll have two lists - 35 & 50 points built up. eMagnus only though.
In retrospect, it may have been a bad idea to build a list then move it over to MkII due to several rule changes in the way models work. Everyone experienced it, but it's harder for me to push models that were viable vs models that are no longer viable. I may have to just suck it up and sink this one in as a loss and move on to the next option (maybe a pMagnus, but I think I'm done with a Magnus Agenda for now). It also hurts that I'm exploring my parent faction (Cryx) some more and jumping around with other faction ideas.
But instead of being a downer as I just mentioned, I'm going to hold my head up high and carry through. I want to be done so I can help host a tournament during Water Awareness Week (3rd week in March usually).
As for the future, I can't say I can continue right away. I have an idea for an army that I'd like to run and an issue to go with it. But I'm getting married mid next year and possibly moving to an entirely different state to boot. So I may not announce anything for a rather long time unfortunately.
In other news, while I wasn't able to make it to our local Breast Cancer Brawl, I was fortunate enough to manage to drop by and donate. Man, talk about bad timing. I push for our LGS to hold the tournament and then the PG's schedule it the day I'm traveling down to Dallas.
Finally, some little news:
Chocolate that comfort food? Maybe not.
Water & Population. Expanding Supply vs Reducing Per-Capita-Expenditure
El Nino effects on S. America
I haven't been able to read any further articles right now due to scheduling (I've been traveling all over the place).
Anyway, I have to review my list choices for Mk II and come out with a solid list. I'll have two lists - 35 & 50 points built up. eMagnus only though.
In retrospect, it may have been a bad idea to build a list then move it over to MkII due to several rule changes in the way models work. Everyone experienced it, but it's harder for me to push models that were viable vs models that are no longer viable. I may have to just suck it up and sink this one in as a loss and move on to the next option (maybe a pMagnus, but I think I'm done with a Magnus Agenda for now). It also hurts that I'm exploring my parent faction (Cryx) some more and jumping around with other faction ideas.
But instead of being a downer as I just mentioned, I'm going to hold my head up high and carry through. I want to be done so I can help host a tournament during Water Awareness Week (3rd week in March usually).
As for the future, I can't say I can continue right away. I have an idea for an army that I'd like to run and an issue to go with it. But I'm getting married mid next year and possibly moving to an entirely different state to boot. So I may not announce anything for a rather long time unfortunately.
In other news, while I wasn't able to make it to our local Breast Cancer Brawl, I was fortunate enough to manage to drop by and donate. Man, talk about bad timing. I push for our LGS to hold the tournament and then the PG's schedule it the day I'm traveling down to Dallas.
Finally, some little news:
Chocolate that comfort food? Maybe not.
Water & Population. Expanding Supply vs Reducing Per-Capita-Expenditure
El Nino effects on S. America
I haven't been able to read any further articles right now due to scheduling (I've been traveling all over the place).
Sunday, June 14
NJCon Report
Well, NJCon came and went today. A whole lot less fanfare this time around. Last year, we had 16 people show, a nice grouping from MA, upstate NY, and NYC, along with the core group from my LGS.
This year, we had 8. The only out-of-state person was Nick, who just moved down to NJ from MA. I blame the location for some (Ft. Dix is south of Kennilworth, making it harder for NYC'ers and NY'ers to make it down.
However, no game felt like a dud to me. Each game was hard fought, despite having played against everyone multiple times (save Nick of course).
Quick recap of my list:
eMagnus
-2x Renegades
-Nomad
Kell
Gorman
Saxon
Stannis
10x Croe's
9x Idrians + UA
6x Trenchers
This list is super aggressive, with the bulk of the army AD'ing and the rest moving quickly up to catch up as a 2nd wave. The idea is to contest scenario as well. I had a 2nd list, but it's not worth mentioning.
Game 1: Rematch against eLylyth.
Our pressganger felt some sort of sick sadistic satisfaction in the pairings - I was paired against Jeremy's eLylyth, the very same warlock I lost disastrously to two days ago. Well, I went about to make sure that didn't happen again. I forget the scenario name - it involves with controling two of three area's on your side and one of your opponent's.
I won first turn, deployed eMags, Gorman, & Nomad in the center, Stannis to my right, Saxon to my left and the Renegades slightly out from there. He deployed Seraphs in a similar fashon, Typhon center with eLylyth, Bonegrinders, gobbers, and the Shepard Raptors took the hard left flank. Shredder was somewhere...I didn't notice. AD consisted me being very aggressive, everything forward line. Croe's on the left flank again, Trenchers and Idrians interwoven. Kell was placed in a forest to the right. His AD saw a Deathstalker on the left, Striders and Deathstalker on the right, back towards his normal deployment zone. Gudrun was placed in the forest that Kell was in. Important to note that I claimed a hill in the center of the board by ADing.
Turn one. Well, no quick killing of the Idrians this time. Move up the Trenchers, smoke. Move up the Idrians, intercept. eMag's cast Mobilize, charges up. Nomad and Renegades run. Saxon Runs. Stannis Runs. Kell moves out of a forest by a wall to benefit from Cover (not concealment). More importantly, he's a lone defender of one of my territories. Croe cautiously advances, but has a subtle Renegade support.
Jeremy's turn one. Deathstalkers move around, don't do a whole lot. Raptors run up, bunch up, by a forest, with the Deaststalker1 by them. Strider muscian mini-feats...which gets annoying. Otherwise not a whole lot else happens. He moves up Typhon and 2 Seraphs, which kill one model each. Gudrun runs into combat with Trenchers and Idrians, countercharge and not a whole lot happens.
My turn two - Smoke is laid down again, Idrians form a wall on the outside. Stannis runs to engage the striders from a deadly feat turn. Idrians kill Gudrun. Magnus casts Mobilize, feats and catches the three beasts and a knockeddown Gudrun. Nice. I pick the left and my table edge. Renegade moves up, fires its obliterator at the clumped Raptors...hits and kills one. Croe's finishes off the rest and a lucky shot on the Deathstalker. Which means I control solidly one of my opponents table edge. Gorman throws smoke on Magnus.
And then I realize I failed to cast Misdirection or Bullet Dodger. And then I remember that Lylyth's feat also gives +4 range. The measly trencher isn't going to provide enough screening...unlike the Nomad, which is next, not in front. Plus Gorman's smoke should have been thrown in front of Magnus.
Short story is Lylyth comes up and manages to get a few shots onto Magnus, but fails Pincushion. The Seraph slip streams Typhon forward. Strafes, gets 6 shots, and hits once. Typhon sprays and blasts Magnus. The 2nd Seraph hits, strafes 6 times, and uh...kills Magnus.
But that was it. Had he failed to hit that last one, it would have been game. I made serious mistakes, but so did he. Jer & I were both shaking...but he won, and I concede that this was a game that he did actually win against my better playing. Although not best.
Game 2:
Well that mistake wasn't going to happen again. And there comes a time when a Merc faces another Merc on the battlefield. Game 2 was against a guy in my group (George) who plays Merc contracts. He had played eMags game one, but brought out Gorten for Mosh Pit.
His list looked like:
Gorten
-Bunnies of sorts
-Driller
3 Bokurs, one cliented on Gudrun, one on Brun, and one on Gorten
Brun & Lug
Gudrun
2x Highshields, one min unit on by 8x
Hammerforge 8x
I won first turn, deployed eMags center, along with everything else. AD saw Croe on the right this time, Idrians on the left, Trenchers center. Highshields were deployed behind walls, Gudrun and a Bokur on the right.
Turn one. Smokes, moved the Idrians into the smoke, took some pot shots againt the 2 units of Highshields. I kill one. Croe's don't do a whole lot against the Bokur but knockdown Gudrun. Run everything else up.
George's turn one saw Shieldwall formations, the Bear and Lug move up on my right. Gudrun kills one Croe on a charge, but exposes his back to several others. The Bokur kills another 2. Hammers run up on the left, along with Gorten, bunnies, Driller & Bokur. Highshields take some shots...not a lot happens from what I remember.
Turn 2, I notice that I could attempt to snipe Gorten by removing to hammers. Trenchers CRA, kill both. First Obliterator hits Gorten, but does only 2 damage. 2nd one missed by one. I'm very annoyed. However, I reap my retribution on Gudrun and the Bokur single handedly with Croe's. Idrians charge the Hammers, bunnies and do some mild damage. Not a lot. Kell plinks off two Highshields. Saxon kills another. Stannis kills a third. Gorman blinds a unit directly behind the wall, Nomad walks up. Magnus feats, catches everyone except for the Bokur and Brun. I chose Left & My table edge.
George's turn 2 saw the dwarf toss. Hammers run out of the way, Driller tosses the dwarf and Gorten lands smack in front of the unit of trenchers. Landslides everything towards his deployment zone. Which means there's a charge lane for Brun and Brun's Bokur to get to Magnus. Brun charges and does 9 points of damage with three attacks. Even Stannis' forefend doesn't stop Brun with that crazy spell that reduces the damage dice by one. Fortunately I had Misdirection, so the Nomad bore the brunt of the attack. His assassination run over...
Turn 3 Go for broke. Except I have nothing to retaliate against Gorten with. Magnus is engaged and I don't have the models to launch a successful attack against Brun. Brun has no fury and is out of transfer range. Trenchers are scattered all over the place, but there's a Renegade and Trencher engaged with Gorten. Idrians suffer the same fate. Only Croe isn't tied up, but he's too far away to help. Gorman is engaged...the only way for me to get to Gorten is to move the Nomad under Mobilize to Gortens back arc. I do try to kill Brun without eMagnus' help...but eventually eMagnus has to do the job himself. Nomad moves 4", and swings. And Swings again. And swings a third time. The first two times it dealt 5 damage...10 total + 2 from the failed Obliterator assassination run. Finally, the third blow connects for serious damage and kills Gorten.
Good game and I really thought I was screwed on that one.
Game 3-
Awesome, No Man's Land against Cryx (Nick). He's brought:
Gaspy
-2 Nightwretches
-2 Deathrippers
-Canker
2x Min Unit Biles
Min unit BK's.
Tartarus
Withershadow
2x Pistol Wraiths
Skarlock
Bokur
Gorman
I'm not going to mention how the battle went, except it was wholesale slaughter of my army. I play super aggressive...which may not have been the best for going 2nd (Read all AD units 12" into AD zone). By turn 3, we were looking at a Renegade, Nomad, Kell, & eMagnus left. I spent my feat turn and had boosted against a Deathripper that was 1" away from Gaspy, hitting both. However, the 2nd Obliterator did minimal impact damage, but enough to make Nick sweat.
So after positioning himself for the death of Mags next turn, he had ran up BLT into combat with one renegade, positioned Gaspy behind a small wood (4" diameter I believe), and pistol wraiths on the left. Canker was in the forest. eMags was in charge range of BLT...but I needed to spell.
I made the decision to take a freestrike from BLT, run the Renegade out. BLT connects, 8 points to column 3...but the Renegade runs 10" to Gaspy's back Arc. eMagnus casts the Bigger-They-Are, boosts damage since I hit...and knock Gaspy down to 3 life (he had 10). 2nd time, dies.
I didn't bother writing up the third game because I wanted to highlight more how importantly it is to play like you got a pair and go for the win...even in hopeless situations. There was a good chance (highly probable) that I would have lost. But my gamble payed off this time. I've seen far too many games where people hide their caster or run away. It's a viable strategy...but how does it make the game any more fun for either of you?
It's come down to the last few moments. All games I felt pressue, none more than the first game. But it's possible to come back. It's also highly possible to lose it all. But you have to go for it, because it may be your last.
Last NJCon I went 1-2 due to forgetting to Feat on my game with Hacksaw and then misinterpreting a rule. It was my 2nd tournament and I will never forget it. This NJCon, I played with a sort-of sub-optimal list (Agenda vs 4-Star). Idrians and Trenchers are never sub-optimal, but Magnus doesn't bring to the table the same kind of competition eVlad does. I'm 2-1 for the day and happy how the list played. We'll be seeing it in the future.
As for the winners:
theOreo (Henry) took third, losing to Jeremy in the 2nd round
Jeremy took 2nd
Norbert beat out Jeremy accidentally by scenario on the final game. I wasn't paying attention, just that I heard, "Oh sh*t! I have scenario don't I?" Very anti-climatic. Very eVlad.
This year, we had 8. The only out-of-state person was Nick, who just moved down to NJ from MA. I blame the location for some (Ft. Dix is south of Kennilworth, making it harder for NYC'ers and NY'ers to make it down.
However, no game felt like a dud to me. Each game was hard fought, despite having played against everyone multiple times (save Nick of course).
Quick recap of my list:
eMagnus
-2x Renegades
-Nomad
Kell
Gorman
Saxon
Stannis
10x Croe's
9x Idrians + UA
6x Trenchers
This list is super aggressive, with the bulk of the army AD'ing and the rest moving quickly up to catch up as a 2nd wave. The idea is to contest scenario as well. I had a 2nd list, but it's not worth mentioning.
Game 1: Rematch against eLylyth.
Our pressganger felt some sort of sick sadistic satisfaction in the pairings - I was paired against Jeremy's eLylyth, the very same warlock I lost disastrously to two days ago. Well, I went about to make sure that didn't happen again. I forget the scenario name - it involves with controling two of three area's on your side and one of your opponent's.
I won first turn, deployed eMags, Gorman, & Nomad in the center, Stannis to my right, Saxon to my left and the Renegades slightly out from there. He deployed Seraphs in a similar fashon, Typhon center with eLylyth, Bonegrinders, gobbers, and the Shepard Raptors took the hard left flank. Shredder was somewhere...I didn't notice. AD consisted me being very aggressive, everything forward line. Croe's on the left flank again, Trenchers and Idrians interwoven. Kell was placed in a forest to the right. His AD saw a Deathstalker on the left, Striders and Deathstalker on the right, back towards his normal deployment zone. Gudrun was placed in the forest that Kell was in. Important to note that I claimed a hill in the center of the board by ADing.
Turn one. Well, no quick killing of the Idrians this time. Move up the Trenchers, smoke. Move up the Idrians, intercept. eMag's cast Mobilize, charges up. Nomad and Renegades run. Saxon Runs. Stannis Runs. Kell moves out of a forest by a wall to benefit from Cover (not concealment). More importantly, he's a lone defender of one of my territories. Croe cautiously advances, but has a subtle Renegade support.
Jeremy's turn one. Deathstalkers move around, don't do a whole lot. Raptors run up, bunch up, by a forest, with the Deaststalker1 by them. Strider muscian mini-feats...which gets annoying. Otherwise not a whole lot else happens. He moves up Typhon and 2 Seraphs, which kill one model each. Gudrun runs into combat with Trenchers and Idrians, countercharge and not a whole lot happens.
My turn two - Smoke is laid down again, Idrians form a wall on the outside. Stannis runs to engage the striders from a deadly feat turn. Idrians kill Gudrun. Magnus casts Mobilize, feats and catches the three beasts and a knockeddown Gudrun. Nice. I pick the left and my table edge. Renegade moves up, fires its obliterator at the clumped Raptors...hits and kills one. Croe's finishes off the rest and a lucky shot on the Deathstalker. Which means I control solidly one of my opponents table edge. Gorman throws smoke on Magnus.
And then I realize I failed to cast Misdirection or Bullet Dodger. And then I remember that Lylyth's feat also gives +4 range. The measly trencher isn't going to provide enough screening...unlike the Nomad, which is next, not in front. Plus Gorman's smoke should have been thrown in front of Magnus.
Short story is Lylyth comes up and manages to get a few shots onto Magnus, but fails Pincushion. The Seraph slip streams Typhon forward. Strafes, gets 6 shots, and hits once. Typhon sprays and blasts Magnus. The 2nd Seraph hits, strafes 6 times, and uh...kills Magnus.
But that was it. Had he failed to hit that last one, it would have been game. I made serious mistakes, but so did he. Jer & I were both shaking...but he won, and I concede that this was a game that he did actually win against my better playing. Although not best.
Game 2:
Well that mistake wasn't going to happen again. And there comes a time when a Merc faces another Merc on the battlefield. Game 2 was against a guy in my group (George) who plays Merc contracts. He had played eMags game one, but brought out Gorten for Mosh Pit.
His list looked like:
Gorten
-Bunnies of sorts
-Driller
3 Bokurs, one cliented on Gudrun, one on Brun, and one on Gorten
Brun & Lug
Gudrun
2x Highshields, one min unit on by 8x
Hammerforge 8x
I won first turn, deployed eMags center, along with everything else. AD saw Croe on the right this time, Idrians on the left, Trenchers center. Highshields were deployed behind walls, Gudrun and a Bokur on the right.
Turn one. Smokes, moved the Idrians into the smoke, took some pot shots againt the 2 units of Highshields. I kill one. Croe's don't do a whole lot against the Bokur but knockdown Gudrun. Run everything else up.
George's turn one saw Shieldwall formations, the Bear and Lug move up on my right. Gudrun kills one Croe on a charge, but exposes his back to several others. The Bokur kills another 2. Hammers run up on the left, along with Gorten, bunnies, Driller & Bokur. Highshields take some shots...not a lot happens from what I remember.
Turn 2, I notice that I could attempt to snipe Gorten by removing to hammers. Trenchers CRA, kill both. First Obliterator hits Gorten, but does only 2 damage. 2nd one missed by one. I'm very annoyed. However, I reap my retribution on Gudrun and the Bokur single handedly with Croe's. Idrians charge the Hammers, bunnies and do some mild damage. Not a lot. Kell plinks off two Highshields. Saxon kills another. Stannis kills a third. Gorman blinds a unit directly behind the wall, Nomad walks up. Magnus feats, catches everyone except for the Bokur and Brun. I chose Left & My table edge.
George's turn 2 saw the dwarf toss. Hammers run out of the way, Driller tosses the dwarf and Gorten lands smack in front of the unit of trenchers. Landslides everything towards his deployment zone. Which means there's a charge lane for Brun and Brun's Bokur to get to Magnus. Brun charges and does 9 points of damage with three attacks. Even Stannis' forefend doesn't stop Brun with that crazy spell that reduces the damage dice by one. Fortunately I had Misdirection, so the Nomad bore the brunt of the attack. His assassination run over...
Turn 3 Go for broke. Except I have nothing to retaliate against Gorten with. Magnus is engaged and I don't have the models to launch a successful attack against Brun. Brun has no fury and is out of transfer range. Trenchers are scattered all over the place, but there's a Renegade and Trencher engaged with Gorten. Idrians suffer the same fate. Only Croe isn't tied up, but he's too far away to help. Gorman is engaged...the only way for me to get to Gorten is to move the Nomad under Mobilize to Gortens back arc. I do try to kill Brun without eMagnus' help...but eventually eMagnus has to do the job himself. Nomad moves 4", and swings. And Swings again. And swings a third time. The first two times it dealt 5 damage...10 total + 2 from the failed Obliterator assassination run. Finally, the third blow connects for serious damage and kills Gorten.
Good game and I really thought I was screwed on that one.
Game 3-
Awesome, No Man's Land against Cryx (Nick). He's brought:
Gaspy
-2 Nightwretches
-2 Deathrippers
-Canker
2x Min Unit Biles
Min unit BK's.
Tartarus
Withershadow
2x Pistol Wraiths
Skarlock
Bokur
Gorman
I'm not going to mention how the battle went, except it was wholesale slaughter of my army. I play super aggressive...which may not have been the best for going 2nd (Read all AD units 12" into AD zone). By turn 3, we were looking at a Renegade, Nomad, Kell, & eMagnus left. I spent my feat turn and had boosted against a Deathripper that was 1" away from Gaspy, hitting both. However, the 2nd Obliterator did minimal impact damage, but enough to make Nick sweat.
So after positioning himself for the death of Mags next turn, he had ran up BLT into combat with one renegade, positioned Gaspy behind a small wood (4" diameter I believe), and pistol wraiths on the left. Canker was in the forest. eMags was in charge range of BLT...but I needed to spell.
I made the decision to take a freestrike from BLT, run the Renegade out. BLT connects, 8 points to column 3...but the Renegade runs 10" to Gaspy's back Arc. eMagnus casts the Bigger-They-Are, boosts damage since I hit...and knock Gaspy down to 3 life (he had 10). 2nd time, dies.
I didn't bother writing up the third game because I wanted to highlight more how importantly it is to play like you got a pair and go for the win...even in hopeless situations. There was a good chance (highly probable) that I would have lost. But my gamble payed off this time. I've seen far too many games where people hide their caster or run away. It's a viable strategy...but how does it make the game any more fun for either of you?
It's come down to the last few moments. All games I felt pressue, none more than the first game. But it's possible to come back. It's also highly possible to lose it all. But you have to go for it, because it may be your last.
Last NJCon I went 1-2 due to forgetting to Feat on my game with Hacksaw and then misinterpreting a rule. It was my 2nd tournament and I will never forget it. This NJCon, I played with a sort-of sub-optimal list (Agenda vs 4-Star). Idrians and Trenchers are never sub-optimal, but Magnus doesn't bring to the table the same kind of competition eVlad does. I'm 2-1 for the day and happy how the list played. We'll be seeing it in the future.
As for the winners:
theOreo (Henry) took third, losing to Jeremy in the 2nd round
Jeremy took 2nd
Norbert beat out Jeremy accidentally by scenario on the final game. I wasn't paying attention, just that I heard, "Oh sh*t! I have scenario don't I?" Very anti-climatic. Very eVlad.
Friday, June 12
Bringing back the True King
So I played a practice game against eLylyth with my eMagnus list. We decided to practice with the scenario Process of Elimination. My opponent, Jeremy, is a great guy and I always learn a lot. He's the better player of the two of us, but I tend to get luckier.
But not this time. More on that later.
Anyway, he took the following:
eLylyth
2x Seraphs
Typhon
Shredder
Shepard
2x Deathstalkers
Blighted Archers x6 + UA
Raptors x3
Gudrun
Bonegrinders x6
Gobbers
I won first turn. Knowing that Lylyth brings a whole load of ranged fire and pain, I needed to be very aggressive. I deployed my Nomad, 2 Renegade, eMagnus center. Stannis was slightly to my right flank, Saxon slightly to the left. His deployment, saw Seraphs center-right and center-left, Typhon, eLylyth, Shredder, and Shepard center, Raptors to the left. AD: Croe's on the left, Trenchers & Idrians Center, and Kell on the right. His AD: Deathstalkers behind obstruction to the right, Gudrun to the left, and Archers right in front of eLylyth.
Turn 1 "The Mistake":
So, I ran Croe's up, took some pot shots at Gudrun. Gudrun was behind cover, so I need boxcars to hit...and I hit once, dealing 6 damage. Not enough, but just enough to make it annoying. Trenchers walked up, smoke-screen. Idrians went up and because I could, I went to ground. Except I forgot to give them the Intercept order. I had some charge lanes sprinkled between the Trenchers, as I meant for it to happen, but it didn't. Given that the majority of units were center/left, Stannis redeployed and ran to the left. Saxon ran up in front of him. Gorman ran, as did everything else. Kell moved out and...killed a Deathstalker! I then threw Lethargy onto the Idrians.
His turn, the surviving Deathstalker kills Kell. Gudrun charges and kills a Croe, as do the Raptors. Bonegrinders extend eLylyths spell range, eLylyth pin cushions the Idrians (read moves into the clouds). eLylyth feats, and proceeds to start killing Trenchers and Idrians. All in all, all Idrians died from combined Lylyth + Archer doom as well as all but one lonely Trencher. No one flees, thanks to Stannis. Gobbers block LOS with a cloud.
Turn 2 "Gamble on the Dice":
Well, bugger. I forgot to Intercept and paid dearly for it. However, I could still pull a victory. Magnus casts Mobilize, moves up and...d'oh. Forgets to feat. Renegades have 1 and 2 focus. Gorman moves onto the hill and throws Black Oil, attempting to hit the Archer 1" in front of eLylyth. He misses, but I clip the Archer and a fellow member...good enough. Renegade moves up, boosts to hit with Obliterator...and it's a hit!. eLylyth is knocked down, suffers 3 points of damage (rolled slightly above avg). Well, that helps. The lone trencher marches forward, spurred to a call of duty, heroic deeds, and Magnus' selfish sacrifices, and shoot Lylyth...deals 5 damage!
Stannis moves up (no charge lane due to my misplacement of Saxon) and kills an archer that was blocking LOS to Lylyth from my left flank. Saxon moves up, finds out he's in range, takes a pot shot...and brings Lylyth down to 5 hp. Renegade moves up, just to have LOS and Arcing fire, shoots, hits, and...does a whopping 5 pts of damage. Lylyth, with one fury, transfers. Croe does not have LOS unfortunately.
Well, I decided against throwing in the towel. His turn 2 saw the death of Croe's Cutthroats, the lone Trencher, and the rest of the Solos. Turn three, with Magnus' battlegroup only left, I moved Magnus up, cast Blur on himself and scattergunned...missing. Nomad moved up and attempted to throw Typhon. On a boosted roll, I needed 8's, above avg chance of hitting. Nope. I missed. It would've been great as I could have knocked down Lylyth. Also, I missed on a boosted roll against an archer, needing avg. Good times.
Lessons learned:
Remember to feat (I do forget, as I usually play eGore nowadays or eDenny whom I never forget). Remember to declare Intercept. Lastly, and I think this was crucial - remember to cast Mobilize first turn. I've always debated if I wanted to or not...but this game, when Lylyth was knocked down, having those Renegades up 12 instead of 10 would have made a huge difference.
Besides that...not a whole lot else. Just better unit placement. Jeremy's list is solid, but a little beast heavy. However, I've seen him play it before and I know it works.
But not this time. More on that later.
Anyway, he took the following:
eLylyth
2x Seraphs
Typhon
Shredder
Shepard
2x Deathstalkers
Blighted Archers x6 + UA
Raptors x3
Gudrun
Bonegrinders x6
Gobbers
I won first turn. Knowing that Lylyth brings a whole load of ranged fire and pain, I needed to be very aggressive. I deployed my Nomad, 2 Renegade, eMagnus center. Stannis was slightly to my right flank, Saxon slightly to the left. His deployment, saw Seraphs center-right and center-left, Typhon, eLylyth, Shredder, and Shepard center, Raptors to the left. AD: Croe's on the left, Trenchers & Idrians Center, and Kell on the right. His AD: Deathstalkers behind obstruction to the right, Gudrun to the left, and Archers right in front of eLylyth.
Turn 1 "The Mistake":
So, I ran Croe's up, took some pot shots at Gudrun. Gudrun was behind cover, so I need boxcars to hit...and I hit once, dealing 6 damage. Not enough, but just enough to make it annoying. Trenchers walked up, smoke-screen. Idrians went up and because I could, I went to ground. Except I forgot to give them the Intercept order. I had some charge lanes sprinkled between the Trenchers, as I meant for it to happen, but it didn't. Given that the majority of units were center/left, Stannis redeployed and ran to the left. Saxon ran up in front of him. Gorman ran, as did everything else. Kell moved out and...killed a Deathstalker! I then threw Lethargy onto the Idrians.
His turn, the surviving Deathstalker kills Kell. Gudrun charges and kills a Croe, as do the Raptors. Bonegrinders extend eLylyths spell range, eLylyth pin cushions the Idrians (read moves into the clouds). eLylyth feats, and proceeds to start killing Trenchers and Idrians. All in all, all Idrians died from combined Lylyth + Archer doom as well as all but one lonely Trencher. No one flees, thanks to Stannis. Gobbers block LOS with a cloud.
Turn 2 "Gamble on the Dice":
Well, bugger. I forgot to Intercept and paid dearly for it. However, I could still pull a victory. Magnus casts Mobilize, moves up and...d'oh. Forgets to feat. Renegades have 1 and 2 focus. Gorman moves onto the hill and throws Black Oil, attempting to hit the Archer 1" in front of eLylyth. He misses, but I clip the Archer and a fellow member...good enough. Renegade moves up, boosts to hit with Obliterator...and it's a hit!. eLylyth is knocked down, suffers 3 points of damage (rolled slightly above avg). Well, that helps. The lone trencher marches forward, spurred to a call of duty, heroic deeds, and Magnus' selfish sacrifices, and shoot Lylyth...deals 5 damage!
Stannis moves up (no charge lane due to my misplacement of Saxon) and kills an archer that was blocking LOS to Lylyth from my left flank. Saxon moves up, finds out he's in range, takes a pot shot...and brings Lylyth down to 5 hp. Renegade moves up, just to have LOS and Arcing fire, shoots, hits, and...does a whopping 5 pts of damage. Lylyth, with one fury, transfers. Croe does not have LOS unfortunately.
Well, I decided against throwing in the towel. His turn 2 saw the death of Croe's Cutthroats, the lone Trencher, and the rest of the Solos. Turn three, with Magnus' battlegroup only left, I moved Magnus up, cast Blur on himself and scattergunned...missing. Nomad moved up and attempted to throw Typhon. On a boosted roll, I needed 8's, above avg chance of hitting. Nope. I missed. It would've been great as I could have knocked down Lylyth. Also, I missed on a boosted roll against an archer, needing avg. Good times.
Lessons learned:
Remember to feat (I do forget, as I usually play eGore nowadays or eDenny whom I never forget). Remember to declare Intercept. Lastly, and I think this was crucial - remember to cast Mobilize first turn. I've always debated if I wanted to or not...but this game, when Lylyth was knocked down, having those Renegades up 12 instead of 10 would have made a huge difference.
Besides that...not a whole lot else. Just better unit placement. Jeremy's list is solid, but a little beast heavy. However, I've seen him play it before and I know it works.
Monday, June 8
One Week Away: NJ Con
NJCon, held in Ft. Dix this year, is this upcoming Saturday. Our PG Stubbs (aka LavonYor) is hosting SR 4.0 750 tournament. With our gaming group bulging at 20 people (20 people for Leagues), I suspect at least a 14-24 group turn out. We benefit from healthy rilvaries with the NYC gamers and Conshohocken, PA guys. Sometimes we get folks from far aways showing up to - last year both Hugh and Hacksaw made it down from Boston, and Jestor from CT came down for our Foodmachine tournament.
I'm really excited about this tournament because 1) it's the first time I'm playing Mercenaries & 2) it's a good practice and rehersal for what I'll be saying at other tournaments, touting facts about water and how your average Joe can help. The latter means much more to me - the fact that I'm not playing Cryx in order to win those awesome trophies that we've acquired for the tournament may be testament to that. I don't expect to win, but I'm going to try anyway. Magnus Agenda may be just too challenging.
The two lists I plan to run are:
eMagnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Stannis
10x Croe's Cutthroats
9x Idrians + UA
6x Trenchers
This list performs very well. I love it against Hordes, as my Croe's get an additional die of damage. Everyone expects Lethargy on the Idrians; what is not expected is Lethargy on Croe's units. I typically run with: Lethargy on Idrians. Cast it the following turn on Croe's as appearing to cause my Idrians gain that +2 MAT & STR. Then, let it expire on Croe's. Usually this is done in a pincer move, to cause models backs to Croe. Because of the AD and speed, I can easily dictate where my opponent engages me. Additionally, Saxon & Kell move around on the flank, helping to take out would be roadblocks. eMagnus' feat is also just amazing for the SR 4.0 format and the Nomad can hold its own.
The 2nd list is a little different.
pMagnus
-2x Renegades
-Mangler
Gorman
Kell
Stannis
8x Croe's
8x Steelhead Halberdiers
4x Steelhead Heavy Cav
6x Trenchers
I wanted a mobile list. Since pMagnus operates independently of the rest of the army, the Steelhead bloc is the best bet. Each supports another, and Stannis is super helpful. Using Trenchers and Croe's to screen the advance is best too. Kell always has a spot and Gorman is simply too amazing to leave behind. Saxon would be very helpful, but I wanted to try something a little different. I find that this list is best for Warmachine. Croe can silence those pesky casters and the Steelheads hit hard.
Anyway, I do feel I do a disservice to the reader. Quite often I just link sites and mention my thoughts. Today I felt like blessing everyone with methods to conserve water:
1. Don't buy bottled water for your home. Use a water filter instead. You'll save $$ AND landfill space. Also bottled water takes water from one area and redistributes elsewhere. If your area isn't water hungry, then tap water is fine.
2. Never pour water down the drain when it can be used elsewhere. I reuse my aquarium water as water for the garden and plants.
3. Check the toilets to see how long they run for. Incessent runing could be wasting water and running up that water bill.
4. Try not keep the tap running when shaving or even doing the dishes. Fill up the basin, wash, finish, and drain. You waste less water and put more of it to use.
5. You don't need to water your lawn every day. Every 5-7 days in the summer or 10-14 in the winter.
6. When watering outside, try watering the lawn in the early morning. Winds usually have not picked up by then and loss to evaporation is less in the morning.
7. Believe it or not, a closely clipped lawn is thirstier. Taller grass allows roots to dig deeper, getting more water (thus requiring less for you to water). Also taller grass, even by 3/4 of an inch taller, adds more shade and thus keeps in the moisture better.
Just food for thought on ways to conserve locally. Helping international agencies is best when it comes to international means. My advice is if you want to help build a well, sanitation project, etc, do a little research on the agency. Look where donations go to - is it overhead or the actual project? How many projects are being state-funded versus donation funded? What is the salary income of the board and CEO? What you want to avoid is wasting your donation to some agency that isn't going to be using your money as you intended. More importantly, you the donor should be comfortable to whatever agency you give to - and believe me, this applies to all kinds of aid and research agencies and charities.
I'm really excited about this tournament because 1) it's the first time I'm playing Mercenaries & 2) it's a good practice and rehersal for what I'll be saying at other tournaments, touting facts about water and how your average Joe can help. The latter means much more to me - the fact that I'm not playing Cryx in order to win those awesome trophies that we've acquired for the tournament may be testament to that. I don't expect to win, but I'm going to try anyway. Magnus Agenda may be just too challenging.
The two lists I plan to run are:
eMagnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Stannis
10x Croe's Cutthroats
9x Idrians + UA
6x Trenchers
This list performs very well. I love it against Hordes, as my Croe's get an additional die of damage. Everyone expects Lethargy on the Idrians; what is not expected is Lethargy on Croe's units. I typically run with: Lethargy on Idrians. Cast it the following turn on Croe's as appearing to cause my Idrians gain that +2 MAT & STR. Then, let it expire on Croe's. Usually this is done in a pincer move, to cause models backs to Croe. Because of the AD and speed, I can easily dictate where my opponent engages me. Additionally, Saxon & Kell move around on the flank, helping to take out would be roadblocks. eMagnus' feat is also just amazing for the SR 4.0 format and the Nomad can hold its own.
The 2nd list is a little different.
pMagnus
-2x Renegades
-Mangler
Gorman
Kell
Stannis
8x Croe's
8x Steelhead Halberdiers
4x Steelhead Heavy Cav
6x Trenchers
I wanted a mobile list. Since pMagnus operates independently of the rest of the army, the Steelhead bloc is the best bet. Each supports another, and Stannis is super helpful. Using Trenchers and Croe's to screen the advance is best too. Kell always has a spot and Gorman is simply too amazing to leave behind. Saxon would be very helpful, but I wanted to try something a little different. I find that this list is best for Warmachine. Croe can silence those pesky casters and the Steelheads hit hard.
Anyway, I do feel I do a disservice to the reader. Quite often I just link sites and mention my thoughts. Today I felt like blessing everyone with methods to conserve water:
1. Don't buy bottled water for your home. Use a water filter instead. You'll save $$ AND landfill space. Also bottled water takes water from one area and redistributes elsewhere. If your area isn't water hungry, then tap water is fine.
2. Never pour water down the drain when it can be used elsewhere. I reuse my aquarium water as water for the garden and plants.
3. Check the toilets to see how long they run for. Incessent runing could be wasting water and running up that water bill.
4. Try not keep the tap running when shaving or even doing the dishes. Fill up the basin, wash, finish, and drain. You waste less water and put more of it to use.
5. You don't need to water your lawn every day. Every 5-7 days in the summer or 10-14 in the winter.
6. When watering outside, try watering the lawn in the early morning. Winds usually have not picked up by then and loss to evaporation is less in the morning.
7. Believe it or not, a closely clipped lawn is thirstier. Taller grass allows roots to dig deeper, getting more water (thus requiring less for you to water). Also taller grass, even by 3/4 of an inch taller, adds more shade and thus keeps in the moisture better.
Just food for thought on ways to conserve locally. Helping international agencies is best when it comes to international means. My advice is if you want to help build a well, sanitation project, etc, do a little research on the agency. Look where donations go to - is it overhead or the actual project? How many projects are being state-funded versus donation funded? What is the salary income of the board and CEO? What you want to avoid is wasting your donation to some agency that isn't going to be using your money as you intended. More importantly, you the donor should be comfortable to whatever agency you give to - and believe me, this applies to all kinds of aid and research agencies and charities.
Friday, May 29
NJ Con and all those Idrians
Well, it's close to that time (2 weeks) and I have a lot to finish painting. At the heart of it, I should have both Warcasters wrapped up and painted. I'm going to have to use my eBay version of Croe's to help out, as well as Gorman. Kell is finished, but I need to fix his eyes.
Anyway, it looks like I have a pretty solid list. Croe's took on a Warpwolf all by themselves and a Pureblood. Idrian's wiped Typhon off the board, but what can't Idrians wipe off? I'll have to figure out a Traitor list, as I'd like to use both casters.
Nomads are almost finished too...just need to wrap up the gloss.
Anyway, both games highlighted why I feel Idrians are extremely overpowered. With the UA, they achieve feats that as a Cryx player, I'm not used to. It's fun being on the other side of the sword for once (read: Giving End), but it's just no fun when I wipe my opponents face into the board with just this unit. Thankfully, their armor is light, so template weapons can deviate and still kill them. If you know how to lure them out, more power to you.
I can't say from a Menoth perspective why the unit should be overpowered. From an Agenda perspective, the unit is probably the second main reason people pick up the contract - you get to play with Magnus and Idrians...and Trenchers?! Sign me up.
Anyway, it looks like I have a pretty solid list. Croe's took on a Warpwolf all by themselves and a Pureblood. Idrian's wiped Typhon off the board, but what can't Idrians wipe off? I'll have to figure out a Traitor list, as I'd like to use both casters.
Nomads are almost finished too...just need to wrap up the gloss.
Anyway, both games highlighted why I feel Idrians are extremely overpowered. With the UA, they achieve feats that as a Cryx player, I'm not used to. It's fun being on the other side of the sword for once (read: Giving End), but it's just no fun when I wipe my opponents face into the board with just this unit. Thankfully, their armor is light, so template weapons can deviate and still kill them. If you know how to lure them out, more power to you.
I can't say from a Menoth perspective why the unit should be overpowered. From an Agenda perspective, the unit is probably the second main reason people pick up the contract - you get to play with Magnus and Idrians...and Trenchers?! Sign me up.
Friday, April 3
The Agenda
Okay, so I ordered the Magnus Battlebox (Magnus the Traitor, Renegade, Mauler, & Talon) & Magnus the Warlord (Epic), along with two Nomads, a 2nd Renegade (I think), & Kel Bailoch.
I did get to play two games yesterday with both pMags & eMags trying out Long Gunners & Trenchers. Trenchers I found fit more my playstyle, although I swung and did something completely different with the Long Gunners which took my opponent by surprise. I still lost that game, but hey...
I'm looking also at picking up Boomhowler & Co, some more Steelheads, Steelhead Cav, & Stannis. Kel definitely made his points by nearly taking out a Woldwyrd in the second game. Orin has no place I found, although Orrick does.
500 Pt
Magnus
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Boomhowler & Co (9)
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
750 Pt
Magnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Stannis
Boomhowler & Co (9)
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
Steelhead Halberdiers (8)
Steelhead Cav (3)
Obviously I'm taking a hit here by using Boomhowler. But they did absolutely amazing. I'm definitely going to need to find a substitute unit though when I face against Trollbloods or Cryx...
750 Pt
Magnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Stannis
Idrian Skirmishers (8)
-UA
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
Steelhead Halberdiers (8)
Steelhead Cav (3)
There we go. Saxon isn't necessary anymore, but he's almost better with the Idrians.... I'll play around with ideas...
I did get to play two games yesterday with both pMags & eMags trying out Long Gunners & Trenchers. Trenchers I found fit more my playstyle, although I swung and did something completely different with the Long Gunners which took my opponent by surprise. I still lost that game, but hey...
I'm looking also at picking up Boomhowler & Co, some more Steelheads, Steelhead Cav, & Stannis. Kel definitely made his points by nearly taking out a Woldwyrd in the second game. Orin has no place I found, although Orrick does.
500 Pt
Magnus
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Boomhowler & Co (9)
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
750 Pt
Magnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Saxon
Stannis
Boomhowler & Co (9)
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
Steelhead Halberdiers (8)
Steelhead Cav (3)
Obviously I'm taking a hit here by using Boomhowler. But they did absolutely amazing. I'm definitely going to need to find a substitute unit though when I face against Trollbloods or Cryx...
750 Pt
Magnus
-Nomad
-2x Renegades
Gorman
Kell
Stannis
Idrian Skirmishers (8)
-UA
Loyalist Trenchers (6)
Steelhead Halberdiers (8)
Steelhead Cav (3)
There we go. Saxon isn't necessary anymore, but he's almost better with the Idrians.... I'll play around with ideas...
Monday, March 30
Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Spare
Well, when I first starting asking for suggestions for an issue to help raise awareness, I was flooded with responses from my group of friends ranging from silly nonsensical issues to Breast Cancer.
However, there was one issue I was floored with - Water Quality and Scarcity.
Think about how much water we waste, yet knowing that approximately 1.1 bn people in the world lack access to drinkable water. Even more suffer from poor sanitation. Violence has flared over the rights to drinkable water and riverways for more than a millennium.
I wish I could say more. It's such a basic issue, so prevalent in third world countries and even here in America. The best that I can do at the moment is learn more like everyone else.
I have provided some links to different sites for now and I'll post news as I can. Many of these are very informational to providing a better idea on water quality and water scarcity issues.
Circle of Blue - a very informational news site that brings together articles dealing with water issues, ranging from the droughts in California and Australia to water wars in southern Ethiopia.
Overcoming Water Scarcity & Quality Constraints - an economics paper dealing with the variety of water issues and how it affects the world, according to the viewpoint of economists.
Charity Water - this was the link that my friend sent that originally floored me and one of the two charities I will be donating to. They work through various different charity organizations, including Water for People, Healing Hands, Gram Vikas, Concern Worldwide & many others. While not explicitly a Christian charity, they do work with LWI & HH.
Wateraid - Another charity that I will be donating to. Wateraid beat out Water for People for two reasons: (1) Charity Water works with Water for People on projects, so I felt like I was duplicating work & (2) Best Business Bureau rated Wateraid higher than Water for People due to WfP's failure to meet BBB's compensation standard. This bothered me slightly. You can read more about it on BBB's entry.
Water for People - notable charity for water scarcity & quality improvement.
I have already decided that I'm going to run the Magnus agenda and will be building 500 & 750 pt armies. I would love to go to GenCon with this army, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have use 4-Star for that, so unless something changes real soon (aka Magnus gets another warcaster to work with), I don't see how that's going to be possible. Although I think I can participate in Hardcore, although the meaning of the army is slightly lost.
However, there was one issue I was floored with - Water Quality and Scarcity.
Think about how much water we waste, yet knowing that approximately 1.1 bn people in the world lack access to drinkable water. Even more suffer from poor sanitation. Violence has flared over the rights to drinkable water and riverways for more than a millennium.
I wish I could say more. It's such a basic issue, so prevalent in third world countries and even here in America. The best that I can do at the moment is learn more like everyone else.
I have provided some links to different sites for now and I'll post news as I can. Many of these are very informational to providing a better idea on water quality and water scarcity issues.
Circle of Blue - a very informational news site that brings together articles dealing with water issues, ranging from the droughts in California and Australia to water wars in southern Ethiopia.
Overcoming Water Scarcity & Quality Constraints - an economics paper dealing with the variety of water issues and how it affects the world, according to the viewpoint of economists.
Charity Water - this was the link that my friend sent that originally floored me and one of the two charities I will be donating to. They work through various different charity organizations, including Water for People, Healing Hands, Gram Vikas, Concern Worldwide & many others. While not explicitly a Christian charity, they do work with LWI & HH.
Wateraid - Another charity that I will be donating to. Wateraid beat out Water for People for two reasons: (1) Charity Water works with Water for People on projects, so I felt like I was duplicating work & (2) Best Business Bureau rated Wateraid higher than Water for People due to WfP's failure to meet BBB's compensation standard. This bothered me slightly. You can read more about it on BBB's entry.
Water for People - notable charity for water scarcity & quality improvement.
I have already decided that I'm going to run the Magnus agenda and will be building 500 & 750 pt armies. I would love to go to GenCon with this army, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have use 4-Star for that, so unless something changes real soon (aka Magnus gets another warcaster to work with), I don't see how that's going to be possible. Although I think I can participate in Hardcore, although the meaning of the army is slightly lost.
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