This is obviously new to me so I guess I'm going to write a few bad reports before I start getting some kind of hang of it. I'm trying to remember to take pictures while playing, but for this first game I didn't get all of them. So sometimes there will be a start of my turn, sometimes a start of my opponent's turn and so on. It will have to do.
So this game was set up against a friend playing Cryx who wanted to practice versus Haley3. I was happy to oblige, as you can imagine. He was going to play the Witch Coven of Gharlghast, with a new list for him.
I ran Haley3 as I wrote about earlier:
Major Prime Victoria Haley [+25]
- Grenadier [9]
- Grenadier [9]
- Ironclad [12]
- Thorn [13]
Journeyman Warcaster [4]
- Charger [9]
Storm Lances (max) [20]
Trencher Infantry (max) [16]
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord [4]
Ragman [4]
NOTE; I proxy the two grenadiers for this game, using a hunter and a firefly.
This was Stefan's list:
The Witch Coven of Garlghast [+26]
- Egregore [0]
- Deathripper [6]
- Deathripper [6]
- Deathripper [6]
- Barathrum [15]
- Deathjack [23]
- Scavenger [7]
- Scavenger [7]
- The Withershadow Combine [9]
Soulhunters (max) [18]
Ragman [4]
We both use the objective which is harder to shoot down.
As for what Stefan's list does, I didn't really know beforehand except that it assassinates squishy spellcasters well. Luckily I only brought 3 of those..
Stefan set up a scenario for us, and choses Extraction from SR 2016. We roll of for starting and I win with a 3-1, so I go first. Stefan choses the side with the incredible forest hiding the objective, but at least I get a hill a little bit off center.
Deployment and Cygnar turn 1:
I simply advance and cloud up top of 1. I dislike having to cloud up top of 1 but versus arc nodes running 18 and bolting 8 more inches it's necessary. The two heavies with AD also pushes me back a fair bit without clouds too. I've already misplayed a bit here; thorn should be more centrally, pretty much where the Ironclad is. For this turn Arcane Shield is on the storm lances, as is dirge.
End of Cygnar Turn 2:
Okay so here's an example of me forgetting to take a picture. Coven has feated here, st up Egregore, Deathjack and a node in a Veil of Mists and pushed forward agressively. Had I had Thorn more centrally I could've scared Deathjack back a fair bit by threatening a domination into shooting death. For my turn 2 I can't really get anything done due to his feat. I push the cloudwall up an inch or two, leave a trencher in his cloud to contest both flags. Storm Lances threaten Deathjack's position.
I've left the grenadiers a bit back from the cloud wall to maintain their Dig In and stay away from walking threat of his heavies. An important note here is moving Arcane Shield to the Haley unit; without it dying over the course of two turns (or even one if unlucky) to a few Stygian Abysses is far too likely.
Start of Cygnar turn 3:
Stefan scores 2 on his turn, charging the two trenchers with a Scavenger each. One of them can't get away due to tough, so a soulhunter kills the left trencher while a node has to run up and score the flag. I'm down 0-2 but this isn't that big a problem, Haley3 stalls scenario very well. My plan is to take the 2 scavengers and the arc node, score on the left flag. I also want to feat for a Force Hammer onto the Soulhunter in front of Barathrum and shoot the jack with my Grenadier and Charger.
End of Cygnar turn 3:
Past Haley missed her boosted 8 for the Force Hammer so no damage done to Barathrum. Occultation means I haven't really been able to punish his Soulhunters either. I position my Storm Lances badly here, the back two are far too close. Haley has to drop Tactical Supremacy for two reasons: I want the focus to camp and I can't think of a way to get meaningful attrition work done with my grenadiers while maintaining a cloudwall. The lights die very easily. The ironclad has moved up to present a target to lure something in. 1-2 on scenario.
Here I really forgot to take a picture after Stefan's turn 3 which really ruins this battle report to some extent. Stefan had a play for 3 points on scenario winning immediately, but felt it relied on three or four sort of dicey plays so he decides to go for a great attrition turn instead. Barathrum charged and killed my rightmost grenadier, he clears my left flag (including a Withershadow Combine member one-shotting a storm lance..) but cannot score it and the soulhunters kill the ironclad with the help of Curse of Shadows.
End of Cygnar turn 4:
So for my turn 4 I have to accomplish something big. I decide to kill Barathrum (who used to be right in front of where Thorn is), a soulhunter or two and get lots of damage done on Deathjack. The clouds where Prime Haley is standing shouldn't be there anymore. My trenchers get shit all work done, except the one managing to stab down a soulhunter engaging my grenadier and the one which toughs a freestrike from Barathrum to unengage him. The charger, journeyman and thorn kills Barathrum. I thought past Haley would have to help here, but midturn I decide to charge both echoes into Deathjack after the grenadier shoots it up a bit. Sadly it survives on 1 box.. Womp womp.
I AGAIN forget to take a picture of Stefan's turn. He throws Stygian Abysses at my two echoes, crit blinds both. Past gets killed by a charging Soulhunter while Future actually survives the bolt and the deathripper since she camped 1. Deathjack healed a few boxes from killing trenchers, much to my chagrin.
End of Cygnar turn 5:
By now the game is done bar me getting assassinated. I shoot down Ragman so he can't contest the right flag, clear out 2 more soulhunters, an arc node and Deathjack. I decide to resummon past Haley - I probably shouldn't here and just camp since the game really is on lockdown anyway, but I like her so much. 2-2 CP.
End of Cryx turn 5:
Stefan kills Future Haley for fun, runs the arc node and tries to kill Haley3 with two Stygian Abysses. I'm only at def 20 so he hits both but with AS and 1 camp he can't get close at all. Stefan concedes at this point since I'm killing most of his things and winning on scenario next turn.
Victory!
Like many games when playing Haley3, keeping Prime alive and just carrying on killing works well. I think the match up is slightly favouring Cygnar, Cryx can't punish the smokewall well enough.
As for my own play, this game leaves a fair bit to be desired. I positioned badly on several occasions, most notably Thorn, but I got Ragman stuck too far back so he couldn't come up and help the turn I wanted to kill Deathjack. Thorn being too far right really cost me the ability to Repudiate off Occultation and get working on the Soulhunters, but on the other hand that would mean not camping anything so maybe my positioning mistake just saved me from making a bigger mistake.
Versus spellcasters like Coven (and casters like Lylyth1 shooting a couple of 12s) it's key to not get greedy and wait for too long to switch over arcane shield and dirge of mists (or tough) to Haley3. Turn 2 is usually when I go for it; rather safe than sorry and all that.
Lesson learned, keep Thorn central.
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