"How many early mistakes can you overcome?" - BatRep Oct 27, 2021 - Cryx vs Protectorate
On one side of the battlefield, there is a rectangular zone running from left to right with a gap in the middle separating it from a circular zone on the right side.
There are 2 flags, both in the center from left to right, with one on each army's side of the battlefield.
Our lists (no themes yet)
Cryx (me): Wraith Witch Deneghra + Slayer / Defiler / Ripjaw, Hellslinger
Phantom, Soul Trapper, Necrosurgeon with Stitch Thralls, & a min unit of
Mechnithralls with a Skarlock Commander + 2 Brute Thralls.
Protectorate (Donna): Grand Scrutator Severius + Indictor /
Revenger, Vassal Mechanik, Reclaimer Gatekeeper, Exemplar Warder Elias Gade,
Deliverer Sunburst Crew, & a full unit of Temple Flameguard.
* Gade's initial "Prey" target was my Defiler. *
Severius & the Mechanik were in the center with the Reclaimer & Flameguard to the right. Elias Gade was to the far-right and just shy of the house in that area of the battlefield, because of his Advanced Deployment.
Deneghra was deployed to the left with the Ripjaw & Slayer spread out a bit to her side. Hellslinger Phantom & the Defiler were lined up to either side of the near-side flag in the center of my formation. Thanks to the Skarlock Commander granting them Advance Deployment, the Mechanithrall unit was up towards the circular zone on either side of the large boulder. The Soul Trapper along with the Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls were behind them in support.
* A horde of Mechanithralls staring down the inevitable onslaught *
This play saw us each make a few shortsighted tactical mistakes. Round 1 included a couple of these on my part.
Round 1: A healthy respect for threat ranges and an appreciation of blocking terrain.
Protectorate Turn 1
Donna started out by moving Gade up just behind house near the circular zone, wanting to keep him outside of my Brute Thrall's 10" charge threat range. The Flameguard moved up just to the edge of the circular zone, issuing the "Shield Wall" order to get the +4 ARM bonus (note: we were playing with the pre-update rules since we hadn't had a chance to update our cards before we played).
The Indictor & Sunburst Crew both moved up into the clearing between the rubble pile & stone wall near the rectangular zone. The Revenger, Mechanik, & Reclaimer moved up by the far-side flag, with both solos going B2B with it and the jack just to the right making a beeline for my Mechanithralls.
Finally, Sevvy moved forward just behind the flag to cast "Vision" on the Reclaimer & "Defender's Ward" on the Revenger.
* The Protectorate forces advancing into the face of the Nightmare Empire *
Cryx Turn 1
My Mechanithrall unit moved up in dual staggered line formations with the Skarlock Commander in the center & a Brute Thrall to either side of him with a handful of McThralls. My idea here was to establish an initial dominant force in / around the circular zone while limiting the threat from the Sunburst Crew if Donna moves them to threaten my mass of shambling zombie cyborgs.
Deneghra walked up 7", measured off the range from the Ripjaw to the Indictor in prep to cast "Breath Stealer", & I immediately realized that I couldn't cast spells on her blessed jack. I shifted gears with Denny casting "Shadow Step" to move up a little closer, stopping just behind the Slayer, to close out round 1.
Round 2: Is anyone here NOT on fire?
Protectorate Turn 2
The Sunburst Crew moved up slightly to take a shot at the Ripjaw. It missed and deviated to the right, catching the Slayer in the blast damage. At dice - 8, she rolled 6; doing no damage, but lighting the jack on fire.
* The Sunburst Crew Gunner measuring range before releasing a volley of fire *
What followed next shined light on my poor judgement in how I advanced the Mechanithralls in round 1. Gade only needed to move up 1" to get the Skarlock Commander in range of his crossbows, while still benefiting from the cover provided by the house.
At dice -6, she rolled 8 to hit and the damage roll that followed did 3 damage. One Brute Thrall was close enough to activate her "Shield Guard" ability, suffering the damage in place of her leader. Gade took another shot, hit, & did 9 damage on a roll of 10 at dice - 1. Without the ability to pass the damage off to the only Brute Thrall in range, the commander was dead; granting his corpse to the Necrosurgeon nearby.
With the Skarlock Commander gone, no Mechanithrall or Brute Thrall was left in command range of ALL of the remaining troops in the unit. I chose to promote the right-most Mechanithrall in the left formation to the new leader. That way, the Brute Thrall & other McThralls in range would still be in formation to move & attack on their next activation.
* Gade taking aim at the Skarlock Commander *
Next, the Temple Flameguard leader issued the "Shield Wall" order again to send his units aligned in an arc on the edge of the circular zone to keep them out of my Mechanithralls' charge range. The Revenger followed suit, moving up to the left of the Flameguard.
Severius moved up behind the nearest stone wall began channeling spells through the Revenger. First, he cast "Influence" on the closest Brute Thrall, taking over the lumbering giant to send her giant Steam Fist raining down on a Mechanithrall. At P+S 14 to the McThralls ARM 12, no damage roll was necessary. The Necrosurgeon collected another corpse as Severius' mental grip on the Brute Thrall waned.
Severius spent another 2 focus to cast "Immolation" on the same Brute Thrall & did 3 damage. Paying his last 2 focus to cast "Immolation" on her a second time, Sevvy rolled double 2s on dice -4 for a critical hit. While the crit set the Brute Thrall aflame, the damage roll that followed burned her off of the table altogether. She rolled 11 on dice -2, more than enough to scorch the Brute's last 5 damage boxes; giving the Necrosurgeon 1 more corpse.
The Mechanik & Reclaimer chose to stay on the far-side flag to end Donna's turn.
Cryx Turn 2
Checking to see if the fire on the Slayer expired, I rolled a 3 & the resulting damage roll did 1 damage to column 5. Of course, I wasn't happy that he was still on fire, but I couldn't complain about the weak damage roll it produced.
The Mechanithralls activated next. The leader gave the "Press Forward" order so that he & sole troop who was in formation would be able to charge the Revenger. The rest of the unit ran up to close the distance with the Flameguard to nullify their chances of charging next round, while getting back into the leader's command range.
Thanks to "Defender's Ward", the jack's DEF was 14. Against the Mechanithralls measly MAT 5, it was dice -9. I rolled an 8 on double 4s to miss. The heartbreak of rolling so high & still missing can't quite be put into words. He missed again on his second Steam Fist strike after the charge. His buddy also swung & missed on both melee attacks leaving the Revenger to stand proudly mocking their feeble attempts.
The Necrosurgeon moved up B2B with the lone remaining Brute Thrall. Her Stitch Thralls moved to spread out as corpse-grabbing satellites just on the edge of their master's command range. Using her star action "Necrosurgery" to heal the Brute Thrall, I rolled a 2. The Brute wasn't completely healed, but I'll take removing 2 out of 3 damage as a win considering how poorly things went for me on Donna's last turn.
Given everyone's position in & around the circular zone, the Defiler opted to forfeit the aiming bonus to move to a better vantage point. I didn't want to catch any of my Mechanithralls in the corrosive spray. So, the bone jack moved up and to the left to get the Revenger & 2 Flameguard in his sights. At dice - 9 to hit the Revenger, I rolled a 10. The damage roll didn't crack his armor, but he was now suffering from continuous corrosion.
I missed to hit the first Flameguard, but caught the second thanks to boosting the attack roll. Again, the damage roll wasn't enough to take out the Flameguard that was hit, but I had hopes the corrosion would take him out during Donna's next Maintenance Phase.
* Hellslinger Phantom taking the Revenger into his sights *
Next, the Soul Trapper ran out from behind the stone tower to get closer to the action in hopes of collecting some souls next round.
The Slayer then charged the Indictor, hitting, & doing 8 damage to column 6. The Slayer hit with his second Death Claw melee attack to do 3 damage to column 2. The Tusks attack hit as well, but failed to do any damage. The Ripjaw then charged the Indictor. The little saw-mouthed bone jack hit, but didn't do any damage.
Deneghra then tried to cast "Breath Stealer" on the Revenger. Using the Defiler as an arc node, she failed her magic attack roll; wasting the focus in the process. She followed up by casting "Curse of Shadows" through the Defiler, leaving the Revenger at -2 ARM and unable to make free strikes.
She then used her feat and, rolling a 2 on a d3 (4 on d6), designated 5 members of her army to gain incorporeal for a round: Slayer, Ripjaw, Defiler, Brute Thrall, & the Necrosurgeon. With Deneghra safely (or so I thought) behind her jacks and almost everyone else who was important protected (somewhat) by being incorporeal, I felt confident as we ended the round to score.
I scored 3 points: 1 for the rectangular zone (Slayer / Deneghra), 1 for the circular zone (Mechanithralls), & lastly 1 for the near-side flag (Hellslinger Phantom). Donna scored 1 point due to the Reclaimer & Mechanik being B2B with the far-side flag.
Cryx 3 - Protectorate 1
Round 3: Oh...yeah...THAT'S how incorporeal works...
Protectorate Turn 3
Neither the fire nor corrosion on the Revenger expired. However, he was unscathed from the fire's damage roll & only took the single damage point dealt by the corrosion.
The Flameguard member under continuous corrosion was not so lucky, as his did not expire & the single point of damage was enough to kill him. The Reclaimer grabbed his soul as the model was removed from the table.
* Deneghra standing 'protected' behind her jacks *
As Donna was powering up her jacks & allocating focus, she thought she realized something neither of us had caught on to yet. She grabbed the rules to double check and then smiled slyly as she read the full description of "Incorporeal" out loud: "Other models, including slammed, pushed, or thrown models, can move through this model without effect if they have enough movement to move completely past it."
I screwed up...
In my haste to pop Denny's feat to protect her jacks & troops, I failed to realize that I'd inadvertently opened up a charge lane for the Indictor straight into Deneghra. With the Ripjaw & Slayer being incorporeal, it didn't just mean they could move through things / models, but also that other models COULD MOVE THROUGH THEM.
Loaded with focus, the Indictor activated to do just that. She charged the heavy warjack straight into Deneghra, crashing down on her with his Banisher. At dice -8, she boosted and rolled 15...ON TRIPLE 5s. For damage, she rolled 16 on dice - 2. Denny spent a focus to reduce the 14 damage she would have taken down to 9, which was still a devastating blow. The Indictor then swung & missed an attack with his shield. Spending a focus to buy another attack with his Banisher, which missed.
The Sunburst Crew then used their movement to aim for the +2 bonus. This would have been much better if they would have taken their shot before the charge into Denny. Donna realized this as she was getting ready to roll for the giant fiery ballista & had to add in the +4 to Deneghra's DEF due to the Indictor being in melee with her. The shot missed and deviated far enough away that no one was caught in the blast.
The Revenger was still engaged by 2 Mechanithralls, but risked free strikes from the 2 weak thralls in order to be able to be an arc node for spells against Deneghra. He move 5" to get into range for "Immolation" (to come on Severius' activation). One Mechanithrall missed & while the other connected, he failed to do any damage on his free strike attempt.
Activating Severius, Donna cast "Immolation" on Deneghra, boosting the attack roll at dice -8, and rolled a 7 on a 4, a 2, and a 1. Without enough focus left to cast any spells, Severius ended his activation to let the Temple Flameguard get in on the action, as Donna cursed under her breath. 😬😂
* Revenger risking free strikes to get into range to channel spells *
Issuing the "Shield Wall" order, the Flameguard leader sent his troops into several combined melee attacks, crashing into the Mechanithralls. They all easily hit their targets and no damage rolls were needed as the thralls' ARM 12 was no match for the P+S of the Flame Spears augmented by both Severius' "Eye of Menoth" bonus and the boosts from their combined melee attacks. Three McThralls were killed, but the Necrosurgeon was only able to gain 1 more soul; maxing out at 5.
Gade got the aiming bonus from not moving to take a pair of crossbow shots at my Brute Thrall. Both shots hit with the first doing 5 damage and the second doing another 8 damage; killing the Brute & sending her corpse to the Necrosurgeon.
The Reclaimer used the soul he previously collected to cast "Obscuring Haze", protecting himself & the Mechanik in a 3" AOE cloud around the far-side flag. With that, Donna's turn ended & we both scored 1 point for the flags we had solos on since neither was being contested. Neither of us scored anything for the zones.
Cryx 4 - Protectorate 2
Cryx Turn 3
The fire on the Slayer didn't expire, but thankfully the damage roll didn't hurt him. Deneghra used "Wraith Walker" to go incorporeal in my Control Phase, as all the models who had been incorporeal from her feat last round lost it at the start of the round.
The Necrosurgeon moved slightly to the left along with her Stitch Thralls to get closer to the only Mechanithrall left in play. She spent 3 corpses to perform her star action "Ressurectionist" to bring 3 Mechanithralls back. They activated next with their leader who moved to attack a Flameguard, but missed. The 3 newly-ressurected McThralls moved up to close the distance with other Flameguard troops, but had to forfeit their combat actions due to being brought back to life this round.
Wanting to get the Hellslinger Phantom off of the flag & into better position to shoot, I ran the Soul Trapper back to camp on the flag. I abandoned my previous idea of having him snag up some Flameguard souls, especially since the Hellslinger Phantom can collect souls directly when he kills a model.
The Hellslinger Phantom moved into position to get back strike bonuses shooting at 2 Temple Flameguard troops. Both shots hit & the damage from both damage rolls was enough to kill the Flameguard and grant the Hellslinger their souls.
Luck favors the brave, as they say...I realized that I wasn't going to be able to rack up points like I'd hoped when the game first started & decided to risk it all. I was going to rush Deneghra right into Severius' backyard, collect some souls from killing off the Sunburst Crew, & hopefully survive to the next round to go toe to toe with the old man, caster to caster, to take him out.
Being incorporeal, Denny charged through the Indictor & both of her jacks in the rectangular zone to get within striking distance of the Sunburst with her Eclipse. Facing dice -6, I boosted her attack roll...and rolled a 5 on a 2, a 2, & a 1. Much cursing and lamentation was expressed on my side of the table...not so much from Donna's side. She then bought another attack, rolled without boosting, & hit easily...of course...killing the gunner and gaining his soul. Using their "Take Up" ability, one of the grunts in range was removed to keep the gunner in play.
Deneghra then bought 2 more attacks without boosting either and hit on both, killing both of the remaining members of the Sunburst Crew to collect their souls. With only a single focus left, Denny held onto it in hopes of using it to survive round 4 and finally be able to face off with Severius 1 on 1.
When Donna moved the Revenger away from the Mechanithralls on her last turn, she moved him within 2" of my Defiler. Even though he couldn't attack the Defiler at the time due to it being incorporeal, he was engaging the bone jack, preventing him from being able to make any ranged attacks. The Defiler moved into his melee range with the Revenger and took a weak, useless strike with his head bash attack; failing to hit. He bought another attack, but it also failed to connect at dice -9.
The Ripjaw & Slayer used their activations to turn and attack the Indictor with back strikes. The Ripjaw boosted the attack & damage rolls, but only ended up doing 1 damage to column 3. The Slayer used his Steam Fist combo attack to hit & do 13 damage to column 5. Added to the previous damage to the Indictor had suffered, the damage was enough to carry over & cripple both of his arms.
The round ended with both of us scoring 1 more point for the flags.
Cryx 5 - Protectorate 3
Round 4: The old man comes out swinging
Both the corrosion & fire remained on the Revenger after checking to see if they expired. Between the 2 continuous effects, he only suffered a total of 3 damage.
Severius started his activation casting "Immolation" on Deneghra. Boosting to hit on dice -8, she rolled 12 & followed up by boosting the damage roll to do 9 damage; rolling another 12 on dice -3. Deneghra paid her last remaining focus to only suffer 4 damage. The elderly Protectorate warcaster then boosted a charge attack with is Staff of Judgement. With a MAT of 4 against Deneghra's DEF 16, even rolling 3d6 wasn't enough to overcome the dice -12 hurdle he was staring down. He rolled 9 and missed.
Annoyed, but seeing the end in sight, she decided to charge her Revenger into the gap between the Slayer & the stone wall to stab at Deneghra. Risking another free strike from the Defiler, he charged in at the Wraith Witch. Even though the free strike hit, the bone jack's bash attack only did 1 damage to the Revenger.
The Revenger's charge into Deneghra hit & the damage roll did more than enough damage to kill her; granting the win to Severius in the name of the Lawgiver.
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