"Walled Off" Brawlmachine Batrep Nov 13, 2021: Cryx vs Protectorate
Brawlmachine Scenario 4: Singularity
On the far-side just ahead of the flag & zones, there was a rubble pile (1 side low / obstacle, 1 side high / obstruction) to the left & a building to the right. Overlapping the outside edges of the zones, there was a stone tower (obstruction), a stone wall (obstacle), & a forest. On the near-side, there was a boulder (obstruction) & a stone wall (obstacle). To decide where the terrain would go, we used the random terrain generator here.
We've used that random terrain generator a few times so far & plan to eventually print out a total of 6 unique layouts. Then, we can roll a d6 before each game to pick where the terrain will go quickly.
* The calm before the storm; scenario elements & terrain pre-deployment *
* Wooden tokens from Muse On Minis. High quality & nice tactile feel *
This was also our first game since getting our early Christmas gifts to each other: wooden token sets for both Cryx & Protectorate. We ordered them from Muse On Minis early because we weren't sure if there would be any kind of delays between now & the holidays with everything going on. To our (pleasant) surprise, they were delivered in about a week. I'm planning to write up a short review on them for the blog sometime in the next week or 2.
Note: Our play area is currently 48" left-to-right and 36" across from each other. First player's deployment zone is 1" with second player's deployment zone being 4". Because of this, first player deploys along the edge of their deployment zone, adds 1" to their initial movement, & measures from the edge of the table in round 1. Over the next few weeks, I plan to build a proper 48" x 48" play area, as well as buying a nice gaming mat to play on.
Our Lists & Deployment
Donna won the starting roll & chose to go first.
Protectorate (Donna):
Warcaster & Battlegroup: Grand Scrutator Severius + Indictor, Revenger, & Vigilant
Solos: Vassal Mechanik, Reclaimer Gatekeeper, & Exemplar Warder Elias Gade
Unit(s): Temple Flameguard (full) & Deliverer Sunburst Crew
Severius kept his army in a tight formation along the center of their deployment zone. From left to right (my vantage point): Mechanik, Indictor, Revenger, Sunburst Crew, Severius, Vigilant, Gatekeeper, Flameguard, & lastly Elias Gade was advanced deployed in front of the Flameguard. Gade named the Slayer as his initial "Prey" target.
* Proctectorate deployment *
* Exemplar Warder Elias Gade leading the charge *
Cryx (me):
Warcaster & Battlegroup: Wraith Witch Deneghra + Slayer, Stalker, & Ripjaw
Solos: Darragh Wrathe, Hellslinger Phantom, & Soul Trapper
Unit: Mechanithralls (min) with 2 Brute Thrall weapon attachments
Deneghra deployed her forces mostly in the center with Ripjaw, Hellslinger, & Darragh to her left and Slayer & Soul Trapper to her right. The Mechanithralls were deployed in a line formation to the far left outside of the boulder. The Stalker was later advanced deployed behind the stone wall in the center.
* Cryx deployment *
Round 1:
Protectorate turn 1
After his jacks powered up, Severius cast "Defender's Ward" (+2 DEF / +2 ARM) on the Indictor. He then advanced 8" directly ahead; failing a charge out of range of the Ripjaw.
The Temple Flameguard leader issued the "Shield Wall" order to advance his spearmen 9" & gain +4 ARM while B2B with their brothers in arms. Gade ran up 10" to the outside of the building while the Indictor ran up near the rubble pile on the opposite side with the Mechanik not far behind.
Next, the Sunburst Crew ran up 6" in hopes of getting the core of the Cryx forces in their sights next round. The Gatekeeper advanced to the rear of the Flameguard,followed by the Revenger running up next to the Indictor & the Vigilant moving up near the elder Protectorate warcaster in the center.
* Protectorate advances head on *
Cryx turn 1
Wanting to face Gade head on, the Slayer ran straight ahead to end up to the right & just ahead of the forest. Soul Trapper moved up to go B2B with the near-side flag, as Hellslinger Phantom ran straight ahead through the forest thanks to his native Incorporeal state.
Ripjaw & Darragh Wrathe then both ran to establish a dominant presence in the middle of the overlapping zones. The Mechanithrall leader gave the "Press Forward" order to run his undead horde toward the far-side flag. Then, the Stalker ran up to the outside of the stone tower in hopes of jumping behind the advancing Protectorate line next round.
Lastly, Deneghra moved forward & channeled "Damnation" on the Revenger through the Ripjaw. Needing a 5 for the spell to succeed, she rolled a six; allowing her jacks to charge & slam the Revenger without spending focus, along with gaining +2" & pathfinder when making those attacks against it. Next, she cast "Shadow Step" to move an additional 3" to end up directly behind the forest. She ended her activation popping her feat: "Web of Shadows" to grant Incorporeal for 1 round to d3+3 friendly Faction models in her control range. She rolled a 3 (6 on d6) to give Incorporeal to Slayer, Ripjaw, Darragh, Stalker, & both Brute Thralls.
* Cryx working to establish dominance in the center of the battlefield *
Round 2:
Protectorate turn 2
Severius paid to upkeep "Defender's Ward", allocated 1 focus to the Indictor, & kept the rest for himself.
Taking advantage of his Crossbows' magical damage, Elias Gade stood still to take aim at the Slayer. Hitting on anything but double 1s, he rolled a 4. Rolling for damage at dice -4, he did 1 damage to column 2. Hitting again on his second shot, he dealt an additional 3 damage to column 1 on the hell jack.
The Indictor charged in to swing at the Slayer with his magical sword, Banisher. The attack just barely hit, but ended up being a devastating blow; doing 18 damage at dice +5 to completely destroy the bone jack.
* The Cryxian jack's "life" was short lived *
The Revenger then moved up beside the Indictor, gaining cover behind the stone tower & leaving enough of a gap for the Sunburst crew to get LOS to the one Mechanithrall in their threat range. Moving up 4" to get the thrall in range of their fiery ballista, the shot rang true & was powerful enough to kill him without needing a damage roll. The nearest Brute Thrall was caught in the AOE, but being Incorporeal, suffered no damage or continuous fire effect.
Severius moved back behind the Sunburst Crew & cast "Vision" on himself (ignore 1 damage roll, then Vision expires). He camped his remaining focus in fear of the carnage to come. The Mechanik moved up B2B with the far-side flag, staring down the Mechanithralls.
Realizing his unit had no offensive options against the Incorporeal Cryx forces this round, the Flameguard leader gave the "Shield Wall" order to move his troops into the circular zone & gain +4 ARM. The Gatekeeper followed suit by moving up into the safety of the rear of their formation. Finally, the Vigilant moved forward to get closer to the zones.
* The Flameguard moving into the circular zone *
Cryx turn 2
Deneghra chose not to upkeep "Damnation" since the Revenger was hiding behind the tower, safe from any charge attempts. She went Incorporeal using her "Wraith Walker" ability. She activated and cast "Breath Stealer" & "Curse of Shadows" onto the Temple Flameguard, using Ripjaw as an arc node, & boosting both to ensure they hit. The Protectorate unit was now suffering from -2 SPD & -2 DEF for 1 round and -2 ARM & unable to make free strikes from the upkeep spell. With both their DEF & ARM taking a hit from her spells, Deneghra hoped her army would be able to make quick work of them.
Next, Ripjaw moved over to attack one of the nearest Flameguard spearman. Using his Bone Saw's "Powerful Attack" ability to boost both the attack & damage rolls for 1 focus, he drove the spinning blade into the soldier's chest. As he died, the Gatekeeper collected his soul in Menoth's name. This cleared a path for Darragh Wrathe to charge into a Flameguard member, catching another in his path.
Darragh jolted his evil steed to charge forward trampling over the one in his way with an impact attack & slashing at the charge target with his Necro-Scythe. After destroying both, he was able to activate his Battle Wizard ability & cast "Hell Fire" on another Flameguard, killing him outright. The Gatekeeper was only able to collect 2 of their souls, bringing him to his max of 3.
Slayer defiantly walked up to Elias Gade & attacked with his Death Claw combo strike. Knowing that any damage done would kill the Exemplar veteran, he chose to boost the attack & hit easily. At P+S 22 to Gade's ARM 16, the dice +6 attack was powerful enough to destroy him with no damage roll necessary.
Hellslinger Phantom moved to get a better vantage point to shoot at the Flameguard unit. He lined up with dual Wraithstorm Pistols & fired. Both shots rang true, killing 2 more members to reduce the Temple Flameguard to only 4 troops left standing.
Soul Trapper stayed on the near-side flag, as the Mechanithrall leader gave the "Press Forward" order to send his mindless soldiers charging forward into the fray. Both Brute Thralls charged in to attack the Indictor & 1 Mechanithrall charged in to the Mechanik on the flag. The other 4 Mechanithralls ran up as they were out of charge range & chose instead to get as close as possible to line up attacks next round.
All 3 attacks found their targets. The Mechanik died instantly as the Steam Fist slammed into him, but the Indictor's effective ARM 23 made it difficult to inflict much damage rolling dice -9. Between the pair of Brute Thralls, they only managed to do 7 damage; 3 to column 4 & 4 to column 1, respectively.
With Soul Trapper on the near-side flag & Ripjaw in the rectangular zone, Deneghra scored 2 points now that they'd cleared the few Flameguard from the zone that could have contested. With no one on the far-side flag & 3 Cryx models contesting the circular zone from the remaining Flameguard on the edge of it, Protectorate was unable to score.
Cryx 2 - Protectorate 0
Round 3:
Protectorate turn 3
Severius upkept both "Vision" & "Defender's Ward". He then allocated 2 focus to the Indictor & 1 to the Revenger.
The Temple Flameguard activated first, wanting to make the most out of the few troops left in the unit, & moved to surround Darragh. The leader issued the "Shield Wall" order as they swarmed for a combined melee attack. Their spears stabbed into him; doing 5 damage. Most importantly, they cleared a path for the Vigilant & Revenger to get in on the action.
The Vigilant charged in to get to Darragh's back arc & rolled double 1s to miss. The second Shield Fist attack managed to hit for 2 damage. The Revenger turned to charge Darragh with his Halberd. The attack did 6 damage. It was more than enough to finish off the war horse & leave Darragh standing on his own, but weakened. The Revenger then bought another attack with his Halberd to strike for 8 damage to kill Darragh off.
* Menoth's faithful rush in to swarm Darragh Wrathe *
Willing to risk free strikes from the Brute Thralls, the Indictor turned to Trample the 3 Mechanithralls that had moved to surround him. All 3 Mechanithralls were hit in the Trample & the Indictor's power was too much for them to withstand. Both Brute's connected on their free strikes. The first did 5 damage to column 6 & 4 damage to column 3; leaving the heavy warjack's left arm crippled & nullifying his Shield's ARM bonus.
With the field in front of them now clear, the Sunburst crew aimed and fired on the Brute Thrall nearest to the flag. She took a direct hit, and though she was now on fire, only suffered 1 hit thanks to a poor damage roll. One Mechanithrall was caught in the AOE & died in the fire.
The Reclaimer Gatekeeper moved towards the flag, but could not make it far enough to reach it. He spent one of the souls he'd collected to surround himself in a 3" cloud with "Obscuring Haze".
Severius cast "Immolation" through the Revenger to set Hellslinger Phantom aflame & did 3 damage. He cast it again to do 4 damage to destroy the ghostly gunman once & for all.
With both zones now contested & no one on the far-side flag, the only scoring was 1 point for Cryx with Soul Trapper on the near-side flag.
Cryx 3 - Protectorate 0
Cryx turn 3
Realizing there was no way to stop Cryx from scoring the game winning point at the end of their next turn, Severius conceded the battle to Deneghra; escaping with his life & what remained of his army.
* The "graveyard" at the middle of round 3 *
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