"Cut Off..." - Brawlmachine Batrep Jan 18, 2022: Protectorate vs Skorne

I got quite a few plays in with Skorne the last 2 months. I'm starting to get more comfortable with them, but I'd hardly say that I'm at the point of feeling super competitive as a Skorne player. That said, this was one of the first few games where I was starting to get into the groove & not feel so lost with them. It was also one of Donna's first games running a new caster & list for her Protectorate including a 'Jack Marshall with a Repenter.

Scenario & Terrain

We rolled a d6 to choose the scenario & played Brawlmachine Scenario 1: Orbits. On one side of the table was a circular zone & opposite of it was a rectangular zone. There were 2 flags centered from left to right, with each one being 16" from each player's starting table edge.

For our terrain layout, we used a random terrain generator. A stone wall (obstacle with cover) was in line with the circular zone about 11" from the Protectorate table edge. Roughly 8" to the right of it was a large boulder (obstruction)  in front of the far-side flag and a few inches to the right of it was a stucco house (obstruction). 

In the center of the table between both zones & flags was a forest. A rubble pile (1/2 obstacle with cover, 1/2 obstruction) was a couple inches to the right of it inside the rectangular zone.

A wooden house (obstruction) was just overlapping an inch or so of the circular zone. A small stone tower (obstruction) was between the near-side flag & the Skorne table edge. About 5" to the right of it & a few inches closer to the rectangular zone was another forest.

Lists & Deployment

I won the starting roll & chose to go second. On top of being new to Skorne, Donna was running a new Protectorate list. So, I wanted to go second to be able to react to what she was going to do, especially as far as taking into account where she was going to deploy & move the Repenter.

Protectorate of Menoth (Donna) - "Exemplar Interdiction": Feora, Priestess of the Flame with an Indictor, Revenger, & Vigilant, Reclaimer Gatekeeper ('Jack Marshall) with a Repenter, Exemplar Warder Elias Gade (req option), Vassal Mechanik, and a full unit of Exemplar Bastions.

Skorne (Me) - "Masters of War": Beast Master Xekaar with a Titan Gladiator, Cyclops Raider, Cyclops Savage, Razor Worm, & Aradus Scarab, Extoller Novitiate, Hakaar the Destroyer, Ancestral Guardian (req option), Mortitheurge Willbreaker, and a full unit of Paingiver Beast Handlers.

Protectorate deployed in 3 separate formations offset to the left side of the battlefield. The Exemplar Bastions were to the far-left of the battlefield. In the center was a line formation from left to right with the Revenger, Mechanik, Feora, Indictor, & Vigilant. A few inches to the right of them was the Repenter & Reclaimer Gatekeeper. 

Exemplar Warder Elias Gade was advance deployed ahead of the Vigilant, near the large boulder. He named Hakaar the Destroyer as his initial Prey target.

Skorne also deployed in 3 separate groups, but with the entire army more centered across the battlefield. Hakaar & the Ancestral Guardian were in line with the circular zone with the Extoller Novitiate behind them B2B with both Exalted solos. A few inches to their right was the Mortitheurge Willbreaker & Cyclops Raider with 2 Paingiver Beast Handlers behind them B2B with the Raider.

Lastly, there was a large formation about 5" to the right of the Raider. From left to right: the Scarab, Cyclops Savage, Xekaar, & the Titan Gladiator. The last 4 Beast Handlers were behind them spread out B2B with several of the beasts. Their leader was to the left to ensure that the 2 Beast Handlers with the Raider were in formation.

Protectorate Turn 1

As steam bellowed from its dual-stacks, the Indictor ran forward between the stone wall & boulder. Pausing to look back to Feora, the heavy warjack nodded to signal that the enemy was still at a distance & the coast was clear for the rest of her army to advance.

The Reclaimer shouted a command & gestured to the Repenter, sending it running up next to the house. The Revenger followed suit, leaping over the stone wall as it ran towards the circular zone. The Vigilant ran past the Indictor & stopped next to the far-side flag.

Next, the Exemplar Bastions ran straight ahead, maneuvering towards the left of the circular zone. The Mechanik walked up behind Indictor, readying his Multi-Tool in support. The Reclaimer cautiously walked up near the boulder, as Gade moved up to the far-side flag.

Lastly, Feora walked up beside the stone wall to survey the battlefield. Hoping to take advantage of the terrain, she first cast "Wall of Fire" (place a 4" wall of fire template completely within her control range, upkeep), setting the right side of the circular zone ablaze a few inches away from the central forest. She then cast "Hex Hammer" (when an enemy spellcaster declares its casting a spell in her control range, they suffer d3 damage immediately, upkeep) on herself & steadied her resolve in preparation for Xekaar's advancement.

* With her warjacks leading the way, Feora's army marches forward *

Skorne Turn 1

Mortitheurge Willbreaker walked toward the ciruclar zone. From his forward position, he was in range to cast "Flesh Hardening" (continuous effects expire, gain "Tough" for 1 round) onto the Paingiver Beast Handlers.

Xekaar wanted to set the wheels in motion early to contest critical areas of the battlefield. As such, he ordered the Razor Worm to burrow into the soil & move up so that is was just toeing-in the nearest corner of the rectangular zone. From there, the slithering nightmare dug in ("Dig In" - gains cover, does not suffer blast damage or block LOS); awaiting its master's next command.

With the forest in its path, the Titan Gladiator cast its animus "Rush" (+2" movement, gains Pathfinder for 1 turn) & barreled forward. A blossoming cherry tree was torn asunder, as hardened Tusks smashed into it, sending pink flower petals exploding before the mighty beast. The Titan finally came to a stop when it emerged from the other side of the forest, just inches from the Razor Worm.

The pair of Cyclops then ran forward, spreading out as they kept the Repenter's fiery spray attack in mind. First, the Raider moved up past the Willbreaker & took up position inside the circular zone a few inches behind the "Wall of Fire". The Savage worked its way around the stone tower to end up just behind the central forest and centered between the Raider to its left & the Razor Worm to its right. The Scarab then ran up next to the Worm & riled for 1 fury.

With no enemies in range of his offensive spells & no beasts injured, Xekaar decided to simply advance as far forward as he could. Wanting to lead for the front, he moved past the Savage to end up directly behind the forest & discarded all 6 fury.

The Exalted then ran ahead with their Extoller Novitiate not far behind. The Ancestral Guardian was near the house with Hakaar to her side. The Novitiate positioned himself between the 2 warriors, going B2B with both of them. 

Being mindful of the need to stay in formation, the Paingiver Beast Handler leader gave the "Press Forward" order to send his troops spread out so that 2 each were in range of a different beast. The leader & 1 grunt moved to support the Savage, while 2 others ran up to the Raider, and the last 2 moved up near the Razor Worm.

* The Exalted move into position to support the Cyclops Raider *

Protectorate Turn 2

Feora allocated 1 focus to the Revenger & paid to upkeep both "Hex Hammer" & the "Wall of Fire". The Gatekeeper granted the "Strike True!" benefit to his Repenter, sending the light warjack marching forward with the sights of its Flame Thrower set on the Razor Worm. A torrent of flame belched out from the weapon, lighting the beast on fire, & doing 5 damage to spiral 1; crippling its mind.

The Revenger was now faced with a dilemma. If it didn't engage the Raider, the jack would be a sitting duck, as the Cyclops could shower it with a hail of needles from its Heavy Reiver. Unfortunately, Feora's insistence on keeping the "Wall of Fire" in play was now doing more to block the Protectorate advance than to stifle the Skorne.

Throwing caution to the wind & trusting its ARM 19 would be enough to protect it, the Revenger spent a focus to charge into the fire to attack the Cyclops. The Revenger suffered 1 damage to column 1 from the "Wall of Fire", but managed to hit the Raider in the charge; doing 7 damage to spiral 4 at dice -3. Out of range to attack with his Repulsor Shield, the jack spent its last focus to buy another Halberd attack. The Cyclops staggered back as the blade slashed into its armor to do another 9 damage to spiral 2 & crippled its body.

* Charging through the Wall of Fire, the Revenger slashes into the Raider *

With no enemies in range, the Exemplar Bastion leader opted to simply move his unit in the circular zone as much as possible. Lumbering in their heavy plate armor, the stoic warriors ran forward. Three of them made it just to the edge of the zone with 1 just a few inches ahead of them & another a few inches behind.

Also out of range to attack, The Indictor & Vigilant chose to run forward to close the distance. Vigilant ran up between the "Wall of Fire" and the central forest in order to back up the Revenger. Indictor ran up behind the central forest, closer to the Repenter to assist it from the invading Skorne army.

Gade moved up between the stucco house & the Repenter. From his new vantage point, he raised his Crossbows to attack the Titan Gladiator. Both shots hit, but unfortunately, the arrows plinked off of the warbeast's heavy plate armor. 

The Gatekeeper moved up to take Gade's former position B2B with the far-side flag & the Mechanik ran up B2B with the Indictor. Lastly, Feora walked up near the flag & channeled "Dauntless Resolve" through the Revenger onto the Bastions. 

Skorne Turn 2

The fire on the Razor Worm expired. Xekaar leeched all the fury from his beasts to go back up to 6 & sent the Worm charging into Elias Gade. The Exemplar Warder dodged the attack, as the beast's teeth dug into the ground beside him. Xekaar forced the Worm to buy another melee attack & hit on the second attempt. In a devastating bite, the Worm severely injured Gade; biting into his armor for 4 damage & leaving him hanging on with a single health intact.

The Titan Gladiator cast its animus "Rush" on itself once more in order to reach the Repenter. The elephantine beast slammed it's right War Gauntlet into the warjack & did a massive 12 damage to column 3. The Titan's then attacked with it left War Gauntlet to do another 8 damage to column 5; crippling both the Repenter's right arm & cortex. Hoping to destroy the 'jack once and for all, the Titan attacked with its Tusks & boosted the damage. Hitting for 11 damage to column 6, the Titan crushed the Repenter outright.

* Titan Gladiator pummeling the Repenter with no mercy *

As the battle was progressing, the Paingiver Beast Handler leader realized he needed to redirect his unit to the right to support the Razor Worm & Titan Gladiator. The position of the forest & other Skorne beasts / warriors made this difficult, but he managed to get 3 into position to assist, while the other 3 were only able to move into / behind the central forest to stage for the next round. The 2 Beast Handlers who were able to get close enough to the beasts on the right used their special action "Condition" to remove 1 fury from both the Razor Worm & Titan Gladiator. The 3rd was able to move to be B2B with the Cyclops Raider & just stay in formation. From there, he used "Medicate" to heal the beast, but was only able to remove 1 damage point. The point was cleared from spiral 4 so that its body was no longer crippled.

The Beast Handlers new positions blocked any charge lanes to the Vigilant for the Scarab & Cyclops Savage. Unable to make an attack of its own, the Scarab ran around Xekaar and through the forest; ending up alongside the Titan.

Even though his charge lane was blocked, the Savage was able to walk around the outside to get in range to attack Vigilant with its Falchion blade. The attack would have missed initially, but the Savage's "Future Sight" ability allowed it to be forced to boost afterwards & not only land the blow, but score a critical hit. This triggered the Falchion's "Critical Brutal Damage" & added another die to the damage roll. The blade struck into the 'jack for 6 damage to column 4. The Cyclops was forced once more to buy another attack, but only managed to do 1 damage to column 3.

The Cyclops Raider then attacked the Revenger with its Punching Spike. It boosted the damage & did 7 to column 5.

Wanting to maximize his efficiency, Mortitheurge Willbreaker moved B2B with the near-side flag & cast "Flesh-Hardening" onto the Beast Handlers again. 

The Novitiate used his special ability "Stones' Wrath" to give +2 STR to Hakaar. The Exalted swordsman then charged the Revenger. Using his Great Swords' special attack "Combo Strike", Hakaar slashed into the Revenger for 15 damage to column 3; crippling both its right arm & cortex. Recognizing her chance to destroy another Protectorate warjack, the Ancestral Guardian charged headlong into the fray. Driving her Halberd into the Revenger's chest, she did 10 damage to column 5. The Exalted warriors eyes flashed a fiery glow & she smiled; dislodging her blade from the smoldering wreckage as the Revenger slumped to the ground.

 * The Ancestral Guardian lands a killing blow to destroy the Revenger *

The Indictor's "Consecration" ability & forward position were hampering Xekaar's spellcasting and limiting his options. The warlock had to choose between advancing forward to attack with his Barbed Whips or retreating just outside of the Indictor's range in order to cast spells. 

Considering that his beasts & Exlated solos were doing well to cut down Feora's jacks, he chose to move back & use his fury to support his forces through mortitheurgy. First, he cast "Psycho Surgery" to heal the Razor Worm for 3 health & the Cyclops Raider for 2. Due to Feora's "Hex Hammer", Xekaar suffered 2 damage when he declared the spell.

He then cast "Deadweight" to attack the Vigilant, but at dice -9, was unable to damage the warjack. "Hex Hammer" triggered again, but only did 1 damage to the Skorne warlock this time.

Lastly, he popped his feat, "Whispers of Torment", (enemy models in his control range suffer -3 STR, MAT, RAT, & THR for 1 round) and then repositioned 5" to the left to set himself up to support the Cyclops Raider & Exalted solos in the next round.

Skorne scored 2 points: 1 for the Razor Worm toeing the rectangular zone & 1 for the Willbreaker on the near-side flag. Protectorate scored 1 point for the Gatekeeper on the far-side flag.

Protectorate 1 - Skorne 2

Protectorate Turn 3

Feora paid to upkeep "Dauntless Resolve" & "Hex Hammer", but let "Wall of Fire" expire. She allocated 2 focus to the Indictor & then cast "Ignite" on the warjack. Next, she popped her feat, "Scorched Earth" (enemy model's currently in her control range suffer continuous fire). An eruption of Menoth's holy flame engulfed the battlefield, as the almost the entire Skorne army was lit on fire, save for Xekaar, the Novitiate, & the Willbreaker.

Feora then moved into position to fire both of her Flame Throwers' 8" sprays towards the Titan Gladiator & a Beast Handler near him. The -3 RAT penalty from Xekaar's feat was too much to overcome, as she missed 3 of the 4 attacks; only hitting on 1 spray of the Gladiator which failed to injure the heavy warbeast.

Indictor then turned its attention to the Gladiator & charged with its Banisher blade raised above its head. Boosting to hit, the blade crashed down into the Titan for 11 damage to spiral 4. The Indictor then slammed its Shield into the warbeast, but was unable to do any more damage despite boosting with its last focus.

Gade moved forward to attack the Razor Worm with his Bayonets. Hampered by "Whispers of Torment", neither attack landed. The Mechanik then walked up behind the Vigilant & used his Muti Tool to repair it for 4 damage. The Gatekeeper maintained his position on the far-side flag.

Finally in position to get into the action, the Bastions charged the Cyclops Raider & Exalted warriors. The Ancestral Guardian's "Defensive Strike" ability triggered when a Bastion moved into her melee range, but the blade of her Halberd missed completely as she attacked.

* A miserable failure...the Ancestral Guarian's attempted "Defensive Strike" *

Two of the charging Bastions targeted the Cyclops Raider. Of the two, only one was able to hit, but managed to do 11 damage to spiral 2; killing the warbeast.

The Bastion charging Hakaar failed his attack, but the first of the two attacking the Ancestral Guardian struck true. His Halberd plunged into the abdomen of the Exalted warrior for 11 damage. The Novitiate granted her "Tough", but she failed the roll & died. Hakaar collected her soul as she fell.

* When the Bastions finally got into the battle,

they struck with devastating efficiency *

Vigilant activated next & charged Hakaar. The warjack's right Shield Fist slammed into the warrior., but was unable to injure him. Vigilant tried in vain to land a blow with it left Shield Fist, but once again failed to crack Hakaar's formidable ARM 19; +1 ARM due to "Ghost Shield". 

Protectorate scored another point for the Gatekeeper on the far-side flag. Skorne scored 2 more for the rectangular zone (Razor Worm) & the near-side flag (Mortitheurge Willbreaker). 

Protectorate 2 - Skorne 4

Skorne Turn 3

The fire went out on the Razor Worm, Cyclops Savage, & 1 Paingiver Beast Handler. Unfortunately, the rest of Xekaar's army was still struggling in the flames. The Scarab suffered 8 damage to spiral 6; crippling its mind.

Of the 5 Beast Handlers still on fire, 2 of them perished in the flames, including the leader. A trooper in the forest took up the mantle to lead the unit. The other 3 would have fallen, but were able to make successful "Tough" rolls thanks to "Flesh Hardening". All 3 were now Knocked Down. Neither the Titan Gladiator nor Hakaar suffered any damage.

Xekaar leeched fury from his beasts to replenish back up to 6 & commanded his Aradus Scarab to attack Feora. Engulfed in flames, the tiny beast charged at the warcaster; gnashing its teeth as it ran towards her. The Scarab was forced to boost the attack due to its mind being crippled & its Mandibles tore into Feora's armor for 2 damage.

The Razor Worm continued its attack on Elias Gade, tearing into his armor & killing him. Feora stood helpless from a distance as she witnessed the Exemplar Warder's lifeless body slump to the ground. The Gatekeeper collected his soul as he fell.

Xekaar then forced the Razor Worm to buy another melee attack; this time targeting the Indictor. The beast bit into the heavy warjack's armor, but only managed to do 2 damage to column 1. The Titan Gladiator swung its right War Gauntlet into the Indictor's chest. Boosting the damage, the attack did 3 more damage to column 1. Attacking with its left War Gauntlet, the heavy beast boosted the damage to hit the Indictor for 6 to column 5. Snarling, the Titan slammed its Tusks into its foe. The damage was boosted once more; doing 7 to column 1 & crippling the jack's left arm.

* Razor Worm & Titan Gladiator attack Indictor, as the Scarab charges Feora *

Next, the Cyclops Savage activated & swung its Falchion blade at the Vigilant. The boosted damage was only able to hit the warjack for 2 to column 5. The beast bought another attack, boosted the damage, & did another 6 damage to column 1.

The Beast Handlers who were Knocked Down, forfeited their movement to stand up. The trooper who was B2B with the Gladiator used "Medicate" to heal it for 3 damage. The other 4 each removed 1 focus from nearby beasts using their special action, "Condition". 

The Extoller Novitiate cautiously moved closer to the battle. Behind the safety of the Exalted warrior, the Novitiate cast "Stone's Wrath" onto Hakaar again. Emboldened by the boost to his strength, the venerable warrior used his Great Swords' special attack, "Combo Strike", & drove both blades down into the Vigilant. In a bitter twist of fate, Hakaar only did 1 damage to column 5 at dice -1; rolling double 1s for damage.

Xekaar stepped back to move out of the range of Feora's "Hex Hammer" spell & cast "Psycho Surgery". The spell's arcane energies surged forth into his battlegroup; healing the Razor Worm for 2 damage and healing the Scarab & Titan Gladiator both for 3. The warlock then repositioned 5" to move into position to support the Cyclops Savage.

As the turn ended, Skorne scored 2 points to Protectorates 0 to grant Xekaar an unexpected scenario win. The Willbreaker & Razor Worm both still scored their same flag & zone respectively. However, with the Scarab charging into Feora, it was now in range to contest the far-side flag that the Reclaimer Gatekeeper was camped on. In the end, the tiny, beaten-down, & burning Aradus Scarab was the key to clinching the victory.

* With flames flickering in the wind behind it, the Scarab charged Feora *

Protectorate 2 - Skorne 6

After Action Review

Jason:

This was such a....weird...play for us. It was one of the first few plays where I felt like I was getting a good handle on how to use my Skorne army. More importantly, it was Donna's first play with Feora.

Looking back, the key to how the game played out was me being able to cut her army off from the areas I was scoring. Add to that, I was able to move a small base model close enough to her flag to stop her from scoring it eventually; giving me the win 1 turn sooner than I'd originally expected.

Moving the Razor Worm & Titan Gladiator up as fast as I could blocked her most direct route to the rectangular zone. Having the 2 of them run up into the lane between the stucco house & the central forest effectively cut her army off from that zone. With Razor Worm just toeing the far-side edge of it, I was able to score it repeatedly with no chance of her contesting it. 

On the flip side, I used my Exalted solos & Cyclops beasts to stall her Bastions & light jacks from getting close to my flag. They also served to contested her Bastions from scoring the circular zone.

This game came down to using the terrain as much to my advantage as possible to keep her army tied up, separated on either side of the battlefield. Going 2nd was very important since it allowed me to choose the terrain & the extra 3" of deployment zone allowed me to move up far enough to hold her army at bay while I continued to score 2 to her 1 each turn.

Donna:

I really, REALLY like Feora. She's my new favorite caster, but this game was a trial by fire (pun intended) her spells and stats are so different than Severius'. I'm used to having him hang out in the back away from the fight and channel buffs through the Revenger.

Since this game, I've learned how to use Feora to move up into the fight, whether it's spraying the enemy with her flame throwers or punching them with Truth & Consequences. It's so different and FUN to have a caster who's a bad ass and isn't just support. It's especially fun now that I know how to use "Engine of Destruction" to make her a melee wrecking machine. 

I also screwed up in leaving "Wall of Fire" in play. I wanted to use it to keep his models from charging me, but instead I was left with either leaving the Revenger as a sitting duck hiding behind it or charging through it to catch him on fire, but at least be able to attack.

It was also the first time either of us used a warjack under a Jack Marshall and the first game I played with the Repenter. I'm more confident with both of those now, but it was definitely a game where I was just feeling things out.

We talked after the game & I should have moved Gade up to the rectangular zone in the first round. With his Advance Deployment, I could have either run him up into the zone in round 1 before the Razor Worm blocked him out or even moved up him as far as possible (about 3" away from the zone) to shoot at the Razor Worm, but also be in position that I wouldn't have been totally blocked from eventually getting to the zone.

Another mistake with Gade was making Hakaar his "Prey" at the start. Hakaar wrecked a couple of my light jacks in our last few games before this one & I was worried about him, but since I wanted Gade to start the game near my flag, he was out of position to get at Hakaar with the forest in the middle. I should have made the Razor Worm his first "Prey" and I probably would have been able to kill him in round 2 with the +2 to attack & damage rolls he would have got against it.