Warmachine Batrep: Old Witch vs Harbringer 50pts

Was supposed to demo a game to a friend but couldn't reach him so ended up going to my gaming club and got a game in with Patrick at 50pts.

Patrick was looking for some revenge as I've beaten him the last 4 or 5 times but I have to say he helps me a lot in my games when I forget things.  He brought Harbringer and had something like this:

Harbringer
Avatar
Reckoner
2 Vassals
Choir
Piper
Errants
Daughters
Aiyanna & Holt
Gorman
eEiryss
Anastasia

I brought the Old Witch and had:

Old Witch
Scrapjack
Beast-09
Spriggan
Full Winterguard + UA + Joe + 1 Rocket
Full Kayazy Assassins
Aiyanna & Holt
Gorman
eEiryss
Widowmaker Marksman

I can't remember the specifics of what happened each turn so thought I would give a summary and talk about how each of my units did in the game and what I learned.

The Game

Scenario had two vertical control zones in the center and you earned a point for controlling one.  First to two points and more than your opponent wins.  We each had a wall and forest on our sides of the board at the outside corners of the zones.

I deployed with Witch and Scrapjack favoring the right where the forest was.  Jacks in the center with Winterguard on the left and Assassins on the right.  Gorman and Aiyanna & Holt were near the Old Witch behind the Jacks.  eEiryss advanced deployed on the outer left and Marksman on the outer right; thought that was pretty cool :P

Patrick had Harbringer opposite corner from the Old Witch, his Jacks in the center with supports.  Errants opposed the Winterguard on my left and the Daughters facing off against the Assassins on the right.  Piper was with the Errants and eEiryss was with the Daughters and Aiyanna & Holt nearby.

To summarize the game.  We both advanced towards the center and Patrick feated first holding most of my infantry at bay with a few of the Winterguard in the left zone.  I sent the Assassins forward and counter-feated with Witch.  It protected the Assassins from the Daughters which was good and forced the Errants to swing left to attack the Winterguard.

I pulled Eiryss from the flank towards the center fearing Anastasia and she spent most the game disrupting my own Jacks.

Winterguard tarpitted a little but Patrick cleared the ones in front of my Jacks and the Reckonner charged Beast-09 doing a considerable amount of damage.  I countered with Beast but it wasn't enough to bring down the Reckoner.  Spriggan walked up to the Reckoner and with his Lance rolled a 3...  Out of range for his shield arm so Reckoner lived.  He scrapped Beast and the Avatar charged Spriggan nearly killing him.  I could have attacked with Spriggan and done an awful lot of damage but my own Eiryss distruputed him TT.

Forgot to activate Joe before the Winterguard on a key turn when most of the Winterguard were spraying the Errants.  It was bad.  Errants ended up clearing most of the Winterguard and scored a point in the left zone.

Assassins were doing okay against the Daughters but on a crucial turn I ran out of time as they charged the whole flank; getting into melee with Aiyanna and Hold and Eiryss as well.  Not only was I not able to attack but the Underboss was so far back that half the unit was out of formation.

The disruption on my Jacks (even Scrapjack was disrupted) took the wind out of me and with no real way to win I conceded the game with the Avatar just steps away from the Old Witch.

Analysis of My Units

Assassins
Always fun to use and in my battles with Patrick he always advance deploys the Daughters against them because he doesn't want them going against the Winterguard.  Usually they battle it out for most of the game and my Assassins do pretty good because of their sick DEF in melee and with Gang they are able to take out the Daughters.  But, the Daughters usually do stall my Assassins because I chose to get bogged down and fight.

In this game, there was a lot for my Assassins to attack; besides the Daughters Patrick sent eEiryss and A&H after them.  Still, I feel I should be running my Assassins to the back rank of Patrick's line, where stuff like the choir and Vassal are.  I'm thinking I need to run at the Daughters and then continue running through them by mini feating or just parrying off.  If I engage in two waves, the first wave can hit then move on and then the second wave can hit.  Goal might be to keep pressing forward and pressure his support units.  Well, if Patrick is reading this he knows what I'm going to do next game :P  Ya, my general feeling is they need to pressure more not just fight with the Daughters and keep moving.  Really like the unit.

Winterguard
The most basic lesson to learn; activate Joe first.  Even if he's going to give them Tough, just activate him first for good practice.  It's easy to forget this when you're mind is focused on all the sprays your Winterguard are going to do but guess what; The sprays won't be as effective without boosted attacks.  Happened to me on a vital turn in our game when I had the Piper, Gorman, and a handful of Errants in spray range.  A simple mistake like that can cost you the game for sure.  So gotta remember-- Joe first, Winterguard second.

Winterguard fought the Errants and man the Errants are hard to bring down.  I believe when one takes a fatal wound, Patrick can decide which of the Errants dies.  So this leaves his front line intact while he removes the backside ones.  It really felt like I was fighting 20 Errants.

One thing I have to learn is when is it best to spray vs. CRA vs. normal shot.  Topic for another post.

Beast-09
I allowed him to get charged by the Reckoner which nearly killed him.  No one EVER shoots Beast for fear of the free advance he gets and I haven't used his Imprint yet...  He does kill whatever he attacks but then I could have had a Juggernaut do that for 4 points less.  Beast does get to run for free though which is really nice.

Spriggan
Didn't really get to do much this game but wow he missed a vital attack when he needed a 4 and rolled a 3.  That would have wrecked the Reckoner.  Did get to fire some grenades.  I do like having that extra armor and he is brutal on the charge.  Haven't gotten the opportunity to use his flares yet but I like Spriggan.  Bulldoze is very handy too.  I may prefer him over Beast but they do make a good pair-- Beast can bring anything down and with his Imprint can decimate infantry.  Spriggan has great utility and he hits about as hard as Beast.  Both lack range.

Scrapjack
I have a lot to learn with this guy.  Upkept Avatar of Slaughter the whole game but really didn't get to attack infantry which is what Scrappy does best.  I didn't use him at all this game.  He sorta just hung around the woods.  At the very least he could have charged some Daughters to free up my Assassins then get teleported back to Old Witch.  Definitely have to think more about his use and tactics.

eEiryss
So... big lesson; don't run her near your Jacks or they'll be disrupted!  That can really screw you when you either need to charge or load up a 'Jack before a big attack.  Keep her wide or in front of the Jacks.  She did okay this game working with the Marksman against some Errants.  She's another one that I have to learn to use.  Did get to knock of Fear of God from my Winterguard.

Widowmaker Marskman
I really like this guy and every time I've used him I've been happy with his performance.  He's just very reliable.  RAT 8, POW 12, Stealth and Hunter.  All of these things set him apart from Widowmakers (even though he gives Widowmakers Hunter)  He took up house in the woods and shot at Errants all game.  Had him shoot at Aiyanna but she had Stealth ><  Would like to bring him in more lists especially with Widowmakers.

Aiyanna & Holt
May have used her Kiss but forgotten to count it on my roll.  Need to get Holt in the action more as he is a B@D A$$.  He's accurate like the Marskman and boasts DEF 15.  So good.  Aiyanna can protect them with Stealth so I should be a little more aggressive with them.

Old Witch
So after playing a handful of games with her, I still have a lot to learn.  She has a lot of ways to help her army; not necessarily by enhancing their attacks but by supporting them through denial/board control and helping her army with terrain.

She can block LOS with Murder of Crows which pervents range shots and charges.  Could use this in front of infantry or on my Battlegroup Jacks to prevent attacks.

Weald Secrets I haven't used a lot and I think I should.  Gives not only Pathfinder but Camouflage.  This is huge.  Park a 'Jack behind cover and hello DEF 16 Khadoran 'Jack.  Allows 'Jacks to charge through forests to sweat.  Wow I really gotta make use of that.  Gorman can put a cloud on a Welded Secretive 'Jack which will make them DEF 14 to range.  Oh Witch you... I'm starting see some things.  Gonna need another post for Old Witch specifically to theorymachine all this stuff.        
    

Warmachine Batreps

Had a good Friday of Warmachine and here are a couple batreps from the games I played. 

Game 1: pButcher vs Mortenebra

First was a 50pt game against Jim's Tier 4 Mortenebra list-- Deathjack, 3 Slayers, Seether, 2 Reapers... or something like that, along with a few necrotechs and Warwitch Sirens (maybe not the Sirens, can't remember). 

I had my own tier 4 list with pButcher-- Devastator, 2 Juggernauts, and a Marauder, along with a full unit of Man-o-War Shocktroopers, a full unit of Demo Corps, and 4 Manhunters.

I won the roll and deployed first with Shocktroopers in front in the center, Demo Corps behind them and Butcher behind them with the dog.  Jacks were advanced deploy because of the tier bonus; I put them in the center just right of the Man-O-Wars.  Manhunters deployed right of the Jacks.

Jim deployed with his Jacks mostly in a line across his front with his Scrapthralls in front to screen/tarpit.  Rest in the back.

I advanced the Man-O-Wars up to the Jack line and Shield Wall.  Jacks stay put and Manhunters redeploy to behind the Jacks. 

Jim sends his Scraps forward getting really close to my lines.  Everything else advances behind them.

Kodiak responds by picking up one of the Scraps and throws it into another one, destroying both in a big AOE 4 explosion.  Juggernaut moves up and one hand throws another that hits DJ and two Jacks.  The Scrapthrall blows up but no damage to the Jacks.  Marauder moves up to a wall and combo smites another Scrap but it doesn't reach the jacks.  Another scrap gone.  Shocktroopers advance and shoot their shild cannons and take out a few more of them.  After all of that Jim has only 1 ScrapThrall left.  Pretty neat round for Khador.

He attacks with his Reapers trying to pull the Shocktroopers out of Shield Wall but they have  Iron Flesh and he misses both attacks :O  One of the Slayers advances and attacks the Marauder doing some damage.  DJ charges one of the Juggernauts and annihilates it and with Overrun advances into my Manhunters on the right.  Seether moves into the other Jugg and does a ton of damage, and doing a chain attack and throwing the Kodiak back and into one of the Manhunters who lives with one box left. 

Butcher Feats and casts Full throttle again.  The three Manhunters charge DJ maybe taking off an arm.  But then a loaded Juggernaut charges in and with his two initials kills the Deathjack.  He turns to the Seether and buys additional attacks and wrecks it.  Over in the middle the Marauder does his Combo Smite again doing major damage to the Slayer and knocking it down. 

Devastator in the middle advances and does his Rain of Death blast and with an additional die does big damage against the knocked down slayer and another nearby Jack.  Shocktroopers charge in with Reach and finish off to Jacks and hurt the Reapers. 

Demo Corp reposition and move to the right to block some charge lanes to protect Butcher.  It was a pretty sick Feat turn and I've never done so much damage before.  Jim is out at least 4 Jacks and the two Reapers are heavily engaged with the Man-O-Wars.  I'm threatening to strike back with all my Jacks and the Demo Corps coming in the next wave.  Jim needs to find a way to get to Butcher as his army is about to be wiped.

He puts Spectral Steel on his other Seether. (can't remember what Jack it was, let's call it a Seether)  It charges over a wall and into my Manhunter who just got up the turn before.  He's got Overrun on him.  He kills the Manhunter and then makes a full advance around my Demo Corp right into Butcher.  He misses with his charge attack and hits with the rest of his initials.  This is for the game right here.  There's no way that Jim can survive the onslaught that is about to come down on his army next turn.  He hits with his next attacks bringing Butcher down to half life.  With two more attacks left he needs to do 12 damage.  He's down to his last roll and needs to roll something like a 7.  He tosses the dice and gets what he needs bringing Butcher to the ground in a crazy assassination run.

It was a pretty amazing game for sure.  The one thing that sticks out is of course the big lesson I learned-- When you have a HUGE advantage, you have to be extra sure that you are safe from assassination.  I moved the Demo Corps to try and prevent exactly what happened but I failed to see the Overrun angles.  Patrick saw it though.  So I just have to make extra certain that my caster is safe, especially after using up all his focus.   

I could have done two things to keep Butcher safe.  I could have surrounded him tightly with the Demo Corp.  This would have left no angles to get to him and the Jack that Jim used didn't have Reach.  Patrick also mentioned that I could have used the Dog and positioned him a little forward and when the Seether attacked the manhunter, i could have counter-charged and then reposition the dog to block a lane.  So some really good lessons there.

The other amazing thing was seeing how deadly Butchers feat can be with Full Throttle and some Jacks.  All the hits are boosted so Khador Jacks, who have a pretty low RAT, can hit a whole lot better.  Also good for getting off the Marauder's Special because all he needs is to hit with his first melee attack to get off the P+S 20 Combo Smite.

Patrick had just shown up and watched the finale to that game.  He was all set to play so I got out pIrusk @ 35 points.

Game 2: pIrusk vs Harbringer

Patrick wanted to get more practice in with his 35 point Harbringer list because he has a tournament tomorrow.  I'm a little hazy with his list but I know he had the Harbringer (duh), Book, Choir, Errants (min), Vassal (maybe two), Avatar, Reckoner, and a trio of guys who make one model ignore stealth (can't remember their name and they might not have been in this list)

I honestly can't remember most of the turns but here's a general summary of events.  Over on the right control zone, the Errants ran up to it quick with Patrick taking first turn.  I sent my Assassins to contest it and they got shot up.  I learned a great deal about Errants and especially their Quick Work ability which lets them shoot if they make a kill in melee.  My assassins were never able to really get a foothold on the control zone.  I had the Great Bears in support there but they were soon charged by the Avatar who ran behind Beast 09, who got Black Oil'd by Gorman. 

Over on the left, the Winterguard had a tough time controlling that zone.  Can't remember why really but they were knocked off of it. 

Irusk ended up running away from the Avatar while casting Inhospitable Ground.  With most of my army killed and no hope to win the scenario I concede the game.  It's only 11:30 so me and Patrick decide to play another.  This time bring out eSorscha!

Game 3: eSorscha vs Harbringer

So pretty much the same list as before and I know he had two Vassals and also that unit of three guys who can make the model see Stealth.  This one is a little easier to remember as me and Patrick talked a bit about this game afterwards.  I'm brining:

eSorscha
Beast-09
Dog
Great Bears
Full Winterguard + UA + Joe
Full Kayazy Assassins + Underboss.
Widowmakers
eEiryss

Scenario had three flags at the beginning but one would soon disappear.  I won the roll and decided to go first.  Winterguard on the right with Battlegroup in the center and Assassins on the right.  Everyone pretty much runs.  Winterguard go for the left flag with Tough by Joe.  Beast moves up the middle.  Assassins go for the right flag.  Widowmakers advance forward and get behind a wall and to Patrick's surprise are within range of his Errants!  They all fire and manage to kill two.  Patrick says this is really bad news.  Bears head towards the right to either go for the central or right flag.  Sorscha puts Iron Flesh on the Winterguard and Shatterstorm was on the Widows.

Patrick moves everyone forward.  Harbringer feats so on my turn if I advance towards her, I will take damage (and infantry most likely die).  Reckoner is on the right.  Avatar on the left.  Trio ready to head for the right flag. 

I can't move towards the Harbringer but luckily the central flag disappears. Assassins move laterally and are able to move towards the right flag.  Beast and Sorcha both move to the right a little to get behind a wall.  Over on the right, the Winterguard are able to move towards the left flag mirroring what the Assassins did, just moving laterally.  Widowmakers then unload some shots on the Harbringer who was in range!  They manage to do quite a bit of damage maybe leaving her with 10 boxes left? 

Avatar heads to the left flag and will be doing battle with the Winterguard for most of the game.  Harbringer also put Fear of God on the Winterguard so they basically can't do any special attacks or give/recieve orders.  They can only walk and shoot... so sad TT.  Over on the right, the Assassins fight the trio and eventually are able to secure the objective thanks to some charges by the Great Bears.  Widowmakers with aiming bonus do more killing of Errants and other targets of opportunity.  Over the course of the game they took out Errants and Choir, possibly one of the Vassals.  They had such an influence on the center of the board that Patrick sent the Reckoner to tie half of the Widowmakers up in Melee.

I decide to run the Assassins and try to make a go for the Harbringer.  The Assassins are near full strength and make a break for it.  Two tie up Gorman while more run forward and engage the choir in melee.  Another round and they'll be able to run into melee with the Harbringer, but...

She responds by AOE'ing two of them with a spell and charging another and killing it.  The Book moves up and blocks a charge lane from Beast-09 to the Harbringer.

Sorcha feats and casts Boundless Charge on her favorite Jack.  He charges (after the Dog charged :) and gets just within Reach Range of the Reckoner.  It takes two swings because of Sorscha's feat to bring it down. 

The Avatar has to then leave the left objective and charges Beast 09 with fully loaded attacks.  After heavy swings the Beast has 3 boxes left-- 1 Cortex and 2 on his right arm.  Ice Axe still operational. 

At this point Patrick points out that all I have to do is clear both objectives and I'll win because I already have a point.  So Winterguard on the left now without the presence of the Avatar are able to CRA and kill the remaining Vassal and Choir that was on the objective.  On the right, Bears charge the last of the trio and secure the right objective for a Khador victory. 

Some things that me and Patrick talked about afterwards was how big it was to lose the Errants so early to the Widowmakers.  Already being a min unit they can't afford to lose two right off the bat.  He lost his ability to tie up the front while his army moves up.  Also, the deployment of the Widowmakers behind a wall essensially gave them +6 defense for a total of DEF 20.  That's crazy.  Their deployment in the center allowed them to have a huge infuence on the game.  Patrick said that their position prevented the Harbringer from helping the right flag.  Widowmakers definitely the MVP of the match.  Also of note was how the Widowmakers are a good unit to pair with the Assassins.  They are able to shoot targets that are just outside of charge range of the Assassins and can free up more space for them to run.  So lesson learned was how important it is to position the Widowmakers; preferably somewhere where they can have a lot of targets and cover a lot of ground with their guns.  Put them behind hard cover and they are very, very, hard to hit.

We chatted about eEiryss and not having her upkeep removal.  Was definitely a pain to have Fear of God on the Winterguard but in the end, with Tough from Joe, they are still able to stick around and contest objectives.  Getting eEiryss in the list would be really nice but @ 35 points I would have to either give up the Widowmakers and the Great Bears.  That's hard to do.  Shatterstorm is great on the Widowmakers and Bears add a much needed punch to the army.  I might rather not have eEiryss and just grind it out when Fear of God or Crippling Grasp is on my units.  At this point, would much rather have the Widows and Bears.

Patrick learned not to have the Errants in range of the Widowmakers in the open.  Sniper damage from the Widowmakers plus aiming bonuses isn't a good matchup for them.  So he learned to deploy the Errants safely when Widowmakers are on the board and in this game thought perhaps a deployment on the left against the Winterguard was better, also because there was a forest nearby and the Errants have Pathfinder.  He realized he should have sent the Avatar to handle the right objective and take out the Widowmakers.

I like eSorscha a lot, second time using her.  She helps the Winterguard greatly with Desperate Pace and rerolls on failed CRAs.  She aslo has a great Feat for taking out Heavies or multi wound models.  Shatter storm is also great with the Widowmakers.  She has to real way to buff the damage of her army but Bears are already good at that.  She does have Iron Flesh though which can get Winterguard up to DEF 17.  She does the same for the Assassins.

For 50 points, will probably add in Devastator, Gorman, and Eiryss, and switch the Dog for Wishnayler.

So that ends Warmachine Friday.  Not sure what the plan is tomorrow but I'd like to either make some terrain or paint up the Great Bears.  I'll probably use them in most of the lists that I run so it would be really cool to see them painted.  They need some work though as converted their heads is going to be tricky.  I want to add gas masks to them.  Not sure I can get hoods on them but hoodied Great Bears and gas masks would be so B@dd @$$.