http://youtu.be/71TN8NTtNBU
No reason not to have a little Disney Lion King on a Saturday morning, is there?
It was a good night Thursday night at Heroes World for gaming.
I managed to play two games with my second choice list for the MEAC2013 event I am attending today, and learned some tough lessons about my choices and play style. I had forgotten how much I really like playing small point games, and really learning what a caster and Battlegroup can do. It’s nice and refreshing to go back and play smaller games when we have the chance. Thankfully the current Machinations League has allowances for smaller point games.
My list:
Stryker2
– Ol’ Rowdy (Bonded)
– Stormclad
– Hammersmith
Objects in Mirror may be angrier than they appear.
This is a Tier 1 Stryker2 “Charge of the Storm Brigade” theme force, and the point reduction on the Stormclad got me to the required 20 points for the event.
First opponent of the night was Ragnarok, who is becoming a REALLY solid player and getting deep with his Circle Orboros play and list building.
Ragnarok brought:
Kaya2
– Laris
– Ghettorix
– Gnarlhorn Satyr
– Gorax
I knew the Alpha Strike was going to hurt, and I needed to do my best to protect against it, so I deployed centrally (mistake?) and moved forward laterally to maintain some distance and try to fend off the Alpha Strike from Ghettorix. I misjudged the full range of his threat on a charge though, and on turn two Ragnarok managed to channel Dog Pile through Laris onto the Stormclad, gave Ghettorix the “Bounding” Animus, Forced Evolution spell was upkept on it, and the darn thing rocketed 13″ into my Stormclad and Hammersmith! The angry Warpwolf ex-King easily took the Stormclad off the table, and with extra attacks bought he left the Hammersmith at 1 box of life. He had used his Feat so everything backed up, and Ghettorix was JUST outside of Counter Charge range of Ol’ Rowdy when he ended his charge movement, so he was spared the potential knockdown and Counter Charge damage from Rowdy. I backed up quickly after that, his feat taking out my two forward Heavies had me worried and on my back heel, so I was in panic mode. Ragnarok advanced his models, I moved towards a wall, always laterally in order to try and mitigate the long threat ranges of the Circle Warbeasts. I half-hoped he would counter-slam Rowdy with his Satyr, but he saw that I was looking for an opening to send Stryker after Kaya so he declined my very generous offer. I cast Velocity twice to get a charge lane on his two heavies, overcharged for 3 dice, added 14 STR, took 12 damage, and charged Ghettorix, engaging both heavies. With 4 Focus I had no trouble killing Ghettorix and the Gnarlhorn, popped my Feat, then moved back to be B2B with Rowdy at the end of my turn. Stryker2 with no Focus, B2B with Rowdy for a DEF 18 in Melee, and I was hoping he wouldn’t be able to do it. Unfortunately, one charge from Laris ended that game in Ragnarok’s favour.
Lessons:
- Be more mindful of total threat potential from stacked Animi, natural Abilities, spells, etc to stay at the ranges I wanted to.
- Get better at eyeballing the 6″ Counter-Charge range. No excuses, it is an essential skill in this game to be able to determine approximate ranges on the table.
- When facing Circle, try to mitigate losses by spreading Heavies out, force him to choose what he wants to remove or send more Beasts at my Warjacks if he wants to start the piece trade.
- Cast Positive Charge every turn, regardless of whether I am attacking. Since it lasts for a turn, Stryker can still benefit, as can the Warjacks.
It was Hicks O’clock, sadly.
Second game against Foebeard, another Cygnar/Legion player who is a good guy and a great and gracious opponent.
Foebeard’s list:
Major Victoria Haley
– Ol’ Rowdy
– Stormclad (Bonded)
– Hunter
In this one I wanted to get up in his business and deny the feat punishment that Haley2 can dole out. I ran or charged everything on my first turn, same again second turn, and then used Stryker2’s Feat to close the slight distance to engage his stuff. Not enough damage on things even though I could spend focus on Feat attacks, so he countered with Haley2’s Feat. A bonded Stormclad with 4 FOC was able to cut down my Stormclad and further damage the Hammersmith. His Hunter continued to shoot, but changed targets from the Hammersmith to Rowdy for a few points of damage. I didn’t get Stryker into the fight this turn, so that may have been a huge mistake on my part. I elected to sacrifice their actions and get Rowdy and Stryker B2B for the Def buff to Stryker2 from his Affinity with Rowdy. Haley cast Telekinesis on Rowdy to move him closer to Foebeard’s Stormclad and turn him around. The Stormclad was easily able to walk through a wreck marker and paste Rowdy from behind while his Hunter tried to slam Stryker2 and missed. I took two swings at the Hunter with Stryker, took both arms off but left it alive, then cast Velocity to back further away and tried to stay safe from the Stromclad’s retaliation. Telekinesis, Temporal Acceleration and a charging Stormclad left Stryker on 5 health, meaning I wouldn’t be able to Overcharge this game. I used Focus to kill the Stormclad and elected to stay safe behind the wreck marker for a turn. Foebeard took a shot at Stryker2 with the Hunter, boosted to hit but still missed the DEF 20 with cover. Rowdy was moving forward again after being used for a turn to protect Haley2 from a charging Stryker. I moved out from behind the wreck marker and over to have a line towards Haley, had to cast Velocity as well to get away, then took two shots with Magnum to disrupt both Warjacks. Haley2 advanced, hesitated on what to do, used Telekinesis on Rowdy to get him closer and then wasn’t sure if he could get to me for the win. Finally Foebeard saw another option and then launched a Time Bomb spell at Stryker, boosting to hit. He rolled high enough to hit a focus-less Stryker, boosts damage, and once again it was game over for me.
Oh Cobra-Kai, why you sweep the leg?
Lessons:
- Find middle ground between aggressive play and defensive positioning. Going hard to deny the two-turn assault just left me using my Feat to get some measly attacks and give my heavies away, again. Not a good piece exchange to start.
- Bond may be better served on Hammersmith for boosted initial attacks and extra FOC allocation, as Rowdy was playing Guard Dog both games. That may also have been a mistake in this format.
- Remember that 90% of eStryker games are about making a lane for Stryker, keeping the Hammersmith in reserve and using him to slam or charge + Beatback stuff may be a better option in order to make that lane. With his Spells, Stryker2 is easily just a Focus battery until he needs to do something, so keep him behind the heavy wall and safe while handing FOC out and moving up.
- Adaptability, I does not haz it. Need to work on this. Game needs to be played with pieces viewed as multi-purpose instruments, not just scalpel or blunt object.
- Was okay with piece trades, though bad for me, I knew Stryker still had game, so was able to remain calm and keep playing rather than get frazzled from frustration. Keep this up.
- DEF 18 vs DEF 16 is really not that big a deal if it means tying a Heavy up with Stryker2. There are enough ways to lower DEF and mitigate this buff that Rowdy should be used aggressively rather than as pet for Stryker. This is hard for me, I love my Rowdy so very much, and hate to lose him. *SNIFF*
Overall I am wondering about dropping the HS for an Ironclad. Having MAT 7 and SPD 5 to get the same stat line across the board appeals, but I really never got any use out of the HS due to bad play on my part, so cannot blame the Jack or lay fault there. If keeping him back to help open charge lanes (i.e. used properly) he may have been a much bigger piece. More play is required, however no time with which to do so, since I am playing in the event today.
My alternate Caine2 list just makes me nervous; although he can negate Stealth for himself, I find his cascading POW 12’s on his Feat turn to just be insufficient when ARM stacking is in play, and I almost NEVER see his assassination lanes, therefore I am a weak player taking a strong piece and using it wrong. This is an error I believe, and since I want to be all smashy when playing, I think the Stryker2 list may be the better, more suited-to-my-playstyle list.
I am open to thoughts, comments and criticism, so please feel free to share in the comments below. Please feel free to share your own thoughts and experiences, as well as any tips you may have for a bonehead like me.
I’ll let you know how I did later, but at the very least I hope my fast and painful lessons will better prepare me for the great players I will be facing at Hobby Kingdom, and I have set a personal goal to try and break even in my Win/Loss ratio for the day.
Keep on playing for fun folks, and let us know how you go in your own games on the forums or in the comments section!
May all your blades be sharp,
– NB
Husdon, sir. He’s Hicks. (Points at Hicks)
Thanks for a great game mister Blade.