I'm Bi-Winning!
I'm back after a long hiatus from blogging, and hoping I can get back into the swing of the things. Life got kind of wild there for a little while: On top of raising three kids and having the attention span of sparrow, I took on a new job at my company and decided to remodel my home. Something had to give, and it turned out it this blog.
Thankfully, things are settling down again. I've got my new job under control (as much as it will likely ever be), and the work on the house is all finished (Try living a few months without a kitchen or running water on the first floor. We definitely reached the limit of things that can be creatively cooked in a Crockpot!). The good news is that last few months have been particularly good for gaming.
The Skorne army that I started for the Slow Grow league at my FLGS has continue to expand, and I'm finding a good deal of success with it. I'm sticking with the core nucleus of hard-hitting units supported by titans, and I'm really enjoying the "I punch you in the face" nature of the army. Last weekend we wrapped up the latest league season with a tournament, and I ended up winning the league an tying for first place in a tournament (Yes, tying. By popular vote, no one wanted to go on to another round, so we agreed to split first place.) Both were pretty exciting for me, as I don't typically perform that well in the competitive stuff. The tournament was a 35-point Steamroller. Here is a quick look at the two lists I brought:
As you can see, with the exception of different warlocks and a few models traded out, they are almost identical lists. There are a couple of different factors behind that: First, I wanted to play fully painted, and I'm limited by what I have painted up right now. Secondly, I wanted to play models I was really experienced with - you can Theory Machine all you want, but nothing replaces experience when it comes to really understanding what a model is good for.
The Makeda list ended up being my primary list. I perfer this list for all of the dual-zone scenarios we are seeing in Steamroller 2011. Thanks to Savagery, Makeda can get the Cataphract moving 10 inches a turn in shield wall, and with Defender's Ward on the Nihilators, they are suddenly DEF 15/ARM 15 with Tough, which means I have two rock-solid units to hold down different scoring zones while my Titans go play offense. Makeda's feat is also money for "hold the zone" scenarios - nothing is more frustrating that killing off most of a unit just to have it come back and fill up the scoring zone on the next turn. I will typically stick the agonizer up into one of those zones to put a damper on focus, and Saxon Orrik is there in case one of the units needs pathfinder to get somewhere.
I use the Xerxis list if I find myself facing a high armor 'jack wall or a pile of heavy beasts in a killbox scenario. Saxon gets dropped because Xerxis can give pathfinder all by himself with a battle plan. Marketh comes in to help Xerxis manage his precious 5 fury - Inhospitable Ground usually gets cast a lot with this list, so having someone else around who can cast and upkeep Defender's Ward and Fury is worth the three points. This list isn't nearly as fast as the Makeda list, but Inhospitable Ground helps to level the playing field. This list really earns its keep on Xerxis feat turn, with Total Annihilation giving everyone in his control area an extra damage die. With Fury on the Nihilators, they can charge at POW 15 with 4 damage dice - definately enough to damage heavies. Charging Cataphract have 5 damage dice. An enraged Bronzeback can generate seven POW 19 attacks with three dice in addition to his initial charge attack. I have scrapped four undamaged Khador heavies in a single turn with this list on a well executed feat turn!
I'm definitely enjoying the play style that the Skorne brings to the table, especially compared to what I was used to from Cygnar. At one point in the last tournament, my opponent said in exasperation, "Goddamnit, you are playing aggressively!" That might just be the highest complement one can be paid in this game.
Thankfully, things are settling down again. I've got my new job under control (as much as it will likely ever be), and the work on the house is all finished (Try living a few months without a kitchen or running water on the first floor. We definitely reached the limit of things that can be creatively cooked in a Crockpot!). The good news is that last few months have been particularly good for gaming.
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| Winning, Rhino-style |
The Skorne army that I started for the Slow Grow league at my FLGS has continue to expand, and I'm finding a good deal of success with it. I'm sticking with the core nucleus of hard-hitting units supported by titans, and I'm really enjoying the "I punch you in the face" nature of the army. Last weekend we wrapped up the latest league season with a tournament, and I ended up winning the league an tying for first place in a tournament (Yes, tying. By popular vote, no one wanted to go on to another round, so we agreed to split first place.) Both were pretty exciting for me, as I don't typically perform that well in the competitive stuff. The tournament was a 35-point Steamroller. Here is a quick look at the two lists I brought:
| Tyrant Xerxis - Bronzeback Titan - Titan Gladiator Aptimus Marketh 4 Cataphract Cetrati 10 Nihilators 6 Paingiver Beast Handlers | Archdomia Makeda - Bronzeback Titan - Titan Gladiator Agonizer 4 Cataphract Cetrati 10 Nihilators 4 Paingiver Beast Handlers Saxon Orrik |
As you can see, with the exception of different warlocks and a few models traded out, they are almost identical lists. There are a couple of different factors behind that: First, I wanted to play fully painted, and I'm limited by what I have painted up right now. Secondly, I wanted to play models I was really experienced with - you can Theory Machine all you want, but nothing replaces experience when it comes to really understanding what a model is good for.
 |
| The whole gang - A good three months of slow-grow league pays off. |
The Makeda list ended up being my primary list. I perfer this list for all of the dual-zone scenarios we are seeing in Steamroller 2011. Thanks to Savagery, Makeda can get the Cataphract moving 10 inches a turn in shield wall, and with Defender's Ward on the Nihilators, they are suddenly DEF 15/ARM 15 with Tough, which means I have two rock-solid units to hold down different scoring zones while my Titans go play offense. Makeda's feat is also money for "hold the zone" scenarios - nothing is more frustrating that killing off most of a unit just to have it come back and fill up the scoring zone on the next turn. I will typically stick the agonizer up into one of those zones to put a damper on focus, and Saxon Orrik is there in case one of the units needs pathfinder to get somewhere.
I use the Xerxis list if I find myself facing a high armor 'jack wall or a pile of heavy beasts in a killbox scenario. Saxon gets dropped because Xerxis can give pathfinder all by himself with a battle plan. Marketh comes in to help Xerxis manage his precious 5 fury - Inhospitable Ground usually gets cast a lot with this list, so having someone else around who can cast and upkeep Defender's Ward and Fury is worth the three points. This list isn't nearly as fast as the Makeda list, but Inhospitable Ground helps to level the playing field. This list really earns its keep on Xerxis feat turn, with Total Annihilation giving everyone in his control area an extra damage die. With Fury on the Nihilators, they can charge at POW 15 with 4 damage dice - definately enough to damage heavies. Charging Cataphract have 5 damage dice. An enraged Bronzeback can generate seven POW 19 attacks with three dice in addition to his initial charge attack. I have scrapped four undamaged Khador heavies in a single turn with this list on a well executed feat turn!
I'm definitely enjoying the play style that the Skorne brings to the table, especially compared to what I was used to from Cygnar. At one point in the last tournament, my opponent said in exasperation, "Goddamnit, you are playing aggressively!" That might just be the highest complement one can be paid in this game.
Labels: Hordes, miniatures, Skorne, wargaming, Warmachine
