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Friday, October 30, 2009 

eHaley vs. Kaelyssa

I kicked off my weekend with a friendly 750 game. This time around my Cygnar faced Jen's (Bobaferret) Retribution. This is my third game against the Retribution, and I have to admit, I'm really liking that faction. As a Cygnar player, there is an awful lot to find attractive about them, probably because they do most of what my army does, and often more efficiently. Here is what this weeks match-up looked like:

My Cygnar Army (744 pts, 27 VPs)

  • Epic Haley
  • Thorn (bonded)
  • Thunderhead
  • Squire
  • Journeyman Warcaster
  • Gun Mage Captain Adept
  • Sword Knights (9)
  • Sword Knight UA
  • Rupert Carvolo
  • Stormlances (x3)
  • Stormsmiths (x3)
  • Black 13th Strike Team
Retribution Army (750 pts, 17 VPs)

  • Kaelyssa, Night's Whisper
  • Hydra
  • Hydra
  • Phoenix
  • Narn
  • Dawnguard Invictors (10)
  • Dawnguard Invictor UA
  • Souless Escort (x3)
  • Mage Hunter Strike Force
  • Mage Hunter UA
  • House Shyeel Magister
This army is a variant of the army I used in the Breast Cancer Brawl last weekend. By the end of that event I had started to get a pretty good handle on eHaley, and I wanted to keep playing with her to see if I could really wrap my brain around her. For this game, I traded out the unit of Precursor Knights for a minimum unit of Stormlances. The precursors make a great screen for the ranged elements of the army, but I they tended to get in the way of the Sword Knights. Plus, I thought it would be fun to put a fast striking threat into the list to try and cause issues in my opponents backfield.

Deployment. Notice the cav fear.

Deployment was by the book. Jen won the roll, and made me go first, allowing her to set up army heavily on my right flank, avoiding my cav, and getting her the Thunderhead vs. mage hunter (with their extra damage die vs. jacks) match-up she was looking for. This ended up meaning that my first round was all about re-positioning. I may have given the mage hunters too much respect, but their Phantom Seeker rounds and their advantage in that forest really freaked me out. So, the Black 13th headed to the left while the Stormlances went to the right, and Haley cast Deceleration to help mitigate any early game ranged attacks.

Turn 2: Chinese Fire Drill!

Turn 2 gets ignorant fast. My GMCA hit the Phoenix with a critical thunderbolt round, knocking it three inches back (into Kaelyssa) and onto its ass. I ran Thorn forward and hit Kaelyssa with Timebomb, boosting the damage but rolling weak. At least I had her debuffed for what comes next: I used Domination to grab the Hydra standing next to her, walk it around behind her, and punch her. Thorn yo-yos back and the Sword Knights move up around him. At this point I've got her about half way down, but there is no way to finish it this round. I reposition my ponies, setting up for a next-turn charge through the forest (using the piper's March). Every single one of my Stormsmiths roll 10+, failing their stormcall skill checks. This is the turn I should feat and take away her retaliation options, but I forget.

A little pissed off about the whole getting punched by her own 'jack thing, Kaelyssa moves up and hits Thorn with backlash and then feats, giving her entire army stealth and denying me the charge next turn. Her army proceeds to scrap Thorn with a combination of Hydra ranged attacks, Invictors shots and Mage Hunters, doing 5 damage to Haley in the process. It could have been worst, but they actually killed him too quickly. The remainder of the Mage Hunters move up and put some hits on the T-Head, filling out a few more boxes. The Phoenix gets up and advances, sheltering Narn, Kaelyssa and the Magister, while the pair of Hydras bring up the rear.

End of Turn 2: Losing Thorn this early hurts

Turn 3: I absolutely need to take some pressure off of that right flank. I move Haley up and cast Telekinesis to move the Thunderhead most of the way across that little pond. Unfortunately, I forgot to cast Deadeye first, at at the end of the movement he is now out of range. Note to self: If you intended to use pulse with eHaley, ALWAYS make sure you cast Deadeye first to get that extra die on every single attack roll. Still, I roll crazy high, and manage to kill off seven of the Invictors, but I can't hit the Mage Hunter with their high defense (I bet I would have with Deadeye!) The piper plays march for the ponies, and I charge them through the forest to tie up the Mage Hunters and hopefully protect the T-Head. Sword Knights charge the Phoenix and get through his forcefield, but fail to bring him down. The Stormsmiths fail two out of three stormcalls, which is starting to piss me off.

On Jen's turn, Narn murders my GMCA, and then moves up next to Haley. Kaelyssa moves into the ruined building and uses Phantom Seeker to shoot at Haley. The game might have been over here if she hadn't activated Narn first, but by putting him next to Haley, she now has the "in melee" bonus, and Kaelyssa can't hit her. The embattled Phoenix combusts, but fails to kill off any of the Sword Knights that surround it. Not to waste the oppotunity a giant, flaming jack presents, one of the Hydras grabs it from behind and throws it at my back row of Sword Knights (where the unit leaders are), and manages to kill the unit leader and one of the troopers. The remaining Invictors CRA on the T-Head, while the Mage Hunters battle the cav, doing some damage, but not taking any out.

Turn 3: The Thunderhead does his job

Turn 4: Things are dying fast now, and I don't like the direction it's heading. I still have numerical superiority, but that doesn't mean much against an army that can shoot through anything. This needs to end now. First order of business is to free up Haley from the threat of Narn. Luckily, the Black 13th start in his back arc, and with the aiming bonus the "in-melee" penalty is negated. Ryan kills him with one shot. Haley moves up, and casts Temporal Acceleration on the Sword Knights, giving them three attacks this turn. The piper plays Heroic Call and makes them tough, and they charge in. The extra movement allows them to get across the rough terrain around Kaelyssa, but unfortunately, only two of them can fit into the building with her. Luckily, two is enough - although it isn't until the sixth (and last) attack that one finally connects, bringing her down for the win.

Endgame: Sword Knights FTW!

Wrap-up: I really, really like the retribution. They are have some very cool play machanics, and they make for fun, on-your-toes games. They may be a faction I have to dabble with eventually. As far as my Cygnar, this was a good learning game for me. I finally got good use out of the Thunderhead, and I think I could use him even better if I remeber to Deadeye him. I'm also still struggling to use the Stormlances well. I should have ran them harder and got them around into the backfield. It might almost make sense to put arcane shield on them for the first few turns, and then switch it over to the Sword Knights as the mosh-pit forms.

I'm also getting a good handle on eHaley and her spell list. While her spells can be pretty subtle, once you start to think of all the nasty situations you can use them to set up, they become pretty fun. I definately need to get better at remembering her feat... Much like prime Stryker, I always end up using it a turn later than I really should. The more I play with her, it very much feels like a good turn 2 option, to guarantee you get off the charge.

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5:33 PM |

I really think that out of all of the casters I've faced, eHaley suits you the best. Good buffs/debuffs, good offensive spells and her feat is nothing to sneeze at.

I'm not sold 100% on Stormlances in that list... I'm almost thinking Long Gunners with the UA might give you more ... bang ... for your buck. :P SKs were crazy good as always, and I did a better job of protecting my 'jacks from them this game.

Kaelyssa is still a hoot to play. I like running her, will need to try her out with the House Guard stuff when it comes out. I still need to get more out of my MHSF like we talked about; I'm thinking Garryth for our next game. I think that would be a decent match vs. eHaley.

Fingers crossed no more cranes fall on the freeway on your way to the LGS!!

Posted by OpenID ghettokorestudios | 11:13 PM   

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