Cygnar Blaize v. Doomshaper

Army Name: Constance as a Swan
Cygnar
25+6 points, 19 models

Constance Blaize +6 points
* Gallant 9 points
* Lancer 6 points (limp noodle)

Archduke Alain Runewood 3 points
Captain Arlan Strangewayes 2 points (better as a Squire)
6 Precursor Knights 5 points
* Precursor Knight Officer & Standard 2 points
6 Sword Knights 4 points


Army Name: Doomshaper's Irregulars
Trollbloods
25+7 points, 14 models

Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls +7 points
* Earthborn Dire Troll 10 points
* Troll Axer 6 points (not as good against DEF 13 stuff)

Janissa Stonetide 3 points
6 Nyss Hunters 7 points
Trollkin Runeshapers 4 points
Viktor Pendrake 2 points


Blaize again won the die roll and chose to go first. In hindsight this may have been a mistake. She set up her Precursors to use the forest as cover and backed them up with Runewood (for pathfinder) and Gallant (for the focus). The building in the center of the board made life difficult, as she'd have to split her forces to contest both zones. She ran the Lancer, Arlan, and the SKs on the right side for that reason.

Constance herself had trouble with the forest, it slowed her down a lot. She cast Banishing Warr on the SKs and Transference, both of which she upkept for the 2nd turn. Her whole force ran to get in position.

Doomy moved up his forces conservatively, setting the Nyss on the right to fight the PKs and using the EDT and Runeshapers centrally. The Axer was deployed left with Doomy and Pendrake to handle the Lancer and SKs. Janissa backed up Doomshaper with a rock wall of course. Doomy put his own Banishing Ward on the Nyss to keep the Sunburst off, and put Fortune on the Runeshapers to help stick aoes (assuming they could find non-spell warded targets).

Constance decided not to charge across the field, as she herself couldn't fit all her troops into her CTRL range for the feat and Transference. The PKs moved into shield wall and the SKs and Lancer moved into a chargeworthy spot. Runewood gave pathfinder to Blaize to help her through the woods. Gallant again backed up the PKs but was in rough terrain.

So Doomy got to make the alpha strike. His first order of business was to fire some aoes at the troop spam and try to kill some doodz. The Runeshapers moved up, splitting to see both sides of the board (center building was rough), and tossed out spells at Constance's jacks. Nothing else they could see was targetable by spells. Amazingly, Gallant was actually just in range of the Runeshapers on the right and the first one got boxcars on the attack roll, knocking down Gallant, Blaize, Runewood, and the PK officer. Gallant also took a few damage. The other two aoes scattered, managing to kill one Sword Knight and one Precursor Knight with blast damage.

That done, Pendrake moved up in an attempt to bola the Lancer down, but after advancing I checked the range with Doomy's control area and just shot the bow instead. No damage. The EDT moved up and put his animus on Doomy and the Axer. The Axer, now quickened by the rough terrain nearby, charged 10" at the Lancer and a couple SKs. He missed the (boosted!) charge attack and managed only a little damage on the next swing.

Doomshaper moved up and used his feat, which punches any model in the nuts if they use focus for a d6 per point. It's rude. I made sure Blaize, Gallant, and the Lancer were all in the area of effect. Then Doomshaper put Fortune on the Nyss to improve their accuracy. They activated and shot a lot of PKs, but shield wall saved all but one. Constance had managed to weather the storm well, only 3 warrior models down. The Nyss probably should have charged instead.

Blaize did not upkeep Banishing Ward, and took a couple points to upkeep Transference. Runewood activated and stood up the fallen with Battle Plans, then missed a handcannon shot at a Nyss. The PKs charged into the Nyss and a Runeshaper, killing the 'shaper but mostly missing the Nyss. They got one, but not being able to use Transference because of Doomshaper's feat was difficult. Gallant moved up and killed another Nyss. Four left. Constance had nowhere to go to keep all her troops in her control except directly behind a building. She hid there and used her feat.

The Lancer got a focus from Arlan and took 3 damage for stabbing the Axer for a couple points with the spear. Then the Sword Knights attacked, rushing and killing Viktor Pendrake and charging the Axer. The Axer took like 3 damage from poor damage rolls.

So now Doomy still had most everything he'd had before, but had a bunch of troops in his face. He was hot on fury, so he left one on the Earthborn, who barely made his threshold check. The Axer activated and used thresher, but managed to only kill one Sword Knight (+1 Soul) with his several attacks. Then he pumped Fury into whacking the Lancer, but missed once and hit for middling damage with the second attack. Sad.

The Runeshapers fired their magical attacks at the Sword Knights in front of the Earthborn in an attempt to clear a path, blasting them both to bits (+2 Souls).

Then the Nyss went, using Fortune to hit and kill a bunch of PKs (+3 souls, including the battle chaplain). The Earthborn cast his animus on Doomy and then charged over to the SKs, killing and eating two of them. Because he ate them, they provided no souls to Blaize. Which is odd.

So Blaize was down to a couple PKs, a Sword Knight, and her 'jacks and solos after feat turn. She had 12 focus. If she were not behind a building she might have been able to win this one, as there wasn't many models in one control zone and if she had line of sight to the Nyss she could have killed them all herself with Flashing Blade. Alas, it was not to be. She moved out to see the Nyss and managed to kill two with a Sunburst, getting a 14 to hit (needed a 13). However, she missed the blast damage on one. The PK left fighting the Nyss failed to hit it even boosting with Transference, and Gallant failed to kill Cylena with three attacks, two of them boosted. Sad. The Trolls still had a Nyss contesting the zone after all that. Runewood tried to move up and shoot the Nyss, but needed boxcars and missed.

The Lancer, Arlan and SK were dead in the water at this point, but they beat up the Axer a bit. if Constance could have killed that last Nyss (should have boosted blast damage on the Sunburst) then she might have won this one.

Doomshaper went and the Nyss murdered the last fighting PK and Cylena pinched Gallant for no damage. The Axer hit the Lancer a bit and killed the last SK, and then the Earthborn wrecked the Lancer. It was then forced to Goad and moved to Arlan and killed him as well. Then it was forced again to moved toward the edge of the zone and get in the way of anything trying to contest. The Runeshapers moved back into the zone Blaize almost had and fired aoes at Runewood, killing him and sealing Blaize's fate (without pathfinder she couldn't get to Doomy, who was camping in rough terrain).

Doomy cast defensively and put up the EDT animus, and Janissa gave him a rock wall. He got a control point. Constance activated and killed the last Nyss with a Sunburst, then charged at Doomy but was short a half inch. She'd powered Gallant and he charged Doomy as well but was again short a tiny bit. Needed another model to kill that Nyss so Blaize could Crusader's Call. That would have made things interesting.

The PK standard bearer ran to the other control zone to contest them both, but Doomy beat him up for a scenario win.

Game MVP: Doomy with Fortune.

Lessons learned: Fortune is better than I thought it was, as it really helps the attrition game. Hotswapping it was amazing. Snacking hurts Blaize's feat. Blaize played more defensively than "troopjam lolz" is pretty good. Terrain can hurt her, and a Squire would have been HUGE for her here. She wants one more than Arlan for Evasive shenanigans, for sure.

-Merlin out

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