Warmachine Action: Haley's Defeat(s)

Another Saturday night came and went, and I was left chewing on the bitter scraps of defeat. I played two 35-point games using the new MkII rules; one against Cryx (Marc), and one against Menoth (Ken).

For both games I used the same list: Haley w/Squire, Lancer & Sentinal, Journeyman Warcaster w/Charger, Arlen Strangeways marshalling a Defender, Gun Mage Captain Adept x 1, Gun Mages x 6, and Stormsmith x 1.

When facing Deneghra, I used the surrounding forests to my advantage. My big plan was to put the warjacks in the gap, shoot like crazy while slowing things down with Temporal Barrier, and hope for the best.


Marc sent the bulk of his force rapidly towards the Cygnar line. Notice how close that Deathjack is to the deep water.


On my turn, in addition to damaging some bonejacks, Haley successfully cast Scramble on the Deathjack, sent it running into the water, and had it removed from the table. Needless to say, Marc was not impressed. I thought I was doing so well, and was quite chuffed with myself. How silly I was.

Marc moved a bonejack up to the edge of the forest...


...and moved another one up behind it. Deneghra cast Venom on through the rear-most arc node, targetting the bonejack in front. Clever placement brought Haley right under the template. Because the target (i.e. bonejack) was more than three inches away from Haley, she couldn't use her arcane vortex to cancel spell. A second casting of Venom sealed the deal and brought our game to a rapid conclusion.


In hindsight, I realize that it will take me a little time to adapt my thinking to the changes to Haley's spell list. When I play, I visualize Temporal Barrier causing the old effects on the field. Obviously, I have to catch up with the times.


And the shame continued...

Then it was time to face Ken's Protectorate list. Ken chose to take Severius to the table for this game, and I have to admit, he completely outplayed me. I mean, he played me like a rhythm section. It was one of the best games I've seen him play.


Early on, Ken spread wide. This tactic made it impossible for me to interfere with the entire army using TB. My fatal mistake began early in the game, as I spread my force towards all the different threats.


On the right flank, my gun mages and Sentinal spent the majority of the game trying to deal with the Temple Flameguard.


During his second turn, Ken used the Redeemer to fire a salvo at the Squire, which happened to be in base contact with the Gun Mage Captain Adept. He took out both, and earned the accolade of being the first guy in the group to destroy the Squire. I was feeling set upon by this point.


The Avatar used the Gaze of Menoth to keep my left flank from fleeing. He ended up in combat with the Charger.


Haley started getting aggressive. This is my common response when I feel threatened. I had a very disappointing turn.


Ken started the final advance, getting everything into position near the forest. I was hoping that I could hit Severius somehow and take him down.


Back on the right flank, Haley feated, and used everything at her disposal. In the end, the Flameguard were finished off, but nothing else was accomplished. In short, I was well within Severius' control area, and very close to many threats. There was no way out. I had walked right into Ken's trap.


Things were going no better on the left flank. The Avatar totalled the Charger...


...and the Paladin charged into the Defender. There was no damage, but the Defender was effectively taken out of the shooting game.


Ken moved everything up, getting ready for the final smackdown. I had no recourse.


When all was said and done, Ken advanced the Revenger up to Haley, and a couple of boosted hits took care of the rest.


It's been quite some time since I felt so played. I spent my entire game reacting to Ken's plan, and accomplised very little of my own goals. Whether or not I learned any lessons remains to be seen. Regardless of defeat, the games were very fun, as was the rest of the evening.

Thanks for reading,
JET