Another month, another great meeting for the Fukuyama Gaming Club! With the end of the year fast approaching, it was nice to take a day away from the hustle and bustle of real life and relax with some good games! And even better news, no typhoon or bad weather to try and stop us! In fact, it was a beautiful fall day! Finally! Even in October, we were just missed by a typhoon on game day. That one was going to really disrupt our plans, but just before it hit land it swung to the South and missed the mainland by a good amount. This month... nothing. Yes! And with nothing to stand in our way, we managed to get in a couple of games of Warmachine/ Hordes, and completed another chapter in our ongoing quest in the Widower's Wood.
Leland is doing a great job of little by little painting up his Cygnar forces, and they are really staring to come together. He's almost able to field a completely painted 75 point army... I'm almost certain that that will be a reality before the end of the year! Of course, since we are a friendly club, it's not a problem to play with unpainted mini's as long as it's not tourney time (and as long as you don't mind taking a bit of heat from DTB, that is, haha!). DTB and I are continuing to fiddle around with completely new lists, and I think we're really narrowing down at least the first of two casters. After this month, I have for sure decided that the Testament of Menoth is going to be one of mine for next year's tournament... I'm just trying to decide between the Exemplar Interdiction and The Faithful Masses theme forces. I adore the Exemplars... they are why I decided to play the Protectorate in the first place, and Kreoss, the most exemplary of Exemplars, is my favorite of the Protectorate casters! But even more than the Exemplars, my heart belongs the the Paladins of the Order of the Wall. I have often debated with DTB over the years the idea of having a Paladin based army, but it was never viable since there is a field allowance of 3 Paladin solos, and no other Paladin models. Well, all that is changing! A Paladin dragoon solo is being released as part of PP's 12 Factions of Christmas, and they have been included in the newest theme force, The Faithful Masses. Imagine a bunch of chaff warriors (zealots, deliverers, etc.) and Paladins to bolster them. Yesssssss!! I've given both of them a turn, but I'm still working out how I feel... both of them are strong, good lists. I've narrowed down my second choice to between Malekus and Sovereign Tristan Durant. This month I got Tristan out, and I really enjoyed it! Next month, Malekus' turn, and then I'll make a final decision... And this brings us to, drum roll please....
Announcements
The end of the year is fast approaching! In Japan, that means that all Hell is breaking loose and we are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, especially in my family... birthdays, anniversary, a very secular Japanese Christmas, all culminating in the busy disaster of getting ready for Japanese New Year... seems like there's hardly any time for painting, list tweaking, or playing, but we are going to squeeze in another meeting of the Fukuyama Gaming Club before the end of the year. Saijo Gaming Club in the suburbs of Hiroshima City are also meeting once more before the end of 2017! So here are the dates to save!
Fukuyama Gaming Club - December 17
Saijo Gaming Club (Hiroshima City) - December 10
Also... Some of our friendly Marines from the Iwakuni Air Base are going to the Las Vegas Open gaming convention, January 26-28, 2018! It's at the Bally's Casino, and it's going to be three days of crazy, with a veritable tide of tournaments, narrative events, seminars... in short, everything! Brought to you by Frontline Gaming, you should check it out if you're in the neighborhood, are looking for an excuse to get to Las Vegas, or would like to meet a few of the Iwakuni marines, some of America's finest!
For our report today, I bring to you for the first time Leland's Cygnar army! At long last! Against the boys (and girls) in blue, I have decided to bring Sovereign Tristan Durant, hero of the recent Skull Island Expedition novel "Godless." Durant is one of my favorite characters in the Protectorate along with Kreoss and Dartan... the good guys for Menoth. The Protectorate is full of a lot of people who don't really care about the majority of the people in the country, seeing them as mere cogs in the wheels of faith (I'm looking at you, Feora). But those three (Durant, Kreoss and Dartan) actually care about the little guy, and will go to great lengths to try and protect them. I decided to try out another of the theme forces, the Guardians of the Temple theme which uses Flameguard units and solos.
And with that, I give you the forces for today's battle! We rolled the Recon 2 scenerio, so Warjack zones on each side with an objective on each, and 2 flags in the middle of them. I won the starting roll, and chose to go second, on the side that didn't have all sorts of terrain trouble!
Army list, Cygnar:
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| Pretty in Green |
Nice green paint scheme! I love it when people decide to deviate from the studio paint scheme. Keep up the good work, Leland! This is a Heavy Metal theme list, which gives Leland an extra 2 inches on his deployment zone, some free models, and solos and Mechanik's get reposition 3.
Warcaster - Major Beth Maddox
Defender
Ironclad
Firefly X2
Lancer
Charger
Sword Knights (Maximum)
Boomhowler & Co. (Maximum)
Journeyman Warcaster
Alison Jakes
Runewood
Murdoch
Squire
Army list, Protectorate:
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| Tristan, hero of the people |
Would you look at that army? 11 months to go until the tournament, and the only model I need to paint before then (if I go with this list) is Tristan! Yee-haw! This is a Guardians of the Temple theme force, so I'll be benefiting by my Flameguard troopers getting Tough and cannot be knocked down as long as they are in B2B, and my Daughters of the Flame will get Ambush. AMBUSHING DAUGHTERS!!!! Fear them, for they are sharp and pointy! That plus their anatomical precision ability will make them a force to be feared!
Warcaster - Sovereign Tristan Durant
Reckoner X2
Vanquisher
Repenter
Redeemer
Revenger
Choir of Menoth (Minimum)
Daughters of the Flame
Temple Flameguard
+ Officer and Standard bearer
Pyrrhus, Flameguard Hero
Setup, Cygnar:
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| Capture the Flag? |
Well, Leland has a little bit of terrain issues to think about in his setup, but with Archduke Runewood in there, he'll be able to mitigate the difficulty a little bit. Runewood and the Sword Knights set up on the left behind the forest, trusting in Runy's March ability to get them through in good time. Boomhowler and his boys, along with Murdoch, set up opposite them on the right, to the left of the lake, with Alison on the other side of the lake with a Firefly. The rest of the 'jacks and Maddox clumped in the middle of the table, ready to charge straight at their flag.
And the little Journeyman, so far out of her depth, huddled behind Maddox, hoping for the Major to protect her!
Setup, Protectorate:
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| Tristan joins the Interdiction of the Dawn |
Temple Flameguard in the center! In Base to Base, for all their yummy bonuses that they get from Shield Wall and the Theme Force benefits! Yeah! Pyrrhus got tucked in with them in the second line of Flameguard, ready to help out where needed. Next to them on the left I set one Reckoner, the Revenger, and the Redeemer, and on the right the other Reckoner and the Repenter. Behind the front line, Tristan set up with the Vanquisher and the Choir, spread out to catch as many jacks as they could. The Daughters stayed off the board, ready to Ambush any unwary Cygnarians that get too close to the board edge.
Our Story:
Beth Maddox, on orders from High Command, is infiltrating the border between Cygnar and the Protectorate, trying to get Reconnissance on the redistribution of Protectorate forces after the dissolussion of the Norther Crusade, when chance (or is it the will of Menoth) brought newly appointed Sovereign Durant with a force of Flameguard patrolling the area face to face with the Cygnarian warcaster. Will Tristan be able to defeat and recapture the former POW, or will his gentle spirit give her the chance she needs to escape back to Cygnar lands?
Round 1, Cygnar
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| Go go go! |
Runewood activated first, giving March to the Sword Knights to give them Pathfinder. He then moved up into the forest. The Sword Knights then ran forward into the forest. The Defender, Lancer, Charger, Beth's Firefly and Ironclad ran. The Boomhowler's did a kind of snaky dance/run to keep out of the lake, ending up near the zone behind the cloud. Alison's Firefly walked forward, and Jakes followed it, casting Sidekick on it. The Journeyman walked forward, casting Arcane Shield on the Ironclad. Maddox moved up, cast Dauntless Resolve on the Sword Knights and Snipe on her Firefly. The Squire whizzed and whirred and moved up behind Maddox.
Round 1, Protectorate
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| A slow march up the field |
To start things off, the Revenger, Repenter, and both Reckoner's ran. The Temple Flameguard moved forward, splitting into three groups to stay in their Shield Wall order, continuing to get their bonuses from the theme, and Pyrrhus went with them. The Choir moved up, and put passage on the left hand Reckoner and the Vanquisher. The Redeemer moved up, and shot 3 incredibly inaccurate shots at the Boomhowlers, and managed to put some damage on Jakes and kill a Howler! Woohoo! First blood to me, then! This may be the first time I've gotten to actually make an offensive on the first turn! The Vanquisher moved up behind the Shield Wall. Tristan moved up next to the Vanquisher and cast Inviolable Resolve on the Flameguard, bringing their ARM to a whopping 19, plus Tough! Holy moly, these are the toughest Flameguard there has ever been! Just wait until the Officer uses his mini feat!
Round 2, Cygnar:
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| Sword Knights on the Offensive |
Beth upkept Dauntless Resolve on the Knights, and Jakes upkept Sidekick on her Firefly, and then Leland's turn began. The Lancer ran to the corner of the cottage near the Repenter. Beth moved up just behind the zone and cast Assail on the Ironclad, before Electroblasting the Repenter for minimal damage. Maddox's Firefly moved in front of Beth for some security. The Howlers ran forward and dug into the zone. The Charger moved forward and shot the right most Reckoner for 2 damage. The Defender walked behind the flag and also shot the same Reckoner. The Journeyman moved up "a smidge" and put Arcane Shield on the Charger. The Squire move up and cowered behind Maddox... who knew that a robot could be so afraid? The Ironclad also moved up a smidge and stood around looking intimidating. Runewood again gave March to the Knights before moving out of the forest. The Sword Knights ran around the cabin and one managed to make it into melee with the Repenter. Jakes' Firefly ran forward, and Jakes herself moved behind the Howlers.
Round 2, Protectorate:
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| Flameguard, holding the center |
First things first, Tristan upkept Inviolable Resolve on the Flameguard, allocated two focus to the Reckoner that got shot up, and two to the little Redeemer that was facing an angry Firefly. Then, the fun stuff... AMBUSH!!! Oh yeah, it's Daughter time! They came in on the left board edge, ready to charge in and try and kill off Jakes... if they could do that, then that Firefly on the move won't be any more of a threat. And so they lead off my turn, 3 charging into Jakes and the other three fining Howlers to poke at. Jakes managed to soak all the damage from a combined melee attack with some focus, but the other three all killed their targets due to anatomical precision.
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| Pokey death |
The Revenger moved to the edge of the forest, hopefully able to make use of it's arc node next turn. The Repenter did indeed charge Jakes' Firefly, dealing a whopping 6 damage... oh well, it's better than I expected! The 3 Flameguard groups moved up, and the officer laid down his mini feat... hello, ARM 22! Good luck getting rid of them, swannies! The Choir moved up and prayed for BATTLE on both Reckoners and the Vanquisher. The undamaged Reckoner took a shot at the Charger and did a respectable 12 damage. The Vanquisher also took a shot at the Charger, but missed. Being an AOE, it still hit a Howler and a Flameguard, doing no damage to them but setting them both on fire. The Repenter squished the Sword Knight foolish enough to get into base to base with it, and then waited for the upcoming hurt to be brought. And now, the crux of my plan, saved for last... the damaged Reckoner could see Maddox peeking out from behind her Firefly guardian. She was well within range, and she had NO FOCUS on her! I could end this game quickly, and all I needed to do was roll a 10 on three dice... which I should have been able to easily do... but did I? NO I DID NOT!!! In fact, I rolled a 4. That's right... a four on three dice. Go ahead an do the math... that's 1, 1, 2. Oh man, stupid Reckoner! Are you going to get charged by that Iron Clad next turn, and boy, do you deserve it!
Round 3, Cygnar:
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| Cygnar bites back |
Maddox upkept Assail and Jakes upkept Sidekick, while the fire on the Howler went out without any damage, and the round began. Runewood walked forward and gave Path to Victory to the Sword Knights. The Lancer attacked the Repenter but failed to damage him, and then the Sword knights stepped up. They didn't manage all to get charges in, but several made it to the Repenter, and one made it to the Objective, dealing 9 damage to the 'jack and 5 to the objective. The Ironclad beat up on the Reckoner, leaving it with only two damage boxes. Maddox moved up into base to base with the flag and FEAT! If only she had done that before the Ironclad went, the Reckoner would be nothing but scrap! The Firefly charged in then and finished off the broke down Reckoner. The Charger took a look around and turned tail and moved back behind the safety of Beth (hahaha), and took a shot at one of the Flameguard, who proceeded to shrug the shell off like it was nothing! The Defender moved B2B with the Charger and shot the Vanquisher for minimal damage. Boomhowler & Co. let loose a bloodcurdling howl and charged several targets with their assault ability allowing them to shoot as they charged in at the Daughters, Flameguard, and the Redeemer. Boomhowler himself led the way by MISSING THE DAUGHTER HE WAS CHARGING WITH ALL ATTACKS! Oh, yeah! At the end of everything, all the Daughters were safe (it's hard to hit DEF 14 in melee) the Repenter took another 11 damage, and one Flameguard was destroyed despite being as hard as a 'jack.
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| Two on one, eh? |
Jakes took a swipe at the Daughters crowding in on her and killed two of them. The Squire, who had yet to do anything this game, continued to do nothing but cower behind Maddox. The Journeyman Warcaster cast Arcane Shield on Maddox and then hid behind the Defender. Jakes' Firefly ratcheted it's arm back, ready to put the final touch on the Redeemer, when Leland's clock went off, bringing this game to it's end.
Conclusion:
Victory for Menoth! As Maddox and Tristan finally closed, the unmistakable jangle of mounted troops floated across the field, several units of Exemplar Vengers riding to support the Sovereign and his forces. For one moment Tristan looked over his shoulder, Veritas held ready to strike. He glanced at the approaching Exemplars, then back to Maddox before lowering his weapon and mentally commanding his 'jacks to stand down. "Go," he said, pulling off his mask of office and gazing at the former POW. "Hurry! Before they get here!" Beth glared at him, expecting foul play, but when their eyes met, all she could find was sincerity. As the Daughters of the Flame and Temple Flameguard repositioned to form a protective wall around the young caster, he gestured frantically towards the distant Cygnaran boarder. "GO!" he said again, more forcefully, and this time, Beth turned, calling her remaining troops to follow.
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| This is going to hurt! |
Hmmm, Tristan seems like he could be a lot of fun! I didn't get the chance to feat with him, but I'm loving the ambushing Daughters and the tanky Flameguard! Thanks for the game, Leland! It's difficult to get used to playing on a death clock, but it is a necessary skill that you can only acquire one way... practice! I had a great time, and the boys (and girls) in blue...er, green.... look great!
