AAR: Protectorate Vs. Trollkin - The Soothsayer Attacks

On Sunday, October 17, the Fukuyama Gaming Club braved a typhoon to hold our latest gaming day.  No kidding!  I live about an hour away from where our club meets.  An hour to the East.  And since the typhoons around here always go West to East, that means I drove straight into the arms of the storm as it crept closer and closer.  Imagine me, peaked Commissar cap pulled down, making the sign of the Aquila and crying "For the Emperor" as my car slid under the cloud cover... or I guess, in more recent times, "For Menoth!"  I did manage to time my trip West to get in before the worst of the storm hit, and if everything went right, I'd be ready to head home after the storm had passed (which is exactly what happened after a delicious dinner at one of our favorite places, Boogie Buns).  Sadly, most of the rest of our team members live farther to the West, and therefore were unable to get ahead of the typhoon.  That left myself, DTB, and Leland for the last pre tourney practice.  A pretty standard meeting for us, but we were hoping the Hiroshima boys would make it so that we could get some team practice in.  Oh well, no point in bemoaning random acts of nature.  Three of us it would have to be.  Unfortunately for Leland, this did mean that he didn't get a game in.  In two weeks (as of the meeting... three days as of today!), the Warmachine/ Hordes Japan Open Team Championship is on!  And so, while we had time for two games, Leland is not quite ready to take on the ferocity of a pre-tourney practice round.  Next month, we'll make sure he gets plenty of game time!  Thus it was that yet again, the armies of the Trollkin faced off against the might of the Protectorate, in our eternal struggle for dominance... But first!

Announcements:
That's right!  Time for our new feature!  Announcements, announcements, ANNOUNCEMENTS!  First off... October 8th is the WHJOTC!!  Finally, after months of preparation, the tournament is here!  If you're in the area, stop by the community center behind the castle in Fukuyama City!  7 teams are locked in, including my own Tri-Arrows (a tip of the hat to the feudal lord who used to control Hiroshima prefecture) and DTB's Ordo Non Painticus.  An 8th team of singles is being created to flush out the roster.
Second ... The day after the tournament, October 9th, is going to be a free gaming day.  There will be people sticking around after the tournament to get friendly games in.  Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima... and possibly Kyushu will all be represented, so if you don't want the pressure of a tourney but do want to meet some new players, this is a good day to drop by for a game.
Lastly... the next regular meeting of the Fukuyama Gaming Club will be on October 29th.  Man, October is a busy month for the FGC!!  We'll all be breaking out new army lists, free for the first time in a few months to just play around.  Heck, we might even get in some more Widower's Wood or other board games.  So stop by if you've got the urge!

And now, back to our Troll / PoM throw down!
 Trolls... I feel like I have played Trollkin eight zillion times recently!  DTB actually was getting a little snippy with me about writing my victories against the boys in blue, which is, of course, patently ridiculous.  I could count the times I've beaten DTB on one hand, while he has crushed my armies beneath his Trolly boots time and time again.  So, game on, DTB!  We ended up with the Breakdown scenario, so we had two round zones, scoreable by units, connected by a rectangular zone scoreable by warjacks/warbeasts.   First person to have 5 more points than their opponent wins!  I came up tops on the roll for the game, but I decided to choose my board edge and made DTB go first.

The forces for today's battle!
Army Lists, Trollbloods: 

Calandra's Star Crossed fighters

Oh my gosh!  Calandra!  I have been trying to convince DTB to run Calandra in the tournament for YEARS!!!  Literally years.  And here she is, in all her Trollish glory!  Awww, DTB!  Oh yeah, the list....
     Warlock: Calandra
                     Mauler x2
                     Earthborn Dire Troll
                     Gudrun the Wanderer (in this game, proxied by the Thrullig)
                     Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters
                     Champions Maximum Unit
                     Skaldi
                     Sons of Bragg

Army List, Protectorate of Menoth:

Armies of Execution

I know, I know, we've seen this list a zillion times.  Well, this shall be the LAST TIME!!!  Mua-hahaha!  After the tournament is over, it's time for some experimenting with some new armies and a warcaster or two that I've never used before.  So, for the final time.... YOUR FLESH IS WEAK!!!
     Warcaster: Reznik, the Wrath of Ages
                       Avatar of Menoth
                       Guardian
                       Blood of Martyrs
                       Scourge of Heresy
                       Revenger
                       Choir of Menoth, minimum unit
                       Idrian Skirmishers
                          +  Chieftain and Scout
                       Heirophant

 Setup, Trollbloods:

Setting up a win?

 Calandra set up in the middle of the deployment zone, with a Mauler to the left and a Mauler behind.  Next to the Mauler went the Earth Born Dire Troll, and on the other side of Calandra went the SOB's.  Those bums, haha!  The Champions went over on the right flank, and Cylena Raefyll and her Hunters went of the left.

Setup, Protectorate of Menoth:

Protectorate sets up

As I so often do, I decided to split up Reznik and the Avatar, one on each side.  Between them, I set up the Scourge, the Guardian, the Blood, and the Repenter, with the choir sliding in where they fit.  The Heirophant wedged in between the Scourge and Reznik.

Advanced Deployment, Trollbloods:
Finally, DTB has some advanced deployment!  And by some, I mean... one.  One model.  Gudrun the Wanderer got placed ahead of the Hunters at the edge of the rubble pit.  With pathfinder, the rubble won't bother him, so he's in a great position to get in my way.

The Soothsayer of the Glimmerwood

Advanced Deployment, Protectorate:
The Idrians went out front into the pond to screen Reznik from the Hunters and Gudrun.  I've never fought against the Wanderer before, and so I'm not sure how much of a threat he is, but better to be safe than sorry when it comes to caster protection.  And just to add that little extra bit, the Idrians made him their prey.

Game on, Trollbloods!  Let's see if Calandra can see the smack down coming her way!

DTB's signature rock on face

Our Story:
As his forces cut a swathe of destruction in the Creator's name, Reznik moved on a small village of Trollkin on the edges of the Glimmerwood.  Just as his forces were poised to sweep down on the worshipers of Dhunia, the sound of trees breaking brought him up short.  An army of trolls and their kin stepped forward from the shadows of the forest, moving to intercept him.  They were led by a woman, and inwardly Reznik was uneasy, as he knew it must be Calandra, a future seer and protector of the area.

Round 1, Trollblood:
The Champs started off the game by running forward, clumping together in three man groups to maintain their defensive line ability.  The SOB's ran towards the middle of the board, and Gudrun ran into the rubble.  The hunters ran towards the area between the middle and right zones.  Calandra put Bullet Dodger on the "Pirate" Mauler (he's modeled with a treasure chest on his base), and the EBDT's animus Earth's Blessing on herself, along with Star Crossed, her signature spell.  Then, in DTB's signature move, she failed a charge on the Heirophant for a little extra movement.  The non-pirate Mauler (or the Boring Mauler, as I call him) riled and ran, as did the Pirate Mauler and the EBDT.

Run towards the food, boys!

Round 1, Protectorate of Menoth:
The Idrians moved up behind the wall, and a 6 man CRA put three damage onto Gudrun.  And then, of course, I made a fatal flaw... instead of finishing off Gudurn, I took shots at the hunters, killing off two of them before making a SECOND MISTAKE by repositioning off of the wall.  D'oh!  Oh well, time to focus!  The Avatar recieved two focus from Menoth and ran into the zone on the side to head off the Champions from having access to my back field.  The Revenger runs onto the hill, and the Blood of Martyers ran up behind him.  The Guardian ran straight forward, and the Choir moved up, chanting for passage for the Guardian, Blood, and Scourge.  The Heirophant moved and put Harmonious Exaltation on Reznik.  To finish up, Reznik moved into the pond, put Death March on the Idrians, and Lamentation on himself.

A little shuffle foot to see who will charge first

 Round 2, Trollblood:
Calandra pulled all the fury on the board up to her full fury score, and upkept Bullet Dodger.  Gudrun charged the Idrians and killed three of them.  The Hunters walked up to the wall THAT I SHOULD HAVE KEPT, keeping 3 of them back, and shoot 5 Idrians to death.  The SOB's ran forward to get into position in the middle of the field, and the Pirate Mauler also ran to lip the zone.  The Boring Mauler riled and ran, and the EBDT ran as well.  Calandra cast Star Crossed and moved up to keep out of the kill box (some scenerio's have a kill box, which means that your warcaster/ warlock must stay 12" away from all table edges after the second player's second turn).  The Champs ended up the turn by running into the left circular zone.  One came up to face off with the Avatar, and the others stayed back a little to keep out of the Avatar's killing zone.

The battle begins!

Round 2, Protectorate:
All spells upkept!  The Idrians wiggled a bit in their Vengence action, and then they took their turn.  Learning from my mistake last turn, I pumped two CRA's into Gudrun to wipe him off the board.  Success!  BUT!  Gudrun had a trick up his sleeve.  Once a game, when he dies, he just simply comes back to life.  Yup.  Full health.  He's knocked down, which seems like it might be a good thing, but he has a special rule... Feign Death.  So he can't be target by ranged attacks while he's knocked down.  Oh yeah, or magic.  Yeesh!  So, he's still alive.  The Scourge charged the SOB's, managed to kill off Rhudd.  The Revenger moved up, just lipping the left corner of the middle zone.

Wait, Reznik!  You forgot to exult!

Reznik, too excited to get going, forgot to wait for his Heirophant to go first (d'oh!!!) and moved up, casting The Flesh is Weak at the Pirate Mauler... and MISSED!!!  Double d'oh!!!  Luckily, it's an AOE attack, so it scattered off of the Pirate Mauler... and hit the other Mauler!  Hahaha, okay, I guess that worked out okay.  He then repositioned a bit farther back.  The Guardian hauled his shiny metal butt over to the pond to cover Reznik from a charge from the missed Mauler.  The Choir, a bit late, moved up to put Passage on the Blood and the Scourge.  The Blood of Martyers ran into cover behind a choir member to protect itself from the super scary Mauler, while the Avatar killed two Champs and then used Menoth's Gaze to keep them from getting away.  Yikes!  I'm in a pretty bad way.  I'm not quite sure what I thought I was doing, but it was almost completely the wrong thing to do.  We'll see if I can bring things around next turn.  I'm pretty sure the Avatar is toast with four charging weapon masters with two attacks each coming for him... a Mauler in prime position to charge... Gudrun with any other tricks he might have... Yeesh!

Round 3, Trollbloods:
Calandra again leeched to full fury and upkept Bullet Dodger, and Gudrun took his turn.  Standing up, he punked one poor Idrian.  The Hunters moved into an L shape along the wall and back, and finished killing off the rest of the Idrians.  Calandra moved up and FEATED!!!  Oh man, this is not going to be good.  I love her feat.  It's both totally in her character, and really so much more powerful than people give it credit for.  Friendly models in her control range can re-roll 1's and 2's.  It's sooo good.  So, usually if your opponent needs 6's or 7's to hit and can't boost (like, warrior units), they will miss 3 or 4 out of 10 attacks.  But with Calandra's feat, they will pretty much hit every time.  Brutal!  And of course, DTB made sure that everything was in her feat range, which isn't so hard since her control range is 16"!  Okay, here we go... we'll see what's left after he rampages through my troops.  Calandra then cast Star Crossed, and put the animus Rage on the Pirate Mauler.  The SOB's charged the Choir member the Blood was hiding behind (too bad they can't protect themselves!) and that poor soul died before their mighty attack!  The Pirate Mauler walked into combat with the Scourge... One hit... Two hits... Chain Attack Grab and Smash... two additional attacks, and the Scourge became a crumpled can.  The other Mauler, unable to run, charge, slam, or trample, in a fit of pique walked over to the Revenger and took out his frustration by utterly destroying it.  And as I had feared, the remaining Champs charged at the Avatar and just like that, I was down three jacks.  And DTB was up three control points.

Oof... wait, where did all my jacks go?

Round 3, Protectorate of Menoth:
Oh, MAN!!  That was bad.  DTB is in control of all three zones.  If I leave even one unchallenged, he'll pick up another at the end of my turn, and another at the end of his turn, giving him 5 and then win.  So... actually, it's not possible, since there is no way for me to get a model that can contest into the left zone.  I hereby conceede this game.  But before I run out of time, I am going to KILL THAT MAULER!!!!.  So, Reznik loaded up the Blood and the Guardian.  The Guardian charged the SOB standing in the way of the Blood's charge attack.  A critical hit, and the little brat got pitched over into the Mauler, dealing no damage, but getting him well out of the way.  The Choir got back into formation and put Battle on the Blood, Reznik activated and put Boundless Charge on the Blood for the additional movement, and then it was time!  CHARGE!!!  And just like that, with the Hand of Vengence bonus because a friend died within 5", and the bonus from Battle, the Blood chopped up that Mauler into tiny little pieces, before staring down at the knocked down Son of Brag and daring him to make a move.

That's right!  Come at me, brah!

 Conclusion:
Victory for Trollbloods!  Calandra moved forward fearlessly until she and Reznik were face to face.  "Leave," she said, confidence and righteousness resonant in her voice.  "I have seen the omens, and you fate lies not within the Glimmerwood."  She leaned toward the towering executioner, one hand reaching up to rest on one of the horses, and spoke words to the warcaster that no other could hear.  Reznik gave no response to her words, but after a moment, he nodded to her, motioned to his remaining forces, and quit the field, leaving the Glimmerwood far behind.

Get out of here, human!

Another great game with DTB.  He's a great opponent, and is always willing to go over a game once it's over to point out my missteps and give advice on what I should have done.  But, while I really enjoy playing against him, I really really hope that I don't face him in the tourney.  He's had about 8 months of practice with against my Reznik list, and he knows all my tricks!

Next post.... the long awaited Warmachine / Hordes Japan Open Team Championship!  Wish me luck!