AAR Skirmish! Gatormen Vs. Protectorate

The July meeting of the Fukuyama gaming club was on the same weekend as two great Warmachine/ Hordes events.  The first, I already mentioned last time was the tournament in Osaka, which sounded like it was a pretty fun day with a fairly good result for some of our members (great work, Rantei and the Kid!).  The other event this weekend was the Lock and Load Privateer Press event in Washington State, USA.  Oh man, Lock and Load!!!  I can't explain how much I want to go!  I am finally making plans to go next year, so look out, Lock and Load 2018, the Commissar is on the way!  This year was the big release of the new Hordes faction, the Grymkin, and I am super excited it.  The Grymkin are unlike any of the other Hordes factions.  Imagine Hordes during Halloween - pumpkin headed corpse gatherers, beasts cloaked in the faces and skins of their victims, hollow troopers whose souls have been sucked out, and rabbits with big, pointy fangs that would scare the likes of wizards named... Tim?  I have to get my hands on this faction!  My biggest problem with it is that I've already got a Hordes faction (my Mardi Gras Gators) AND a Warmachine faction (The Interdiction of the Dawn of Menoth) and I'm not sure I can convince my husband that I need another army....  Perhaps a few models at a time?  Well, we'll see... maybe I can convince him I need the all in one army box for our upcoming Anniversary, heh heh heh.

My first game last week was a full on 75 point battle against DanTrollBlitzer, but I also got another game in against our new member, Leland.  Leland is almost ready to field his very own Cygnar army but it's not quite ready yet, so once again he borrowed my Mardi Gras Gators for a 35 point skirmish against Reznik, the Wrath of Ages!  We agreed on the Recon scenario (square zone in the center with an objective at each end, and a flag off of each long edge of the zone).

The forces for today's battle!
     Army List:  Gatormen, controlled by Leland.  Leland chose to stick with Bloody Barnabas.  This is definitely the warlock that I would recommend to a new player for Gators.  He's solid, his feat is easy to use, and he has a decent spell list.  Plus, since Leland used Barnabas last time, reusing him should make things a little easier.  There is just too much to remember for a new player to keep changing casters, so Barnabas should feel a little familiar.  Most of the list is the same as last time, with just a few changes...  The list still uses the Blindwater Congregation Theme Force, so the Posse has 8 damage boxes instead of the normal 5, and also they gain Snacking, a really great healing ability, especially in conjunction with the extra damage, and it helps to keep the Posse on the table.
     Warcaster:  Bloody Barnabas
                        Blackhide Wrastler
                        Ironback Spitter
                        Bull Snapper
                        Gatorman Posse
                        Croak Raiders
                        Croak Hunter

     Army List:  Protectorate of Menoth, controlled by moi, Kommissar Koala!  I feel like I'm really close to being ready with this list for the tournament in October.  Hordes armies, WATCH OUT!!!  Your flesh... IS WEAK!!!  Obviously, I had to make a few changes to accommodate the 35 point restriction (the actual list is 75 points) but I tried to keep it as close as possible).
     Warcaster:  Reznik, Wrath of Ages
                        Scourge of Heresy
                        Blessing of Vengeance
                        Heirophant
                        Idrian Skirmishers
                            +Chieftain and Scout
                        Alligent of the Order of the Fist (I know the model looks like Dartan, but really, it's an
                                                                                                                                       Allegiant!)
                        Vassal of Menoth
                        Vassal Mechanic
                        Paladin of the Order of the Wall

Dice came up Menoth, but I prefer to choose my table edge, so I decided to deny Leland the easy water terrain that the gators love, and he took the first turn.

Set up: Gatormen

Gators on the move!

The Posse made a skirmish line in the center of the table, and behind them Leland set the Ironback Spitter, the Blackhide Wrastler and the Bull Snapper behind them.  And behind THEM, Leland set Bloody Barnabas... Seems a little hesitant for Barnabas to me, but knowing Leland, he has a plan!

Set up:  Protectorate of Menoth

Reznik, moving into position

Battle Engines... so good for Menoth.  Pathfinder and a high speed, plus reposition (if I can remember to do it) are hard to come by for the Protectorate, and Reznik has it all!  He went over behind the lake since he don't care about no rough terrain!  Next to him, the Heirophant, Blessing of Vengeance, the Vassal, Scourge of Heresy, and the Mechanik line up.  The Paladin Order of the Wall headed out on the other side of the lake to try and protect the flag.

Advance Deployment:  Gatormen
     The Croak Raiders and the Croak Hunter lined up across from the Paladin... yes, he is to be feared!  Good luck, little froggies!

Advance Deployment:  Protectorate of Menoth
     The Idrians and their Officer and Scout lined up across the middle of the deployment zone, ready to lay some Combined Ranged Attacks on the Croaks or the Posse coming up at them.  I can't damage the objective yet, so I really want to try and clear out few Croaks before they get to me and rain flaming oil on my head, so the Idrians chose the Croak Raiders as their Prey.  Then, the Allegiant/ Dartan deployed on the far side of the pond, to protect the flag just like the Paladin.

Our Story: 
Barnabas, ever seeking to extend his area of influence, is taking a small skirmish force against a small Menite settlement on the edges of Protectorate lands.  He heard that there is an Arms Cache hidden in the small village, intended to arm the civilian militias should they be called to action, and has decided to take it for his own use.  Across the courtyard of the small town, the Effigy of a Paladin hero watches over the cache.  As Reznik arrives to protect the citizens, both he and Barnabas plant their standards, each claiming the village as their own.

Reznik is ready to wrack some Gators!

Round One:  Gatormen
     The croaks activated first and ran into the cover of the forest.  Polliwogs!!!  Babies!!!  Afraid of a few Idrians!  The Posse prayed for concealing mists, and then ran forward behind their own objective.  The Spitter ran into the middle of the cloud, gaining concealment.  The Wrastler riled THREE TIMES!!!  That is one pissed off giant gator.  He then took off running towards the cabin.  The Snapper ran between both of the heavies, while the Croak Hunter ran forward towards the middle of the table.  Finally, Barnabas moved forward and cast Death March on the Posse to give them vengeance, and Warpath on himself to give his battle group extra movement.

Hungry gators moving up the field

Round One:  Protectorate of Menoth
     The Idrians moved forward into firing positions.  Not everyone could get into range due to the little frogs hiding out in the forest, but I did manage to get two combined attacks off.  One shot missed, but 1 did manage to kill one croak.  The Allegiant moved and used his Shifting Stones Stance to gain +4 to his defense.  The Paladin ran forward, not needing to fear for his safety from any shooting, so I didn't feel the need to give him his stone and mortar stance.  The Blessing of Vengeance ran forward behind the Idrians, while the Scourge of Heresy ran between the forest and the objective.  The Heirophant moved up and put Harmonious Exaltation on Reznik.  Both the Vassal and the Mechanik moved forward to keep pace with their Jacks, and finally Reznik moved into the pond, cast Death March on the Idrians, just like the Posse, and then Lamentation on himself.  Now, to get into range of Barnabas to shut down his spell casting.

Getting ready for a tussle!

Round Two:  Gatormen
     Barnabas leeched all the fury on the board, and upkept both spells.  The Ironback moved forward and put it's animus Counterblast on itself.  It then spit a glob of acidic goo at the group of Idrians in the zone.  With a boost to hit, all 4 Idrians melted away to a puddle of ooze.  Killing them off triggered Barnabas' Warpath spell, and the Snapper got a free mini move, which he used to come forward a little more.  The croaks moved about 3 inches through the forest.  The three in the front threw oil and flaming darts at the middle group of Idrians, killing off three more and triggering Warpath again, this time giving a small movement to the Wrastler.  The Croak Hunter ran into the forest to join his froggy friends.  I'm not sure what's going on in that forest right now, but must be some kind of big party, since everyone wants to be there!  The Posse prayed again for the concealing mists, and ran forward into a skirmish line behind their objective.  The Bull Snapper walked sideways behind the objective, while the Wrastler walked straight up behind the Posse fighting line.  Barnabas walked forward into the center of the cloud and cast Swamp pit, placing a shallow water obstacle into the zone.

Still no engagement.... hmmm...

Round Two:  Protectorate of Menoth
     Hmmm, that seemed... awfully timid of the Gators.  Between the objective, the cabin, and the line of Gatormen, all the beasts are trapped in the backfield.  But, let's see how it plays out... The Idrians took their vengeance 3 inch movement forward, but were too far away to get an attack off.  Then, I made a TOTAL ROOKIE MOVE and forgot to allocate focus.  Man!  I know... I know... if you've been reading this blog, you're thinking, "Again, Kommissar?  You make rookie moves in almost every game."  And you would be right!  I wish I could claim that I'm just trying to help the new guy out but... well... we all know that's not the case.  Anyway, with their power up only, I can only hope my jacks will still be able to get some stuff done.  The Idrians charged the croaks in the forest.  One missed, but the others hit beautifully, with four dead croaks to take home for trophies.  The Allegient walked forward and assumed his Shifting Stones Stance, followed by the Paladin in his Stone and Mortar stance.  Two intimidating solos, if I do say so myself.

Reznik claims his flag

The Scourge of Heresy used his one focus to run forward towards the swamp pit.  The Heirophant moved forward and put Harmonious exaltation on Reznik.  Reznik, my man, moved forward onto the flag, ready to DOMINATE!!! But before he could do anything else, the gators threw in the towel, handing the victory to the Protectorate.

The Executioner at work

Conclusion:
     Victory for Menoth!  Witnessing the terror that is the Wrath of Ages in all his fury, Barnabas thought better of his rash decision to raid the village weapon stores.  With a final snap of his jaws, he called to his croaks and beasts, and slowly they faded back into the swamps.

This was a good game because I think Leland learned a lot about how to move around the board, and even more importantly that his brutal, vicious warbeasts need to get out in front to EAT PROTECTORATE FACES!  The Wrastler is a very strong beast and needs to out destroying stuff.  Learning games are great games though, and I'm sure that Leland will pose a great challenge next game!  I look forward to facing off against his Cygnar army, when it's ready!  Next gaming date, August 20th, in the community center near Fukuyama Castle.  Come and get a game in!

AAR Trolls VS Protectorate : Revenge of Menoth

Last Sunday saw another great day of gaming for our small but slowly growing circle.  Sunday was also the date of the big tournament in Osaka!!  The results are in, and DanTrollBlitzer's teammate Rantei took 3rd place (woot) and DTB's OTHER teammate, the Kid, took 7th.  First place was snagged by a member of the French WTC (World team championship) team, Tom.  Congratulations!  Second went to an up and coming rookie from Osaka.  He will be leading Team Osaka during the Japan Team Championship in October so... yay and yikes?!  I look forward to getting my ass handed to me in October!

Without our teammates to practice with, DanTrollBlitzer, Leland and I were left to our own devices, and so Menoth was allowed to take on two consecutive matches, one against the Trolls and one against the Gators.  First up, a nail biter of a match between Jarl 1 and Reznik, the Wrath of Ages!  We decided to run the "Recon" scenario since we thought it's the only one that is not changing between the Steamroller 2016 and Steamroller 2017 pack (as it turns out, we were wrong, and it did not make it into SR17).  This scenario uses a rectangular zone in the center of the board with an objective on either end, and a flag off to each side.  Dominate a flag for 1 control Point, control or dominate the zone for 1 control point, first to five wins!  75 points per army, and off we go!

DTB, ready to rock and roll!

The forces for today's battle!
Army List:  Trollkin, controlled by DanTrollBlitzer.  According to DTB, this list is all about running and shooting.  Run the Long Riders to put pressure in the opponent's back field, while using the Bombers to blast everything that moves forward.
     Warlock- Jarl 1
                     Trollkin Runebearer
                     Dire Troll Bomber X2
                     Dire Troll Mauler
                     War Wagon
                     Long Riders (Full Unit)
                     Horthol, Long Rider Hero
                     Whelps (5)
                     Objective = Bunker

Army List:  Protectorate of Menoth, controlled by Commissar Koala.  This is my anti-Hordes list... Reznik's "The Flesh Is Weak" spell is a BEAST for Warlocks... suddenly your beast can't run, charge, slam or trample... and with two arc nodes, he can get this spell off twice if I need to in a pinch!
     Warlock - Reznik 2, Wrath of Ages
                      Heirophant
                      Scourge of Heresy
                      Blood of Martyrs
                      Guardian
                      Revenger
                      Avatar of Menoth
                      Idrian Skirmishers (full unit)
                           -Unit attachment (Chieftain and Scout)
                      Choir of Menoth (minimum)
                      Objective = Effigy of Valor

Roll them dice!  PoM came out on top of the roll, but I decided to take the board edge to capitalize on the extra deployment space, so Trolls set up first.

Set up: Trollkin

Trolls ready to roll!

      Making the Trolls set up first is great for my Reznik army.  Since my main goal is to make sure the beasts I don't want to charge me are caught in the Flesh is Weak spell, I need to make sure that those beasts are within range of either one of the two Arc nodes or Reznik himself... making the Troll set up first lets me put my Arc nodes where they need to go instead of having DTB put his beasts as far from danger as possible.  DTB placed his Long Riders on the right flank, Bomber A next to them with one whelp behind it, Trollsus, and then Jarl almost in the center of his zone.  Bomber B and the Mauler went next to him, one whelp each, with the War Wagon and Horthol taking the left.

Set up:  PoM

Forward!  For Menoth!

Trying to learn my lesson from last month, I made sure that all terrain was accounted for before I set up.  Luckily, Reznik and the Idrians have pathfinder, so keeping Reznik behind the forest, I knew that he would still be free to move, and I could keep the jacks out of the terrain between him and the lake.  The choir filled in between the jacks as best they could.  They would be instrumental in derailing DTB's Bomber plan by keeping my jacks from being able to be targeted by non-magical shooting (Reznik also can't be targeted as long as he has one focus on him, due to the Wracks attached to his chariot).  The Avatar filled in on the other side of the lake, facing off against the Long Riders.  I decided to put him there since he makes his own focus and therefore does not need to stay within Reznik's control range.

Advanced Deployment:  Trollkin
     NONE!!  So sad....

Advanced Deployment:  PoM
     I put the pathfinding Idrians as a shield out in front of all my important stuff, just in case DTB had some movement shenanigans that might come into play faster than I anticipated.  They chose Horthol as their prey, and will hope to take him out before he becomes a problem.

Our Story:  While visiting an outlying settlement to bring Menoth's righteous justice to some villagers who had strayed from the True Law, Reznik's forces were set upon by a Trollkin force from the United Kriels.  In the town square, a small stockpile of weapons collected by Reznik's forces, the goal of the Trollkin forces, are watched over by an effigy of an ancient Paladin Hero of the Protectorate, which Reznik's forces are loathe to see damaged by the interlopers.  Both forces rush to save their objectives while depriving the other army of theirs. 

Round One:  Trollkin
     The Runebearer (Trollsus) moved forward and put Harmonious Exaltation on Jarl.  Jarl activated next and cast a bunch of spells.  Quicken on the Long Riders, Wield Secrets on Bomber A, and Tactical Supremacy on Bomber B.  He then walked forward and FEAT! creating d3+3 clouds.... due to a terrible roll, that meant 4 clouds sprang up to protect the Long Riders, Jarl, and Trollsus from the Idrians trying to take a few pot shots on the first turn.  Bomber A then riled and ran into the forest, again to try and protect himself from the Idrians (who knew that big burly Trolls would be so afraid of little puny hummies!).  The Mauler riled and ran near the objective, followed by Bomber B, who also riled and ran behind the clouds.  The whelps ran to keep up with their big brothers, while Horthol and the War Wagon ran forward beside the cabin.  Finally, the Long Riders (or, Tuffaloes, if you will) ran forward into the lake.  They do not have pathfinder, so they got a little bogged down, but with their high speed, it won't stop them next turn from wreaking havoc in my deployment zone.

Round One: Protectorate of Menoth
     Hmmmm, those Tuffaloes are fast.  If I don't put a halt to their advance, I could be in some pretty big trouble.  But before I take care of that, the easy stuff.  All four jacks powered up, and the Avatar received a measly 2 focus from the Creator... hmmm, Menoth certainly doesn't like to make things easy.  The Idrians shifted to the right to try and keep out of the way of the Long Riders bearing down on them.  Five were able to make a combined ranged attack on Horthol, their prey.  Unbelievably, they were able to destroy the Great White Buffalo he was riding, forcing him to march across the field next turn!  Reznik moved forward and cast Death March on the Idrians, since we already know that some of them are getting killed next turn, and then Lamentation on himself.  The Choir moved forward and prayed for passage, managing to include all jacks except for the Avatar way off on the left.   All four of the jacks ran forward, though none of them went the entire distance, since I didn't want to bring anything within charge distance of the Mauler.  The Avatar, the only chance I had to stop the Long Riders from ending this game early, had one trick that might save the day.  Spending one of his two focus, he ran to the edge of the lake and used the other to performed "Menoth's Gaze," making it so that any enemy within 8" of the Avatar can only move closer to it.  So... it's possible the Avatar will be destroyed by the wrath of five angry Buffaloes next turn, but at least they're stuck there for the moment.

So the Menoth jacks are just.... hanging out?

 Round Two:  Trollkin
All fury was leeched, all spells were upkept, and the Trolls were ready to roll.  Trollsus move forward and used spell slave to cast Magic Bullet on Jarl.  Horthol ran from the cabin over to the far side of the forest.  The War Wagon followed him with a charge on the Idrians in the forest.  The War Wagon has a bunch of additional rules to cause as much mayhem as possible.  First, Linebreaker killed off one Idrian.  The actual charge attack killed another, and then he unleashed his dual attack with the scattergun... managing to MISS 4 IDRIANS with the spray attack!!!  It did manage to put one damage on the Scourge of Heresy, and then time for the big gun!  The Pounder fired.... and ALSO MISSED!  Not only that, but it deviated back onto the gun carriage.  It still managed to clip Reznik, but his armor is high enough to ignore it.  The War Wagon took one damage, but more irritating, he killed off the Chieftain and Scout plus one more Idrian!  Damn!  The Mauler ran into the zone, and Bomber A moved up next to the objective, his little whelp buddy keeping up with him.  Sensing the danger of the arc node, Jarl lined up two shots at the little Revenger, and MISSED BOTH!!! Wow, this was not a good round for DTB!  I have never seen him miss so many shots that were so important. Bomber B riled twice, and moved along the forest line near the Long Riders.  The Long Riders finished up the turn by moving up a little so they were at the edge of the pond.  Not having pathfinder was a big problem for them, making it so they couldn't actually make it to the Avatar to destroy it.  Huzzah!

Idrian scout Vs. Troll battle wagon

Round Two:  Protectorate
The jacks powered up, both spells were upkept, and the Avatar got 3 focus... much better!  Three Idrians managed to get a charge off on the War Wagon that still had 5 Idrians in base to base.  10 damage on the charges, but the rest just scratched the paint a bit.  The heirophant moved and put Harmonious Exaltation on Reznik.  Reznik moved up and arc'ed The Flesh is Weak onto the Mauler through the Revenger, dealing 8 damage and breaking it's mind!  Yessss, my plan was working!  The jacked continued their monumentally slow advance into the zone.  The choir followed behind them to continue to give them Passage.  The Avatar used a focus for Menoth's gaze and charged into base with the Tuffaloes, killing one, leaving the rest out of range.

The Avatar has successfully nullified the Long Riders

Round Three:  Trollkin
Leeched all fury, but only upkept Tactical Supremacy... which told me something is up!  Trollsus moved into the forest, and used Harmonious Exaltation on Jarl.  The whelps moved up behind the Mauler to comfort him.  And then... DTB decided it was time for a YOLO move!  The War Wagon has a special ability called Crushing Weight, which says that it does not need to move to make a charge attack.  Sadly for me, that means that it can charge while in melee.  So.  It made impact attacks against all the Idrians, killing off four of them.  Another spray attack from the scattergun killed off 2 more plus one choir member!  NO!!!  I had just enough to keep all of my jacks safe.  Now, one will have to just be lucky, I guess.  Then, DTB just got cruel and aimed the Pounder at the Heirophant.  Boom, squish.  And suddenly, there was only one Idrian left.  The Mauler ate two whelps to heal 5 damage, and ran back to safety behind the objective.  Imagine!  A big Mauler being afraid of a tiny little light warjack!  Ha!  Bomber A threw a bomb at the objective, doing 14 damage... only one damage box left!  Jarl cast Magic Bullet on himself, and shot the objective, destroying it and awarding DTB his first control point.  As the effigy of the Paladin Hero crumbled, the bullet ricocheted and killed one more choir member.  Oh no!  His second shot put 6 damage on the Revenger.  The tuffaloes brought up the rear.  Most of them were too close to get a charge off, and another was blocked by the flag, but one was just outside of 3", so he targeted the Avatar with a slam attack.  The attack hit, slamming the Avatar 2 inches and knocking it down, but doing no damage.

Menoth objective...DESTROYED!!!

Round Three:  PoM
VENGEANCE!!!  The last surviving Idrian took its vengeance attack on the war wagon, but of course, could do no damage.  Then, I made my FOOLISH, ROOKIE mistake of getting too excited about what was going to happen on my turn and NOT ALLOCATING FOCUS!!!!  What was I thinking?  I'm staring down three large warbeasts, and I didn't give any focus to any of my jacks!  At least they got their power ups.  The avatar received three focus, using one immediately to shake the knockdown.  The final Idrian again tried to damage the Wagon, to no avail.  The choir moved forward and put passage on the Guardian and the Blood of Martyrs.  The Revenger and the Scourge moved forward into the zone.  DTB's got one point already, and I have to make sure that I don't just hand him another by not having anything in the zone to protect it.  The Avatar used Menoth's Gaze again, this time catching all of the remaining Tuffaloes, Bomber B, and also Trollsus, locking them from being able to move towards the jacks.  He then chopped down one of the Tuffaloes, which toughed, knocking it down.  One shield bash, and one dead Long Rider.  Reznik charged Horthol, though the Long Rider Hero managed to hang onto life, but I bought another attack (since I had so much focus hanging around) and killed him.  The Flesh is Weak was arced again on the Mauler (hee hee), and Reznik FORGOT TO REPOSITION AGAIN!  Hopefully this won't be a game breaker.

Round Four:  Trollkin
The Mauler failed his threshold check, and frenzied.  Now, usually an out of control beast would charge his nearest enemy model, but since HIS FLESH IS WEAK (how do I love that spell), he just stood still and roared.  Jarl decided not to upkeep any spells.  DTB started with his War Wagon.  Just as I feared, he managed to move the Wagon around the last Idrian, and while keeping within it's front arc, swung around into base to base with Reznik.  Luckily, Reznik still had a focus on him, so could not be targeted by any ranged attack.  So, since there was only one target left, the poor Idrian took the brunt of the shooting.  The scattergun missed again, but the pounder pounded him flat.  Jarl cast magic bullet and put Rage on Bomber A.  He then took a shot at the Blood of Martyrs, dealing 5 damage, and ricocheting onto one of the choir members.  One more magic bullet, one more shot at the Blood, three damage and a magically dead choir.  Thus ended the safety for my jacks, but the choir did their job.  Finally, Bomber A did something that I would never have imagined and charged the Scourge of Heresy.  With Rage and a charge, he managed to scrap the Scourge.  Finally the Long Riders took attacks against the Avatar, but his armor is just too high, and took no damage.  And as we use a death clock, the Trollkin are running out of time... they ended this turn with only three minutes left on their clock.

Stay strong, Horthol!

Round Four:  PoM
Reznik upkept his Lamentation spell, the jacks powered up and received allocations, and the Avatar received 3 more focus from the Creator.  The Avatar killed two more Long Riders and used another focus to continue his Menoth's Gaze.  The Guardian charged Bomber B, and made a critical hit, dealing over half of the Bomber's damage and using Critical Pitch to throw him four inches across the zone.  The Revenger, brave light jack that it is, charged the Mauler, dealing six damage and pushing the heavy beast one inch... just not enough to get it out of the zone.  The Blood of Martyrs walked into the zone to put more pressure there.  Finally, Reznik made a ton of attacks against the War Wagon, leaving it with only two boxes left.  I debated spending my last focus to destroy it, but decided not to.  There were two Bombers capable of hitting him with some heavy detonations, not to mention the Wagon's pounder attack if I failed to kill it.  Best to keep it and stay safe.

Round five:  Trollkin
Jarl leeched all the fury on the table, but still had to cut for two to get full fury.  The War Wagon charged Reznik (like I mentioned before, it can charge 0 inches), and followed his early trend of MISSING ALL ATTACKS!  Not able to target Reznik with any ranged attacks, time ran out for the Trolls...

Conclusion:
Victory for Menoth!  All hail Menoth!  The Trolls managed to destroy the Effigy of the Paladin, but they were unable to secure the cache of weapons before reinforcements arrived to bolster the executioner's forces.  Unable to complete their mission, Jarl led his men into a controlled retreat, withdrawing from the Protectorate village.

This was a great game, and a lot of fun to play.  DTB had a pretty rough first turn.  If things had gone differently, I think we would have had a wildly different result...BUT, that's the game.  A lot of skill, and a little luck!  The dice can lead us into victory, or hurl us into defeat.  Bad luck, DTB.  I look forward to a rematch after you send your dice to your own Commissar for disciplinary action!

The next meeting of the Fukuyama gaming club will be on August 20th!  Stop by for a game.  And stay tuned, the packet for the Japan Open will be posted soon!  Praise the Creator of Man!

Mail Call

Ohmygoshyouguys!!!  When the doorbell rang today, I was not expecting the mailman to bring me a present from Privateer Press!!!  Look at it!

A surprise package from PP!

Okay, so maybe it's not a present... but close enough!  I funded the Widower's Wood kickstarter last year.  This is their Hordes counterpart to their successful Undercity board game.  Not wanting to do things half way, I funded at the middle level (I wanted to fund the highest level, but it was just a little too rich for my wallet), which means that I got the "premium chest", which will hold not only all of the elements for Widowers wood and all the unlocked stretch goals, but will also hold all elements for the Undercity, should I choose to buy it... who am I kidding, I'll get it eventually... and the Dead Men Walking expansion which also came with my fund level.

Shiny!  Premium Chest looks nice!

That is a good looking chest!  The sides are actually made to look like, I'm assuming, Gatorman skin! 

What detail!  Made of a Gatorman Bokor.

Excellent attention to detail.. Look at the skin!

It's all in the details

Even the metal fittings have detailing... all of them.  I can't explain how much I'm geeking out right now! But enough basking in the glory of the chest itself, now for the fun!  Time to open her up and check out all the great swag!

Widower's Wood goodies

Three boxes awaited me.  First of course was the Widower's Wood game itself.  It comes with a game board, a stack of terrain features, tokens to represent everything from dangers that the characters may face in the Wood to health tokens, a bag of models to represent the villains and heroes, cards for events, side quests, character stats, and villain activation, a campaign guide, rule book, and feats and abilities for the four heroes.

The game looks like a lot of fun.  It chronicles the adventures of four adventures in the Widower's Wood, a wild track of swampland outside of Corvis.  (Corvis is also the location of the Undercity game... Coincidence?)  Olo, a croak hunter new to the Widower's Wood, Agata, a Farrow Slaughterhouser whose tribe has been destroyed, Vaskis the Knotkeeper, a Druid of the Circle Oroboros trying to protect the wood, and Skarg the Voracious, a Tharn warrior seeking a mighty offering for the Devourer Worm, find themselves working together to stop the designs of a mad Gatorman bokor before he can complete his goal... which may destroy the Widower's Wood and all who live there!  Or... something like that, at least.

The Campaign for Widower's Wood comes in seven chapters.  In each, a new episode of the story is revealed as the characters continue their fight against Sheldon, the Gatorman bokor.  Okay, his name isn't really Sheldon, but the Gatorman language is somewhat difficult for Croaks, and that's what Olo calls him.  Chapters do not have to be won to continue the campaign, but there are benefits for the characters if they can complete each chapter.  Experience is earned through game play, and new abilities can be purchased after each chapter to help in the next.  And just in case you don't want to play a full campaign, the rule book comes complete with hints on how to play each chapter as a stand alone game.

Dead Man Walkin', here!

The second box in the chest was the Dead Man Walking expansion that works with both Widower's Wood and the Undercity.  It is centered around, as you might expect from the name, necromancers, undead hordes and Thamarites!  The game comes with a campaign book detailing two new, three chapter stories, one that can be played with each of the core games or as stand alone games, new character models with plenty of undead goodness like boneswarms, thralls and risen, terrain features like crumbling old ruins and Thamarite altars, and some new tokens for runes, epic heroes, and Helstrom (with the Undercity story).

Woot!  Stretch goals are a joy!

Finally, the best part... Stretch goals!!!  For those of you who have never used Kickstarter, the more people that pledge money for an item, the more bonus items are usually made available.  Widower's Wood had a lot of people pledge a lot of money, and so we were able to get our hands on a LOT of stretch goals.  An extra set of terrain features and tokens, extra cards for events and villain actions, more villain models, 5 exclusive missions (three for the main game, two for Dead Men Walking), and the best part, four new heroes that can be used in all the games (Viktor Pendrake, a wandering professor from Corvis, Lanyssa Ryssyl, a Nyss sorceress mercenary, and Crede and Jagger, a Circle Oroboros wolf sworn team ).  Swag, swag, swag!!!

Viktor, Lanyssa, Crede and Jagger

Heroes!

Boss Villans (Swamp Horror, Ironback Spitter, Gatorman and Blackhide Wrastler

Villains!

It all fits so nice!

And because Privateer Press is an amazing company, they included these lovely wooden trays that fit perfectly in the chest, and have enough space to hold all of the goodies I've already mentioned, and everything from Undercity game as well.  They required a little assembly, a little sandpaper, and a little glue, but they are great little trays.  Plus, PP also put in a few foam strips to protect the inside of the chest.  I love it!  And because we all love dice, they threw in a set of Hordes dice too... just for fun!

Starting set up for Widowers Wood

We're going to try out the first chapter at our next group meeting on July 16th, but I couldn't wait to set everything up and just take a look at it.  So, here it is.  This is the layout for Chapter One: It Takes A Village.  The Campaign Guide lays out all the necessary information for terrain features, spawning sites, villian locations, etc.  The small numbered areas are villain spawning locations, and in the far left corner, you can see one of the Side Quests set up in case the hero's have a chance to grab it.

And finally a prep'd character sheet, ready for action.  All stats and starting abilities are recorded, along with a "second wind" ability to help with things start going... well, the way things so often go... "ploin shaped", if you will.  Each character starts with a restorative draught, and heart markers for their health score.  As they take damage, you flip the hearts over to their black side.

Oh man!  I can't wait to play next week!  I imagine that this game has a great deal to offer, both as a campaign, and also as a set of one off sessions if you don't want to devote yourself to the full story.  But above all, I want to give a shout out to Privateer Press for the delivery of the Premium Chest... it exceeded all of my expectations, and I had a great time just opening everything up and taking a look at it all.  Everything was well thought out, expertely designed, and just fun fun fun!

Stay tuned!  Our first attempt to play through Widower's Wood will be coming soon!

RNR Arkham Asylum

Fighting epic battles on the table top is the center of our gaming club's activities, especially with the tournament coming up in a few months.  We are all working hard to get our army lists into shape and ironing out any last minute problems we might have.  That being said, there is always time for a little palate cleanser when the battles have all concluded, and we often enjoy a board game to finish our meeting days.  There are a lot of great games that we are currently dabbling in, like Zombicide, Zombicide:  Black Plague, Star Trek:  Attack Wing, to name just a few.  This month, we busted out one of my favorite games, Arkham Asylum.

They city of Arkham

Arkham Asylum by Fantasy Flight Games is a board game set in the world of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.  Strange events are happening around the city of Arkham... several investigators, controlled by the players, have to go around the city collecting clues to what's been going on.  Each round, a portal to the outer realms opens, spilling monsters and worse into the city streets, and it's up to the investigators to fight the monsters, and even more terrifying, dive into the portals to close them and stop the eventual awakening of one of the Great Old Ones, a being so powerful and horrible your very sanity could be destroyed!

For this game, we used the Dunwich Horror expansion to extend the board and add several cards to the decks.  Three players, DanTrollBlitzer, Leland and myself took control of four investigators.  With two or three players this feels like the right amount of characters.  The number of investigators used controls several things, including how many monsters can be loose on the board at a time, influences one of the winning conditions, and determines how quickly the "terror track" rises.  The "terror track" shows what the current fear level of the inhabitants of Arkham are feeling as strange events and monsters continue to show up in the city, occasionally closing stores and other locations where investigators will want to go.  For this game, we chose the last four investigators we hadn't used yet...Diana Stanley the redeemed cultist, Marie Lambeau the entertainer, Wilson Richards the handyman, and Rita Young the athlete.

Investigator card, ready to go

For our Great Old One, we randomly selected Abhoth... and man, is he a pain in the butt.  We've played through the game several time with several different Old Ones, but never has one given us so much trouble!  Thoughout most of the game, the Great Old One sleeps, but influences some game aspects as they shift in their slumber.  For example, Yig gains a doom token when his cultists are killed or an investigator is lost in Time and Space, while Nyarlathotep has special, especially evil monsters added to the monster cup.  Abhoth has no human worshipers, so instead of cultists monsters, we had to add three special "children of Abhoth" monsters, which are released into Arkham anytime there is a gate surge.  (A gate surge occures when a gate opens in a space where a gate is already open).  If all three are on the board at one time and there is another gate surge, then the doom track goes up by one, and the terror track of Arkham goes up by two!

The game progression is fairly simple... first each investigator takes a movement action.  Usually this involves trying to reach a space with a clue token (you need 5 to close a gate permanently), come into contact with a monster to battle it, or move toward an open gate in order to dive into it to try and close it.  Then, there is the encounter phase.  Unless you have taken a special action, like trying to heal either you body at the hospital or your sanity at the asylum, or if you finish your movement in the streets, you have an encounter at the location you are standing in.  There is a deck of cards for each location's encounters.  Sometimes they are beneficial, most depend on the roll of the dice, and some are downright awful!  But all are interesting.  DanTrollBlitzer has a standing rule that says, "If the card starts 'Do you place your hand/ do you talk to the man/ do you pick up the item' then the answer is NO!" I, on the other hand, NEVER RETREAT and will often attempt to play along!  Certainly they add flavor to the feeling of insanity that begins to sweep through the city.  Once everyone in Arkham has had an encounter, anyone in the outer realms had a Other World encounter.  These are also often very bad....mostly.  Finally, at the end of the round, there is a Mythos card, which contains either a News Headline (Murders in the Easttown Streets!) a Rumor (Profane Relic Seized!) or an environment card (Icy Conditions).  After resolving the effects on the card, it tells a location where a new clue appears, dictates the location of the new gate that opens, and gives directions to how the monsters on the board move.

The Redeemed Cultists goes shopping

Well, we had a pretty rough go of it.  The doom track goes up by one every time a new gate opens (Abhoth has a doom track of 11).  When the doom track is full, the Great Old One awakens, and the FINAL BATTLE BEGINS!  Dun-dun-DUN!!!  Now, usually after the third or fourth turn, the Mythos card places a gate in a location that has already been closed, thus NOT adding to the doom track.  However, this game, we got incredibly unlucky.  Every turn... EVERY TURN a new gate opened, and the doom track went up, up, up!  After that, several gate surges happened, and while that didn't raise the doom track by itself, it did release the Children of Abhoth, and when they were all on the board, the terror track went up, up, up!  And because of Abhoth's special power, so did the doom track!  Our investigators did their best to close up gates, but eventually there just weren't enough clue tokens for each investigator, and new tokens were often blocked by the incredibly hard to kill Children of Abhoth!  And slowly, the shops began to close, until the terror track finally maxed out.  Now, when that happens, you know you're in trouble.  Then, it was just a matter of time...

Terror reigns in Arkham

And finally, like an avalanche starting at the top of a mountain, there was no stopping the inevitable.  Abhoth, the Great Old One, awoke!  Dun-dun-DUN!!!  Now, to fight Abhoth, each investigator must at the beginning of each round discard a total of three clues, monster trophies (which you get by killing monsters), gate trophies (which you get by closing gates) or items.  Any combination is fine, but you must do it, or Abhoth simply devours you.  Then, each investigator attacks, and every four successes you get deals one point of damage to the old one.  Each point of damage will remove one token from the doom track.  So, let's do the math... Abhoth has a doom track of 11, you need four successes to deal one point of damage... 44 successes will put the Great Old one to sleep.  Most investigators will roll an average of 5 dice, and a success is on a 5 or 6.  Unfortunately the Handyman was cursed, so he could only succeed on a 6.  Even more unfortunately, I had no weapons, since I had to discard them to keep from getting eaten, so I couldn't help with the fight.  As you may imagine, we slowly were devoured, one at a time, while doing only three measly damage to Abhoth...

Marie prepared to fight Abhoth!

Sorry Arkham!  Our investigators were not up to the challenge.  There are probably few things worse then being devoured by a Great Old One...We had incredibly bad luck with our Mythos phase.  Hopefully next time we'll have a little more luck, better investigators, and a new Great Old One to contend with!  Next time, we will prevail!

Next gaming day in July 16th!  Anyone is welcome to join!

AAR Skirmish! Gatormen Vs. Protectorate of Menoth

This month we welcome a new member to the Fukuyama gaming club!  We're always glad to see new faces especially those that are ready to jump right in and get their feet wet!  And that's exactly what Leland did, almost literally, with a borrowed Gatorman army (my army, in fact!), Bloody Barnabas in command.  For this first game, we decided to use a small skirmish force, 35 points each, and Leland was coached by DTB. I took up the challenge with a small force led by the Hierarch himself!  Since this was Leland's first time to try Warmachine/ Hordes, we decided not to use a scenario.  All out for the other person's caster!

The forces for today's skirmish!
Army list:  Gatormen, led by Leland.  In an effort to keep the game simple, we recommended he use Bloody Barnabas.  His feat is easy to use (knockdown all enemy models in Barnabas' control area), he's pretty solid if he gets into combat, fair fury score... Probably the best 'caster for a new player.
     Warcaster:  Bloody Barnabas
                        Blackhide Wrastler
                        Iron Back Spitter
                        Swamp Horror
                        Bull Snapper
                        Gatorman Posse
                        Croak Hunter
                        Totem Hunter

 Army list:  Protectorate of Menoth, controlled by moi, Kommissar Koala!  While keeping it simple  for Leland, I still wanted to keep things pretty similar to my lists for the tournament in October (I can't believe there are only three months to go!!) so I could still get some practice in.
     Warcaster:  Hierarch Severius
                        Indictor
                        Crusader
                        Blessing of Vengence
                        Choir of Menoth (minimum unit)
                        Idrian Skirmishers
                        Paladin of the Order of the Wall

As it is often easier to learn a game by reacting to a more veteran player, we decided I would take the first turn.

Setup:  Protectorate of Menoth

In my set up, I fell victim to one of the classic blunders... not checking on what kind of terrain everything on the table was.  I simply assumed that the terrain on my right flank was a hill... FOOLISH!!!!  It is clearly a rubble pit.  Clearly.  Sigh.  So, I recklessly decided to place the Blessing of Vengeance behind it.  Ugh.  Anyway, I then placed Severius in the center between the two heavy 'jacks.  The choir spread out to cover all of the 'jacks, and the Paladin went to the left side.


Setup:  Gatormen

The new theme force rules are out for the Blindwater Congregation, and Leland took full advantage of the army construction bonuses!  Gatormen Posse members go up to 8 damage boxes each (yikes!) and gain Snacking as well.  Snacking is such a good ability, I can't say enough how useful it is.  With some advice from myself and DTB, Leland placed the Posse in the very middle, and then used them to screen his beasts and 'caster.  The Totem Hunter went on the left flank, choosing the Paladin as his prey.

Advanced Deployment:  Protectorate of Menoth
The Idrians set up in the very middle, ready to try and combined ranged attack straight into the line of Gatormen growling across the field at us.

Advanced Deployment:  Gatormen
The Croak Hunter went on the right flank, just behind the forest.  With stealth and pathfinder, it was going to be hard to get close enough to shoot with the Idrians.

Our Story:

Rushing to try and reach the capital city of Imer before an army of Skorne besiege the city, Heirarch Severius has led a small interdiction skirting the marshes that surround Blindwater Lake in an attempt to find a faster route back to the Protectorate from Leryn.  The Gatormen, led by Bloody Barnabas, took umbridge at the interlopers to their lands, and have mobilized their own force to protect their boarders.   Just before battle was joined, a Totem Hunter appeared suddenly out of the trees and approached Barnabas.  Raising one clawed hand towards the waiting Paladin, the Hunter rasped, "That one... it is mine."  Barnabas looked for a moment at the Paladin before nodding his agreement, ordering his troops to stay out of the mysterious hunter's way.

Round One:  Protectorate of Menoth
     To start, the Idrians ran forward to get into a good firing position for the next turn.  As I said before, PoM is S.L.O.W.  Therefore, they always "Must to Run" on the first turn, and this game was no exception!  The Indictor, Crusader and Blessing of Vengeance used their power up focus to run forward.  Now, here was my first huge mistake of the game.  Realizing that the terrain was actually rough terrain, I decided to have the Blessing of Vengeance swing wide to the right to go around it instead of moving left or simply slowly going straight over it.  Facepalm!  In doing so, I moved him outside of Sevy's control range, so he was unable to arc the spells I needed onto their targets.  No!  Oh well, all I could do was prepare to make it up next turn.  The choir prayed for passage on the other two jacks (of course, the Blessing was also outside of their range, too).  The Paladin moved forward keeping to the right hand edge of the forest and adopted his Stone and Mortar stance to gain +5 ARM.  Finally Severius moved forward and kept all his focus, since he was out of range to give his spells to the people that needed him.....D'oh!

Round One:  Gatormen
     The posse ran forward straight towards the Idrian firing line, staying on the front edge of the hill.  The Totem Hunter ran straight down the left hand flank, setting his sights on his prey.  The Ironback and the Swamp Horror riled and ran, and the Blackhide also ran.  The snapper ran behind the forest, eyeballing a few juicy Idrians who might face a charge next turn.  Barnabas advanced and placed Death March on the Posse and Warpath on himself.  Finally, the Croak Hunter advanced into the forest and hucked a spear at the farthest right Idrian.  Death would come on a seven.... but the dice came up a 4!  Oh no!

Round Two:  Protectorate of Menoth
     Alright!  Time to make up for the mistakes of the first turn.  Power up and focus allocation, the Crusader and the Indictor both recieved one to make use of Sevy's Orracular Ability.  The Blessing ... gets NOTHING!!!  That's what he gets for moving out of the control area!  The Idrians moved forward and made two combined ranged attacks at the Posse, and one two man shot at the Croak Hunter, which killed it .  Death March gave them Vengeance, which is a huge pain in the backside, but I felt taking the shots was important... Two shots, one dead gatorman (which is amazing with their 8 boxes of damage) and one more down half it's life.

Take aim!

 The Blessing of Vengeance moved back into the control area, hopefully to finally be useful next turn.  The Crusader and the Indictor used one focus each to run forward, and the Choir followed and continued to pray for Passage.  The Paladin continued his slow advance along the tree line, continuing his Stone and Mortar stance.  To finish, Sevy came up straight behind the Indictor and unleashed his FEAT!!!!  d3+2 living warrior models suffer a POW 12 magic blast.  I rolled a four, which means all four of the remaining Gatormen were hit!  If only they didn't have 8 boxes instead of 5!  4 damage, 4 damage resulting in a death, but the dang gator was tough, so he was just knocked down, 4 damage and 2.... a fair result, but no death, so none of the exploded into a giant cloud.

Round Two:  Gatormen

     Barnabas pulled all the fury off his beasts, and upkept Death March and Warpath.  Then it was Vengeance time for the Gators.  They moved forward into the Idrians, killed two, and with snacking, healed most of the damage that the feat had done.  Then, normal activation time!  The Posse that hadn't made contact with the Idrians due to Vengeance moved forward, and the feast began!  The leader prayed for Offerings to Kosk, which would give them re-rolls on missed attack rolls... Yeesh!  Boom!  Six Idrians found themselves sliding down the gullets of some gators, continuing to heal any headway I had made in feating on them.  The Bull Snapper walked into the forest into two Idrians.  He easily ate one, but then due to Torpor, immediately fell asleep, next to the other Idrian who was too scared to move! 

Idrians face off against a Bull Snapper

Barnabas moved onto the hill next to the Ironback Spitter and put Rage onto the Swamp Horror.  The Spitter aimed at the Paladin and spit a glob of acid at him, hitting him squarely and dealing 3 damage to him, and melting the choirboy standing next to him into a steaming puddle of sludge.  The Swamp Horror then looked hungrily at the Crusader and CHARGED IT!!!  And here was my SECOND HUGE MISTAKE of the game.  The charged bite attack did a fair amount of damage, but it was the three tentacle slaps that really put the hurt on!  And did I use the focus he was holding on to for Orracular Vision?  The focus that could just discount one of the damage rolls?  NO I DID NOT!!!  UGH!  Things may have turned out completely differently if I could have remember this small, vitally important detail... Usually the Crusader is sturdy enough to not worry so much about the tentacle attacks, but with Rage, they did a LOT of damage.  SLAP SLAP SLAP!  Three extra bites, and the Crusader was just another wreck sinking into the bog.

Swampy Vs. Crusader

Finally, the Totem Hunter made his move.  A full move, that is, followed by a jump, straight into combat with the Paladin.  Now, normally the +5 ARM would make such an attack nothing to worry about, but with three damage already on him and a +2 to attack rolls due to Prey, the Paladin succumbed to the martial prowess of the Totem Hunter, who quickly reached down to yank off a trophy before sprinting straight into Severius' back arc, and moving his prey from the dead Paladin to Sevy himself! Wow, is that a bad place for a Totem Hunter to be!  Severius is one of the casters who is NOT supposed to be in combat.  When he has to think about casting Creator's Wrath on himself, you know you're in trouble.  Not really seeing anyway out of this incredibly bad situation, I sadly decided to forfeit the game and leave the field with dignity intact.

Conclusion:
     Gatorman Victory!!!  The Totem Hunter reached out and grabbed Severius by the pauldrun with a clawed hand.  Drawing him close, he rasped, "This battle is over.  You are not my prey today.  Go!  And do not return."  Severius took a moment to assess his options before nodding in agreement.  As the Totem Hunter faded back into the forest from whence he came, Severius signaled his troops to pull back, preparing to find a new pathway to Imer that didn't cross Barnabas' territory.

I believe this is ... "checkmate"?

Great game!  It's always fun to play against new players that are enjoying the experience.  I really love the Gatormen and I'm looking forward to exploring more about the new theme list.  And though I am a Commissar, and therefore despise having to forfeit a game, sometimes a stratgic retreat is nothing to be ashamed of!  Thanks for the game, Leland!  I hope to see you across the table next month!  Our next meeting is July 16 for anyone who wishes to get a game going!  Everyone is welcome!