Oblivion: A Prologue

Hello, again, everyone!  Well, in the time since my last post, things around the world have changed rather rapidly, haven't they?  Sadly, with the current Corona virus pandemic, getting some games in is going to be impossible... for those of you who are computer minded, there are several virtual platforms that can allow you to play Warmachine, Hordes, and even Blood Bowl (I hear) on line!  Sadly, I am not so savy with the tech side of things, and so will not be taking part in such games.  Japan has yet to receive any sort of stay-at-home orders, so the Fukuyama Gaming Club is still able to meet and play, but of course, we are trying to decide if we should or not.  Anyway, the next meeting isn't until May 6th, in the week long holiday of Golden Week.

Luckily, before the pandemic really got started, we of the Fukuyama Gaming Club had begun the new Warmachine/Hordes narrative campaign, Oblivion!!!!  Woo-hoo!  So, to take your mind off of the stresses of 2020, join me as we start off the decent into madness and damnation that is.... OBLIVION!!!

Oblivion Campaign
Yes!  I have been looking forward to doing any of the wonderful campaigns that come out of workshops of Privateer Press!  Allow me to set the scene...

Long, long ago, Thamar the dark twin made a deal with a devil (literally) to save humanity from the Orgoth.  Now, the devil is due, and true to her nature, Thamar, with help from her brother Morrow, is going to try and weasel her way out of payment.  Of course, in the meantime, gates to the demon realm are being assembled, heroes are taking to the field, and all Hell is breaking loose!

The campaign is designed for between 2 and 4 players, though 4 is the best.  The 4 players break into 2 teams... the Guardians (good guys) and the Corrupters (bad guys).  The campaign has them fight through 5 rounds of battles, the end of which is a giant free for all that will decide the fate of Immoren!  This story begins with three prologue skirmish battles, all played against the same opponent and keeping track of wins and losses.  After the Prologue has been completed, the players play through 3 tiers of increasingly large battles, with wins and losses determining the scenerio for that players next battle.  In each tier, every player must play their scenerio as the protagonist, and it can be against any other player as the antagonist, even their own teammate.  And finally, as I mentioned, everything comes to a head in a four person mega battle for the sould of Immoren!  Dun-dun-DUN!!!

So...let us begin!

Prologue: Scene 1
On a dark night, two patrols stumble upon each other in the woods.  Fighting breaks out as the two frightened teams lash out against their perceived enemies.

First, we had to seperate into teams... DTB and his Grymkin teamed up with moi, Kommissar Koala and my Protectorate on the side of good, so we are the Guardians.  Leland (with several guest appearances) with Cygnar and Sarge with his Cryx became the Corrupters.  Then, we had to go head to head against one of the members of the other teams... I faced off against the Leland conglomerate, and DTB took on Sarge.

Army Lists:
 

     Grymkin - Piggybacks (maximum)
                        Piggyback Officer
                        Cask Imp X 2

     Cryx -        Bane Warriors (minimum)
                        Bane Knights (minimum)

     Menoth -   Exempar Errants (minimum)
                        Elias Gade
                        Exemplar Warder

     Cryx -        Cephalyx Overlords
                        Cephalyx Mindslaver and Drudges

Okay, so I know what you're thinking... Kommissar, you said that there was a Cygnar team?  What's with the two Cryx teams?  And you would be correct!  Sadly, the day that we started the campaign, Leland was out of town, and so the Cryx team using the Cephalyx that I was facing was actually being run by a new member of the Fukuyama Gaming Club, TG#1.

Being used to 75 point battles, this little 30 point skirmish was awfully quick!
     Grymkin Vs. Cryx - Piggybacks are too strong for these little games, and quickly overwhelmed the Banes that swarmed them.  Victory for Grymkin
     Menoth Vs. Cryx - I foolishly moved the Errants up much to far, only to get mulched by the Drudges that were waiting for me.  Victory for Cryx

So, were are now tied, 1-1 for each team!


Prologue:  Scene Two
Routed, the losing team breaks and runs until they come across another of their own patrols and team up, returning to the scene of the origional skirmish.  Alas, the opponent has also received reinforcements, and is ready to get back into the fray.

Now, all the prologue scenes are supposed to be played against the same opponent, but we decided to switch it up and change our foes, so for this scene, I take on Sarge and DTB faces against TG#1.

Army Lists:

     Grymkin - Piggybacks (maximum)
                        Piggyback Officer
                        Lord Longfellow

     Cryx -        Cephalyx Overlords
                        Cephalyx Mindslaver and Drudges
                        Orin Midwinter

     Menoth -    Exemplar Errants (maximum)
                         Exemplar Errants Officer and Standard Bearer
                         Elias Gade

     Cryx -         Bane Warriors (minimum)
                         Bane Warrior Captain and Standard Bearer
                         Bane Knights (minimum)

So, this mission, the losers from last round have to try and get three models off the board from the opponents deployment zone to win, while the winner from last round have to keep them from doing that.  Because of the new pairings, it was loser Vs. loser and winner Vs. winner, so we randomly determined that TG#1 and I were the losers.

This round the point costs went up to 35, but still pretty quick games!
     Grymkin Vs. Cryx - As the Piggybacks slaughtered the Drudges, the Overlords panicked and made a beeline for the escape zone.  Victory for Cryx
     Menoth Vs. Cryx - Several Errants had almost made it off the edge of the escape zone, but realizing their brothers were still in trouble returned only to be destoryed. Victory for Cryx

Yikes!  I've lost both of my games!  Team scores are now 1-3, in favor of the Corruptors!

Prologue: Scene 3
Chaos ensues as the two forces continue to spar across the moonless night.  Finally, the two forces face off in a pitched battle.  If the defender from the last round (the loser of the first round) managed to get all three models off the board during the last round, they recieved three intelligence tokens that could be used to either re-roll one of their own rolls, or force their opponent to re-roll one of their rolls!  Eep!  Also, as this is the final round of the prologue, each army had to select a solo to be their "Commander" for the round.  If the Commander falls, the game is lost!

With this round, Leland had finally returned!  Yes!  So, back to our original pairings, DTB and Sarge and me with Leland.

Army Lists:

     Grymkin -    Piggybacks (maximum)
                           Piggyback Officer
                           Hollowmen (maximum)
                           Lanternman -> the commander for the round
                           Hollow Holden

     Cryx -           Bane Warriors (minimum)
                           Bane Knights (minimum)
                           Bane Riders (minimum)
                           Bane Lord Tarterus -> the commander for the round
                           Scrap Thralls X 6

     Menoth -       Exemplar Errants (maximum)
                            Exemplar Errant Officer and Standard Bearer
                            Exemplar Errant Seneschal
                            Elias Gade -> the commander for the round
                            Vassal of Menoth

     Cygnar -        Piper of Ord
                            Sword Knights (maximum)
                            Lynus Wesselbaum & Edrea Lloryrr
                            Archduke Alain Runewood -> the commander for the round
                                 -Firefly
                            Trencher Engineers

Well... these lists are certainly a bit more hefty than they have been!  This is a pretty straightforward round, kill off the opposing commander and win the game!
     Grymkin Vs. Cryx - The Bane committee was just too much for the Grymkin, especially with the Vengeance on the Bane Riders.  Victory for Cryx
     Menoth Vs. Cygnar - The Errants ALMOST had Runewood... they left him with only one health box, but in missing that last one, left themselves vunerable...Victory for Cygnar


Conclusion:
Awww, man!  I lost every single prologue battle!  Still, good times were had by all, so I guess its fine.  The final team score is Guardians 1, Corruptors 5 (yikes!!!)  A resounding victory for the bad guys!  Luckily, this has no bearing on Tier 2, but from here on out, victory or defeat will decide what our next scenerio's are, so we'll all do our best to come out on top!

Stay tuned!  The Oblivion Crisis in Fukuyama continues soon!
Stay safe, wash your hands!  So says the Kommissar!

A Triumphant Return

 Welcome all!  Merry Festivus!  It is so good to be back!  I know you're all wondering where I have been for the last year, and I wish I could give you the whole story... but I am under orders.  All I can say is that I was on a mission for the Emperor, and though long and hard, that mission was a success!  All is right with the universe, and I am free once more to continue with my Duty Log!  Huzzah!  And I can think of no better way to resume my duties than with a review of our long awaited Japan Open Warmachine/ Hordes Team Championship!  This year was another successful event, with much fun and camaraderie for all, but this year we had several big changes.  The biggest change was that this year, for the first time, the JOTC was held in November!  A lot of thought went into it, but it seems like it was a good change for everyone... not too hot, fewer other obligations (like Sports Festivals and such), all in all a good change!

But before we get on with the tournament...

Announcements - 

This year, for the first time, Japan sent a team to the Warmachine/ Hordes World Team Championship in Brussles!  It sounds like everyone had a great time, and did their best!  So, a round to thanks to DTB, Micho, Kirill, KT, and M for representing Team Ronin Onigiri!

Also, the next meeting for the Fukuyama Gaming Club will be December 28, which is a Saturday... pretty close to the end of the year madness that plagues Japan, but if you're free and looking for something to do, drop on by and get a game in!  January turned into a scheduling nightmare, so our first meeting of the next year will be February 2nd.

And now, on to the JOTC!

Getting ready!

First, let's take a look at our teams for 2019!  Due to a defective camera drudge, we were not able to get any individual army photos... but fear not!  A requisition for a new drudge for next year has been filed, and this mistake will not happen again... with that in mind, here are the teams!

Team Dead On Arrival
Two members of the last few years' Band Of Heroes teams have reformed with a new member into this new group from Osaka!
  Chikua, with his Cryx army, using Lich Lord Venethrax and Asphyxious the Hellbringer
  Genki, with his Cygnar army, using Captain Kara Sloan and Major Victoria Haley
  Tabibito, with his Trollblood army, using Kolgrima Stonetruth and Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain 

Team Grim Evil Robots
This team, you guys... ugh!  Three members of Team Ronin Onigiri that fought at the World Team Championship, all together here to try and muscle their way into a JOTC victory!
  DTB, with his Grymkin army, using The Heretic and The Wanderer
  Micho, with his Mercenaries army, using Cognifex Cyphon and Exulon Thexus
  KT, with his Convergence army, using Iron Mother Diretrex and Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer

Team Hand of God
Another great team from Osaka, some of our favorite guys came together to make an appearance at the JOTC!

   Kaerumaat, with his Minions army, using Sturm & Drang and Lord Carver BMMD, Esq. III
   Sencho, with his Protectorate army, using The Harbringer of Menoth and Thyra, Flame of Sorrow
   Vrada, with his Khador army, using The Old Witch of Khador and Vladimir Tzepesci, Great Prince of Umbrey

Team InterRegional
My very own team!  The other two players were both new to the JOTC, but very experenced players... Kirill himself was on Team Ronin Onigiri at the WTC, and Paul is also an exceptional player... so, lots of pressure for me!
   Kirill, with his Skorne army, using Dominar Rasheth and Supreme Archdomina Makeda
   Paul, with his Mercenaries army, using Fiona the Black and Ashlynn d'Elyse
   Kommissar Koala, with her Protectorate army, using the Testament of Menoth and High Exemplar Cyrenia

Team Kyushu
Our Kyushu team, back again!  We're always glad to see this great team come up to join us!
   Ryo, with his Infernals army, using Omodamos, The Black Gate and Zaateroth, The Weaver of Shadows
   Zwiefel, with his Cygnar army, using Colonel Marcus "Siege" Brisbane and Captain Jeremiah Kraye
   Yamanaka, with his Mercenaries army, using Ashlynn d'Elyse and Magnus the Traitor

Team Trick Or Treat re:Universe
It just wouldn't feel like the JOTC without our favorite team, Trick or Treat, from Osaka!  These guys really bring the fun with them!
   Niwaniwa, with his Retribution army, using Issyria, Sibyl of Dawn and Garryth, Eye of Vengeance
   Redobii, with his Grymkin army, using The Dreamer and The King of Nothing
   Enzo, with his Circle of Oroboros army, using Krueger the Stormlord and Baldur the Stonecleaver

Team Enjoy and Exciting
This is a team of heavy hitters, and no mistake!  A mix of Hiroshima and Tokyo, this team is definately here to win!
   Rantei, with his Skorne army, using Dominar Rasheth and Makeda & the Exalted Court
   Souichiro, with his Convergence army, using Axis, the Harmonic Enforcer and Aurum Lucanum Athanor Locke
   Tetsu, with his Mercenaries army, using Ashlynn d'Elyse and General Ossrum

And Now, a Word from Our Sponsors

We would really like to give a shout out to our sponsors, as well!  We had a huge amount of prizes donated by some really generous companies!  From mats, zones and measuring sticks to gift certificates, our sponsors really game through for us!

Frozen Forge Goodies!

     - playmats.eu - playmats.eu
          Playmats gave us several mats and zone sets!

     - Frozen Forge - frozenforge.com
          This year Frozen Forge came through again with several beautiful sets of magnatized measuring sticks!

     - Discount Games, Inc. - discountgamesinc.com
          Discount Games also came through for us again with a huge gift certificate for each member of our winning team!

Mats and zones from playmats.eu

Round 1 - 

And now, on to the Crash at the Castle!  Match-ups for this round!

     Enjoy and Exciting VS InterRegional

     Hand of God VS Kyushu

     Grim Evil Robots VS Trick Or Treat

     Dead on Arrival had the pass this round.

A devastating round for my poor InterRegionals team... we had gone in with very high hope.  I, for one, was sitting on a team that would get me as close to the top as I had ever been!  Expectations were high!  And then all three of us were dealt second/ third round brutal assassinations... oof!

Winners for the round - Enjoy and Exciting, Hand of God, Grim Evil Robots!

Round 2 - 

After a quick break for rations, the battles continued, fiercer than ever!  Match-ups were...

     Hand of God VS Dead on Arrival

     Enjoy and Exciting VS Grim Evil Robots

     Team Kyushu VS Trick Or Treat

     InterRegional had the pass this round

Taking the pass, we kind of knew that we were out of the running as far as finishing towards the top was concerned, but we turned it into a chance to me to get a game against Kirill, so that was amazing!  I've never gotten to play against him before, and he gave me a lot of good advise, that hopefully I will put to use in Round 3! (I was, of course, slaughtered in that game, but in the nicest way possible, haha!).  

Winners for the round - Dead on Arrival, Enjoy and Exciting, and Team Kyushu!

Round 3 - 

At last!  The final round!  And soon, a victor!

     Hand of God VS InterRegional

     Grim Evil Robots VS Team Kyushu

     Enjoy and Exciting VS Dead on Arrival for the championship!

     Trick Or Treat had the pass round.

What a great round!  In our battle against Hand of God, I got to get a game in with Kaerumaat and his Minions army.  I've never gotten to play against him OR against Lord Carver, so I was super excited.  He was a great opponent, and with ten seconds left on his clock took a swing at Cyrenia, but she managed to tough it out with one health point left, and with that, his clock ran out, leaving me the win!  

Winners for the round - Grim Evil Robots, Team InterRegional, and ...

                                                                                                                   and...

                                                                                                                              and...

Results - 

Team Enjoy and Exciting WINS!!!!!!

Yes, congratulations you guys!  Well fought!  You totally deserve this honor!

In second place - Grim Evil Robots

Woot!  Three of my favorite players, all together in one team!  Good job!

In third place - Hand of God

 Well, well, well.  Just inching out my own Team InterRegional, Hand of God managed to snag the coveted third plae!  Congrats!

And finally, the winner of the painting contest....Vrada, with his Khador army!  Well done!

Thank you everyone for making this another great Japan Open Team Championship!  Again, I humbly apologize for the disturbing lack of photos... the new drudge should arrive in plenty of time for next year's battles!  Until then, keep gaming!

AAR - Bumps in the Night

Happy New Year!!!!

Did everyone have a great vacation?  I had so many, many plans for my two weeks off, like getting my Exemplar Errants completely painted, taking part in the traditional Japanese big cleaning of the house, more blogging since I fell behind a little bit last year (oops, sorry, everybody!).  Sadly, a dislocated thumb and a slipped disk in my spine made sure that I did nothing but a lot of sitting at my kitchen table, unable to do anything but sit still and pray for a miracle!  No painting, no blogging... no nothing!  And well just in time for real life to return.  Curses!  At least my second half was around to help with the poliwogs, or else I would have been completely out of luck!

A few weeks before the end of the year, the Fukuyama Gaming Club had our last meeting of 2018, and we got in some great games.  Leland and DTB look like they're heading to Osaka for a tournament in the middle of January, and are really working hard on getting their lists ready for a good fight!  We didn't just get in some Warmachine/ Hordes practice, though... oh no!  Take a look at what got thrown down on the board!

Ghostly warband FTW!

That's right!  The Thorns of the Briar Queen, the ghostly warband from Shadespire (or actually Shadespire's expansion, the Night Vault) is now mine!  Muahhahahahahaha!  This time, Sarge, DTB, Leland and I got in a four player game of Shadespire.  I'm not totally sold on multiplayer games yet, but I could see how it might be fun.  At the moment, I don't think we're quite getting 3 or 4 player games just right.

This month, DTB and I paired off for a Warma/Hordes battle, leaving Sarge and Leland to their own battles, and was I in for a surprise!  Instead of pulling out his tried and true Trollblood army, he threw a whole new bag up on the table... one with swirling purple patches... and I knew that DTB had fallen to the Defiers!  Perfect!  My Menoth worshipers were just dying to get their hands on these heretical nightmares!  But in reality, I love love love the Grymkin, and was super excited to see a new army across the board from me!  I guess DTB wanted to surprise everyone, so he put the army together and painted it up without telling anyone, until he had a fully painted, complete army up and ready to go.  Amazing!

So, without further ado, your army lists for today!

Army List, Grymkin:

A scattered bunch of Nightmares!

     Defier - The Child
          Cage Rager
          Skin & Moans X 3
          Rattlers X 3
          Crabbits X 2
          Gremlin Swarms X 3
     Lady Karianna Rose
     Death Knell
     Glimmer Imp

So, this is the Dark Menagerie theme force, which is pretty much like most Heavy Metal themes.  Ultra beast heavy, no units, and a couple of solos are what DTB has to work with, but in return, the theme allows him to take Gremlin Swarms, usually not acceptable in the theme force, and the Gremlins get Serenity, that will help him with Fury control.  Also, all non trooper models that can carry corpse tokens begin the game with one, so his Skin & Moans and the Death Knell are already tough coming out of the gate.  The good news for me and the bad news for DTB is that while the Gremlin Swarms would be devastating to most armies, my force is literally awash in magical weapons, so getting rid of them won't be AS tricky as it could be for most opponents.

Army List, Protectorate:

Line up for a fight with the darkness!

     Warcaster - High Exemplar Cyrenia
          Judicator
     Exemplar Bastions
     Exemplar Bastion Seneschal
     Exemplar Cinerators
          - Officer
     Exemplar Errants
          - Officer & Standard Bearer
     Exemplar Errant Seneschal
     Exemplar Warder
     High Exemplar Gravius
     Visigoth Rhovien
     Vassal Mechanik

This is the new Exemplar Interdiction theme force that I wanted to try out, along the the brand spankin' new caster, Cyrenia!  Woo, is she a great addition to the Protectorate!  I've only played her in a few games, but MAN!! I love her!  This theme gives me the benefits of having all warjacks (so, only the Judicator, who already has it naturally.... sigh) Blessed on all their weapons, meaning that they will ignore spell buffs to ARM and DEF, and also gives me a +2" on my deployment zone.... now, usually that would be invaluable to me, but this army is surprisingly fast!  Cyrenia has a spell to move her troops along, and Gravius also has an action he can take that also gets Exemplars moving... but still, I'll take it!

Setup, Grymkin:

Things that go bump in the night

We came up with the Mirage scenerio, so that means two large, unit scoring zones, one on each side, with an objective in the middle of it, and three flags across the center of the table.  This is going to be a difficult scenerio win for DTB, because wow, Dark Menagerie does not get a whole lot of models and NO units!  DTB started with a Gremlin Swarm off to the far left, next to the Blue Rattler and Blue Skin & Moans (did that thing skin a Trollkin???) Lady Rose was off the line just a bit behind the S&M, and next came the White Rattler and the White S&M protecting another Gremlin Swarm, the Black Crabbit hiding behind The Child, and the Glimmer Imp on the other side.  Next, the Death Knell, the White Crabbit and the Red S&M and Red Rattler lined up, with the Cage Rager on the end.

Setup, Protectorate:

And now for the fastest list in Menoth

Yikes!  I know the Judicator is an amazing 'jack, but I don't know how I feel about having only ONE warjack in the whole army!  Still, Cyrenia has other things she need to do with her focus, so I guess we'll try and make it work.  I had to use a couple of proxies in this battle since I haven't quite gotten all of the new models yet, so I have Kreoss 2 as Cyrenia, Durst as the Cinerator Officer, and Reznik as the Exemplar Warder... bear with me, haha!

I started with Cyrenia and her Judicator in the center.  To their left, I placed the Cinerators and Gravius (he's going to help them along since they're SO SLOW!!!) To the right I had the Mechanik behind Cyrenia and the Warder next to her, then the Bastions with their Seneschal behind them.  Since DTB doesn't have any advanced deployment, I went ahead and put out the Errants and their Seneschal in the middle of the field. 

Our Story:

Shudder

On a mission to Tower Judgment, Cyrenia, followed by her interdiction of Exemplars, came upon a small girl standing in the shadows of a copse of trees.  Smiling at the little girl to try and calm her, Cyrenia knelt down and extended a hand to lead her from the darkness.  The little girl regarded her quietly for a moment.  "Are you a one of Menoth's?"
"To be sure," Cyrenia replied.  "Are you lost?"
A dark light flashed behind the child's eyes.  "I'm not lost.  Dolly's with me."  Behind her, something huge began to push through the trees.  The girls features twisted in a horrible grin.  "And Dolly HATES the worshipers of the false one!"
Cyrenia moved back towards her forces as Dolly loomed behind The Child, and the Exemplars prepared their weapons as the chittering, moaning horde of Grymkin appeared, ready to rend them all until they joined the Wicked Harvest.


Round 1,  Grymkin:

Oh, man, they're coming!

The Glimmer Imp ran 12" to in front of the rubble.  The Child put on Tantrum, then Abused the White S&M for 1 damage and also Abused the Blue S&M for one damage.  The White S&M then ran behind the lake, and the Blue S&M followed it.  The White and Blue Rattlers ran to keep up with their buddies.  Lady Rose ran to just behind the White S&M.  The far left Gremlins ran over the wall, the middle Gremlins ran behind most of the pack, while the Black Crabbit walked behind Dolly and then Lept to next to the Glimmer Imp.

You don't want to meet these guys down a dark alley!

The Red S&M moved next to the objective, while the White Crabbit walked forward and then Lept into the zone.  The Cage Rager ran 8" to lip the zone.  The Red Rattler also ran to the objective with its buddy.  The far right Gremlin Swarm moved between the S&M and to finish up, the Death Knell walked 6", then repositioned into the zone.

Round 1, Protectorate:

For the Flame and the Wall

Cyrenia started off as she likes to do, giving Heroic Call and Inviolable Resolve to the Errants before moving forward and casting Dash.  The Warder moved forward next to her before the Errants moved up, shooting A WHOLE LOT at the White Crabbit and failing to kill it.  The Errant Seneschal moved onto the flag, the Bastions ran forward, and Gravius on the other side moved behind the cloud and gave Desperate Pace to the Cinerators.  The Judicator moved forward and sent two rockets at the Grymkin.  They deviated since the target was too far, but managed to kill Lady Rose!  First blood to me!  Woot!  And then I forgot to make the damn thing get it's second bound... damn!  Cinerators ran into the middle of the table, and Rhoven & Co finished to round by running forward.

Round 2, Grymkin:

Fear not the darkness!

In the maintainance phase, DTB moved the Cage Rager due to Tantrum, and the Gremlin Swarms removed two fury from the S&Ms, and then round 2 began!  The Glimmer Imp ran to the flag and stared down the Errants giving them a -2 DEF.  The Black Crabbit moved and Lept to the front of the zone.  The Child Abused the White S&M for 2 damage, then healed the White Crabbit, fixing all of its aspects, and then moved forward.  The Red Rattler charged an Errant, killing it and triggering Berzerk... sigh... my poor Seneschal hanging onto the flag, and no one close enough to die for him...three more lost their lives to the Rattler...that thing is scary!

Mmmmm, Errant, nom nom nom

The White S&M charged over the lake to an Errant, killing it, but it was TOUGH thanks to Heroic Call!  Yes!  But, sadly, he died to the monster's second attack.  It bought another attack on the next Errant, and the Errant WAS TOUGH!!!!  Woohoo!  And it died on the S&M's last attack.  The White Rattler ran up to another Errant, while the Cage Rager moved to the edge of the zone.  The Red S&M walked in front of the objective, and the White Crabbit walked and the Lept into the cloud, biting an Errant, but could not break his armor!  The Blue Rattler moved behind the lake, put up it's animus "Still As Death," which gave it Countercharge.  The Blue S&M walked behind the lake, and the Grymkin finished up with the Death Knell moving forward next to the objective.

Round 2, Protectorate:

Stand strong, guys!  They're only as scary as they look!

Well, to start, I forgot all about my Vengence movements and all the good stuff that I got to do in my maintenance phase... what a waste!!!  That's okay, it's my first time with this army.  I'll have to remember in the future, though!  The surviving Errants pressed forward, putting damage on the Red Rattler, White Crabbit, White Rattler, and killing ONLY the Glimmer Imp... What???? How did I only kill one tiny solo!  Rhoven moved forward and shot Cleansing Fire on the Gremlins scoring the Flag, but MISSED on a roll of two 1's.  Sigh.  Gravius ran around to the wall behind the front lines.  The Cinerators made a charge order, putting the pain on the White S&M before the Officer used his Defensive Formation ability and allowed them to use a second order in the activation, falling into a Shield Wall for more DEF on DTB's activation.

Casualties of war!

The Bastions charged the Cage Rager and the Red Rattler, bringing the Rattler down to 3 damage and giving 6 damage to the Cage Rager.  The Warder charged the Rattler (I had to murderize that thing!), finally killing it.  The Judicator moved forward, bombing the Blue Rattler, leaving it barely alive (and again, I FORGOT THE SECOND BOUNCE!!!) Finally, the Mechanik moved up behind the Judicator just in case, and Cyrenia stepped forward to...... BEEPBEEPBEEP!  Time over!

Conclusion:
Victory for the Grymkin!

This monster must not be allowed to survive!

The Child giggled maniacally as her monsters tore through Cyrenia's Exemplars as though they were untrained chaff.  Unwilling to risk more of her brothers-in-arms, the High Exemplar sent the signal to withdraw, a vanguard taking the brunt of the retreat as the monsters continued their depraved games.  "Go hide behind your wall, little knight,"  she heard the voice of the Child call over the wails of the dying.  "We'll see you soon enough."

A very fun game with DTB!  The Grymkin play style is still a little unfamiliar to me, and I had a great time learning just how devestating a Rattler on the lose could be!  I made a lot of mistakes, forgetting important rules and tricks of my models, but most of them I'm using for the first time, like the Errants, and I'll pick it up soon!  I'm looking forward to more Defier Vs. Menoth fights in the future!  Thanks, DTB!!!

AAR - Fishing for Cryx

June has brought with it summer.... Oh, Japanese summer... my immortal enemy.  Heat, humidity, cottonmouth snakes, poisonous centipedes, and bees that can quite literally kill you.  Oh yeah, what's not to love, right?  Luckily for us, there was also another meeting of the Fukuyama Gaming Club.  And luck was with us, as Sarge made his second appearance this year!  And then she promptly left us again as Leland was stuck at work all day at his school's sports festival.  Ugh!  Well, we missed having him, but were glad to see Sarge again!  We were really hoping to get another board game in, but as our friend The Kid says, we've entered "War Season."  With Boundless Charge and the Japan Open coming up quickly, side games are being pushed to the, well, side, and tournament prep is taking over.  In a great use of time, all three of us managed to get two games in!  Sarge Vs. Kommissar, Kommissar Vs. DTB, and DTB Vs. Sarge... and we did it all in time to grab dinner before heading home!  SUCCESS!

My first match of the day was against Sarge, and it was a pretty good game!  I'm still working to get comfortable with my Tristan list, and am once again tweaking it to see if I can get a little bit of a better fit before go time... All of my units are pretty set, but I seem to have a little bit of a revolving door on what 'jacks I'm going to go with.  I felt comfortable enough with the new set I used in today's game, but... I'm not sure if I'm totally happy with it.  We'll see.  My next game was against DTB, and though I lost again, I did feel a bit more comfortable with the list, and I managed to spear me a big ole' bear!

A nice bear skin for Tristan's new cloak!

Announcements:
The next gaming days for the Fukuyama Gaming Club are July 22 and August 5!
Registration for the Japan Open Team Tournament in October is rolling along!  Make sure that you reserve your place if you're want to join!
And now, the big news... in just three weeks, my polliwogs and I are going to visit family in America!  Yeah!  Because of this, August may see some breaks in our regular posting schedule... and content!  I may not be able to get any games in , but I will definitely be visiting some of my favorite local gaming stores, and they may find themselves with a write up in the Duty Log!
Look forward to it... that's an order!

For the first time in... boy, maybe three years, I finally got a game in with Sarge!  Woot!  The last few years he hasn't been able to make it up our way for anything except the Japan Open, which he has been running.  It is a long way from Fukuyama to Iwakuni, and if he brings up some of the boys from the base, there are a lot of restrictions on them, especially that they have to make curfew (and I really mean HAVE TO.... the American military does NOT mess around with that kind of thing).  But the last two meetings he has made it up, and much fun was had!  I decided to take one more turn with Tristan to face off against his new Cryx army... sadly, Menoth is not a great match up against the undead horde!


Army List, Cryx:

The Bastard's Dark Host

     Warcaster - Goreshade 2 (Goreshade the Cursed)
          Desecrator
          Death Ripper
          Defiler
     Skarlock Thrall
     Wraith Engine
     Bane Lord Tartarus
     Scrap Thrall X 2 (that's 6 thralls, y'all!)
     Bane Warriors (Maximum) X 2
          + Officer X 2
     Bane Riders (Maximum)

This list uses the Dark Host Theme Force, which will give Sarge's Bane models prowl (they'll get stealth when they have concealment) and he'll also get 2 4" fog clouds, which of course, will help his prowling Banes!

Army List, Protectorate:

Tristan's Guardians of the Temple

     Warcaster - Sovereign Tristan Durant
          Reckoner X 2
          Templar
          Crusader
          Purifier
          Redeemer
     Daughters of the Flame
     Temple Flameguard (Maximum)
          +Officer and Standard
 
This is, naturally, a Guardians of the Temple theme force, which will give my Daughters of the Flame the ability to Ambush (and let me tell you, that has really come in handy a few times!) and the Temple Flameguard will gain Tough and can't be knocked down when in B2B with models in their unit.

Setup, Cryx:

A ghostly horde

 We ended up rolling the Spread the Net scenerio, so that means we had a unit scoring zone in the center of the board, and a Jack/ Beast scoring zone on each side of it, and flags on opposite sides from the 'jack zones.  Sarge set his two fog clouds touching each other right next to the obstruction on the edge of the middle zone, and then proceeded to flop down that giant awful monstrosity of a Wraith Engine right in the middle!  Next to it on the left, his unit of Black Banes, with the Defiler on the outside and the BLT (Bane Lord Tartarus) a little behind them.  In front of the Engine came Goreshade and his Scarlock, with the Colorful Banes next to them on the right.  The Desecrator and the Bane Rides came next, with the Death Ripper finishing out the right flank.  Behind everything, six Scrap Thralls brought up the rear...okay, I know in the picture it looks like five Scrap Thralls and one blue marker, but use your imagination! Haha!

Setup, Protectorate:

Flameguard, ready to go!

I started with my Temple Flameguard in the Shield Wall order in the middle of the board.  Behind them, the one of the Reckoners started far on the left to try and deal with the Bane Riders that were going to be charging at me.  Then, the other Reckoner, the Redeemer, Tristan, and the Templar lined up with the choir filling in where they could fit.  On the hill behind the wall of Flameguard I set the Crusader, and finally the Purifier on the edge.  Usually I would then take the chance to set up my Daughters with advanced deployment, but since they have Ambush now, and Sarge has, like, a million Bane Warriors that are going to KEEP COMING BACK TO LIFE, I think they'll Ambush.

Our Story:
After stealing the sword of Nyssor, Goreshade and his troops are hastening back towards the Thornwood to reach the relative safety of the Cryxian tunnel system.   Under cover of night, the eldritch was moving in the direction of Bainsmarket, when suddenly a force of Flameguard from the Protectorate appeared before him, cutting him off from his destination.  Several Scrap Thralls that had been following his Wraith Engine shuffled forward and informed him that more Flameguard were moving up on all sides, trying to catch the Cryxians in a net of spears.  Sovereign Tristan Durant was in the lead, having had a vision from the Creator of Man commanding him to stop the undead horde before they could escape.  If Goreshade was to keep his prize and reach safety, he was going to have to cut that net open and lose himself and his forces in the looming woods.

Round 1, Cryx:

Forward, to the concealing fog!

The Desecrator accumulates for one focus (stupid rule!  What does it think it is, a Cyrissian?)  Then it ran 10" into the fog.  The Colorful Banes ran next to the Desecrator.  The Black Banes ran behind the obstacle.  The Defiler ran in front of the Black Banes, between them and the rocks.  The Bane Riders ran into the left zone, while the giant Wraith Engine ran between the two units of Bane Warriors.  The Skarlock did a little cross and ran to the other side of the Wraith Engine.  Goreshade moved up and cast Occultation on the Riders, and BLT ran behind the Colorful Banes, and the Scrap Thralls moved up to not be left behind.

Round 1, Protectorate:

For Menoth against the zombies!

To start things off, the Flameguard moved forward and got into three groups of Shield Walls.  Tristan moved up and FORGOT TO ALLOCATE FOCUS!!!! Haaaaaaaa, okay, this is going to be a long game.  He put Inviolable Resolve on the Flameguard and then hung his head in shame for the rest of the turn.  The Light Reckoner moved up, followed by the Choir who put Battle Prayers on the Dark Reckoner, the Redeemer, the Purifier and the Crusader.  The Dark Reckoner moved up and.... just stood there, looking intimidating.  The Redeemer took three shots with it's very inaccurate rocket and managed to kill one Bane Warrior!  Yeah!  First blood to me!  The Templar ran to join Tristan to give him some of the good Shield Guardness, and the Crusader ran behind the Flameguard.  Finally the Purifier ran into the right zone.

Round 2, Cryx:

Banes, Banes, everywhere...

The Desecrator accumulated again, then inched forward and shot at the left hand group of Flameguard, killing 1 and leaving behind a cloud of corrosion.  The Bane Riders ran forward to block both of my Reckoners, which is going to be a huge pain in the butt... how am I going to get into the zone now?  The Defiler moved to the edge of the right zone, spraying the right Flameguard shield wall with acidic goo.  They all survived, but 2 got stuck with continuous corrosion.  The Black Banes ran forward, spreading out, and the Colorful Banes followed suit in the central zone.  The Death Ripper nudged forward to lip the zone.  BLT moved into the fog, and the Wraith Engine moved a smidge closer to the zone.

Ooooooh, scary!

Goreshade moved up, and using the arc node of the Defiler he shot the Purifier with an Abyssal Gate, dealing 8 damage and moving the light 'jack out of the zone and facing backwards... ugh!  Stupid Goreshade!  The Scrap Thralls continued to shamble forward like good little zombies, trying to keep up.

Round 2, Protectorate:

Step one... get in the way!

Ambush!  Aha!  I remembered!  Yes!  Okay, pack up the game, I already won!  Oh, no, wait, that's right... let's keep going.  The Flameguard pressed forward, charging into the mass of Bane Warriors... while 3 died in a corrosive mist, they managed to kill off 2 Warriors.  The Choir got their activation right!  yay!  and put Battle on the Light Reckoner, the Redeemer, the Crusader and the Templar.  Then, the Light Reckoner killing the Bane Rider up in it's face, as did it's Dark brother.  Tristan lipped the right zone and cast Manifest Destiny!  Oh my gosh, you guys, I'm getting my activations right this game!  This is going great!  The Redeemer shot BLT for 2 points of damage and killed another Warrior.  The Crusader ran forward to guard Tristan's left, and the Templar did the same in the zone on Tristan's right.  Finally, the Daughters charged into the Black Banes, killing 4.  Sadly, as this is the bottom of the 2nd round, Cryx will score a Control Point for the left zone that I couldn't get to thanks to those meddling Bane Riders!

Round 3, Cryx:

And a point goes to the Skarlock on the right!

The Black Banes retaliated against my Daughters, killing 5 of my girls... and then the Officer used his mini-feat, bringing back 4 of the Banes I killed.... NOOOOOO!!  BLT then charged the middle huddle of Flameguard, putting 4 damage on the Captain.  Then the Colorful Banes had their chance, putting 24 damage on the Redeemer and killing 4 Flameguard... oof!  The Bane Riders ran forward to get in the way again, and then.... then the worst.  Goreshade moved forward and FEAT!!!  Damn!  Those 6 Scrap Thralls that were shambling in the back?  Goreshade killed all six of them and used their corpses to revive EVERYTHING THAT I KILLED LAST TURN!!!!  No!  Nonono!  The Desecrator moved into the left zone to torment me, and the Skarlock moved into B2B with the Flag... giving Cryx another 2 Control Points... 2 to go to win the game... I've GOT to disrupt his control game, or I lose at the end of my turn!

 Round 3, Protectorate:

Step 2... revive your ENTIRE ARMY!!!

The Flameguard started my comeback by killing 3 Banes.  Then, the last remaining Daughter killed one Bane and knocked down another.  Tristan moved up and cast Manifest Destiny, and then FEAT!!!  Then, he took Veritas, his trusty spear in hand, and killed a Bane Rider, and cast Hand of the Creator to heal 3 points to all models in his control area.  So, I realized my mistake... the Redeemer couldn't get a focus from Tristan's feat because it's Cortex was broken... I should have cast Hand of the Creator first instead of Manifest Destiny, and then cast Manifest Destiny after the feat... live and learn!

Tristan fears no death horsey!

The Choir moved up and prayed for Battle on both Reckoners, the Redeemer and the Templar.  Both Reckoners again killed the Bane Riders that kept harassing them, the Light Reckoner edging around to try and get closer to the zone, but he's not going to make it this turn to stop the Desecrator from getting another control point... I MUST make it to the Skarlock at the flag!  The Templar charged the Defiler and killed it, along with one Bane Warrior.  The Purifier killed the Bane in front of him, then used his Overtake ability to move up to the next Bane... killed it and Overtook again, then killed another and Overtook again!  Wow, MVP for the game!  He didn't make it to the Skarlock, but he got within 4" of the flag, so the Skarlock can't get a point from it this turn!  The Crusader ran into the middle zone to keep it safe from scoring, and the Redeemer knocked down one of the Bane Warriors attacking him... Cryx scores 1 more Control Point... one left until game over!

Round 4, Cryx:

Step 3 ... stall, stall, stall

The Black Banes spread out into the right zone.  The Wraith Engine FINALLY did something and charged the last remaining Daughter, killing her and spawning a Machine Wraith, which then took over the Purifier, forcing him to move out of jamming range of the flag.  2 Control Points and the game to Cryx!

Conclusion:

Victory for Cryx!


Tristan fought valiantly, but with Goreshade and the Bane Officer's abilities to reanimate the fallen, he was being overrun... quickly it became apparent that he was not going to be able to hang on until the rest of his trap was sprung, or risk the lives of his remaining men and women.  Though it hurt deep in his soul, Tristan signaled his last few troops to fall back, clearing the way for Goreshade to escape.

A punishing blow for Menoth, but a fun game nevertheless.  I really enjoyed my first game against Cryx in many many a year!  Long long ago we had two Cryx players, but the Dark Lady had to return to Spain, and our other player got a new job that really ate into his playing time, and he had to stop coming.

Thanks for the game, Sarge!  Next time, the light of Menoth's holy flames will prevail!