Warmachine Batrep: Butcher1 versus Vyros

Any day is a good day for a game versus Mike and his Nurgle-ized Khador. We played a quick fifteen point game of Kill Box over lunch. This time we snagged the table by the natural light. Mike wanted to play his first fully-painted fifteen point list, and I just wanted to try some new models.

Mike's Butcher

Mike's list was:

The Butcher of Khardov
* Destroyer
* Juggernaut
Great Bears of Gallowswood

And mine was:

Dawnlord Vyros (Dawn's Talon Tier 2)
* Manticore
* Manticore
* Gorgon
Arcanist
Arcanist



List Design

Dawn's Talon is Vyros' secondary tier list, published in No Quarter issue 35, and supported in iBodger. Tier 2 drops the price of heavy 'jacks by one point each. I knew I'd be facing Khador, but not what list. When designing this list, I wanted to be able to crack heavy (ARM 21-25) Khador armor, which always troubles me. Mage hunters are excellent units as long as the armor is south of 20, or Ravyn can spare her feat. Manticores have ROF 3 guns, or a three-inch AoE area denial, and with arcanists can get their P+S up to 25. And with Vyros' tier bonus they're only seven points each. So let's see how that goes.

Deployment

Fifteen points, Kill Box. I won the roll and since Mike's list was much slower than mine, I asked him to go first. As expected, he deployed centrally. That let me deploy slightly left, behind two forests and the central obstructing wall. I intended to use Vyros' Mobility spell (2 focus, grants pathfinder and +2 SPD to the entire battlegroup) and his Bird's Eye power to completely ignore the forests. And, before you say anything, I didn't place those forests. They were a gift from Mike.

Deployment

Wow, a table without Eiryss. Something's wrong.

Turn 1 (Khador)

Everything advances.

Turn 1 (Retribution)

Missing the photo, sadly. Vyros casts Mobility on himself and an armor/fearless bonus spell onto the Gorgon. The manticores, Vyros and the arcanists moved into the large forest. The gorgon runs behind the wall on my right flank. I want Mike to think I'm coming through the open area in the center of the board. I want him to commit his slow jacks to this gap so I can race around the left.

Turn 2 (Khador)

Butcher and the bears move into a forest of their own. The 'jacks advance. Destroyer uses a neat trick to increases his threat range. Butcher gives him two focus. He spends one to Trample forward SPD+3 and then the second focus to buy a bombard attack. One of the arcanists isn't quite three inches into the forest, so he sends the shot there. Fortunately it scatters and no one is hurt.

Turn 2 (Retribution)

Rats. I didn't think they'd be moving seven and shooting; I thought it would be eight and done. I can't afford for the Great Bears to come left and flank me. Time to move. Everything shifts left and one manticore drops a 3" POW12 AoE to make the Bears think twice about coming left.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3 (Khador)

Weird things happen. Not sure what Mike was thinking here. He sees me going left... and he runs the other way. The Bears book it for another forest and the 'jacks head to the board center. Destroyer takes another trample+bombard shot at Gorgon and does a few boxes to his shield. Butcher stays in his forest.

Turn 3 (Retribution)

That's the opening I wanted. Butcher is exposed. Manticores move up so they're within a Mobility-boosted charge distance (pathfinder, base SPD 6, +2 SPD, +3 for charge, +0.5 melee). I make a big mistake and put Gorgon in the back. He should be in front of the two Manticores, near the back-left corner of the ruin. That would let him block charges from either Khador 'jack. Oh well. Instead, the manticores lay down suppressive fire to deter the Great Bears.

Then I placed Vyros and stepped back to take the end-of-turn photo. Oops! Mike was a gentleman and let me scoot him over. In Kill Box, a warcasters who leaves the central 24x24" area forfeits the game.

End of Turn 3

Turn 4 (Khador)

Orsus must smell blood, because he activates his feat and sends the Great Bears, axes held high, through the suppressive fire towards the manticores. The one behind destroyer goes first. We roll dice-3 for the suppressive fire. I need eight to kill him... and get it. The Bear closest to me in the forest then charges the backmost manticore. We roll the suppressive fire damage, and get eight again. Mike makes two Tough rolls and they both fail. Bad news, Bears. Sad for Mike, but now he has a story to tell. The last Bear books it for Butcher, then fails his leadership check and flees. Oh, man.

Destroyer throws another bombard shot at the arcanists, but it scatters wide.

Turn 4 (Retribution)

Three focus on the first manticore, charge him at Butcher. I miss one of the attacks, but the other two take him down 50%. Gorgon advances and fires his polarity cannon at the juggernaut, which prevents him from charging gorgon next turn. Vyros keeps moving around, getting into flanking position. The other manticore is now threatening.

End of Turn 4

Turn 5 (Khador)

Mike decides that Butcher can handle the one manticore and send the last Bear running through the woods to tie up the second manticore. (I think we goofed up here, because the Bear failed his command roll and should have been fleeing this turn. Oh well.) Sadly he has more than three inches of forest between them, so he can't actually see the manticore to charge it. Butcher puts ten boxes on the manticore. Destroyer keeps chugging around the center of the board. I think he drops bombard shot at the gorgon. Then Juggernaut surprises me and does a trample/swing thing to get to gorgon, and beats up up pretty good.

Mike does something here that hurts him on turn 6: he pivots Butcher to face the manticore. I'll be able to take advantage of that later

Middle of Turn 5

Turn 5 (Retribution)

The left manticore pivots around the Bear to make room for Vyros, and squishes the Bear. Vyros scoots over to get a charge lane to Butcher next turn. The arcanists move to block run lanes to Vyros. My manticore slashes at Butcher, but he's wearing Iron Flesh so I can't get through his defense.

End of Turn 5

Turn 6 (Khador)

Juggernaut obliterates the Gorgon. Butcher takes one swing at the manticore, doing some damage, then camps the rest of his focus. Destroyer continues his slow, slow orbit of the middle of the board. He takes a bombard shot at Vyros, but it scatters.

Turn 6 (Retribution)

The manticore pivots around Butcher to make room for Vyros and the other manticore. It swings, but even boosted can't break Butcher's defense. Vyros charges in with full focus. With the free charge and the extra damage die for flanking with a warjack (P+S 14+4d6), he dispatches Butcher.

End of Turn 6. Game over.

Final Thoughts

I got lucky. It was lucky Mike put down so many forests. It was lucky two of the Great Bears died running through POW 12 suppressive fire. It was lucky that the bombards kept scattering. It was lucky that Mike left Butcher were I could reach him. It was lucky Mike ran Destroyer all the way around the ruin and never really engaged anything with him. Mike's list is brutal in melee and I was fortunate that he spread everything out and only engaged piecemeal. That let my smaller, faster list run straight for Butcher. I didn't win this game so much as Mike lost it.

The manticores were fun on this board with Vyros. They've got a little bit of everything – ROF 3 shooting, infantry suppression, great melee power. These are abilities I think Ossyan's lists need, so I'm going ponder that.

The gorgon is a nice little trap. For five points he can give his little metal life to shut down a heavy jack for maybe two turns. At fifteen points, that makes a huge difference. Not sure about higher point levels. People don't see gorgons very often, and they may not know how to deal with them.

Arcanists are money.

Thanks for the game, Mike. Hope we can do it again, soon. I've got a few more crazy fifteen points lists to try out!