WM/H League - Week 1

Last night was the first night of the LGS's WM/H League - and it was an absolute blast. Still being relatively new to WM/H, I lost both my matches and made a lot of mistakes, all of which I hope to learn from and improve.
I do have two existing Cryx and Khador armies, but those armies have barely seen the table-top, and even then that was over a year ago. So I didn't go in expecting to win many games, given that I barely knew the rules and had no experience with my army, but I did want to learn and make some new wargaming buddies.

So last night was 15 point Highlander format (1 warcaster, 1 warjack, 1 unit, 1 solo). This format was a little difficult for some players (myself included), so an exception was made - any remaining points could be spent on warjacks. Here's the list I took, mainly because of the models I had available:

• Durgen Madhammer
• Basher
• Gunner
• Gunner
• Steelhead Halberdiers (full)
• Dougal MacNaile

Battle Report 1 - Menoth

• Kreoss
• Vanquisher
• Cinerators (full)
• Vassal

I dropped a Gunner from my list to even it out a bit, as my opponent wasn't aware of the Highlander format exception.
I made all the mistakes in this battle, and lost because of it. The first and most spectacular mistake I made was marching my Primed Steelhead Halberdiers up to Cinerators (with Defenders Ward, bringing their armour up to 19), within 1" of each other. That lead to a lot of explosions, which had no chance of killing his Cinerators, but decimated my Halberdiers. Won't make that mistake again...

Cinerators thought the Primed Explosions looked pretty.
Halberdiers left a lot of widows at home.

I also forgot about Durgen's Blast Armour, which negates all blast damage Durgen suffers. This single mistake cost me the game! At the end of turn 3, his Cinerators had surrounded Durgen exposing Kreoss, but their blows were not enough to take him down - Durgen had 2 hit boxes left. In a final desperate move, my opponent used one of Kreoss' spells to explode his own Cinerators, which dealt the final blast damage that killed him.
If I had remembered Blast Armour, Durgen would have survived, and in my turn, my Basher and Gunner would have made short work of the exposed Kreoss!

Shoulda, woulda, coulda...

Battle Report 2 - Cygnar

• Siege
• Charger
• Defender
• Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
• Journeyman Warcaster

Deployment - an uphill battle

My opponent was still new to WM/H, but not new to gunline armies! His strong shooting wore me down, and not one of my models was able to engage this army.
The above image isn't to scale, but still gives a good idea of the situation. My opponent placed a giant rock structure (impassable terrain) right in the center of the board, immediately creating two firing lanes, then deployed himself on a hill in his corner.
I deployed my Primed Halberdiers on the right (this time, not within an 1.5" of each other!) and my Battlegroup on the left with the intention of coming around and creating threats from both sides.
After setting my models down, I remembered that I wanted to keep Primed on my Halberdiers - which I thought meant keeping Durgen within 6" of them. This had me make a last minute change to my strategy - I decided I would lead down the right with the Halberdiers, hopefully have them get a few licks in, with my warjacks and Durgen following in behind them. Wow, that was a mistake.
I'm not sure which of his units did it, but they were able to create rough terrain in the middle of the right lane, which stopped my already slow army in their tracks. He shot me down from across the field - I didn't even make it onto his half of the board!

If I could redo that battle, I would have moved all my models up behind the rock, and the simultaneously sent them in two groups as I originally intended. I don't know if it would have worked, but I probably would have had a better chance.


Lessons Learned

Durgen Madhammer is great warcaster, and his Buster is awesome. I didn't try out his Carpet Bomb which looked promising, because I thought that Special Attacks cost 1 focus to cast... I don't even know why I thought that. Definitely need to get him and his Buster within range of the enemy faster.
His feat isn't a neccessarily a game changer, and should be used as a feat of opportunity, instead of trying to turn the tide.
Basher is great too, especially with Redline! A bit focus hungry, as you'll definitely want to buy more boosted attacks with him.
Gunners are cute. They're also good at shooting stuff, and focus efficient.
Steelhead Halberdiers are good, considering that they are pretty cheap and achieve their objective as a tarpit unit - and when Primed can pose significant threat.
Dougal MacNaile I should have left at home for these games. For low point games, I definitely should have taken a solo that could put down some hurt, instead of fulfilling a support role. Though I definitely see his value as Durgen's support.

While I'm confident with the basic rules, there were a few that I wasn't too sure on, and few that I learned last night:

• Models can use any number of their abilities in a turn, but only one of their Special Attacks
• Special Attacks do not cost 1 focus to cast for Warcasters
• Elevation applies to target models that are 1" higher than the shooter, and confers 2+ DEF
• Warcasters do NOT need to be in range or have LOS to maintain an upkeep spell

I still had a great time, and am really keen on improving and learning. More Warmachine and Hordes action to come! Oh, and I'll get photos of my Mercs army up soon.

Sync out.