Recently I attended a Warmachine Weekend Qualifier up in Rochester, NY, which had a large host of players and a really competitive group of attendees. This is how my games went. I’ve been practicing and refining my lists for the event for a while, and I was moderately confident that I’d have a respectable showing at the event. Millennium Games in Rochester is a great store that hosts great events, so I knew I’d have fun if nothing else.

My pairing was a Kallus1 with Blightbringer in Primal Terrors (2 units of Warspears) list, and a Thagrosh2 Primal Terrors list with Golab–because the two of them sync so very well together. At the bottom of this post you’ll see my roster sheet with the full details of the two lists, but wanted to avoid spoilers of the action!

My first opponent was Spencer, who had a Baldur2 list and a Kaya2 list. Either way I was going to face a lot of boxes, so I had to take Thagrosh2 into him. He dropped Baldur2, and we set up for the clash. Roots of the Earth was good, but I still managed to snag three of his heavies on Feat turn. All four of my heavy hitters were in the right spots for my own Feat turn to carve my way through the rocks. I got up on scenario by holding my left flank, which meant he had to try and leverage Baldur2’s personal threat–and Golab cruised in to finish him off. Was a fun game, and it showed me the ceiling of what kind of damage Manifest Destiny plus this beast package can do (would come back to bite me later…)

Round two I faced Piotr’s Cryx force. He had a Deneghra1 Satyxis force, and an Asphyxious3 heavy warjacks list (not 9 slayers, but a lot of slayers plus an Inflictor, Seether, and Cankerworm). I was more confident about facing Satyxis than the Slayers, and took my Kallus1 list as it was going to be the better choice against either for me. Piotr dropped then Gaspy3 list, and we clashed. I got very lucky that the scenario was Spread the Net, because his battlegroup couldn’t quite stretch across all the spots they needed to be. Let me winnow down both sides of the force, while taking some pretty hairy casualties myself. The Blightbringer waited until late game as I try to, and it worked well–being a sweeper that crushed two Warjacks. He had to try an assassination run that honestly looked pretty good–managed to clear a path for the Inflictor and got it onto Kallus1 with a charge. However, the dice decided to go my way. He left Kallus1 on three boxes, and I managed to pull off an assassination myself in the following turn (was far closer than it should have been, as I forgot Murderous on the Scythean)–an incubi’s combo attack was what finally got the job done on Gaspy3. 

Round three I got paired up against Rob McCarty, another Cryx player and one of the great people from the Pittsburgh meta. Was a bummer to be 4 hours from home and face someone I see frequently, but still a good game. He had Satyxis with Asphyxious1 and all the slayers with Gaspy3, and he dropped the Stayxis. Again, I had to go with Kallus1. This time I think I fared a little better, though Satyxis gunslingers do fearsome work. I had a lot of crossing shots that happened from the Blightbringer, and that helped clear the waves of Blood Witches, while Kallus1’s nuke and the Scythean helped with the Raiders. I managed to get to a small scenario advantage, when time finally ran out on Rob’s turn. Was a great close game, against an opponent who usually beats me. It also left me as one of the four undefeated players going into the next round, against some pretty fierce competition. 

Round four I faced Tim Banky, a member of the Canadian WTC team and one of the people behind the great Arcane Assist battle report series. He was playing Trolls, with Madrak1 and Borka2 as his drops. I expected, and got Madrak1, and accordingly had to drop Kallus1. This was my weakest game of the event probably, as I made two key mistakes. He also played an excellent game, which led to my loss. It would have been closer had I not flubbed the timing of my Feat turn (should have used it rather than waited on turn two). And I flubbed remembering a critical piece of his defensive tech: Kallus1 killed a Fennblade who had hero’s tragedy up. After that herp derp moment of him getting knocked down, it was all over but the assassination run. I did what I could to prevent it, but Madrak1 has a lot of tools (a running Dire Troll Bomber followed by Jackhammer managed to carve thru my fury and finish him off). Was a fun game against an excellent player, who showed me a side of Madrak1 I haven’t seen before. Definitely learned a lot. 

Final game of the series was against Larry Paladin, another player from our Pittsburgh meta. He was the other player who reached round four undefeated but lost to Bubba Dalton in his game. The good news is that we could just relax and have a good game. I had a feeling I was going to see his Heretic list, which is a really nasty proposition, and I wasn’t surprised. I dropped Thagrosh2 as I needed his destructive power to carve thru all the wounds. I mentioned that round one showed me the ceiling of damage with Manifest Destiny? This one showed me the floor. My damage just wasn’t there, and at one point Thags himself had to hang out way too close to a Skin and Moans. I managed to survive, and get to a decent-ish scenario position, but I spent too much time trying to get myself out of the difficult situation left by coming up short against multiple heavies in a turn. Which led to me clocking out. Happy with some moves in the game, but overall wasn’t pleased to drop the last two at the event. 

My rosters above. I’m really pleased with the Kallus1 list, though it will definitely change a bit as I get more of the Primal Terrors stuff built. I’ve got Anamag, rotwings, and a unit of Warmongers on the build table as we speak. The Thagrosh2 list is still a work in progress, as I am thinking that it would much more prefer a unit of Chosen in place of the Warspears. But I do know that Thagrosh2 plus Golab is absolutely nasty, albiet a bit streaky against high armor targets.

This was the announcement the amazing T.O. of the event, Gail Martindale, made after the event was over showing the final rankings of the top ten. Was really pleased to make 6th place in a tournament that had so many excellent players who are renowned tournament winners. And here’s the link to every player’s lists from the event that she mentions for those who were interested in what was fielded.

Overall a great event. I remain unqualified for Warmachine Weekend, but that was likely anyhow. I’m setting my sights mainly on doing well in a few team tournaments this year, to help prepare for the America’s Team Championship in January. And despite my one-and-a-half weeks of playing Menoth, I’m still going strong with my commitment to Legion of Everblight in painting and practice. Slowly but surely the faction is coming together for me.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

226/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 73 (Win/Loss 47/26); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

38 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev, Baldur2, Gaspy3, Gaspy1) / 18 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic x2, Madrak1)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

So this post is mostly about my new additions to my army and practice games, trying to “unlock the puzzle” of what list to pair with my Kallus1 Primal Terrors list. I really enjoy Kallus1 with the Blightbringer and Ogrun, and I think that it can play into lots of forces and do okay. I’ve been now puzzling over what to use as a second list–what does it struggle against? My problem: I think it has limits with lots of troops, and with serious armor. So this is me working out a list that can reasonably deal with both of those things. So, as always, more painting to help build things that can help vs. troops and high armor.

First up, I finished painting my Angelius, which I think displays my scheme really well. It’s not quite as mottled in the bone as some of my others, but I think it’s equally striking as it makes it appear a bit smoother and more serpentine. Pretty much my favorite armor-cracking piece in the game lately. 

I also completed Ammok the Truthbearer–a new Blighted Ogrun model for Legion of Everblight. I definitely wanted to get him done because I see him as really useful in Primal Terrors lists. Between Rise for the other Blighted Ogrun and his ability to stop Incorporeal, he’s a lot of utility. It’s also the first Ogrun I’ve done, so a good chance to start to work out what they’ll look like when painted. 

As for games, I’ve been practicing for a big upcoming tournament in Rochester, NY. It’s a Warmachine Weekend Qualifier event that takes place over two days. I’m not holding hope for winning, as it’s supposed to be a full six rounds event (that means 64 players competing for the title). What I do want is to get more reps in with my Legion forces, to get as much experience with them as I can in higher-level play. So it’s a great event for that purpose. This week that means some last-minute games to prepare and practice lists for the tournament.

This was my first attempt at running a more beast-heavy list with Fyanna2. My game against Larry IV’s minions had it facing Maelok and all of the gators. I did pretty well in the game to draw it into a position where I was scoring two on the right but threatening his caster enough to keep him from moving my way. I was immediately impressed by how annoying Iron Flesh can be on the Hellmouth–that swing of ARM (plus hiding it from sight) kept it alive against marauding gatormen the entire game. 

My second game, against Larry Paladin’s Heretic Grymkin list, I forgot to take photos. Because Ammok did exactly as I hoped he would in the game, here’s the Hellraiser puzzle box as a stand-in photo. Wow, does he work wonders against incorporeal models. That static 10″ of removing the ability is really powerful. Plus he was one of the models that helped me score early points in the game, sitting on a flag. That said, I lost on scenario overall. I lost one beast too quickly as I had moved it to cover where Golab was going to end up, but then remembered that I needed Golab to hang back and score. Meant for a less favorable exchange. Still hung in the game a while, but it ended with a spot where he simply outstripped my ability to score points (scoring 2 to my every 1) on attrition alone. Was a good game. I’m still not convinced that Fyanna2 with beasts is better than the massed swordsmen, but they do hit far harder–and I need an armor-cracking option that she seems to fill well. 

While I really like Fyanna2 as a warlock, I felt like this list lacked ability to threaten effectively. I need something that can be trickier, I think, to pair with Kallus1. Fyanna2 and Kallus1 are both Feat turn tough choice forcers, which is nice, but it makes it somewhat similar. I wanted to find something that can bring unexpected threat to my opponent, from angles they may not be seeing–that still hits hard and buffs the Hellmouth (because an arm buff on that thing was pure punishment). I realized that Thagrosh2 may fit the bill, so he went into list ideas next. I managed to get in three games with a Thagrosh2 list that I really started to like–so that became my second list for the tournament. Some brief descriptions of the trio of games comes below (clockwise from left).

First I clashed against Ryan’s Caine2 list. While he took out the Ogrun effectively, the rest of the army managed to work pretty effectively. The combination of Carnivean and Golab is fantastic–whatever comes to get the Carnivean gets injured by spiny growth, which means that Golab gets finisher. Worked well to clear out his stuff, and Caine never got to safe place to really leverage his Feat for assassination. Next up was against Paul’s Karchev-led Khador force. The Hellmouth proved effective in forcing poor-outcome trade-offs, and once I started to get the advantage in scenario it became hard for his force to stop me. Finally, Thags2 faced Steve’s Retribution army and Helynna. I just stood back during the Feat turn, and managed to get some unexpected points that way that I leveraged to a scenario win. In each game Thagrosh2 definitely got involved in some valuable ways. P+S 18 on a warlock with Manifest Destiny is no joke. 

So I’m superstitiously nervous about the tourney, as I tend to adhere to the “bad practice, good tournament” line of thinking. I’ll need to keep on my toes during all the games if nothing else, as I’m not as familiar with the Thagrosh2 list in particular as I would like to be. Anyhow, here goes nothing!

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

226/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 68 (Win/Loss 44/24); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

35 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x3, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x3, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2, Caine2, Karchev) / 16 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas, Heretic)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

Apparently that cover photo is a Hellmouth joke? Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer-related? (My nerd credentials are limited, having never seen that series).

In any case, this week I painted up a Hellmouth for my Legion army.

“Om nom nom”

I also started to work on my actual bases for the Legion force, as my order of them finally arrived. The Hellmouth was a good point to start on them, as that unit is bursting out of the ground–so those had to be scratch based. Meant that I needed to experiment with the colors and form of basing with that unit. I’m relatively pleased with how it came out, and I’m definitely liking the skulls. The Aztec-themed bases will be more slate, but most have sections of dirt as well (and I’m adding skulls to them).

For comparison to the Hellmouth, I also finished a Scythean. You can see the Aztec base that came from the amazing guy at Dragonforge Design. I have a whole set of them, cannot wait!

Front and back to show the way the bases look. They’re understated, which I like a lot. I thought about adding color or gold to them in spots. Still might go back and do that. Will have to see. 

Completing these two models also puts me over the official halfway point for yearly painting goals. Pretty good for early-to-mid May!

Gaming-wise, I brought my Legion lists to a local Steamroller at SCG Hobbies in Latrobe, ready to compete. I took my Fyanna2 Children of the Dragon list mainly because I’m comfortable with it, and my Kallus1 Primal Terrors list because I want to work on how competitive it is. My plan was to all-things-being-equal drop the Kallus1 list every round just to learn how matchups fare with Primal Terrors. Only if my opponent had a strong ranged assassination game that would be likely, or seemed particularly weak to Fyanna2’s shenanigans (lots of low MAT infantry or small number of beasts/jacks) was she going to be my choice.

Picture could have been clearer, but these are my two lists. I’m still definitely tinkering with both, but spoiler alert: I went undefeated with them. 

First round I played my Kallus1 list vs Larry’s Heretic Bump in the Night Grymkin list. The exploding barrel guys are definitely a nasty part of the list, and got a lot of work done. I only narrowly won with a clock and scenario lead. I’ve got to work on better play, as I think I got a bit chippy in this game when it was clear clock was my only win strategy. Just focus in on better play overall, and if my opponent clocks that’s fine. A lucky win against a great player is the story of this one. 

Second round was again Kallus1, this time against John P. and his Cryx force led by Deneghra1. I’ve seen John at a lot of events, but we’ve never matched up. I got two very lucky breaks, a clutch spell by Kallus1 through a Spell Martyr and the blight burst from a Forsaken managed to clear out almost all of the Satyxis on my right side. Which let me pivot in for a scenario win. I chased Denny around for a while in the middle, and she was definitely in jeopardy–but getting Dodge from one of the new Cryx support models was huge for her survival. I ended up just forcing the scenario win. 

Third round was against Craig’s Khador, led by Strakov1. It was a number of Doomreavers, so I knew that my Kallus1 list simply wouldn’t fly against them. Thus, Fyanna2 took the stage. She proved to be effective enough to avoid the swarm (he just backed off on feat turn), which led to pretty heavy losses on later turns. But it was enough for me to punch a path to Strakov1, and Fyanna ended up with the killing blow. 

The tourney was capped at three rounds, and I won on tiebreaks against the other person who was also undefeated. I could have played better, but a win is a win. Was good to face some people I don’t often face, and good to see that I’m really liking my Kallus1 list.

Also had one practice game before the tourney, with my good friend Michael, fielding Borka2.

This one was a serious grind, just one of those games where both sides kept mauling each other turn after turn. Finally it got to the point where there wasn’t enough screen left and I could get Blightbringer onto Borka2. That finished him off, but it took my full stack of fury to get there. Was a fun back-and-forth game. 

Finally I got a pair of games in after the tourney, tho sadly I lost the photos when I had to replace my phone. They were a win against Kevin’s Minions Maelok list, and a loss against Patrick’s Barnabas list. It’s Minions-fever here in Pittsburgh apparently.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

205/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 63 (Win/Loss 40/23); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

31 Wins (Denny1 x2, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x2, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok x2, Heretic, Strakov1, Borka2) / 15 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1, Barnabas)

Protectorate of Menoth:

8 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1, Vlad1, Kraye, Garryth, Naaresh) / 1 Loss (Madrak1)

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

So first off, buckle in for some odd battle reports. We kicked off our Permanent Death League at Drawbridge games on Thursday, so as Warlocks and named solos/warbeasts/units die, I’m likely to have some oddities in my lists for those games. That said, I’m also squeezing in some practice on my Primal Terrors lists in the meantime.

To that end, I finished up painting the Blightbringer for my army. After the CID it seems to be a really solid piece to support what Primal Terrors lists can do, so I wanted to get it completed.

The games below he’s still in progress, sadly., but I wanted to get him on the table and start trying out Primal Terrors asap.

I started off the Permanent Death League running Vayl2, just because I wanted to get some experience with her but didn’t mind if she perished early in the league either. Clockwise from left: my game against Colton’s Khador and Vlad1, ended in a scenario loss for me. He ran Vlad with all the heavy armor infantry, and I just couldn’t keep up the pressure on my right flank. Vayl2 fared better into Justin’s Khador and Sorscha1, mainly because being immune to cold during the Feat can save your life in an assassination attempt. Finally I played a really hairy game against Larry’s Maelok list with all the Gatormen. He had a huge scenario advantage, but I managed to get the assassination thanks to a hellmouth tentacle, some shooting by my beasts, and Kallus1 finishing the gator off. 

 

This table looked so nice, I wanted to include the bigger photo. This was a match with Thagrosh2 against Steve’s Helynna list. Was a good slugfest, and a Permanent Death League game that ended with four total characters leaving the league (two on each side). I managed to assassinate Helynna with the Blightbringer doing a slam attack that finished her (Eilish Garrity, before he died, had inflicted a lot of damage on her already with his little defensive spell ability). 

Overall I’m pleased with the Blightbringer as a piece. My only (and growing) concern with Legion is that I want to play a lot of the big pieces, so transporting them has been a real pain. I’ll have to sort out some more transportable lists (rather than all the huge bases). Hmmmm.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

183/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 52 (Win/Loss 31/21); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

26 Wins (Denny1, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna x2, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus, Sorscha1, Maelok) / 14 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev, Vlad1)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

The Legion learning curve continues for me. I’ve enjoyed it thus far, and I’m trying to be limited in what I’m fielding to better learn certain things. Right now I’m focusing on Fyanna2 (Children of the Dragon, 2 units of Swordsmen), Thagrosh1 (Oracles double Thrones), and Kallus1 (Primal Terrors, Blightbringer plus Ogruns). Definitely enjoying the faction, though there are moments when it’s feeling really foreign to me. For instance, so much time playing Protectorate of Menoth makes the relative lack of magic defense really noticeable to me. To the point where Eilish Garrity has been in lists (or considered) much more than he likely should–and he’s hardly the best anti-magic.

Painting-wise, I’ve added Kallus1 so I can have at least one painted Warlock for the faction in my current scheme, and Azrael, a character Heavy that has a spot in my Fyanna2 list.

He’s the first model that’s more in the yellow armor than anything else. I still like the look. The picture doesn’t highlight it, but there’s a bit of blue on the chain that covers his skirt to balance it. I’m pretty pleased with the model, and I think when the rest of the army gets done alongside him it’ll look ideal. 

Here’s the front and back of Azrael. The pinkish fleshtone of the wings works well, I think. And I love the way the yellow pops on the cool-tone model. It took a lot of work to get him done, but I’m really glad I finished it up. 

Now to games played. This set will be pretty quick, as they’re all just practice and refinement games that I’ve been getting in. We have a great local meta split across a few stores (Drawbridge, SCG Hobby, and Mr Nice Guy Games) so it’s relatively easy to get in a number of games against quality opponents. All the comments will refer to the photos clockwise from the larger one on the left.

First faced Justin’s Madrak1 list with my Fyanna2 list. Was a very close and grindy game (often the case between our lists), which I managed to win on clock. Next was a loss to Steve’s Helynna with Thagrosh1. I got behind on attrition, and had to go for assassination that simply flubbed the critical part (a miss on the boosted Mutagenesis–a long shot to begin with anyhow). Followed that with another match using Thagrosh1, this time against Xavier’s Kaya3. I did a good job taking out critical pieces in favorable trades in this one, and set up a scenario win as time ran tight. 

The first photo here represents two games, as I played Larry’s Gaspy3 10 Slayers list twice in a row with my Fyanna2 swordsmen list. The second time I did marginally better, but still game up very short. That’s a fearsome list! Followed it with a game against Ryan’s Deneghra3 that I won through sheer luck. Had he remembered to cast Ghostly on his own caster to avoid free strikes, and had those subsequent free strikes not both rolled huge on damage, he would have easily assassinated Thagrosh1. As it was, I pulled out the win through luck and oversight. Final game of this set was another Thagrosh1 game, this time against Elara2. The thrones did enough work at the moments they needed to in order to clear his Sentinels, leaving Thagrosh’s force well able to slowly close in on Elara2 to victory. 

Final trio of games. Another match against Steve’s Elara2, this time much closer as a battle. I managed to win by leveraging swordsmen in the far zone of the shot to a scenario victory. Had he managed to eliminate the Abbot with his shooting (which he almost succeeded on) it would have been much closer for Retribution. Turns out Cleave works well. Next up was Kallus1’s first outing, against Justin’s Khador led by Karchev. Another absolute slugfest. I managed to wreck a lot of warjacks but just wasn’t able to keep pace on scenario and lost by a pretty hefty margin. Final match for this set was again Kallus1 against Patrick’s Exulon Thexus. I had a good round with Hellmouths and the Blightbringer swinging balance of heavy hitters my way. He had to try for assassination, and failed (in part thanks to Kallus1’s defense boost on his Feat turn). Made a clear win for me the following turn. 

All-in-all some really good learning experiences. I’m definitely feeling like I have a sense of my Fyanna2 list. I know what it can face off against well, and where it struggles. Despite the fact that I absolutely love my Azrael model that I finished up, I think that list is going to get some thought and consideration before I get more elements painted for it. I’m leaning toward getting more of the Kallus1 and Thagrosh1 lists finished up and seeing where they can take me as a pairing.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

151/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 48 (Win/Loss 28/20); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

23 Wins (Denny1, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1 x2, Strakov2, Kaya3 x2, Helynna, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga, Denny3, Elara2 x2, Thexus) / 13 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child, Helynna, Gaspy3 x2, Karchev)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

 

It’s the start of the 2018 Appalachian Cup season. I took my Legion to the first qualifier, looking to leverage Fyanna2, Thagrosh1, and Lylth1 to victory (it’s a three-list format). First tho, I managed to get a bit more painting done for the event.

Nephilim Bloodseer. Not only do I really like the way the paint job turned out, I really like this model in the game. Solid defensive stats, strong magic interference, and occasional knockdown fishing. 

Also finished a Forsaken. A good chance to experiement with the dragonflesh tone on a smaller model. For Fyanna2 (who is getting painted soon) it will be interesting to blend the blues with the skin tone. Happy with how this model turned out. 

 

I went 1-2 at the Appalachian Cup, but had a great time and good experience with my games. I’m still seeing how match-ups work for my forces, so there’s a lot of work I need to do in terms of practice and reps.

First game was against Larry IV’s Minions and Jaga-Jaga. It was a good game for me, as I was able to collapse the side away from the Dracodile. Finally ended on scenario as he just couldn’t get enough contesting.

Second game was against Patrick’s Issyria. It’s a bad matchup for my lists, and I didn’t do myself much favor with Lylyth1. She didn’t have what it takes to pull out a victory against all those fast and accurate weaponmasters. Back to the drawing board for what I’ll do against this force. 

Third game I played Thagrosh1 vs Ken’s Grymkin (the Child). I actually lost on the clock in this match, which was an utter slugfest. I had the advantage but just couldn’t clear the zones fast enough to get the points advantage in time. As I get better with the force (this was only Thagrosh1’s third game for me), that should help on the time issue.

Overall a good first Appalachian Cup event for me. Scored me 5 points toward getting into the Appalachian Cup finals, which alone is a good start. With more practice, I should be successful.

Speaking of practice, I played 4 practice games before the App Cup as well. Some shots from them (comments run clockwise from top left):

 

Had a win against Steve’s Helynna, facing all the Retribution armor. Next got in a CID game against Andy’s Sorscha2 with Lylyth1–took some tricky throws to clear zones but won on scenario. Faced Savage’s Kaelyssa list with Thagrosh1, and finally took on Larry’s Dreamer–and managed to scrape a victory there. 

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

124/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 38 (Win/Loss 22/16); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

17 Wins (Denny1, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1, Strakov2, Kaya3, Helynna, Sorscha2, Kaelyssa, Dreamer, Jaga-Jaga) / 9 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1, Issyria, Child)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

 

This past weekend I went to a great event at Millenium Games in Rochester, NY. Had a great time fielding my Legion in a pretty strong competitive forum–34 players over five rounds made for a really vibrant field. If nothing else, I got to play games against five players I’ve never faced before, which let me see all sorts of stuff I’ve never seen on the tabletop. But first, as always, painting progress.

I finished up a Ravagore for my Lylyth2 list, in the nick of time to convince myself that I don’t really want to play Lylyth2. When CID happens and Ravagores come down in price, I may return to her. But for now he’ll be a great shelf centerpiece model at least!

Now a quick breakdown of my World Ender Qualifier games. I lost my first two, but one the next three. Ending 3-2 felt pretty good overall to me given that it was a competitive field, my Lylyth2 list had some clear holes in ability, and I’m still newer at playing Legion. The pictures are not always so pretty to look at, as I’m still hardly painted on my lists. But I’m making progress!

First up, Paul (from somewhere in NY) and his Old Witch 3 infantry swarm. This was a rough one, as Old Witch 3 brings a lot of assassination threat and 50 infantry models. I tried to clear and simply couldn’t manage all their numbers, and had to play for an ill-advised assassination before my left flank totally collapsed. Was a good game, and exactly why I need a better infantry clearing list (I knew that Lylyth2 simply couldn’t get it done either. 

Second, Piotr from Rochester and his Caine1 Gravediggers list. Friendly guy, and good to play someone from the area  where the event was held. This match was lopsided all the way. I didn’t have the tools nor the luck to really leverage. I managed to hang in the game for a while thanks to Lylyth’s stealth and gradual clearing, but it was never going to be something I could press for victory due to attrition of my force. 

Third round was Luke from Syracuse and his Madrak1 Storm of the North list. This was a fun game as there was a lot of missing done by both sides, so for a while we both really felt like we were in it. I got a clock advantage, and started to press on the side where Madrak1 was standing, which leveraged a win for me on scenario eventually. Heck of a grind, and a really friendly opponent. 

Fourth round I faced Adam from Buffalo’s Strakov2 Legion of Steel list. In the course of chatting, I found out he’s running a team event I’m headed to in March, so it was good to put a name with a face. This was another slugfest, but one that I was able to do a little better at surviving than some others I’ve played. Admonition saved Fyanna2’s life near the end, which left me in a position to score the last points I needed to win. Was an enjoyable match–probably my favorite from the weekend as I felt like we both played well for the most part. 

Finally, I faced Chris and his Kaya3 list (at that point I was a little out of it, having started on the road at 4am to get to the tourney… missed where Chris hailed from). Another game, another Iron Kingdoms farmhouse or barn smack-dab in the middle of things. That made 4 of the 5 rounds I played with some manner of building in the middle. This was another “I never play Circle, let’s see how we do” learning experience, and I got very lucky multiple times to manage the win. There were about three turns where his force had some tricky play that just didn’t quite work out every time–either my Bloodseer’s armor was a bit too much, or Fyanna2 was just a bit too slippery, or something. Was a good game, and a very nice guy to end a tournament playing. 

I played a few prep games before heading to the tourney as well, all practicing my two lists (Lylyth2 in Primal Terrors and Fyanna2 in Children of the Dragon).

(Clockwise from top left) Lylyth2 managed to squeeze out a win against Chris’ Naaresh list despite not having any tools to deal with his armor and anti-shooting. Kallus2 came up short in my first fielding of him, unable to finish off Sorscha1 on an assassination attempt and paying for it. Vayl1 versus Larry’s Jaga-Jaga was just a little too clunky to get the job done, even when I had a shot at stopping her. And finally, Lylyth2 managed to get an assassination in on Ryan’s Gaspy2 thanks to range and Pin Cushion. 

All-in-all a great set of games. I’m getting more and more comfortable with my Fyanna2 list. Now the challenge will be taking it into all sorts of opponents to see what it can handle and what it cannot. And I’m going to assemble the pieces I need to complete the other list that I hope will be a better pairing.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

112/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 31 (Win/Loss 17/14); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

12 Wins (Denny1, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan, Naaresh, Gaspy2, Madrak1, Strakov2, Kaya3) / 7 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer, Sorscha1, Jaga-Jaga, Old Witch3, Caine1)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

 

Another couple of weeks and more progress on my Legion of Everblight project. First painting, then gaming–and what a bunch of gaming it was (two tournaments!).

I’ve already painted 24 points worth of Legion Models, and will be adding more soon. So far I’ve completed test colors for my infantry (shown in the prior blog post). This time I worked out my Warbeast scheme and armor scheme with a Stinger, a Naga Nightlurker, and a Nephilim Bolt Thrower.

This Stinger lesser warbeast was my first test model for the color scheme of the beasts, and he turned out well enough. I decided on different tone for armor plates vs nails and teeth, and I’m glad I did. I definitely needed to work more on the armor plating, but otherwise I think he turned out great. 

I’m far more pleased with the Naga Nightlurker though. I worked out a higher level of bone and I think it did very nicely for his scales. Definitely going to be pleased with this as a force color. 

My big question was how my idea for yellow armor would look on the blue skin. So I had to do an armored model next: enter the Nephilim Bolt Thrower. I did the Nephilim a half step brighter in skin tone than the other beasts, as that seems pretty common with the other Nephilim examples I see. I think the armor plates worked well, and the contrast while stark kinda looks right in my eyes. When I get some models mixed in with even more armor plates I think the whole lot will look like a great force. 

With models slowly joining the force, I had to get my play skills up to the task as well. First up, a couple of practice games with Thagrosh2 to get started.

Thagrosh2 takes on Scaverous. Was a pretty mistake-filled game as I am still fresh to Legion and Ryan was running Scaverous for the very first time. Thagrosh2 got the job done in the end. 

Against Issyria, Thagrosh2 again took the field. The Throne was a monster this game, eliminating 8 sentinels and 2 arcanists in a single round, then taking the entirety of my opponent’s force to finally kill thanks to Dragon’s Blood. Left a situation where Steve, my opponent, took some shots at Thagrosh who moved up with Hyper Aggressive (which I love on himself) and was able to reach Issyria. 

Instead of being sensible and practicing a lot more, I dove right into a doubles tournament and then a local steamroller the following weekend. The doubles tournament went okay, I lost one, won one, and played my teammate Ryan in the second round as we had the bye. The Steamroller went better, as I finished in second place–winning my first two rounds then losing in the final game.

I forgot to photo round one of the doubles tournament, but it was a loss to Savage’s Circle Orboros force. He was ready to throw in the towel when I started my Feat turn, but he ended up seeing how the dice went and Thagrosh2’s beast rush failed to finish off Krueger2. The second game (above left) was just a practice during the bye round against Ryan’s Scaverous list with my Fyanna2, as both of us wanted the reps with new stuff. My final game was against Ken’s Grymkin and the Wanderer. It was a great slugfest of a game, with my high defense versus his star-crossed bubble making for slow removal on both sides. I managed to finally win on scenario by collapsing a side and starting to score. Was a great game, capped off a fun event. 

Finished second at the Steamroller, which I’ll certainly take as positive. My first game was against Charles’ Skarre1. Lylyth2 was able to kill Aiakos who was running the Kraken, so Skarre1 had to move to activate it–leaving her in range of Lylyth and a Ravagore for the assassination. The second game was against Bill’s Kara Sloan list, and Fyanna’s troops got absolutely shot to pieces. Mercifully Azrael was able to land shots on Sloan over two turns and kill her as the rest of my army just jammed and died. The final round was against Larry’s Grymkin and the Dreamer. I made a mistake committing Azrael a bit too early, rather than just using spacing to stay safe from the troop-gobbling Rattler, and another mistake with placement around a close Skin and Moans. I left a spot for him to Apparate with the Dreamer’s upkeep, which meant that Fyanna2 didn’t get to admonition out of the way (which was what I was counting on to keep me safe when I didn’t manage to kill it). I don’t feel terrible about the game, but it was definitely a few mistakes on my part that kept me from being successful (in addition to Larry’s always excellent play of course). 

All in all I’m really happy with where my Legion is starting to go. I love my paint scheme, and when the bases arrive I’m going to be even more pleased to get them models looking right. A slightly orange-ish or tan limestone look to the base plates will really make the models look right. And I’m definitely enjoying them in the game. I am a much more natural Hordes player than Warmachine, and I’m especially liking the initial list for Fyanna2 that I’m running as it plays different than many things I’ve used in the game before. All-in-on-Legion-2018 seems to be shaping up well from the start.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

93/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 22 (Win/Loss 12/10); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

7 Wins (Denny1, Scaverous x2, Issyria, Wanderer, Skarre1, Sloan) / 3 Losses (Denny1, Krueger2, Dreamer)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)

 

So my last post was pretty positive about Protectorate. And then I proceeded to remember why I stalled with them the past few times I’ve done them. I just don’t feel pulled to paint that scheme, particularly the infantry that I had to complete (40 or so Exemplars for the Testament list). So it was a bit of back-to-the-drawing-board. And I decided to resurrect a force that I haven’t fielded since October 2015: Legion of Everblight. In Mark II I played mostly Skorne, but before even that I amassed a Legion of Everblight army at the very start of Mark II through when I started up with Skorne. They were pirate-themed, converted to have tricorn hats and ship-decking bases, and generally pretty enjoyable. They’re where I cut my teeth as a Warmachine and Hordes player–a whole lot of Saeryn1 and Vayl1 reps under my belt from back then.

And now instead of going with Protectorate of Menoth, I’m actually thinking of getting back into Legion. This may very well be a monstrous mistake, as I have a more Protectorate I can paint and field compared to what I can do for Legion. That said, I’m just not feeling it with Protectorate. And I had an idea. I was looking at the models and thinking about color scheme (because I want to do a new one, rather than my current purple-skin, orange-spectrum chitin look). And I realized that the feathers on all of the Nyss could be the focal points of those models, and they looked somewhat Aztec in a way. And I realized I’m going to try for that sort of look to my force.

 

These images give a good sense of what colors I’m thinking of using for feathers and armor. Feathers will be reds, blues, teals, rare greens, and purples. Armor brown/yellow/bone/gold hues (going to work on that part). If I use the jaguar skin look anywhere is unlikely, tho maybe certain fabrics to represent pelts. 

So here’s my first test model, a Blighted Nyss Shepard. I was most inspired by the colors of the woman with the bird headdress: muted palate, blue tone feathers, yellow armor. I’m skipping the red tone, as it will keep the model in a more simple two-tone that I like.

Yeah, the base is still incomplete–I ordered a set of Aztec-themed bases from Dragonforge, but they’ll be a while until they get completed and shipped to me. It’s a great company, but just a single dude who casts his product on request. So gotta wait a bit on those, but it should be worth it if they turn out right. Check them out:

As for games, these first few were pretty ugly because I’m running lists more on what I have painted and table-ready (even if in old scheme) than what is really good with those Warlocks. However I need to start getting reps, no matter how the models are painted, so I can feel more confident with the force. I went with a mix of a new Warlock (Thagrosh2) that I’ve always wanted to try, and a classic I feel semi-comfortable with (Vayl1) as my first pairing attempt for these games.

Vayl1 takes the field against Deneghra1. I lost my first game with Thagrosh2 when I came up one attack short on Denny1 (and totally forgot to Feat… which would have led to the winning attack on a Scourge-knocked-down Denny). I won this game in the same way, he just couldn’t finish off Vayl1 thanks to enough transfers. Which led to a Incited Raek surviving a free strike and getting onto Denny without any Focus for an assassination. 

It’s a start at least. Now more games will slowly let me shape things up. A new model painted, a lesson learned, bases completed. It’ll be a long road, but I’m excited about the promise of this faction and this year of gaming. Is it a monstrous mistake to go down this road rather than Protectorate? Time will see.

365 Points Challenge Progress (2018):

70/365

Battles (Privateer Press):

Overall Totals 2018: 14 (Win/Loss 6/8); 2017: 120 (Win/Loss 86/34): 2016: 123 (Win/Loss: 74/49); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14)

Legion of Everblight:

1 Wins (Denny1) / 1 Losses (Denny1)

Protectorate of Menoth:

4 Wins (Gaspy2, Helynna, Vlad2, Sorscha1) / 0 Losses

Convergence of Cyriss:

1 Win (Haley3) / 7 Losses (Heretic, Rask, Kaelyssa, Xerxis, Siege2, Testament, Bradigus)