If there was one word to describe tonight’s game it would be ‘attrition’! When the dust settled there was very little left standing on either side. Anthony used a pretty competitive Scaverous list that included a Skarlock, Malice, two Ripjaws, two Warwitch Sirens, two Pistol Wraiths, a min unit of Bile Thralls, a full unit (plus UA) of Bane Thralls and Crowe’s Cutthroats.

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I wanted to filed my newly painted Gun Carriage, so it was the first model I added to my list. I’ve been having great fun with Strakov recently, so he was definitely the ‘caster I wanted to field. I rarely use him without Beast-09 and a Devastator. Sylys Wyshnalyrr is a model I’ve wanted to use as I think he is potentially great for Khadoran ‘casters, so I added him to the list (spolier alert – he was great!). The rest of the list revolved around ranged support (Widowmakers and Marksman) and some melee punch (Great Bears, IFP and Shocktroopers). Reinholdt was added as I had a point to spare. Here’s a full rundown of my list –

    System: Warmachine
    Faction: Khador
    Casters: 1/1
    Points: 50/50

    Kommander Strakhov (*6pts)
    * Beast-09 (11pts)
    * Devastator (9pts)
    * Sylys Wyshnalyrr, the Seeker (2pts)
    Gun Carriage (9pts)
    Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts) (2pts)
    Great Bears of Gallowswood (5pts)
    Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 5 Grunts) (5pts)
    Man-o-war Shocktroopers (Leader and 2 Grunts) (6pts)
    Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts) (4pts)
    Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator (proxied by Oridic Pistolier)(1pts)
    Widowmaker Marksman (2pts)

We played the Incursion scenario (three flags; one randomly disappears at the end of second round; first player to three control points wins) from the SR2012 Beta, though it hasn’t changed much from its previous incarnation.

Anthony had the first turn and pushed up aggressively. Scaverous moved up through a wood with a Skarlock and Malice close by. In the centre the Banes moved up quickly with the Biles behind them. On the right Crowe’s moved up. On each flank a contingent of Warwitch Siren, Ripjaw and Pistolwraith moved forward.

In response I pushed my whole force up. Strakhov put Sentry onto the Gun Carriage and Superiority onto Beast-09. The battle engine pushed trampled forward and took out of range shots towards Crowe’s and the Banes. I killed one Cutthroat. Beast-09 and the IFP moved up my left flank (opposite Scaverous) and the Great Bears moved up the right (opposite Crowe’s). The Devastator trundled forward and the Widowmakers camped out in a wood.

Anthony attempted destroy Beast-09 through Telekensis-ing Malice and Beast-09 and then dragging Beast into contact with it. The plan was to serve Beast up to the Banes. Bad dice foiled the plan, dooming Malice on my next turn. On the right Crowe’s Cutthroats were ineffective against the Great Bears (a theme that would mostly continue). My Gun Carriage moved up to contest a flag in the centre, killing a Bane and blasting Biles apart while Beast-09 decimated Malice. The Shocktroopers and IFP beat up the Ripjaw on the left while the Great Bears went to town on Crowe’s. I managed to pick up a control point in the centre.

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In response the Banes tore Beast-09 apart and a single Bile Thrall managed to purge, killing two IFP, three Mechaniks and my Reinholdt proxy. At this stage the attrition was starting to mount! With a bit of effort I managed to clear enough Banes to score another control point in the middle. This involved effectively sacrificing the Devastator. Scaverous had moved forward and tore it apart while the Banes took the Gun Carriage down. On the final Great Bear died to a Ripjaw, scoring Anthony a control point.

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Strakhov has a fun spell, Battering Ram, but I rarely getto cast it. As Anthony only had one model contesting each of the two control points I had an opportunity to score on either. I used Strakhov to push the Ripjaw 3″ back (on my second attempt after rolling three 1’s). The Widowmakers then ran in for the scenario win.

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Closing Thoughts
The Gun Carriage performed very well. It takes a bit of getting used to as the trampling and charging are the best ways to get it moving. This requires giving it a little space. The rough terrain areas left by the cannons are pretty useful, but the best element of the Gun Carriage is how formidable it is. A few Widowmaker shots can clear out an area for the Gun Carriage to trample to, thus making it a pretty scary spectre. I look forward to fielding it again.

Until next time,

Owen