On Even Footing

Hey! Remember me? I post nothing of real value sometimes, in exchange for meaningless validation in the form of page views!

I haven't done that in awhile, though, for a few reasons. I took a step back from participation on forums, Facebook, and posting here when themes finally came out. I was pretty overwhelmed with new options and things I wanted to play, and have been jumping from list to list over and over.  I really didn't want to post a bunch of hot takes on our themes, so I took a few months to play around with them and figure out what I thought. Months later and I'm still not sure where everything stands, overall. The breadth of competitive options is pretty astounding, with really only Mordikaar and Xekaar standing out as duds in our current stable.

GenCon - Batreps and Afterthoughts on Skorne

Prologue~

In the beginning...

I kinda thought I wouldn't do so great at GenCon. I went into it hoping to dick around with new themes, however, and brought a bunch of models that I didn't end up using. Yes - the Skorne book release was disappointing. I did, however, write my lists at 8:30 am for the first tournament, which started at 9am. This may have been a mistake, but my initial poor showing was definitely not a list issue.

Note: I will be doing battle breakdowns, but I'm going to keep them short. I played 15 or so games, and while I don't have pictures for all of them even the ones I do make this a bit of a slog. I'll go into  afterthoughts on where we stand currently afterwards.

Scrambled - I Hate You Guys: My Month of Xekaar, Part 5

Well, I played a few more games last night - both of them into the same opponent. He was working on a Zerkova1 gunline with double winterguard infantry + UA + 3 rockets. Gotta say, I had no real way of surviving it. Round 2 jamming and feating was about all I could come up with, and his volume of attacks still let him clear most of my army out of the way and assassinate Xekaar. Shit was rough, and I'm really intrigued to see where he takes that list next (seriously, I was confused as shit by the Winterguard Infantry UA until grapeshot started spraying me down after I tried to jam).


At this point I've decided I can't rely on Xekaar's feat to do anything defensive against ranged attacks (sans hydra builds). So, since I'm expecting to still have to handle some ranged attacks with any list I drop, I'm planning on building him in a brick. Instead of my usual reliance on Brutes, I think I'm going to have to use some Sentries. Their animus isn't as good for Xekaar, personally, but they make a damned near impenetrable wall for him to hide behind. I'll also bring a krea, because why the hell not, and an agonizer to just further skew things (also, repulse has quickly become one of my favorite spells). Tack on a few support models, some infantry for scenario presence, and below is what I'm thinking:

3 Games, 4 Archidons, 0 Wins - I Hate You Guys: My Month of Xekaar, Part 2

So I recently picked up 3 archidons, bringing my total of them to 4. I had a few plans, mainly because I had only started running Naaresh near the end of Mk 2 and Archidon Spam - a mostly terrible idea that seemed to gain a lot of traction post-errata - actually seemed fun with him. P+S 20 defense 14 armor 19 beasts that threaten 13"? Yes Please!

Instead, I fielded them with Xekaar.

https://conflictchamber.com/#c9201bg26U6U6U6U4xhG4C5G6N7y5V

Skorne Army - 75 / 75 points

(Xekaar 1) Beast Master Xekaar [+31]
 - Archidon [10]
 - Archidon [10]
 - Archidon [10]
 - Archidon [10]
 - Basilisk Krea [7]
 - Chiron [19]
 - Cyclops Shaman [8]
 - Titan Gladiator [15]
 - Aptimus Marketh [5]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [5]
Paingiver Beast Handlers (max) [7]

I Hate You Guys: My Month of Xekaar, Part 1

So, I asked the Skorne Facebook group to pick a caster for me to main this month, to help with my faction ADD. The plan is to try a variety of lists and builds and really test out their capabilities, posting battle reports as we go.

You asshats picked Beast Master Xekaar.

I played the hell out of him pre-errata, because the only real strategy I could come up with for awhile as playing for clock. Xekaar with 8 or so brutes is pretty good at a clock game... Apart from playing an aggravating brick, though, I don't really know how to make him work. I have a few lists I've been dojo'ing, and spent more time than I'd like to admit on it yesterday. Below I'll go over my initial thoughts on Xekaar, Pro and Cons, and then a few list builds and strategies I think might be viable.

On Breaks, Anticipation, and Pairings

I've been pretty quiet recently, probably mostly because my cell phone camera is almost completely useless so I haven't been taking any pictures. Part of it, though, stems from not playing as much as I had been. Felt burned out at the end of February, and despite being really excited by the new things in Skorne and having a dozen lists I wanted to try out I haven't really had an avenue to do so. I'm also currently not committed to any event until the SOO, and despite feeling pretty good about my chances there this year I haven't been doing as much prep as I'd like to.

Breaks

Or how to burn out without fading away

I played a lot of this game in February and January. Probably more games than I'd normally get in during a 3-4 month period. I then switched over to practice for a guild ball tournament, which I took first in. Overall I probably played around 50 games of the miniature variety from the dropping of the Skorne Errata to the end of February, where in a non-tournament week 4 games would be a lot for me. 

This was especially problematic, as near the end of 2016 I had all but stopped playing - I dropped in for a few tournaments just because I like the community, and kept showing up for game nights, but had kind of lost the desire to play knowing that the faction was going to be upended. Felt like going from 0 to 60 overnight when the errata dropped, painting up tons of swordsmen, getting a hydra ready, figuring out lists, and playing every chance I could. I started to feel like a bit of a local meta-boogeyman, and wound up pushing things a bit too far towards competition for competitions sake than I'm honestly comfortable with.

Repainted to reflect newfound awesomeness

So... I took a step back. My last few games have been a bit more toned down - no clock, keeping the Rasheth to a minimum, trying new things. I know Rasheth is going to be one of my warlocks for the foreseeable future, but I have no idea who the other 2 are going to be. I'm thinking of going back to using ADR, maybe playing around with those four until I land on a three list pairing and a champions pair that I really like.

State of the Meta: A brief look at Skorne and our place in the world

State of the Meta

There have been several conventions this month (CC, LVO, SmogCon), and some pretty impactful yet small changes in the Una2 nerf. I've played... something like 8 WM/H tournaments since the errata, ranging from small 2 rounders to 4 round tournaments or more (I have a problem, please help), and thought I'd share some of my views on how things are shaping up for us at the moment.

A World Without Infantry

The title to this section is blatantly false. There is a lot of infantry out there, between people taking a unit or two just for list diversity or spamming to try and throw off the meta. I'm not sure what things look like in your area, but I keep seeing blast immunity as a big selling point to the infantry people are taking - either via dig in, Iron Flesh, or whatever that thing Satyxis have is called. Cavalry is the exception to this, but that mostly seems to be coming from Cygnar at this point (I think I played into Menoth cavalry once, though I do still play Ferox from time to time myself), where they seem to be skewing armor via AS.

What does this mean for Skorne? Well, personally, this keeps pushing me to crutch on Rasheth. BoC isn't blast damage, and it alone is great for denying infantry thanks to the 1 damage on entry. On the same vein I find Sentinels great - Very solid into Cavalry, and the scathers can really shut down single wound infantry. Either throw them out and hope it lands where you want it, or position your own models to shoot in the back. I had a game where I had sentinels pop two of my slingers, then hit 2 friendly heavies with BoC to form a wall of death for infantry.

But I don't want to play Rasheth! You cry, hypothetical person. Well, you're in luck! Infantry spam a la MK2 isn't going to come back - there just don't seem to be enough points for it thanks to the battlegroup size increase. In that same vein, Hexeris 2 has an absurd amount of personal infantry clearing that, likewise, ignores blast immunity, in Ashes 2 Ashes. Tack on blackspot and some ranged infantry of his own and you can wipe whole units easily - A flayer cannon can nearly wipe a unit of Storm Lances with BS on them, 2 of them should easily handle them. I also recommend Marketh for extra casting of A2A. 

The hydra is also really great into these infantry swarms, ignoring a lot of the tech people are using to deliver via sprays or just powering through them with volume of attacks, and the RFP really helps against recursion lists like High Reclaimer. I feel that drakes are missing a certain something, but I'm really hoping Chiron brings that to us this spring.

Reivers are really the champions for me right now, though. Rerolling missed CRA's really makes them shine, as you can more confidently do 2 man pods into high def infantry and get work done. Their range + reposition makes it trivial to get multiple rounds of shooting off, and CRA + Burst Fire makes them flexible enough to work against multiple model types, again also excellent against cavalry. Every infantry list includes a few heavies, and some might be nearly all large-based if they're using Cavalry, and reivers can contribute volume of attacks as well as quality attacks, as needed.

I'm going to throw a special shout out for Zaal2 + all the constructs. Shoving 30+ armor 22 infantry models down the field is a pretty fucking solid strategy. The only real thing that can handle it is area denial a la scatherspam or auto-point attacks like Tanith etc. P+S 13's with reach and magic weapons that are really hard to kill on approach give some really great quality attacks that can handle a variety of targets, and Zaal can run enough of them well enough that they really crank up that volume of attacks that handles most infantry you'll encounter today, as well. Even without the feat turn these guys can be arm lulno against shooting with a Krea, and when it takes jacks to shoot your infantry down you're in a pretty good spot. Doubly so when you have vengeance and a bunch of soultaking models on top of it.

Shit Sucks, Volume 1

Hey everyone, I seem to have developed something of a reputation as excessively positive, and have been called out for it. I've decided that to help combat this, and any perception that I think Skorne is fine as is, I'm going to go through and detail some of the MK3 changes that I really absolutely positively CANNOT stand.

WARNING: CONTAINS SALT

Beast Master Xekaar: Brute Force

I've been experimenting with Xekaar and Cyclops spam since early August. The first iteration was fairly balanced, using a Zaadesh + Gladiator package to rush an army of Savages and Brutes down the field (at one point a Sentry was involved somehow, but I can't rightly recall why). The brutes were really aggravating for my opponents (16/21 against melee on feat turn, with set defense, and 22 boxes), and were only marginally worse in melee than savages who boasted an extra mat and p+s, as well as future sight.  My last 3 games have been with a more refined brute-spam list, and I figured I'd do a breakdown of the strengths/weaknesses and playstyle of this list.

The List:

War Room Army

Skorne - the worst 

Theme: No Theme Selected

75 / 75 Army

Beast Master Xekaar - WB: +31

- Aptimus Marketh - PC: 6

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 8)

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8 (Battlegroup Points Used: 7)

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8

- Titan Gladiator - PC: 14

Tyrant Zaadesh - PC: 4

- Cyclops Shaman - PC: 8

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8

- Cyclops Brute - PC: 8

Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor - PC: 5

Hutchuk, Ogrun Bounty Hunter - PC: 6

Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 5 Grunts: 7

---

GENERATED : 09/19/2016 23:54:34

BUILD ID : 2024.16-08-27

Archdomina Makeda: Why do I like her?

I've been playing Makeda 1 a lot lately, after bringing her out to practice for champions, and realized I really enjoy playing her. At GenCon I went 3-0 with her in Champions, and went 1-1 in Masters qualifiers. At TempleCon I went 2-1 in Champions, giving me a 6-2 record, granted 5 of those wins are in a very limited format. At any rate, this success with a caster that, on paper, confused me and I figured I'd do a break down of her to help myself and anyone else that might be interested in trying to unlock this strange, strange lady.

TempleCon Afterthoughts

So, I went to TempleCon last month. Sorry for the silence, been a bit busy with work ramping up, and after having a 2 con month I've tried to dial back my gaming until my brain recovered. I had a pretty horrible showing at TempleCon, and below I'll try to break down the gist of my experiences...

Champions Lists:

http://conflictchamber.com/#b91b3VeG5D5D5G6N6v6v5V6C6h

Skorne Army - 74 / 75 points

(Morghoul 1) Master Tormentor Morghoul [+30]

 - Aradus Sentinel [16]

 - Titan Cannoneer [17]

 - Titan Cannoneer [17]

 - Titan Gladiator [14]

 - Aptimus Marketh [6]

Extoller Soulward [3]

Extoller Soulward [3]

Paingiver Beast Handlers (max) [7]

Nihilators (max) [15]

Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [6]

Rasheth Wants to Pet the Kitty

So I've been thinking about Rasheth with Ferox a lot lately, because of course I have. I decided to try it with the models I have, though I've impulse bought a second unit... Played into Menoth, one of the jacks below is being proxied, but I'll be damned if I can remember which one is which. The one with the gun isn't the AOE gun, but the single target gun. He's on the right in the pictures...

The List:

Skorne Army - 74 / 75 points

(Rasheth 1) Dominar Rasheth [+28]

 - Titan Gladiator [14]

 - Despoiler [18]

Praetorian Ferox (max) [21]

Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) [5]

Tyrant Rhadeim [9]

Mortitheurge Willbreaker [4]

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor [4]

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor [4]

Void Spirit [4]

Void Spirit [4]

Paingiver Bloodrunners [9]

Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer [6]

I went a bit heavy on solos, for scenario play and arcing targets. This did pay off, in the end, helping me secure a scenario win and take out a few key targets. The idea is to bully as much as possible pre-feat, then go in for a massive attrition swing and jam to close out via scenario.

I don't really know Menoth, so I can't guess at what my opponents list was. Plenty of jacks, plenty of sprays, Eiryss, character unit, choir, double wracks.

Mordikaar Vs. Dr. Arkadius: Academic Throw Down

 Battle Report!

Mordikaar Vs Dr. Arkadius:
So initially my Mordikaar list was a bit different, including a cannoneer instead of the legends, Orin, and the second void spirit. Today I saw a list online that used the Legends, though, and figured I'd try them out. Sadly, this meant my plan of running five heavies with Mordikaar would have to be tabled.

NOTE:
For today's game the role of Despoiler will be played by Bluebug. I have had some weird issues with my Despoiler model in the past, with him having spent about 8 months without a base, and now that I finally put him back on one I don't quite know where he went...

War Room Army

Skorne - Kaar Bomb

Theme: No Theme Selected
75 / 75 Army


Void Seer Mordikaar - WB: +29
-    Despoiler - PC: 18 (Battlegroup Points Used: 18)
-    Titan Gladiator - PC: 14 (Battlegroup Points Used: 11)
-    Bronzeback Titan - PC: 18
-    Titan Sentry - PC: 15

Paingiver Bloodrunner Master Tormentor - PC: 4
Void Spirit - PC: 4
Void Spirit - PC: 4
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor - PC: 5

Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 5
Paingiver Bloodrunners - Leader & 5 Grunts: 9
Legends of Halaak - Valgesh, CIdaar & J'Deth: 8

---

GENERATED : 07/17/2016 17:43:11
BUILD ID : 2022.16-07-07

WMW Qualifier Decompression

I'd like to start with a shout out for those who are keeping things positive in the Skorne boards and forums, and elsewhere. There is a lot of doom and gloom, but several people are doing well with the faction (e.g. Paul Leatherby looks like he's going places with Skorne in MK3, and is shaping how I think about my anti-ranged game). There are also the big names in Skorne (Trevor, Watt, and Hornacek) who seem to be finding plenty of positives in the faction.

Now onto the actual post:

Last weekend I went to a WMW qualifier in Rochester, NY, and have been going over it in my head ever since. I wanted to do a post on it, but have been up in the air with my thoughts since then on list tweaking and am finally starting to settle down on my second list. I'll be doing a quick overview of my games, and then discussing my list pairing process afterwards.

The lists I brought:

What is Skornifest Destiny?

Hey everyone, welcome to the inaugural post of this blogging attempt! I've been posting mini battle reports, my painting, and list building thoughts around various places for awhile, and I figured it was time to condense things into a blog. So first, a little background:

I've only been playing WM/H for about a year and a half, Skorne exclusively, and it has turned into somewhat of an obsession for me. This summer I'm going to be turning things up a notch, hitting GenCon and TempleCon, and trying to be competitive at a wider-scale, after becoming one of the top players in my local meta and doing well with traveling a few hours outside of my small bubble. This blog will include some of my painting work and tips, battle reports, tournament reports, and a bit of theory/philosophy.


And Philosophy is where I'd like to start, with Skornifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the idea that the USA should stretch from coast-to-coast, spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Skornifest Destiny, then, is based on building lists that bully the board, taking the mindset during list building that I should be in control, from board edge to board edge. This winds up giving us a very strong scenario game, in my experience, that works incredibly well with our attrition edge (Beast handlers for healing, native ease of healing beasts, a tendency to bring enough meat and armor to be fairly safe when the charging is all done). There are a few parts to this that I'll discuss below: Speed, Threat, Delivery, Durability, and Follow Up.