Khador 2014 Part 06 - Weapons of Choice

(Still needs witty picture)

Following the personal gaming success that was ClogCon (first win with Harkevich, first scenario victories since 2012, to be precise), I spent a lot of time (for me, at least) a) playing the Harkevich list I took to the ClogCon Masters, b) reading a lot of Sticks and Dice and the relevant PP Forum Thread.

It basically boils down to this: How sensible is the armour skew in a list line-up? But that's not the point of today's article (WHOAA?). Instead, I feel more tempted to write about the list-chicken part of the game. When I was first confronted with it, it completely blew me out of the water, and I more or less picked lists at random.

Now, I'm looking at the list chicken situation as a puzzle to be solved, and I want this article to help others with solving the puzzle. I am certainly neither the first nor the best to write about this topic, but I gave it a lot of thought, and those thoughts I deem worth sharing. Ready?

Seizing Command 06 - Breaking (as in Borken) News!

So now we do have an answer from Fearlord, the HC infernal who was kind enough to check on what "unused" means:

The answer is: Any card from a faction's whole pool of cards costing up to three and not granting victory.

Which means: Forget what I said about detachment choices. Just pick which you want most for your strategy. Good god, play Cygnar R/G/B with all the Journeymen readily available...

Game Report is delayed, btw. Still trying to schedule it. Hang in there!
And until then, farewell.

Khador 2014 Part 05 - 9 point 'Jacks

(Yes, that's a - very bad - 9" Nails pun)

   I guess it was once again the Grolar that made me do it, since it's nine points. It, however, also has to do with my first ever Harkevich Victory, and the Destroyer featured in the list, which, mainly merely was there since I had no other 9pt warjack at home. I'm always considering to swap him, but what for? It's not like he has nothing to offer, and thinking about what he offers is exactly what brought me to write this article.

So today's topic are the nine point options Khador has, and what each of those bring to the table/a list, also preferred 'Casters for those choices (if any). Let's do this! We'll likely find out why some of them are very much maligned, and maybe some spark of hope, too.

Seizing Command 05: Kickstarter thoughts - Protectorate

Welcome to this latest (and probably last) HC article on the kickstarter variant! I'll be covering the Protectorate of Menoth now, which, in theory, with their low purchase costs, should gain a certain amount of formidability in this format. I guess we'll see how true that statement is.

The Protectorate is the only faction to currently sport not one, but two cards which are barred from being swapped in courtesy of granting a victory point: the Flameguard Cleanser Phalanx and the Deliverer Sunburst Detachment (Seriously, it would've been kinda sick otherwise).

With those out of the way, what's left?

Seizing Command 04: Kickstarter thoughts - Khador

Next "Seizing Command" article, next faction being kickstarted! This time, I am going to talk about Khador - which I'd play primarily, but won't while Fiona is taking them (which probably will stop the day Mercs come out...). Noteworthy about the Motherland is that next to all detachments are available twice or more - except for G, which is currently the Old Witch's alone.

There's still no official word on the "unused cards" issue, so we'll go ahead with our current assumptions.

Seizing Command 03: Kickstarter thoughts - Cygnar

Alright, the day before yesterday, I wrote to you about Cryx in the Kickstarter variant - and as outlined in the first article, now it's Cygnars turn. Before we come to the detail break, let me state two very important things that are different between Cryx and Cygnar:

a) All detachments are available twice (at the time of Into the Breach and forgoing promo cards) - Cryx only had G on Skarre.
b) No cards are excluded as swap-ins because they have Victory Points on them. That's a relief!
c) There are not that many, though.

Now, onto the nitty gritty. You ready?

Seizing Command 02: Kickstarter Thoughts - Cryx

As I foretold, this'll now be the post on my thoughts regarding Cryx and the Kickstarter variant of High Command. If any of you have your own thoughts on this matter - why not share them in the comments? 'tis not like I'm always right, especially not since I've only begun to dive into the game.

As stated in the first post, I'll go by the assumption that unused cards means "cards from the detachments you chose that are not already part of the reserves deck". I'll go through all the options Cryx has for swapping cards in, and what the implications (at least those that I can see) for Deck Construction may be.

Khador 2014 Part 04 - ClogCon lists review

Last weekend, ClogCon took place, and in this post, I'll write to you about my experiences there - which will include a very surprising twist. So enjoy!

Prelude:
   We left town at about 6.30 o'clock Friday morning and safely (and uneventfully) arrived in Rotterdam, at the Savoy Hotel, around 10.00 o'clock. "We" being Arides, Fiona, our little daughter pVicky, and me. Due to me having spoken to the hotel beforehand, Fiona, pVicky and me were able to check in right away (go Savoy!). Arides was staying with other Germans at a youth hostel.
   We arrived at the convention's location right in time to register for the opening tournaments, and I played in the 35 pt Steamroller. I won't bother you with my lists right here, because they... will be there again later on. Also, two important things happened while packing: I took Vlad2 with me because I anticipated casual gaming on Saturday, but left Orin at home even though I had him in my hand.

Friday:
35 point Steamroller:
Round 1 - Supply and Demand v. Georg B.
   It was Harkevich's theme force v. Vlad3's theme force, and a very grindy battle - and I punted my one chance at winning by spending the one focus left on Harkevich for the wrong thing (I boosted damage instead of casting Jump Start). ARGH! Very nice opponent, though!

Round 2 - Balance of Power v. Harm K.
   This one was Harkevich (again) against Bart/Galleon. Turns out: On three focus, with Escort, under feat, Harkevich CAN face-tank a Galleon. Also, Bart is one of the two WM Caster that still have though - he rolled it when Harkevich kept calm and cast razor wind. ;)

Round 3 - Incursion (I think) v. Jeroen
   He brought Cryx, so I opted for Zerkova and her anti-Cryx list (which actually had been built to beat Janus S.). He's still a learning player, which showed, and it ended with Deneghra skewered on a Spriggan Warlance (rolled 6, 6, 6, on the charge attack damage, and she had no focus... so 22 damage?)

That was a... pretty underwhelming start. Sure, the first two games were close, but I am still waiting to win with Harkevich the first time ever, while Zerkova remains my "comfort zone".

Saturday:
   I had a Bushido demo which made me really like the system (better than Anima:Tactics, at least). I also got a game in against Rob K., which pitted Harkevich's theme force against Calaban's theme force. And IMO, Calaban is way underrated. It gave me a chance to field a 50pt Harkevich list I both saw on the forums once AND had the models for for the first time. We didn't get to finish it, because I chose to enlist for the Thunderdome competition last minute.
   And that, lads and ladies, was where things started to go crazy.

Seizing Command 01: Basic Kickstarter thoughts

Hey everyone,
while this blog has slowed down again after that spurt that was the Grolar news, I got to play another game of Warmachine: High Command (WMHC or just HC from hereon out).

And afterwards I thought to myself: If I'm taking my time in exploring the game and building decks (inevitably trying to win), why not blog about it? Gives me a way to better process my thoughts, something to look back on - and for you sth to point your finger at and laugh out loud. Not that I'd assume you'll do that, but the option certainly will be there (when in doubt, you can also always face-palm).

And in this inaugural issue of "Seizing Command", we'll talk about "Kickstarter"!