WarmaHordes Battle Report - Killing Field (plus further thoughts on the game)

Well, at least this time my defeat wasn't quite as humiliating...

I've got to make some custom transfers so I can get my version of Rasheth's glyph on my models' banners.

This was another learning game, but this time, on the advice of a mutual friend, we tried out a scenario as well. We settled on "Killing Field" from the rulebook. We also were both running theme lists. As usual, I was using the "Chain Gang" tier list. My Esteemed Opponent used the "Trial by Fire" theme list that, among other things, gave him three free trenches that played no role in the game whatsoever.

(Unfortunately, we realized we lacked suitable terrain for said trenches, so some ad-hoc slips of paper had to make do. And yes, I realize that in my last WarmaHordes post I was complaining about 2-D paper terrain. To quote Doc Holliday in Tombstone, "It appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds.")

View from the Cygnar lines, looking out over the...trenches?...and objective markers that would be my undoing.

At any rate, like a sucka I went after the scenario objectives, which proved to be incredibly unfriendly to the way my force needs to operate. See, there's three markers, and you get one point for every marker you control at the end of a turn. And if you get seven points, you win!

The problem is that in order to "control" a marker, you have to have a model camping out literally on top of it at the end of every turn. It's not enough to just run by and tag it as yours then move on, hoping your opponent doesn't run over and claim it for themselves. So I ran my melee-focused Skorne up to the center point of the table, and then essentially allowed My Esteemed Opponent to blast away at me with his many, many ranged weapons. By the time I realized my error, half my force was gone!

Note the huge gaping hole that had formerly been my left flank.

Additionally, as this was still just a learning game, I had subbed out my Gatormen for a unit of Nihilators, just to see how they'd work. I now understand why Gatormen always show up in Rasheth lists. Not that the Nihilators were bad, per se, but a unit of Gatormen would've done much better, both in general and in this scenario particularly. Nihilators will be a good secondary choice for larger lists.

At long last, my Nihilator unit gets to grips with the enemy. Pity there was only one Nihilator left!

I have to say, being a big fan of Malifaux, I found the fact that the scenario didn't add anything to gameplay (and in fact was a big reason I lost) to be rather counter-intuitive. In Malifaux you have to go after your scenario objectives (called Schemes and Strategies); if you just try to sit back and have a slugfest (unless that happens to be part of a Scheme objective), you will lose. Whereas, when it comes to W/H, I've rarely (if ever?) seen an online battle report in which the scenario actually determines the winner. Indeed, I've watched some in which Player A is ahead on Control Points the whole game - right up until his caster gets killed and Player B takes the victory. It's a completely different mode of play from Malifaux.

There's also certainly the possibility that, since we were playing 35-point lists, we simply didn't have enough troops on the field to effectively address the scenario victory conditions.

Another thing that held me up: discovering what exactly the Centurion's "polarity field" does... :-/

Now.

Having said all that, I still find myself really engaged by the game. It's got so many different layers, all operating at the same time, and a minor slip-up can have major repercussions (for example, I neglected to move up an Agonizer at a crucial time that could've totally shut down My Esteemed Opponent's front line, but didn't and so paid the price...), so the game demands a real level of intellectual engagement quite similar to a collectable card game.

No matter what, W/H always manages to deliver a satisfying dustup at some point during the game. Shortly after this photo was taken, the Titan Gladiator on the left, close to death and no doubt bleeding from every orifice, would manage to bodily hoist up the Centurion and loft him a good distance, landing on a hapless Gobber!

Also, despite my slip-ups (and, frankly, below-average dice rolling), it was still a relatively close game. I got to mess some stuff up towards the end, and with a mighty Bronzeback at that, and was even a turn away from possibly making an assassination run. As usual, I enjoyed throwing things around the battlefield (not that the Centurion's armor of 24 left me many other options...). The Skorne remain a fun faction to play, and I'm planning to expand my collection over the coming months.

The Bronzeback's run for glory that came too little, too late.

On a final note, this was also the inaugural wargame played in my new gaming room, and I couldn't be happier with how that went. My terrain boards, on the other hand, are leaving something to be desired for me personally. Time for another shakeup in that department, methinks. Anyone interested in buying these boards? Drop me a line.