rMadrak - I have always loved him and his surefoot defense buffing goodness. Add in some Carnage and Snap fire and good gravy he is better than usual.
Showing posts with label rMadrak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rMadrak. Show all posts
05 February 2010
Bring the Pain!
rMadrak - I have always loved him and his surefoot defense buffing goodness. Add in some Carnage and Snap fire and good gravy he is better than usual.
06 December 2009
Madrak Ironhide: The Thornwood Chieftain and You
Madrak Ironhide has been an iconic character for Trollbloods since the start of HORDES, having solidified the infamous “Brick” as our primary mode of victory (Supposedly) early on in HORDES MK I. The power of our chief “Brick” warlock, however, has increased thanks to the release of Metamorphosis and HORDES MK II Field Test. I am writing today to muse over the newer incarnation of Ironhide, and put forth some ideas for making him a tournament winning warlock.First, we’ll have to look at his raw stats:
Ironhide is a fast little trollkin with his 6” of movement, and this helps him keep up with his advancing troops. The importance of this is obvious, of course, since he prefers to stay close to the front of the fight. Eight strength makes him fairly high powered in the realm of warlocks, and he wields it well with his moderate MAT and RAT scores. His DEF is hittable at 14, and his ARM is far from unsurpassable by moderate POW attacks, but looking at any Trollblood stat in a vacuum is fruitless, since our faction relies on stat improvement to get the job done much of the time
Ironhide’s Fury is a low 5, but thanks to the newly updated Field Test rules for Frenzying (Found HERE), this is less of a problem. He still can’t run more than three warbeasts safely, and certainly no more than a single heavy, without a pack of Whelps to give them some Comfort Food. Overall, I don’t find his low Fury stat to be inhibiting, and I do not find myself needing (Though we all want) more Fury when I carefully plan my turn.
The Chief has access to a few choice abilities that help define his play style and keep him alive long enough for a devastating feat turn. His Talisman of Subdual stops full tilt beast assassinations on Madrak, preventing the winged monstrosities of Legion from spearing him from across the table (With a charge, anyway). While situational, players will definitely be thankful for this ability in Claw and Fang scenarios or any time Madrak is on the ropes against enemy warbeasts. A far more commonly used ability can be found in his Scroll of Grindar’s Perseverance, which will also help in thwarting assassination attempts on Ironhide. Lastly, Critical Grievous Wounds is Madrak’s ace in the hole. Combined with his thrown Rathrok attack, Madrak can assassinate warlocks from a distance, getting a P+S of up to 19 that can’t be transferred.
Madrak’s stats and abilities are not what make him great. What gives this warlock his edge is his spell list:
Carnage is perfect for Ironhide’s force composition, which usually consists of melee troops with moderate MAT scores. This spell bumps them up to levels of accuracy comparable to warcasters like the Butcher of Kardov, or legendary swordsmen like High Paladin Dartan Vilmon. This spell is great for Madrak’s feat turn, letting his troops become hyper-accurate killing machines! Its high cost, however, means that using it will limit Ironhide’s ability to transfer damage, which is somewhat mitigated by his Scroll of Grindar’s Perseverance.
Madrak’s signature spell, Sure Foot, has gotten a bump in efficiency in the MK II Field Test. Now that Sure Foot is an upkeep spell, Madrak has more Fury to spend on attacks, animii, and his newfound best friend, Carnage. The increase in defense helps a lot of our low defense troops avoid the attacks of common troops and forces warbeasts and warjacks to use much needed resources to kill them. The universal presence of Tough in our troops, coupled with the knockdown prevention of Sure Foot, makes our troops survivable, particularly Kriel Warriors with Stone-Forged 4+ Tough.
Last is also a signature spell of Ironhide’s: Stone Fall. Many have touted this spell as useless, and I disagree. While situational, I hardly think a spell that knocks enemy models down in an AoE useless. I would gladly invest 4 Fury on a boosted Stone Fall to try and knock down a group of models that stand between me and my mark. This spell has the major drawback of being fairly inaccurate thanks to Ironhide’s Fury stat of 5, but the spell is not without its uses.
Madrak Ironhide’s most important asset, in my opinion, is his feat, Crusher. With the long list of accuracy and damage increasing abilities that Trollbloods have access to, and the large number of warbeasts with reach, this feat can be absolutely devastating to enemy troopers. The limiting factor here, though, is his small control range. This requires that Madrak be close to the action, but this does not necessarily make him more vulnerable.
Army Composition
Madrak has weaknesses, most of them involving his low Fury stat, but he relies on his army and his feat to make his already impressive forward momentum into a devastating push. Next, I will detail some of the specific models that I like with my Ironhide lists.
Madrak has weaknesses, most of them involving his low Fury stat, but he relies on his army and his feat to make his already impressive forward momentum into a devastating push. Next, I will detail some of the specific models that I like with my Ironhide lists.
The MK II Field Test Axer is the one model, if I had to pick, that I truly wish to stay the same in the final rules. At 6 pts., the Axer is a steal: MAT 6, Reach, Thresher, and arguably one of the most useful animii available to Trollbloods. Combined with Carnage, this warbeast can hack through troops like a hot knife through butter. Rush is the main draw here, letting the Axer or our other heavy hitters get the jump on the enemy. The Axer is in absolutely every Ironhide army I play, and that is because he is Madrak’s best friend.
Mulg the Ancient, while disliked by many in the Trollblood community, is a marvelous addition to Ironhide’s armies. Mulg performs two roles in an Ironhide list, unlike similar heavies like the Earthborn and Blitzer. First, he is a tank that can cause huge amounts of havoc in one on one fights against warbeasts and warjacks. Secondly, he is an infantry lawnmower with the help of “Are You Gonna Eat That,” Carnage and Crusher. This gives him plenty of extra movement to charge, engage and eliminate enemy troops, as well as destroying hard targets. With Carnage bumping him up to MAT 9, he only needs to buy attacks and sometimes boost damage against key targets.
Everyone loves the Impaler, and his benefit is obvious in any army: He slams things. In an Ironhide army, though, he helps the Chief with his favorite trick, the thrown Rathrok assassination (Or, “Chop and Drop,” as I like to call it). Another great use for the Impaler, though, is as a melee troop-killer under the effects of Crusher. With Carnage boosting the Impaler’s MAT to 7, he rarely needs to boost against troopers to kill them.
Alternate choices for his battlegroup are rarely poor, with elemental immunities, Shield Guard and damage bonuses always being helpful, but I cannot stress enough that Ironhide needs a heavy hitter to counter enemy warjacks and heavy warbeasts. Without it, he has to rely on his troops to take down hard targets, which is a dubious task against many factions that can prevent the big push that the Trollbloods need to accomplish this.
Another must for an Ironhide list is a Trollkin Hero. Why, you ask? MAT 8, Reach, Cleave, Weapon Master, Relentless Charge; These are all great abilities individually, but no model combines them quite like the Hero. This model is practically built for Crusher, even having a backup attack in case of a poor attack or damage roll! Weapon Master means he can bring down units like Man-O-War and Cataphracts as well as squishy high defense troopers (Thanks to that MAT 8 and Carnage). At least one goes in every Madrak list I bring, and a second one at higher point levels is a fantastic choice.
For troops, Fennblades are my first choice, thanks to reach and moderate P+S weapons. Their low pt. cost allows them to be a core screen of troops for Ironhide without taking away from the tools of the army. Kriel Warriors also come to mind, since they benefit from greater speed, but lack speed when they pray for accuracy and power, and vice versa. The point investment for Kriel Warriors is also greater, but the survivability is greater compared to Fennblades. The choice is one of personal preference, since both can really shine with Ironhide.
Champions are another obvious choice, and are a great backup from breaking hard targets, not to mention they are harder to kill as a general rule. I recommend these for the traditional “Brick” army build that is centered (Literally and strategically) on the Krielstone Bearer and Sure Foot, but not for a forward Crusher build.
Support models are plentiful to Trollbloods. Any of them are viable, but some are limiting factors. I dislike the Krielstone Bearer in my MK II Ironhide lists, since the change to Sure Foot allows him to fire and forget the spell and not stick right where he is. It is helpful, but restrictive to your movement. The Stone Scribe Chronicler is a great addition with the inclusion of reach warbeasts, and allows your troopers to have some serious damage output. Charge of the Trolls also potentially makes Scattergunners a nice utility unit for the otherwise single-minded warlock. The Fell Caller is a nice solo for Madrak as well, having high speed, two base attacks and weapon master. On top of that, he has his trademark Fell Calls, but that is icing on the cake for this beatstick.
In summation, I think that with practice and correct army composition, Madrak Ironhide’s non-epic incarnation is a potentially potent warlock with the ability to dominate the field in close combat. His major weakness lies in his low fury stat and vulnerability to ranged attacks (Or rather, a lack of support for the models that would counter them). It’s important to look at Madrak for what he is: A troop killer. It is also important to make sure that an army is composed to cover his weaknesses. I see nothing on this warlock that I would like changed in the Field Test, save for a higher Fury stat, but that is just a dream I doubt will be realized. Play the game, Trollkin, and have fun!
30 November 2009
Sevwall's Fieldtest Thoughts - Warlocks
Models I have not played with are left out.
Models rated 1 to 5.
1 = Total Junk
2 = Underpowered
3 = Balanced
4 = Overpowered
5 = Broken
Madrak - 3
Seems quite acceptable. Surefoot is a spectacular defensive spell, and as an upkeep it allows him to send people off under its effects without having to recast it every turn. Stonefall is a poor offensive spell, but really his axe is all he needs to affect things at range.
I am undecided if he needs any changes. I feel like he needs reach, but that may just be wishful thinking. I’m going to say he is probably fine as is.
pHoarluk - 2
Wow, he has really turned into a true denial caster. Purification is a nice ability, especially since it can remove animi now, and there are some nice defensive animi out there. Past that, he seems nice if a little underwhelming. He works well with beasts via Goad, but his offensive potential is very limited, and Death Sentence and Stranglehold are very short ranged for him. One major problem is that he needs to recast his upkeeps when he Purifys, and that he is often out of easy range to recast his spells. So range is a problem, and he is a tad underpowered…..
Possible feedback: Something as simple as a bond that turns a beast into a channeller seems reasonable. It lets him effect the battle without putting himself at too much personal risk. Since his repetoire of offensive spells is limited, this should not swing him over into the ‘too good’ range.
Borka – 2
Borka is a weird one. Obviously Mosh Pit is hugely powerful. He gets an extra fury each turn through the keg carrie. Yet he seems… lacking. Boring maybe. Bum Rush is very hard to pull off, since it is much, much more limited that Counter Charge in that you have to move in a straight line. Cooler may as well be blank for all you will cast it. Yet he isn’t really bad in any way. Just slightly lacking. He seems to be geared towards beasts, yet has such little capability to run them.
Possible Feedback. Forget the pseudo Fury 6 from Keggy, just make him a 6. It helps him run the beasts than his feat and his spell list want. Keggy would lose Top up, and gain nothing in return. This keeps it as a small buff. Keggy would then have a sigular, but important purpose.
eMadrak - 3
Played with him a few times. He seems alright, just fine really. He is one of the two casters who seem to make Mulg a bit over the top. But Warpath is otherwise cool, he threatens nicely in melee with his big axe and even a possible Vortex of Destruction. The feat still rocks.
Possible Feedback: He wouldn’t be broken with reach. If pMadrak gets it, eMadrak would too.
eHoarluk - 3
What can I say? He is fun now, he has a cool but not crazy spell list. Wild aggression is a huge buff, but Warmachine shows how balanced it is. Refuge is simply cool. The only real issue is the feat. If you do not have a turn where you can charge (as happens in games vs fast opponents or opponents with shutdown feats) you do not have a feat…..
Possible feedback: The feat should grant +3” of movement regardless of whether you charge or not. Aside from that it seems fine.
Calandra – 4
We run into a problem here. Calandra is fine. She really is. Not overpowered. But Befuddle is. It is the answer to every problem you can face on the field. Unit? Turn them around to give you backstrikes and prevent them from charging. Or just clump them and send an axer or a scattergunner to wipe them out in a single attack. A possible 20” threat on the spell (Rush + Bonegrinders.. its even further if you charge) is just a little too much for this crazy spell.
The rest of it is fine. Her new feat was a stroke of genius,
Posssible Feedback: Befuddle at RNG 10 is too much. Make it RNG 8 again.
That was the easy part. Tommorrow….. Warbeasts!
10 June 2009
Stryker Suggests Wargames To Madrak In Preparation For The PKA.
Link to BACK STORY
Madrak was still very unsure about this recent alliance with Cygnar. In light of what was happening to Grissel he could not understand why one part of Cygnar would fight them while the other part would help him. Either Leto did not have control over all its army or he gave each group more latitude then they should. Of course who was he to talk, his kith were sometimes just as likely to attack each other as they would an enemy.
"Our Warlocks practice against each other in Mock Combat," Madrak suggested to Stryker, "It keeps us sharp and helps us to learn our strengths and weakness." Stryker would have to remind himself that though some of the Trolls were not very smart, some of them were indeed quite intelligent... "We do much the same with our Cygnar armies, what say you to a match then to sharpen our wits," Stryker almost goaded Madrak, "Rowdy grows restless, and I fear without an outlet our armies may decide that the PKA is an enemy to far away." Stryker was hoping to get a better look at the way these Trolls fought on the field. He could easily see that with their technology his ranged attacks would tear apart these Trolls, as they seemed to have very little in the way of ranged weapons and the ones they did have were either old Cygnar guns or crude sticks. "It is time for war then," Madrak grinned to Stryker as he Grabbed Rathrok with both hands and flung it at a nearby Tree, splintering it. As the Axe reappeard in his hands, he gripped the Axe haft with both hands flexing. Stryker knew intimidation tactics when he saw them. "Let us work out the rules of our mock fight then," Stryker said as he turned to walk towards his tent. On his way the earth shook under Madrak's feet making him stumble and almost fall...
We played a 500pt Duel in preparation for our upcoming Escalation Tournament. Our terrain looked something like this.
Only rough terrain are the rocks in the middle.
My List.
Points: 499
Model Count: 11
Victory Points: 17
Madrak Ironhide Points: 64
Slag Troll Points: 70
Troll Impaler Points: 75
Dire Troll Mauler Points: 111
Fell Caller Points: 35
Trollkin Hero Points: 38
Trollkin Champions [5] Points: 106
His List (I think)
Points: 496
Model Count: 17
Victory Points: 18
Commander Coleman Stryker Points: 64
> Squire Points: 18
> Thorn Points: 93
> Ol' Rowdy Points: 121
Journeyman Warcaster Points: 25
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team [3] Points: 77
Stormguard [9] (3 added) Points: 98
We rolled off and he won and so decided to go first.
Deployment
Cygnar - He deployed on the top of the map with his B13 behind the Trees, Stormguard, Rowdy, Stryker, Squire in the middle and journeyman on the far left.
Trolls - Its Madrak so I bricked up middle right, Hero on the left flank, Fel Caller on the right, Slag and Imp in back, Mauler left of the Hero and Madrak in the middle.
Turn 1
Cygnar - He Snipes the B13, they move up into the trees and hit my middle Champ for 4 damage. Yeap shooting 25" or some such nonsense. Stormguard advance up the middle with Rowdy behind them and Stryker behind him with the Squire. Journeyman and Thorn go left.
Trolls - So without gobbers and the KSB I am feeling a little exposed and screwed. I run to my right a little towards the B13 but only about 8", Champs go V-formation Maddy surefooted in the middle with the two lights bringin up the rear. The Mauler stays left runs his full 10" twowards the rocks.
"Let them taste our range boys," Stryker said over his comm to the Black 13th, "they are tougher than most humans, but even they cannot withstand our barrage for long". Without hesitation they moved up and unloaded on Madrak's front lines.
Turn 2
Cygnar - He kills my point Champ, and nails Madrak with the B13, I take 10 damage with one hit and opt to scroll the 14 damage from the next hit instead of pushing it off. His SG run over in front of the trees and Rowdy moves up to countercharge position. Thorn runs up Mauler gets Eartquaked down and he gets hurt decent.
Trolls - Champs run to engage the SG, Mauler does the same to Rowdy after the Fel Caller stands him up. Madrak Surefoots while the Hero blocks the lane to him on the left. Farstrike the Slag and end up with no fury. Slag moves up and hurts Rowdy boosting damage, good hit but Rowdy chooses where it goes. Impaler goes for a slam and misses but the two have Maddy's left flank covered.
Turn 3
Cygnar - Mauler dies a Horrible death to Rowdy and Slag gets near killed as well. He does some CMA on Champs do little. My Slag gets hurt a little. Not much else since he put most his effort into killing the Mauler. He feats giving all his crap +5 armor add in arcane shield to Rowdy and he is ARM 18. The SG are ARM 23.
Trolls - My Fel Caller Tries to charge the far right SG and misses on both hits. The Champs hit alot but only get through the armor on a couple of them. Hero decides to sacrifice himself and charges up to Rowdy's base going after Stryker but misses and can't damage on the backswing. Slag does no damage to Thorn and the Impaler hits for no damage as well. I'd say his feat worked great. Madrak actually tries stonefall in an attempt for a critical, yeah its a pretty good critical against WM... He doesn't get it.
Madrak was impressed by Strykers command of his army, they did not leave him many openings and forced him to react to their movements. Seings his beasts nearly out of the fight he knew he was about about to lose and decided to go for broke. "Champions ready your blades and slice through their lines," Madrak bellowed as he turned to the Hero, "Grissel sends you to me with high praise, show me why she thinks so highly of you and she will hear of your glory directly from me!" The Hero gritted his teeth and set to work on yet another human Warlock.
Turn 4
Cygnar - He CMA's the Champs again nearly killing the one blocking los to Madrak. Rowdy the Journeyman and Thorn kill the Slag and leave the Imp with 1 wound left. The B13 have to move and end up missing a few on Madrak leaving him with 5 health. Stryker tries to kill the Hero along with one of the B13 but the only do 5 damage. What good is retalitory strike when the dude hitting you can use ranged attacks in melee?
Trolls - Knowing I am dead I decide to go for it, Madrak moves up to the Champs uses Guided Hand on the Champs and the Hero then feats, the Champs Crusher all remaining stormguard, the last Champ gets the B13 dude engaging the Hero and takes a couple swings at Stryker doing a little damage. The Fel Caller WarCrys the Hero then Hero then takes a shot at Stryker hitting him for 10 damage, his backswing also hits delivering the killing blow. Gooo Hero.
As much as it pained Stryker to see his army lose even when his opponent seemed to be ready to fall apart he had to give Madrak praise. It appeared that this Troll was indeed worthy of Leto's friendship, pity it had gone they way it did for a full fledge alliance with the Trolls could strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and bring peace to the Trollbloods and Cygnar. It was wishful thinking of course but hopefully the good they did here would count for something against Cygnar's current relationship with the Trolls. His voice crackled accross the comm to his army, "well fought, luck is on thier side today, with them the PKA stands no chance... now reset we go again at 1800 hours," Stryker smiled to himself as he planned to take on Madrak again.
Synopsis - He had me on the ropes right from the start and did a great job of taking out my crap without me being able to do much about it. Surefoot and Champs in Melee will always be amazing unless MKII kills it. One more turn would have had me dead no matter what so I went for the kill and got lucky. I almost always forget how good Crusher is until I use it, and no I don't use it every game, the oppotunity doesn't always present itself.
Madrak was still very unsure about this recent alliance with Cygnar. In light of what was happening to Grissel he could not understand why one part of Cygnar would fight them while the other part would help him. Either Leto did not have control over all its army or he gave each group more latitude then they should. Of course who was he to talk, his kith were sometimes just as likely to attack each other as they would an enemy.
"Our Warlocks practice against each other in Mock Combat," Madrak suggested to Stryker, "It keeps us sharp and helps us to learn our strengths and weakness." Stryker would have to remind himself that though some of the Trolls were not very smart, some of them were indeed quite intelligent... "We do much the same with our Cygnar armies, what say you to a match then to sharpen our wits," Stryker almost goaded Madrak, "Rowdy grows restless, and I fear without an outlet our armies may decide that the PKA is an enemy to far away." Stryker was hoping to get a better look at the way these Trolls fought on the field. He could easily see that with their technology his ranged attacks would tear apart these Trolls, as they seemed to have very little in the way of ranged weapons and the ones they did have were either old Cygnar guns or crude sticks. "It is time for war then," Madrak grinned to Stryker as he Grabbed Rathrok with both hands and flung it at a nearby Tree, splintering it. As the Axe reappeard in his hands, he gripped the Axe haft with both hands flexing. Stryker knew intimidation tactics when he saw them. "Let us work out the rules of our mock fight then," Stryker said as he turned to walk towards his tent. On his way the earth shook under Madrak's feet making him stumble and almost fall...
We played a 500pt Duel in preparation for our upcoming Escalation Tournament. Our terrain looked something like this.
Only rough terrain are the rocks in the middle.My List.
Points: 499
Model Count: 11
Victory Points: 17
Madrak Ironhide Points: 64
Slag Troll Points: 70
Troll Impaler Points: 75
Dire Troll Mauler Points: 111
Fell Caller Points: 35
Trollkin Hero Points: 38
Trollkin Champions [5] Points: 106
His List (I think)
Points: 496
Model Count: 17
Victory Points: 18
Commander Coleman Stryker Points: 64
> Squire Points: 18
> Thorn Points: 93
> Ol' Rowdy Points: 121
Journeyman Warcaster Points: 25
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team [3] Points: 77
Stormguard [9] (3 added) Points: 98
We rolled off and he won and so decided to go first.
Deployment
Cygnar - He deployed on the top of the map with his B13 behind the Trees, Stormguard, Rowdy, Stryker, Squire in the middle and journeyman on the far left.
Trolls - Its Madrak so I bricked up middle right, Hero on the left flank, Fel Caller on the right, Slag and Imp in back, Mauler left of the Hero and Madrak in the middle.
Turn 1
Cygnar - He Snipes the B13, they move up into the trees and hit my middle Champ for 4 damage. Yeap shooting 25" or some such nonsense. Stormguard advance up the middle with Rowdy behind them and Stryker behind him with the Squire. Journeyman and Thorn go left.
Trolls - So without gobbers and the KSB I am feeling a little exposed and screwed. I run to my right a little towards the B13 but only about 8", Champs go V-formation Maddy surefooted in the middle with the two lights bringin up the rear. The Mauler stays left runs his full 10" twowards the rocks.
"Let them taste our range boys," Stryker said over his comm to the Black 13th, "they are tougher than most humans, but even they cannot withstand our barrage for long". Without hesitation they moved up and unloaded on Madrak's front lines.
Turn 2
Cygnar - He kills my point Champ, and nails Madrak with the B13, I take 10 damage with one hit and opt to scroll the 14 damage from the next hit instead of pushing it off. His SG run over in front of the trees and Rowdy moves up to countercharge position. Thorn runs up Mauler gets Eartquaked down and he gets hurt decent.
Trolls - Champs run to engage the SG, Mauler does the same to Rowdy after the Fel Caller stands him up. Madrak Surefoots while the Hero blocks the lane to him on the left. Farstrike the Slag and end up with no fury. Slag moves up and hurts Rowdy boosting damage, good hit but Rowdy chooses where it goes. Impaler goes for a slam and misses but the two have Maddy's left flank covered.
Turn 3
Cygnar - Mauler dies a Horrible death to Rowdy and Slag gets near killed as well. He does some CMA on Champs do little. My Slag gets hurt a little. Not much else since he put most his effort into killing the Mauler. He feats giving all his crap +5 armor add in arcane shield to Rowdy and he is ARM 18. The SG are ARM 23.
Trolls - My Fel Caller Tries to charge the far right SG and misses on both hits. The Champs hit alot but only get through the armor on a couple of them. Hero decides to sacrifice himself and charges up to Rowdy's base going after Stryker but misses and can't damage on the backswing. Slag does no damage to Thorn and the Impaler hits for no damage as well. I'd say his feat worked great. Madrak actually tries stonefall in an attempt for a critical, yeah its a pretty good critical against WM... He doesn't get it.
Madrak was impressed by Strykers command of his army, they did not leave him many openings and forced him to react to their movements. Seings his beasts nearly out of the fight he knew he was about about to lose and decided to go for broke. "Champions ready your blades and slice through their lines," Madrak bellowed as he turned to the Hero, "Grissel sends you to me with high praise, show me why she thinks so highly of you and she will hear of your glory directly from me!" The Hero gritted his teeth and set to work on yet another human Warlock.
Turn 4
Cygnar - He CMA's the Champs again nearly killing the one blocking los to Madrak. Rowdy the Journeyman and Thorn kill the Slag and leave the Imp with 1 wound left. The B13 have to move and end up missing a few on Madrak leaving him with 5 health. Stryker tries to kill the Hero along with one of the B13 but the only do 5 damage. What good is retalitory strike when the dude hitting you can use ranged attacks in melee?
Trolls - Knowing I am dead I decide to go for it, Madrak moves up to the Champs uses Guided Hand on the Champs and the Hero then feats, the Champs Crusher all remaining stormguard, the last Champ gets the B13 dude engaging the Hero and takes a couple swings at Stryker doing a little damage. The Fel Caller WarCrys the Hero then Hero then takes a shot at Stryker hitting him for 10 damage, his backswing also hits delivering the killing blow. Gooo Hero.
As much as it pained Stryker to see his army lose even when his opponent seemed to be ready to fall apart he had to give Madrak praise. It appeared that this Troll was indeed worthy of Leto's friendship, pity it had gone they way it did for a full fledge alliance with the Trolls could strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and bring peace to the Trollbloods and Cygnar. It was wishful thinking of course but hopefully the good they did here would count for something against Cygnar's current relationship with the Trolls. His voice crackled accross the comm to his army, "well fought, luck is on thier side today, with them the PKA stands no chance... now reset we go again at 1800 hours," Stryker smiled to himself as he planned to take on Madrak again.
Synopsis - He had me on the ropes right from the start and did a great job of taking out my crap without me being able to do much about it. Surefoot and Champs in Melee will always be amazing unless MKII kills it. One more turn would have had me dead no matter what so I went for the kill and got lucky. I almost always forget how good Crusher is until I use it, and no I don't use it every game, the oppotunity doesn't always present itself.
21 May 2009
Sparring Match: Borka vs rMadrak
"I'll bet you my latest keg of Whelp Ale, we can take ya down" Borka boasted over to Madrak... again.
Wednesday night game was against a newer Trollblood player.
My Army....His Army
Borka......Madrak
Kenny......Impaler
Mauler.....Impaler
Slag.......Axer
Impaler....Fel Caller
Gobbers....Gobbers
We played anything goes 350. The board had a low shrub wall right down the middle and two small hills also in the middle that were not rough terrain. My Borka Army rolled highest and I chose to first.
Turn 1 Borka - I run my full distance 10" bringing Borka and Gobbers up and drop some smoke and cast mosh pit.
Turn 1 Madrak - He does a 3/4 run, Surefoots, smokes and waits for me to come to him.
Turn 2 Borka - My Imapler runs to the hill on the right side Mauler runs right down the middle by the bush wall and Slag halfway between the two, Borka upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush and I take away the charge to Borka with gobber smoke.
Turn 2 Madrak - His first Impaler hurts my Mauler and his second one Crit Slams him taking the charge away from the Axer. He moves Madrak over Borka's direction behind his Imp and the Fel Caller gets up close to the Axer. He Gobber smokes in front of my army best he can.
"Go get em boy," Borka says to the Mauler, who promptly ran up to Madrak's Axer trying his best to look scary... "I knew we should have brought an older Mauler," Borka shook his head and grabbed a pint from the keg carrier.
Turn 3 Borka - I misjudge the charge distance on my Mauler and so end up 3" short (yeah I know it was a big misjudge) The Impaler throws at the Axer but misses on three dice. Borka Farstrikes himself and bounces the bomb off the Axer and into the Fel Caller killing him and the AOE takes out both gobbers as well. Mosh Pit and Bum rush are both still up and Gobber smoke in front of Borka again.
Turn 3 Madrak - His Axer charges my Mauler and hurts it good real good, then gets mosh pitted for a little damage. Mosh pit ends up killing the Mauler since he is no longer in melee with the Axer both Impalers unload on him finishing him off. Madrak throws at the Slag hurting it a little, nothing in range to ricochet.
"That's how we do it boys," Madrak said approvingly, "Let's see what he can do without his Mauler."
Turn 4 Borka - Borka feats, upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush then circles back around behind his army, kenny follows. Slag Troll charges the Axer hurting him a little and slamming him back to knock him down. Impaler throws at the other Impaler also crit slamming him and knocking him and his other Impaler down... yeap he forgot surefoot that turn.
Turn 4 Madrak - Madrak casts surefoot and moves back towards the corner, the Axer stands up and moves up into the slag and gets mosh pitted to death. His Impalers stand up and stick the Slag full of spears killing him.
Turn 5 Borka - Upkeep Mosh Pit, Kenny LQ's Borka. Borka Charges the closest Impaler killing it. My Impaler gets yet another crit on his Slamming it an inch knocking it down..
Turn 5 Madrak - He Charges Borka and comes up short by half an inch then gets Bum Rushed by Borka for it. Madrak does minimal damage on the next few attacks then gets Mosh Pitted for around ten more damage. His Impaler tries to hit Borka but misses.
Turn 6 Borka - Borka hits Madrak on the Head showing him why Trauma is named as such.
"Yeah, you owe me a mug Madrak," Borka said clapping him on the back, "But it was a close one wasn't it?". Madrak said nothing and walked with him to the makeshift Bar the Pygmies had setup. He would get him next time for sure, but more importantly some of their troops both got some needed practice in.
Wednesday night game was against a newer Trollblood player.
My Army....His Army
Borka......Madrak
Kenny......Impaler
Mauler.....Impaler
Slag.......Axer
Impaler....Fel Caller
Gobbers....Gobbers
We played anything goes 350. The board had a low shrub wall right down the middle and two small hills also in the middle that were not rough terrain. My Borka Army rolled highest and I chose to first.
Turn 1 Borka - I run my full distance 10" bringing Borka and Gobbers up and drop some smoke and cast mosh pit.
Turn 1 Madrak - He does a 3/4 run, Surefoots, smokes and waits for me to come to him.
Turn 2 Borka - My Imapler runs to the hill on the right side Mauler runs right down the middle by the bush wall and Slag halfway between the two, Borka upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush and I take away the charge to Borka with gobber smoke.
Turn 2 Madrak - His first Impaler hurts my Mauler and his second one Crit Slams him taking the charge away from the Axer. He moves Madrak over Borka's direction behind his Imp and the Fel Caller gets up close to the Axer. He Gobber smokes in front of my army best he can.
"Go get em boy," Borka says to the Mauler, who promptly ran up to Madrak's Axer trying his best to look scary... "I knew we should have brought an older Mauler," Borka shook his head and grabbed a pint from the keg carrier.
Turn 3 Borka - I misjudge the charge distance on my Mauler and so end up 3" short (yeah I know it was a big misjudge) The Impaler throws at the Axer but misses on three dice. Borka Farstrikes himself and bounces the bomb off the Axer and into the Fel Caller killing him and the AOE takes out both gobbers as well. Mosh Pit and Bum rush are both still up and Gobber smoke in front of Borka again.
Turn 3 Madrak - His Axer charges my Mauler and hurts it good real good, then gets mosh pitted for a little damage. Mosh pit ends up killing the Mauler since he is no longer in melee with the Axer both Impalers unload on him finishing him off. Madrak throws at the Slag hurting it a little, nothing in range to ricochet.
"That's how we do it boys," Madrak said approvingly, "Let's see what he can do without his Mauler."
Turn 4 Borka - Borka feats, upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush then circles back around behind his army, kenny follows. Slag Troll charges the Axer hurting him a little and slamming him back to knock him down. Impaler throws at the other Impaler also crit slamming him and knocking him and his other Impaler down... yeap he forgot surefoot that turn.
Turn 4 Madrak - Madrak casts surefoot and moves back towards the corner, the Axer stands up and moves up into the slag and gets mosh pitted to death. His Impalers stand up and stick the Slag full of spears killing him.
Turn 5 Borka - Upkeep Mosh Pit, Kenny LQ's Borka. Borka Charges the closest Impaler killing it. My Impaler gets yet another crit on his Slamming it an inch knocking it down..
Turn 5 Madrak - He Charges Borka and comes up short by half an inch then gets Bum Rushed by Borka for it. Madrak does minimal damage on the next few attacks then gets Mosh Pitted for around ten more damage. His Impaler tries to hit Borka but misses.
Turn 6 Borka - Borka hits Madrak on the Head showing him why Trauma is named as such.
"Yeah, you owe me a mug Madrak," Borka said clapping him on the back, "But it was a close one wasn't it?". Madrak said nothing and walked with him to the makeshift Bar the Pygmies had setup. He would get him next time for sure, but more importantly some of their troops both got some needed practice in.
04 April 2009
All Medium Based Brick... Except for Gobbers of Course.
My record with a variation of the 'Classic Brick' is decent and many have asked for my army list, strategy, and deployment. This strategy won't work for everyone but it has been working quite well for me with a win ratio of 70%. I used Vassal to illustrate my turns, obviously in a real game pieces would be dieing off each turn but you can use your imagination.
Army Composition. The whole idea behind this army is to use a large mob of medium bases to block los to everything but the front line. Here is the list I typically use using Table Top Commander.
Faction: Trollblood
Points: 750
Model Count: 40
Victory Points: 27
Madrak Ironhide
Slag Troll
Troll Impaler
Fell Caller
Trollkin Hero
Trollkin Hero
Kriel Warriors [9] (3 added)
> Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper [2]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes [6] (2 added)
> Stone Scribe Elder [1]
Trollkin Champions [5]
Trollkin Scattergunners [6] (0 added)
Gatormen Posse [3] (0 added)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]
DEPLOYMENT - Click the pictures to see the names of where I put things.
Typically my army is divided into three groups. The main brick, The left Flank and the Right Flank.
My main Brick consists of Champions, Both Heroes, Madrak, KSB, Gobbers, the Impaler and the second beast which is a Slag or Pyre depending on what I am playing.
The left and right flanks are interchangeable, one of them includes the Gators and the Scattergunners. The other Flank is usually my Kriel Warrior Mob. The Fel Caller is usally floating between the brick and the Sacattergunner flank.
FIRST TURN
*I like to go first if I can, but if not I typically play the turns the same way.
My flank with Kriel Warriors mostly Runs and the War Shaman gives them two more inches. About four of them and the Standard should get about twelve inches out and spread out and here is where the Standard usually uses his mini-feat, the rest of them conga line back so the War shaman and piper are way back.
*The Scattergunner flank also runs but conga-lines back more with the Gators outside of them. The Gator Bokur's abilities are not special actions so don't foget to use them, typically the swamp happens early game. Use terrain to help protect this side of the army to get into a good position to attack.
*The main Brick runs but not their full distance usually I line them up with whatever gap of terrain they can get through the easiest. Typcially the Champ front line goes about seven inches and gets into a V-formation. Madrak moves up next dumping all his fury on the Kriel Stone. Kriel Stone gets right up next to Madrak and the Scribes spread back usualy with the Elder Scribe one Scribe away from the stone and in the back of the brick the Aura is +2ARM here usually unless I am playing Menoth or Cryx then it is the no continuous effects and you can't move me aura. Heroes go on each end of the front line and the beasts hide in and behind them. Gobbers pick a side and drop the smoke cloud up front OR hit the Champs with concealment.
SECOND TURN
*By this turn things should have started dieing, probably Kriel Warriors but they are a speed bump anyway. If the KW can kill something then great, if not their goal is to tie up whatever possible likely running to engage. Kill whatever flankers you can with your own flankers and start to move them in to hit the sides of whatever your Champs are zeroing in on. Scattergunners are effective at clearing out a lot of models and the Gators will take out most nasty flanking solos. The Fel Caller should be close enough to hit the Scattergunners with Pathfinder or War Cry if necessary.
*The main brick moves on up, get a Pyre, Impaler, or Madrak ranged attack off if you can. The Pyre is a good damage buffer here. Madrak casts Surefoot and the KSB will do the previous aura unless your Champs are already engaged then it becomes +2 Str. This turn and the next you want the Champs to take the most hits if they are hitting the center of your army. Hero's being back a little make spectacular counter-chargers and it allows your beasts to hang back to use their ranged and support a bit longer. Scribes are not there for decoration if anything does slip in between a flank like a Pistol Wraith then Scribes and beasts have to deal with them.
END GAME
So by this point your flankers are either dead or hitting them from the sides. There should be some dead Champs and maybe even a hero. For the KSB the +2 Str aura is the name of the game here. Once you are in melee Crusher becomes fantastic with Heroes. Crit Slams with the Imapler are fantastic and start looking at something in the Front line that the Pyre can either throw into them OR throw back to Madrak and the Impaler to kill. After four turns the game should be coming to a close and you should be looking for a caster kill if possible, but more likely you are trying to finish off your opponents biggest damage dealers. The brick is better at killing everything on the table than it is at assassinations all your medium bases make it just as hard to get to Madrak as it does for Madrak to get to them. This is a good thing, Madrak should only enter the Fray when he is ending the game or he will likely get killed.
That is it, not a terribly hard style to master playing, personally I find the addition of the Hero and Elder Stone Scribe fantastic for the brick. So tell me what you guys think and feel free to critique and/or ask questions.
Army Composition. The whole idea behind this army is to use a large mob of medium bases to block los to everything but the front line. Here is the list I typically use using Table Top Commander.
Faction: Trollblood
Points: 750
Model Count: 40
Victory Points: 27
Madrak Ironhide
Slag Troll
Troll Impaler
Fell Caller
Trollkin Hero
Trollkin Hero
Kriel Warriors [9] (3 added)
> Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper [2]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes [6] (2 added)
> Stone Scribe Elder [1]
Trollkin Champions [5]
Trollkin Scattergunners [6] (0 added)
Gatormen Posse [3] (0 added)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]
DEPLOYMENT - Click the pictures to see the names of where I put things.
Typically my army is divided into three groups. The main brick, The left Flank and the Right Flank.
My main Brick consists of Champions, Both Heroes, Madrak, KSB, Gobbers, the Impaler and the second beast which is a Slag or Pyre depending on what I am playing.
The left and right flanks are interchangeable, one of them includes the Gators and the Scattergunners. The other Flank is usually my Kriel Warrior Mob. The Fel Caller is usally floating between the brick and the Sacattergunner flank.
FIRST TURN
*I like to go first if I can, but if not I typically play the turns the same way.
My flank with Kriel Warriors mostly Runs and the War Shaman gives them two more inches. About four of them and the Standard should get about twelve inches out and spread out and here is where the Standard usually uses his mini-feat, the rest of them conga line back so the War shaman and piper are way back.
*The Scattergunner flank also runs but conga-lines back more with the Gators outside of them. The Gator Bokur's abilities are not special actions so don't foget to use them, typically the swamp happens early game. Use terrain to help protect this side of the army to get into a good position to attack.
*The main Brick runs but not their full distance usually I line them up with whatever gap of terrain they can get through the easiest. Typcially the Champ front line goes about seven inches and gets into a V-formation. Madrak moves up next dumping all his fury on the Kriel Stone. Kriel Stone gets right up next to Madrak and the Scribes spread back usualy with the Elder Scribe one Scribe away from the stone and in the back of the brick the Aura is +2ARM here usually unless I am playing Menoth or Cryx then it is the no continuous effects and you can't move me aura. Heroes go on each end of the front line and the beasts hide in and behind them. Gobbers pick a side and drop the smoke cloud up front OR hit the Champs with concealment.
SECOND TURN
*By this turn things should have started dieing, probably Kriel Warriors but they are a speed bump anyway. If the KW can kill something then great, if not their goal is to tie up whatever possible likely running to engage. Kill whatever flankers you can with your own flankers and start to move them in to hit the sides of whatever your Champs are zeroing in on. Scattergunners are effective at clearing out a lot of models and the Gators will take out most nasty flanking solos. The Fel Caller should be close enough to hit the Scattergunners with Pathfinder or War Cry if necessary.
*The main brick moves on up, get a Pyre, Impaler, or Madrak ranged attack off if you can. The Pyre is a good damage buffer here. Madrak casts Surefoot and the KSB will do the previous aura unless your Champs are already engaged then it becomes +2 Str. This turn and the next you want the Champs to take the most hits if they are hitting the center of your army. Hero's being back a little make spectacular counter-chargers and it allows your beasts to hang back to use their ranged and support a bit longer. Scribes are not there for decoration if anything does slip in between a flank like a Pistol Wraith then Scribes and beasts have to deal with them.
END GAME
So by this point your flankers are either dead or hitting them from the sides. There should be some dead Champs and maybe even a hero. For the KSB the +2 Str aura is the name of the game here. Once you are in melee Crusher becomes fantastic with Heroes. Crit Slams with the Imapler are fantastic and start looking at something in the Front line that the Pyre can either throw into them OR throw back to Madrak and the Impaler to kill. After four turns the game should be coming to a close and you should be looking for a caster kill if possible, but more likely you are trying to finish off your opponents biggest damage dealers. The brick is better at killing everything on the table than it is at assassinations all your medium bases make it just as hard to get to Madrak as it does for Madrak to get to them. This is a good thing, Madrak should only enter the Fray when he is ending the game or he will likely get killed.
That is it, not a terribly hard style to master playing, personally I find the addition of the Hero and Elder Stone Scribe fantastic for the brick. So tell me what you guys think and feel free to critique and/or ask questions.
20 March 2009
Trolls vs Cryx... King of the HIll
So after some debate, and once we found out our game affected the top three more than we thought, we decided to make time for a game. No matter how much we pissed off our wives!
Seeing as how I was already playing a losing battle (that's how I always feel about Cryx) I decided to bring my brick and try for a scenario win. King of the Hill was the scenario rolled and my Trolls got to go first.
Trolls Turn 1 - My Kriel Warriors open up first, Fel Called for Open Road they run and spread out right for the hill, with In-Step from the piper and 2" from the Shaman three of them make the hill on the first turn, banner dude mini-feats for tough on 4-6. My brick advances up behind them with my Scattergunners on the right and my Gators on the left. Score one point for Trolls.
Cryx Turn 1 - He runs his arcnode up to the hill base and proceeds to fry the Kreils on the hill, two of them tough roll, he also picks off a few more of the front line. He runs with his Biles and jacks to get to the hill leaving one bile next to the hill. His Banes and another arcnode move up towards the flank side the Gators are on and he his done. Giving me another point he is confident I will die a horrible death long before I can score more than three points. Thats the way our games often go. Score Trolls another point.
Trolls Turn 2 - Kriels again run their faces off to tie up as much of his Biles as I can leaving a Kriel that had to stand up, the Piper and the Shaman on the front of the hill. The Brick advances to the hill and half of it makes it there, with Surefoot, Gobber smoke, and the no continous effects aura I hoped to survive as this turn would prove costly for me, my Slag Troll does manage to take out his front arcnode though. The Scattergunners move in on the Biles but only two of them are in range to die from sprays. The Gators move up to try and keep the Bane Knights away from the Brick. At this point my only hope is to clog up the hill long enough to score five points before he kills everything I have and/or my caster. Score Point Three for Trolls.
Cryx Turn 2 - Trollblood slaughter commenced, between a crap-load of purging and arced spells my Kriels were pretty much done, somehow the Banner survives the onslought with some lucky tough rolls but was the only one left in that unit. One Champion Dead, a couple of dead Scribes, one Hero half dead, and two Scattergunners running to the Fel Caller for help... it was brutal. One of his jacks also makes the hill, his Bane Knights destroy my over-extended Gators and Tartarus gets into position. With a couple tough rolls I had hoped to have more on the hill but did not. Score Point one for Cryx.
Trolls Turn 3 - Impaler gets a lucky Critslam pushing the jack off the hill opening him up for the Slag Troll, no longer needing to boost to hit melts it. My Brick moves up and tries to clog up the hill with every model available forcing him to kill them and take their places to get points... which he could easily do. Score point 4 for Trolls.
Cryx Turn 3 - He feats, I am screwed. One Hero dies, 3 more Champs die, the Fel Caller dies, the Slag Troll dies, The Impaler has 4 health left, all the Scribes die, the Elder tough rolls and the Stone is still up. When it was all said and done. I had one less on the hill than him and Feel, VERY VERY DEAD!!! Score point Two for Cryx.
Trolls Turn 4 - I only need one more point to win and have only one chance to pull it off, I move up my remaining Champ, Madrak, the last remaining Scattergunner, and the Impaler onto the hill, the Impaler can't hit the broad side of a barn, Madrak feats and the Hero proves to be the Hero of the game... He was buffed quite well from all those dieing Champions and could actually hit something. Tartarus dies to the Hero and so does his arcnode and his last jack and BK then dies horribly to a shift. I now have one model left on the hill more than he does and so end my turn. Trolls 5 Cryx 2. One Turn longer and Every single model on the table that smelled like a Troll would be dead dead dead.
Trolls win, barely, Luck and Tough rolls were the only thing that gave it to me... As usual Geoff decimated me and he had half his army left alive, he has my number for sure.
Battle Pictures to come
Seeing as how I was already playing a losing battle (that's how I always feel about Cryx) I decided to bring my brick and try for a scenario win. King of the Hill was the scenario rolled and my Trolls got to go first.
Trolls Turn 1 - My Kriel Warriors open up first, Fel Called for Open Road they run and spread out right for the hill, with In-Step from the piper and 2" from the Shaman three of them make the hill on the first turn, banner dude mini-feats for tough on 4-6. My brick advances up behind them with my Scattergunners on the right and my Gators on the left. Score one point for Trolls.
Cryx Turn 1 - He runs his arcnode up to the hill base and proceeds to fry the Kreils on the hill, two of them tough roll, he also picks off a few more of the front line. He runs with his Biles and jacks to get to the hill leaving one bile next to the hill. His Banes and another arcnode move up towards the flank side the Gators are on and he his done. Giving me another point he is confident I will die a horrible death long before I can score more than three points. Thats the way our games often go. Score Trolls another point.
Trolls Turn 2 - Kriels again run their faces off to tie up as much of his Biles as I can leaving a Kriel that had to stand up, the Piper and the Shaman on the front of the hill. The Brick advances to the hill and half of it makes it there, with Surefoot, Gobber smoke, and the no continous effects aura I hoped to survive as this turn would prove costly for me, my Slag Troll does manage to take out his front arcnode though. The Scattergunners move in on the Biles but only two of them are in range to die from sprays. The Gators move up to try and keep the Bane Knights away from the Brick. At this point my only hope is to clog up the hill long enough to score five points before he kills everything I have and/or my caster. Score Point Three for Trolls.
Cryx Turn 2 - Trollblood slaughter commenced, between a crap-load of purging and arced spells my Kriels were pretty much done, somehow the Banner survives the onslought with some lucky tough rolls but was the only one left in that unit. One Champion Dead, a couple of dead Scribes, one Hero half dead, and two Scattergunners running to the Fel Caller for help... it was brutal. One of his jacks also makes the hill, his Bane Knights destroy my over-extended Gators and Tartarus gets into position. With a couple tough rolls I had hoped to have more on the hill but did not. Score Point one for Cryx.
Trolls Turn 3 - Impaler gets a lucky Critslam pushing the jack off the hill opening him up for the Slag Troll, no longer needing to boost to hit melts it. My Brick moves up and tries to clog up the hill with every model available forcing him to kill them and take their places to get points... which he could easily do. Score point 4 for Trolls.Cryx Turn 3 - He feats, I am screwed. One Hero dies, 3 more Champs die, the Fel Caller dies, the Slag Troll dies, The Impaler has 4 health left, all the Scribes die, the Elder tough rolls and the Stone is still up. When it was all said and done. I had one less on the hill than him and Feel, VERY VERY DEAD!!! Score point Two for Cryx.
Trolls Turn 4 - I only need one more point to win and have only one chance to pull it off, I move up my remaining Champ, Madrak, the last remaining Scattergunner, and the Impaler onto the hill, the Impaler can't hit the broad side of a barn, Madrak feats and the Hero proves to be the Hero of the game... He was buffed quite well from all those dieing Champions and could actually hit something. Tartarus dies to the Hero and so does his arcnode and his last jack and BK then dies horribly to a shift. I now have one model left on the hill more than he does and so end my turn. Trolls 5 Cryx 2. One Turn longer and Every single model on the table that smelled like a Troll would be dead dead dead.
Trolls win, barely, Luck and Tough rolls were the only thing that gave it to me... As usual Geoff decimated me and he had half his army left alive, he has my number for sure.
Battle Pictures to come
14 March 2009
How a Troll Assassinates a Master Assassin... You Don't
Lord Assassin Morghoul on Battle CollegeThe Killing Fields scenario vs Lord Assassin Morghoul. It seemed my best chance to avoid being killed outright was the bring my high model count 'Modified Brick' and clog my caster with medium bases. Using Surefoot and the KSB aura that ruins blast damage my caster would seem safe.
Turn 1 starts with Trolls, The plan was to camp my main force on the center point and make her split her army to go for each side if she wanted to get points. My Kriels ran up the right side and mini-feated and used In-Step to get as close to the point on the right as possible and survive the Ferox charge if possible. The left side of the board had my Scattergunners and min unit of Gatormen running to that point. The center point was ran to by my Champs, rMadrak, the KSB and SSE, Slag, Impaler, Fel Caller, and Hero Pair. Skornes turn the Ferox goes for my Kriels and her main force moves up on the brick without attacking.
Turn 2 my Kriels grab the right point and run again to tie up as much of the opponent into melee as possible prevent that side of her force form being able to advance, the also scored the first kill on a combined melee against the Totem Hunter. My Brick lands on the center point Gobbers smoke up, Madrak Surefooted and camps there. The Gators and SG get the left side and prepare to flank. My turn ends with three points scored. Her turn ends with a couple dead Kriels and some Ferox and Certari who cant get the right side point because they had to kill Kriels. The Canoneer takes out a Kriel as well and her cyclops shadow walks up to the Fel Caller killing it... almost, yep we love tough. The Gladiator does the same thing on the left side one shotting one of my Heros. Agonizer out of range to hurt my beasts and Morghoul moves up to setup his assassination run for the next turn, then feats hitting my front line of Champs meaning they will for sure Camp that point on their next turn because if they move they can't attack anyway. Her turn ends zero points.
Turn 3 I give up on the right side and use my remaining Kriels to tie up the Agonizer. Main Brick sits on the middle point but I change the aura to +2 Str. The Slag moves up and hurt the Gladiator a bit to set him up for a charge from the Gators who subsequently kill him. The Scattergunners move up and shoot a few killing a couple of her support models. The Gobbers move over and take the left side point and my turn ends scoring two more points. Her turn ends up with the assassination attempt on Madrak as there was no way she was going to get enough points to win, lucky for me there wasn't quite enough space for her to fit so the other Hero bites it instead. Knowing that was her last chance she ends her turn so I can take my Turn 4 and win scoring two more pints.
Hoorah victory for the Trolls!!!
On a side note, Grim also ran a stinky Menite off the table in a pickup game earlier today.
All in all a good day for the Trolls.
Grand Exemplar Kreoss on Battle College
10 March 2009
How a Troll Assassinates a Master Assassin...
Paint by Marie
Round Three pairing for the tourney at my local Leagues and who is it that the Trolls have to beat down? Lord Assassin Morghoul!!! Skorne v Trolls is always an epic matchup, one of my buddies started on Skorne about the same time my Troll army began its plight so the Skorne army is no mystery. Trolls can handle everything Skorne has except for one minor detail. Lord Assassin Morghoul is quite capable of assassinating any caster he wishes... so this begs the question. How does a Troll assassinate a master assassin?
I'm working on a strategy to not only survive the Inevitable attempt at my life from a DEF 17 caster that won't let me have tough or transfer damage. Something outside of the box most likely, something CerealJon is intimately familiar with because he has been victim of it. It's a long shot, but will be glorious.
Battle Report and strategy to come... wish me luck.
Skorne on Battle College
Lord Assassin Morghoul on BC
07 March 2009
Madrak Ironhide... Oldy and Goodie!
Picture Courtesy of Battle CollegeMy favorite caster, non-Epic, good ole boy, Madrak. There is a lot of hate for his favored play style coined, "The Brick" but I love it. With the advent of new models from Metamorphasis the brick is better than ever.
Here are a couple write ups on my favorite caster from the forums at Privateer Press and Battle College. Both of them are older and in the interest avoiding redundancy I will post some of my own Favorite Combination with him and leave some of what has already been done alone.
First of all here is my latest BRICK list using Table Top Commander
Faction: Trollblood
Points: 750
Model Count: 40
Victory Points: 27
Madrak Ironhide
Slag Troll
Troll Impaler
Fell Caller
Trollkin Hero
Trollkin Hero
Kriel Warriors [9] (3 added)
> Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper [2]
Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes [6] (2 added)
> Stone Scribe Elder [1]
Trollkin Champions [5]
Trollkin Scattergunners [6] (0 added)
Gatormen Posse [3] (0 added)
Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew [2]
Some might wonder about my lack of beasts, but with my Play style I use them strictly for support until they are absolutely needed into the Fray. Usually there is at least one Impaler and some other Ranged light depending on if I Play against Warmachine(Slag Troll) or Hordes(Pyre Troll). Of note with rMadrak since the newest release is the Stone Scribe Elder and the Hero.
The Elder brings versatility to the Brick, which is an otherwise very one-dimensional way to play, and he helps with survivability against armies with lots of blast damage and continuous effects like Cryx and Menoth. The Elder also extends the KSB protective Aura to a Maximum of 11" though it takes Madrak two turns of dumping fury on the KSB, he will still have enough left for Surefoot by Turn 2.
The Hero on the other hand, is tailor made for the Brick and Madrak's Feat 'Crusher'. Even without a couple of deaths by Champions, this guy will almost always surprise your opponent by striking out from the Brick to go kill something. Bringing two Heros just gives you two waves of killing goodness. Plus with Reach and Crusher he can wade through your enemies, making it so Madrak and the Fel Callers can stay back in the Brick to Finish things off.
Don't know what a brick is, BC Brick, PP Brick
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