Caine 2 Gun Mages vs Syvestro Rocketmen at 25 points

Captain Allister Caine thumbed his holstered pistols and stared down Aurum Adeptus Syvestro. The masked man held aloft a cylinder of some darkly colored chemical and dropped it, disappearing in an inky cloud. Despite Caine’s supernatural ability to seemingly ignore smoke screens, he could not locate his target. The din of gunfire distracted Caine from his quarry. Arcane Tempest Gun Mages and Crucible Guard Rocketmen traded shots. Suddenly, the ground shook, and an alchemical explosion releasing a toxic gas threw shrapnel into a group of closely packed gun mages. Caine grimaced. He warned them to not stand close together, but the Rocketmen had them pinned in the open. They were going to die either from the Vindicator’s blasts or the Retaliator’s corrosive sprays. Caine tried desperately to drop Rocketmen from the sky, but they were too quick. He could kill two, but two more would take their place. Where were their reinforcements hiding? He realized only too late that some magic was healing their wounds, and the same Rocketmen he dropped rose to join their comrades only moments after being mortally wounded. Outgunned, Captain Allister Caine surrendered to the Crucible Guard.

The Lists: Who we are, and what we’re playing

Game Setup: Scenic Brawlmachine

Tom: I’m setting the game up using more terrain than normal. Rather than 8 pieces, I’m placing 12. To accommodate the increased amount of terrain, I’ve modified the recommended setup using the Quadrant method in the Steamroller document.

1. Divide the table into 4 quadrants.
2. Place a piece of terrain within 1 inch of the middle of each quadrant.
3. Place a piece of terrain in each quadrant, within 8 inches of the middle of the table.
4. Place a piece of terrain in each quadrant, within 6 inches of the piece placed in step 2, and greater than 6 inches away from the terrain placed in step 3.

The following modification was made to the terrain rules:

• Ignore the rule: “Do not place terrain pieces within 6 inches of any table edge.”

Remember, the Scenic Steamroller rules we’re testing prevent players from choosing terrain within 12 inches of the players’ table edges. In this case, the water and two obstructions near the bottom of the above photo are not allowed to be selected. I did make a mistake, placing the round house (objective to the right) just inside the deployment zone (9.5 inches away from the table edge instead of 10 plus).

On the opposite side of the table, the water and forest cannot be chosen as scoring terrain pieces.

Turn order and deployment

Tom: We both rolled, and I rolled higher, and chose to go first.

Dessa: There was not a lot of terrain blocking my models. For my Rocketmen it really was not going to be a problem. I was more concerned with my Jacks mobility with the terrain and keeping Syvestro and Prospero safe. I have noticed that in the past if I play Prospero up front he tends to get killed faster.

Tom: Dessa rolled a 3 for scoring terrain pieces, so we have 5 scoring terrain pieces this game. We alternated choosing scoring terrain pieces, with Dessa going first, since she’s the second player. I think if I were running this on the clock, the clock would start with the selection of scoring terrain pieces, and roll right into deployment.

Dessa: I chose the cloud for my unit of Rocketmen so the Captain had cover and the solo had cover with the building. I ended up having Syvestro and Prospero hanging out together in the trench for a while, which was not going to score because it was too close to the back edge of the table. . I chose the building knowing that none of my models were really going to take that terrain.

Tom: I picked unit for the wall, not really expecting to use it, but thinking that if I needed, the gun mages could hang back and aim at the rocketeers. Since the Hunter has Pathfinder, it can hang in the forest and snipe out solos or damage warjacks. My deployment tried to take advantage of the terrain. Having pathfinder on the Blazers and on the Hunter, they deployed near the water, and lined up to charge through the woods. Everyone else filled in between the water and the building on the right, with the possibility of hanging about the wall for cover.

Dessa: I tend to deploy my casters in the middle to allow for spell access to my units and my Jacks. I am learning that this formula does not have to be set in stone after deployment. The Jacks traveled up the center. The Rocketmen traveled up the right of the table. I had the Mentalist chill with the Jacks helping their defense with Forced Aura. And my CG Mechanic hid behind a Jack.

Turn 1

Tom: As planned, the Hunter runs into the forest, and the blazers run up around it. Everyone but Caine also runs up, trying to stay out of the Vindicator’s gun range and Toro’s charge range. Caine walks in, casts Bullet Dodger on the Captain Adept, then Fire for Effect on Lt. Falk.

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Dessa:

Syvestro chose to use the ability Super Fuel for the Jacks to get them up the board further since Thomas had the Cavalry. Syvestro cast Admonition on the Toro, which helps with its Counter Charge ability and Transmutation on the Rocketmen. The Rocketmen chose Defensive Action and moved up the board. Vindicator gets a blazer because of super fuel.

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Turn 2

Tom: I placed the one blazer too close to the Vindicator, having forgotten the Super Fuel. The Hunter wounds the Toro, taking out its shield. The “Murder Ponies” charge. One of the blazers gets in close to the Toro, triggering Admonition. The Toro moves away, then countercharges the blazer, chewing the horse and rider into tiny bits. The second pony also charges, firing a Brutal Damage cartridge. The extra die of damage from Pistoleer rips through the Toro, breaking the controller for its movement system. Ace fires a trick shot, hitting the Toro and killing the Mentalist hiding nearby, just within range. Some tough decisions here. Keep the gun mages back, and prepare for an assault from the Rocketmen? Or should they try to finish of the Toro? I can’t have that thing tearing through my warjacks. Three shots land on the Toro, with the other mages giving up their shots to buff the first three. They manage to finish off the Toro. It took almost the whole army, but I think it paid off. The Lt ran into the forest, to prepare for an attack on the Vindicator.

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Dessa: I decided to move Syvestro up a bit and Feat which allowed my Crucible Guard to hit harder. Syvestro chose Impenetrable Haze (which I love!) The Rocketmen move up the board, Feat, haze. Prospero killed a Blazer. The Hunter was killed by spray and Vindicator, and the Lt was caught in the blast. Rocketmen mini-feat. The captain was taken out and Ace dies.

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Turn 3

Tom: Cygnar was not ready for the counterattack. I moved Ace up way too far, forgetting how far his gun reaches. Trying to make up for the loss, the gun mages try to take out the Rocketmen, but fail to take out as many as they should have. Maybe if they hung back and aimed, they would have been more successful. They made room for the Sentinel to run to the forest, so it does. Caine himself slips in behind some Rocketmen, and manages to kill four, boosting on one, with a trick shot, boosting another with a trick shot, then gate crashing the wall.

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Dessa: Syvestro again chose Impenetrable Haze to keep himself safe from Caine’s guns and other long-range attacks. The Rocketmen chose Defensive. Finished off most of the Cygnar army. Brought two Rocketmen back.

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Turn 4

Tom: Syvestro is a real pain. I can’t shoot him in the impenetrable haze, because I can’t get close enough. He’s able to dump all his focus on reviving Rocketmen, and the Vindicator doesn’t need any focus at all to do quality work. I’m trying to clear out Rocketmen, but don’t have the firepower. At this point, I’m outgunned.

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Dessa: Rocketmen were able to position themselves behind Caine’s back arc with Strafing Run and dropped bombs. Some of them missed but still hitting Caine after deviation.

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Thoughts

Tom: I would like to try this again, with some changes. I need some jacks to deal with the jacks. The Tempest Blazers do well, but I give up a 10 point unit to not even kill a 13 to 15 point warjack. Alternatively, I could have kept the blazers moving around the battlefield, harassing the main battlegroup from afar. That probably would have been a better tactic. I also could have bounced shots off one of my own warjacks, and just zapped the Rocketmen with electricity. That probably should have been the plan. I’ll give it another run before I make changes.

Dessa: I really, really like Impenetrable Haze on Syvestro. Casting Admonition makes the Toro’s Counter Charge more brutal. Casting Transmutation on the Rocketmen while they are using the Defensive ability raises their defense and makes them a bit harder to hit. I think those three actions really helped out the game play. Playing Syvestro with his brother Prospero helps a lot as well. Syvestro has Admonition and Prospero has Guided Fire, and can help out a Jack that becomes malfunctioned. I was really expecting Caine to assassinate Syvestro because of his speed and ability to get into the battle and aim with his guns. Impenetrable Haze really saved Syvestro in this match.

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