Jinglefaux, 28.12.15, 50SS fixed faction event - Round 2

Report: Jinglefaux - 28.12.2015, 50SS fixed faction event

Round 2

In Round 2 we all played Christmas Party scenario (using the Shindig story encounter and Interference rules with the Forbidden Text terrain to represent some Christmas Stories!).

I don't think any of us played Shindig before so we expect a lot of fun from this scenario especially when the scheme pool kind of favor hitting and killing enemy models :D

Note: As mentioned in the report from Round 1, we agreed that it is not allowed to Obey enemy model to make an attack on one of yours to allow you get +2VP from Shindig special rule.

Deployment: Standard Deployment
Strategy: Christmas Party
Schemes: ALITS, Assassinate, Protect Territory, Vendetta, Deliver a Message

Second pairing set me up against our new Malifaux player, Steven, who decided to use his Misaki for the second time in his life.

Misaki (4SS pool) - Stalking Bisento
Ototo - Smoke & Shadows
Johana
Bishop
Hodgepodge Effigy
2x Torakage
Shang

I brought:
Jack Daw (5SS pool) - Writhing Torment, Twist and Turn, Oathkeeper,  Drowning Injustice, Firirng Squad Injustice
(Curse-giver and reasonably good hitter who also supports his Tormented crew)
Rusty - From the Aether
(very mobile heavy hitter/shooter; Abomination summoning without need of hitting enemy models)
Johana
(heavy hitter and condition removal)
Ronin
(scheme runner)
The Guilty
(model which allows grant Tormented to other models; scheme runner)
2x Void Wretches
(scheme runners)
Nurse
(general support thanks to Take Your Meds action)

We both picked and revealed same schemes: Protect Territory and Deliver a Message.

Seeing Steven's crew my first thought was that he won't give a damn about giving me free 2VP and he will proceed to killing my stuff straight away, but I was wrong :D
I also made a huge mistake as I forgot to read Deliver a Message properly - Jack can't complete this scheme as it must be non-leader, non-peon model. If I read it correctly, I would put Oathkeeper on Rusty and Jack would get third Curse upgrade.

Deployment (Misaki deployed first):

Note: Jack's crew is at the bottom of the photo.

Turn 1
Initiative: Jack Daw

Key moments/action:
- we both spread out our crews and pushed slightly forward. Johana and Rusty were made Tormented
- Rusty started dropping scheme markers and scrap markers.
- neither of us was eager to attack opponent and damage his model :D

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side

Score after turn 1: Jack Daw  0 - Misaki 0

Turn 2:
Initiative: Misaki

- as we were reluctant to make a first strike on each other we decided to simple engage enemy models as best as we could in effort to negate opponent VP for strategy. I was able to fulfill this task better as Jack's late turn sneaky activation allowed me to move Guilty into engagement range with Bishop and Johana, when in the same time Jack jumped onto enemy table quarter and equal the model count with my opponent.
- Nurse paralyzed Bishop and Torakage with her meds
- Jack's crew dropped more scheme markers and Rusty summoned Abomination
- Steven tried to snatch Jack and Deliver a Message but Jack was way to mobile to get tarpit

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy

Score after turn 2: Jack Daw 1 - Misaki 0

Turn 3:
Initiative: Jack Daw

- Guilty took Shindig's special action to trigger 12TN  horror tests on Bishop, Johana and Hodgepodge Effigy draining Steven's control hand (Hodgepodge was paralyzed)
- Nurse Paralyzed Johana
- Ototo engaged Ronin (who was on 2x Defensive Stance since turn and then throughout whole game) but Johana and Rusty disengaged successfully
- Rusty started a chase after Misaki

Generally I was surprised that Steven didn't start to attack me at this turn as I was negating him a points for Strategy quite efficiently.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy

Score after turn 3: Jack Daw 2 - Misaki 0

Turn 4:
Initiative: Jack Daw

- Steven tried to get some points for Strategy but again either I disengaged my models or I was able to tarpit his, when at the same time securing my table quarters. He also dropped two scheme markers for Protect Territory.
- At the end of this turn I had 4 scheme markers for the Protect Territory scheme. Also Rusty summoned another Abomination and she successfully engaged (together with Jack Daw) Misaki.
- Again no blows were traded between us :D

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy

Score after turn 4: Jack Daw 3 - Misaki 0

Turn 5
Initiative: Jack Daw (after spending soulstone for re-flip).

- Rusty took an opportunity and activating first she delivered a message to Misaki
- thanks to my sneaky movements I denied Steven a VP for Strategy again on this turn
- I flipped for Turn 6 - Red Joker, but we decided to stop at this point.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy, +3VP Deliver a Message, +3VP Protect Territory
Misaki: +3VP Protect Territory

Final score: Jack Daw 10 - Misaki 3

I think Steven should start attacking me at the beginning of Turn 3 so he could have a chance denying me some VPs for Strategy, but I was happy we played 'a friendly encounter' till the end of the game.

With both games ended with max out VPs I was classified at the first place and I was awarded with nice chocolate Santa (which was later claimed by my daughters :D).

Big thanks to Owen for organizing the event and to my opponents for enjoyable games.

Till next time!

Jinglefaux, 28.12.15, 50SS fixed faction event - Round 1

Report: Jinglefaux - 28.12.2015, 50SS fixed faction event

On 28.12.2015 in Gamersworld, Dublin was held a one day, 50SS fixed faction event.
As it was a X-mas/holiday time this event was slightly different than the others.

First of all we played two rounds only but without 5 turn per round limit.
Secondly the strategies we played were not those we used to play throughout a year (aka normal from rulebook or Gaining Grounds 2015 ones) but a modified story encounters with special terrains:
I hope TO (Owen) will not kill me for a copy-and-paste input from the rules-pack :D)

1) Santa’s Sleigh (using the Supply Wagon story encounter rules) with the Ancient
Monument terrain which will be represented by a Statue of Santa!

2) Find the Presents (using the Treasure Hunt story encounter rules) with the
Junkyard terrain to represent some extra special Christmas Presents!

3) Christmas Party (using the Shindig story encounter and Interference rules) with
the Forbidden Text terrain to represent some Christmas Stories!

(for more details about Story Encounters and Special Terrains please refer to the Malifaux Rulebook)

We were randomly assigned the encounter for the first round and we all played Shindig  in the round 2.

Also there were some special Triggers setup which happened when the fate did or didn't favor you with your flips:

Faster than You Upgrade
Trigger – You flip a Red Joker; Benefit – Your opponent gains the Faster than You
Upgrade which he must immediately attach to an eligible model in his crew (model
may discard Upgrade at any stage in activation to gain Fast)

Too much Eggnog Condition
Trigger – You Paralyze a model; Benefit – Target model gains the Too much Eggnog
Condition (model may be pushed 3″ in any direction when damaged; this condition
is removed when the Paralyze condition is removed)

Better Lucky than Good Upgrade
Trigger – You flip moderate or severe (not Red Joker) damage on a -/–/— flip;
Benefit – Your opponent gains the Better Lucky than Good Upgrade which he must
immediately attach to an eligible model in his crew. The model gains the following
tactical action: (0) I’ve Been a Good Boy this Year, this model gains the Focused (1)
condition.

Too Much Turkey Upgrade
Trigger – You flip weak (not Black Joker) damage on a +/++ flip (and you don’t cheat
it!); Benefit – Your model model gains the Too Much Turkey Upgrade (regardless of
attached upgrades) with the following tactical action: (0) Stumble Away, this model
may be immediately pushed 2″ in any direction.

Finally for a Shindig story we used the Red Joker as if it was flip when generating this strategy and we also agreed that you can't Obey enemy model to hit and damage one of your models to score +2VP in this strategy.

The deployment was to be generated by the players before start of the game.

As usual I was coming with my trusty Outcasts and I decided to use the Master which in my opinion among Outcasts brings the X-mas spirit the best - Jack Daw :) (and also because at the last tournament I haven't played Jack at all)

Round 1

Deployment: Standard Deployment
Strategy: Santa's Sleigh
Schemes: ALITS, Distract, Breakthrough, Take Prisoner, Deliver a Message

My first opponent was Gavin and his tricky Collodi. We flipped for the Attacker/Defender and Gavin was attacker:
Collodi (4SS pool) - Breathe Life, Fated, Strum the Threads
3x Marionette
2x Wicked Doll
Brutal Effigy
Baby Kade
Teddy
Coryphee

As Defender flip I had a Mask so my Strategy was to 'Set up camp' (see rulebook).

I took:
Jack Daw (4SS pool) - Writhing Torment, Twist and Turn, 3x Curses
(Curse-giver and reasonably good hitter who also supports his Tormented crew)
Taelor
(heavy hitter which would be Tormented via The Guilty's action)
Johana
(as above plus condition removal)
Lazarus
(shooting platform which would be Tormented as well)
The Guilty
(model which allows grant Tormented to other models; he would camp at enemy half of the table)
2x Void Wretches
(Breakthrough and Strategy-runners)
Nurse
(general support thanks to Take Your Meds action)

Gavin picked: Breakthrough and Deliver a Message (both revealed)
I took: Breakthrough (revealed) and Take Prisoner (Collodi)

Deployment (Jack deployed first):

Note 1: The table mats we used that day were 4'x4' so deployment pics might look deceptive.
Note 2: The Santa represents Ancient Monument :D
Note 3: All pics are taken from my side so Jack's crew is (mostly) at the closer plane.

Turn 1
Initiative: Collodi

Key moments/actions:
- we moved towards each other and both our crew focused their movement towards the centre of the table except Coryphee who was flanking me on my right and my Void Wretch who was running along my left flank.
- thanks to Collodi's movement shenanigans Gavin was able to put more models near Wagon marker and he could moved it at the end of the turn.

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side.

Score after turn 1: Jack Daw  0 - Collodi 0

Turn 2
Initiative: Collodi

Key moments/actions:
- Nurse gave Teddy meds making him a monster in melee (+2 damage) but shorting his actions to melee only. In response Baby Kade used Where's Teddy? to push his fluffy friend in engagement range with Jack and Guilty. Thankfully Taelor was nearby and she charged Teddy hitting him for 9 damage in total (I love Relic Hammers :D) but what was more important she used her trigger to push him 3'' away (which basically 'paralyzed' Teddy for this turn). Later this turn Lazarus finished off Teddy and also was able to clip Baby Kade thanks to severe damage and double blast effect from his gun.
- Coryphee advanced on my right flank and dropped scheme marker for Breakthrough. Guilty 'transferred' Tormented characteristic from Lazarus on Johana and thanks to this Johana went into engagement range with Coryphee (and then I was told Coryphee is immune to Disengaging Strikes...)
- Collodi used his Wicked Doll to Deliver a Message to Jack. In response Jack killed this Doll, moved and killed Baby Kade.
- Wagon was moved again by Collodi's crew.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: + 1VP Strategy
Collodi : +3VP Deliver a Message

Score after turn 2: Jack Daw  1 - Collodi 3

Turn 3
Initiative: Jack Daw

Key moments/actions:
- Johana used flurry against Coryphee but all she needed was a first blow with Severe Damage. Did I mention how I love Relic Hammers before? :D
- A lonely Marionette run as fast as it could on my left flank to drop markers for Breakthrough but she was quickly followed by Jack.
- I dropped 2 scheme markers for Breakthrough with my Void Wretches
- Collodi and Brutal Effigy retreated towards the corner in their deployment zone and were followed by my crew.
- Taelor killed Marionette and other Marionette charged The Guilty.
- I moved the Wagon this turn.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: + 1VP Strategy

Score after turn 3: Jack Daw  2 - Collodi 3

Turn 4:
Initiative: Jack Daw

Key moments/actions:
- Jack Daw killed the Marionette which he chased the last turn.
- Taelor killed last Marionette. At this moment on the table Gavin had Brutal Effigy and Collodi.
- As Gavin guessed correctly that my second scheme is Take Prisoner on Collodi he run away from my crew killing one of my Void Wretches in the meantime.
- Guilty made Lazarus Tormented again.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: + 1VP Strategy

Score after turn 4: Jack Daw  3 - Collodi 3

Turn 5:
Initiative: Jack Daw

Key moments/actions:
- I gave a chase after Collodi but unfortunately he slipped away from Jack Daw
- Brutal Effigy killed Void Wretch
- I dropped more scheme markers for Breakthrough
- Wagon stayed where it was.
- I flipped 11 for Turn 6!

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: + 1VP Strategy

Score after turn 5: Jack Daw  4 - Collodi 3

Turn 6
Initiative: Collodi

Key moments/actions:
- Collodi walked twice and dropped one scheme marker for Breakthrough.
- Lazarus killed Brutal Effigy
- Jack Daw gave chase after Collodi and was followed by Lazarus and Nurse who also Paralyzed Collodi
- I moved the Wagon this turn
- Flip for Turn 7 - Red Joker, but we agreed to stop playing here.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: + 3VP Take Prisoner, +3VP Breakthrough
Collodi: +2VP Strategy Wagon was on Attacker's half of the table, +1VP Breakthrough

Final score: Jack Daw  10 - Collodi 6

Jack and his crew confirmed they were really in X-mas mood during this game.

Round 2 report to follow shortly...

Game report 16.12.15 50SS Jack Daw vs Leveticus

Game report - 16.12.2015

50SS Jack Daw (daniello_s) vs Leveticus (Eoin)

Deployment: Standard Deployment
Strategy: Reckoning
Schemes: ALITS, Bodyguard, Breakthrough, Outflank, Deliver a Message

Eoin brought:
Leveticus (5SS pool) - Desolate Soul, Pariah of Bone, Oathkeeper
Rusty Alyce
Lazarus
Madame Sybelle
3x Rotten Belle
2x Hollow Waif

I took:
Jack Daw (5SS pool) - Writhing Torment, Twist and Turn, 3x Curses
(Curse-giver and reasonably good hitter who also supports his Tormented crew)
Taelor
(heavy hitter which would be Tormented via The Guilty's action)
Johana
(as above plus condition removal)
The Guilty
(model which allows grant Tormented to other models; scheme runner who would jump into Outflank position at the Turn 5)
2x Void Wretches
(Outflank-runners; model which can annoy Levi when he is buried)
Nurse
(general support thanks to Take Your Meds action)
The Hanged
(sneaky-killer who can drop enemy models to half wounds)

Eoin picked: Bodyguard (Rusty) and Outflank (not revealed)
I took: Bodyguard (Johana) and Outflank (revealed)

Seeing Eoin's crew I knew it is perfectly possible I can be obliterated around Turn 3 or if I'm lucky maybe around Turn 4. That Levi's crew is absolutely pure evil...Still, job has to be done! :D

Deployment (Levi deployed first):

Turn 1
Initiative: Jack Daw

I knew I have to be very, very careful with my activations as Belle can easily Lure my already activated models into the open spot straight under Levi, Rusty or Lazarus gunfire.
I decided that Wretches will be hidden all game and at Turn 5 they will jump into position for Outflank, Johana will help knocking things down but I won't commit her into the thickest fight leaving this task to Jack, Hanged and Taelor. Nurse will try to use her Take Your Meds either to paralyze enemy models or to buff Taelor's/Johana's damage output. The Guilty after tormenting Taelor and Johana would run to the side to grab Outflank. That was the plan anyway.

I used cover extensively to stay out of LOS from Belles. Hanged jumped behind the cover and successfully attacked already activated Belle with his Whispers. Jack advanced a bit and stayed more than 18'' from last Belle. Unfortunately Madame walked twice and called Belle who focused and lured Jack into open. Levi burnt his Oathkeeper, Walked once and triple shot Jack. I had to prevent some damage (all my damage prevention flips during the game were not higher than 1 damage prevented per prevention flip...) and Jack was left at 9 wounds.

After attack Levi buried himself, his summoned Waif walked towards Jack and Levi unburied at the end of the turn close to Jack - they were engaged.

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side.

Score after turn 1: Jack Daw  0 - Leveticus 0

Turn 2
Initiative: Leveticus

Levi won initiative (flip of 12) and he attacked 3 times Jack. All attacks went through with single or double negative damage flips. In one instance Levi pulled double severe on negative flips. I tried to save Jack with damage prevention but he couldn't survive this kind of carnage and I lost Jack at the start of Turn 2.

Now I knew I'm in the deep defense so I took a chance and Hanged attacked twice wounded Belle. Thankfully he killed her triggering Horror duels on Lazarus, Rusty, Madame Sybelle and two other Belles.
Eoin burnt his whole control hand to prevent his crew being paralyzed except one Belle.
Thanks to that Hanged was relatively save as anything trying to attack him had to pass Horror duel and without cards in his hand Eoin was aware this might be a bit of gamble. Rusty took her chances, she walked and fired once at Hanged damaging him.

I have relocated my crew for more defensive position disallowing Eoin to score points for Reckoning this turn and I prepared myself for Levi's general assault next turn. Unfortunately I wasn't in position to kill any other models this turn either. Nurse paralyzed one Belle.

Levi's crew start to drop scheme markers at the centre line which convinced me that one of his schemes is ALITS - clever deception :D

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side.

Score after turn 2: Jack Daw  0 - Leveticus 0

Turn 3
Initiative: Leveticus

Rusty used Rapid Fire on Hanged but he survived although severely bruised.
Hanged relocated and damage paralyzed Belle with Whispers. Madame Sybelle quickly called her to stay away from my crew (Taelor was going to charge her).

In general Levi's crew advanced and Again I was avoiding any direct confrontation this turn and I run away into cover with my models. Levi double walked and attacked Hanged - attacked missed.

Wretch tried to tarpit Waif so she couldn't get closer to Johana but it was unable to damage Waif nor give her Slow. Waif hit Wretch twice in return - first missed but second pulled double severe on negative damage twist... Again... Wretch was left on last wound.

At the end of the turn Levi unburied right in front of Taelor and Guilty which meant one thing - either I win initiative and remove (temporarily) Levi from the table or I will suffer loads of damage.

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side.

Score after turn 3: Jack Daw  0 - Leveticus 0

Turn 4
Initiative: Leveticus

Levi won initiative again and he charged Taelor who was defending herself bravely and suffered only minor damages (damage prevented).
Hanged walked and attacked Lazarus with Whisper (I thought Eoin has Bodyguard on him). Belle walked and lured Hanged who was later killed by Rusty.
Nurse gave +2 Walk to Johana who double walked into the cover and I declared Bodyguard on her. Johana was also 3'' from edge at the center line.

Madame Sybelle double walked and tarpit other Wretch. Thankfully Wretch was able to disengage and double walk into cover to secure points for Outflank on my left flank.
Eoin declared Bodyguard on Rusty.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP for Bodyguard
Leveticus: +1VP for Bodyguard

Score after turn 4: Jack Daw  1 - Leveticus 1

Turn 5:
Initiative: Jack Daw

I took opportunity and disengaged from Waif to double walk to Levi only to tarpit him. Also I was able to cast Slow on him (by cheating the fate which raised Wretches Df). Belle walked and attacked Wretch but I deflected attack cheating the fate again.Second Wretch took double Df stance discarding another card. Levi tried to kill Wretch but combination of already high Df and cheating high cards (which bumped Df by 1) saved my Wretch.

Madame Sybelle charged Taelor wounding her a bit (and making her Peon). Taelor swung back but missed. Finally Lazarus walked and fired at Wretch who was engaged with Belle and also Johana was nearby so she could be clipped by the blast. Eoin randomized and Belle was a target. He flipped attack/defence cards but was able only to pull straight 3 damage on Belle (negative flip on the damage).

Rusty double walked to secure points for Outflank.

I flipped for Turn 6 - nope. The game has ended here.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +2VP Bodyguard, +3VP Outflank
Leveticus: +2VP Bodyguard, +2VP Outflank

Final score: Jack Daw  6 - Leveticus 5

At the end of the game I wrongfully calculated result as I thought it was a draw but since Eoin didn't declare Outflank at the start of the game he could only score 2 points for this scheme.

The game was absolutely mind blowing for me. I had to consider twice my every move and having ultra mobile Levi (via his unbury tricks), Rusty and luring Belles it was a pure nightmare to plan anything.
Either way I was really happy from the outcome as when I lost Jack at the start of Turn 2 I thought game is lost. Without Jack his Tormented crew (Taelor, Johana, The Guilty, Nurse) are really slow and cannot perform as they used to in my previous games. Well, bad things happen and last night they happened to Jack himself :D

Till next time!

Game report 13.12.15 50SS Leveticus vs Ramos

Game report - 13.12.2015

50SS Leveticus (daniello_s) vs Ramos (Owen)

Deployment: Standard Deployment
Strategy: Turf War
Schemes: ALITS, Bodyguard, Assassinate, Power Ritual, Cursed Object

Owen brought:
Ramos (5SS pool) - Combat Mechanic, Field Generator, Under Pressure
Electrical Creation
Joss
Howard Langston
Coryphee
Performer
Steam Arachnid

I took:
Levi (5SS pool) - Desolate Soul, To the Earth Return, Tally Sheet
(ultimate killing machine who would stick close to the Turf Marker and try to kill enemy models with summoning Abominations if possible)
Ashes and Dust - Scramble
(ultimate scheme runner and killing machine in one package; Waif anchor)
Taelor - Oathkeeper
(anti-Construct hitter who can punish freshly summoned models straight away; Waif anchor)
Freikorps Librarian
(healing support; Bodyguard target; Waif anchor)
Johana
(anti-Construct hitter and condition removal; Waif anchor)
Hodgepodge Effigy
(soulstone re-supply model which combines nicely with Levi; scheme runner)
2x Hollow Waif
(Levi's life insurance)

Owen picked: Bodyguard (Joss) and Cursed Object
I took: Bodyguard (Librarian) and  Power Ritual (revealed)

That was Owen's first game with Ramos so he was a bit worried especially since he was facing Levi with his killer-crew :D He also had a limited number of models to choose from.

I wasn't sure which scheme to choose as my second (ALITS or Power Ritual) but I decided to bring A&D which should give me a chance to zoom around the table and drop the scheme marker for Power Ritual within Owen's deployment zone at some stage of the game. Rest of the crew was to concentrate around Turf Marker except Librarian who would be held in the back and only support my wounded models without committing her into the fight.

Deployment (Ramos deployed first):

Turn 1

Initiative: Levi

Both crews moved toward Turf War marker.
Hodgepodge dropped Scheme Marker at my corner. A&D tried to tease Howard to move towards him by advancing relatively close.
Ramos out-activated me by killing Electric Creation and summoning 2 Steam Arachnids who would together with third one form the Swarm.
Thankfully before Levi activated as my last model, Coryphee took double walk staying far from my crew but still within single shot from Levi (2x Walk + Unmaking). Levi took this opportunity and attacked Coryphee killing it with summoning Abomination.
Howard walked and charged newly summoned Abomination. Thankfully Abomination is not only Construct but also Undead so I dropped Corpse Marker rather than Scrap Marker.
At the end of the turn Levi came back and was ready to kill Howard as long as I win initiative on Turn 2.
In other case I would suspect Levi to be 'killed' by angry construct.

Upkeep phase:
No VPs scored by either side.

Score after turn 1: Levi  0 - Ramos 0


Turn 2
Initiative: Levi - YEAH! :D

Hodgepodge activated first and put Loyalty to the Coin on Levi, then he used Accomplice on his master. Levi attacked Howard 3 times with Unmaking using ones his trigger from To the Earth Return upgrade and was able to kill the big dude and summon Abomination in his place. I was a little worried if I don't flip Black Joker somewhere during the attack (especially for Horror Duel) but Malifaux was on my side last night.
Death of Howard put Ramos on the defensive mode for the rest of the game and he utilized heavily his Arcing Screen action to protect himself and his construct from my attacks. Performer and Swarm took a cover in the wooden area to secure points for strategy and Joss moved on my right flank away from any fight.
Ramos summoned 3 Steam Arachnids from second Scrap Marker which was left from last turn. Those Arachnids formed another Swarm which flanked my on my right.
Taelor burnt Oathkeeper and charged it but couldn't kill it during her activation.
A&D zoomed along left flank to drop scheme markers for Power Ritual next turn.

Upkeep phase:
Levi: +1VP Strategy
Ramos: +1VP Startegy

Score after turn 2: Levi  1 - Ramos 1

Turn 3
Initiative: Ramos

Swarm walked and hit Taelor 3 times (thanks to this pesky trigger it has and my low defense flips...) dropping her to 5 wounds. Because there was Joss nearby Taelor hit Swarm once killing it and retreated behind cover. Unfortunately I forgot to use Welcome to Malifaux action.
Ramos summoned Steam Arachnid and walked into the cover casting the Arcing Screen again. He also used Magnetism on my Abomination to position himself in the soft cover.
Hodgepodge did same trick as previous turn and Levi killed Arachnid and summoned Abomination. Because Levi was too far to attack anyone else he used his (0) action to jump in base contact with freshly summoned Abomination (sacrificing it) and he attacked twice Performer killing her raising another Abomination in the process.
A&D dropped two scheme markers (in case if one would be somehow removed) in the opponent's corner of the table.
Joss seeing that the game was really and truly lost at this stage took double walk behind the building.
Two Abomination tarpit Ramos and Swarm.

Upkeep phase:
Levi: +1VP Strategy
Ramos: +1VP Startegy

Score after turn 3: Levi  2 - Ramos 2

Turn 4
Initiative: Ramos

Ramos put Cursed Object on Abomination, cast Screen and took defensive stance. Then he Accomplice Swarm who gave another Abomination Cursed Object and then took defensive stance as well.
I employed nasty trick to remove Cursed Objects from my Abominations - one 'bit' it friendly Abomination for a card and killed it, then Levi used (0) action to get in base contact with other one and sacrificed it. Because Levi was on last 2 wounds he couldn't Channel but took 3 swings at Ramos hitting him only once but for whooping 8 damage which was firstly reduced to 6 (armor) and then to 3 (damage prevention).
A&D bored with scheme running walked once and then charged Swarm killing it (before the charge Swarm had 8 wounds left).
Librarian walked into safe zone and the I announced Bodyguard on her.
Joss double walked and announced his Bodyguard.
Taelor and Johana advanced towards Levi and Ramos.

Upkeep phase:
Levi: +1VP Strategy, +1VP Bodyguard
Ramos: +1VP Boduguard

Score after turn 4: Levi  4 - Ramos 3

Turn 5
Initiative: Ramos

Ramos hit Levi hoping to kill him but I prevented the damage. Then he summoned 2 Arachnids and used Screen again.
Taelor charged Arachnid but missed. Then Johana walked and hit Arachnid killing it.
A&D charged Ramos hitting him but was pushed away with Ramos' defensive trigger. Then A&D pushed into base contact with scrap marker and attacked other Arachnid killing it with summoning Abomination. Levi sacrifice it to get two cards as my hand for last 2 turns was below average but didn't gain anything substantial from this. Then he attacked Ramos hurting him but was pushed away himself. The I tried to snatch some VPs from Owen and walked Levi once and shot at Joss but Levi missed.

Game ended on this turn.

Upkeep phase:
Levi: +1VP Strategy, +2VP Bodyguard
Ramos: +2VP Boduguard

Score after turn 5: Levi  10 - Ramos 5

It was really bad game for Ramos when first 2 Levi's attacks tipped the balance on my side.
Levi was definitely the star of the game - he killed 28SS worth of models. I also summoned 4 or 5 Abominations which were actually the only models which died or were sacrificed in my crew.

I'm sure Owen will soon get an experience with Ramos as he quickly did with Colette. I'm sure he will also get more much needed models for his crew so my next game will be way bloody on my side than this one.
I pointed out during our post-game review that in my opinion he shouldn't form his Arachnids into the Swarm so early in the game and just rushed them into my crew so I would have to deal with them first allowing him to secure points for strategy and giving him a chance to put Cursed Object on my models.

We also concluded that we had to next time put some more LOS blocking and cover terrains around the centre of the table as it was a bit too clear

Till next time!

Game report 03.12.15 50SS Jack Daw vs Lucius

Game report - 03.12.2015

50SS Jack Daw (daniello_s) vs Lucius (Gavin)

Deployment: Close Deployment
Strategy: Squatter's Rights
Schemes: ALITS, Breakthrough, Protect Territory, Murder Protege, Frame for Murder

Gavin brought:
Lucius (6SS pool) - Legalese, Secret Assets, Surprisingly Loyal
Primordial Magic
Barbaros - Nephilim Gladiatus, Rapid Growth
Guard Sergeant
3x Guild Guard
3x Terror Tot

I took:
Jack Daw (4SS pool) - Writhing Torment, Twist and Turn, 3x Curses
(killer and curse thrower who is very mobile and supports his tormented crew with pushes and 'obeying' them when needed)
The Guilty
(his primary task was to torment Taelor and then allow Jack to borrow Share the Guilt to torment Specialist; scheme/strategy runner)
Taelor
(heavy hitter whose main task was to engage Barbaros and kill him)
Freikorps Specialist
(shooting support whose slow Walk would be negated by being tormented at the Turn 1 and use Jack's push and obey to position him for shooting actions; Slow/Paralyzed removal )
Johana
(heavy hitter and condition removal)
Nurse
(general support via her Take Your Meds action)
The Drowned
(scheme/strategy runner who would engage enemy model and guard Squatter marker )
Void Wretch
(scheme/strategy runner; Slow-thrower)

Gavin picked: Frame for Murder (Terror Tot) and Breakthrough (not revealed)
I took: Breakthrough and Murder Protege (Barbaros) - both revealed.

By revealing Murder Protege I wanted Gavin to make a difficult decision whether to keep Barbaros away from action which inevitably would take place at the centre line and try to negate me VP points or to use him more aggressively and risk being killed allowing me VP points for Murder Protege.
Also I decided to try Specialist this time as I had a feeling that with Jack he might perform really good, especially since it was Close Deployment.

Deployment (Jack deployed first):

Turn 1
Initiative: Jack Daw

Guilty made Taelor tormented and move towards centre line. Guards, using extra 1'' Walk bonus and Lucius advanced and tried to kill Drowned, but Nurse gave him proper meds to heal him fully. Johana charged Guard but missed horribly (I had really weak starting hand...).

Terror Tot which I suspected of being a Frame for Murder sucker, sprinted towards my guys stopping me from advancing towards centre line. I had two options then: either ignore him but he would really impede my movement next turn and possible even turn after or kill him with Specialist or Jack/Taelor.
As enemy guards were nicely clumped together I decided to save Specialist for later and I charged Tot with Jack. Now I know it was my mistake as I should try to kill Tot with Specialist. All I had to do is to focus and cheat damage flip for Moderate which would damage him for 3 and +1 Burning would finish him off without giving Gavin any victory points...
Of course Jack killed Tot easily but thanks to my shitty flips/hand he was unable to torment Specialist... At least Specialist removed Paralyzed condition from Drowned with his Move or Burn action.

Barbaros activated last and took a bait - he charged Guilty but his victim suffered only minor damage. Then Barbaros used his Cyclone Crash (0) action which pushed Taelor out of engagement range and gave her Slow... Not nice...

Upkeep phase:
Lucius: +3VP Frame for Murder

Score after turn 1: Jack Daw 0 - Lucius 3

Turn 2
Initiative: Jack Daw

Jack activated first and charged Barbaros beating him nicely (some damage prevented with soulstones but he was left with 5 wounds remaining) and gave him Firing and Drowning curses. Also what was most important he obeyed Taelor to engage Barbaros again.
Barbaros feeling his end might be soon used Penance to flip the Drowning Injustice face down, walked and used Cyclone Crash again but this time with minor results (only Jack was pushed away but thanks to this he tarpit another Tot and disallow it to flip Squatter Marker).
Nurse activated, pumped Taelor with meds to hike her damage with +2 bonus and then accomplice Taelor who took a swing at Barbaros burning a soulstone first to get a trigger negating damage prevention. This single swing was enough to kill poor Barbaros (6 damage + 1 for Fire Injustice) and give me +3VP for Murder Protege.
At this moment on my left flank there were only 2 Tots when I had there Jack, Taelor, Guilty and Nurse.
One Tot tried to hit Jack and he succeeded once with minimal damage and second Tot double walked to tarpit Specialist and Taelor. Specialist tried to disengaged but failed. Guilty used the opportunity to flip Squatter Marker.

On my right flank Johana killed one Guard and then she survived beating from other Guard. Void Wretch flipped Squatter Marker and went Defensive Stance which allowed him to survive attacks from Guild Guard and Sergeant. Lucius tried to inspire his Guards to attack Johana and Wretch but with limited success.
In the meantime Drowned joined this party and Primordial made Johana insignificant with his Nullify action.

Things looked very good for Jack and his crew at this moment :D

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy; +3VP Murder Protege

Score after turn 2: Jack Daw 4 - Lucius 3

Turn 3
Initiative: Jack Daw

On the right flank: Johana used flurry and she almost killed Guard. Sergeant charged her but she survived this and following attacks from nearby Guard on the last wound (Hard to Kill). Drowned swung at Guard but hit only once. Lucius used his tricks on his crew but none of Jack's crew members died in process. Primordial used successfully Nullify on Drowned. Wretch cast Slow on Guard and went Defensive securing Squatter Marker.

On my left flank Nurse Paralyzed Tot. Guilty moved and dropped scheme marker for Breakthrough. Second Tot tried to hit Jack but missed.
Taelor walked and flipped Squatter Marker.
Jack disengaged from Tot and dropped another scheme marker for Breakthrough. Then he obeyed Guilty to walk back to Tot.

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy;

Score after turn 3: Jack Daw 5 - Lucius 3

Turn 4
Initiative: Jack Daw

On my left flank:
Tot killed Guilty who was on last wound and then was shot once by Specialist for 3 damage and +1 Burning which effectively killed it at the end of the turn.
Nurse Paralyzed another Tot again.

On my right flank:
Johana killed Sergeant with flurry action and the she died from Guard's attack.
Taelor charged and killed Guard. Primordial tried to Nullify Taelor but without success.
Drowned double walked to tarpit Lucius and remaining Guard.
Lucius tried to kill Wretch but everything bounced off.
Jack walked twice and hit Guard with his range attack.
Wretch stayed as it was.

I had to bailed out from the shop at this moment and we ended the game at the turn 4.
To be honest nothing could snatch victory from my hands at this stage, even this Lucius' dirty trick to flip my scheme markers to his side as I was out activating him at this moment and I would easily drop two more scheme markers if needed.
I also had a dirty trick in my sleeve: Specialist could shoot at Guard or Drowned to trigger Wildfire and remove all scheme markers in 4'' area around them (there were 2 or 3 Gavin ones there).

Upkeep phase:
Jack Daw: +1VP Strategy; +3VP Breakthrough
Lucius: +3VP Breakthrough

Final Score: Jack Daw 9 - Lucius 6

Jack once again proved his versatility and Taelor was really good choice for prime beat-stick.
Unfortunately I couldn't torment Specialist on turn 1 and the I had no time to do that on next turns but he performed pretty good anyway thanks to his Slow/Paralyzed removal action.
Also I'm pretty happy with performance of the other models, especially with Nurse. As usual she was a very strong support model.

Till the next time!