There's a 35 point Steamroller this Saturday at Pandemonium in Cambridge, MA. While I've known about this event for a couple of weeks now, I actually forgot about it until last week when my fiancee reminded me (she's the best!). We weren't sure if we were going to make it but since she wants to see her best friend in Boston this weekend anyway, I get to play in the tournament! Hooray! So today I'm going to look at my two favorite options again to see what I want to bring with me. I learned some lessons at the NETT and I want to re-evaluate my options. Naturally, I think I'll bring my Circle to this tournament just because they're my best faction. I've been trying to give my Cygnar some experience too, but I'm not ready to bring them to a tournament yet. I might play some games with Cygnar today just for some practice, but I'm 80% sure that I'll bring my Circle. There are two warlocks that I want to playtest, if possible, before the event on Saturday so hopefully I can get some games in tonight at the Battle Standard. Who am I considering?
You might assume that I'd bring pBaldur to the event and normally you'd be right, but I've been getting the itch lately to play eBaldur instead. Now I'm normally more comfortable bringing eBaldur in 50 points but I've been itching to try him at 35 instead. So if I were to bring eBaldur, here's what I'm considering:
eBaldur (+5)
- Megalith (11)
- Woldguardian (9)
- Woldwyrd (4*)
- Woldwatcher (4*)
Druids of Orboros (7)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)
This list looks similar to the normal pBaldur list that I bring but with some serious exceptions. While I miss out on the raw damage output of the Woldstalkers (I love those guys...) I gain a unit of Druids which offer some huge utility and protection against spell-casting. This means that I would have a little more protection against Cryx and with Rock Wall I'll be able to keep the Druids alive for as long as I need them. The Woldwatcher is normally not worth it but for 4 points he's really great - offering Shield Guard and with a potential ARM 24 (Stone Form + Roots of the Earth), he's an immovable object that many underestimate. While he doesn't hit hard, people forget that he does have a POW 12 magical ranged attack.
While the list seems to lack heavy-hitting since I don't have Stone Skin for my heavies, I need to rely on keeping Baldur alive long enough to deliver him right down the throat of my enemy. If I can just get him up to P+S 17 I'll be in great shape and with the Woldguardian animus and a nearby Woldwatcher, I have some really great ways of keeping Baldur alive until he can deal the killing blow himself.
The second list that I want to playtest is the Mohsar list I developed the other day. I've been itching to find a good list with Mohsar, specifically: one that I find fun. Mohsar can be brutal in 2-list tournaments because he can basically shut down Hordes armies for a round and that could be fantastic if I pair him up with someone who can deal with Warmachine well. That also means that this list won't have the same considerations as a list that needs to deal with Warmachine so it gives me flexibility in my choices. Here's what I'm thinking:
- Gnarlhorn Satyr (8)
- Gnarlhorn Satyr (8)
- Shadowhorn Satyr (7)
- Gorax (4)
Druids of Orboros (7)
- Druid Overseer (2)
Gallows Grove (1)
Gallows Grove (1)
Druid Wilder (2)
My biggest problem with taking Mohsar in the past was that I really wanted to take Woldwardens. Geomancy is my favorite ability but it's not worth it with Mohsar since he needs lots of fury and Woldwardens are only fury 3. Also, since Mohsar can't heal them, they can be shut down fairly easily. The advantage with spamming Satyrs is that they are all fury 4 and so Mohsar will never find himself lacking enough fury to fuel all of his abilities. While the Satyrs are pillow-fisted, they have lots of attacks and that's great for taking out warlocks who would have lots of transfers at their disposal. The Shadowhorn can get into some tight spaces and with Curse of Shadows everyone can basically go wherever they want, provided there's enough room for their base. Gallows Groves are practically required with this Mohsar list, though, because I'll need to keep Mohsar pretty far back and without Geomancy he won't be able to sling spells where he needs them otherwise. The Gallows Groves will also be handy near Tough infantry when it comes time to channel some Crevasse as well!
Druids are also going to be extremely useful in this list for some Counter Magic (of course), but Force Bolt combined with my other movement shenanigans will mean that I can basically control the shape of the engagement the entire game - and that's the way I like it! I originally decided against the Overseer in lieu of a Blackclad but upon further consideration I figured the Overseer might be the better option. Being able to ignore elemental attacks is more significant when playing Hordes factions because you're more likely to see them (exception being Cygnar, of course). Making sure that my Druids aren't affected by attacks like Legion sprays/AOEs can be quite useful to keeping these guys alive. Since there aren't many non-elemental AOEs in Hordes, I figured the Overseer would be a wiser investment. Playtesting is still required, though.
I'll be trying to get some games in with these lists this evening and hopefully tomorrow I can report some lessons that I will have learned!
