Steamroller Prep: Escalation Tournament

So there's an Escalation Tournament on December 9th at The Battle Standard in Manchester, CT that sounds really interesting.  Unfortunately, I'm on duty that weekend so I will be unable to attend *shakes fist* but in case I can get someone to switch duty weekends with me, I still would like to prepare for it.  What will be interesting about the tournament is that there will be 4 rounds and the points values for each round increase, so you'll play at 15 points the first round, then 25, then 35, and lastly you'll play at 50 points.  Where it gets most challenging, however, is that you must keep building on your previous list.  In other words, the models in the 15 point list must be present in your 25 point list and so on.  The other major challenge is that your 15 point list is warjack/warbeast only (although you can be 3 points down).  That's where things get tricky because it means infantry warcasters will have a tougher time first round, and so the event as a whole will likely favor warjack/warbeast-heavy lists.  So what would I be bringing?  Well I first had to start with looking at viable 15 point lists, since those elements will carry forth into the later rounds.  Here's what I considered:



pBaldur (+6)
- Megalith (11)
- Woldguardian (9)

A solid list, if I say so myself.  I've played it against other people at this point level and it's treated me well.  I thought about taking a Woldwarden instead for some assassination shenanigans, but seeing as I'd need to keep the Woldwarden throughout the other point levels I decided that the Woldguardian would be more useful in the end (he's so awesome with Stone Skin!).

Sloan (+6)
- Stormwall (19)

This is actually quite the hilarious list.  It's semi-serious and although I'm down 2 points, people will probably cry if they see a Colossal in 15 points since there are too many boxes to take it down right away (for most people, at least).  Having raw firepower is great and since I'd want to take the Stormwall with Sloan at higher point levels anyway, it would be pretty solid, methinks.

eBaldur (+5)
- Woldwrath (20)

This list is far less serious than the Sloan one.  The same point stands, however: not many will be able to deal with a Gargantuan at 15 points, let alone one that's at ARM 23 on feat turn... I just had a very evil grin on my face...

Kraye (+6)
- Ironclad (7)
- Minuteman (5)
- Centurion (9)

This list would be very fun and quite effective at 15 points, methinks.  The Minuteman would be great for running on a flank and herding my opponent where I wanted them while Full Tilt on the Ironclad means that his Ride-By Attacks would actually be pretty annoying.  Alternatively, the Centurion could always benefit from SPD 8 with Polarity Shield.  The downside is that Kraye will seriously suffer at the 50 point level and I don't have a lot of practice with him at so many points.  While warjack spam could be funny, Kraye runs out of focus really quickly.

Mohsar (+5)
- Gnarlhorn Satyr (8)
- Gnarlhorn Satyr (8)
- Gorax (4)

This list is perhaps my most serious consideration.  Mohsar is not usually considered at 35 points, let alone 15, because he's a fury 8 warlock and that means a lot of fury on your warbeasts to keep him fueled.  Generally I make sure that my beasts have at least 150% of the fury of the warlock, and this list just barely meets those guidelines.  I'm actually kinda serious about this list because future lists will feed very well off of this core and want to get more practice with Mohsar anyway.  What I like most about this list is that while I don't sport a lot of heavy hitting, Mohsar has the tools to be extremely obnoxious for scenarios - and scenarios at 15 points are already harder to win with only warjacks/warbeasts on the field.  Pillars of Salt will be my best friend at 15 points since I won't have any bark-nodes around for the other spells.  Sunhammer could see some usage and Mirage will be fun to put on a Gnarlhorn for some surprise threat ranges.  Lastly, Counter Slam will be fun at 15 points when there aren't many models clogging up the field!  Yeah, I'm not hitting very hard, but I don't really need to.  I'm all about the scenario with this list at 15 points, and I'm okay with it.

So I've decided that I'd go with Mohsar, so what about my other lists?
25 points:
Mohsar (+5)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Gorax (4)
Druids of Orboros (7)
Gallows Grove (1)
Shifting Stones (2)

Time to start packing in the utility!  The Gallows Grove will help me extend my reach a little bit so I can actually use Curse of Shadows and Crevasse without dying all of the time and the Druids will keep me safe as I plod up the field.  They're really great targets for Mirage, by the way, because it can mean that they no longer are engaged and they can then sometimes use Force Bolt to drag someone closer for the goats to pounce on.

35 points:
Mohsar (+5)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Shadowhorn (7)
- Gorax (4)
- Wilder (2)
Druids of Orboros (7)
Gallows Grove (1)
Gallows Grove (1)
Shifting Stones (2)

This is my standard 35 point list with Mohsar and I love it.  The Wilder is very useful for throwing out Bounding or Primal so that Mohsar can spend fury casting spells and the beasts can spend fury buying/boosting attacks.  The Shadowhorn now means that I'm not worried about enemy heavies anymore (for the most part) since I can just toss them around like rag dolls.  If my opponent decided to come close to me then I can also try to make a run for them and throw them towards my lines.  Admittedly, that doesn't happen very often, but it's nice to dream.

50 points:
Mohsar (+5)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Gnarlhorn (8)
- Shadowhorn (7)
- Gorax (4)
- Wilder (2)
Druids of Orboros (7)
- Overseer (2)
Bloodtrackers (full, 8)
- Nuala (2)
Gallows Grove (1)
Gallows Grove (1)
Shifting Stones (2)
Shifting Stones (2)
- Stone Keeper (1)

This is the list that I've been meaning to play the most for preparation for the Templecon Team Tournament.  I've had some success with the list so far and if I could make it to the event then it'd be a great and rare opportunity to actually test this out before the main event.  I think this is the point level where Mohsar feels most comfortable since he'll have all of the tools available, should he need them.  The addition of the Bloodtrackers equates to some raw damage output against the variety of infantry I'm likely to see at 50 points.  While Crevasse is certainly useful, very few units can clear out the board of some intervening infantry as well as the Bloodtrackers.  My Prey with them will almost always be some cheap infantry blob so that I can take the most advantage of Quick Work as they charge in and then toss their spears even further into my opponent's lines.  Hopefully I can use Pillars of Salt to keep them protected after such an assault and if their numbers get thin then I can always run them around for Sands of Fate targets.

Between the Druids popping out clouds, the Pillars of Salt, and the Gallows Groves, I hope to be able to keep Mohsar fairly safe in the backfield while still being able to threaten deep in my opponent's lines.  The Bloodtrackers can deal with almost any infantry unit (especially with Mirage on them!) and while I might seem to lack some heavy hitting, Curse of Shadows always seems to catch people off guard.  This list might not be able to handle a Colossal very well, but if I see one in my opponent's list (unless it's a Hordes player), I'll just bring along epic Baldur anyway ;-)