Seeing Red - Another Khador Log

[xbanditsx]

I've finally gotten around to starting this game

I went down to the store yesterday and met up with a PP Press Ganger who offered to show me the ropes. He introduced me to three other players at the club and they decided that it would be fun to do a large, 3 vs. 2 player Mk2 game.

I was on the team of three and we were all playing 35 point Khador lists. The other team was 52 points of Cryx and a split 53 points between Gorten and Magnus.

My list was:

pSorscha
+Juggernaut
Koldun Lord
+Destroyer
5 Demo Corps
Greylords
Widowmakers
Mortar

I deployed on the right hand side. Our middle was anchored by pVlad with Behemoth, Beast-09, Widowmakers, and a large Winterguard unit with UA, Kovnick Joe, and several Rocketeers. Our left flank had pButcher, two Kodiaks, a Spriggan, Widowmakers, and a similarly large Winterguard unit.

Across from me was the Cryx - pDenegrah with 4 bonejacks and Deathjack, Tartarus and Bane Thralls, Mechani-Thralls, two units of Bile Thralls, and two Pistol Wraiths. In the middle was Gorten with several 'jacks, a unit of dwarfs with hammers, and a unit with shields. The far side was Magnus with a bunch of 'jacks.

The first two turns were pretty uneventful - Deathjack and Behemoth killed each other in the middle and the Widowmakers killed some infantry.

On my third turn I feated with Sorscha and froze a large portion of the Cryx. My army then mopped them up and I was feeling pretty good about myself until the Cryx player told me that he was going to kill Sorscha next turn.

Gorten used Landslide and Denegrah feated. Denegrah then arced Venom and Gorten's 'jacks shot me but in the end, Sorscha was still standing with two boxes left. She cast Tempest next turn on Gorten and Denegrah, which allowed a ton of Winterguard to kill both of them. On the far side the other Winterguard unit killed Magnus, so we ended up with the win!

I've still got a lot to learn but it was fun and I'll be heading back next weekend. They're having a 35 point Mk2 tournament on December 5th that I'm thinking about going to. I'm thinking about bringing the following list and I'd love some feedback or thoughts. The models I own are in red and I'd like to use as many of them as possible:

pSorscha
+Kodiak
Koldun Lord
+Destroyer
5 Demo Corps (I actually only own 3 of these, but I can get two more)
Greylords
Widowmakers
Kell
Manhunter

Thanks for stopping by!

[Blood_Blade]

Welcome to the Iron Kingdoms! (and to the greatest faction I might add )

Sounds like you had a fun first game, always good to hear of a Khador win. 100 pts seems like the time for 3 'casters, I really hope PP changes their ruling on that (although players can do what they want).

Your list looks solid, I only have a few personal changes for the list, so take what follows with a grain of salt:

As one Khadoran Kommander to another, I'd put the Destroyer on Sorscha. The Koldun Lord can give him 1 focus from Power Booster, and on feat turn, Sorscha can give him 2 focus if he really needs it (boost hit and damage is killer with him).

I really like the Kodiak in Mk II. Try to pull off the chain attack and 2 handed throw an enemy jack outside of their control area. This'll make sure that they can't stand the 'jack up easily, and will help neutralise him longer (unless, of course, you already knew this). Top ways of guaranteeing the chain attack is dropping a couple of Ice Cages on the target (you don't need to hit with all 3, lowing a def by 2 or 4 is still a huge buff and enough to land 3 hits on a 'jack)

Seeing the Demo Corps makes me happy and pains me. I really feel that Shocktroopers are the better MoW in mk II, and would provide an ideal bunker for Sorscha. If your group lets you proxy I'd suggest giving them a shot at least once.

Although I've said all this, remember to just play what you like, Khador is an amazingly balanced faction so you should play with the models that you like!

[xbanditsx]

Thanks for the welcome and all the information. I have some questions though:

As one Khadoran Kommander to another, I'd put the Destroyer on Sorscha. The Koldun Lord can give him 1 focus from Power Booster, and on feat turn, Sorscha can give him 2 focus if he really needs it (boost hit and damage is killer with him).

This may be me misunderstanding the Mk2 rules, but I thought that because he was a 'jack marshal, the Koldun Lord could always let a 'jack he was controlling boost an attack or damage roll. Combined with the Power Booster ability he would be able to let the Destroyer boost to hit and boost the damage. Did I misread or misinterpret that?

My main motivation for giving the Destroyer to a 'jack marshal is because I'm a little nervous running Sorscha with more than one 'jack, but I really want to run at least two (they're why I got into the game after all). She's currently using a Juggernaut but the Kodiak will be swapped in as soon as I get him built. The free running will get me a little more savings in the FOC department and the model itself has a nice look to it.

Seeing the Demo Corps makes me happy and pains me. I really feel that Shocktroopers are the better MoW in mk II, and would provide an ideal bunker for Sorscha. If your group lets you proxy I'd suggest giving them a shot at least once.

I've heard this too but I like the Demo Corps models so much more than the Shocktrooper ones. I'll probably give them a try but unless the difference is earth shattering I'll probably stick with my ice mauls.

If I were going to swap the Demo Corp out for another infantry unit I'd probably go with Iron Fangs for the extra bodies.

In other news, have you seen the new Strakhov model? That gun looks like a lot of fun!

[Blood_Blade]

This may be me misunderstanding the Mk2 rules, but I thought that because he was a 'jack marshal, the Koldun Lord could always let a 'jack he was controlling boost an attack or damage roll. Combined with the Power Booster ability he would be able to let the Destroyer boost to hit and boost the damage. Did I misread or misinterpret that?

No you didn't, and it can be very handy early on! However, if the Koldun is marshaling, he becomes a much bigger target. Although he has iron sentinel (I believe) he's not that tough. Still its a gamble with risk and reward.

If I were going to swap the Demo Corp out for another infantry unit I'd probably go with Iron Fangs for the extra bodies.

Don't underestimate the Iron Fangs. They're your shock and awe corps with high arm, def, p+s and cma too! They certainly are worth the points they cost now, as they can wreak havoc upon a battle field.

As an aside: I hope there is an IFP Tier in Mk II so that I can field 2 units of them with 2 UA's. :-)

The new caster looks interesting. He's supposed to be related to the Assault Kommandos so hopefuly they get a boost. Right now the Assault Kommandos, Kossites, Berserker, and MoW all take a bit of a hit, costing and rules wise, in the current Mk II. I'm looking forward to see if any of these will get buffs come the Khador book release?

[xbanditsx]

Played two games today.

The second (it was quick so I'll type it up first) was a battle box game against Gorten. He went first and ran everyone forward. I did the same in my turn. He ran two Gunners down my right flank and kept the Driller and the other gunner near Gorten. I used Boundless Charge on my Destroyer and caught both flanking Gunners in melee, doing a lot of damage to both. Sorscha and the Destroyer walked forward.


the end of my last turn, right before Gorten feats

I thought Sorscha was safe behind the Juggernaut but I was quite wrong. Gorten moved off to one side, feated, and pulled both models six inches toward him. The combined damage from Gorten's gun, the Gunner, and a Driller loaded with focus was quite enough to kill Sorscha and I lost.

I'm not really sure how to avoid this if I end up playing this game again. Gorten has a good threat range on his feat and I don't think I can every get a good jump on him. I thought about using Wind Rush and Tempest to knock him down, but he can spend the focus to stand and then I'm in the same position. I also can't really stay away because he can upkeep his spell that prevents me from using my AOEs to damage him.

The first game was 35 points against the same Merc player. He used Durgen with two Drillers, two Gunners, a unit of Steelhead Halberdiers, a unit of Forgeguard, Reinholt, the Piper, Rockbottom, and Thor. There may have been another solo but I'm not sure. I had first turn and used the list in my last post.

On the right hand side the Demo Corps took a few casualties dealing with the Steelheads and a few Forgeguard. On the left, my Manhunter tied up and nearly killed a Gunner. He didn't kill his points back but ended up occupying about six points worth of models so I think his solo run down that side was a success.

The middle was where the action was. The Koldun and Destroyer dropped a few boosted Bombards on the leading Driller before the Kodiak nearly killed it before double-handed-throwing it into Durgen. The Greylords were mostly putting Blizzard on my models. Kell and the Widowmakers killed a few Steelheads and knocked some boxes from a few 'jacks.


right after the Kodiak threw the Driller into Durgen (the Kodiak is the armless model standing alone in the middle)

I ended up winning this game. The second Driller and the Forgeguard wrecked my Kodiak but left Durgen open. Sorscha feated, freezing him, all four 'jacks, and most of the Forgeguard. Sorscha hit Durgen with a boosted hand cannon shot and the Destroyer dropped a boosted Bombard. The remaining two Widowmakers left Durgen with only two boxes and my only remaining Greylord used his spray to seal the deal.

I actually didn't see this at all and wouldn't have done it had my opponent not said something about it so I can't really call this a win for me. Still have a lot to learn. Sorry for the blurry photos, they were taken with my phone.

[Blood_Blade]

Looks like a good game! (loves the pictures ) Sorscha's feat is nasty... especially coupled with KD. You can take advantage of it even more if you bring Mortars, as rat 3 isn't bad when your opponent is stationary.

Looking forward to more reports!

[Siegebringer]

I love Khador battle reports Nice stuff!

[xbanditsx]

I finished this guy up last night to use in some games I'm playing tomorrow:



There are some more photos in my painting log (Xbanditsx WIP projects).

I think tomorrow I'm playing against Circle and Trolls, which will be my first Hordes games. Look for some reports on those soon.

[xbanditsx]

I had another game last night. It was a 3 player game against Skorne and Circle, 35 points for everyone.

I was playing the only list I have:

pSorscha
Kodiak
Koldun Lord
Destroyer
5 Demo Corps
Greylords
Widowmakers
Kell
Manhunter

The Skorne player had:
Xerxis
Titan Cannoneer
Molik Karn
Void Spirit
Tyrant Rhadeim
Praetorian Swordsmen + UA

The Circle player had:
Mohsar
Argus
Gorax
Woldwarden
Warpwolf
Lord of the Feast
War Wolf
Shifting Stones
Wolves of Orboros + UA

This was a weird set up for a game because everyone wanted to avoid the initial combat so they could mop up and win. The order of turns was Circle, Khador, Skorne.

The Wolves and Woldwarden ended up meeting the Swordsmen and Cannoneer in the middle while most everything else shaded towards my side of the board without actually engaging me.

In the early turns I had my Manhunter tear up the Lord of the Feast while Rhadeim got into my Widowmakers before being splattered by the Demo Corps. On turn three I got a bombard shot onto Mohsar and the Skorne player finished him in his turn.

I charged my Demo Corp at Karn and did a fair amount of damage but didn't kill him. On his next turn, Xerxis cleared out two or three Demo Corps to open up a charge lane to Sorscha for Karn, but Karn failed the charge.

On my turn I charge Sorscha at Xerxis and feated. Three attacks later he was at one health and my Greylords came in and finished the job.

Multiplayer games are a tough way to learn about my army for 1 v 1 games, but I think I learned more about potential game winning situations - both ones for me to look for to win and ones for me to try to avoid for a loss.

This weekend I'm playing in my first tournament, so look for some more reports about that.

[xbanditsx]

This weekend I played in my first tournament. It was a 35 point, MkII, two list tournament and there were 12 people who showed up. I only brought one list because I only have enough models for one.

pSorscha
Kodiak
Koldun Lord
Destroyer
5 Demo Corps
Widowmakers
Greylords
Kell Bailoch
Manhunter

The local Press Gangers were trying out some new scenarios and we used them in the games.

Kill Box:
A 24" x 24" box was centered in the middle. Starting on turn 3, if your 'caster wasn't in the kill box you lost automatically. Anyone getting a 'caster kill won. In the event of time being called, whoever had their 'caster closest to the middle of the board won.

No Man's Land:
A 6" strip across the middle of the board is the No Man's Land. At the end of the second player's third turn, if anyone had controlled the area they were awarded a control point. Anyone with two control points or a 'caster kill won. In the event of time the first tie breaker was whoever had the most unit leaders in the area, and the second tie breaker was whoever had their 'caster closest to the enemy deployment zone.

Mosh Pit:
A 12" circle was centered on the middle of the board. The same control point and 'caster kill win rules were in effect from No Man's Land. If time was called, whoever had a 'jack closest to the middle of the board won.

Game 1
Legion
Kill Box

pThagrosh
Harrier
Nephilim
Carnivean
Shredder
5 Warmongers
3 Raptors
2 Warmonger War Chiefs

I didn't know anything about this army when it appeared across from me. I figured that the Demo Corps could play with the Warmongers in the middle and I hoped that the Widowmakers and Kell could take on the Raptors coming down my right flank. The Manhunter, Destroyer, and Koldun Lord took the left side and Sorsha and the Koiak lined up between them and the Demo Corps.

No one wanted to be the one getting charged so we played movement games early on. I used Sorscha's feat on my second turn to freeze his Warmongers and Chiefs in a big line with Thagrosh stuck behind. The Demo Corps failed a charge to get at them, but since they couldn't move next turn I was safe and did a bunch of damage on my next turn.

The Widowmakers and Kell killed two Raptors before getting the third to flee, and spent most of the rest of the game sniping the Carnivean and Thagrosh. The Destroyer and Koldun pair did some good work on the left side dropping bombards around, but Thagrosh kept moving the damage around to his beasts.

In the end, despite having a better position on the board, I lost. Time was running out and Thagrosh was closer to the middle than Sorscha was. He was going to have the last turn, so I had to move Sorscha closer, which would have left me out in the open and easy prey for Thagrosh. I tried a wild assassination but failed big time and got dead for my troubles on his next turn.

Game 2
Khador
No Man's Land

pButcher
Marauder
Juggernaut
Kodiak
Windergurad with 3 Rocketeers and UA
Kovnik Joe
Widowmakers
Kell Bailoch
Alten Ashley

I put the Demo Corps and Sorscha + Kodiak in the middle, Widowmakers on the right, and Koldun Lord + Destroyer on the left. The Widowmakers took a beating early from Alten Ashley and some Winterguard Rocketeers. Butcher's feat turn was even worse for me as I lost 4 Demo Corp and most of the Kodiak.

I was in a pretty tough spot facing three 'jacks and an army of Winterguard without my heavy hitters so I took a long shot and tried to kill Butcher because I was going to get killed next turn. Sorscha used Wind Rush to move up 6", feated to freeze Butcher, and then cast Boundless Charge to charge him. I needed to do 20 damage and only had two focus left so it was pretty long odds. I did 10 on the charge attack, bought a second attack, hit, and boosted the damage but only did 5.

I thought I was dead, but time was called right then. Neither of us had any control points, we each had a single unit leader in the No Man's Land, but Sorscha was deep in enemy territory so I won!

The highlight of the game, which I thought was a turning point in my favor but ended up not mattering, came on my second turn. I charged my Kodiak into his Juggernaut and used Grab and Smash to do a double handed throw. His Winterguard UA was nearby so I pitched the Juggernaut into them and killed both.

Game 3
Khador
Mosh Pit

pButcher
2 Kodiaks
Juggernaut
Doom Reavers
Widowmakers
6 Kossite Woodsmen
War Dog
Ogrun Bokur

The Mosh Pit had a big forest in the middle of it, which made LOS and charge lanes tough for me to figure out. Long story short, his Juggernaut and Doom Reavers got the jump on my Kodiak and Demo Corps. I really didn't stand a chance against his three 'jacks with just my Destroyer and he won on control points when he threw my Destroyer out of the Mosh Pit.

In the end, I only had one bad game (number three) and even managed to squeak out a win! I think playing these games (as opposed to the multi-player ones) really helped me to get a sense for my units and the army as a whole.

I probably won't be making any changes to the list for a few weeks, but I'm currently thinking about this change.

Drop the Demo Corps and Kell (11 points)
Add the Greatbears, Drakhun, and a War Dog.

Thoughts on those changes?