I attended a 50 point Steamroller tournament at Legions Games, and brought my Cryx along for the ride. I really wanted to bring my Skorne, but I’ve been playing so much Cryx lately for the Journeyman League that I was just more comfortable with them at the moment. This event was a two-lists event, so I chose to bring Goreshade3 and Scaverous–the two casters I’ve been running the most lately. Goreshade’s list was designed more for handling infantry, while Scaverous’ list was much more of an assassination vector if my opponent had thin lines and was vulnerable if a corridor is opened (Scavy’s specialty).
First up, painting. I finally added the first Mercenary unit I’ve ever purchased to my force, an Orgun Bokur. The main reason was to give a bit of defense to my caster, as the Bokur can use Shield Guard to take incoming shots for them. It helps prevent nonsense that would cause my caster to lose focus or be unable to cast/gain focus in the next round.
This brings me to 37 points painted this far in 2016. I’m a 10th of the way to having painted a point per day! I did him in the colors I’m doing the rest of my Cryx in, as he’s likely to only ever hit the table alongside my Cryx force.
The field of 14 players was pretty heavily slanted with four Cryx, three Khador, two Legion, and two Circle. My first opponent was a Cryx player, my second opponent was a Cryx player, and my third game was against Khador.
First up was a pretty balanced Skarre list run by Ian. My Shrike actually did a pretty impressive job in this game. I got jammed by a group of Satyxis Raiders early, so to make sure I could contest I had to use Goreshade3’s feat on the top of turn two. The good news was, that meant the Shrike auto-hit on a long line of tramples and he soared a whopping 13 inches (thanks to Infernal Machine) and obliterated one half of the jammers in a literal fell swoop. The rest of the game he spent dodging attacks from the Bane Knights thanks to his high defense, until one finally tagged him and destroyed the little birdjack.
Skarre’s alpha strike really hurt, especially the Soulhunters simply annihilating my Revenant Crew. However Goreshade3 was able to rush back and apply some scenario pressure, dominating the zone and getting some points for me while my opponent never quite cleared their zone. It meant that Skarre needed to go for the assassination, but it didn’t quite take. Goreshade was left in range of Skarre with a Helldiver behind her: the little jack surfaced, headbutted her to the ground, and Goreshade3 finished her with a charge.
Round Two I faced Cryx again. This time I was facing Ryan, who dropped his Goreshade3 versus mine. Our lists were pretty different except for Mechanithrals and Bile Thralls, and Ryan got the first turn–which proved to be pretty decisive. He played his Bile Thralls up, charged and destroyed some with Goreshade3, then used Mockery of Life to get them placed even further up the field. A variation I should have done to him if I had gone first–but instead I had to play a bit defensively and creep around the sides.
My Goreshade3 played up to the objective between two forests, recognizing that if I was going to do anything I’d need to increase the scenario pressure a bit.
The problem was that I had to keep flooding the middle to keep him from scoring, and the Kraken and Bane Riders kept him well ahead of the curve. I kept the pressure up as much as I could, but once he got my objective dead and dominated the center for a round, it was all over but the taxes for most part. I crowded the zone once more, but his Kraken did its thing and I was too little too late. Still a fun game, as Ryan is always a great opponent who I learn a lot from when I play (he went on to win first place in the event).
My third round match was against Justin’s gorgeously painted Khador force. Just look at that Behemoth. He fielded Vlad, which meant that my forces would have to sell themselves dearly–whenever he attacked me he was sure to hit and damage because of the added dice. I started my pressure early with the Mechanithralls and Revenant Crew, and while they did indeed die in droves they at least took some stuff with them–in particular heavily damaging the Behemoth.
I ended up winning thanks to the death clock–Justin timed out for the round. It was a lucky thing too, as I was definitely losing the attrition game. My jacks were intact, and I was deciding whether I could try to scenario or simply had to nudge an arc node up and hope for a Hail Mary assassination through spells. Thank goodness for the Revenant crew in this game–I think a lot of time was spent dealing with them. Though I never got any back from their unit’s ability (only through Captain Rengrave adding models), the question they ask of “can you kill enough and then get the job done on the unit leader?” is a time sink for the opponent. Overall a great game, as Justin was a really fun player to face and his army was wonderfully painted.
For the tourney, I ended up 6th overall out of the 14, with a 2-1 record, 3 total control points, and 87 army points destroyed. I ended up playing Goreshade3 in all three games, each time for different reasons. Ultimately, that was fine by me as I was proud of my performance. Pretty good for only having started Cryx in December!
366 Points Challenge Progress (2016):
37/366
Battles (Privateer Press):
Overall Totals 2016: 8 (Win/Loss: 4/4/0); 2015: 43 (Win/Loss: 29/14/0)
Skorne:
0 Wins / 1 Loss (Rask)
Cryx:
4 Wins (Caine, Karchev, Skarre, Vlad) / 3 Losses (Asphyxious, Lylyth2, Goreshade3)
The Mortitheurge Willbreaker brings my points painted up to 34 so far in 2016. I’ve got a lot more Skorne and Cryx on the table, so the target of 366 seems not too far from reach! Skorne really helps, as each caster needs such different pieces to be effective… ah, the joys of Skornergy. 
This battle I faced Andy’s Blindwater Congregation, led by Rask. It was two big Gatormen Posses, an Ironback Spitter, a Bullsnapper, some Bog Trog Ambushers, and support staff. I was definitely not ready for Rask, both in caster choice and in tactics. I should have played back more and waited out his feat, then done some close range chain-elimination: kill a unit in melee to free the next unit to shoot deeper. Instead, the Posses hit like tons of bricks. 
In the end I made a game of it, as Hexeris2 went on a personal rampage. He wrecked nearly a whole Posse himself with combination of attacks and spells, and took most of the Ambushers out on another round. He got very lucky, but not lucky enough to pull out anything close to a win. I lost pretty clearly (assassinated at the end by the remaining Trogs), but felt good that I recovered from a derpy start like I did. All told a fun game, as Andy is a great opponent with a fun force. Now at least I’m ready for Rask again!
Completed my Shrike bonejack. Modified slightly to be flying, rather than taking off. Takes me to 34 points painted for the year!
My army arrayed for battle. Even at 35 points, Cryx makes for a fearsome large battle line.
Colton’s Khador line of battle, led by Karchev the Terrible at the front. Less widespread, certainly, but equally imposing as the Cryx line. I had my work cut out for me. 
The battle was joined, and Karchev led the way all across the board to the flag on my side. My poor Defiler was no match for the armored destruction. 
Goreshade3 followed suit, and rode across to the opposite flag himself. To win the game, I merely needed to defeat one destroyer. It took me a full turn of Goreshade3 and the Mechanithralls, then surviving the return attacks from the crippled warjack, and finishing it off the next round. Man, those crabjacks are tough! I managed to pull off the win, but only just. 
Other games from the evening. Andy’s Thornfall Alliance hog squad against Terry’s Protectorate of Menoth–the smell of bacon grilled on the flames of the righteous!
Brandon’s Trenchers dig into the zone, firing madly at Dan’s advancing Khador line. 
Another game for Brandon’s Trenchers, this time facing fellow Cygnarian compatriots in Tony’s force. 
Careful application of force can sometimes trump raw numbers. Ryan’s Cryx had been the most successful faction at racking up caster kills through the league, but this time the kill went to Rico’s Legion of Everblight. A bow shot and Parasite from Lylyth onto Asphyxious made him quick work when the Carnivean trampled in. 
The conclusion of the Protectorate/Thornfall match between Andy and Terry. Beautiful models on both sides lured me to get an extra shot of the action. 
Most of the Journeyman crew. From left to right: Andy, Tony, Ryan, Rico, Dan, Brandon, Colton, and Terry (I took the photo). We had a grand total of 13 players who participated in more than one evening of the event, with 11 who participated in all but 1-2 nights. 
Just a bit of shooting in the opposing list… There used to be a left flank of Mechanithralls…
Goreshade3 stares down the massive form of the Blightbringer that rose beyond the forest.
I wasn’t too keen on Goreshade until I read some of his fluff that links to him plaguing Retribution of Scyrah. Definitely a cool incarnation of the model. 
Skarre2, Queen of the Broken Coast. I really like how the model turned out. At first I felt it was an odd pose, but now I’m really digging it. I’m still searching for which caster(s) in Cryx I feel comfortable with, and there’s some strong reasons that it might be Skarre2 (defensive feat and flexible strategy are two strong items in the plus column). 
We had great turnout for the Journeyman league overall (fourteen total players)–the tables were packed with generals clashing.
Ryan’s Iron Lich Asphyxious army versus Tony’s Caine-led Cygnar force. Ryan has become the come-from-behind warnoun assassin of note for the league. He caught me with it once, and this time he caught Caine as well. Never count Asphyxious out. 
The controlled advance of Kevin’s Puppet Masters force led by Exulon Thexus faces off against Dan’s fast advance and shooting-heavy Sorscha2 army. 
There’s no match up more classic than Kreoss versus Sorscha. 
At the next table over, it was an epic version of the same match, as Terry’s Kreoss2 faced off against Colton’s Sorscha2.
Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders realize the Doom Reavers have magic weapons.
A wild match up of Tony’s Cygnar (with Caine) versus Rico’s Legion of Everblight being led by Thagrosh. Bad luck ruled the day for Legion, as there was a critical moment in a Mutagenisis assassination run ruined by an over-ambitious Naga Nightlurker that killed rather than only damaged the target that was being softened up.
A Cryxian mainstay: a minimum unit of Bile Thralls. 
The little bonejack that could: the Helldiver. The little marker on the left signifies when it’s completely underground. 
Terry’s gorgeous Protectorate of Menoth force led by good old Kreoss against Dan’s aggressive Sorscha2-led Khador army. 
Ryan’s Cryxian nightmares face off in no man’s land against the Protectorate faithful. 
Nasty Khador-0n-Khador action as Colton’s Karchev-led Warjacks (on the left) powerslide into the “friendly” forces on the other side. 
Tony’s Cygnar build the “Flying V” as they surge up into the crossroads to take on their snowy adversaries from the north. 
My favorite moment from my game against Ryan’s Cryx. My Withershadow Combine, thanks to some Telekinesis from Scaverous to get positioning correct, managed to actually get their Dark Industries ability to trigger–destroying one of his light warjacks and replacing it with one of my own. This shot shows the aftermath, as the newly-created Defiler moved up and acid-bathed the opposing Slayer and infantry behind. 
My other game was against Tony’s Cygnar and Caine. I was really nervous about the pairing, as Caine and the force of Gun Mages and the Black 13th definitely project a ton of destruction that my single-wound infantry simply could not handle. I had to use the terrain on the board to fully obstruct line of sight as much as I could, relying upon Ghostwalk on bonejacks and then Mechanithralls to get them into safe position against the imminent shooting death of my army. 
My Scrap Thralls are getting different colors than the dark blue that I’m using for the rest of my army. I wanted them to look like they really were assembled on the run with whatever warjack bits were lying around on the battlefield.
They’re going hog-wild!
The Scythean faces DOOOOOOM!
What happens when both forces decide to do the denied flank–on opposite sides.
Ryan’s Bane Thralls made a mess of the pigs, but the hogs still managed to finish Deneghra.
The classic match-up: Khador and Cygnar
Doom Reavers are no one’s friend, especially not my Cryx’s.
No shot of Scaverous, but this was my first game with him. His completely convoluted plan to assassinate Helga failed at the last moment (the backup backup was an attack on my own Scrap Thrall that had ran next to her). Yet he survived her assassination attempt due to bad dice, and finished her in very ordinary fashion on my turn–a couple slashes to the face with his magic scythe. 
So I’m relatively pleased with the paint job on Grissel. I’m not particularly in love with the model, as the face is one of the worst I’ve seen in the faction. Having recently painted Janissa, who has a great expression and look, Grissel’s garbage-can mouth is just a travesty. That said, I’m pleased with how the model looks at a distance–standing amidst a force, the blue “magic” runes pop nicely in my otherwise earthtones plus dull orange army.
This is the model I was most proud of in this group, as I really didn’t think he would turn out as nicely as he did. I’ve seen Fell Caller Heroes in other players’ forces, and never really liked the pose or paint job. But I’ll 
Color-swapped Cygnar
Beautiful classic Khador
This amazing red-and-bone Legion of Everblight group. 
Not the best shot, but my blue/orange Cryx against a Deneghra box with a classic scheme. 
Another Cygnar group, this one with the original blue color scheme.
Red Ones Go Faster 