Warmachine Battle Report: Shooting Gallery Showdown(Khador v Cygnar 40 pts)

My son, Gareth(a.k.a. GDogsDog) usually beats me in our Warmahordes showdowns...and today was no exception.  I was able to talk him out of his favorite army(Cryx) so we could change things up a bit...but it didn't change the outcome. 

Pre-Game-Here is a breakdown of our staring forces and deployment:

Cygnar(Gareson) in Blue, Khador(GDogsDog) in Red, Mercs in Green and Orange
Key Terrain Points- 1&3: Rocky Outcroppings(Rough), 2: Forest, 4: Shooting Gallery(Rough)

My Battlegroup Center

Cygnar(Gareson) 40 pts in blue above...

Left Flank: Trenchers & Trencher UA(T), Rhupert Carvolo(R), Grenadier(G)

Center: Alister Caine(A), Ironclad(I), Lancer(L), Hunter(H), Squire(S)

Right Flank: Charger(C), Journeyman Warcaster(J), Gun Mage Captain Adept(G)

Army Observations: I(Gareson) like surgical strike mixed forces...so I brought a bunch of agile lights and toolbox models.  I was risking running a fragile force against his Khador heavies, but hoping for a warcaster assassination opportunity.

Gareth's Center and Left

Cygnar(GDogsDog) 40 pts in red above...

Left Flank: Irusk(I), Destroyer(D), Juggernaut(J), Mule(M), Dirty Meg(D)

Center:Kodiak(K), Man o' War Kovnik(M)

Right Flank: Valachev(V), Croe's Cutthroats(C)

Army Observations: Gareth(GDogsDog) likes "heavies", and his force selection certainly reflects this...bringing four heavy jacks in a 40pt game reflected his "big stick" approach:

My Right Flank Diversionary Force

Early Game: Winning initiative, my first thought was to get to cover(I know the range and power of his heavies!).  My trenchers, with a Grenadier light 'jack in tow, as well as the musical stylings of Rhupert Carvolo(THE Piper of Ord) moved towards a grove of trees(2).  I dug-in early hoping to anchor my left.  Meanhwile, main battlegroup moved into a rocky outcropping for cover(3) while my right flank advanced into the Cygnarian Shooting Gallery(4).  I knew my Charger and Journeyman 'caster were no match for what he was sending my way on my right, but I had to try to divide up his heavies by splitting my forces. 

Mule paves the way with GDog's battlegroup close behind.

GDog pretty much moved as I thought he would early game, with Croe's Cutthroats moving into rocky cover(1) and his main battlegroup moving towards my Charger at the shooting gallery(4).  However, early on I noticed his Kovnik and Kodiak moving there as well which I wasn't counting on(as the old military axiom says "No great plan ever survived contact with the enemy"). Early on things went poorly for me on the right...I expected to take a beating there with my little Charger but I needed to pin him there longer so I could maneuver in my center for a counter-strike.  As it happened, blast damage attacks from his Mule and Destroyer took out my Gun Mage on turn 2 and wounded my Journeyman!  I hated to do it, but I moved my Journeyman to my center, knowing the right was already lost.
 

Mid Game: By turn three it was clear that things were already going poorly for me. My right flank diversion had turned into a disaster and all I had to show for my feint was a shredded light jack and two k.i.a. solos.  More importantly, Irusk was tightly protected by a train of four heavies as GDog had shifted his Kodiak to that part of the field as well.

My Charger is in trouble!

My Charger fought valiantly to the end, but the tide of enemy heavies was too much for it to hope to hold against.

Trencher smoke cover.

On the left flank my trenchers used smoke bombs to shield attacks from the "stealthy" mercs opposite me.  The only real bright spot of this stage of the game for my Cygnarians was my Hunter light 'jack who got off a few pot shots(using Caine's Snipe spell) at Gareth's Destroyer, doing some serious damage with his armor piercing gun. 

GDog owns the shooting gallery.

While my Charger was intact this worked for me,  but once it was gone, his Mule and Destoyer turned their "full attention" to my Hunter.  This wasn't so bad(blur was cast on my Hunter and it was in cover) until drifting misses started crashing down beyond my Hunter...taking out my Squire and Journeyman Warcaster(so much for moving him to safety). 

Late Game:  Gareth's blast damage assault on my center having further deprived me of forces meant that I was going to have to pull off something tricky to win.  At this point he was already moving in with his heavies on my right flank...if he advanced to far, too fast, I might get a shot off at Irusk!

My Trencher force pushes out, hoping for a shot at Irusk(right).

I advanced to the center with my Trenchers, the Grenadier and Rhupert, hoping to flank Irusk.  Even if Gareth moved to block me, he would likely be splitting his assault force to do so, so I further enticed him by engaging with what was left of my battlegroup.

I have his attention!

Now certainly my Trenchers paid for their advance into the open...his heavies(and Croe's coming from behind) decimated my infantry!  However, I had a brief opportunity...the assassination attempt I was hoping for!

My Hunter has line of sight to Irusk!

My Hunter moved back in for a shot at Irusk, his heavies divided between my Trenchers and my engaging warjacks(led by the Ironclad).  GDog is usually VERY protective of his 'casters, so I knew this was likely my one opportunity.  I boosted my attacks with spells and focus, but the Hunter missed repeatedly!

Irusk out of danger...not so much my Ironclad.

Now aware of the danger, GDog tightened up around Irusk.  In the meantime, his Kodiak and Juggernaut had dismantled my Ironclad. 

The End...

End Game: With very little left to fight with, I did my best, but GDog's largely intact army pounded away at my remnants until Caine himself ran out of room to run! 

After Battle Conclusions: Gareth brought a broadsword and I brought a stiletto.  If I was going to win, I had to find an opening and strike swiftly at the right moment or his raw power would overcome me.  The latter happened.  I was hoping for a better opportunity for assassination than my Hunter strike later in the game, but Gareth did a really good job of keeping his guard up.

Bested by my son..once again!(but it was fun!)  I'd love to say I taught him everything I know...but honestly...he's just good!

Epliogue:  Ironically, look at just what arrived in the mail!...

A little late!

Strakhov: Necessity is the Mother of Invention

That's right, necessity is the mother of invention.  I was reminded of the old axiom when I screwed up painting this miniature!  I'm sure I'm not alone...but I find that eyes are a challenge to paint(especially on a certain squinty-eyed Khadoran warcaster).  The point of no return on a mini is about my fourth attempt to fix an eye...because after painting over the eye sockets 2-3 times you've built up enough paint that you've got a "bump" there and it won't look right...which means stripping the whole mini of paint and starting over.  Well that happened with Strakhov, but I didn't want to start over as, unlike usual, I'd already painted about 1/2 the mini before getting to his face.  So I modded him mid-stream...suddenly that left eye got a "green stuff" patch and the scar was lined more vertically to match an eye wound.  In the end...I like it! 
(click on images for larger pictures)

The other change I made to Viktor Strakhov(besides the eye patch) was to give him dirty blonde hair(as opposed to gray)...I just envisioned him a little younger in appearance than he is usually depicted. 

His paint scheme was a dark "black ops" version...he was meant to match my Khador Kommandos(he also got the "ruined trench" basing treatment).  In fact, here is with his comrades...

Thanks for viewing...Happy Wargaming everybody!
~Gareson

Kossite Ambush!

Recently finished a unit that was not a chore to paint! Painting commonly uniformed troopers can get a bit monotonous...ask any mini painter!  However, these Kossite Woodsmen, Khadoran auxiliary troops, were a pleasure to finish up....that's the beauty of irregular troopers: a mix of attire.  These models were largely speed-painted, so details might have suffered a bit...but a few washes and dry-brushing strokes seemed to have made them tabletop ready!  I'll let you be the judge...
(click on images for larger pictures)
Group shot...

Individual pics...

Now I found a little silly that the set of minis had 5 poses for 6 minis(4 original, 2 of the same(the archer above)).  I decided to slightly mod the archer pose with some green stuff to add a bandana and a cape(so at least the 'twins' look a little different from each other)...

So there they are, ready to ambush from the table edge!  For a snow-basing tutorial(which I used on the figures above) see my article on the "Just the Bases" blog. 

Figure Feature: Khador Kommandos

For a long time I held off on buying these guys...I just wasn't sure I liked the sculpts(was afraid they'd be too diminutive when I saw them in person).  Well a few months ago I picked them up and I have finally gotten around to painting them up...well, I like 'em.  I opted for a "Special Ops", very dark(black) scheme for these guys...avoiding the greys and greens I often opt to use on my Khadorans.  As it was a unit(with Flamethrower attachment) I didn't give each figure the same time I'd give to a solo model, but I think they came out o.k. nonetheless...
(click on images for larger models)

For the bases I used a "Destroyed Trench" theme that I will also be applying to my Kommander Strakhov warcaster model.  Basically some balsa wood bits, stryene(for steel trench supports), green stuff sand bags and the usual grit(sand and kitty litter mix).  Here's an overhead view for a better look at the bases...

Figure Feature: Khador Manhunter(I wouldn't mess with her)

Sometimes in the middle of painting a Warmachine or Hordes mini I take a look at the figure in front of me, take a moment, and say to myself "Yeah, that wouldn't be fun to face on the battlefield".  I'm not talking about on the wargaming table, but in real life, an angry, dual axe-wielding agile huntress would probably be no fun to engage in melee; such was the case with the "Manhunter"(female variant).  I like this solo a lot, not just because she makes a nice addition to my Khador army, but because, let's face it, she just looks cool.
(click on pictures for larger images)

I liked painting the various brown and beige hues that make up her animal hide/fur attire.  I tried to keep the metallics muted to match this toned-down theme.

The base was a lot of fun(I getting to the point where I like to "dress up" my solos with custom bases).  I decided, to even make her that much more impressive a warrior, to have her balancing on a floating block of ice.  I sculpted the "ice" from modeling clay which I sealed with Mod Podge.  I painted it with a mix of Cygnar Blue Highlight & Turquoise Ink, and then dry-brushed it with Morrow White.  The icy water is Trollblood Highlight with a little white lined in to the wet paint..I coated it with water effects.  I thought about putting a gloss on the ice, but looking in my freezer, I noticed that ice is actually rather flat in sheen(or non-sheen).  Here's a better look at the base...

Thanks for taking a look....
Khador Kommandoes are now on my front burner with my Warpwolf Stalker and Gun Mage Captain Adept right behind them.

Figure Feature: The Great Bears

Well as veteran WM/H painters know, painting up units can be a bit monotonous...but then there are "character units" that are usually a pleasure to work on; such is the case with the Great Bears of Gallowswood.  Let's start with the great lore for these guys...the survivors of a decimated Iron Fang Company, they have served in all the key battles of the Khadoran Empire.
(click on pictures for larger images)

 Painting these guys was a lot of fun...especially the armor and bear pelts.  I am still trying to improve on my Khador Red...still not perfected but I'm getting better(I pretty much used the Forces book method for my approach).

The snow effect was my usual concoction of 1 part baking soda, 1 part white glue & 1 part white paint.  

Figure Feature: Widowmaker Marksman

Well, as the Widowmakers are all "marksmen", to be singled out as a "Marksmen" amongst marksmen...you must be something special.  Although he's a nice little solo, I plan to make him the "5th man" in my Widowmakers unit.

I waffled on what color to paint his armor plating...Khador Red seemed too conspicuous for a guy trying to be a stealthy sniper.  However, in the end, I went with it...my story being that he has been dragged out a Widowmaker Military Academy(where he is an instructor) for an emergency assignment(kind of like Thorwald being from sniper school to hunt Zaitsev at Stalingrad).  

Here he is...

The bronze Metallics are mainly by Howard's Hues*Bronze and Gold) with the steel hues mainly old Reaper Pro Series(paint pots) and even a very old Ral Partha silver!