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DinoBen
Sergeant
412 Posts
    
Based outta Games of Berkeley, CA
 | | 03/22/2006 1:40 PM |
| Our DDM day at Games of Berkeley saw 6 players and some fantastic skirmishes! We only got in a few rounds but overall standings were
Me (DinoBen) 2-0
Paul Mills 1-1
Lysle Kapp 1-1
John Wang 1-0
Zachary Drake 0-2
Andy Flores (Beastmaster) 0-1
My Warband had actually been struck upon by other players and posted various places, but in my defense I had constructed it before I saw other posts... and it's a pretty obvious build ;-)
74 Marut
49 Warpriest of Moradin
42 Couatl
18 Sacred Watcher
8 Warforged Scout
9 3x Man-at-Arms
200 Points, 8 Activations
Both matches I played were vs. Chaotic Evil. My first match was against Zac Drake, whose warband, if I remember correctly, was
2x Eye of Gruumsh
Orc Champion
Tiefling Captain
Orc Wardrummer
Cursed Spirit
Quaggoth Slave
Mountain Orc
He won map initiative and we played on the Teleporter Temple. This was my first time playing with Teleporation and I chose to set up on Side B, the side furthest from the teleporters. I set up poorly and was unable to get my WoM to a Teleporter on the 2nd turn and my Men at Arms were only able to reach a teleporter and and sit on them the 2nd round... which wasn't so bad.
So, to sum up: Zac moved his orcs to cover all the teleporters near his start up area while I gave my band some extra defense via my WoM and moved the troops forward, my Couatl sitting on a teleporter. My Scout had been placed in the Victory area B near my start area and my Sacred Watcher moved to get in a charge position against Zac's Cursed Spirit, which Zac had moved to a Victory area A.
Did I not yet mention that I only won initiative once and never when it mattered? So Zac runs an eye AND his Champ to base my SW. Whiff.. and a hit. So now it's not such a good idea to suck up AoO's to take out his CS. I move my Marut to teleport near this melee and use a mass inflict. I enjoy the synergy of hurting my foes while healing my undead (if this doesn't work this way, someone please tell us). The 2nd round ends with his other Eye basing my Couatl and his QS and MO basing my warforged scout.
I NEED to win this initiative... I NEED to win this initiative... the odds are in my favor... CRAP! Buh-by Couatl :-( The only thing good that came out of that was Zac not activating his QS before my WS, allowing me to kill it before it scored more Hit Points. I moved one MaA to aid my Scout, one charged the Eye that took out my Couatl and the other charged the Eye and Champ that had just taken out my SW. BUT, my WoM managed to get to a teleporter and close enough to his CS to take him out with a Divine Vengeance. This is the first round that I scored Victory Points that Zac didn't.
Conclusion: I pop one Eye and 'port my Marut closer to my WoM, then I move my WoM back behind the Marut. My MaA's take 'em for the team and my WS remains standing and gathers another 10 VP. The last round sees Zac send his remaining Eye and Champ around my Marut, taking AoO's to get to my WoM... who is knocked down to 5HP, but still had his Close Wounds. The Marut pops the other eye and the Champ routs. My Marut ended with only 15HP. In hindsight Zac probably shouldn't have spent so much time on my SW and swarmed the Marut early.
Paul Mills had just beat Lysle Kapp at another table, so we swapped out winner vs. winner. I'll talk about Paul and my game in another message, and I hope the other players take a few minutes to post the results of their skirmishes. One thing I can say: MVP Sacred Watcher and Warforged Scout, LVP Couatl... I didn't get to pull off a single Snakes Swiftness, it's like he was a big rainbow target! | |
Champion of all things Athasian
"Don't sing it - Bring it!" | |
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DinoBen
Sergeant
412 Posts
Based outta Games of Berkeley, CA
| | 03/22/2006 3:09 PM |
| My 2nd pairing agains Paul Mills, who played a more classic Chaotic Evil, with a WarDrumming twist
Red Samurai (RS)
2x Orc Champ (OC)
Zombie White Dragon (ZWD)
Orc Druid (OD)
Ord Wardrummer (OW)
Fodder (... not likely to be mentioned)
We played on the Broken Demongate, Paul set up on the Dirty Side, breaking his forces into the orcs in the corner and the ZWD and RS in the middle. I was "forced" to put my Warforged Scout (WS) near his starting areas so I picked the one closest to the RS, figuring that he wouldn't waste his time. Well.. at least the scout scored first round tile points and did 15 points of damage to the RS before he was destroyed...
I positioned my Warpriest of Moradin (WoM), Sacred Watcher (SW) and my Men-at-Arms (MaA) in the small start area A near the center of the map and my Marut and Couatl in the corner. First round was typical with the WoM casting Divine Protection, the MaAs moving into postions to charge and be chump blockers, the Marut and Couatl moved to a position to engage the next round and whe SW zipped through the wall to gather 2nd round Tile points, that was now 20 points for me and none for my opponent. Paul moved his critters and orcs to attack positions.
I win 2nd round initiative and bring my SW to base his OD, his only commander ;-) He concentrates killing that with his OCs and I move my people forward. He bases my Couatl and a MaA with his ZWD in the choke point, which blocks my WoM as well.
Finale. He takes out my SW with the champs, but leaves the OD with 5HP left. In a desperate move I fly my Couatl as close to the OD as possible and hope to win initiative.. and don't! He bases the Couatl with a champ and forces a morale save, passed! I then take AoO's that could potentially kill the Couatl... swing and a miss! The Couatl then flies near the OD and takes him out with a Sonic Orb, after which Paul's other champ takes out the Couatl.
I'm OK with that, however, cause now my WoM Battlecry and clean up the field, except that with the Orc Wardrummer Paul keeps making his Morale checks! In the end, however, one champ fails his save, the RS gets stomped and I had moved a MaA to a victory area so had only gone one round without and Paul hadn't gotten any. I hit 200 points soon enough and the game was over. Well fought, neither opponent made it easy and everyone played well. My thanks to everyone who played for making it so much fun! | |
Champion of all things Athasian
"Don't sing it - Bring it!" | |
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zdrake
Warrior
279 Posts
Albany, CA (near Berkeley)
| | 03/22/2006 7:59 PM |
| Yes, my CE band didn't do very well against the LG titans. My second match was against Lysle who played something like:
Aspect of Moradin
Dwarf Wizard
Sacred Watcher
Warforged Scout
Warpriest of Moradin
Caravan Guard
Caravan Guard
???
The Sacred Watcher really impressed me as a piece. For one thing, it can almost auto-whack the cursed spirit in one hit, since incorporeal creatures don't need to roll checks against other incorporeals. Because of its presence, I might stop including the cursed spirit in my CE builds. It hits for +10(10), so it really can't be ignored the way the cursed spirit can be ignored. But AC 21 and incorporeal means it can't be smacked down easily, even by an Eye of Gruumsh.
The Teleporter map is very interesting and requires a whole different mental conception of space. Essentially, there is no real "backfield", in that most of the board is within striking distance of a teleporter. Looking back on my losses, I wonder if my CE hitter band is a good match for this map. By "shrinking the map" the Teleport Temple in some ways alleviates the movement difficulties that speed 6 LG titans like Marut and Aspect of Moradin face. One strategy I should have concentrated on more was isolating enemy figures by "cutting off" teleporters with fodder. I might have been able to defeat the Aspect of Moradin band had I prevented it from joining the fray for 1 round. | |
Champion of Acererak the Demi-Lich (w/ Epic Card)
D&D minis gathering in Berkeley, CA at Games of Berkeley (every other Tuesday, and sometimes every Tuesday.) | |
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DinoBen
Sergeant
412 Posts
Based outta Games of Berkeley, CA
| | 03/23/2006 6:15 PM |
| The Teleport Temple is definitely a mind-job for strategy, bringing the need to "learn a map" to the foreground. Having played the Marut band on the map for the first time, I found the teleporters favored my lower mobility units like the Warpriest of Moradin and Men-at-Arms, allowing them access to areas of the map they'd normally never get to otherwise.
On the other hand the map decidedly did NOT favor my Couatl. The teleporters made him easy to base with minis coming at him from any number of directions using teleporters. And this of course made casting any spells next to impossible. This map also did not "favor" more mobil units for exactly the opposite reason: it took away their advantage of mobility!
I think this map may favor warbands that have "excess units" that can be used to manipulate the teleporters by "clogging them up". By that I mean Sniglets and summoned creatures. Wolves summoned on round one could potentially jam up teleporters virtually anywhere on the map! I'm looking forward to more experience playing on that map. | |
Champion of all things Athasian
"Don't sing it - Bring it!" | |
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Ack
Underboss
1476 Posts
| | 03/23/2006 11:55 PM |
| | I guess I should probably look at that map in the immediate future, shouldnt I?? | |
Minis... Serious Business
Completed Trades (18 ) | Pending Trades (0)
Ebay seller to Avoid –Fantasy_Quest_Dist
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John05
Warrior
246 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 3:32 AM |
| Andrew Flores (Beastmaster) and I played a game of standstill.
We each waited for each other to come out of our bunkers on Broken Demongate. An hour went by and nothing happened. I won because I had 10 tile points from a stupid kobold miner which lasted on a victory area for about 1 round before being killed off.
My band:
69 WAR TROLL (!!)
36 Zakya Rakshasa
33 Duergar Champ
41 Rakshasa
15 Dark Moon Monk
6 Kobold Miner x2
200 pts, 7 Activations
His band revolved around Sand Giant and Arcane Ballista. I don't have too much experience against a ballista band. So I just played it safe. I shouldn't have done that, because it was a casual game anyway.
I don't want to go into the details, because it wasn't really a game... it was a waiting game, if anything.
Winners got TWO PROMOS and losers got a promo just for showing up!!... Oh great Sovereign Host, Tell me... TELL ME where else you can find that kind of prize support!?
Come to GOB Tuesday two weeks from now. Ask Ben, the coordinator for DDM at GoB, about the details. Currently, the games are casual, so it's the perfect place to test out your experimental warbands. They could be sanctioned, I believe. Just ask DinoBen. | |
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Feathers
Underboss
1140 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 5:11 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by zdrake
Yes, my CE band didn't do very well against the LG titans.
That blows my mind. Your band should be able to take down Marut+Couatl, especially with no Bodyguard in DinoBen's build and your ability to kill the Couatl so soon.
Sounds like a well-fought match though.
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Champion of Neogi
Completed Trades/Transactions: sttmxn, Krush, jgsugden, Ayrychx2, Venport, Tysac
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Feathers
Underboss
1140 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 5:20 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by DinoBen
Our DDM day at Games of Berkeley saw 6 players and some fantastic skirmishes!
Great to hear. Glad GoB still has a good crew, even though I have no time to head over there anymore. [:(]
quote:
The last round sees Zac send his remaining Eye and Champ around my Marut, taking AoO's to get to my WoM... who is knocked down to 5HP, but still had his Close Wounds.
Did you ever get to use Close Wounds? That's a crazy-strong ability. | |
Champion of Neogi
Completed Trades/Transactions: sttmxn, Krush, jgsugden, Ayrychx2, Venport, Tysac
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John05
Warrior
246 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 11:59 AM |
| | It's too bad the spell isn't touch or self. I don't think he can cast Close Wounds on himself. | |
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zdrake
Warrior
279 Posts
Albany, CA (near Berkeley)
| | 03/24/2006 12:05 PM |
| Yes, I should have been able to take down the Marut+Couatl band. I wasn't playing very well because it was my first time playing on Teleport Temple and I haven't played constructed recently either. I wasted too many activations trying to kill the sacred watcher, when with 3 hits on the Marut with my beaters could have killed it.
When the old rules were in effect, I almost never tried to take down a titan, because it always seemed that time ran out before you could inflict enough damage. Now, there's usually plenty of time. | |
Champion of Acererak the Demi-Lich (w/ Epic Card)
D&D minis gathering in Berkeley, CA at Games of Berkeley (every other Tuesday, and sometimes every Tuesday.) | |
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John05
Warrior
246 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 12:14 PM |
| | What's with your signature, Zach?! Why would you ever need an Acererak, DemiLich miniature?! [:0] DemiLiches are not conducive to player health/well-being! | |
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DinoBen
Sergeant
412 Posts
Based outta Games of Berkeley, CA
| | 03/24/2006 1:14 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by John05
It's too bad the spell isn't touch or self. I don't think he can cast Close Wounds on himself.
To answer Elliott's question, no I never needed to use Close Wounds during either match, though the fact that it can be used on a Marut makes Close Wounds extra useful. To answer Jame's comment, there is nothing I know of restricting the WoM from using Close Wounds on himself.
Actually, had Zac activated the two beaters he sent after my WoM in the opposite order, I would have had to use Close Wounds. Zac sent his Champ first and his Eye second. If he had sent his Eye first, the Champ would have done 5 more damage, killing my WoM! To counter this of course I would have used Close Wounds, keeping my WoM alive, and we were already past our Hour time limit, but under different circumstances "mistakes" like that can make a big difference. | |
Champion of all things Athasian
"Don't sing it - Bring it!" | |
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tallcar24
Sneak
103 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 1:59 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by DinoBen
quote:
Originally posted by John05
It's too bad the spell isn't touch or self. I don't think he can cast Close Wounds on himself.
To answer Elliott's question, no I never needed to use Close Wounds during either match, though the fact that it can be used on a Marut makes Close Wounds extra useful. To answer Jame's comment, there is nothing I know of restricting the WoM from using Close Wounds on himself.
You might want to check Guy's Clarifications page. Its states Close Wounds cannot be used on self. | |
trade reference: http://www.maxminis.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12795 | |
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Feathers
Underboss
1140 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 2:09 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by DinoBen
To answer Jame's comment, there is nothing I know of restricting the WoM from using Close Wounds on himself.
Hate to burst your bubble, Ben. [:(] WoM can't cast Close Wounds on himself. The definitions of range 6 and ally precludes it.
Range 6 spells can only be cast on teh nearest enemy or ally.
An Ally refers to other creatures in your warband.
Still very useful though. | |
Champion of Neogi
Completed Trades/Transactions: sttmxn, Krush, jgsugden, Ayrychx2, Venport, Tysac
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| Hero of Skirmish
doubtofbuddha
Commander
3371 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 3:14 PM |
| | I've found just the oppossite regarding the Teleport Temple. It is far, far more useful for fast warbands than slow warbands, as it multiplies the general area you can threaten with your hitters by a great deal. While you can get to the battle a little faster, a skilled user of the Teleport Temple will block your attempts to join the battle until your support has been eliminated. | |
I am not gone. | |
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DinoBen
Sergeant
412 Posts
Based outta Games of Berkeley, CA
| | 03/24/2006 3:15 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Feathers
quote:
Originally posted by DinoBen
To answer Jame's comment, there is nothing I know of restricting the WoM from using Close Wounds on himself.
Hate to burst your bubble, Ben. [:(] WoM can't cast Close Wounds on himself. The definitions of range 6 and ally precludes it. Range 6 spells can only be cast on teh nearest enemy or ally. An Ally refers to other creatures in your warband. Still very useful though.
Good enough. Unfortunately that just means that not activating the Orcs in the proper order was a pretty big mistake, d'oh! I like the Marut / WoM Warband, but I think it could be better by taking the Marut out and relying on other LG Hitters. Thanks everyone! | |
Champion of all things Athasian
"Don't sing it - Bring it!" | |
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Valen
Warrior
223 Posts
| | 03/24/2006 9:53 PM |
| Zac recalled my warband exactly.
I chose the Mithral Mines map, but lost map init to Zac.
My first match with Paul remains a bit of a blur. Paul ganged up on my warforged scout taking him out before the slow dwarves could get anywhere to save him. I had my AoM lead the charge, leaving the even slower pieces in the dust. The AoM beat up on an orc champ the red dragon samurai (who both gave as good as got despite the AoM's high AC) I routed the samurai who recovered just squares from the exit thanks to the Wardrummer. When his orc champ was injured, it fled leaving the other beaters room to step in.
With the wardrummer, the dwarf wizard never successfully cast slapping hand before being based by an orc champ and ZWD and the warpriest didn't send anyone running.
In my match with Zac I lost map init. He sent his cursed spirit for tile points and I parked my warforged scout. He kept his drummer in the box and sent his beaters to the teleporters while my dwarves separated and clunked toward him. The next round, the beaters popped out of the teleporters. They focused on the wizard who was instantly slaughtered without having ever cast a single spell. However, to get to the wizard my caravan guards got to make some AOOs to good effect. The following round, I sent my sacred watcher after the cursed spirit, forcing it to run and my AoM continued to clamber unimpeded toward a teleporter. He popped out behind the beaters on the caravan guards and wizard corpse. From then on, I parked by the walls near the teleporter and dished out the double attacks with melee reach, forcing Zac to manuever to get away from the reach and Stone Lord ability. The AoM's high AC encouraged Zac to move one of his Eyes into flanking position. To do so he had to endure an AOO from a caravan guard who hit and forced the Eye to rout. The sacred watcher continued to chase the cursed spirit (missing a few times, but keeping the spirit out of the battle) until the end. If I recall, once it scored a hit on the cursed spirit (eliminating it), the sacred watch tracked down the squishy tiefling and that pretty signaled the end. Zac suffered more to a number of bad rolls than to my gamesmanship. Still, I learned a good bit and it was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to throwing down at GoB again in the near future.
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zdrake
Warrior
279 Posts
Albany, CA (near Berkeley)
| | 03/26/2006 2:52 AM |
| quote:
Originally posted by doubtofbuddha
I've found just the oppossite regarding the Teleport Temple. It is far, far more useful for fast warbands than slow warbands, as it multiplies the general area you can threaten with your hitters by a great deal. While you can get to the battle a little faster, a skilled user of the Teleport Temple will block your attempts to join the battle until your support has been eliminated.
Yes, I can see how it might work that way. One thing I like about a fast warband is that you can often get to "teleport campers" by teleporting to a nearby teleporter and then moving to attack. With a slow band, this would be impossible, because the teleporters are too far apart.
Looking at the teleporters, some of them are open to charges from other teleporters, while others are not.
I wonder if the Moon Elf Fighter would be good on this map, since you could send a bunch of pieces to cover teleporters before your opponent could respond. | |
Champion of Acererak the Demi-Lich (w/ Epic Card)
D&D minis gathering in Berkeley, CA at Games of Berkeley (every other Tuesday, and sometimes every Tuesday.) | |
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