Now, Lady J and the Death Marshalls just sounds so cool that any army named in this manner should auto-win.
This said my restless, competitive soul couldn’t take that! Maybe East17 …but that’s a play on words for another day…(or never again…I’m really sorry!)
So Steve rocks up without his normal Marcus Arcanist crew. I say normal, but its only our 3rd game…so its too early to really state any trends.
Deployment is the equivalent of Pitched Battle, for missions Steve draws ‘Slaughter’ (kill everything 4VP’s, 2Vp’s if only my master is left) and I draw ‘Assassinate’ (4VP’s to kill his master, 2VP’s if he gets mine too).
Turn 1:
First turn sees Steve winning initiative for the turn (this will be a recurring theme throughout the game, Steve won 5/6 initiative flips last night).
Very little occurs of note as Lady J et al castle up in a strong defensive building. A couple of Marshalls climb to the first floor to gain good sniper/vantage points for their Peacebringers, everyone else just gets as close as possible but still staying safe.
My guys try a new trick...I had previously thought Pandora and crew to be very slow. However, I wanted to try something new. In theory this worked, but would it in game? Baby Kade activates first in my crew and targets Pandora (?Yup) with ‘Incite’, I cheat down his score and make sure Pandora wins her Willpower Resist Duel with Baby K, meaning that Pandora gets a 4” push forward…Candy next activates and tries to hit Pandora with ‘Pacify’, once again cheating down Candy’s score...Pandora wins and gets a 4” push. When Pandora activates, she double walks into a great LOS blocking, hard cover piece of scenery mid-table. Great position now for end of first turn… Teddy advances on the left flank on his own, pushing up quite far, but keeping in that crucial 15” range of Baby Kade...
Turn 2:
Steve goes first after winning Initiative, and makes sure all his guys have great lines of sight for the lead-spitting to shortly follow…The executioner (imagine a really obese Wolverine in a executioners hood…minus the yellow striped suit) moves up to get a charge off on his next activation…
Whilst this is happening, Baby Kade and Teddy switch places, teleporting Teddy 15” across the table to the right flank in Kade’s activation, ready to pounce in his own activation. Candy pushes Pandora again with the same trick as Turn 1, Pandora is now in range of the Executioner…
Meanwhile a peacebringer strike from the right flank Death Marshall fails to hit Teddy who is behind a ruin.
Pandora’s activation – she casts ‘Dementia’ on the Executioner, burns a Soul Stone (1 of 7) and gets her ‘Mental Anguish’ Cast trigger. So Executioner will be falling back next turn, takes a wound from ‘Emotional Trauma’…and Pandora gets a 4” push…Hits a Death Marshall in the central buildings with ‘Self-Loathing’ doing a couple of wounds to him, making him fall back using ‘Mental Anguish’ trigger (burning another Soulstone, 2/7, to do so)…he takes a wound from ‘ET’ and Pandora pushes…and hits the Judge with the same combo as above and he falls back etc…
Pandora is a beast. Lady Justice’s entire right flank (left as you look at it in photo’s) has been demolished, all falling back, and making sure my crew are safe for a couple of turns.
Turn 3:
This was the turning point…yes, I was in control…but oh, did it ever get exciting here!
Steve goes first and mainly just spends this turn falling back for 3/5 of his crew. Candy wounds the Executioner with Self-Loathing, taking advantage of the negative flip due to Exe’s falling back status. Baby Kade pushes Pandora with the cheated down Incite/Fading Memory trick. He then attempts to ‘Lure’ the remaining Death Marshall ( I say remaining…the others are all alive, just running very fast towards the board edge.) However, he fails to bring him into Pandora’s play pen…
The Death Marshall turns away from Baby and tries to spit some lead into Teddy – and sinks a few slugs into Tedd’s thick fur. Teddy has underperformed so far, failing to get off ‘Thing of Nightmares’ 2 turns in a row and therefore cannot safely get into combat in his own activation…if he could have gotten off 1AP charges he’d have been in melee range last turn with the Baby Kade switch.
Pandora makes the Executioner fall back (having just spent this turns activation falling back) following Mental Anguish trigger from ‘Project Emotions’ spell…again, the spell is not that important, but having the executioner teetering precariously over the edge of the board…quite cool. Pandora then slaps Incite on the Death Marshall who has not yet had its activation and fallen back…so she gets her 4” push from winning (having just burnt 2 more Soulstones to get the last two spells off irresistibly), he takes a wound and then activates...inevitably falling back.
Pandora now has one final AP left…time for something epic. Following her push from her ‘Incite’ duel with the
Teddy still has the opportunity to activate and deal with the remaining
Can Pandora hit Lady Justice with ‘self-loathing’? Smashing herself in the face with a positive flipped bit of damage from her Greatsword? AND get the Mental Anguish trigger and watch her very swiftly fall back to the board edge?
Is it 8”? S-L only has an 8” range, if I fail to be in range, I lose my spell, my final action point and leave myself unsupported in charge range of the combat beast that is Lady Justice?
‘Dementia’ has a 12” range and is definitely (again, to my eye) in range… How well can I judge range? Damn well IMHO. But I can’t risk being greedy – going for damage and fall back…I declare ‘Dementia’…measure Range- its bang on 8”.
Sweaty ballbags.
Could have done it. I cast and hit up…none other than the Black Joker. I soulstone…and draw a 2.
Lady J wins and stands resolute. Defiant. Angry.
Lady J activates and kills Pandora. Teddy swiftly retreats to cover the now very threatened left flank (left on the photos)
Turn 4:
Steve wins Initiave. Again.
Lady Justice charges and kills Teddy in ONE hit.
Yes.
Ted’s dead baby, Ted’s dead (anyone recognise the movie line? Only changed the name?)
Baby Kade tries to ‘lure’ Lady J into his melee range, attempting to get 3 melee attacks total against her…but he fails, moves into melee and hits once – and misses. Candy hits Lady J with 3 x ‘Self-Loathing’ but with Soulstones, Lady J only lets one cast get through…
The rest of Lady J’s crew rallies and get ready to fight back finally.
Turn 5:
I win the Initiative flip! Whoo!
Candy ‘Pacifies’ Lady Justice, making sure she activates after other members of her crew, hits her with 3 x ‘Self-Loathing’ again, and gets 5W from the 3rd attempt; this is pretty good, but Lady J has 12W…7 to go!
Baby is my next and final activation this turn and uses ‘Backstab’ to unleash a savage attack on the blind-Wonder Woman – he hits her for 6W! Awesome…she has just 1W left and Baby Kade has his ‘melee expert +1’ attack still to go (despite ‘Backstab’ costing 2AP (all of his action) he still gets a single melee strike)….
This is it, death time for Lady J…2 VP’s to me and I have ½ my crew alive and out of threat range for Steve’s crew….
Baby Kade misses. Of course he does. What else would he do!
Not only this, but Lady J hits her ‘Riposte’ Defence trigger - dealing damage to Baby Kade and killing him outright.
You had your shot Baby; she is that dangerous that she can kill you flat out in your own turn!
The rest of Steve’s crew basically do nothing.
Turn 6:
Steve wins Initiave (5/6) and Lady Justice moves into melee, taking all of her AP having been ‘slowed’ by Baby Kade’s Backstab attack previously. Her ‘melee expert +1’ however, lets her hit the poor darling and removes 7/8 wounds…Candy has a wound left…
Candy heals herself with ‘Sweets’ – goes up to 4W and uses 2 x ‘Self-Loathing’s to kill Lady Justice.
Yes! 2 Victory Points!
However, one Death Marshall is in Peacebringer range. Danger! One shot. Hits. Candy can’t cheat her defence higher…Damage..just need a ‘weak’ flip to survive…Steve flips moderate which is only 3! I survive!
Steve activates his Critical Strike trigger which is already ‘ghosted out’ and adds +1 Damage (DG) to his total.
Candy falls.
Final result:
Lady J: 4 VP
Pandora: 2 VP
What an awesome game. Some great tricks and moves. Some really nail-biting moments.
Perfect bit of tabletop action.
I’m not entirely sure how I could have had a better game here.
From a fun point of view – obviously it would have been nice to win.. And damn, how close did I come…