The game where nothing happened

Warmachine normally is known for its fast paced dramatic action. Well, tonight I had an unexpected premiere when playing a local player called Dragon King at the Tactica Games FLGS because hardly anything happened at all.

This was my list:

Captain Allister Caine  +5 points
* Hammersmith  8 points
* Squire  2 points

Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team  4 points
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios  3 points
6 Greygore Boomhowler and Company  6 points
Rhupert Carvolo, Piper of Ord  2 points
Stormblades  5 points

It's quite a bad list due to the fact that I seem to have lost my Stormclad and Thunderhead card so I had to stick with the Hammersmith - the only Warjack I had its card with me. :-/

This was Dragon King's list - a premiere for me, too, since I never played against Pirates before:

Captain Phinneus Shae  +6 points
* Freebooter  6 points
* Mariner  8 points

Lord Rockbottom  2 points
10 Sea Dogs  8 points
* Mr. Walls, The Quartermaster  2 points
* 1 Sea Dog Rifleman  1 point
The Commodore Cannon & Crew  4 points

As far as I can tell with the help of Battle College this is a solid list. I was kinda nervous about the Commodore Canon and what Phinneus could do to me in close combat. However, instead of the cruel butchering I expected, Dragon King and I had a nice Sunday's stroll in the park.

It started with our two hours of gaming time being cut down to 50mins because some Fantasy players had to finish up their game first. (note to self: get a better understanding of how table reservations work at the Tactica)

This was an easy beginner's game because it was the 2nd Warmachine game in total that Dragon King played. Once the game started, we basically moved our models:

End of Cygnar Turn 1 - I basically moved everything forward slightly to the left of my table to dodge the Commodore Canon. eCaine cast Heightened Reflexes and Blur onto Greygore Boomhowler & Co. so those boys weren't going anywhere for quite a while.

End of Talion Charter Turn 1 - Dragon King basically pumped what he had in terms of shooting into my Boomhowler & Co., but they deflected pretty much all the shots.

End of Cygnar Turn 2 and Start of Talion Charter Turn 2 - Basically I kept everything moving forward. I was ready to send Boomhowler & Co. Into close combat and limit Dragon King's freedom of movement even if it meant that I'd have to accept the charge. However, in his turn Dragon King decided to keep shooting, this time however with no rather than insignificant damage. If I had been in his shoes I'd have played more aggressively and especially tried to bring my Warjacks and Phinneus Shae into position for a countercharge. However, Phinneus Shae popped his Veil of Mist spell which made him harder to hit for eCaine who was dangerously close already.

Well, Boomhowler & Co. charged and killed several unfortunate Sea Dogs. pEiryss took a disruption shot at Lord Rockbottom just to learn that he doesn't have focus but coin instead - he's a pirate after all, isn't he? The Black 13th then took shots at Lord Rockbottom in return, kileld him and also another unfortunate Sea Dog.

Well, this was it, the store closed. I guess things were in favor for me because I could eliminate many Sea Dogs and was able to dictate my own game. On the other hand, I still wasn't sure what's going to happen once Phinneus Shae and his Warjacks charge in. One huge liability was my darn Hammersmith that reached the end of the woods in the center by this turn. If I had needed it in the midst of the action, I would have had to wait quite a while still. Unless you're playing eHaley, the only purpose for a Hammersmith is to be a bodyguard for a warcaster who loves to hang around in the backfield and needs something to protect him/her against flanking units etc.

All in all it was a great game in terms of friendship and having a good time, but still it was quite a let down because we waited so long and then spent our turns moving and firing with no effect until the store closed.

I definitely look forward to my next game with Dragon King which will be hopefully very soon. I also have to talk him into letting me take better pictures of his Talion Charter and feature them on the blog here since they have been awesomely painted by master Ukrath himself! :-D