121 Damiano1 SoF vs Xerxis2 DoA
08.10.2021
We have time for another game. My opponent wants some practice with his Xerxis2 huge base spam list so we just reset quickly with me keeping the same Damiano list as in the previous game.
Mercenaries, Soldiers of Fortune
Damiano1
- Rocinante
- Toro
- Nomad
Alexia2 (nerfed version)
Nicholas Verendrye
Steelhead Gunner
Anastasia
Death Archon (nerfed version)
2x Ironhead
2x Steelhead Arcanist
2x Steelhead Cannon
Steelhead Halberdiers
Steelhead Riflemen
vs
Skorne, Disciples of Agony
Xerxis2
- Desert Hydra
- 2x Archidons
- Krea
2x Siege Animanthrax
Beast handlers
Master Tormentor
Deployment
I forgot to take a picture of the deployment, but my opponent wins first turn and I choose the same side as I took in the previous game.
Turn 1A
Everything is really fast in this army and everything runs up to approximately the half-way line. My opponent has some order of activation issues which cause him to not get Rapport up on the Desert Hydra.
Turn 1B
I feel that I will need to try and overload one flank and play the game sideways. I for the right side since it has fewer Desert Hydras and because the Siege Animantherax there is actually within 15” of the Nomad, so if I can trigger Road to War I will be able to charge it. I have a target in the Master Tormentor, but quickly realise that there is another weakness in my list and that is that I can’t see Stealth. I try to scatter some AoEs, but hit only one which only deals 3 boxes.
Failing to get the RtW trigger leads me to lose a bit track of my plan and I end up keeping my infantry out of threat of both the Archidon and the Master Tormentor. This is too passive. My opponent is not going to come into me anyway unless he wants to give me a cheap Road to War target.
Turn 2A
Since I was so passive and the scenario elements are all central my opponent can just stay back and threaten to score all elements.
Turn 2B
I try to repeat the play from the previous turn, but miss all the scatters on the Master Tormentor which means that I can’t trigger Road to War and will therefore not be able to reach the turtle. This time I have no choice but run into the zones and hope that they can hold. The central zone is very lightly contested. Not shown in the picture is Anastasia who came in on the left side.
Score 0-0
Turn 3A
Opponent charges in and kills a whole bunch of my stuff. Rocinante is dead and the Toro is missing its Movement system.
Score 0-4
Turn 3B
I send in whatever I have left, but fail to kill anything except the Master Tormentor. There has been an Arcanist running the long way around so I am contesting on the far left side.
Score 0-4
Turn 4A
The Desert Hydra is out of command and has to frenzy due to not having cast Rapport from before. But it doesn’t matter since Xerxis just has to kill my two riflemen and score the flag/zone to “overscore” and win 0-6.
Sadly, a loss for the Mercenaries
:: Evaluation ::
Well, that was a painful loss! It is probably not the best matchup for me to begin with, especially considering the scenario and Xerxis going first. I believe I had the right idea in going for the right flank, but the execution became too passive when I failed to trigger Road to War. I should have kept the Nomad and Death Archon back as I did, but the infantry could have pushed up more aggressively. I won’t lose them all and he will have to commit something to get them and then I can actually have something to Road to War from next turn.