More Big Scary Black Things.

Here is another report that is a week late. Last Tuesday (25th May) I had a great game against A Bomb (Oli) and his Cryx. Once again, I have probably forgotten quite how things happened and exactly what Oli brought with him, so you won’t see a detailed account. I can certainly point out what I learned last week.

The game was set at 50 points so I took my solid 35 point Severius list and added a few things. Here, in full, is what I fielded:

pSeverius
Blessing of Vengeance, Crusader and Vanquisher
Reclaimer, Vassal, Exemplar Seneschal, Dartan Vilmon and Rhupert Carvolo
Choir (full strength), Zealots (full strength plus Monolith Bearer), Exemplar Errants (full strength) and Temple Flameguard (minimum strength).

This was a very tense game in which we both stretched each other’s forces out to the limit. My Errants got tied up on my left flank by a unit of Mechanithralls that kept coming back, while my Seneschal, accompanied by my Vanquisher and Vassal, kept an eye on the right flank (only for two turns or so before he got killed). My Temple Flameguard stuck to Severius, at the rear of my battle line, like glue with their Shield Wall action. The spearhead consisted of my extremely trusty Zealots, BoV and Crusader (with Reclaimer, Rhupert and Dartan in support).
I have to say that the Zealots did their job very well as usual despite the Monolith Bearer being taken out. Rhupert did step up and bolster their resolve with his songs. Dirge of Mists (+1 Def and Terror) and Heroic Call (Fearless and Tough) really helped with the loss. I realised that if the Monolith remained on the table, the Zealots would have been even more of a pain than they usually are. I will have to try and experiment with that combo a little more.
One mistake I made during the game was with the placement of the Seneschal and Dartan Vilmon. I realised that I should have placed Dartan on my right protecting the flank with his Impervious Wall. As soon as anything came within his charge range, he could have unleashed a MAT 9 4d6+15 hit. The Seneschal, as against Carlos previously, should have lurked behind my main force and gone ‘jack hunting. Dartan did go ‘jack hunting himself but his one hit wasn’t enough to destroy his opponent (the big scary deathjack thing (I probably should start remembering the names of things) that met my spearhead and pretty much took out the BoV and Crusader.
With my right flank left a little exposed, it was the perfect way for Oli come after Severius. Sadly I couldn’t hide behind my TFG Shield Wall and my greater Control Area, and the Old Man got smooshed.

It felt ok stepping up from 35 to 50 points (from 578 to 778 in old money), although it was a little bewildering at times. I’ve got the 35 sorted out so now hope to get the 50 nailed. But then this will be affected by this months purchases – Paladin of the Wall, Avatar of Menoth, Orin Midwinter (I’m interested to see how he would work for me), Exemplar Errant Officer and Standard Bearer and a unit of Nights Exemplar. I really need to sit down now and think about my massive addition to the force.