Dance partners redux: The pre-Valleycon list shakedown

I was hesitant about whether I should post my lists here, whether I'd give away any sort of 'dark-horse' advantage I may have by springing something unexpected on my opponents. But then I checked myself; out of those few readers who actually scan this blog, who would actually try to tech for me? And for Skorne in general?... yeesh.

So here are my two tier lists for Valleycon,  giving Skorne a good go at the first WM/H event on NZ's calender year:

List 1

Tyrant Xerxis 
- Molik Karn 
- Titan Gladiator 
Max Cataphract Cetrati 
Min Cataphract Incindiarii 

Min Cataphract Incindiarii 
Min Cataphract Arcuarii 
Min Cataphract Arcuarii 

Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer 

Max Paingiver Beast Handlers 

OBJECTIVE: Arcane Wonder

THEME: The Fist of Halaak - Tier 2

List 2

Archdomina Makeda 
- Molik Karn 
- Basilisk Krea 
Saxon Orrik 
Max Cataphract Cetrati 
Max Praetorian Swordsmen with UA
Max Venator Slingers 
Max Praetorian Keltarii 
Min Paingiver Beast Handlers 
Tyrant Commander & Standard Bearer

OBJECTIVE: Arcane Wonder

THEME: Army of the Western Reaches - Tier 1

As explained over past posts, Xerxis will be my main drop, possessing the armour and wounds that opponents may have difficulty chewing through, and providing one heck of a counter punch. Again, I can't WAIT to play pXerxis out of tier, if only to get Aptimus Marketh into the mix. Cycling Fury has been a big part of my game, and has led to issues with activations, when a wee 3pt solo with Spell Slave would make life so much easier. As it stands, I often get Xerxis in rather exposed positions, camping only one or two transfers. Several games recently have either left him assassinated, or me with a puckered sphincter after Xerxis barely survives. This will be a case of me not weighing up the risk and reward of particular situations all that well, a skill that would admittedly be valuable to master... I'd rather just not have to think about it and chuck Marketh in there.

Oh ok then.

The Makeda list has only been played a couple of times, but I'm pretty happy with it. It really does set up the Swordsmen and Keltarii as sacrificial pawns, to be bullied and resurrected back via the feat. I'm developing a real fondness for pMak - I've finally clicked onto Savagery being a thing. Cetratii advancing 12" with that and Press Forward into Shield Wall is neat, and to then cycle it onto the Keltarii who can then advance 13" into odd areas is something I want to do more of. Because of the cycling of upkeeps by my Warlocks, I've chosen the Arcane Wonder objective, where I hope to bunker up around it with my force and Warlock, and use the cost discount to get Defenders Ward, Savagery, and Fury around a lot more efficiently. Most of the objectives are positioned pretty close to the center of the board too, where both my armies want to be.

Upon discussion both my lists do pretty much the same overall thing; take a punch and then swing back harder. The pMak list does this with weaker attacks, but the whole idea of that list was to drop it versus pairings that had mass infantry weapon masters; where their damage output is wasted on single wound infantry, and they are still vulnerable to the low P+S of my dudes. I'll have to be mindful if the opponent's other list comprises of armour skews that will render pMak's own infantry swarm useless. Molik Karn has been key in the counter-punch aspect of my games, but I think I've got it to the point where I have been to precious about him. Because he has been so vital, I've often held him back farther than he needs to be, and that needs to change. 

It feels weird to have my lists locked in. There's things I guess I would still want to change about the lists, where I should have tried using Tiberion instead of Molik in the Xerxis list at least once to see how it goes. But apart from that I'm confident that I can give my opponents a game in Wellington this weekend. I am feeling the pinch that my faction probably suffers against several of the other factions out there, and I'm pretty positive I'll have my shit pushed in for several matchups, particularly against Bradigus. I have hopes of doing well, which are some what tempered by how I keep placing around the 10th place spot. I reckon this time I have a far better expectation of how I'll do, and will endeavour to just have fun with my games, while making my opponents work or it.

We'll just have to see how it all goes, right?