Welcome to our first battle report for Warmachine, the steam-powered miniature combat game from Privateer Press! While most battle reports are done in video, we decided to take the plunge with this first entry in a written format to get our feet wet (also because our camera cut off mid-battle). If you’re unfamiliar with what Warmachine is, check out our Tabletop Tips and Guides page for information on what the game is, how it plays, and more. Now, let’s get started with some carnage!
For this game I pitted myself against Kae in a 15pt duel to refresh ourselves with the rules and sort of start out small. As we continue our reports we’ll grow in size up to some huge games (With huge terrain I’ll be making myself!) with plenty of models. Here are our two lists from the game:
Raine – Khador
- pButcher
- Kodiak
- Wardog
- Manhunter
- Manhunter
- Yuri, the Axe
- Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Kae – Cryx
- pDeneghra
- Slayer
- Deathripper
- Deathripper
- Skarlock Thrall
- Pistol Wraith
We setup the battlefield, placed our terrain, noted the terrain types, and rolled to deploy. Winning the roll, I laid our my forces in sort of a spread-out formation. My Widowmakers made up my left flank, gaining cover in a forest. The Manhunters took Yuri with them and hit the right flank, pretty much doing the same. That left Butcher, the Wardog, and the Kodiak coming straight up the middle. For Kae’s forces, she lined up quickly in somewhat of a straightforward arc to gain the most out of her maneuverability. Cryx models definitely have the speed advantage over Khador, so spreading out forced me to focus on which models I wanted to get rid of first.
After deployment it was time to start moving about the battlefield and I took first activation. I started with my Manhunters and Yuri, sending them out further to the right to gain some elevation and cover from a small forest (we decided that if your model was within 1-inch of the base of a tree you benefited from forest cover). This gave them nice positioning for an ambush attack, given the opportunity, and cover from any ranged/magic attacks Denny might sling forward.
Next came the Widowmakers. I pretty much had the same idea for them, moving them into a small forest for cover. With a range of 14-inches on their rifles, these guys are certainly deadly if maneuvered correctly. Finally, I ran the Kodiak straight up the middle, leaving him for a perfect target to draw out Kae’s forces. Following him was Butcher himself, taking note to stay behind the ‘jack for cover. The Wardog kept close to Butcher as he advanced forward surely but slowly.
Kae’s first turn was all advancement. She moved her forces forward, spreading out even more and taking refuge behind a well-placed wall. Her Slayer took point, with her Deathrippers flanking left to head off my Manhunters. The Skarlock Thrall moved just ahead of Deneghra herself, providing a bit of a shield if needed.
It’s all about positioning.
For turn two, I was focused on getting the best positioning possible. I knew sparks would be flying soon, so I wanted to have the best edge I could. I advanced the Manhunter unit forward along with Yuri to take a vantage point on a hill behind some forest cover. This put them at the best position to charge if the Deathrippers came their way. Behind them came Butcher and his trusty pup. Spending some focus, Butcher casted Iron Flesh on himself just in case things got hairy.
Positioning to gain the drop on anything that moves.
For the Widowmakers, it was time for them to sink further into the forest. They positioned right in between some trees to get a better line of sight to enemies coming over the wall in front of the town house. The Kodiak rumbled forward, but didn’t have enough movement to charge into any enemies, so he stopped short of his goal. Turn two was over for me.
Kae must have had a plan in her head, because she executed her moves with precision. She advanced forward just a bit, moving first with Deneghra. A successful cast put Parasite on the Kodiak, reducing his armor and raising Deneghra’s. After moving her other forces into position, she loaded her Slayer up with focus and sent him charging over the wall right into the Kodiak. In three attacks she successfully put over 13 damage on Kody. This hurt him severely, and immediately knocked out his left arm. Of course, this was all part of the plan to get her to focus on my ‘jack, and it worked.
He put the hurt on Kodiak for sure!
With more models out toward the center of the board, turn three was set to be action-packed. First up I brought Butcher around to cast Full Throttle and give my models an advantage in combat. The Kodiak would surely need this with his left arm out of commission, and my ambush plans with the Manhunters would rely on it as well. Once that was done, the Manhunters made their move, successfully cutting off the Pistol Wraith and both Deathrippers from advancing further. Each Manhunter made their attacks, dealing tons of damage to the chicken-walkers with little respect. Finally Yuri swung down on the Pistol Wraith, removing it from the battlefield before it could do any damage.
With Weapon Master and rolling a boosted attack roll, these Manhunters laid siege to the small bone ‘jacks.
The Widowmakers moved out of the forest a bit to take pot-shots at the Slayer, doing minimal damage. The Kodiak followed up with some blows of his own, crippling some of the Slayer’s systems in the process.
Now it was time for retaliation. In another showdown the Slayer used all of its remaining might to damage the Kodiak as much as possible. With all of its attacks it managed to leave the Kodiak with 3 boxes unchecked, which happened to be the main source boxes for its right arm, cortex, and movement.
Even with most of its systems damaged, the Slayer tears into the Kodiak, leaving it with little to stand on.
The Deathrippers made their own attacks to break up the ensuing melee, and their opponents suffered. A Manhunter was lost in the fight, with Yuri having but one hit point left. Somehow the final Manhunter came out of the battle unscathed. With numbers dwindling, Deneghra took a moment to retrace her steps, planning for a way out of the chaos. This ended turn three for Cryx.
Deneghra takes cover behind the town house to plot her next move.
On turn four I decided to pull out all the stops. Butcher activates first, moving up the field, casting Full Throttle, and popping his feat. Afterwards he stays put to survey the field. The Widowmakers come out of hiding and take aim on the Slayer, hoping to put it out of its misery. Each shot finds a home, and to Deneghra’s surprise her Slayer drops on the battlefield at the hands of the elite Khadorian snipers.
Butcher’s feat allows the Widowmakers to take cautious aim and lay out the terrifying Slayer.
Next, the remaining Manhunter and Yuri work to knock out the Deathrippers and tie up any survivors. It was a tough fight, but with combined efforts a Deathripper bit the dust. The second one stood stout, taking everything thrown at it, even with the granted damage from Butcher’s feat. Being slow, the Kodiak couldn’t make it to reach any enemies within sight, wasting the gift Butcher bestowed on him.
For Cryx’s next turn a lot of planning needed to be thought out. Activating the remaining Deathripper, Kae made use of boosted attacks with additional bought attacks to mow down Yuri and put some hurt on the last standing Manhunter. This left a line straight on to Butcher, which didn’t make me happy at all.
Watch out – those jaws be powerful!
The Skarlock Thrall retreats back for a better position, and Deneghra moves around the other side of the town house to avoid combat. There’s not much else to do at this point save for buying time to come up with some sort of strategy to wear down the Khador forces while avoiding the eye of the Widowmakers.
With the next turn I move focus to taking out every model I can aside from Deneghra. The Manhunter moves forward to take out the last Deathripper and avenge Yuri’s death from the previous round. The Kodiak moves to the right to gain some footing for a charge attack, should Deneghra show her face, and Butcher supports him by casting Iron Flesh. The Widowmakers advance to cut Deneghra off, should she come back the other way, setting up a sort of pincer attack. With positioning at my advantage, I await the next move.
Deneghra knows things aren’t going her way at this point. She decides to test her might by moving forward and popping her feat. This cripples each of my models, as they were all within her range at that point. With no other models aside from the Skarlock Thrall, Kae activates it to get the most use out of what she has. The Thrall advances and lays down a line of Venom straight towards Butcher. With an impressive amount of armor, Butcher avoids any damage, but his Wardog takes a devastating hit, becoming corroded.
Syphoning Deneghra’s power, the Skarlock lays down some Venom.
On this turn I’m left at quite a disadvantage, even with more models on the battlefield than my opponent. Each model’s speed is cut, along with MAT, RAT, and defense. The Widowmakers move forward and attempt to take down the Skarlock Thrall, and with combined effort they do so just barely. The Kodiak charges, but with reduced speed he makes it only a couple of inches away from Deneghra, not enough to reach her with an attack. Butcher moves forward, running with reduced speed to gain as much ground as possible. Only the Manhunter can reach Deneghra, and she does so with all her might. Her attacks are empty, however, and not able to put a scratch on the Warwitch.
The Manhunter charges, though her efforts are fruitless.
Deneghra takes a look around the battlefield and realizes she is the only one of her Cryx army left to fight. She knows things don’t look good, and devises a plan to draw out the battle in hopes to catch Butcher off-guard. She retreats to a small forest, positioning herself to gain as much cover as possible. Keeping all of her focus, she casts Venom to trap the Manhunter that charged her. The spell hits hard, taking the Manhunter down with a successful damage roll. Now she waits for the inevitable.
For my next activation I set my sights on the endgame. I activate Butcher first, eyeing him as the powerhouse to bring the Warwitch down. I keep all of his focus attuned and charge straight at my opponent’s warcaster. He makes his move, even into the forest, and swings down his mighty axe. Another focus is spent to boost the to-hit roll, and the axe hits home in Deneghra’s chest. A final point of focus is spent to boost the damage roll, bringing the total to 4d6 with Weapon Master included. Even with a Focus Field powering up her armor, Denegra takes too much damage and crumbles in front of the Butcher. With his eyes aglow with blue flame he raises his axe high to supporting screams from his forces. The win goes to Khador.
Butcher secures the victory for the Motherland!
And that’s a wrap! This battle was vicious and quick. There were a few more photos I wanted to get, but I am happy with the result! Kae did her best, but once Khador got a roll going it was hard to pull out from under it. She’s a great Warmachine player, though, and is already plotting her revenge against Butcher and his heavily-armored warriors. Let us know what you think about this report in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions, please make them! Stay tuned for more battle reports coming your way!