Battle Report #20: Caine2 vs Ossyan

We had a long discussion after my previous roflstomping of Ossyan about the nature of the matchup. Is Caine2 as far up as I think, or was Ossyan just not played correctly? I scheduled a match against Nico using a stronger Ossyan list. Nico is a good player but does not really enjoy playing Ossyan, so big thanks to him for taking the time!

Captain Allister Caine (75 points)

Same list as the previous game.

Captain Allister Caine

* Reinholdt

* Centurion

* Hunter

Journeyman Warcaster

* Firefly

Gun Mage Captain Adept

Ragman

Rhupert

6 Rangers

5 Storm Lances

10 Trencher Infantry

Lord Arcanist Ossyan (75 points)

Moros is a real headache, he gives Ossyan real potential for assassinating Caine2. The Electromancers ups the infantry clearing against everything that the MHSF cannot touch.

Lord Arcanist Ossyan

* Discordia

* Moros

2x House Vyre Electromancers

2x10 Mage Hunter Strike Force + CA

2x4 Stormfall Archers

Deployment

I win the roll and decide to deploy centrally. The plan is to plant the Centurion on the right flag and keep scoring here, while I use Caine to keep the area clear. I do not think it was a good strategy I had. Caine2 should hurry up the middle and claim as much board space as possible.

Turn 1

Rangers get Stealth from Rhupert. Lances get Arcane Shield (I want them protected first, it will usually take a few turns before things get close enough to hit the Centurion).

Caine2 gets Bullet Dodger. Even though the MHSF ignores the +2 DEF, they still have to roll 11s on 3D6 to hit and a miss means that Caine2 steps away.

I move up and dig in with the Hightendes Reflexed Trenchers. Due to the MHSF minifeats that ignore my clouds, it's much more important to make them hard to hit and avoid blasts from Stormfall AOEs.

My mistake is apparent. Ossyan grabs the right flank.

Turn 2

I move up and pick off a handful of MHSF with Storm Lances and Electroleaps.

Ossyan feats, and the Electromancers and MHSF start tearing into my models. I lose half the Trenchers, most of the Rangers, and all the Storm Lances. This is a terrible start, and due to Caine's poor placement I cannot even hit back all that hard!

You can also see how Nico pulled back on the left flank to avoid giving me targets. Well played!

Turn 3

I do what I should have done in turn 2 - make the cloud fort with Caine, move Caine up and threaten the entire center of the board.

Caine shoots away the things he can reach. An Electromancer unit and some MHSF die.

Moros moves up and places himself to threaten Caine. Moros is probably the only piece that could be a real problem for me, since he can apply Paralysis and bring his DEF down to 9 (5 Paralysis + 2 Bullet Dodger + 2 Hill).

Turn 4

I therefore decide to feat and kill off Moros. Centurion scores. You can all see what is happening now - he cannot get close to me due to Caine2's personal power.

1-0

Nico moves to contest for the last time, but what can he do?

1-1

Turn 5

I clear the left flank and Nico can no longer prevent me from scoring on every turn.

2-1

Cygnar wins on scenario!

Post Mortem

I won this game even if Nico played better. This leads me to believe that if this matchup is played properly, Ossyan is going to have a terrible time. Even losing so much of my army didn't matter. Caine2 alone neuters all 76 points of enemy troops. Maybe if Ossyan plays more jacks he will have more of a game, I don't know. But it really looks bad for Retribution.