Battle Report #57: Haley2 vs Wurmwood (Internal Affairs VII #2)

The next game is a very interesting matchup.

Haley2 Stormwall used to be down against Wurmwood, since he could Strangehold the Stormwall and then the Haley2 list had too little pieces to play with. Now, with the Storm Division theme force, Haley2 can still do quite a lot even if the Stormwall gets locked down. Will it be enough? Both Jarle and I are very curious to see if Haley2 can now be the catch-all Circle drop. I am playing Asbjørn, a very skilled Circle player who won our previous Internal Affairs tournament.

Major Victoria Haley (75 points)

Theme: Storm Division
Objective: Fuel Cache

Major Victoria Haley (Haley2)
* Squire
* Stormwall
* Thorn
Journeyman Warcaster
* Firefly
Major Katherine Laddermore
5+3 Storm Lances

Wurmwood, Tree of Fate (75 points)

Objective: Fuel Cache

Wurmwood, Tree of Fate & Cassius the Oathbreaker (Wurmwood1)
* Feral Warpwolf
* Megalith
* Pureblood Warpwolf
Shifting Stones
2x Sentry Stones & Mannikins
2x10 Wolves of Orboros


Deployment


Wurmwood wins the die roll and goes first.

The normal thing here is for each side to play for its own zone, while denying the zone for the other player. I take my 5 Storm Lances and Stormwall to pressure his zone and contest with Lightning Pods, while Laddermore and the 3 Storm Lances get the job of keeping my zone clean.

Turn 1

Wurmwood moves up and makes a line of forests.

I move up and drop a pod and arc at the Mannikin, but just get one leap.

Turn 2


Mannikins and Pureblood sprays, taking out 3 Storm Lances. I did not enjoy that one bit. Wurmwood feats. Curse and Strangehold hits the Stormwall.

The reduced size Wurmwood feat  (10")  stops the Stormwall from doing much, but the Lances go to town. clearing infantry on both flanks. Haley2 goes into the zone and feats.

1-0

Turn 3

Wurmwood is unable to clear his zone, and this time the Stranglehold fails. He needs a 10+ on three dice, which are good odds (63%), but during a game it can easily fail once. If you need to hit two rounds it's 39%, and three rounds it is only 24%.

2-0

Storm Lances keep clearing stuff, making it impossible for Wurmwood to contest. The Stormwall murders Megalith. I know the Stormwall will be killed in retaliation, so this is a scenario play to block him out of my zone.

Turn 4

The wolves kill the Stormwall and the Lances kill the Pureblood in retaliation. Haley camps 8 Focus, a new personal best.

4-0

Wurmwood's only play is to go for a last ditch Stranglehold assassination, needing 9+ to hit. It fails.

I get my last scenario point and win.

Cygnar wins by scenario!

Post Mortem

Him missing a Strangehold was good luck for me. The nerfs to Wurmwood and the new Storm Division theme force have probably shifted the odds in my favor. It's quite possible a Haley2 Heavies list will be even better in this matchup, since it does not allow Wurmwood to lock down.