Cryx, Well its just cheating really!

Honest Mike they were just sitting on the shelves!  

So I was at a bit of a loose end so I give Damon a call and popped into the Mini Empire for a game of Warmachine. As I do not have to worry about the 2 hour parking limit we decide tp play 30 points.

To be honest I have been looking forward to getting my teeth into a bigger game of Warmachine.

That is until I find out he is playing as Cryx!

Yes that is two unpainted miniatures..................I feel dirty

Facing an army of denial (and thats not just the guy your playing against) is a nightmare as its basically hearing "Computer says no" again and again.

I go with;
Ashlynn 6 WJ points
Mule 8 pts
Mule 8 pts
Mages 6pts
Mage officer 2 pts (Gives mages True sight)
Alexia and the risen 5 pts (Arcane dysfunction and dominate undead)
Gorman 2 pts (Black oil baby!)
Sly 2pts (Arcane assistance for Ashlynn)
Eiryss 3 pts (the Cryx caster has 7 focus and SIX arc nodes so I have to cancel out those spells)

Total 30 points

Yes just to confirm.............. that is SIX arc nodes!

I honestly can't tell you what Damon was fielding, I was just too focused on ALL the Arc nodes. I know he had one unit which could turn my Mules into Cryx jacks (I told you Cryx are just plain cheating).

Stage one.........Run away!

So the plan is a simple one. Try to isolate the Cryx jacks and pick them off one by one while waiting for the Cryx caster to expose himself for the kill shot.

Having played Russel's Cryx in the past I am used to having the lesser forces run up the board into my grill causing me nightmares until the hittier units turn up to crush what ever is left of my forces.

To counter this I run my forces behind the forest. I figure Damon will not spend 6 focus to run all his Jacks and I hope to weather the arc node storm and pick the jacks off on the counter.

I guess the great Dragon hates colour

The Jack conversion unit charge my Mules. With weapons master against jacks that's 4 die of damage per figure on the charge.

Brilliant, something else I need to eliminate as soon as possible.

In keeping with the plan I push Alexia up the field and get her within command range of the Cryx caster. With the Arcane dysfunction it should cancel out one spell from the caster.

I also plan the dominate one of the Jack conversion figures (its undead) and use it to attack the other one.

Then I cock up when its realised that its a ranged spell attack and I need LOS to the figure.........SOD IT!

Stage two................................ "                          ".

Finally some luck.................. Up till this point my rolling has been a nightmare. Then one of my mages scores a critical hit and a roll of triple six on the damage roll finishes off the light jack with one shot.

With most of my forces engaged I figure its now or never. The Cryx caster is still too far away for the charge but if I do not play my feat now I do not think I will have much left to counter with after this turn.

Also my rolling has been pants up to this point and I figure I need the extra die to turn the tide.

All my mages point out the unpainted figure..... he will be spoken to.

True to form I fail hit a single thing without burning up all my focus to boost the hits, my Jacks are useless on the attack as they have been mostly pulled to pieces by this point and the Thralls can't hit a barn door!

The only bright spark is on my left flank where the Mages are saved from a spray attack before finishing off another light jack.

Having left Ashlynn exposed and not camping on any focus I create a thrall and charge it into the caster. 4 die on the charge so I fancy my chances. Of course I fail too hit, but I will get 4 die of damage with the free strike if he tries to move out of combat............................. seems like the right thing to do...................... except against Cryx (of course).

Now Damon plays his feat which turns any kills into a 3" AOE. He kills the Thrall which means I can't hit him with Gorman, Eiryss (to flush the focus). The Mages have a go but its a nerfed attack. Nightmare.

Ashlynn can't charge through the cloud effect so just keeps whaling away in melee.

Stage 3 ......................... "Get squashed"

With my attack well and truly castrated its Damon turn to strike.

He charges in and its all over with one strike (I told you Cryx are just cheating really).

LESSONS LEARNT

1) Once again I am pleased with the way I played despite the state of my rolling. Looking back the game was closer then it felt at the time. It would have been too easy to complain about the die and give up but the fact is Damon played the better game and if I am honest with myself he would have won regardless as I could not spot a single mistake during his entire game.

2) Mercenaries are there to fill the gaps in other armies, this means I should be able to find units and solos which do the same job as Cryx and deny other forces abilities. I have made a start with Gorman and Alexia but there may be other additions to the team in the future.