Warmachine Battle Report: Karchev vs. Asphyxious

After about a five year hiatus it looks like I'm finally returning to Warmachine!  This past weekend I played in a 20 point match between Khador and my old stand by Cryx.  On the other side of the table Matt fielded Kommander Karchev backed up by the Behemoth, a Juggernaut, and a full unit of Mechaniks while I had good old Gaspy (aka Iron Lich Asphyxious) and his pet Scarlock with the Deathjack (of course), a Seether, and a small unit of Mechanithralls.

Our board was your basic forest on either side with a hill in the middle.  Nothing too fancy but it was enough to push us right at each other from the start which guaranteed the bloodshed would commence quickly.  In fact we were engaged and trading blows within just a couple of turns.

Matt tried to get first blood by lobbing mortar shells from the Behemoth at my Skarlock but thankfully the cover of the trees saved him.  Another volley flew off toward my McThralls but fell short, peppering them with debris but little else.

Things went slightly more in my favor as the McThralls charged up to Karchev and one of them managed to pound him with a double steam fist slam, rocking him and more importantly actually inflicting damage!  The Seether tried to keep my momentum going as it charged the Juggernaut but failed to actually connect.  Argh!!!  It was then that I realized I'd mistimed things as I didn't have the Skarlock cast Parasite onto Karchev before the McThralls did their thing so went for the next best target; the Juggernaut.  With its armor weakened, the Deathjack thundered toward it and tore into its weakened armor, nearly reducing the 'jack to a pile of scrap by the time it was done.

Surprised by how potent the Deathjack was, Matt had the Behemoth charge the Seether but through a whole lot of luck he was only able to destroy one of the arms.  On the other side of the battle, Karchev responded to the impudent McThrall that wounded him by squishing him like a bug.  He then continued his assault against them, quickly annihilating all but one of them.  Behind the scenes, the mechaniks ran forward to try to repair the damage to Karchev and the Juggernaut but thanks to the excessive amount of vodka they'd had before the battle they weren't even able to hold their wrenches properly.

Sensing that the tide of battle could shift against me any second (and that the store owner might kick us out so he could go home), I decided to go for the Cryx suicide run for victory.  The damaged Seether raked his remaining death claw across the armored shell of the Behemoth but was barely able to scratch the paint.  Meanwhile, the Skarlock skirted the back of the massive skirmish and cast Parasite again, this time on Karchev himself.  Next, the Deathjack pivoted around the shambling but still dangerous Juggernaut and was able to rip into Karchev but in the end the man machine was still standing.  Finally Gaspy launched himself forward and tore into Karchev with Soul Splitter again and again until he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Overall it was a lot of fun even though there were some tactical and timing mistakes that I'd made during the first half of the game.  It was also good to get in a friendly game instead of having to push for a win to advance in a tournament.  An added plus for me is that the crowd at the store is just getting into Warmachine so it will give me a good chance to ease my way back into the game.  Heck, I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to roll to cast a spell in this game so I definitely need some training wheels while I get my head wrapped around the rules again.  And next time I'll make sure I bring the camera so I can get more pictures of the action as it happens.  Until next time...