First ever Retribution Battle! 25 points Rahn Vs Epic Kreoss

Alright, I had my first battle last night and seeing as I can barely remember what happened (psych outs and sowing confusion are common tactics in my meta) I'll just write down the important points;

First up, the lists...

I had Rahn, 2 Phoenixes, a unit of Battle Mages, three Magisters and an Arcanist, played in this game by Stryker, two Manglers, a unit of Trenchers, three Long Gunners and Rutger Shaw.

My honourable opponent (who hasn't won yet) had Epic Kreoss, a Crusader, a Redee...  Reve...  Repen... Rele...  The one with the flame thrower, a Devout, ten Exemplar Errantss and five Cinerators.

The set up was massively cluttered, just the way we like it - a small village and a small station that looked like a Tatooine Water Farm were in the opposite corners with a load of crates, barrels and Menoth's Fury vats in the middle.  Despite my belief they should, it was eventually ruled that the Menoth Fury wouldn't explode in a cataclysmic chain reaction, destroying everything on the table if they're hit with anything that has Damage Type : Fire.  They just counted as cover and extra damage for the inevitable slams.

The armies set up almost directly opposite each other.  The Menites set up in a huge turtle with the Crusader and Errants to the front, Cinerators to the rear and the light 'jacks just off to the side.  I went on a slightly wider front with the Magisters and the Mages setting up to flank the majority of the Menite force.  And now, for the highlights in a vaguely chronological order...

First shot of the game - Rahn arced a Force Hammer straight into the Crusader, killing three Errants, knocking down a Cinerator and stopping less than an inch away from Kreoss.

Rahn's Feat - the Mages and two Magisters obliterated the remaining Exemplars before they could fire a shot while Rahn himself used Telekinesis to move the Crusader next to a Phoenix and turning it directly away (I hereby christen this move "The Enema", and intend to use it as much as possible).  Didn't destroy the damn thing with a full three Focus and Concentrated Power, but took it's Mace off and set it on fire, so I'm happy.

The charge of the Cinerators - the Cinerators, Kreoss and the Menite Light 'jacks run into the Mages' melee range.  The Mages successfully do bugger all to the Menites (missing four attacks straight on the Devout at the height of the pointy-eared failure) before the Cinerators' next turn when they subsequently obliterated everything within half an inch of them.

The fuckup of the Phoenix - Kreoss, on a full seven Focus, is Enema'd (see?  Told you I'd use it) by a Phoenix with three Focus.  The Phoenix, needing five to hit, manages to roll a total of three on two dice, five times in a row.  Fuck.  Theorymachine.  Odds.

Kreoss earns the name "beat stick" - To get the Telekinesis off, I had to move Rahn within eight inches, with a straight line of empty ground between him and Kreoss.  Taking the Free Strike (that left him on three health...), Kreoss walked leisurely up to the Elf, found himself just in melee range, popped his feat and boosted all the damage rolls, leaving the entire area covered in Iosan Warcaster body parts.

I've learnt a few things from this game, mainly that the law of averages can suck my balls.  On a more specific note, the Advance Move from Rahn's Tier list is spectacularly powerful, and the ability of the majority of my army to move the enemy around and knock them down is insane for breaking up charges and generally screwing with plans.

Also, I would pay a premium for a Battle Mage Unit Attachment that gave them Combo Strike, not even Smite, just Strike!  It would be hilarious AND make my turn a lot shorter.

Third hand information - the most reliable kind!

OK, I'm going to admit this right now - this may be the LEAST responsible thing I've ever done, and I'm not normally one for spreading rumours but there's talk on the Retribution Community forums about a new character Light Myrmidon.  Now, I don't know if this is true (in fact, the idea of Rahn having TWO Warjacks with Affinities is a bit odd at this stage), but this is copied directly from this thread and, to be honest, I at least HOPE it's true.

Euryale
Retribution Character Gorgon Light Myrmidon

STATS
+1 MAT, +1 RAT. Same damage grid.

WEAPONS
Same weapons profile as a regular Gorgon, except each fist has +1 POW. Fists still have Combo Strike (*Attack) and Polarity Cannon still has Kinetic Grip.

COST
Equal to a regular Gorgon's cost +1.

ABILITIES
- Force Lock.
- Field Dependent.
- Affinity [Rahn]: While within Rahn's control area, Euryale has no back arc.
- Imprint: Enliven. (See Vassal of Menoth for Enliven, and Drago for how Imprints work if you don't know)

Now, I DO have my doubts, primarily because Rahn has Discordia, but this seems legit enough, maybe for it to be a typo?  Ravyn would make sense...  Also, Force Lock with 360 degree vision is brutal - it could easily shut down a whole unit if it can get in the middle of them.  If it can get into a load of ranged specialists, there's very little they can do to stop it.

That's my thoughts anyway.  Can anyone confirm this?

UPDATE - This is just for the Escalation League.  Shame. :(

I'm not dead, honest!

OK, I haven't updated in a few days, so this is really just a courtesy call to say I'm still alive.

While I'm here, I figure I should still try to fill this in with some legitimate news... So, uhh...  My banner is now officially on Iron Agenda! I'm legit! Now all I have to do is wait for my actual models to show up and I can start talking about them with some actual authority!  It's gotta be any time now...

Also, on a slightly off-topic note, I finally got a chance to read through this week's 2000AD (#1700).  It's got a great new series in it by the name of Age of the Wolf, featuring a cute redhead beating the shit out of werewolves in a London on the brink of apocalypse, and is my recommendation of the timespan.

There is... Another...

...Three, actually.  After finding a post on the PP Forums, a bunch of us Retribution bloggers have decided to give each other a shout out (because unlike the humans, we can work together.  Filthy, filthy humans...)!  The blogs are, in no particular order...

Lyoss is Burning
Written by Haydn

The apocalyptically-titled Lyoss is burning is by far the most established of these Retribution Blogs, and I am fairly certain that Haydn may in fact be an agent of the Council of Nine.  Still, if you're willing to risk offending a superior noble that has direct access to the leaders of a group of xenophobic religious nutjobs (you can do it just by looking at them!  Look away!  Avert your eyes and don't think of the Staypuft Marshmallow Man!), check it out - his reviews and tutorials are top notch.

House Shyeel MkII
Written by Keldain

Taking over the reins from HighSerraphim and Magnus' Right Hand Man, Keldain is the new high scribe of House Shyeel and is already promising to do the old authors' memories proud.  He's promised us great things with his Rahn army so...  Yeah, keep an eye out.

It's also worth noting that Keldain is the guy that started all this off - if you have a Retribution Blog and, for some reason, are reading this, this dude is pretty much the strike coordinator for worldwide Retribution forces!

Retribution in the IK
Written by AJ the Ronin

Much like me, AJ the Ronin has moved from Cygnar to the Retribution recently, and like me, he's started a blog about it.  This furthers my suspicion that the Iosan runes that PP have used have some kind of mind-controlling properties on Cygnar players.  This could be an interesting experiment into the effects of two different metas from two different parts of the world on two players with similar backgrounds.  It could also be a massive coincidence.  Either way, I know I'll be checking on his posts!

Also, every time I see the title, I immediately get "Anarchy in the UK" in my head, which is awesome.

On a more personal note for all three blogs, I just have to say two things.
1 - Everyone uses Rahn, I might have to pick up Ravyn.
2 - I'm so glad I stuck with the white and green colour scheme.  I was going to use black and blue too...
3 - I've put all the links on this thread AND in the sidebar, so you really have no excuse to read all three! So there!

Preventive Measures is officially on the Iron Agenda!

Not really a huge amount of news today.  I've just stopped by to put up a post saying I'm now on the Iron Agenda Network!  Oh, the small, sad pangs of legitimacy I now feel!

Ooh, also, seeing as my Retribution stuff has been delayed, I picked myself up the alternate Mage Hunter Assassin.  She's a lovely model, and I hope to get round to painting her soon.  So...  Pink or blue hair?