Domination Event

This past weekend was the first time we played Warmachine/Hordes in a public forum.  We traveled to our NLGS (not-so-local-gaming-store) about 50 minutes away to play in a Domination Release event.  I had a great time and got to play with some new people with different styles of play that I hadn't experienced yet.  I also faced some new factions that I'd never seen before.  Up until now, I'd played my Circle and Cygnar with Protectorate, Cryx, Legion, and Trollbloods.  I went into it expecting that we were playing for points and needed a 35pt army, according to modified Domination event rules.  However, due to turnout and people's army composition, the event was changed to a 15pt tournament.  This had some impact that I'll get into below.  Overall, it was a blast and I'm planning to go back in two weeks for some more casual games.

Event Prep:

Here's a picture of the additional guys I painted for the event.  The plan was to add another 20 pts to the 15pt army I already had.  Most of the painting took place the week between Christmas and New Year's.  I had the whole week off and painted for a good three days of that.  It was a luxury that I won't have again in the for-seeable future and I really enjoyed it.

It turned out that we only played 15 point games.  Of the guys above, I did get to use the Gobbers and Shifting Stone UA.  Also, I won't have to stress about getting to 35 pts again... in this faction.  

The event also called for some bring-your-own terrain in the form of boulders.  The ones below were made from 3 pieces of 1/2" insulation sandwiched together with construction adhesive.  I covered them with spackle, then epoxied them to the 50mm bases.  A little dry-brushing after that and they were done.  Total time, about an hour.

 

The Army:

I ended up bringing mostly the Circle starter warpack with a few exceptions. 

[00] Kaya the Wildborne (0 / 6 WB)
[09]  >> Feral Warpwolf
[04]  >> Argus
[04]  >> Gorax
[02] Shifting Stones
[01]  >> Stone Keeper
[01] Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

I replaced an Argus with a Gorax for the empty hands and added the stones and UA, and the gobbers.  The stones and gobbers worked out well, but I didn't get much more utility out of Gorax.  I never used his animus and there was nothing to throw with his hands.  I should have brought the other argus for his paralyze spray. 

The Games:

We played three 15pt games using the Domination event scenario.  Instead of using the deeds to score points, we played a standard tournament. I played Cryx the first game, Legion the second, and Skorne for the last game.  I won out against Cryx by scenario points but lost to Legion and Skorne from caster assassinations.  Legion, running non-epic Thagrosh, pelted me with ranged attacks from his winged beast.  Skorn, running the new Domination caster, ran into melee with Kaya and spent 7 attacks killing her. 

 

Learnings:

These games were really good experience.  Many mistakes were made, but they were valuable lessons.  I will remember to use Spirit Door to slingshot my vulnerable heavy beasts (I'm looking at you, Feral Warpwolf) back with Spirit Door.  I'll remember not to fill up a warbeast with fury if I hope to transfer damage to it.  I will remember that stealthed models do not block LOS and that Shifting Stones, while immovable, can still be trampled over. I will remember that when faced with heavies, that I should focus enough firepower on them to kill them if I can't disable them another way.  Don't send a light against a heavy and expect to kill it.