Battle Report: Caine2 vs Axis

So much shooting at so many targets.

My list: Caine2, Ace, Squire, Gun Mages (6+UA), Tempest Blazers (5), Black 13th, Jakes, Avenger, Gun Mage Captain Adept, Stormsmith, Eiryss1, Tarin, Acosta, Reinholdt, Bunker Objective.

My opponent: Axis (tier 4), Corollary, Inverter, Conservator, 4 Enigma Foundries, 2x Clockwork Angels, 2x Obstructors (10 each), Reductors (10+Transverse Enumerator), 2x Optifex Directives, Armory Objective.

I won the initiative but due to terrain I opted to choose sides, which meant I ended up going second. This was actually ok with me since with my volume of guns I expected to be able to leverage my 1st turn well. As it turned out, that was exactly true. Top of 1, Axis' force surges forward. Bottom of 1 I unleash a massive volley of shots and take a pile of models off the table, including a full unit of Angels. Top of 2, Obstructors are able to push forward and either shield wall or charge, causing some consternation for me, but other than losing a single Blazer and Eiryss, I was unscathed. Bottom of 2 I then lay into a bunch more stuff and take even more enemy troops off the table. Unfortunately I end up leaving my zone uncontested (except for Caine sitting in the back corner), and the enemy zone only had Acosta in it (after he made a big charge against the objective). Top of 3, Axis feats and pushes in with his force, destroying my objective and scoring 2 points. He would have scored 3, but by some miracle Acosta survived the charge from the Inverter and managed to dodge away from it. At this point I have 17 minutes left of my clock and I decide to go for the assassination. Axis is sitting in a forest with 4 focus, so I needed a plan. First my Gun Mages moved up and Thunderbolted a Foundry so that it was within an inch of Axis. Then Jakes Energizes the Avenger forward 3", at which point the Avenger takes a boosted shot at the Foundry, hits, and knocks down Axis. At this point I use Ace to hit another Foundry with Shadowfire to clear the LOS and Caine moves up, feats, and unloads all of his focus shooting into Axis and dusts him on his last shot. Boom!

Lessons learned: Having a whole list built around delivering Caine2 assassination is pretty amusing. It's a fun list because it's a toolbox of ranged assassination.

Games this year: 9