Karchev Triumphant

So after reading the Colossals fluff I started to feel bad for poor Karchev, being used as a prop to move the plot along and a well tortured prop at that seemed to call out to me to play him again and so... I did.  I painted up the Great Bears and so needed to include them in the army as well so the list turned out to be focused mayhem and it worked about as well I could have hoped, so well in fact that I survived giving Jason an extra turn through my own stupidity.  But more of that anon...

The List:

Karchev the Terrible
His Pet Dog Roman Abrohimiovich
The Great Bears
Two units of Doom Reavers
A Spriggan
Two Berserkers

Bad Team Photo

Jason busted out some more Cignar, but a different list and caster than last time.  This time it was pNemo who was "up for the chop".  :)

Jasons List:
pNemo
Arcane Tempest Gun Mages
Precursor Knights (with UA)
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormcaller
A Lancer Light Warjack
An Ironclad
A Centurion

Jason's Team Photo and his Arm and in the background

Proof that we were in an actual game store!

So I deployed and moved first and essentially everyone motored forward as fast as they could with Karchev casting both Tow and Side Arms.  My Tow-ed Berserkers ran forward a bit past Karchev, who was about 6" from the left board edge, to form a screen for him and the Spriggan stayed in B2B with Karchev.  Jason moved forward, his Lancer and gun mages on his right (my left) in and around a wooded area, his knights and heavy 'jacks into the center facing my Doom Reavers and Great Bears.  Nemo and the solo's behind the center.  His gun mages shot a bit and killed two Doom Reavers, he arced via the Lancer to cast "Voltaic Snare" on one of my two Berserkers kackeling to himself and announcing (more or less) that I was totally hosed by his Superior Magicks(tm).  It turns out... not so much.

On my turn the Doom Reavers charged in, killing 4 of the 6 Gun Mages and all of the Precursor Knights with the exception of the UA Officer.  If you picture a unit of PK's in the "L" of my Doom Reavers you'll have the idea of where they were.

That's Tom Mathew's arm in the background there.  The Great Bears charged the Iron Clad but even with Reach only one of them was able to attack.  He, and the Doom Reaver Leader, took out it's Quake Hammer and it's Movement, if only the rest had made it in!

On the left Karchev maintained Tow, used his turbine for Speed, cast Unearthly Rage and moved the non-Voltaic Snarred Berserker (via Tow) outside the 3" effect of the snared one.  It charged the Lancer and killed it, boosting all attack and damage rolls for 3 focus?  Priceless!  And Jason never cast Voltaic Snare again...

I don't have pictures of the next turn but Jason killed off the Doom Reavers on my right and the Great Bears (I forgot to make Tough rolls for them, and I forgot that the PK UA Officer was in melee range of the Doom Reavers until after he'd moved him and killed a Reaver at the far end of the line with him.  C'est la guerre I suppose!).  He moved Nemo and his Centurion toward my 'jack pile.  I moved Karchev into the woods but mis-judged the distance and he could be seen from out side and was charged by the Supercharged (5 focus) Centurion.

Looking at the picture I see that the last Great Bear was still alive, I must have mis-remembered.  In any event Karchev got dinged up a bit by this and then Nemo feated which did slight damage to all of m 'jacks but did a decent amount to one of the Berserkers.  So now I gave Jason an extra lease on life by screwing up my next turn horridly.  Instead of casting Unearthly Rage, Feating and having Karchev destroy the Centurion I decided to be clever and knock down the Centurion and Nemo via Fissure and then somehow kill them while they were knocked down.  Well it didn't work out, I did knock them down and did manage to kill the Centurion but that was it.

Jason moved again and going all in he managed this sort of arrangement about half way through his movement (bad time to take a picture I know but with all the talking and the audience of people watching I was a scatterbrained turn for me).

He killed Roman Abrohimovich and Nemo, with 9 focus, charged in to try and kill Karchev (forgetting he was knocked down, should only have had 8 focus...) it was a near run thing and in the end Karchev was still alive by one box (no seriously) and on my turn he finished off Nemo with one crippled blow of Sunder.

I used War Room to keep track of damage and such like during the game and here is the final screen from this battle.

See?  One point from death!

It was a good time and we met a bunch of new people who hung out and watched us play and it was over quickly, more quickly than I think that either of us realized as I got home ~8:30 after driving Jason all the way to his place in Boulder.

Great fun and while there was mocking of Karchev at the start of the game I can assure you there was no mocking of him at the end!