Two games in one day! Having the day off, I played Chad in the afternoon & Jaime in the evening. Jaime took High Elves--an army he hasn't played much.
Set Up & StrategyHigh Elves, left to right:
Front Row: Elder Blade Rangers, 4 Elder Blade Battle Squads,
Back Row: Scorpions, Scorpions, Bowriders
Wuxing, left to right:
Salvaged, Salvaged, Warriors, Monks, Warriors, Jade Nobles, Guardians behind Monks
A pretty standard close-and-hose army. My Monks were the "Breakthrough" units, which I was thrilled to line up vs. Elder Blade Battle Squads before realizing that that was all he had.
The Jade Nobles were there to fight the Elder Blade Swordsmen which never came out.
Incoming Fire!Left to right
Both Scorpions targeted my left Warriors. I used Manipulate Qi to make them 2/3 for the turn rather than 1/3. With two units targeting mine, this was a very efficient way to gain defense. They continue to advance despite breaking down. Even with Manipulate Qi, two Scorpions can put a beating on a construct. But varying the order that the units move allows the units to slide over, the Monks in backup position.
Bowriders did an...unusual move. I think Jaime realized he'd get one extra long range shot if the Bowriders went to the middle of his line here. Meanwhile, I'd moved the rightmost Monks to the flank then, had them on Air Stance in order to dash forward 5" each turn, keeping pace with the Guardians.
Moving InNext shot will destroy the Warriors and the Monks will declare Backup Rule.
Jaime came to his senses and moves the Bowriders over to the flank, but it cost him 2 Command Actions and a move-and-shoot penalty (vs. my 3/1) monks to do it.
Throwing in the Silky Soft Elf Towel2 turns of combat later...
3 engagements happened right away. Monks, Warriors, and Jade Nobles all go in vs. Elder Blade Battle Squads. A threatened pinch made me take direct control of the Guardians to hold them back.
Monks perform pathetically, going into the yellow before their opponent despite their Fire Stance.
Warriors, on the other hand, are balancing this out, putting their opponent into the yellow while taking zero (!) damage vs. the Elves who forgot which end of the sword was pointy.
Jade Nobles (351 points) predictably administer a nasty beating, putting their opponent into the yellow.
On the right, one Scorpions was retargeted onto my Guardians, putting on 2 damage.
On the far right, my Monks had taken a nasty 2 damage from previous bow shot. I decided to put them on Water Stance, and faced an interesting choice: they can be +1 toughness, which will help vs. both bowfire and a charge, or they can deflect arrows, which will help more vs. bowfire but be worthless if the Bowriders charge. I choose the latter, figuring I'm better than even odds to win an engagement. Jaime charges with the Bowriders. I play "No Calamity Feared" to guarantee a pass on any rout check, and they put each other into the yellow.
Now time for the courage phase. My monks on the left (needing a 12) pass, while the monks on the right don't need to roll. Jaime then plays Oathbound, which helps in 3 places...and the Battlesquad facing the Jade Nobles rolls a 15 and routs anyway!
At this point, Jaime decided to bag it. With a hole in his line, the Jade Nobles had all sorts of nice choices, and the Scorpions would probably get harvested shortly.
Victory to Wuxing
------------------------------
Thoughts on the game
- Mismaneuvering the Bowriders was a mistake which wasted a few command actions. More significantly, Jaime would've been better off with them on the left, having more room to maneuver.
- Jaime commented that he should've been targeting my rightmost Monks with bowfire the entire time, forcing them to stay on Water Stance. As it was, he figured it would be a waste, so until much later they were not targeted, so therefore they could go on Air Stance and zip forward.
- A corollary is that it was a mistake for me to put the monks where they were--the Guardians should've been out on the flank, as if you need your monks to move at 5" it leaves them vulnerable. It's imporant for both the player and the opponent to remember that the monks can do one of a number of cool things, but can't do them all.
- Manipulate Qi works exactly the way I was hoping--making the seemingly vulnerable 9-hit-point 1/3 Terra Cotta units much more resistant to ranged attacks. It's actually better for an opponent stand-and-shoot army to target multiple units, as otherwise a single command action make the targeted unit a 2/3 vs. all attackers.
- Overall, this game didn't prompt me to want to make any changes to the Wuxing faction.
Good game, Jaime!
