Jakes2 vs Butcher1 – Storm Divison refreshed

Hello everyone!

Storm Division CID finished some time ago and I finally managed to put a list together and see how the changes influenced the play experience. This time I played a slightly different game. Not only point-wise (we played a 50p game), but also if it comes to the terrain we used 😉 as you can see on the photos below, we put a little bit more effort and attention to the terrain setup. It’s an evolving process and I am working on some cool terrain I could use in future battle reports 😉 telegraphic posts were there only for decorative purposes, they didn’t have any in game rules.

My friend, Pawel, played good, old Butcher1 list with a combination of heavy warjacks and agile infantry. 

Pawel’s Butcher1 list:

Khador
[Theme] Jaws of the Wolf

[Butcher 1] Orsus Zoktavir, The Butcher of Khardov [+28]
– Juggernaut [13]
– Marauder [11]
– Ruin [17]
– Greylord Adjunct [4]
Ol’ Grim [0(6)]
Widowmaker Marksman [4]
Battle Mechaniks (max) [5]
Kayazy Assassins (max) [15]
– Kayazy Assassin Underboss [4]
Kayazy Eliminators [0(5)]
Kayazy Eliminators [5]

I decided to play Jakes2. I have never give her enough attention, so I decided that might be the right moment.

My Jakes list:

Cygnar
[Theme] Storm Division

[Jakes 2] Captain Allison Jakes [+28]
– Centurion [16]
– Firefly [8]
– Lancer [10]
Grand Master Gabriel Throne [7]
Lieutenant Gwen Keller [0(5)]
Savio Montero Acosta [0(6)]
Stormblade Captain [4]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Storm Lances (min) [12]
Stormblade Infantry [9]

We played Recon II.

Deployment

Pawel won the roll and elected to pick a side, I was to go first. 

Butcher was deployed in the middle, his battlegroup in the center with Marauder on the right. Kayazy were deployed behind the cloud on the left. There were also two pairs of Kayazy eliminators deployed on the flanks. A widomaker solo was advance deployed in the cloud.

I deployed Jakes in the middle, together with Centurion, Stormblades and solos. Storm Lances and light warjacks took the flanks.

Round 1 Turn 1

Jakes put Bullet Dodger right away on Acosta – this spell is perfectly suited for his skillset. She also cast Escort and moved forward. Both Storm Lance units rushed forward. Stromblades tried to keep up. Support solos and Centurion, for obvious reasons, stayed in the back. 

Round 1 Turn 2

Butcher cast Iron Flesh on Kayazy, Fury on Marauder and moved forward. Kayazy Assassins spread across the left flank. Both Kayazy Eliminators units begun their flanking maneuvers. Warjacks, slowly but surely, were getting closer to my front lines. Ol’Grim and Widowmaker Marksman made sure there was one more widow in Cygnar as they put an end to a Storm Lance’s life. 

Round 2 Turn 1

With all the electro leaps on the left flank at my disposal, I was pretty convinced I will handle those pesky Kayazy Assassins. Firefly got pathfinder from my obj. I continued with Jakes giving Positive Charge to said Firefly. He moved forward and hit Kayazy, I rolled only one leap, killed one and failed to kill the other lol. Storm Lances, now with PC and 3d6 to hit their charge rolls were about to kill some Kayazy, at least it was what they were supposed to do. Impact attacks missed, Assault attacks missed, charges hit, they killed 2 Kayazy, but electro leaps did not. Oh well, it didn’t go as planned. I managed to kill only 3 guys out of a big, 11 models unit. Acosta ran forward, behind a wall, to be even harder to hit. Storm Lances on the right, apparently more experienced than their colleagues, charged and killed both Eliminators. Centurion used Polarity Shield and ran forward, into the zone. Stormblades took positions in the second line, where they always felt the best. Gabriel touched the flag and gave tough to Stormblades. The left flank was about to collapse.

Round 2 Turn 2

Kayazy charged Storm Lances and Firefly. Two charge attacks were enough to leave Firefly on 3 boxes! ;d Storm Lances died to Eliminators though. Juggernaut finished my light warjack and cleared the zone. Ruin charged Acosta, but Bullet Dodger and a wall bonus were enough to save him for the next turn. I dodged away, afraid that then next attack might not miss. Mechanics ran to contest my flag, Pawel scored 2 points, 0:2.

Round 3 Turn 1

As predicted, my left flank was gone. However, I had to deal with the heavy warjacks in the middle first and then I could see what can be done on the left. Acosta got pathfinder from the objective. Jakes cast Positive Charge on Centurion, killed one mechanic with her hand cannon first, and then used her feat 😉 I used my feat first, but Pawel was kind enough to let me shot his mechanic first, otherwise, thanks to 2” reach from feat, he would have been engaged in melee with my Stormblades 😛 Gwen missed her ranged attack. Gabriel, hit and finally killed the mechanic that was blocking charge lane and gave +2 STR to my cavalry. Storm Lances charged Marauder and with P+S 20 left him on a couple of boxes. I managed to remove another mechanic that stood in Centurion’s way, but at what cost! I misspositioned slightly and had to use impact attacks against my own models, they survived on 1 hp lol. Centurion moved over the wall, finished Marauder and dealt significant damage to Ruin. Then, thanks to sprint and parry from feat he repositioned and made space for Acosta, who charged and easily finished the warjack. Stormblades charged Juggernaut and Kayazy Assassins and managed to deal some damage to the heavy jack and fryed a couple of Kayazy with electro leaps. I took a moment to check what was left and I realized that Jakes, with no foc, stood in front of two Eliminators! I had only two models left to activate and as many droplets of sweat on my neck! Lancer approached eliminators and failed to hit both of his attacks, ups! Now, all hope was in Stormblade Captain hitting his charge attack. He charged and… hit! Charge attack killed one, electro leap killed the other! What a relief! I scored 2 points, 2:2.

Round 3 Turn 2

Butcher used his feat and charged Storm blades, killing them both right away. Juggernaut repositioned to protect Butcher from charges. Pawel was hesitating wether he should score a zone or protect his caster, but decided the later, as the risk of Butcher dying was too high. Kayazy with Butcher’s feat and their minifeat managed to kill Lancer and another Stormblade. One mechanic contested both my zone and my flag, Khador scored another point, 2:3.

Round 4 Turn 1

I killed the mechanic first. Then, Acosta charged the objective and destroyed it. He failed to finish Jugger with his second attack though. Centurion used Polarity Shield and stayed behind. Stormblade Captain charged the Underboss, but this time failed to hit. Gwen, with pathfinder from the objective, ran to contest the flag. Jakes repositioned to safety and Gabriel stayed near the flag. I scored 2 more points, 5:3.

Round 4 Turn 2

Corrosion killed the Jugger lol Butcher killed Acosta though. Kayazy killed both my solos, but Khador had only 5 seconds left. Widowmaker Makrsman contested my rectangular zone. Pawel scored one more point on his flag, but didn’t have any models left to contest mine, so I scored 1 too, 6:4. 

Round 5 Turn 1

Centurion charged Butcher but I failed to kill him, no surprise there, he is a tough one! Storm Lances cleared the zone and I scored 2 points, Pawel scored one on his flag, but with 5 seconds left he conceded, 8:5.

Afterthoughts

I have to admit I had lots of fun playing Jakes2! It’s great to play a less known warcaster with new abilities and tricks. It’s especially fun when you use them in game 😉 Although, she might not be as competitive as a similar list built around, for instance, Stryker2, but it can give a lot of satisfaction when used right. 

If it comes for Storm Division update, I love Gwen! She might be an auto-include in majority of SD lists. Nobody likes auto-incudes, especially when they are so hard to buy, but Force barrier on all storm warrior models is a game breaker. That significantly increased Stormblades’ survivability. They changed from 12 DEF to effectively 15 DEF against shooting, and that’s with no support from a warcaster! Acosta was scary before, now he is even scarier! Centurion is cheaper and has shield guard, what’s not to love there! 

All in all, it feels great to play renewed Storm Division. It was already cool before the changes, but sometimes you could feel the theme force lacks something. It required only a little refreshing touch and that’s what it received! 

If it comes to terrain, oh my, how I enjoyed playing on 3D terrain! After thet game I realized how cool it was to use building, trees and other pieces in the past. I even built and painted more pieces to use in future games! Bat reps on cool terrain incoming (sooner than later 😛 ). 

What’s your experience with updated Storm Division? Have you tried new builds with less popular warcasters? 

Cheers,
Piotr