Wong vs. Shenlong - Rampage

In the second of this fortnight's Divergent Paths Encounters, Wong faced off against Shenlong. The Encounter was Rampage - the Self-Righteous Man, changed by his passage through The Breach, undergoes a horrific change into a Werewolf, and the Ten Thunders and Gremlins both have plans to try and contain him. A Werewolf Marker starts in the centre of the board, attacking anyone who comes close for 2/4/6 damage and moving into base contact. Players score 1 VP for each Scheme Marker within 3" of the Werewolf at the end of each Turn, and then the Scheme Markers are removed.

Gremlins:

Wong with A Gremlin's Luck, Do Over and Dirty Cheater
Trixiebelle with A Gun For A Lady
Sammy LaCroix with Oooh, Glowy
McTavish (Glowy)
Merris LaCroix
Rooster Rider
Lightning Bug
Stuffed Piglet

Schemes: Plant Evidence, Entourage (Trixiebelle)

Ten Thunders:

Shenlong
Peasant
Sensei Yu
Ama No Zako
Katanaka Sniper
High River Monk
Tengu
Tengu

Schemes: Bodyguard, Line in the Sand

Deployment:



Forgot to take a picture before the Katanaka Sniper, Rooster Rider and Ama No Zako had activated...



The Katanaka sniper began the game by taking a shot at the Rooster Rider and doing severe damage. The Rider flew forwards and planted a Scheme Marker near the Werewolf, taking cover behind the clocktower. Unfortunately Ama No Zako, unhindered by the severe terrain of the forest and tore the Rider to shreds.



The Tengu and the rest of the Ten Thunders got to work placing Scheme Markers, enraging the Werewolf in the process but luring it in for scoring on Turn 2. Sammy prepared to jump out and Jynx Ama No Zako, while Merris and Trixie dropped Scheme Markers to fuel Wong's fireworks and McTavish blew the injured Tengu away.



At the end of the Turn, Wong placed a scheme marker next to the Werewolf - they wouldn't score this turn, but they'd come in handy later.



McTavish started Turn 2 by jumping out of cover and laying down a Hunting Screen for Wong, who was foolishly in the open. The Katanaka Sniper took the shot anyway, but the sight of a pet Gator put them off!



Sammy ran forwards and tried to Jynx Ama No Zako but failed terribly and had to be 'Lured' away from danger by Trixie.



While Shenlong and the Peasants were busy sweeping, the Stuffed Piglet ran forwards to block a charge lane and annoy the Sensei.



Sensei Yu, undetterred, killed the Stuffed Piglet anyway and wondered off to try and secure Line in the Sand. The death of the Stuffed Piglet allowed the High River Monk to charge Wong, but not before Wong activated himself - running forwards and using his (0) BOOM! to blow up three of the Ten Thunders' Scheme Markers.

Meanwhile, Ama No Zako and the Tengu placed more Scheme Markers for Line in the Sand, and the Lightning Bug and Merris ran in to move the Werewolf and place Scheme Markers to score from the Scenario.



Turn Three started with McTavish spending the entirety of a godly Hand to blow Ama No Zako away, making good use of his (0) and a discarded Rams to take a third shot.



Shenlong, rightly furious, took his anger out on Merris and the Lightning Bug, but not before Merris set a Scheme-running Tengu on fire with one of her molotovs. Trixie got herself into position to start running forwards for Entourage, while Wong used his Poof! trigger to escape combat with the High River Monk, using a Soulstone for a positive flip on his attempt to cast BOOM! only to flip a Black Joker on the positive flip. Oops. If that wasn't bad enough for Wong, the Monk and a Peasant then trapped him in place and set him on fire.



Shenlong began Turn Four by charging the trapped and unable-to-squeal Wong, who somehow managed to survive with Soulstones and Dirty Cheater and Poof! away again, discarding a card to gain Defensive +1 just in case.



Sensei Yu used his push to send the High River Monk after Wong, but McTavish gunned him down before he could get to him. Sammy got to work removing Scheme Markers, turning one into a Stuffed Piglet, while Trixie stole Sensei Yu's Scheme Marker with her (0) Presents? For Me?!



Trixie tried to run into the Ten Thunders Deployment Area, but was stopped by Shenlong and the Sniper, who also took out Wong at last. Sammy continued turning Scheme Markers into Stuffed Piglets while Sensei Yu tried to repair their Line in the Sand.



Finally, Sammy broke cover to plant a Scheme Marker for Plant Explosives, her Stuffed Piglets distracting the Ten Thunders.

At the end of the game, the Gremlins had racked up enough VP from the Werewolf to take the victory!

Ulix vs. Sandeep - Gathering Scraps

It's the second fortnight of the Divergent Paths Global Event, and we started with the Inquisitive Child's Encounter - Gathering Scraps. In this Scenario, the players are attempting to gather scraps of fabric to assist the Inquisitive Child in repairing and upgrading her newly acquired Teddy. The two forces start with three Fabric Markers carried by their Master and their two most expensive models. Each player would score 1 VP at the end of the game for each Fabric Marker they control.

Gremlins:

Ulix with Husbandry, Dirty Cheater and Hunting Bow
Penelope
Old Major with Corn Husks
Gracie
The Sow
Slop Hauler
Merris LaCroix

Schemes: Power Ritual, Cursed Object

Arcanists:

Sandeep
Joss
Mechanical Rider
Luther (Blessed of December)
Performer
Ice Dancer

Schemes: Power Ritual, Breakthrough

Deployment:









Ulix, drawing a strong hand, started off by summoning a War Pig (with the help of Merris and Gracie) and two Piglets.



The Arcanists advanced cautiously, with The Sow threatening the corner - prepared for the Ice Dancer, as the Arcanists had revealed Power Ritual. Sandeep summoned a Poison Gamin, attaching the upgrade which makes it unable to attack but granting it an aura which gives nearby allies positive flips to theirs.



The Mechanical Rider's summoned Wind Gamin prepared to intercept Merris, only to receive a Pig Charge from an angry Piglet. Flipping a Rams, the Piglet stampeded into Joss.. only to quickly become bacon.



Meanwhile, Luther swiftly dealt with The Sow, freeing up the corner of the board for the Ice Dancer - besides the two one-health Piglets, that is.



Sandeep managed to summon Banasuva, but one of the War Pigs (yes, Ulix managed to summon another!) met it with a charge, encouraged by Old Major, flipping a Red Joker for damage. Ouch!





The War Pig went on a rampage with its second AP, taking out a Gamin and doing some severe damage to Joss.





Some positioning with Old Major and an arrow in the rear from Ulix sent Gracie in to finish the job, but she failed to end Joss and his 'ignore everything' axe Corpse Marker-ed her before she could activate (and reactivate). That gamble definitely did not pay off!

Gracie also dropped her Fabric Marker, which Sandeep managed to run away with.



The furious War Pig tried once more to kill the invincible Joss, but soulstones kept him around. Easily distracted, the War Pig stampeded into Sandeep.

Meanwhile, Merris and the Performer fought over a corner for Power Ritual.





Old Major tried to do what the other Pigs couldn't, but was just out of charge range. The Ice Dancer and Luther got to work placing Scheme Markers for Power Ritual and Breakthrough.



Old Major made it over the fence at last. Ulix, riding along, used his Prod to get Old Major to finally put Joss down. Unfortunately a resummoned Banasuva took out Old Major in return, dropping another Fabric Marker for the Arcanists to take.

At this point the Gremlins were thoroughly beaten, with the Arcanists controlling five of the six Fabric Markers. Despite Cursed Object usually being an easy scorer for the Pigs, they had been too preoccupied with avenging Gracie to score anything!

Hopefully the Gremlins will have better luck with the Self-Righteous Man and the Trickster...!

Reinforcements: Let's get creative!

Despite having lots of small parts, the Creative Taxidermy box wasn't that difficult to put together. A few gaps to fill, but not as bad as the Piglets or the bigger Pigs.



Looking forward to not having to proxy Piglets as their Stuffed counterparts from now on!

Shifting Loyalties Campaign - Week 3 (Chaos Unleashed)

In Week 3 of our Shifting Loyalties Campaign, the Hogs faced off against Nix and the Ratcatchers. We played the only Divergent Paths Scenario that I hadn't yet played - The Trickster's "Chaos Unleashed", in which players have to Interact with a Trickster Marker and flip a card. Rams and Crows on this flip score 1 VP (max 2 per turn), and any other suit results in the Trickster being pushed by one of the players. The Weekly Event was Arcane Monument:

This week's encounter must include an Ancient Monument terrain piece. While placing terrain, randomly determine a player to place the Ancient Monument. The Ancient Monument is on a 50mm base and is Ht 5, blocking, impassable terrain. It may be placed anywhere on the table within 2" of the centreline. While within 2" of the Ancient Monument, models receive +2 Ca to all Ca actions.

Whenever a model within 2" of the Ancient Monument kills or sacrifices an enemy model, the Acting model's Crew gains 2 Scrip.

A lot to keep track of!

Scheme Pool: Distract, Cursed Object, Assassinate and Outflank

Gremlins:

Old Major with Corn Husks, Grotesque Trophy (Terror) and Expanded Palate (Eat Corpse Markers to heal up)
Gracie with Thick Hide (Regenerate +1)
The Sow
Wild Boar
Piglet
Piglet
Hog Whisperer (this week's new hire!)
3 Soulstones

Schemes: Distract and Cursed Object (must-takes for the Hogs, really, and Nix is not easy to Assassinate!)

Outcasts:

Nix
Sue
Killjoy with -1 Wp but +1 Ml
Obedient Wretch
Rat Catcher
Rat Catcher
Malifaux Rat
5 Soulstones


This Scenario used Blind Deployment - each player takes a number of Red or Black cards equal to the amount of models to be deployed, and shuffle them into a temporary deck. The players then take turns to place the cards face down all over the board, and then they are all flipped over. Finally, the players deploy their models one by one on top of the cards of their colour.

Deployment:





Despite the random Deployment, the Hogs managed to stay pretty close to each other. The lone Malifaux Rat staring down Old Major seemed like an odd choice, until I remembered Killjoy can Unbury whenever any model dies... erp!



Winning the Initiative, the Hogs went first, with a Piglet charging a Rat Catcher and Interacting as a (0) for Distract. The Rat Catcher hit him back, summoning the first Malifaux Rat of the game. The Hog Whisperer ran forwards with Reckless, casting Sooey with the +2 Ca bonus from the Arcane Monument to bring Old Major forwards a bit, but more importantly getting the second Piglet into his Pork Whisper'n bubble.

Nix charged the Wild Boar before it had a chance to activate, and began handing out Blight. The Wild Boar retaliated and gave him Distract, forgetting that Nix can choose not to receive Conditions. Oops! The Piglet interacted with the Trickster Marker, forgetting it only gave VP after the first turn. Old Major and the Sow advanced while Gracie chased the Obedient Wretch, only for the Wretch to Distract her. Meanwhile, Sue charged the Wild Boar, which cheated to stay around for another Turn.

At the end of the Turn, the Blight on all of the Hogs increased by 1.



Old Major began Turn 2 by stomping on the Malifaux Rat, having ensured there was no space for Killjoy to Unbury in base contact with it. Sneaky! He then used his Nudge to push The Sow forwards, into charge range of Sue. While Nix and the gang laid in on the Wild Boar, The Sow charged Sue with the crazy amount of Positive Flips from Old Major's Aura and her Three-Headed ability. Surviving, Sue used Ring of Fire to cause any enemy that ended an activation nearby to gain Burning +2. As the Wild Boar only had two wounds left, it tried to kill anything to heal up from Eat Your Fill, but to no avail.

The Hog Whisperer used his Sooey to pull the Piglet and The Sow out of combat, and tried to give Reactivate to The Sow, but failed. The Piglet charged back in after pushing the Trickster Marker back towards Old Major, who Interacted twice for a healthy 2 VP.

Gracie and the Piglet gave out Distract and Cursed Object, and gained Distract and Cursed in return. At the end of the Turn, the Wild Boar died from the Burning, and the Blight on all of the Hogs increased by 1. Both sides scored for Distract and Cursed Object.

Having failed to Reactivate, The Sow started Turn 3 with another Charge, but failed to kill Sue - flipping a Black Joker and leaving him on two Wounds.



Sensing his time was up, Sue unloaded into The Sow. Forgetting about Killjoy, the Hog Whisperer used his extra AP from Reckless to reposition and charge Sue, bringing forth the horrifying Killjoy, who immediately struck him down.



The Obedient Wretch denied any further VP for the Hogs by turning herself into a pair of rats (and I thought Gremlins were weird). Gracie, disinterested in the rats, wondered off.

One of the Piglets fell to mass Rat bites and Nix's ability to cause damage equal to the current level of Blight, which at that point was an awful lot.

At the end of the Turn, neither side scored for Distract, but both scored for Cursed Object.



The Blight on all of the Hogs increased again, and I had to resort to writing it on their cards instead as I ran out of dice!



Killjoy began the slaughter again on Turn 3, killing The Sow, who spawned two Piglets from her Farrowing ability. Surviving a charge from the Rat Catcher. these Piglets frantically fished for Crow triggers on their melee attacks to heal up, with only one of them succeeding.

Gracie decided to show Killjoy how it's done, charging in and leaving the monster with only a couple of Wounds remaining. She then gave herself Reactivate. Old Major pulled her out of engagement, after scoring another VP from the Trickster, ready for Gracie to charge again...



..which she did.

Meanwhile, the Malifaux Rats assembled themselves into a Rat King (again, I thought Gremlins were the strange ones...).

At the end of the Turn, the Hogs scored for Cursed Object and gained more Blight.







On Turns 4 and 5, the Piglets slowly fell to massed Rat bites, and Nix tried to kill Gracie using the massed Blight on her, but Regenerate, Hard to Kill and plenty of Rats (and Rat Catchers) to eat for Eat Your Fill kept her going.

Having kept the Trickster out of reach of the Rats and maintained Cursed Object and Distract, the Hogs ran away with the victory - scoring 12 VP and 6 Scrip in total!

The Hogs came out of this encounter very well, having cheated Aces and the Black Joker to avoid any Injuries. In the Aftermath stage, the Hogs acquired some new Skills and Equipment - Healing Salve for Gracie, which she can Annihilate to remove an Injury from a nearby model; a Tool Kit for the Hog Whisperer, allowing him to take (1) Interact Actions as a (0), just like the Piglets; a Long Lost Cousin for Old Major, from completing the Strange Times Bounty, allowing him to summon a Totem as a (0), and The Trickster's Favour, from winning the Scenario, a Skill that allows the user to choose Blind Deployment instead of the Deployment flipped for a game, but only once.

Being almost at the half-way point of the Campaign and with 10 Scrip remaining after buying a Bounty and their new Skills and Equipment, the Hogs can afford to hire a Master after their next game...! Which one, though? Hmmm...

Wong vs. Sandeep - Panicked Flight

Unhappy with losing the Self-Righteous Man to the Arcanists, Wong has followed rumours and hearsay to find the Inquisitive Child, chased by Witchling Stalkers, in the hope of finding an apprentice. Sandeep appears to have similar goals, ambushing Wong with the help of some Sanctioned Spellcasters! (Apparently Wong and Sandeep are the favourites at the moment!)

Gremlins:

Wong with A Gremlin's Luck and Do Over
Sammy LaCroix with Oooh, Glowy!
Trixiebelle with A Gun for a Lady
McTavish with Mud Toss
Rooster Rider
Lightning Bug
Wild Boar
Stuffed Piglet

Schemes: Plant Evidence, Make them Suffer

Arcanists:

Sandeep Desai
The Valedictorian
Arcane Emissary
The Scorpius
Sanctioned Spellcaster
Sanctioned Spellcaster
Ice Gamin

Schemes: Protect Territory, Bodyguard (Arcane Emissary)

Deployment:





Both forces deployed split into two, to try and get the most VP out of the Witchling Stalkers. In this scenario, each Stalker killed after Turn 1 would grant 1 VP to the Crew that killed it. Additionally, on every Turn after the first, if the Inquisitive Child is within 6" of a Deployment Area then that Crew would also gain a VP. I was a bit hasty in charging my Rooster Rider forwards to claim the Inquisitive Child, forgetting to take a picture beforehand! Trixie's ability to cheat the Initiative flip combined with the Rooster's Reckless and a Wk of 7 allowed the Rooster Rider to move up to the centre of the board and push the Child 4" towards my corner of the board.



In my haste, I also forgot about the Wild Boar's Bayou Rampage. Oops! This meant that the Boar would be charging the Rooster Rider when it activates. To get around this a bit, I moved McTavish up and dropped a Hunting Screen - forgetting that McTavish wasn't a Gremlin, and so didn't negate Bayou Rampage. Double oops. Fortunately I could cheat down the Wild Boar's attacks and ignore it for the time being. Meanwhile, one of the Sanctioned Spellcasters moved up with Sandeep's placement ability and a walk, then fired off a shot at the Witchling Stalkers - flipping a Red Joker! As the Witchling Stalkers wouldn't grant VP until Turn 2, the Spellcaster had to show a bit of restraint, but left both of the Stalkers on low health.



The rest of the Gremlins took cover behind the hedge, ready for an ambush. Trixie dropped a Scheme Marker for Wong to send flying into the air, and Wong took a shot at one of the Stalkers, who pushed towards him with his defensive trigger.

Sandeep summoned a Wind Gamin, attaching Commands in Flame to negate Slow but leaving the Gamin unable to Cheat Fate. Said Gamin flew off towards the corner of the board.

Wong's Scheme Marker came back down next to the train platform, which was conveniently on the Arcanist's side of the board. The Lightning Bug revealed a Tome, pushing the Child within 6" of the Gremlin's corner of the board.



Cheating the Initiative again, McTavish went first, taking aim at the Witchling Stalkers and blowing one off the board with a Red Joker. These two Stalkers really were not having a good day! The other Stalker was able to cheat and avoid death briefly before the Valedictorian flew in and took it out. A VP each!

Slightly out of shot, the Rooster Rider went charging into a Sanctioned Spellcaster to tie it up.



On the other side of the board, Sandeep blew a Stalker away, but not before randomising and putting a chunk of damage on Sammy. Trixie, with her Gun for a Lady, took out the other Stalker and then took shots at Sandeep, blowing herself backwards.

The Lightning Bug, forgetting that I needed him to handle the Wild Boar, dropped a Scheme Marker for Trixie to use with her (0) Presents? For me? and a second for fuel Wong.

The Stuffed Piglet then ran into combat with Sandeep. Uhoh..



The Arcane Emissary charged and obliterated the Rooster Rider. Sammy LaCroix ran up to counter the Emissary next turn with her Jynx, and was charged by The Scorpius - clearly it knew about Sammy's efficacy in our last game!

The Sanctioned Spellcaster got to work placing Scheme Markers and running into the corner of the board, going for Protect Territory.

Wong fired his Lightning Jump into the 'combat' between Sandeep and the Stuffed Piglet, hitting the Piglet. Severe damage killed the Piglet, doing Blast damage to Sandeep from the attack, the Piglet's Bacon Bomb *and* the Pulse! The Crows trigger on Lightning Jump let Wong take another shot at Sandeep (and Do Over would've given a third Lightning Jump, if we hadn't misremembered how it works - need to get the second Generalist Upgrade Deck, I guess!). Despite all this, Sandeep survived, as Wong fluffed the rest of his AP. Wong send a Scheme Marker flying, despite not being near enough to a terrain piece for Plant Evidence (the train track didn't count, we had agreed).

The Wild Boar chewed on McTavish again, dealing some damage this time.

At the end of the Turn, the Gremlins scored 3 VP from killing Stalkers (in writing this, I realise this should have been 4, as I had Make Them Suffer and the Stalkers are Minions, although I ended up scoring the maximum VP for the Scheme anyway) and taking the Child hostage, while the Arcanists scored 2. Wong's Scheme Marker came back down, but failed to hurt Sandeep.



Winning the Initiative without Cheating for once (13 against 12.. poor Arcanists!), Sammy went first, using her Jynx to shut down the Emissary and trying to walk out of combat with the big robot scorpion, but failing to do so.

While a Wind Gamin ran for the corner of the board and placed a Scheme Marker, McTavish went after the Marker in the other corner, hoping to get a Rams with his (0) that would let him eat the Marker and take a shot at the Sanctioned Spellcaster, but unwilling to cheat a 13 of Rams he just ate the marker and pushed into engagement with it. The Spellcaster attempted to run away and failed, but the Valedictorian joined the fray and left McTavish on next to no health.



The Scorpius and the Arcane Emissary obliterated poor Sammy LaCroix. Wong hopped the hedge and tried to blast the Ice Gamin away for Make them Suffer, failing to kill it but getting close enough to a tree to place a Scheme Marker at the end of the turn with his (0). Sandeep charged Wong, seeing him in the open, doing some damage. He then pulled the Scorpius towards himself and into combat with Wong, healing himself a bit in the process, then pushed out of the melee and dropped a Scheme Marker with (0) As Your Deed, So Your Destiny.

The Lightning Bug went reckless and ran up to the wagon in the corner, placing a Tomes on himself to place a Scheme Marker by the wagon at the end of the turn.

Trixie ran up to the Wild Boar, taking a Scheme Marker with her, and took out the Sanctioned Spellcaster. The Wild Boar then finally ran up, headed for an enemy Scheme Marker, only for the Ice Gamin to engage him.

At the end of the Turn, Wong's Scheme Marker came back down by the tree, damaging the Scorpius and Sandeep, and the Lightning Bug placed his Marker. The Gremlins scored 2 VP, for the Child and Make Them Suffer.



Taking the initiative a fourth time, McTavish tried to kill the Sanctioned Spellcaster, but failed to end it. Perhaps he should have gone for the Corpse Marker and tried to heal, but his Gator clearly saw the Spellcaster as a tastier snack!



Trixie carried her Scheme Marker "present" up to another terrain piece, and used her Gremlin "Lure" to push the Wild Boar towards the Scheme Marker it had been going for. She then took a shot at the newly-unengaged Ice Gamin, cheating a Red Joker with the Rams trigger for a double positive flip for damage and ending the poor Gamin.

The Valedictorian left a dead McTavish behind and flew over to engage the Wild Boar, perhaps afraid it would Charge the Arcane Emissary. The Boar was having none of this, however, and ate the Scheme Marker he had been chasing with his (0) and successfully left combat to engage the Emissary.



Sandeep pulled the Emissary away from the Wild Boar, healing himself again, and tried to finish Wong with the Scorpius. Wong survived the assault once more, activating and discarding Do Over to draw two cards, both of which happened to be thirteens! He used his (0) BOOM! to discard the enemy Scheme Marker and do pulse damage to the Scorpius and Sandeep, disengaged himself from the combat and flung some Lightning at the pair.

The Lightning Bug, ignoring the Wind Gamin's Armour +1, ran around the Wagon and buried the Wind Gamin, placing a Tomes on himself to remove the enemy Scheme Marker at the end of the Turn. However, with a Push from sacrificing the buried Wind Gamin, the Arcane Emissary charged the Bug, killing it and preventing it from removing the Marker.

At the end of the Turn, the Gremlins scored 2 VP, for the Child and Make Them Suffer, as Trixie had killed the Ice Gamin. The Arcanists revealed Bodyguard on the Emissary, scoring 1 VP.



Wong made the most out of getting the initiative on Turn 5. Poor Sandeep. The Scorpius went down alongside him, taken out by the Pulse damage.





The Valedictorian tried to kill the Wild Boar, and Trixie fired into their combat. No matter what she hit, McTavish would be avenged!



Finally, the Sanctioned Spellcaster ensured the Arcanists would be scoring for Protect Territory.

At the end of the game, the Gremlins scored 2 VP, one for the Child and another for Make Them Suffer, as the Scorpius is apparently a Minion! The Arcanists went up to a total of 8 VP after scoring Bodyguard and Protect Territory, but with 2 VP from Plant Evidence the Gremlins won with a total of 11 VP! A victory against the Arcanists at last!

Most importantly, of course, the Gremlins secured the Inquisitive Child. And a Rooster Rider died in the course of the game... leaving a Rooster for the Child to befriend, perhaps...?

We shall see!