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March 2018 Scrum - Lists Submitted

After my success in the previous scrum (4-1 record), I immediately wanted to start planning for the next one.  My first thought was that my Skarre1 Dark Host list performed so well that I would repeat that as my primary list.  I wanted to really master that list before I moved on.  When thinking about my second list, I knew I needed to move on from Venethrax.  As much as I love Venethrax, he did not seem to be a great compliment for the Skarre1 list.  Therefore, I was going to try and work on a different off list.  Without really considering how she would compliment my Skarre1 list, I decided that I wanted to put together a Deneghra2 list.

I started trying to come up with some initial ideas, but kept coming back to the idea that Denny2 just wanted to be in Dark Host.  I was mulling this over with Mark Howard, who runs the Scrum, and he suggested I reach out to Brad Park, who has been rolling Denny2 with some solid success.  Naturally, at the end of that conversation, I was dropping my Skarre1 list entirely and running Denny2 in Dark Host.  Here is the list I entered:

Cryx Army - 75 / 75 points
[Theme] Dark Host

(Deneghra 2) Wraith Witch Deneghra [+28]
 - Deathripper [6]
 - Deathripper [6]
 - Stalker [8]
 - Stalker [8]
 - Skarlock Thrall [0(4)]
Bane Lord Tartarus [0(6)]
Darragh Wrathe [9]
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor [5]
Soul Trapper [1]
Bane Knights (max) [15]
Bane Riders (max) [20]
Bane Warriors (min) [10]
 - Bane Warrior Officer & Standard [0(5)]
Wraith Engine [15]

This is almost exactly the same as Brad's list, except I had to put Orin Midwinter in where he has Eilish Garrity.  I don't own Eilish and did not locate one to borrow before the Scrum started.  Dark host is my favorite theme to run, and I usually run a configuration with a unit of each of the three types of banes and a wraith engine, so I was reasonably comfortable with how the list should run.  Banes are just great units and do amazing work even without any input from the caster, so I figured it would be a relatively minor adjustment to drop Skarre1 and plug in Denny2.  The only concern was that I only got 2 games in with this list before the Scrum started, so I did not have a lot of practice with Denny2 herself.

Deneghra 2 is a very strong caster and her recent overhaul has drastically changed how she plays.  I am not yet good with how to really effectively use her feat, and it tends to just be held as an assassination threat.  I know it has a lot more utility than that, but I am just trying to learn how to be as effective as possible with her spell list and to remember to use her wraith walker ability.

My conversation with Brad also yielded his suggestion for a list to pair it with.  He had lots of suggestions that would have been fantastic, but I do not own the models.  Eventually, he suggested the below based on the models that I own:

Cryx Army - 75 / 75 points
[Theme] Scourge of the Broken Coast

(Coven 1) The Witch Coven of Garlghast [+26]
 - Deathripper [6]
 - Kraken [36]
 - Nightwretch [7]
Ragman [4]
Satyxis Raider Captain [0(4)]
Satyxis Blood Witches (min) [8]
 - Satyxis Blood Hag [0(4)]
Satyxis Raiders (max) [16]
 - Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]
Satyxis Raiders (max) [16]
 - Satyxis Raider Sea Witch [4]

This is a very different list than what I am used to playing.  I knew that with the new Satyxis models coming out, I was going to want to run this theme, though I didn't have any idea on what that list would look like.  This list gives me an entry point into running Satyxis.  Prior to the scrum, I only got a single practice game with the list.  The Kraken can be both a very powerful piece on the board and a bit of a liability.  I found that I was concerned that once the Kraken was gone, I would not be able to effectively deal with opposing heavies.  This means that I would need to figure out how to kill at least 2 heavies with the Kraken before it dies, and that is not an easy task.  I probably need to get a little better at screening with my raiders and to be more content to use the Kraken as a gun platform for a few rounds.

The ambushing blood witches were much stronger than I had anticipated.  They enter the board and can make an immediate and noticeable impact, especially with their different attack types.  If my opponent is going to bunch up towards the center of the board to avoid the ambush, that just opens up targets for my Kraken.  All this is without considering the coven's feat, which is a guaranteed delivery mechanism for an army this fast, as long as I play the spacing game correctly.

Overall, I really like the pair and am very excited for the chance to play both of them in the upcoming Scrum.  I want to thank Brad for taking the time to talk to me about my lists for the scrum.  It is my plan to make one of these my dedicated list to master.  That will likely end up being the Denny2 just because I love dark host so much.  That is subject to change when Skarre3 releases, though.  Thanks for reading.  Next time I should be able to start rolling out some battle reports for my scrum games!

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