Thread: Taking on eHaley

TL;DR I'm seeking advice to stop getting steamrolled by eHaley.

The Long Version
I like to play a pretty mixed game, as the Cygnar fluff suggests is their strat. I try to shoot one critical model (Stormwall, Thorn) into oblivion on turn 2/3 if I've got Sloan. Otherwise I try to pick off as much infantry as I can then try to make the melee work out in my favor through sheer balls and power attacks. My strategy is basically the same with eStryker, Stryker and eCain, except that with eCain obviously I'm looking to get that caster assasination run at some point.

I'm also a relatively casual player. I've done enough theorycrafting to realize how devistating the Stormwall, Defender and Hunter can be, but that's really it. My lists aren't what you'd call carefully crafted and I play for fun typically at the 25/35 pt level because I split my collection with a budy who I've been letting proxy Haley for eHaley. But I really can't figure out what to do about Thorn/eHaley. Acceleration lets a single Hunter do the work of two for her, and deceleraton let alone Trenchers' Dig In star makes the infantry line I'm trying to shoot to pieces almost invulnerable. Adding insult to injury, with a 16" control radius he can totally camp the back of the board, meaning that I have to advance into the happy prospect of 4 boosted lightning bolts to get that caster kill.

</rant>

Now I've done some reading about the current meta, and I realize that I'm rolling "bad" casters and 'jack heavy lists while the composition I'm facing could have come straight off the table at wargamescon.

What would you suggest, or should I just add eHaley to my "play this and I'll refuse to play" list along with eGaspy?

cries some more about haley being OP

http://theoverseer.dk/2012/09/10/kno...-enemy-ehaley/

that'll start you off.
really wish we had a regular Cygnar player to play against more oft so we could play against the Haleys, Caines, and whatnot

If you let haley alpha strike you before she feats, you are basically ****ed. So the goal when trying to win the matchup should be to make her feat defensively, you can do this by either having a longer melee threat range or by drastically outshooting her(hard with decel).

I think expecting to beat haley(best cygnar caster) with sloan(worst cygnar caster) is not realistic unless you really outplay your opponent.

I do think that kraye, seige, ecaine, both strikers and nemo3 can all fight her in an even matchup. Do you play any of those?

Forcing this haley to feat defensively isn't hard. I don't think he's ever gotten the chance to feat offensively, mainly because I'll find some crazy way to retain my inertia despite the "choose one" deal with the devil. I'm interested to read that the "choose one" only applies when starting in her control radius, because with how far back this guy plays her he's been gyping me dozens of activations. That alone is gonna change the game hugely.

Awesome, the "kill off her support" approach I'm taking is the right one.

I do play other casters. pStryker was my first, I own eStryker, can't wait for Stryk3r, and own eCain. The Nemos are not yet in my collection because I haven't felt like laying out the money to buy a real stormcaller/lightning game.

I'm curious why you label Sloan as the worst Cygnar caster (not the first time I've heard that), only because her shooting emphasis squares nicely with the "pick off the support" approach that I'm going for here. Also her ability to boost the hit rolls of an entire infantry unit has the potential to negate Deceleration if I remembered to use my infanrey shooting. Besides, I'd probably run nearly the same lists with pStryker or eCain.

A "typical" list for me is something like this:

Code:

Sloan
  - Hunter
  - Hunter
  - Defender
  - Squire
  - Reinholdt

Mage Gunners
  - Commander UA
    - Hunter

I agree that Sloan is very focus starved compared to Haley... a typical turn will be Deadeye on the Mage Gunners so they can hit high def infantry (Winter Guard, Dug In + Smoke Bombs Trenchers) for 2 foc, leaving me 4-5 for the three 'jacks. The Hunters really want 1 each to boost their damage rolls, and the Defender probably wants 1 to boost the hit, so that leaves me 1-2 focus so _maybe_ I get to use Fire Group. Otherwise Sloan herself will burn that focus boosting a damage roll, or upkeeping Refuge on the Defender so that it can move to screen her.

This list varies depending on the infantry vs. 'jacks composition of what I'm going up against. The Hunters provide an amazing armor kill potential, and I take a Defender rather than Triumph because Defenders in melee have more 'jack kills than anything else in my inventory, and I think that not having a 'jack I could plough into melee if/when it comes to that would be crazy because the Hunters are really a second class melee option. For that reason there exists a two defender variant, but it isn't my favorite because I have to sac the Squire and Reinholdt to run it. Also, the tripple hunter line, with Sloan shooting three times on her feat turn I'm confident is a collossal crippler where the double Defender line famously whiffed once too often.

Sloan can't beat E-haley stormwall.
You can't shoot down a decel/AS stormwall with hunters and a Ehaley can shoot down 3 hunters.
As soon as you give out focus; you are dead.

I give you a small % chance vs a non stormwall ehaley. But, like a unit of decel/arcane shield boomhowlers would probably be immune to your army rofl...

As Jesse mentioned: You are trying to beat a top 5 Warmachine caster with one of the bottom 5 warmachine casters.

As for a cygnar regular, I have brought out my cygnar plenty of times. I prefer if you request for the pain though. My ehaley/ecaine/3mo are 2 turn games and aren't that fun... I will be sporting rhulic and the earthbreaker on Wed though...

My apologies.
By cygnar regular, I meant someone who is regularly at warmachine night, with their cygnar*. It is disheartening when one's only experiences with the Haleys, Caines and Nemos are at tournies, when its too late.
If we had more practice against "top tier" casters, this thread wouldnt even have been started.
However.
We cant have everything we want and I am quite fond of our meta and am interested to see how it will develop for 2014.


*not saying playing the best casters all the time, that'd get boring as hell.

Ram eButcher down her throat.

Originally Posted by Revenant

Sloan can't beat E-haley stormwall.

Basically what I'm seeing thus far...

You can't shoot down a decel/AS stormwall with hunters And a eHaley can shoot down 3 hunters.

yeah which is really cool because one accel hunter with eHaley can make the Stormwall cry.

As soon as you give out focus; you are dead.

Or at least hiding for all I'm worth... but I seem to do a lot of that against Haley across all my casters.

Oh well. I guess I'll just start looking & building towards the double Stormblade/Stormclad/UA + eStryker list.