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Two games today against Boreas/oomiestompa.

eKreoss Exemplar list vs. Zerkova Greylord lists

I think the first game I won because he forgot that the Fire of Salvation
could move out of turn and he kept forgetting that it moved 5" instead of
the Crusader's 4". First, a close call on the choir chant made it VERY close
as to whether or not I'd take care of Beast-09 on the turn I disabled it.
Basically, if my Warpriest was 1mm further away than we decided he was, I
wouldn't have gotten the benefits of Infuse onto my Warjack, and I would
have dealt 8 less pointsof damage on Beast-09. Then on his final turn he
killed something beside the Fire of Salvation and then the FoS moved up
and was able to move into close combat range with Zerkova on my turn (fully
loaded with focus).

In the second game, I won because he couldn't get enough gun to kill
shoeless Rhupert. Even though they had various spells holding them down
and units trying to slow them, I was first able to use my Vengers's ride-by
attack to negate the effects of Freezing Grip. Then Weapon Specialist
meant that I was able to kill models that I needed to even though Zerkova's
Howling Wind feat was up. Finally, on eKreoss's feat turn I was able to
charge him up the table at Beast-09, which meant that Strength of Arms
covered more of Zerkova's side of the table. Rhupert gave the Vengers
Pathfinder, additional movement and pathfinder, and they were guaranteed
not to flub their impact attacks or charge attacks due to eKreoss's feat.
Finally they hit Zerkova with two models and enough damage rolls to win
the day (I had four attacks to make with the two Vengers that got there).

Apparently I don't have to bring the same list on Wednesday. Huzzah!

Yeah, when I asked for a rematch, I was just mad at myself for not seeing the where the assassination was coming from. I felt like I had the upper hand in both games and let them slip away because of a lack of vision: a problem I usually do not have.

So far the only three games I've gotten with Zerkova have been against Epic Kreoss and they've all been losses. Right now, I just want to get one win with Zerkova before I move on to one of my other armies for a while. I've got a bunch of Cryx and Circle stuff that have never seen the table. Eventually, I'll beat your ass with Zerkova, malfred. But not this Wednesday.

How is playing with Zerkova? What did you field with her? I don't see a lot of obvious uses for her--synergy with Doomreavers isn't quite right, Greylords are more a support unit than anything else and while she's got some nifty 'jack stuff she doesn't really seem like a 'jack warcaster (especially compared to Vlad).

Shoeless Rupert. I like that.

Well, he kinda is.

syr8766 wrote:How is playing with Zerkova? What did you field with her? I don't see a lot of obvious uses for her--synergy with Doomreavers isn't quite right, Greylords are more a support unit than anything else and while she's got some nifty 'jack stuff she doesn't really seem like a 'jack warcaster (especially compared to Vlad).

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, Syr. I haven't been on the boards much due to the holiday.

I used:

Zerkova
-Beast - 09
Koldun Lord
-Destroyer
MoW DC (5)
Mortar x2
Field Gun x2
Greylord Ternions x3
Yuri
Widowmakers

In the second game, I swapped a MoW DC and a Field Gun for Epic Eiryss.

You know how Ternions feel on the battlefield? That kind of play it by ear, do one of a few useful but not devastating things each turn, but watch your ass because a dirty look kills them? Now, imagine a warcaster with that playstyle, and you've got Zerkova. Nothing she does is overwhelming to your opponent, but she's good at piling on little things to disrupt your opponent.

And she'd better be good at disrupting, because she stinks in all facets of combat. She can't dish it out in melee and her ranged attack has a disgustingly short range. She has three direct damage dealing spells. One requires Zerkova to be very close to enemy models (not a good place for her), one has a pathetic POW 6 blast damage, and the third is Razor Wind which is good at sniping solos and unit leaders but is no good at assassinating warcasters or damaging warjacks. Frostbite provides good anti-infantry capability, while Ice Cage shuts down single model targets. Doom Reavers can take down hard targets and slaughter infantry, so they also cover Zerkova's weaknesses.

Her feat does an excellent job of shutting down your opponent's next turn, but watch out for stuff that can just advance up and smack you around in melee, especially if Rupert is around to extend their threat range. Blizzard is a great way to keep enemy models away from yours during the feat turn. Or on something with Icy Grip on it whenever. Doom Reavers are more susceptible to enemy shooting than any of Khador's other melee infantry, and Howling Wind gives them a one turn reprieve.

As far as her jack abilities go, she really just has Watcher. So take one jack that'll provide a punch. Juggernauts and Beast-09 are great for P+S 19 and Critical Freeze. Destroyers have P+S 18, Critical Amputation, and a POW 14 ranged attack if it's too far away. The Behemoth has P+S 12 with Armor Piercing and that same ranged attack.

Note that nothing Zerkova does is limited to Khador models only. You can go nuts with mercs if you want.

In summary, this is going to sound stupid, but Zerkova benefits most from models that kill - or at the very least, shuts down - enemy models. Period. Greylords can do both. Doom Reavers can kill just about anything. Beast-09/Behemoth can kill anything. Demo Corps. IFP. Great Bears. Uhlans with Markov. Winterguard. Mortars.

Things to avoid: Shock Troopers (you need offense, not defense), Assault Kommandos (zero threat to hard targets), Kossites (see Assault Kommandos).