Collodi vs Tara 50ss

[oreaper]

Strat: Interference

Corner deployment

Schemes:Assassinate/Bodygaurd/ALITS/power ritual/take prisoner

 

My Crew:  Power ritual (revealed)/assassinte

Collodi-Threads of fate/fated/strum the threads(4 cache)

Widow weaver-handbag

4x marionettes

Brutal effigy

Arcane effigy

 2x stitched together

Wicked doll

 

His Crew: Power ritual (revealed)/assassinte

Tara-obliteration symbiote/knowledge of eternity (7 cache)

Nothing beast-Void shield

Karina-the faces of oblivion

3 x void wretch

Rotten belle

Bette noir-decaying aura

 

Both groups fanned out at the borders of the backwater swampland and surveyed the surroundings. As much as he hated to admit it, the floating effigy had been right there was a need to come out in this drab and dirty backwater.  This was obviously a place rich in power that needed to harnessed for the sweet song of creation. The master of puppets NEEDED this power and he wasn’t going to let a few rotting corpses and translucent creatures get in his way. “Look there my children,” he reached out to the minds of his minions “that girl with the hole in her chest and her friends want to take your fathers precious treasures buried in the swamp. We cannot let that happen.” The puppets stood motionless, but he knew that his will would be done. His control over his creations was absolute. The spider demon that decided to tag along nodded in affirmation.

 

       The puppets streaked toward the far corners of the bog. The little wicked doll paused only to carve an arcane symbol into a tree trunk. The Undead girl and her crew responded, shimmering bipedal creatures streaking to intercept the puppet cohorts going to the corners. A large mass of tentacled nothingness floated forward, trees and shrubs disintegrating in its wake. Upon seeing this, the puppet master strode forward to the crest of a small hill that he may better survey the theatrics playing out before him.

      “Arise and bring death to the matchstick man” chanted the undead woman as a dual dagger apparition materialized in front of her. With a scream the killer charged Collodi. Her first dagger plunged into his wooden spine (red joker), but her 2^nd swiped through the open air. She cocked her head in a confused gesture as the splintered remains of a marionette was scattered in front of her and the master of puppets stood smiling several paces away.  The Brutal effigy imbued his master with blessing that then radiated out among his fellow puppet companions. He then took carful aim and shot the killer bête before him (although not very significantly but give him credit he’s doing his best…) He then prompted the widow weaver into action who then sent out a 2^nd sickening web and attempted unsuccessfully  to paralyze the bête with fear.

      Sensing the leaders distraction, the nothing beast charged the puppet master smacking twice once toward a tear of unreality, which the puppet master barely dodged. As the creatures 3^rd swing descended a soft squishy bag of body parts appeared where Collodi was standing. In response to this assault, Collodi had glimpsed the thread of unreality connected the beast to this plain. The puppet master sheared this link with his own threads of power and the beast vanished in a flash. For good measure Collodi whip cracked a thread into the bête slowing her progress. As his assault faded his previous wounds began to mend themselves.

With the banishing of the nothing beast and the inevitable demise of bête, Tara realized that this construct was no minor threat. She ordered an all out assault of the puppet man. Both Karina and a Void wretch threw everything they had at the puppet master inflicting only minor scratches.

      Meanwhile on the far corners a couple of marionettes took up positions to enact the arcane ritual as their mastered had ordered.  In one corner a stitched pulled up a table (it would be better not to ask from where) and had a bit of gambling fun with a void wretch, who was not amused and gave the bag of body parts a dose of his own medicine.

Bete, sensing her death at hand swung uselessly at a marriontte. The brutal effigy confirmed his status as “most awesome effigy buff machine ever” and buffed the master and prompted him into action. Collodi in return shredded the void wretch and bête with strings of pure power and reconnected with puppet bond with the arcane effigy. The stitched finally found his lucky streak and gambled a void wretch back into oblivion.

After several attempts to down the puppet master including bête version 2.0 materializing from Karina’s corpse, Tara decided that she had better thing to do with her eternity and that she didn’t need this rotten patch of swampland any way.

 

The day was won, but there was little time to rejoice. Some of his children erected mounds on the areas that radiated the most power, the others gathered the scraps of their fallen brethren. Collodi dreaded and loved the hour of craft that would be required to bring those wooden fragments back to life, but that was a task for a later time. His work here needed to be finished. There was a brilliant song whispering in the breeze and he would be prepared to harness it.

 

 

This was a fun game that had a lot of close calls. My opponent did not realize just how hard it can be to put Collodi down, and in looking at his crew choice I assumed assassinate was in the pool. I put the master right out in front  turn 1 and this baited in the heavy hitters allowing me to isolate and destroy them one at a time, however do the constant pressure I was never able to go after Tara myself. With my superior activation number I was able to hold strat and power ritual down. I continue to love Collodi and am planning to use  props a little more as the puppets themselves didn’t use the buffs for diddly squat.

 

Game ended 7-0 to the neverborn