Though the overall turnout was disappointing for a full two day GT that required travel, this is a tournament I will always travel too even if there were only 10 players because of the all the surrounding fun and entertainment outside of the tournament. The tournament is at an Elks Lodge in Mission Viejo which has an attached bar (with very cheap drinks) and fantastic food service for Saturday lunch and an amazing Sunday brunch that helps the hangover go away. Even more impressive is the standard Friday night Karaoke hosted by one of the members of the Elk lodge, but that runs until the early morning. Fred, the tournament organizer and host of the West Coast Kings podcast (formerly West Coast Hammertime), also puts together a bowling night on Saturday at a place within walking distance of the Elk lodge. With all these additional events going on, this tournament is one fun filled weekend!
Now let's take a look at how the actual games went.
Round #1: Scott Holcomb - Abyssal Dwarves
Scott, my first opponent for the tournament, is one of the better players in Southern California as is the co-host with Fred on the West Coast Kings podcast. I also understand that he has been one of the initial ambassadors and earliest converts to Kings of War, even before the end of Warhammer Fantasy. I heard our match-up on the podcast a few days before the tournament and I was really looking forward to the game as I figured I would learn a lot of the tips and tricks of the game from Scott. But I was very surprised to hear that we were paired because I had one of the toughest lists (if not the toughest list) at the tournament and I only had three games of Kings of War under my belt, and none with this army list.
In contrast, Scott probably had 30 games, at least, with his particular list and army, and I would guess close to a hundred games of Kings of War in total, maybe even more. Hist list shows a lot of thought went into army building as it contains a lot (as I would find out) of heavy hitters, a decent number of inspiring sources (something I was clearly lacking), and strong units of high defense and decent speed. It was a list built to put a lot of pressure on an opponent quickly, hit hard in a coordinated offensive, and then grab scenario points and objectives on the last few rounds once an opponent's big units were already destroyed. His list was:
Decimators Horde (285 pts) (Heart-seeking Chant)
Slave Orc Horde (180 pts) (Brew of Strength)
Gargoyle Troop (80 pts)
Gargoyle Troop (80 pts)
Lesser Obsidian Golems Horde (210 pts)
Lesser Obsidian Golems Horde (210 pts)
Abyssal Grotesques Horde (265 pts) (Brew of Haste (giving them speed 8!)
Dragon Fire-team (50 pts)
Overmaster on Great Abyssal Dragon (315 pts) (Medallion of Life)
Abyssal Halfbreed Champion (165 pts) (Blade of Slashing)
Iron-caster (130 pts) (Fireball (6), Heal (3), Surge (8), Myrddin's Amulet of the Fire-heart)
Iron-caster (120 pts) (Fireball (6), Heal (3), Surge (8))
Greater Obsidian Golem (160 pts)
Deployment:
Round #1 was the Mickey scenario. This scenario places a Mikey figure in the middle of the board that is moved during each players turn and can either attack another unit in combat or cast a Fireball at a unit within range. Scott deployed with a strong center and placed his fastest moving units (the Dragon, the Grotesques, and the cavalry hero) on the flanks. As this was a kill scenario it was obvious from Scott's deployment that he intended to push forward hard into the center of the board and using his faster flanking forces to swing around and break my units from the sides or rear.
I deployed my army (poorly) with a divided flank (though I should have gone with a refused flank on the right side during the game looking back at how the army actually plays) with two heavy shooting sides backed up by a combat unit with a very flimsy center held up only by the shock troop horde. For some reason I thought that I would be getting the charges off with that unit and so it could hold its own for a turn or two before getting wiped. Like I said, I didn't have any prior practice with this army before going to the tournament.
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| Deployment! or how not to split up your forces. |
I won the roll for Turn 1, and started by swinging Mickey towards the right side at an angle so that he could target Scott's fire-team with his Fireball. My right flank advanced and pivoted to face the center of the board while the units with "reload" stood still so they could fire. The Blight horde and shock troop horde shifted towards the right as well giving me a slightly stronger presence in the center. Shooting was pretty eventful. I put 8 wounds on Mickey, routed the fire-team taking it off the board before it could fire (50 points for me!), and pushed through a couple of wounds on the Dragon, the greater obsidian golem, and the center-most unit of lesser golems.
In response, Scott pivoted Mickey away from his lines, aimed it towards my shooting flank, and promptly rolled box-cars ("double sixes") to slam Mickey into a warrior regiment preventing Mickey from being able to Fireball any of my units. This was awesome and protected my poor weapon team and characters that awfully close to being lit on fire. In combat, Mikey caused several wounds on the warriors, but not enough to waver them. Mickey then backed off, awaiting my orders.
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| Turn #1: Slowly moving into position |
Turn 2 saw the armies collapse towards each other, vying for the most favorable charges. On the left flank, I moved the shooters up slightly to pick out the cavalry character (though I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to get out of the character's line of sight not recognizing or really understanding at this point what it meant for that guy to be an individual. This would cost me significantly later in the game). I held my ground in the middle making sure that I couldn't be charged by anything on Scott's turn except where I rushed my damaged warrior unit right in front of the slave orcs. Mickey ran back towards Scott's side to be able to see the gargoyles. And the right flank advanced slowly within range of the grotesques or hid behind some trees to prevent a charge.
Shooting this turn proved exceptionally strong. I put a bunch of wounds on the grotesques from combined magic and shooting on the right flank, and managed to roll a "10" to waver them for the turn. This was key as it prevented Scott from charging the other warrior unit and getting closer to my back field. Mickey also wavered one of the units of gargoyles behind the slave orces preventing that unit from moving towards my characters. A few more wounds were put on the center-most lesser golem horde seeing the unit off completely (within a solid "10" rout roll). All in all, it was a fantastic turn of shooting for the rats (with a good number of "5s" rolled to damage the high defense units).
Scott continued moving forward with what he could, but because of the two wavers he held most of his line back except for the Slave Orcs who charged the warriors. On the left flank, the cavalry characters (who was an individual) pivoted to face the weapon team and promptly charged it. The other lesser golem unit moved within range of the blight horde and the greater golem moved closer to the shock horde. However, because we were using timers for this game (in order to get a special bonus point for the tournament) Scott forgot to move his dragon from behind the building further keeping his line back for one more turn. Huzzah! This was clearly a mistake on Scott's part but it did prevent him from getting any units in my back field at this point in the game. Mickey also moved to try and flank charge the warriors, but Scott rolled poorly and Mickey did not make it into combat.
With no shooting (because Mickey had no available targets the way he was faced), we went right to combat. Scott's cavalry character destroyed the weapon team and ran past and out of sight of the Death Engine. The slave orc horde, who was supposed to destroy the warriors rolled extremely poorly putting only two more wounds on the warriors and then a poor nerve roll saw the warriors bounce the horde who moved back and awaited the inevitable counter charge (because at this point the warriors might as well continue to sacrifice themselves for the greater good). At this point, Scott was up 80 vps to my 50, but things were looking okay for the rats, especially if I could keep the decimators out of range for another turn by holding up the slave orcs.
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| Turn 2: Wounds mount in the center, but the rat's left flank looks shaky. |
At this point, time was beginning to run out on my timer. My first two turns, with all of the shooting and not knowing exactly what to do, cost be 25 minutes (including deployment) so with only 35 minutes left for four (or maybe five turns) I pushed faster and started moving things with less thought. The left-most Death Engine moved towards the lesser golems which were charged by the Blight horde. The warriors and Mickey double charged the Slave Orcs. The center shooters and mages moved towards the large golem while the shooters on the right flank moved towards the wavered grotesques.
Shooting saw the previously wavered gargoyles killed off with one more single hit from the clawshots on the hill. On the left flank, combined shooting put more wounds on the greater golem and the right flank completely destroyed the grotesques, routing the unit on a "4". Combat saw the blights put a few wounds on the other lesser golem unit, but the blight fell back an inch after failing to rout the golems. In the center, Mickey and the warriors punished the slave orcs for 8 wounds.
In response, Scott pushed his army forward in the hopes of cracking my shooting back field. The remaining gargoyle unit charged the weapon team on the right flank that was in the woods. The slave orcs countercharged the warriors with Mickey's help. The lesser golems counter charged the Blight horde and the cavalry character pivoted and charged the clawshot unit in the flank. Scott's remaining moves were to pivot the greater golem to face the shock troop flank and the Dragon (who didn't move last turn) flew over my units to land facing my center shooting block (and squishy looking characters). The lesser golems also managed to heal a few wounds thanks to double heals by the Iron-casters.
Combat saw off the clawshots (easily) and the warriors (also easily). In the center, the lesser golems whiffed thanks to the Scott's inability to roll average numbers and the blight's -1 to hit in combat. On the right flank, even though the gargoyles were hindered, they still routed the weapon team in the woods with their triple attacks (for being a warmachine). So even though I had managed to drop the grotesques and one unit of gargoyles, Scott had pushed back significantly and routed three units (including two of my better shooters) and put himself in better board position for the coming turns.
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| Turn #3: Combat begins in earnest and units start dropping fast. |
Turn 4 and I was still feeling rushed for time (who knew rolling dice for lots of shooters and combats could take up so much time, plus there was lots of discussion on what was going on so I understood all the crazy shenanigans). On the left flank, I gave up to let the cavalry character have his way so I could focus more on the larger units hanging around. The Blight horde counter-charged the golems and the shock horde turned to face the large golem so it wasn't flanked charged in response (I was a half inch off from a double charge on the lesser golems because they pulled back an inch after charging the blight horde last turn - some bad movement planning on my part). Mickey charged the slave orcs and the right flank collapsed towards the center to take on the Dragon with shooting and magic.
Shooting saw off the Greater Golem after being hit by a Death Engine, a weapon team, both artillery pieces (who both managed to hit), and a lightning bolt! Pretty much everything I had that was in range. The Warriors with the Diadem used their breath weapon on the Gargoyles, routing them in the process. The remaining shooting and magic went into the Dragon, but only a few more wounds were caused (not enough to scare anyone).
In combat, super Mickey routed the Slave Orcs after causing six wounds and rolling a spectacular "10" on the Nerve roll. Over on the left flank, the blight horde causes several more wounds to the lesser golems, but it was not enough to see them off the board.
Scott retaliated by continuing to crush my left flank. The lesser golems counter-charged the Blight horde and the cavalry character charged the artillery piece on my board edge. Mickey stayed put so that the Decimators could finally shoot something and the Dragon charged the enforcer in order to grab a bonus point for killing something with inspiring.
The Decimators easily killed off Mickey after putting on 8 more wounds bringing the total to 20. In combat, the lesser golems routed the blight horde after better rolling by Scott and the cavalry dude easily destroyed the ratkin artillery. On the hill, the Dragon rider whiffed and only caused 2 wounds on the enforcer who survived the attack without even being wavered! The lesser golems also managed to heal a few wounds thanks to the Iron-casters (will these stupid golems ever die?) then over-ran outside of the Death Engine's sight (depriving me of a flank charge with this hard hitting unit).
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| Turn 4 and things are really bloody now. |
Turn 5 and things were beginning to really open up. I had solidified the right flank and cleared it of enemies, but a single model of Scott's had done the same on the left flank. In the center, I was holding fairly well, but there was one large unit of Decimators staring me down and a Dragon sitting in my back field on a hill, glaring at the enforcer he failed to kill.
Having lost a flank charge on the lesser golems, I moved the Death Engine to face the Iron-casters hoping to kill them over the next few turns. The Shock Horde turned around to face the golems. The Blight horde raced towards the Decimators hoping that the -1 for being stealthy would allow the unit to make it into combat. Shooting saw a few wounds on the Decimators, but only one on the Iron-caster hit by the Death Engine (who rolled lots of "2s" and "3s" to hit rather than the "5s" needed). All the center shooting and warlock lightning bolts hit the Dragon with supreme force and all that remained of the creature was a smoking ruin (I rolled an "11" on the Nerve test to rout the creature, though I only needed a "7" thanks to some decent hits by the clawshots).
Scott, moved the lesser golems to face the Death Engine (as I had moved out of their charge last turn). Scott then healed the golems of all their wounds. The Decimators stayed put and shot at the Blight unit, damaging it, but not causing enough wounds for even a possible rout. The cavalry character charged the flanks of the clawshots and routed them in a single combat.
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| Turn 5, units dropping left and right (mostly left) |
With the game wrapping up, I tried to secure as many points as possible. The blight unit charged the decimators destroying them over two rounds of combat (as the Decimators could only counter-charge after being disrupted by the initial charge). The lesser golems were charged in the rear by the shock horde who whiffed their attacks, allowing the lesser golems to then charge the Death Engine that decided to try and shoot at the Iron-casters (causing a few wounds, but not enough for a rout). The Death Engine was destroyed and the golems were able to move out of a second charge by the shock troops. Eventually, the cavalry character was killed with combined shooting and magic, but not before he caught himself the warlock with bane chant. And with that, the game ended.
Scott only had one unit of lesser golems (who repeatedly refused to die) and both Iron-casters left on the board giving me 1790 victory points. In return, I had lost only 805, giving me a solid victory of 985 points and a 13-7 before bonus points. Checking out the bonus objectives, I managed to gain 3 more points (1 for sustaining wounds when Mickey was killed (on a poor weapon team), 1 for inflicting the most wounds on Mickey before he was killed, and 1 for routing an enemy with inspire. As I did not rout Mickey, I lost out on the final point.). This gave me a solid 16 points for Round 1 and a decent start to the tournament.
Round Battle Points: 16
Running Total Battle Points: 16
EPIC FAIL MOMENT:
For me, the epic fail moment came straight from deployment where my left flank really didn't have the tools necessary to deal with something like a mounted individual, plus I played against this character very poorly throughout the game. But I did learn a lot of tips and tricks for playing these guys and I will definitely be adding at least one mounted character to my lists in the coming future (when I can find some rat-like thing to mount a character on).
For Scott, his epic fail moment is when he failed to move his Dragon character on Turn 2 towards my artillery and character line to put additional pressure on the hill and to threaten the rear of my blight horde and shock horde. This fail allowed me to focus fire on the largest threats coming towards me without forcing me to split my shots or worry about my backfield for an additional turn. Definitely an EPIC FAIL Scott!
Round #2: Tyler Hamil - League of Rhordia
For Round 2, I was playing Tyler and his League of Rhordia list. Tyler's list was a very shooting heavy list like mine (but not as devastating as mine) coupled with several hard hitting and fast cavalry units supported by massive blocks of infantry. It was during this game, and watching Tyler's use of Rallying that I really began to see its use when deploying and moving units on the board (though I would not really pick up proper use of Rallying until Round 5 or so). Tyler's list was:
House Guard Regiment (135 pts)
House Guard Regiment (135 pts)
House Guard Regiment (135 pts)
City Spear Militia Horde (200 pts)
City Spear Militia Horde (200 pts)
City Spear Militia Horde (200 pts)
City Militia (195 pts) (Brew of Strength)
Halfling Knights (160 pts) (Maccwar's Potion of the Caterpillar)
Halfling Knights (170 pts) (Diadem of Dragon-kind)
Halfling Volley Gun (85 pts)
Halfling Volley Gun (85 pts)
Halfling Volley Gun (85 pts)
Halfling Volley Gun (85 pts)
Halfling Volley Gun (85 pts)
Battle Shrine (130 pts)
Baron on Horse (95 pts) (Dwarven Ale)
Halfling Master Engineer (70 pts)
I don't have enough experience with the game, or with the armies to discuss Tyler's unit choices or tactics, but I did notice all FIVE volley guns and spent most of my time trying to understand what they do (range, attacks, etc.). Looking back at this game, I should not have been nearly as frightened of these guns as I was. 15 attacks is a lot (or 75 attacks at a unit, really). But, generally needing "5s" to hit and having units that are stealthy (an additional -1 to hit) meant that I probably could have rushed Tyler's shooting base with both Blight hordes and focused my longer range shooting on other units during the game giving me better control of the board. Needing "6s" to hit, if all 5 volley guns shot at a Blight Horde, the horde would statistically have at least 2 turns of shooting (and maybe 3 with bad rolls) before the unit was routed. And I would have made it into contact with at least one horde, and maybe some other regiments hidden behind the initial horde. Or maybe this whole plan would have been bad, who knows as that's not how the game played out.
Round #2 was the "Real Housewives of OC" scenario and was based on the Pillage scenario with five set objectives (one in the center of the board and 2 on each player's side outside of the deployment areas). All points in the game were based on objectives, so I knew that I needed to at least take and hold three of the objectives, if not more. With that in mind, I, once again, poorly deployed my army for the scenario, but not as bad as last game (Look ma, I'm learning!).
Deployment:
For this round, the scrying gem only managed to give me a single extra deployment by Tyler which didn't help me determine what his plan was as it was clear that several of the volley guns were going to hold the flank where they would be offered cover. So two games in and this item has not really made its points worth it to me.
Tyler deployed his army on a split flank approach with a strong melee left flank that would operate as his hammer force and then a strong shooting right flank that would operate as the anvil upon which my army would hopefully break. The left flank was led by both knight units, one of which had the diadem of dragon-kind, one of the spear hordes to take charges, and all the heavy hitting house guard regiments backed up by the baron on horse and the battle shrine with its Rallying (2) ability giving all those units an additional +2 to their nerve values. One single volley gun was placed near those units to prevent a flanking force from hitting the side of the spear militia. Tyler's left flank was held down by FOUR volley guns hidden in the trees surrounded by the remaining spear militia hordes and the city militia horde protecting them from any fast forces that I may have (which of course I don't because I didn't know what I was doing when I built my army).
I deployed my army in a long line with a pretty equal distribution of shooting and combat units. Starting from the left flank, I deployed a death engine along with edge of the board and then the warriors with the diadem and a weapon team. To protect these units I deployed both warlocks, a blight horde, and another weapon team with the intent to destroy the knights. In the center I deployed the other blight horde, warriors regiment, and death engine backed up by a unit of clawshots (who could see most of Tyler's height 2 or greater units). The artillery units were deployed against the edge of the board (of course with unimpeded lines of sight to Tyler's artillery. My right flank was held down by the other unit of clawshots, the shock troop horde, and my last weapon team.
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| One day I will learn to box my units, but today was not that day. |
Tyler won the roll for first turn and surprised me by racing his whole left flank forward. I thought he was going to play a waiting game with me where we moved around each other for several turns while letting our shooting push some wounds through, but Tyler was having none of it. The whole left flank raced forward with the knight unit with the diadem moving within range to use its breath weapon on the closet weapon team. Luckily, the knights rolled poorly, being knights and not dragons, and so only caused two wounds with not even a waver from the resulting Nerve test. On the right flank the two militia units moved to better positions for later turns.
For my first turn, I pivoted my left flank to focus fire on the closest knights with the diadem and moved forward in the center slightly, making sure to stay outside of 24" from the volley guns. There was no point in rushing forward when I knew I could take at least three objectives on the last turn unless Tyler pushed through my line. Shooting on the left flank routed the knight unit in a single turn as several breath weapons and lightning bolts from the sky slew knights and horses with impunity. The combined shooting of the clawshot and artillery units also managed to rout one of the volley guns in the woods (with both artillery pieces hitting and causing two wounds each) putting a small damper on Tyler's shooting. On the very right flank the weapon team moved behind the building to get into position against the militia.
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| The rats' impressive shooting begins to take a toll on the opposing forces. |
Seeing off one unit of knights was great for me, but it didn't slow down Tyler's assault in any capacity. On the left flank, the other knight unit charged over the stone wall (becoming hindered in the process) and into my warrior unit with the diadem. The rest of the left flank continued to move forward in a solid formation, turning towards the center to face my incoming units. The center spear unit moved to take the center objective and the spear unit on the right flank began the slow process of pivoting and moving around the tower. The lightning bolt from the battle shrine hit one of my weapon teams, but once again only caused two wounds which the weapon team shrugged off. In combat, the knights (who were hindered and were thus hitting on "5s" and lost their thunderous charge) managed to only cause a few wounds against the warriors.
My turn saw the first real run of combats across the board. On the left flank, the wounded warriors counter-charged the knights with the help of the death engine. The left-most blight horde charged the spear horde in the trees (as that unit has the caterpillar potion I would not be hindered) while the other blight horde and warrior unit charged into the spear horde sitting on the center objective. The weapon teams and other units moved around to see some better targets and the shock horde on the right flank pivoted to face the spear horde moving around the tower.
The rats had another big turn during the shooting and magic phase. The weapon team on the right flank caused several wounds on the spear horde (though not enough to even pretend of wavering them). The artillery split their shots and managed to put a wound on two of the volley guns. The rest of the shooting that was within range and all of the lightning bolts managed to rip through and destroy the battle shrine in a single turn! This rout was clutch, as it was giving the spear horde that was in combat +2 Nerve. The warlock with bane chant also used his item to allow him to bane chant the blight horde for the forthcoming combat.
In combat, the combined might of the warriors and death engine crushed the knights outright, killing the entire unit. In the combat with the bane-chanted blight horde and spear militia, the blight horde managed an impressive 11 wounds thanks to the benefit of crushing strength. I then routed the spears with an impressive "11" nerve test. Had the battle shrine still been around, the spear horde would have survived even with that great roll and the blight would have been subjected to a multi-charge, including taking a unit in the flank. In the center, the blight horde and warriors managed fifteen wounds on the spear horde and an average Nerve test saw the entire unit routed.
This turn of combats opened up the entire center of the board for the rats. I had managed to take out 4 units, including some of the tar-pits that Tyler was hoping would hold my army up. It also left me in position to work around the flanks of Tyler's unit and devote more attention to his volley guns.
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| The rats take the offensive. |
Having lost some of his largest tar-pits, Tyler then unleashed his second wave of combat units across the whole board. On the left flank, a unit of house guard charged over the stone wall to hit the wounded warriors while the baron on horse charged a weapon team that managed to not quite get out of its charge range. Another unit charged the blight horde that had routed the spear militia. Finally, the other unit charged the other blight horde that had turned to face that flank. On the right flank, the spear militia charged the weapon team that had shot at them last turn, looking to destroy the foul war machine before it could do anymore damage.
The volley guns took aim and began peppering the death engine in the center of the board, destroying the contraption with their combined might (and some decent rolls to hit from Tyler). In combat, the spear militia on the right flank easily routed the weapon team. On the left flank, both house guard units that were fighting the blight hordes caused damage, but not enough to see the units routed before them. Though the were softened up significantly for later turns (crushing strength does a number on units with a defense of 3). The baron easily dispatched the weapon team before it with a flurry of attacks and even the house guard killed the wounded warriors, paying back the rats for the loss of the knight units. Ouch, that was one effective counter punch.
For my Turn 3, I pressed on, hoping to break Tyler's army from running through to the objectives outside my deployment zone. On the right flank, having lost the warriors and a weapon team, I decided that the best course of action was to shoot at the house guard and moved the death engine and characters around to be able to see the unit. Both blight hordes counter-charged the house guard units right in front of them. The warrior unit in the center charged the closest volley gun, even though it would be hindered. On the right flank, the shock horde charged the spear militia that had destroyed the weapon team. With the combined might of shooting and magic, the left-most house guard unit was destroyed. And with the remaining shooting of the clawshots and artillery, several wounds were placed on another volley gun, but a poor Nerve roll saw the gun ready to fire next turn.
In combat, one blight horde failed to cause more than a single wound on the house guard it was in combat with. However, the other horde managed to rout the other house guard unit, clearing the center of the board of everything but a volley gun. The combat between the warriors and volley gun was over quickly, even with being hindered and the warrior unit pivoted to face the other guns. On the right flank, the shock horde destroyed the wounded spear militia running forward a few inches to hide behind the tower.
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| Death and destruction on both sides, with both players losing several units. |
Tyler had managed to kill several of my units, but I gave as good as I got last turn, and with more units to lose, I had managed some serious board control, perfect for taking several of the objectives. But Tyler was not out of tricks yet, as was fighting for a minor loss, and perhaps even a draw if he could kill enough units. On the left flank, the house guard counter-charged the blight horde and the baron (whom I kept forgetting could do all kinds of crazy stuff as an individual) charged the flank of the clawshots in the center of the board. The rest of the army stayed put, hoping to blast my units away.
In the shooting phase, the various volley guns took aim, and the two in the forest destroyed the warrior unit in front of them while the volley gun in the center killed a few blight rats, but the horde was still there pressing forward. In combat, the house guard piled more wounds on the blight horde, but thanks to inspiring from the enforcer behind the unit, the unit was unscathed. The baron, even with the flank attack bonus, rolled extremely poorly and the clawshots were alive, though wavered.
I counter-charged the house guard with the blight horde in the woods, pressed forward towards the volley gun with the other blight horde, and pressed around the tower with the shock horde. Shooting was extremely ineffective without a single wound caused on any unit. In combat, however, the blight horde finally managed to rout the house guard clearing the right flank of all enemies.
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| Turn 4 and things don't change too much. |
With only a few units left, Tyler surged to try and position himself to take at least two of the objectives on the next turn. The baron charged the clawshots again, hoping to destroy them, press forward, and then get in range of two of the objectives on the next turn. The militia unit moved forward, but stayed behind the volley guns giving them an opportunity to shoot at some of my units. Tyler's then moved to shooting the volley guns. Two targeted the farthest and most damaged blight horde and managed to destroy the whole unit. The other shot at the other blight horde, but failed to cause even a single wound thanks to stealthy. In combat, the baron easily killed off the wounded clawshots.
For my Turn 5, I just re-positioned several units to take objectives on Turn 6. The shock horde moved closer to the volley guns, the remaining blight horde turned around, and the warlocks turned around to face the baron. Even the clawshots on the hill ran forward to take an objective and put some distance from the baron. Shooting this turn was as potent as Turn 2. The last death engine and weapon team killed the lone volley gun in the center of the board. Both artillery pieces chose a different volley gun in the trees and both hit, causing two and three wounds, respectively, and destroyed both machines. Lightning bolts from the warlock struck the baron and the poor man fell of his horse, never to lift his head again. This left Tyler with only a militia horde and an engineer hanging out in the trees.
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| The rats take a commanding lead before the last turn. |
Tyler's last turn saw him push the militia horde forward towards the objective, but making it just short. In response, the shock horde charged the militia, causing serious damage and bounced back onto the objective itself. My remaining units moved to the other objectives.
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| And the game ends with the rats firmly in control. |
Round Battle Points: 19
Running Total Battle Points: 35
EPIC FAIL MOMENT:
For me, the epic fail moment was failing to target the baron with a few extra lightning bolts or breath weapons when I had the chance. I was more focused on bringing Nerve tests to lower levels below needing a 6 or 7 than I was with that unit, and I paid the price dearly, losing several units to that guy.
For Tyler, his epic fail moment was moving the knight unit with the diadem within range on turn 1. I think that if Tyler had moved everything forward, but kept it out of my range forcing me to move on the first turn, he would have had a lot more Turn 2 charges as I would have had to be within 12" of the knight unit to be able to shoot. By moving so far forward solely in the hopes of killing one weapon team, Tyler pulled his army out of formation and I was able to focus fire on that unit giving him only a single Turn 2 charge which I was then able to counter effectively.
Round #3: Mike Riley - Dwarfs
For Round #3, I was playing Mike Riley and his hard-hitting and tough as nails Dwarf army. At this point, Mike and I were sitting pretty close in points, and I think we were sitting at third and fourth after the first two rounds. Mike seems to have been a fairly well known individual in the Southern California Kings of War scene, but I don't remember him from any of my prior Warhammer Fantasy tournaments down in that area. So I suspect he was an initial Kings player that has been helping develop the scene down there. His list was full of nasty hitters and units with ridiculously high defense.
Bulwarkers (255 pts) (Fire-Oil)
Ironwatch Rifles (300 pts) (Brew of Keen-eyeness)
Rangers (135 pts)
Earth Elementals (215 pts) (Brew of Haste)
Berserker Brock Riders (230 pts) (Maccwar's Potion of the Caterpillar)
Berserker Brock Riders (240 pts) (Brew of Strength)
Flame Belcher (85 pts)
Flame Belcher (85 pts)
Stone Priest (120 pts) (Surge (8), Bane Chant)
King on Large Beast (175 pts) (Blade of Slashing)
Greater Earth Elemental (160 pts)
Steel Behemoth (250 pts)
Now, after having played this army, I can say that it is an absolute BEAST of an army. When players complain of armies that contain too much shooting, it is because of armies like these, that such armies like mine exist. Almost everything in the army is fearless, has high Nerve values, and defenses of 5 or 6 (with all of the heavy hitters having defense 6). Fighting this army relies on amazing dice rolls, especially when you have limited experience with the game. And unfortunately, Mike was no slouch at this game and played this army to the absolute best it could be played, holding up massive amounts of my army or destroying portions outright with just a few units.
Round #3 was the Beach Blanket scenario. The purpose of this scenario was to end the game with a leader point on the blanket. One blanket was "the chosen" blanket and would be worth additional points while the other blankets would be worth less victory points. No additional victory points could be earned in this game. Prior to deployment, both Mike and I chose our special blankets, with Mike choosing the one on the left flank while I chose the one in the direct center of the board.
Deployment:
Having secretly chosen our special blankets, we proceeded to deployment. On Mike's side, he deployed with a fast flanking force on the left flank with a strong melee center and a shooting right flank. Both Brock Rider units and the lord guy on beast deployed heavy left. The center was the earth elementals, greater elemental, behemoth, flame belchers, character, and bulwakers. The right flank was held down by the small dwarf unit and the larger shooting unit.
My deployment was completely haphazard and didn't really put a strong emphasis on any blanket which was clearly poor deployment on my part (In fact, after the game Mike walked me through better deployment for my list and it was after this that I finally began to see the real promise in the Ratkin army). On the left flank to combat the Brock Riders, who looked like the most dangerous thing in Mike's army, I deployed both death engines and two weapon teams. In the center was both blight hordes blocking all the characters, another weapon team, both artillery pieces, two clawshoot troops and a warrior unit. On the left flank I deployed the shock horde and the warriors with the diadem to go after and rout Mike's shooting flank.
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| Deployment of the rats. Also known as the thin green line. |
Mike went first and pushed his whole army forward, but together, so that no one unit got too far ahead from any supporting units. The Brock riders moved the furthest, but the center units pulled in and moved closer to the blankets. On the right flank the dwarf shooting units moved forward and shot at the warriors with the diadem. Thanks to some amazing rolling on Mike's part, particularly with the small troop of shooters, Mike routed the entire warrior unit.
On my first turn, I moved up tentatively, not really jumping up more than a few inches with each unit except for the shock horde on the right flank. The death engines took aim at the right-most brock riders and managed a few wounds, but nothing serious. The clawshots took aim and put a wound on the behemoth while combined lightning bolts put a few wounds on the greater elemental.
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| Turn 1 and the rats are already down a unit and a breath weapon. |
Mike continued his hard advance beginning to put pressure on the rats. The brock riders came within charge range of the death engines and weapon teams supported by the lord on beast. The center units pivoted to head towards the center blanket and towards the center copse of trees while the right flank stayed put to begin targeting the shock horde which took several wounds, but was still in fighting shape.
For my Turn 2, I began pulling back most of my forces to be outside of Mike's possible charge ranges for another turn (hoping that I can kill some of the center units with shooting, or at least put some wounds on them) except on the right flank where the shock horde rushed forward to take the blanket, hopefully securing it for the game. However, over on the left flank I raced one of the weapon teams forward before the brock riders hoping to use it as a road block for a turn. With the combined shooting of the death engines and weapon teams I was able to rout the right-most Brock Riders thereby giving me a chance to swing around the left flank. Shooting form the center units and the lightning bolts were able to put a few more wounds on the greater elemental, behemoth, and bulwarker unit. Unfortunately, thanks to their high defense and fearless characteristics, I was a long, long way from being able to rout the units. I was going to realistically need another 10 or more wounds before there was a decent chance to rout even one of these units.
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| Turn 2 and the Dwarf's high toughness keeps the Dwarf battle line intact. |
At the start of the turn, Mike took the easy charge with the remaining Brock Rider unit into the weapon team (destroying it under thunderous hooves) to clear a breath weapon off the table while the lord on beast moved towards the other weapon team, but out of distance or line of sight from the death engines. In the center of the board all of the units moved forward into the trees with the steel behemoth lining up its breath weapon on the third weapon team, destroying it in one fiery explosion. On the right flank, the two units of Dwarf shooters took aim and pummeled the shock troops on the blanket, routing the unit (Mike rolled amazing damage and an even more amazing rout check of a "10" to see the unit off before it could charge the closet Dwarf unit).
After Mike's complete destruction of my right flank, I was ready to try and crush the left flank so that I could begin swinging over to help the center. With that in mind, both death engines charged the brock riders. The remaining weapon team moved back to shoot at the lord on beast. In the center, all units pulled back again to try and minimize the number of charges Mike could make. With my remaining shooting and magic I pushed through a few more wounds on the earth elementals, greater elemental, and lord on beast, but not enough to rout any of the units. In combat, I rolled low for both Death Engine attacks and only put on 8 wounds which was not enough to see the unit routed. Bad news all around for the rats.
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| Mike's Dwarfs continue their push toward the rat lines. |
Turn 3 ended badly for the rats. The dwarfs were close to the rat lines and all of the blankets were within range by the dwarf units. Mike responded to the poor showing by the rats last turn by pressing his advantage. On the left flank the brock riders counter-charged one of the death engines and the lord on beast moved towards the weapon team hoping to silence it next turn. In the center, the greater elemental charged the left-most blight unit while the earth elementals and behemoth moved forward slightly (but not out of the terrain). The Bulwarkers moved onto the center blanket to take control of it and the shooters on the right flank pivoted to face the center and began moving forward slightly.
Mike's shooting, which had been far more accurate and deadly than my shooting so far this game, continued its domination as the clawshots on the hill were routed. In combat, the Brock Riders easily destroyed the death engine that was counter-charged and the greater elemental killed a few blight rats, but not enough to worry the unit.
At the top of my Turn 4, things were starting to look really bleak for the rats and I really needed to put pressure on the Dwarfs (something I had failed to do for the first few turns as I wasn't sure what to do, as evidenced by my constant moving forward and back). The last death engine charged the wounded Brock Riders and was finally able to rout them in the ensuing combat. The last weapon team moved back and fired at the lord, but failed to do a single wound. In the center, the blight horde shouldered off its few wounds and counter-charged the greater elemental causing even more wounds on the creature but a low Nerve roll kept the greater elemental alive. The other Blight horde charged the earth elementals in the woods and with the help of Bane Chant from one of the warlocks routed the elementals in a single round (though they were heavily wounded before the combat).
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| Turn 4 and the rats' counter attack begins, but it might be too little too late. |
Though I had managed to kill a few units, Mike was in prime position for board control. Over on the left flank, the lord on beast charged the weapon team and crushed it beneath the beast. In the center, the greater elemental counter-charged the blight horde while the flame belchers moved into range. The behemoth turned to face a warlock and and a as flame fell on the poor creature (with help from a flame belcher) it burned and screamed as it melted into oblivion. The right flank of the dwarfs, which had just been kicking my ass, continued to dominate and routed the other warrior unit under a barrage of bolts. In combat, the greater elemental killed a few more rats but the horde stayed strong.
For my Turn 5, my best chance was to collapse on center and take the blanket from the Bulwarkers. On the left flank, the Death Engine moved towards a flame belcher hoping to destroy it, but a poor attack roll and the weapon team was still standing. The blight horde counter-charged the greater elemental, finally crushing it beneath the might of so many rats (and some much-needed "6s"). The other blight horde charged the bulwarkers hoping to push them off the blanket, but only managed to push through a few wounds during the first round of combat.
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| Turn 5 and the rats still don't have a blanket. |
Turn 6 rolled around and Mike continued his onslaught against the rats. On the left flank, the lord on beast (who had turned around after destroying the weapon team) charged the death engine and routed the unit in the combat. The flame belchers moved towards and fired at the left-most blight horde routing that unit as well with the breath weapon attacks. The Bulwarkers counter-charged the center blight horde looking to push them off the Blanket while the devastating right flank routed the other clawshot unit.
Going into my Turn 6 my only option at this point was to charge the Bulwakers and stay on the blanket. Although I failed to rout the unit, the blight horde was still on the blanket at the end of the game. And with that sole combat, the game ended as I rolled a "1" in an epic dice roll to make sure that there was no Turn 7.
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| Turn 6 and the blankets are contested. |
Round Battle Points: 12
Running Total Battle Points: 47
End of Day Placing: 2nd
EPIC FAIL MOMENT:
For me, the epic fail moment was my entire deployment and early turn moves. Mike discussed my army with me after the game and helped me see how my deployment in a line really hampered my ability to do much this game and how I should have engaged with the dwarfs earlier so that I was closer to the blankets much earlier in the game.
For Mike, his epic fail moment was his Turn 6 play with the Lord. Mike didn't realize that it was Turn 6 until after he had finished his turn. Had he simply moved the lord on beast (who was not an individual) onto his favored blanket rather than charge the death engine, he would have gained 800 more victory points giving him a 14 point win plus some of the bonus points. Because of this mistake I was able to take the game to a Draw on Turn 6.
. . . continued in Part 2.
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