Over the past month one of the hot topics on Warhammer forums has been the so-called "Rage-Quitting" by veteran players. If you believe the posts this is in part because the game now requires less sophisticated tactics, is prone to big spell-itis and has generally been "dumbed down".
Now I don't prescribe to those theories (with the exception that a big spell can hurt you and completely disrupt your battleplan) as I think the game has moved on, evolved, what-have-you.
At Pilgrimage in August, three scenarios were played - Battleline, Meeting Engagement and Battle for the Pass. Post-event you should have heard the gnashing of teeth as various people catalogued how the scenarios neutered their armis. For goodness sake people read the Players Pack. You knew where playing them. Construct your army to deal with them!
Which brings me to the point of this post - The Scenarios.
I was always a nay-sayer re scenarios in 7th Edition. However in 8th Edition I believe that GW have hit a winner. The scenarios are varied and if you play all six of them, internally balanced. What sort of army can win Battleline? An extreme army - be it in terms of magic, points denial or hitting power. What type of army will dominate tournaments where the full gambit of scenarios are played - a balanced army.
Only want ghouls as your Core Infantry? Good luck for "Blood and Glory". Only want to take big blocks in Battleline? Good luck when you meet a bigger dog (read deathstar) and can't deal with it - I'll bet then you wished you had spent 100 points on three cheap throwaway units rather than the "uber-mega-combo of doom" sword on your Lord. Playing "Watchtower" - well you better have something in your list that can claim the tower (20 or less core infantry) or shift the incumbents. Put 1000 points in your Deathstar? Hope you don't roll a "1" in "Meeting Engagement" or it gets separated from your main force in "Dawn Attack".
The scenarios provide a balance that acts as a form of comp over the course of a tournament. Yes you might compete well in "Battleline" but let's see you across the full gambit.
This of course is predicated on the fact that you are playing the scenarios. Already I have seen events where scenarios like "Watchtower" or "Blood & Glory" have their objective reduced to 400-500VPs. This isn't playing scenarios (nor do I believe is it giving the game a fair chance). This is playing "Battleline - with a Twist of Lemon". In a lot of cases I think this is the influence of compromise to appease the Rage-Quitters. These guys don't want to give up their 7th Ed paradigm.
At Skitterleap III this weekend, the scenarios are......the scenarios. If you don't control the Watchtower you don't win the game. If your Fortitude level is breached you don't win the game. Yes there is an opportunity to score points/lose points but the scenario is sacrosanct.
I see the ability to adapt, evolve, amend your battleplan and list as the key in 8th Ed.
The game has moved on from the ability to judge distances and know with near absolute certainty the outcome of particular combat. It is now about risk management, risk mitigation, having a balanced army to cover various scenarios and contingencies.......and especially having a Plan B when shit happens.
To mix historical references - "It's a Brave New World out there, evolve or die".
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Magic Defense - Lore of Life (Rethink)
On an earlier post I indicated that when I played against Lore of Life I typically let my opponent get off "Throne of Vines" and then dispelled it in my next phase at its given casting value.
In retrospect, my thinking was coloured by the fact that the most common LoL caster was a Slaan and typically they backed it up with Cupped Hands (allowing them to bounce a miscast on a 2+). I still think that this is the way to go against such a beastie but have changed my view when they don't have Cupped Hands.
Why?
Well purely down to the Miscast defense that "Throne of Vines" has on the rest of the magic phase. When there is no other Miscast defense, the successful throwing of Throne of Vines stacks the cards in the favour of the caster for the rest of the phase. It gives them 80%+ impunity from a miscast meaning that they can quite happily pick up 5-6 dice for that important "Flesh to Stone", "Regrowth" or offensively "Dwellers Below".
So now if I see no Cupped Hands, I'll shut down "Throne of Vines" as a priority with the downside that I may have to where one or other spells (but probably not "Dwellers Below" at its lower casting effect.
It took me awhile - but I got there!
In retrospect, my thinking was coloured by the fact that the most common LoL caster was a Slaan and typically they backed it up with Cupped Hands (allowing them to bounce a miscast on a 2+). I still think that this is the way to go against such a beastie but have changed my view when they don't have Cupped Hands.
Why?
Well purely down to the Miscast defense that "Throne of Vines" has on the rest of the magic phase. When there is no other Miscast defense, the successful throwing of Throne of Vines stacks the cards in the favour of the caster for the rest of the phase. It gives them 80%+ impunity from a miscast meaning that they can quite happily pick up 5-6 dice for that important "Flesh to Stone", "Regrowth" or offensively "Dwellers Below".
So now if I see no Cupped Hands, I'll shut down "Throne of Vines" as a priority with the downside that I may have to where one or other spells (but probably not "Dwellers Below" at its lower casting effect.
It took me awhile - but I got there!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Skitterleap Lists
Here are the lists for Skitterleap.
A very mixed field:
3 Warriors of Chaos
2 Beastmen
2 Dwarfs
2 Lizardmen
2 Daemons of Chaos
2 High Elves
2 Skaven
1 Vampire Counts
1 Ogre Kingdoms
1 Bretonnian
1 Orcs & Goblins
So no Empire, Wood Elves, Tomb Kings or Dark Elves.
We are playing all the scenarios sans Battleline so it will be intriguing to see who gets up.
A very mixed field:
3 Warriors of Chaos
2 Beastmen
2 Dwarfs
2 Lizardmen
2 Daemons of Chaos
2 High Elves
2 Skaven
1 Vampire Counts
1 Ogre Kingdoms
1 Bretonnian
1 Orcs & Goblins
So no Empire, Wood Elves, Tomb Kings or Dark Elves.
We are playing all the scenarios sans Battleline so it will be intriguing to see who gets up.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Skitterleap Composition
Skitterleap III has no formal composition criteria. Instead I have sent guidelines to the participants and reminded them that there is a judge veto if a list is deemed too strong relative to the rest of the field.
Here's the guidelines:
As per the players Pack there is no formal comp for this tournament HOWEVER I am asking players to be mindful that we are in the early stages of 8th edition and to consider their opponent’s enjoyment as well as their own.
Some suggested guidelines when composing your list are:
No Power Scroll
If you are bringing Lizards you can choose only two of the following three on your Slaan – Focused Rumination, Focus of Mystery, Cupped Hands
No repeated Rare warmachines
Only one unit of Flamers (limited to six models)
Warmachine cap of 4 (Steam Tank counts as one). If you bring three of the same Special choice warmachines then the third counts as two (e.g. you can have 2 cannons + other warmachines but if you have three cannons that’s your lot).
One list has already been sent back - High Elves with 7 levels of Magic, Book of Hoeth and Banner of Sorcery - as it was felt that it would definitely dominate one phase of the game to the extent whereby other participants would not enjoy the game.
My stance remains the same. At this stage I prefer that the core rules remain intact. However that means players need to self-regulate to an extent re their lists. The comp guidelines are backed with a veto/resubmit for those that can't.
The day when there will be more formalised comp is coming - as people recognise those aspects that need addressing and the effects of any solutions imposed.
Here's the guidelines:
As per the players Pack there is no formal comp for this tournament HOWEVER I am asking players to be mindful that we are in the early stages of 8th edition and to consider their opponent’s enjoyment as well as their own.
Some suggested guidelines when composing your list are:
No Power Scroll
If you are bringing Lizards you can choose only two of the following three on your Slaan – Focused Rumination, Focus of Mystery, Cupped Hands
No repeated Rare warmachines
Only one unit of Flamers (limited to six models)
Warmachine cap of 4 (Steam Tank counts as one). If you bring three of the same Special choice warmachines then the third counts as two (e.g. you can have 2 cannons + other warmachines but if you have three cannons that’s your lot).
One list has already been sent back - High Elves with 7 levels of Magic, Book of Hoeth and Banner of Sorcery - as it was felt that it would definitely dominate one phase of the game to the extent whereby other participants would not enjoy the game.
My stance remains the same. At this stage I prefer that the core rules remain intact. However that means players need to self-regulate to an extent re their lists. The comp guidelines are backed with a veto/resubmit for those that can't.
The day when there will be more formalised comp is coming - as people recognise those aspects that need addressing and the effects of any solutions imposed.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Skaven at Guardcon Part 3
So I hit my targets - made the Top 5 and the final of Players Choice.
How did the army perform?
Well the answer is......mixed.
Looking at the various parts of the army, here's my thoughts:
Characters
No problem.....did exactly what I wanted. Wouldn't change the kit.
Core
Again performed as expected. Having the naked Engineer in the Slaves really worked, lifting them to Ld 8 outside the General's range.
Specials
The Plague Monks were mixed. Against the Lizards they suffered from a bad roll of dice with Steg doing 18 impact or thunderstomp hits in two rounds of combat. They got rolled by Nikola's Chosen but that is to be expected.
The Gutter Runners were excellent. They are critical for taking out warmachines, possibly characters etc. Their poison attacks are gold. The only thing is that I need to be patient and I need to protect them - Storm banner, Warpgale etc - as they only have the ninja save.
Rare
The Abomination was fine. He got Gatewayed and beaten up charging a building but generally he was always a thread. Opponents hate him and that's good enough for me.
The big disappointments in the list were the warmachines. They largely did nothing all weekend ...... or that's how it seemed. The Warp Lightning Cannon especially underperformed. Dropping from two to one after Pilgrimage was really noticeable as you take the redundancy out of the list. With two you know you'll probably get a job done but with one ....and two chances to misfire....efficiency drops.
The Furnace was good at this event as it can fire indirectly. However again it underperformed, misfiring and exploding twice on Turn 1 this event.
Conclusion
I wouldn't change the list but I will change some of my decision-making in future.
I love my Skaven and love their unpredictable nature.
How did the army perform?
Well the answer is......mixed.
Looking at the various parts of the army, here's my thoughts:
Characters
No problem.....did exactly what I wanted. Wouldn't change the kit.
Core
Again performed as expected. Having the naked Engineer in the Slaves really worked, lifting them to Ld 8 outside the General's range.
Specials
The Plague Monks were mixed. Against the Lizards they suffered from a bad roll of dice with Steg doing 18 impact or thunderstomp hits in two rounds of combat. They got rolled by Nikola's Chosen but that is to be expected.
The Gutter Runners were excellent. They are critical for taking out warmachines, possibly characters etc. Their poison attacks are gold. The only thing is that I need to be patient and I need to protect them - Storm banner, Warpgale etc - as they only have the ninja save.
Rare
The Abomination was fine. He got Gatewayed and beaten up charging a building but generally he was always a thread. Opponents hate him and that's good enough for me.
The big disappointments in the list were the warmachines. They largely did nothing all weekend ...... or that's how it seemed. The Warp Lightning Cannon especially underperformed. Dropping from two to one after Pilgrimage was really noticeable as you take the redundancy out of the list. With two you know you'll probably get a job done but with one ....and two chances to misfire....efficiency drops.
The Furnace was good at this event as it can fire indirectly. However again it underperformed, misfiring and exploding twice on Turn 1 this event.
Conclusion
I wouldn't change the list but I will change some of my decision-making in future.
I love my Skaven and love their unpredictable nature.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Player Etiquette - Conceding Games
Over the weekend at Guardcon there were at least two instances of what I consider questionable etiquette by players. I'm sure this also happens around the world from time to time, be it Newcastle, Warrington or Baltimore.
On the two occasions at Guardcon, players conceded their games early, giving their opponents 20-0 ones. In at least one of these cases, it is likely that the game would have been far closer if played to conclusion - estimates were that it would have finished somewhere between 12-8 and 15-5.
As another player I have a real problem with this. Conceding a game and giving an opponent points that they did not earn distorts the event for all the other players. Basically I feel it betrays a lack of respect for the TO and for the other players as well as depriving your opponent of the opportunity to enjoy their win.
The only instance where I can see some leeway is if your opponent is engaging in seriously unsporting behaviour.
Essentially I don't care that:
a) you can't win;
b) you're not enjoying the game; or
c) your dice have deserted you.
In these instances you man up and give your opponent the opportunity to enjoy the victory.
Why do I think this? Well, courtesy. Courtesy to your opponent, courtesy to the TO and courtesy to the other players.
This after all was a six round tournament. People didn't pay (or travel) to play in a five and a half round event. They are there for a weekend of enjoyment and by conceding you are shortchanging them.
It impacts the other players. While it's a social event it is also a contest and I know I, for one, make my opponent fight for every point because that is what I expect others to do. To give up is a big finger to each and every player at the event indicating that your sensitivities are more important than their competition.
Play the game out. I've been on the losing side many times and in every situation there is something you can gain. It might be minor like keeping a certain unit alive or major like the satisfaction that you have respected your opponent by making them earn every point.
On the two occasions at Guardcon, players conceded their games early, giving their opponents 20-0 ones. In at least one of these cases, it is likely that the game would have been far closer if played to conclusion - estimates were that it would have finished somewhere between 12-8 and 15-5.
As another player I have a real problem with this. Conceding a game and giving an opponent points that they did not earn distorts the event for all the other players. Basically I feel it betrays a lack of respect for the TO and for the other players as well as depriving your opponent of the opportunity to enjoy their win.
The only instance where I can see some leeway is if your opponent is engaging in seriously unsporting behaviour.
Essentially I don't care that:
a) you can't win;
b) you're not enjoying the game; or
c) your dice have deserted you.
In these instances you man up and give your opponent the opportunity to enjoy the victory.
Why do I think this? Well, courtesy. Courtesy to your opponent, courtesy to the TO and courtesy to the other players.
This after all was a six round tournament. People didn't pay (or travel) to play in a five and a half round event. They are there for a weekend of enjoyment and by conceding you are shortchanging them.
It impacts the other players. While it's a social event it is also a contest and I know I, for one, make my opponent fight for every point because that is what I expect others to do. To give up is a big finger to each and every player at the event indicating that your sensitivities are more important than their competition.
Play the game out. I've been on the losing side many times and in every situation there is something you can gain. It might be minor like keeping a certain unit alive or major like the satisfaction that you have respected your opponent by making them earn every point.
Skaven at Guardcon Part 2
So a big Day Two is needed.
Round 4 I was drawn against Paul Davison and his Skaven in the Dawn Attack scenario. I set up first put Paul stole the first turn from me. My deployment would have allowed me to attempt to assassinate his Grey Seer with Gutter Runners. When Paul failed to deal with the Gutter Runners my eyes lit up. In they went and duly killed the general. From here I thought things should have been relatively straightforward but for a variety of reasons I could just not finish units off and Paul was able to rally broken units even without the General's steadying influence. As the game went on Paul was reduced to no wizards yet my three guys continually failed to prosecute their magic dominance. The game finished in a very frustrating 11-9 win to Paul.
My fifth round opponent was Tim Norling who I had traveled up with. We play regularly and discuss lists to death. Therefore I knew his list and he knew mine. Unfortunately for me we were playing in the worst scenario for Skaven versus Warriors of Chaos, Watchtower. Tim won the roll and placed 18 Chaos Warriors with Banner of Rage in the building. I wasn't sure how I'd get them out. In the end the game came down to a few key decisions. Firstly, me putting my Abomination into the building. Wrong. Secondly, Tim bringing his Warriors out to threaten the flank of my Furnace unit. Wrong. Thirdly, me using a redirector to set up a multiple charge on his knights. Right. I was able to charge Tim's Warriors in the flank after they had seen off the HPA and ventured out, breaking them and turning the battle. I think if Tim hadn't pulled them out but instead moved his characters to join them then he would have won. Once I had the ascendancy I applied my foot to his throat and ground out an 18-2 win.
In the final round I played Luke Brimblecombe and his Warriors of Chaos. Luke had been leading the tournament early on and still on Table one in Round 5. Like all three of my WoC opponents over the weekend, he had a 45-50 model unit of Great Weapon wielding Marauders. I sensed early on that Luke was keen to get a good finish in the event and he mentioned that he didn't want to fall to 20th so I assumed (correctly) that he'd take a defensive stance. He had a Level 4 with Heavens and his offence over the course of the game was pretty much confined to bringing down the Comet. Over the middle turns he was able to bring down three of them but although of varying degrees of power they only accounted for my Ratapult. I was able to pick up a couple of units of Dogs, the Warshrine and a unit of knights (the other was reduced to one model) and I suspect Luke was pretty happy to concede a 12-8 win to me.
So I finished on 75 points and with full painting, sports and composition this was enough to give me Second Place (my son Jack incurred a comp hit that cost him second). I was also very pleased to pick up Players Choice for Best Painted Army.
The final instalment tomorrow where I'll give a wrap-up.
Round 4 I was drawn against Paul Davison and his Skaven in the Dawn Attack scenario. I set up first put Paul stole the first turn from me. My deployment would have allowed me to attempt to assassinate his Grey Seer with Gutter Runners. When Paul failed to deal with the Gutter Runners my eyes lit up. In they went and duly killed the general. From here I thought things should have been relatively straightforward but for a variety of reasons I could just not finish units off and Paul was able to rally broken units even without the General's steadying influence. As the game went on Paul was reduced to no wizards yet my three guys continually failed to prosecute their magic dominance. The game finished in a very frustrating 11-9 win to Paul.
My fifth round opponent was Tim Norling who I had traveled up with. We play regularly and discuss lists to death. Therefore I knew his list and he knew mine. Unfortunately for me we were playing in the worst scenario for Skaven versus Warriors of Chaos, Watchtower. Tim won the roll and placed 18 Chaos Warriors with Banner of Rage in the building. I wasn't sure how I'd get them out. In the end the game came down to a few key decisions. Firstly, me putting my Abomination into the building. Wrong. Secondly, Tim bringing his Warriors out to threaten the flank of my Furnace unit. Wrong. Thirdly, me using a redirector to set up a multiple charge on his knights. Right. I was able to charge Tim's Warriors in the flank after they had seen off the HPA and ventured out, breaking them and turning the battle. I think if Tim hadn't pulled them out but instead moved his characters to join them then he would have won. Once I had the ascendancy I applied my foot to his throat and ground out an 18-2 win.
In the final round I played Luke Brimblecombe and his Warriors of Chaos. Luke had been leading the tournament early on and still on Table one in Round 5. Like all three of my WoC opponents over the weekend, he had a 45-50 model unit of Great Weapon wielding Marauders. I sensed early on that Luke was keen to get a good finish in the event and he mentioned that he didn't want to fall to 20th so I assumed (correctly) that he'd take a defensive stance. He had a Level 4 with Heavens and his offence over the course of the game was pretty much confined to bringing down the Comet. Over the middle turns he was able to bring down three of them but although of varying degrees of power they only accounted for my Ratapult. I was able to pick up a couple of units of Dogs, the Warshrine and a unit of knights (the other was reduced to one model) and I suspect Luke was pretty happy to concede a 12-8 win to me.
So I finished on 75 points and with full painting, sports and composition this was enough to give me Second Place (my son Jack incurred a comp hit that cost him second). I was also very pleased to pick up Players Choice for Best Painted Army.
The final instalment tomorrow where I'll give a wrap-up.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Skaven at Guardcon Part 1
Over the weekend I played at Guardcon in Auckland. The event attracted 36 players from across the North Island. I must admit I approached the event with some trepidation. The City Guard forums had been the scene of a fair amount of whinging leading into the event and I felt for the TO, Nick Irvine.
I took the Skaven list that I posted last week. It meet all the Composition guidelines set before the event so I wasn't surprised it was okayed without any drama. The list competes in all phases and I felt it was suited to the event where each of the rulebook scenarios sans "Battle for the Pass" would be used. So was I right? Well read on.
Over the course of the weekend I had six enjoyable games against six sporting opponents. My results ranged from 20-0 for to 13-7 against. My record was 3 wins and 3 losses. So what did I learn?
My first game versus Nicholas Ng was very one-sided. We were playing Meeting Engagement and Nic had an Empire army. I felt Nic deployed too far forward and this was magnified when I snatched the first turn. From here I was able to engineer the matchups I wanted and roll up Nic's army for very little cost.
In my second game I played Simon Kwok's Lizards in "Battleline". This game really reflected the vagaries of 8th. I felt I played extremely well and had Simon's army very much on the backfoot. Most units were at or below half strength after judicious use of magic, shooting and positioning of my combat units. As I moved in for the kill Simon's Slaan got off an IF Dwellers Below which killed my Grey Seer.From memory it was only on 3-4 dice so double grrrr. I resisted the urge to log onto Wargamerau and vent my anger in a thread about how bad 8th Ed was or to immediately rush over to the Warmachine Demo table and sign on with my local pressganger. Instead I smiled and remembered there were (probably) games that I had won through luck rather than skill. Simon brightened up immensely as prior to this he'd been rather shellshocked. I got the feeling he still thought he was down but I knew he was now at least a couple of hundred points up. He charged an Ancient Steg into the front of my Furnace and rolled 6 for both Impact and Thunderstomp. With my Seer gone he could raise back any wounds I did to the big lizard and with another 6 for Thunderstomp was able to eventually kill my Monks by the end of the game. This gave him a 13-7.
I didn't think I did much wrong in this game but sometimes luck just bites you in the arse. As the French say "That is Life".
My next game against Nikola's Warriors started in similar fashion with me cutting swathes through his army with some nice magic and shots. However in this case it wasn't Fate that came back to haunt me....rather it was poor play on my part. Well partly anyway. I took the option to use my Abomination to finish off the 50 man Marauder block rather than contact the Hellcannon. My Grey Seer back from last game's vacation decided to move his unit forward. As soon as I did it I saw my mistake. I had left my unit 14" from his Hellannon. Hoping Nikola hadn't seen it I thought I might still geet back from this. Unfortunately Nikola eagle-eyed the brave little rat flipping him the bird and of course rolled 8 on his two dice. No worries I thought, the Seerlord is a tough little bugger. He survived the first round left on a single wound and then I Skalmed them back. In my turn the HellPit turned to set up a charge versus the rear of the Chosen. My chance to get out of jail came in the Magic Phase but I was too cute. Rather than 6 dice Skitterleap, I tried to draw out Nikola's dice by talking up Plague, Skorch etc. He didn't fall for it and my Seer didn't survive a second round. Note to Self: Don't piss around in future! This was compounded in the next turn by Nikola "Gatewaying" my Abomination. His Chosen and lord made short work of the Furnace. A truly bloody battle 11-9 to the Warriors.
So end of Day One I'm on 36 points and with a 1-2 record.....need big Day Two...
The rest tomorrow
I took the Skaven list that I posted last week. It meet all the Composition guidelines set before the event so I wasn't surprised it was okayed without any drama. The list competes in all phases and I felt it was suited to the event where each of the rulebook scenarios sans "Battle for the Pass" would be used. So was I right? Well read on.
Over the course of the weekend I had six enjoyable games against six sporting opponents. My results ranged from 20-0 for to 13-7 against. My record was 3 wins and 3 losses. So what did I learn?
My first game versus Nicholas Ng was very one-sided. We were playing Meeting Engagement and Nic had an Empire army. I felt Nic deployed too far forward and this was magnified when I snatched the first turn. From here I was able to engineer the matchups I wanted and roll up Nic's army for very little cost.
In my second game I played Simon Kwok's Lizards in "Battleline". This game really reflected the vagaries of 8th. I felt I played extremely well and had Simon's army very much on the backfoot. Most units were at or below half strength after judicious use of magic, shooting and positioning of my combat units. As I moved in for the kill Simon's Slaan got off an IF Dwellers Below which killed my Grey Seer.From memory it was only on 3-4 dice so double grrrr. I resisted the urge to log onto Wargamerau and vent my anger in a thread about how bad 8th Ed was or to immediately rush over to the Warmachine Demo table and sign on with my local pressganger. Instead I smiled and remembered there were (probably) games that I had won through luck rather than skill. Simon brightened up immensely as prior to this he'd been rather shellshocked. I got the feeling he still thought he was down but I knew he was now at least a couple of hundred points up. He charged an Ancient Steg into the front of my Furnace and rolled 6 for both Impact and Thunderstomp. With my Seer gone he could raise back any wounds I did to the big lizard and with another 6 for Thunderstomp was able to eventually kill my Monks by the end of the game. This gave him a 13-7.
I didn't think I did much wrong in this game but sometimes luck just bites you in the arse. As the French say "That is Life".
My next game against Nikola's Warriors started in similar fashion with me cutting swathes through his army with some nice magic and shots. However in this case it wasn't Fate that came back to haunt me....rather it was poor play on my part. Well partly anyway. I took the option to use my Abomination to finish off the 50 man Marauder block rather than contact the Hellcannon. My Grey Seer back from last game's vacation decided to move his unit forward. As soon as I did it I saw my mistake. I had left my unit 14" from his Hellannon. Hoping Nikola hadn't seen it I thought I might still geet back from this. Unfortunately Nikola eagle-eyed the brave little rat flipping him the bird and of course rolled 8 on his two dice. No worries I thought, the Seerlord is a tough little bugger. He survived the first round left on a single wound and then I Skalmed them back. In my turn the HellPit turned to set up a charge versus the rear of the Chosen. My chance to get out of jail came in the Magic Phase but I was too cute. Rather than 6 dice Skitterleap, I tried to draw out Nikola's dice by talking up Plague, Skorch etc. He didn't fall for it and my Seer didn't survive a second round. Note to Self: Don't piss around in future! This was compounded in the next turn by Nikola "Gatewaying" my Abomination. His Chosen and lord made short work of the Furnace. A truly bloody battle 11-9 to the Warriors.
So end of Day One I'm on 36 points and with a 1-2 record.....need big Day Two...
The rest tomorrow
Friday, September 17, 2010
Skitterleap III
The last Wellington two day tournament of the year is Skitterleap III on the first weekend in October.
Numbers are starting to build and it looks like a final number of 24+.
The tournament is 2400 points with no comp (just an independent judge's veto option for any army deemed to be too strong in any one phase or out of whack with strength of other entrants).
All the rulebook scenarios will be used as will some random terrain aspects.
If you are in or around Wellington that weekend, drop me a note to sign up or feel free to drop in for a look.
Numbers are starting to build and it looks like a final number of 24+.
The tournament is 2400 points with no comp (just an independent judge's veto option for any army deemed to be too strong in any one phase or out of whack with strength of other entrants).
All the rulebook scenarios will be used as will some random terrain aspects.
If you are in or around Wellington that weekend, drop me a note to sign up or feel free to drop in for a look.
Guardcon This Weekend
So I've got Guardcon in Auckland this weekend. Speaking to a couple of mates this morning I told them that I was pretty much over all the bitching and moaning that seems to coalesce around a lot of the Auckland events. The Comp whinging and campaigning gets very old, very fast.
I have a lot of respect for the TO and Umpire this year, Nick Irvine. If he wasn't running it (and if the flights to Auckland hadn't been purchased before the whinging started) then I probably would have opted out. That said, once there I'm sure it will be a good event and I'll have some great games.
In the first round I am playing Nicholas Ng who is running Empire. Guardcon allows first round grudge matches and I use it as an opportunity to play somebody I haven't played before. Empire certainly has the firepower to deal with Skaven so it should be a good matchup.
So what are my targets for the weekend? Last year I finished 29th out of 62 which I was really disappointed with given I won 5 out of 6 games and scored full Sports/Painting. This year there are 38 players. I'll be disappointed if I don't make the Top 10. My target is Top 6 and anything more than that will be an added bonus. Hoping too, to get my Skaven through to the final cut for Players' Choice.
Tune in Monday to find out how I did....Same Rat-time, Same Rat-Channel
I have a lot of respect for the TO and Umpire this year, Nick Irvine. If he wasn't running it (and if the flights to Auckland hadn't been purchased before the whinging started) then I probably would have opted out. That said, once there I'm sure it will be a good event and I'll have some great games.
In the first round I am playing Nicholas Ng who is running Empire. Guardcon allows first round grudge matches and I use it as an opportunity to play somebody I haven't played before. Empire certainly has the firepower to deal with Skaven so it should be a good matchup.
So what are my targets for the weekend? Last year I finished 29th out of 62 which I was really disappointed with given I won 5 out of 6 games and scored full Sports/Painting. This year there are 38 players. I'll be disappointed if I don't make the Top 10. My target is Top 6 and anything more than that will be an added bonus. Hoping too, to get my Skaven through to the final cut for Players' Choice.
Tune in Monday to find out how I did....Same Rat-time, Same Rat-Channel
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