FREEFORGED 1-2: CROSSROADS GT DAY 1

On October 31, 2023November 1, 2023 By SalvageIn FREEFORGEDLeave a comment

And a merry Fall to you as well, gentle readers! With a lull at work I’m finally getting around to reporting some battles again, and rather than wade into a year of Herd tournaments, I figured I’d punch out my annual coverage of the Crossroads GT. In its current format, Crossroads is a 2300 point two day tournament using teams of four players, taking place late September in Elmira, NY. There’s some jiggery-pokery involved in determining match-ups, but my goal as captain of Team Cuddle Time has always been to give most of my players the least painful games possible. Not necessarily best, mind 😅

I tend to do quite well at Crossroads (probably because I have some control over what scenarios I play), however personal records are a moot point when the rest of your team is getting slagged. Spoilers for this year: Cuddle Time did just about the same as it always does, although our painting and sports scores keep climbing, even if our round results aren’t. Good on ya, lads.

This Crossroads also saw me premiere a new army, which seems to be a tradition for me as well. Printed last winter and painted mostly in the summer, I present my FREEFORGED:

Free Dwarfs
Earth Elemental Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Earth Elemental Horde
Earth Elemental Horde
Earth Elemental Regiment
Earth Elemental Regiment
Mastiff Hunting Pack Regiment
Mastiff Hunting Pack Regiment
Greater Earth Elemental – Craggoth & Kholearm, Fireball (10)
Greater Earth Elemental
Greater Earth Elemental
Dwarf Lord on Large Beast – Blade of the Beast Slayer
Dwarf Lord on Large Beast – Orb of Towering Presence
Free Dwarf Stone Priest – Surge (8), Bane Chant (2)
2300 (13/21)

The main goal was to 3D print an entire army, for which I chose a single set of not-Warforged by Artisan Guild, one of my favorite sculpting houses but one that historically does not print well for me. Originally I was going to stay the course and use a third large robot lad, but ended up using a converted automaton scorpion from Cast N Play for Craggoth, partially for my own sanity and also to stand out. It’s an understatement to say I’m happy with the big critter.

As for the list, I feel like I’m back in the 2E days of Bloodfire, strapped for unlocks and starving for unit strength 🙃 But I also wanted to run some De 6+ skew, in response to the high speed hammers + low pierce shooting that’s flooding the meta, and I’d say that was a success. I sacrificed the Mastiff’s throwing dogs to juice up the DLOLBs, which I knew from facing Dwarfs need some items to really tune up, and splurged on +1 to hit for a horde rather than Martyr’s Prayer on the Stone Priest. As punishing as that would have been with such high defense, I really wanted a horde that could do something.

I finished basing the army two nights before the tournament, so like with my crabs I would be enjoying a single prep game on the Friday before the event. Clubmate Bill likewise had a brand new army he didn’t understand either, so off we went …

Game 0: Northern Alliance

I don’t remember what’s in Bill’s list but it’s a decent mix made from the refreshed NA line. The opening gambit of the game saw me scouting Craggoth into charge range of both of his Frostclaw hordes, daring them to have a go. Surprisingly Bill did just that! The birds very nearly broke my new toy, but the scorpion clung to life and Craggoth killed one horde while the other was driven off by a Beast Lord and some amount of Earth Elementals. Side Comment: As much as I love universal pathfinder on my Herd, nigh-universal brutal is great as well. Ogre players know.

Anyway, Bill’s heart left the game once the birds were gone. I weathered his shooting in the middle, including my first taste of frozen vs Sp 5 units, and felt the pain of Hrimm one-shoting a horde of Earth Elementals to the front, but eventually forced a concession about mid-game. I’m not sure how Bill did in the tournament but hopefully his birds served him better!

After this we had some drinks and played obligatory board games into the AM, as is customary for Kings of War events.

Game 1: Elves

Palace Guard Horde – Brew of Strength
Drakon Riders Horde – Helm of the Drunken Ram
Drakon Riders Horde – Mead of Madness
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Quicksilver Lancers
Kindred Gladestalkers Regiment – Fire-Oil
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop – Staying Stone
Forest Guard Troop
Forest Guard Troop
Tydarion Dragonlord
Elven Archmage – Inspiring Talisman, Lightning Bolt (5)
Elven Archmage – Alchemist’s Curse (4), Bane Chant (2)
Elven Archmage – Lightning Bolt (5)
2300 (12/20)

Round One sees Cuddle Time up against the Ithaca Lakers! The way pairing works, you end up choosing the match-ups for half of your team and the scenario for the other half. My goal was to always choose scenario if possible, on the assumption that that matters way more for a Sp 5 brickhouse of an army. I successfully got myself Dominate this match, and as a reward I was up against Bryant’s Elves. He’s running a pretty late 2E style list with some decent De 6+ cracking power – for those playing at home, please mark a 1 next to the number of AC (4) casters I’ve faced in this tournament so far 😐

Bryant is a good guy who I’ve faced at other Crossroads. He was running OOGL last year (before they were cool) and you can read about our game somewhere on this blog. A game which he’s still kicking himself for, as he told me. Anyway, I won first turn and took it because Sp 5 brickhouse.

BATTLE

Turn 0: Bryant forms a fast wing and a slow wing while I try not to go pure deathball. Then I scout Craggoth up the flank and he suddenly has a concern.

Turn 1: The Freeforged stumble to war! The left GEE must have been surged a bit for extra distance, and Craggoth misses the leftmost Archmage (I want to say the LB only one) with his fireball / tail laser. Boo.

In response, the Elves back away on the left and move into threatening positions on the right. Classic Elves! The Gladestalkers and that LB Archmage tag a solid 3 damage into Craggoth while the advanced Greater Earth suffers 8, no doubt thanks to the loathsome AC Archmage.

Free Dwarfs 2: I send my big boys in to smash while they still can, with Craggoth slamming 7 damage into the Gladestalkers (wavering them) and the melted Greater into some Forest Guard, turning them into goop. The rest of my turn is spent on the right making sure that the only double charge open to the mead Drakons and Tydarion are some Mastiffs. This takes some time but does successfully lock Bryant into one off charges that I can respond to.

Elves 2: The Forest Guard in the upper left flank Craggoth, pushing him up to 11 damage but the scorpion holds. The same can’t be said for the melted Greater Earth, which is finished off by the AC Archmage in a classic flaming paper vs rock situation. Apart from these big guys being aggressed upon, the bulk of Bryant’s turn is spent deciding where and how to dive into the Freeforged lines. Ultimately he chooses to hit the center of the lines, which I think was as correct as it could be, with no Beast Lords in LOS and asked a little more of my surge than other options. Backing up again might have been better? But it is dominate and I was coming to grips with him slowly but surely.

Tragically both Drakons and Dragonlord stick on their Earth hordes, doing 6 damage each.

Free Dwarfs 3: Instead of finishing off the Gladestalkers, Craggoth counters the Forest Guard in his flank. Only 3 damage dealt but another waver should keep him in the game a bit longer. I send the Mastiffs on the right off the hill and into the flank of the Quicksilver Lancers, for an impressive 5 damage (pretty sure they hindered on that fountain). The Drakons are obliterated thanks to a bane chanted surge flank off a hill from the sharpness Earth horde, while Tydarion only takes 5 damage from his own Earth horde. Finally, I spend some time preparing a landing spot for the helm Drakons coming in from the right flank. There only charge is into a Greater Earth, with a slide that will hinder them on terrain. I’ll take it.

Elves 3: Craggoth is flanked by Gladestalkers and I pay for my hubris as they finally pull the machine down. Elf violence continues as the Palace Guard horde scatters a Mastiff pack and the AC Archmage dunks 6 damage onto the sharp Earth Elementals. The Quicksilver Lancers see their own Mastiffs off as Tydarion wallops his Earth horde to 13 damage, then flubs the Nv test. The play of the turn, however, is Bryant using the Silverbreeze to keep the Drakons from hindering on the terrain when they charged my last Greater Earth. My 5 damage calculation becomes 9, which Bryant spikes extra hard to one round the large lad. I am gently shook.

Free Dwarfs 4: The sharpness Earth Elementals and orb Beast Lord pound into the Palace Guard, delivering a ferocious 17 damage but only wavering the elite horde. The blade Beast Lord slams into the Drakon horde and is forced to go it alone when an Earth regiment falls 1″ short on their surge. The Lord still hammers 6 damage into the small dragons but that’ll have to do. Also Tydarion Dragonlord is flanked and fronted by Earth Elementals, ripped from his saddle and reduced to a red smear. RIP to that guy.

Elves 4: The Quicksilver Lancers plow into the sharp Earth Elementals’ flank, routing them handily. Elsewhere, the Earth Elemental reg that has been struggling up the left flank takes 2 damage from the Gladestalkers and their Archmage, shortly before the Drakons gnaw 2 damage onto the blade Beast Lord.

Free Dwarfs 5: The orb Beast Lord charges the mangled Palace Guard, finishing them off, as the (bane chanted) Earth horde next to him pushes the Quicksilver Lancers up to 9 damage but can’t seal the deal. Plucky Earth regiments make contact this turn, with the left regiment slapping a couple damage onto the Gladestalkers (wavered again!) and the right one helping the blade Beast Lord end the Drakon menace.

Elves 5: The Quicksilver Lancers disengage from the central Earth horde, letting the Archmages work their cruel magicks. Thankfully they hold on 10 damage. The Silverbreeze, however, slip a damage into the 13 damage horde and pop them! Otherwise the Forest Guard start heading towards the center because we are playing Dominate, after all.

Turn 6: The Gladestalkers are driven back to the glades by a very determined regiment of Earth Elementals, as the Quicksilver Lancers are flanked and wrecked by the orb Beast Lord. I make sure all 8 of my available unit strength is in the center and see what Bryant can do.

The Elves drop the last Earth horde and toss a few shots at the orb Beast Lord for just a single damage. With 2 US to my 5 US, this is a solid …

FREEFORGED VICTORY

Awesome first game against a friendly face, that I’m genuinely surprised went my way. I’d say Craggoth was the big standout for me, despite not killing anything at all. I knew he could be a pressure piece but wow what a distraction and a half. Also, I didn’t really consider how much Alchemist Curse and CS/TC 3+ in the game these days when I decided to run a De 6+ skew list, but as we’ll see my lessons were just beginning …

Next Up: Empire of Dust!

SCUTTLIN’ REALM 33-35: ORC TOWN DAY 1

On September 8, 2022 By SalvageIn SCUTTLING REALMLeave a comment

What is up, Bloodfirers! Hope your summer was a good one, mine became very busy with lots of traveling and a side of COVID (I’m quad-vaxed so that Omicron is a beast). Sadly my reporting (and to large extent gaming as well) was a casualty of all this busy-ness. To get up to speed, I’m going to do Day 1 and Day 2 recaps for the Orc Town GT, with slideshows for the full games for those who want to click through. Strap in!

Orc Town was a 2600 point two day event held on Cape Cod, MA from June 4-5, 2022. I took a deep breath, painted two more crabs, and rolled out with the following:

Trident Realm 2600
Water Elementals Horde – Brew of Strength
Placoderms Regiment
Placoderms Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Coral Giant
Kraken
Kraken
Kraken
Naiad Centurion – Blade of the Beast Slayer
Naiad Centurion – Axe of the Giant Slayer
Naiad Envoy – Bastion (2), Horn of the Ocean’s Fury
Naiad Envoy – Lute of Insatiable Darkness

Coral Giant and double Centurions were the standouts for this slobber knocker of a list, with the Lute of Insatiable Darkness making a return and the Trident of the Drowned Sea left in the armory.

GAME ONE: LEAGUE OF RHORDIA

League of Rhordia 2600
Knights Horde – Boots of Striding
Knights Regiment – Brew of Strength
Honor Guard Horde – Potion of the Caterpillar
Dogs of War Horde – Chant of Hate, Beasts of Targun Spire [1]
Dogs of War Regiment – Shields of Hetronburg [1]
Spear Phalanx Regiment – Pikes
Mounted Scouts Troop
Mounted Scouts Troop
Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
Duke on Ancient Winged Aralez
Duke Hetronburg [1]
Battle Shrine [1] – Lightning Bolt (6)
Wizard – Conjuring Staff, Bane Chant (2), Lightning Bolt (3)
Wizard – Shroud of the Saint, Lightning Bolt (3)
Halfling Master Sergeant on Pony

Kevin and I were talking at the last Unplugged GT and realized we haven’t played each other since 2E, and simultaneously grudged each other for Orc Town 😀 The general feeling going into this was that I had an advantage, with so much Rampage, but he’s got some extremely punchy stuff and the support to deliver it.

Looks like this game was Salt the Earth, with the League going first. Here’s a rundown of the game (you’ll need to click back to 29/33 and then move forward, these are uploaded in chronological order and I can’t reverse them easily):

ORC TOWN GT GAME 1 – Rhordia

If that seems short, we only made it through four turns of the 69 cute minutes we each had to work with, and that’s including going over into lunch. I don’t know how we were soooo slow but I blame being out of practice and extra chummy, on top of the huge armies. Anyway, this grudge match came down to a very gregarious …

DRAW

All told a great way to start the event, even if I was a little shook at the clock 😐

GAME TWO: ELVES

Elves 2600
Drakon Riders Horde – Banner of Eternal Darkness
Forest Shamblers Horde
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Potion of the Caterpillar, Quicksilver Lancers [1]
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Brew of Strength
Palace Guard Regiment – Brew of Sharpness
Kindred Gladestalkers Regiment – Orb of Towering Presence
Kindred Gladestalkers Regiment
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop – Piercing Arrow
Hunters of the Wild Troop
Hunters of the Wild Troop
Tydarion Dragonlord [1]
King’s Champion [1]
Elven Archmage – Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant (2), Lightning Bolt (5)
Elven Archmage – The Boomstick, Lightning Bolt (5)

If these green Elves look familiar, it’s because I played Jim back at Dead of Winter, making 2022 the magical year where I played him twice! This is typically a once-a-year event for us. As to the list, seems legit? Lots of nice Elven tools backed up by Jim’s frighteningly good dice. Would I be able to stay on scenario and shake off my slow play from the first game?

The game is Push – I’m sending 2 tokens up with some Placoderms and 1 token hard right on Heartpiercers, while the Elves put 2 on the Palace Guard and 1 on the regular Stormwind hard left. Importantly, Jim’s not really making a play for the center, while I’m flooding it with more Placos and ‘Piercers, with the Coral Giant looming. Crabs go first, possibly by choice since it’s Push and so many Elves have scouted forward. Here’s the rundown (click back to 30/31):

ORC TOWN GT GAME 2 – Elves

For those who clicked through, you might have noticed the crabs became really passive at the end of the game? I clocked out at the end of my Turn 5 … Fortunately Orc Town had a rule where you were still allowed to change facing in your turn, so I was able to both protect my flanks on my token holders and keep that ensnare in play, even if I couldn’t regen since nothing was actually activating. Thanks to a decisive lead going into Turn 6, I was able to weather two back to back turns of Elven aggression (and blessedly no Turn 7) to hold onto my …

TRIDENT VICTORY

I think one of the deciding factors of this game was his Drakons floating about in the middle without a clear plan of engagement, which let me shoot them to hell while dismantling his scouting forces. At the same time, two Kraken and a wood held back his strong cavalry + dragonlord flank, as they were tasked with from the beginning. However it worked out, Jim’s always a pleasure to play, even if his dice often give me fits 😛

GAME THREE: OGRES

**Ogres 2600**
Warrior Chariots Legion – Potion of the Caterpillar
Siege Breakers Horde – Chalice of Wrath
Siege Breakers Horde – Dwarven Ale
Hunters Horde – Brew of Haste
Boomers Horde
Berserker Braves Regiment
Berserker Braves Regiment
Red Goblin Spitters Regiment
Red Goblin Scouts Troop
Giant
Sergeant on Chariot – Blade of Slashing
Nomagarok [1] – Bane Chant (3), Heal (4), Lightning Bolt (4)
Warlock – Conjurer’s Staff, Lightning Bolt (3)
Warlock – Orb of Towering Presence, Lightning Bolt (3)
Warlock – Lightning Bolt (3)

Ahhhh Ogres, it was always going to happen, but at least it’s a rematch with Josh and his awesome Moontian army. Not a ton to say on the list, it’s got lots of gnarly stuff with smart items, with a Chariot legion and Giant for flare. Josh seemed pretty down on his performance so far, and I suppose he didn’t exactly burn the world down if we were playing each other in Game 3? Like me, he seemed pretty out of practice and generally tired. All the same, we were here to make war, so war we did.

We’re playing Dominate this game, which is nice for the Ogres anyway 😀 At this point I confide in Josh that I don’t fancy my chances but I do have one goal. I want my shiny new Coral Giant to kill his shiny new Giant, at which point we’re going to go do shots at the venue’s bar. And then the killing started (click back to 36/37):

ORC TOWN GT GAME 3 – Ogres

Wait wait wait, rewind! Ok, it’s Turn 4, his Giant has spent a couple turns aggro-ing some Heartpiercers while my Coral Giant is stuck on Scouts:

I back the Heartpiercers out, then flank his 1 damage Giant with my Coral Giant. I slam fistfuls of damage into the titan, roll the rout and nail it, reroll and fail by one … and then remember this guy is brutal! I flip out and we go shoot some tequila. Amazing.

And this was after baiting his Chariots in against my Placos in a swamp, who held and completely messed up his plans, getting flanked by Kraken and helping me takeover the momentum of the game, something that’s really difficult for my Crabs against Ogres. The game goes back and forth into Turn 7, when somehow I manage a …

TRIDENT VICTORY

What. A. Game. This was the most fun I’ve had against 3E Ogres in a while – the called shot with the Coral Giant certainly helped 😉 Crazily enough, this win also put me at 5th or so place in the GT at the end of the first day! A clubmate asked what was different this event than usual, and I’m pretty sure it’s that I hadn’t switched armies. The Crabs, even more so than standard Trident Realm, are a weird combination of denial, shooting and scenario play, but staying in that space has helped me learn some of the rhythms required instead of just getting frustrated and jumping factions.

UP NEXT: Day 2 kicks off bright and early with Mr. 300 himself!

SCUTTLIN’ REALM 21: ELVES

On March 7, 2022March 11, 2022 By SalvageIn SCUTTLING REALMLeave a comment

The last weekend of February 2022 was the inaugural Dead of Winter GT held by my club here in Albany, NY. By all accounts it was a thrilling success, and I certainly had a great time getting five solid games of Kings of War in while also being able to get some sleep Friday and Saturday night. Sure, I drank considerably less and played none of the usual board games with the lads, but life is full of tradeoffs. On to the tournament report!

Trident Realm 2100
Water Elementals Horde – Brew of Strength
Placoderms Regiment
Placoderms Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Kraken
Kraken

Naiad Centurion – Trident of the Drowned Sea
Depth Horror Eternal
Naiad Envoy – Bastion (2)
Naiad Envoy – War-Bow of Kaba

The crabs came out of hibernation, saw my old double Gigas rebased to double Placoderms, and I finally finished up my Centurion, giving him the shiny new shooting attak to help him in his mission to mess with every big flyer he could get his claw on. Didn’t have high hopes for my performance but great to see the tiny/huge lads together again. Somewhat unexpectedly, I was the only Trident player!

Elves 2100
Forest Shamblers Horde – Brew of Strength
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Quicksilver Lancers, Potion of the Caterpillar
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Helm of Confidence
Palace Guard Regiment – Banner of Eternal Darkness
Kindred Gladestalkers Regiment – Fire-Oil
Kindred Gladestalkers Regiment
Silverbreeze Cavalry Troop – Piercing Arrow
Hunters of the Wild Troop – Blood of the Old King
Hunters of the Wild Troop

Tydarion Dragonlord
Elven Archmage – Inspiring Talisman; Surge (8), Lightning Bolt (5)
Elven Archmage – The Boomstick; Lightning Bolt (7)

Speaking of coming out of hibernation … I haven’t played Jim since Fantasy times, if ever, but I’ve seen him at the various events he runs in the Northeast. Certainly a welcome first opponent, even if Tydarion gave me pause. Now that is a dragon! The rest of the list seemed solid: meaningful shooting, solid fast hammers, handful of competent chaff pieces.

First scenario is Pillage, with the Elves going first, either because they wanted to or because I made them.

BATTLE: GAME 1

Elves 1: The loathesome Elves sally forth into shooting range on the left or shelter behind their screens on the right. The Quicksilver Lancers advance slightly ahead of their cohorts, no doubt preparing for nimble shenanigans / because there was a wood to prance through (they have the gold banner).

The Gladestalkers, especially the fire oil unit, pin cushion the uninspired Heartpiercers on the left, routing them for first blood. Elsewhere lightning strikes the non-regenerating Depth Horror Eternal for 3 damage.

Trident 1: The crabs scuttle forth, preparing for violence on the right and suffering some trepidation on the left. The leftmost Placoderms begin their long, long trek through those woods 😐

The fire oil Gladestalkers to the left take token harpoon damage but hold fine. The blood Hunters of the Wild on the right (slip of paper unit) take significant damage from Heartpiercers and the Centurion, but the low rout test is frustratingly failed. The Water Elemental horde (giant crab) enjoys the cool caress of bastion as it awaits the violence.

Elves 2: Gladestalkers back up on the left as their Forest Shamblers power forward into long surge range of the left Kraken. On the right, Hunters of the Wild charge Heartpiercers and Kraken to clear the way for the Quicksilver Lancers into the Water Elemental horde. Tydarion looms.

The Gladestalkers chunk 5 damage into the left Kraken, before the Forest Shamblers fail their ~7″ surge by a couple inches. Importantly, they’re blocking the Kraken’s ability to pivot and go ham into the Gladestalkers next turn. On the right, the Depth Horror Eternal is wavered by lightning, and shortly afterwards the blood Hunters waver their Heartpiercers (taking even more damage from the blood of the old king), the Water Elemental cops 10 damage and holds, and the other Kraken takes token damage from its Hunters.

Trident 2: Crabs join the grind, as is their want. On the left, the Kraken charges the Forest Shamblers, unable to skirt past them, but also protecting the surviving Heartpiercers in the process, who advance to keep the fire oil Gladestalkers in their range (coping a -1 to hit in the process). On the right, Placoderms hit the disintegrating blood Hunters, the Water Elementals counter the Lancers, and the Kraken counters the other Hunters. The Centurion meanwhile limbers up and prepares to sit a dragonlord down. Also there’s a lot of regening.

Damage is liberally applied to the Elf army, including the Stormwind on the hill soaking Heartpiercer shooting, but only the blood Hunters are vanquished. Yes, the right Kraken barely tickled its Hunters. Tydarion however is successfully tagged by the Trident of the Drowned Sea and disordered 😤

Elves 3: The filthy Gladestalkers back up on the left and the Archmages hover about, however the rest of the Elves put their natural inclinations aside and join combat. Of note are the Stormwind charging the Placoderms, despite their phalanx, and Tydarion galloping his dragon into the waiting claw of the Centurion.

The Gladestalkers claim the other Heartpiercers on the left, and the Archmages flash-fry the Depth Horror Eternal with their 13 lightning shots. In combat, the Heartpiercers on the hill are blended by the Palace Guard, but all the other crabs weather the Elven attention, including the Centurion parrying Tydarion down to 5 damage and holding. (You’ll see a waver marker on him, but Jim’s math was better than mine, he actually missed wavering by 1, even with brutal.)

Trident 3: The Placoderms on the left escape the tyranny of the woods, now free to advance menacingly on the Gladestalkers shooting their friends. Krakens, Elementals and Centurion regenerate and counter-charge their dancing partners, while the central Placoderms simply counter-charge.

The war-bow Envoy routs the fire-oil Gladestalkers (GO WAR-BOW!), the last of the Heartpiercers shoot the Palace Guard point blank, and bastion goes up on the central Placoderms, then crab-flavored vengeance is served to both the Quicksilver Lancers and the last of the Hunters of the Wild. The Centurion grounds Tydarion once more, and the central Placos continue nibbling at their Stormwind.

Elves 4: The Gladestalkers can’t escape their Placoderm executioners, so prepare to make them pay along with the Archmages. Everybody else counter-charges or charges in the case of the Palace Guard into the Water Elemental horde (which has 6 damage). Also, the Silverbreeze exist on a point back there.

Apart from the Centurion being eaten by a mega dragon, the crabs are once again able to soak the Elven aggression. Of note is the Placoderms on the left taking 4 damage – without heal, every pip counts and they’ve got plenty of work to do still.

Trident 4: Speaking of Placoderms going to work, the left regiment scuttles into the remaining Gladestalkers at long last. The right Kraken powers gleefully into Tydarion, and the three ongoing combats grind on.

The Gladestalkers are *dismembered* by the Placoderms, their delicate Elven limbs gribbled up by horrible crabby mouths. Everything else is a slog – Tydarion is grounded by a Kraken, and the Palace Guard waver. The Heartpiercers punched some damage into the surge Archmage, out of spite.

Elves 5: The Forest Shamblers, Swordwind and Tydarion all counter-charge. Meanwhile, the Palace Guard disengage so the Water Elemental horde can be dealt with by the Silverbreeze …

… which they do, dropping the big crab with just their puny bows. The Archmages combine electrical powers again, wavering the Heartpiercers. The Swordwind also turn on, pushing the central Placoderms to 9 damage and wavering them as well. The Kraken, however, are resolute.

Trident 5: The Placoderms on the left menace the Forest Shamblers and prepare to grab a point, while I prepare to lose the center. Tydarion is however comfortably within routing distance now, if the right Kraken can just do a couple damage.

Sadly, the big goofus can’t land a single wound, meaning Tydarion is free to fly away after all that work 😦 The other Kraken is vaguely more competent, finishing off his Shamblers after 4! turns of swinging at them.

Elves 6: Tydarion Dragonlord flits away to go breath on Heartpiercers, while the Swordwind charges the central Placos (who still have phalanx despite the waver :P)

Skewered and/or smoked, the crabby center crumbles at last.

Trident 6: Buuuut both Kraken are alive and well, and are swiftly unleashed into the rear of the Swordwind (!) and the front of the Silverbreeze. The Placoderms claim a point at the war-bow Envoy prepares for glory.

No dice on that war-bow, but the cavalry are messily slaughtered by towering crab titans, which certainly feels nice. With no Turn 7 and 3 objectives to 1, this is a solid …

SCUTTLIN’ VICTORY (15-6)

While the grind on this first game was very real, I was happy to take that over getting shot and lightning bolted more than I had to be. It was great to play Jim at last / after so long, and a nice way to be eased into Elves post-COK22. I really wish I could have dropped Tydarion, but I’m not going to complain too hard after neutering maybe the biggest dragon in the game for almost an entire game 😀

UP NEXT: Abyssals!

INCOMING CRABS 🦀

On February 26, 2020February 26, 2020 By SalvageIn SCUTTLING REALMLeave a comment

Or rather, they arrived a while ago, but haven’t been batrepped for unknown reasons … Bloodfire is still on hiatus while I explore fresher avenues, however I wanted to give some coverage to my current army, plus those that come after this one, and this seems like a decent, agnostic place to do it.

So welcome to the new, expanded, ad-free blood-fire.com!

*CRABS (FEB 2020) – Big boys by Mierce, tiny lads by Khurasan, token Hadross dude by CMON*

Late September 2019, I finished up a new crab-themed Trident Realm army, just a couple days before the Crossroads GT (which was a 2250 point KOW 2E team event). I played a practice game the night before against a team mate, crushing his new Nightstalkers with the fury of a bunch of crustaceans (GAME 1: NIGHTSTALKERS). And with practice out of the way – I had literally never played the army before! – we got a few hours sleep and headed into the event. The list I took for that first outing:

Trident Realm 2250 (2E)
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Naiad Heartpiercers Regiment
Gigas Horde*
Gigas Horde*
Kraken
Kraken
Kraken
Naiad Envoy – Aura of Heroism (2), Banner of the Griffin
Depth Horror Eternal – Inspiring Talisman
Depth Horror Eternal – Orcish Skullpole
Naiad Wyrmrider Centurion – Fire-Oil
*King Crabs

As captain of Team Cuddle Time II, I was vaguely in charge of working out which armies would go up against each other and/or what scenarios they would play, so I had some control over who and what my crabs faced. My goal for the team was to put myself into harder armies but ideally with better scenarios for my Trident … which was total conjecture since I didn’t really know what they could do! Here’s the briefest of recaps:

GAME 2: ELVES

*NWC and Kraken doing terrible things to Elf Archers!*

Couldn’t tell you what the mission was or how things broke down, but holy hell I won! Biggest revelation was that massed heartpiercers are really good at killing big monsters, as his dragon was deleted in a couple turns as it tried to harry my flanks and rear.

GAME 3: KINGDOMS OF MEN

*Kraken resolutely face-tanking a charge from a Knight horde!*

Knight-heavy (like 2x hordes + regiments + flying heroes) men largely controlled this game, however through the magic of ensnare + hindering the crabs were able to bog down his momentum and smash their way to an inconceivable draw.

GAME 4: BASILEANS

Another fast army, this time 2x Elohi, 2x Uh-Elohi, 1-2x Knights, token foot troops, Gnaeus Sallustis annnnnd the mega-dragon (who is now just the normal dragon). I should have gotten wrecked, however he was extremely caught up in the dance a Kraken and his dragon were having in some woods, where I kept turning or stepping into and out of wood templates and he had to keep over-analyzing LOS and what was going on over there, all while taking continual Heartpiercer damage. Preposterously I won this one too!

GAME 5: UNDEAD

Dawn of Day 2, and while Team Cuddle Time II wasn’t doing stellar (our Varangur player was getting paired up against very hard armies, and pretty consistently getting smashed for his troubles), my Trident Realm was on a real tear! Up against Undead next, a rather standard 2E affair with some hordes, some knights, some wraith troops, some barrow wights, a dragon, etc. Lowlight was a Kraken getting trapped by Wraiths and dismantled – one troop to the front, then more to the flank, then another to the rear! But otherwise the dragon was shot down and the punchy crabs punched hard, with a somewhat lucky Gigas + Gigas + Eternal charge into a fresh horde that helped me roll his flank up and maul through the rest of the Undead line. Another win!

GAME 6: UNDEAD

Final round of the tournament, and another Undead grinder for me. Main difference here is the abundance of zombies and zombie trolls. I was in control of this game early on, thanks to shooting, but I still remember how, instead of waiting for Turn 3 to engage, when the zombie trolls had been shot off, I jumped the guns and sent the Kraken all in Turn 2, which got most of them killed – including one to multiple wraith troop charges, again. Once the big hammers were down, I scrabbled as best I could but was overrun, earning the armies first loss.

All told, it was a pretty heartening first six games with the scuttlers! Really quite unexpected … although a bit tarnished as the 3E changes for Trident Realm had been previewed the day before the event, and it was clear that almost all the units I was using were going to lose their COK19 bumps. I had a feeling 3E was about to get bumpy for my new army.

Some KOW-less weeks later, the new edition hit, confirming some particularly distressing developments:

Heartpiercers became irregular, making my 2E list illegal and ensuring I will always hurt for unlocks
Heartpiercers lost ensnare, pathfinder and 2 attaks, for the benefit of steady aim, which gutted the reason I based an army around these little, mobile tarpits happy to grab a 24 attak flank when able
Gigas went up to a larger base, making them unwieldy but more importantly meaning I had to paint more of them and rebase the unit (they also lost 1 CS but gained 1 Def and kept their King Crabs Sp, so meh; the added nimble has yet to matter for me)
Kraken lost 3 attaks, severely hurting their abilities as hammers, ironically at the same time as they gained +D3″ charge range

At first I added a Wyrmrider horde for a third hero unlock, but man they suck now. In my first 3E game I lost against Ogres (GAME 7: OGRES):

Then over Wintermas I leant my brother my Ratkin, who brutally beat me at dominate (GAME 8: RATKIN), but then the next day I narrowly squeaked out a win in raze (GAME 9: RATKIN):

With a 3E win under my belt at last, I took on my clubmate’s Abyssals (GAME 10: FORCES OF THE ABYSS), losing again but at least keeping it close:

Meanwhile, my buddy had finally relented to my arm twisting, picked up a load of Mantic minis and smashed through a Northern Alliance army in record time. In short order he hit 2300 points and found himself facing crabs every other week or so. While I won the first match (GAME 11: NORTHERN ALLIANCE), and his first game of full size Kings –

– Trident’s pillowy fists would come up to haunt me, as I lost both of the next two games (GAME 12: NORTHERN ALLIANCE & GAME 13: NORTHERN ALLIANCE). Including this gem:

Aye, that’s a Kraken (with 2 loot tokens) being flanked by Huscarls (with 2 loot tokens) and Half-Elf Berserkers. While the Kraken is in that predicament because I rolled double ones, the North did not repay the favor 😥 Nor did I ever get those 4 loot tokens away from the Huscarls.

Which brings us up to last week! February 22-23 was the US Masters here in New York, and there was a side GT called the Best of the Rest for, well, the rest of us who wanted to scrum and soak up that Masters vibe. I took my freshly reduxed crabs with me and ended up taking a lot of photos with the intent to blog. So strap in, tournament report inbound!

Side Note: Since I’m covering reports for different armies on this blog now, you’ll be able to use the new Category feature >> to more easily select which army you want to follow. Though I do tend to avoid bouncing between armies, it could happen!

GAME 31: ELVES

On November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 By SalvageIn BLOODFIRE4 Comments

Crossroads GT this year was a four-man team tourney, which basically meant it was a standard 2250 COK18 event with an added minigame where captains haggled over who got to play whom and what scenarios theyd use. I never really got the hang of the process, and Im still not confident I got any of them right, but our team was intentionally pretty weak and we were just there to cuddle.

TEAM CUDDLE TIME
– Salamanders (fire elemental / breath weapon spam)
– Night-Stalkers (blood worm legion + mind screech spam)
– Ogres (balanced with chariots + boomers)
– Orcs (balanced with chariots + boomers)

For our first game we played STG, and during matchups I took the worst matchup on myself, to save my teammates the displeasure of playing a brutal af Elf list.

CROSSROADS GAME 1: TEAM STG

– Elves vs Salamanders
– Dwarfs vs Orcs
– Varangur vs Ogres
– ??? vs Night Stalkers

BLOODFIRE GAME 31: ELVES

Salamanders 2250

Fire Elemental Horde – Brew of Courage
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Agnih-Bhanu, Greatest Fire Elemental
Herald – Banner of the Griffin
Mage-Priest – Surge (8), Heal (3), Bane Chant (2), Inspiring Talisman
Mage-Priest – Martyr’s Prayer (7), Bane Chant (2), Healing Brew
Clan Lord on Fire Drake – Blessing of the Gods

Hot sauce board with hot tamale dispenser created for the event ;D All my team did cute patterned cloth boards instead of using our display bases, which wouldnt have matched anyway.

Not too mind-exploding of a list tweak, just a pip of Nv on the special horde as opposed to a diadem that I used in 2/5 games at Keystone. These dudes were always overextending and taking it on the chin, so more survival is more better. Extra points went into BC on the inspiring priest, which seems like a nutty number of spells (4!) but then again I found I occasionally wanted to throw some more BC out however the little priest was busy martyring things and couldn’t be bothered to chant things. I’d rather have the option than not, and frankly if I didn’t have all those shambling hordes I wouldn’t be taking surge at all, it’s really there for that once a game spin-and-charge.
Elves 2250

Kindred Archer Horde – Heart-seeking Chant
Kindred Archer Horde – Wine of Elvenkind
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment – Cat Potion
Drakon Rider Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Drakon Rider Horde – Brew of Strength
Dragon Breath
Dragon Breath
Dragon Breath
Elven Mage – Heal (3), Bane Chant (2), Black Iron Crown
Noble War Chariot – Inspiring Talisman
Dragon Kindred Lord – Chant of Hate

So this list was designed by the TO and being piloted by an AOS player who had started KOW about two weeks before. This was exceedingly painful to face, and the guy was apologetic, as it turned out much nastier than he anticipated and he spent the weekend apologizing to everybody as a result. Fun Fact: he did lose one match, vs some hero in round five.

I gave us Dominate, one of my stronger scenarios, though honestly I should have done Invade if I really wanted a chance at the draw, as I could have refused the flank. Bloodfire won initiative.

BATTLE

Battlelines!

Bloodfire takes a deep breath and rolls out.

Bam! Elves Turn 1 and the pincers form. The left two Sprites are blown away by Archers.

With few other options, the red tide pushes further into the center, while preparing to engage on the left. The cheeky rightmost Sprites enter the woods and barf a wound on the Noble Chariot.

The Elves take up position . . .

. . . and bring the heat. Shockingly none of the Fire Elemental hordes pop, despite significant damage.

Sally 3 sees me pull a trick from that last game with Elves: I overextend to entice him to engage with his dragon, so I can maul it at the cost of a horde, by charging one of the offered Dragon Breaths. Otherwise my mages heal / pray a die of damage off the mangled horde while Sprites puke a wound off the other central Dragon Breath. Its sister is pulped by the Fire horde, which foolishly doesnt reform to face the Dragon – I hear the voice of my last Elf opponent saying I shouldnt be afraid of Archers rearing me, theyve got better things to do.

The Elves pounce! Which wouldnt be so bad if they didnt also shoot, bringing the Fire Elementals with Brew of Courage (the quadruple elemental unit) up to 13 and popping them (@ 19 Nv) – removing the dragons reprisal – and putting a stunning 9 damage into Agnes.

In combat the Dragon shreds its wounded quarry, the Sprites flanked by the Noble annoyingly waver, and the Stormwind do a solid 9 damage to their Fire horde but bounce.

Bloodfire returns the favor where able, sending Fire + Agnes in the flank into the Stormwind and flanking the Noble in chariot.

The CLOFD tags 3 damage into the Dragon, the little Mage prays a solid 6 damage off of Agnes, and Elves get dead in the combat phase, earning me at least 1 VP whatever happens.

With their keen eyes and pointy ears, the Elves spy double overruns I didnt see – and am fakking furious with myself for. I hate when I do these things, as theyre entirely avoidable. Anyway, Dragon -> big Mage -> Fire hordes rear and Drakon -> little Mage -> 5 overrun into CLOFDs flank. Oh, also other Drakon into fresh Fire horde.

The Drakons evaporate the little Mage and slam a 6 on the overrun, flanking and obliterating the CLOFD as well (which was not such a sure bet, considering hindering and whatever . . . except that his dice were on fire the whole game, and apparently every game of the tournament; he apologized some more but in my experience Elf players always have hot dice, go figure).

The big Mage is devoured and the Fire horde stomped out by the Dragon, while the other Drakon roll like insane baby dragons and do 11 to their Fire horde, who somehow hold. Worst of all though? Agnes is gunned down by Dragon Breath + bane-chanted piercing Archers. Sweet hell.

Bloodfire 5, for vengeance! A wounded Fire horde smashes another Dragon Breath while a more wounded one puts 2 (!) wounds on their Drakon. Coincidentally thats the same number of wounds the remaining Sprites do to the other Drakon.

Its an orgy of violence as the Elves pull the noose tight and kick out the supports. Some Archers flank and pop a Fire horde (*golf clap for style points, young sir*), other Archers scatter some Sprites, Drakons eat the remaining Sprites, more Drakons finish off their mangled Fire horde annnnd the Dragon eats the Herald, putting an end to the spicy scourge.

BLOODFIRE LOSS

So yea. That was rough. I also cant remember being tabled in a tournament game of KOW, let alone in Turn 5! The dudes next opponent was likewise tabled, and was seen wandering the hall in a daze, muttering to himself, ”But . . . I’ve never been tabled. Ever . . .”

The team as a whole did very badly, with 1 losing draw, 2 loses with 1 VP (me!) and one total loss. Oof.

Up Next: BEEF & WINGS

GAME 30: ELVES

On November 28, 2018 By SalvageIn BLOODFIRELeave a comment

Final round, now much more awake and having eaten some pizza for gaming power. Up against one of the largely-similar Elves armies, but happily the somewhat sorter range version (Dragon Breaths instead of Bolt Throwers) commanded by Allen. I wasnt real thrilled at the prospect of being shot and drakond into the dirt, but hey ho.

BLOODFIRE GAME 30: ELVES

Elves 2250

Kindred Archer Horde – Heart-seeking Chant
Kindred Archer Horde – Wine of Elvenkind
Palace Guard Troop
Palace Guard Regiment
Drakon Rider Horde – Fire-Oil
Drakon Rider Horde
Dragon Breath
Dragon Breath
Army Standard Bearer – War-Bow
Army Standard Bearer on Horse – Diadem of Dragonkind
Elven Mage – Bane Chant (2), Black Iron Crown
Elven Mage on Horse – Circlet of Blood
Dragon Kindred Lord – Blade of Slashing

Seems like pretty standard fair for competitive Elves. The Dragon Breath were good to see, as it meant he intended to engage (though most likely theyre in the list for anti-flier work? Or other hyper-aggro builds).

Fifth round was Occupy, with his primary marker waaaaay in the back left of my zone. Enjoy holding that, whatever noble Elf is sent to push the button. Bloodfire won initiative or might have been given it.

BATTLE

Battlelines!

The Bloodfire ambles out once more. Terrain is hugged, hills are annoying.

Bam! Elves Turn 1 and the elementals are already corralled. Thats how its done, kiddos. A unit of Sprites is murdered by the nimble archers on the right.

The red battleline bows out, as it does, continuing to keep terrain in the way. Sprites apply light damage to the left Dragon Breath and right Archer horde.

The Elves increase the pressure in response. The flankers continue to loom while Dragon Breaths roll into range and the Palace Guard troop hurls itself into a Fire horde exposed by the Sprites death. The flame throwers result in 4 Ember Sprite wounds and the Palace Guard hack 3 damage into the Fire horde.

Bloodfire 3, and Im too tired to keep waiting his flank out. Two Fire hordes charge into a Dragon Breath and the engaged Fire horde counter-charges the Palace Guard. Sprites move up and breath on the other Dragon Breath, wavering it, and the bane-chanted CLOFD lathers the nimble Archers with some damage.

After combats. I struggled a bit with how to reform those Fire hordes off of the Dragon Breath, and ultimately reformed them thusly. He immediately charged the Drakon Riders in their flank, at which point I paused the game:

BS: So yea, thats obvious. Can I ask if there was a better way to reform?
A: You probably would have faced them both towards the Drakon. The Palace Guard are out and Im not going to send Archers into their flank.
BS: But would you have charged one in the front?
A: Probably not.
BS: Right. Lets grind.

Part of me felt dumb for the flank (on my more expensive horde too), but part of me knew that I needed to trade out a piece if we were going to come to grips with enough time for me to retaliate. I needed him to come within 12, and this was by far the easiest way to make that happen.

Yep, its Drakon oclock. Shooters get range to things and the Palace Guard regiment jams the CLOFD.

Piercing Archers slam 8 damage into the leftmost Fire horde, the Dragon fries the last of the Sprites, and the nimble Archers land 3 damage on the CLOFD. In combat, the flanking Drakon rip right through the Diadem horde, as expected. More surprising is the front-charging Drakon landing 12-15 damage and one-rounding a -/18 Fire Elemental horde! (Math says 9 O_O) So I guess I wont be flanking them for great justice. Or at least not the mundane way 😛

Bloodfire 4: The Elementals Strike Back! A fresh Fire horde tackles the Drakons up top while Agnes hits the lower ones in the front. A walk, pivot and surge later, and theres a Fire horde in their flank as well ;] The CLOFD deigns to charge the Palace Guard, preferring to shoot them with 16 unhindered breath attaks, thanks – which is super effective, routing the unit! The double-teamed Drakon get pulverized, however the ones in the Elf half of things take a gentle 5 damage for no result. (Also the martyr Mage-Priest cleans up the surged Fire horde a bit.)

Elfish vengeance strikes hard and fast. The leftmost Fire horde, fresh from flanking the Drakon Riders, is hit with Dragon Breath, Dragon fire and piercing arrows, and is thoroughly routed. The CLOFD likewise suffers the attention of Elven Archers, but the pond hes been hanging out keeps the damage low (6 total). The surviving Drakon Riders, bane-chanted back to 3+/3+, rolling out of the box again, sinking a bonkers 12-15 damage and one-rounding the Fire horde that had charged them. What is going on with these dudes?!

Aye, thats a flank then!

Turn 5, looking pretty light on the ground. The last of the Fire Elementals hits the rampaging Drakon in the front with the CLOFD tackling them in the flank (both hindered). After a bit of healing, the Fire horde fluffs a bit but the Clan Lord picks up the slack, shattering the unit at long last. Agnes and her support staff consolidate on a secondary objective.

The Elves prepare for the end game. The piercing Archers prepare to take the other secondary and shoot some monsters next turn, while the nimble Archers contest my primary objective and the diadem ASB blocks the CLOFD just outside of 3. Not the Fire Elemtanl-sized hole: the nimble Archers + diadem riddle it with damage and the Circlet of Blood boils them to nothingness. Brutal.

Meanwhile, the mighty Dragon Rider sails off to push the win button

Bloodfire 6. So much thought when into this turn, trying to figure out ways to both kill the nimble Archers and get the CLOFD within 3 of the marker. In the end it just wasnt possible this turn, especially with the incoming piercing Archers, but I could have set Agnes up for a Turn 7 charge into the marker, rather than doing nothing with her. Or at the least used her to heat ray the ASB on pony. Anyway, some fun late game, small scale KOW mind games.

What did happen was the CLOFD and both Mage-Priests roasting the nimble Archers, leaving my primary objective with no one contesting it but also no one within 3 to control.

Elves 6 drops one more hammer. The piercing Archers ventilate the CLOFD and then the Mage with Circlet of Blood boils him back to his bloodfire molecules. Annnnd then the war-box ASB shoots the lil martyr Mage-Priest and pops her :O

Agnes: NOOOOOOOOOOOO

Theres no Turn 7, capping of an entire tournament of six round games for me. Oh, also a …

BLOODFIRE LOSS

But a much more fun game than I expected. Allen was engaging to play and I very much enjoyed the late game resource management. Still disappointed I didnt play for the Turn 7 better re: Agnes, who did so very little this game, but it was a moot point ultimately.

With that I ended up going 2 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, which is pretty typical for me and totally fine. I also walked away with the best painting score this army has gotten, which is probably more to do with the generous rubric used and less the awesome-ness of the painting, but also totally acceptable!

Also happy to announce that Bloodfire will be traveling to the Crossroads GT in September. I had thought about swapping them out for my Ratkin, but Im so tuned into this army it feels dumb to switch horses mid-apocalypse, especially as Crossroads is a team tournament where I (Capt. Salvage) can influence matchups and give the army the leg up it needs, especially when it comes to scenarios. Therell probably be a practice match between now and then, apart from some rat experiments I ran last weekend which went pretty pear-shaped O_O

GAME 06-10: UNPLUGGED GT 2017

On November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 By SalvageIn BLOODFIRELeave a comment

The Unplugged GT went down April 22-23 and was by all accounts a really superb tournament. Well-run with great sports all around, I was very happy that I finally made it out after missing out on the last four years. That said, my fire elementals had a pretty rough run of it, which Im going to put down to poor luck with scenarios and some bad run-ins with the dice when it mattered (or all the time). Spoilers.

I actually took a ton of photos of each game, with the intent of doing standard turn by turn reports, however I dont think I have five full reports in me. So buckle up for five brief recaps instead!

SALAMANDERS 2000

Fire Elemental Horde – Blade of Slashing
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Ember Sprites Regiment
Ember Sprites Regiment
Ember Sprites Regiment
Greater Fire Elemental
Greater Fire Elemental
Herald on Raptor – Diadem of Dragonkind
Herald on Raptor – Healing Charm
Mage-Priest – Surge, Heal, Inspiring Talisman
Clan Lord on Fire Drake – Banner of the Griffin

Only change was dropping the Shroud of the Saint on the Priest for another source of Inspiring, largely so the diadem herald could go ham. And picked up that sweet Blade of Slashing, which I forgot all of Saturday – should have gone Healing Brew, but eh.

GAME 6: FORCES OF NATURE

Naiad Ensnarer Horde
Salamander Horde – Brew of Strength
Centaur Bray-Hunter Troop
Centaur Bray-Strider Regiment
Centaur Bray-Strider Regiment
Centaur Chief
Winged Unicorn – Lightning Bolt (5)
Winged Unicorn – Lightning Bolt (5)
Pegasus
Beast of Nature – Lightning Bolt (6), Fly + Speed 10, Vicious + 7 Attaks
Beast of Nature – Lightning Bolt (6), Fly + Speed 10, Vicious + 7 Attaks

There are 50 points in items somewhere in there (if it were me itd probably be Hammer on the Ensnarers and Bane-Chants on the Unicorns? But maybe not in this case.)

SCENARIO: LOOT (aka PILLAGE 1)

Pillage is probably the worst scenario for my derpy red shambling castle, so I was prepared to be playing for the draw or minor loss in one to two of the matches this tournament. So prepared apparently that I mistook the TO calling out Loot to mean we were in fact playing the dreaded Pillage (in my defense theyre also on the same page in the OG book, meaning when I checked the rules I picked the wrong column to verify my suspicions). Loot would definitely have been preferred, though still up against a tough fight with all that lightning and speed. I didnt realize my mistake until like Turn 4, at which point we were well into pillaging.

I guess my plan is to dominate the right section of the board and try to smash through everything, then sit on whatever markers are left with whatever I have left?

Except, being half-asleep and a little hungover, advanced my left wing too far, letting a Beast into the flank of two of my four Fire Elementals, along with Unicorn support. One horde died, the other was crippled, we fought on the most awkward hill we could for a long time, with the Beasts devouring things until I finally burned them down.

Stupidity on the left was matched with tough luck on the right: I had caught a break when both Bray-Striders bounced off a Greater Fire Elemental, letting a Fire horde eviscerate the flank of one of the units – and then snake eyes the break. You can see that horde getting rear charged by a unicorn here (that horn HURTS). So a collapsing Nature flank became a collapsing Salamander flank. And then his hordes descended and ground my center out, leaving just my heroes standing (and unable to contest much of anything).

BLOODFIRE LOSS (4/20)

—

GAME 7: UNDEAD + NIGHT-STALKERS

Ghoul Troop
Ghoul Troop
Ghoul Troop
Zombie Legion – Hammer of Measured Force
Werewolf Horde
Wight Horde
Revenant Cavalry Regiment
Vampire on Undead Pegasus
Liche King
Necromancer – Undead Horse, Inspiring Talisman
+
Spectre Regiment
Spectre Regiment

Plus like 140 points in items and spells! (Brew of Strength Werewolves, Cat Potion Cavalry, Lightning Heroes, Something-something Wights?)

SCENARIO: SCOUR (aka PILLAGE 2)

And so time to more or less officially play Pillage

My only practice against Undead is at tournaments, and Chris was running stuff I had never faced (Wights, Revenant Cav) combined with old classics and new items (Hammer on Legion!), with a side of allied firebolts. Anyway, a great guy with a beautiful Titan Forge army. Pity about the scenario, but at least we were playing the right one!

We had an incredibly cagey game, where the first four turns (!) were spent with me advancing my line out in Reverse Death Crescent formation and burning his chaff off, as he enveloped from the left, with the Vamp on Peg pushing into my DZ to threaten rears.

Turn 5 he pulled the trigger, and while some match-ups worked out for me (Revenant Cav, Wights), others definitely did not, especially the Hammer Zombies. Once the Werewolves and Vamp slammed in Turn 6 it was well over scenario-wise, though I had held my own in attrition, which is a thing. Plus side of such a dice-light game was finishing 15-20 minutes early and getting afternoon beverages sorted out ;D

BLOODFIRE LOSS (5/20)

—

GAME 8: UNDEAD

Revenant Regiment
Revenant Regiment
Zombie Legion – Hammer of Measured Force
Werewolf Horde – Brew of Strength
Wight Horde
Revenant Cavalry
Revenant Cavalry
Vampire on Undead Pegasus
Liche King
Necromancer – Inspiring Talisman
Necromancer

Plus 120 points in items and spells!

SCENARIO: CONTROL

Up against one of the Unplugged dudes in a game that isnt Pillage! Plus Undead were pretty fresh in my mind from last game. We both refused our left flanks and prepared for a long shamble into the center

Early action on my left saw Vamp and both Cav playing with a GFE and two FE, with stunningly bad rout rolls on both our parts keeping that engagement going for too long, even with multiple flank charges going on. Eventually the rest of the lines slammed together (though note most of the fighting is in his central section, as was my plan):

We ground for ages, over which the Werewolves showed some real prowess at putting out fires, until being surged in the rear by yet more Fire Elementals. End game saw Salamanders with an unbeatable scenario lock, thanks largely to cheeky Ember Sprites camping the NE sector the entire game, although we nearly tied on attrition (1075 vs 1080). All told a great throwdown of a game to end a rough day on. Then I drank all the vodka and played all the board games – King of New York ftw!

BLOODFIRE VICTORY (15/20)

—

GAME 9: GOBLINS + ORCS

Spitter Regiment
Troll Horde – (Item)
Troll Horde
Mawbeast Troop
Mawbeast Troop
Mawbeast Troop
Big Rocks Thrower
Big Rocks Thrower
King on Chariot – Blood of the Old King
Biggit on Fleabag
Wiz on Fleabag – Bane-Chant (2), Inspiring Talisman
Giant
Slasher
+
Ax Horde
Krudger on Winged Slasher

Plus a smattering of items / spells! (Gregs army got I think Second Best Painted? Losing out to an amazing Ratkin army with stunningly smart multibasing throughout.)

SCENARIO: EXTRACT? (aka PILLAGE 3)

We played the other not-Pillage scenario from COK 2017, where counters are worth different weights. Before I start complaining about yet another round of Pillage, because our counters were all worth 1 except for two near each other that were worth 3 it dawned on me at some point that this was actually winnable for me, if I could hold out and not be dumb.

Given how hungover / exhausted I was, that was going to be a tall order 😐

Fire Elementals on the fire table! Sweet! The markers that matter are by the mausoleum and in front of my dudes. Opening turns, I bowed out, he enveloped and advanced Mawbeast chaff, then I stumbled: 1-1 to clear one Mawbeast pack in the center, followed by huge flop by a GFE to clear another (1 wound, no luck on the rout). While this stalled my line, it also screwed over the parts that were going hard:

Those two fire hordes had punched out a unit of trolls, with the intent of both turning to accept some painful frontal charges but ultimately either pound through them or set up friends to counter-charge in. Unfortunately because those Mawbeasts lived, I couldnt rotate the two hordes back to back, so the Slasher flanked in, liquefying the left unit before its time. Which in turn lost the second unit, and so on – that Slasher chewed through several units, including the Mage-Priest some turns later.

And yet somehow this game hung in the balance even in later turns, as one of the last fire hordes was able to charge into the Ax horde and break them with the help of the CLOFD, giving me 6 points in counters. Until the Krudger, who I just failed to waver with a wall of breath attaks, teamed up with Slashy to shred much of what was left.

BLOODFIRE LOSS (3/20)

Despite the crushing defeat, Gregs a pleasure to play (and probably the Unplugged guy I meet on the table the most during tournaments), and I was a lot more engaged in this not-Pillage than most, as I felt I had a chance, even after the early kerfuffles with chaff sticking around.

—

GAME 10: ELVES + FORCES OF NATURE

Kindred Archer Horde – Jar of the Four Winds
Forest Shambler Horde
Forest Shambler Horde
Stormwind Cavalry Regiment
Bolt Thrower
Bolt Thrower
Master Hunter – Piercing Arrow
Tree Herder – Soul Drain
Tree Herder – Soul Drain
+
Air Elemental Horde

Plus 40 points in items (the Stormwind did not have Cat Potion!)

SCENARIO: INVADE

Whew, just one game left, and its on the bottom tables versus a very nice dude playing an unoptimized Elementals + Shooting army. And it isnt Pillage! And Im going first (for the first time all GT)!

A lot of this game would come down to using the plentiful cover to advance, while keeping some dudes who could handle the Elf firebase. In the end this worked out, with Diadem Herald going ham and blowtorching Bolt Throwers down, Ember Sprites lending their breath / mobile screen powers, and generally overloading the Elves with targets.

Come game end, almost everything had been smashed apart, including the Archers thanks to a Turn 7, though the Forest Shamblers took a painfully long time to dismantle, thanks in large part to horrible rout dice. (This shot is actually not the very end, as he was able to kill the GFE with his GWE (after 5 turns of slugging it out!) and take down the CLOFD, a first for the tournament.) A great slugfest with some funny small moments – the Master Hunter vs Healing Herald support fight was particularly dramatic – and a happy way to finish the GT for me.

BLOODFIRE VICTORY (15/20)

—

Those game photos are finally uploaded, but rather then blowing this thread up with 600+ MB of eerily similar pics you can check them out in slideshow mode here: http://s1213.photobucket.com/user/bo…PLUGGED%202017

I promised some concluding thoughts from the GT, so here are some bullets where I try to do that:

The Unplugged GT was as successful an event as it could be (great players, very well run, lunch included and on site, nice hotel, etc) and it was great to see so many familiar faces again
Painting was judged hard but I knew it would be (because the Unplugged Gamers made their rubric clear as well as their intent to judge hard in an effort to raise the overall level of painting in the scene)
I expected to have a rough time of some of my games, due to my skewed list, but I guess I didn’t expect to play the worst scenario for me three times (even if we ignore that the first time was my fault!) and lose so badly at it three times
On the flipside, I heartily won versus the lower tier dudes who I played non-Pillage games with, so I guess that says the army / me does have some ability
Whatever my successes or failures strategically and however bad my dice felt the whole time, I made tactical mistakes that could have been avoided with more careful movement, particularly in regards to giving easy flank charges to fast, flanking monsters
I’m pretty up on the competitive KOW meta, but this GT really showed how important units that are both fast and reliably fighty are over all other factors (spoiler: I feel like my army has 0 of these)
An army of fearless D5 NV17-18 dudes continues to feel nowhere near as tough as it seems on paper, especially when it comes to grinding (CS is everywhere / NV is everything)
Throwing 18 attaks @ 4+/3+ or 4+/2+ continues to underwhelm
Despite only having a game within 18″, this army’s 66 breath/fireball still makes for some fun and effective tactical play

Despite Unplugged being super legit, I ended up leaving the weekend exhausted beyond measure (having hardly slept) and fairly frustrated with all the pillaging and with the limits of the Bloodfire skew in general. But then I remember that I’ve played like 11 games with this army? And that it’s a skewed theme list, and that pillage was always going to suck, but even then I had a chance in the weighted pillage, and I made several cataclysmic-yet-derpy mistakes and had some atrocious luck when I needed the opposite.