GAME 28: VARANGUR

On November 28, 2018 By SalvageIn BLOODFIRELeave a comment

Last game of day one is against Tim, a dude Ive seen at tournaments for approaching a decade but somehow never played. At long last, its wrasslin time!

BLOODFIRE GAME 28: VARANGUR

Varangur 2250

Thralls Regiment
Thralls Regiment
Thralls Legion
Fallen Horde
Fallen Horde
Tundra Wolves Troop
Tundra Wolves Troop
Direfang Riders Horde – Fury, Brew of Haste
Cavern Dweller
Magus Conclave – Famulus
Magus Conclave – Famulus
King on Chimera – Fury, Chant of Hate
Magnilde of the Fallen

I just realized how short on inspiring this list is Id say its probably worth swapping a conclave or two for a Magus with inspiring talisman, but ranged support is conceivably a thing.

Third round was Dominate, one of my favorite scenarios since it ensures a grind and benefits brick armies, like Bloodfire here. And sorta Varangur too. Bloodfire won initiative and got the party started.

BATTLE

Battlelines!

Forward, to glory!

Varangur sally forth in response, a Conclave tagging a wound onto the rightmost Fire Elementals. In Bloodfire 2, the red tide creeps up further, incinerating the Tundra Wolves on the right, flambéing a Thrall regiment that had wandered onto the central hill (where the die is), toasting the Cavern Dweller for 2 damage and gently singeing the right Fallen, who iron resolve the wound away.

In classic Varangur style, its turn two and time to party! King + Direfangs slam into the leftmost Fire horde, the Cavern Dweller starts grinding on the Diadem horde to their right, Magnilde burns her fly to pounce on one of the right Fire horde and the right Fallen tackle the rightmost Fire horde. A Conclave tags a couple wounds onto a Sprite regiment gunning for them, and its on to fighting.

The King + Direfangs splatter their horde, however the other Varangur cant seal the deal with their solo charges. Lots of damage happens but they all backup – Fallen got particularly close with 10 wounds but no lucky double 7.

The Bloodfire return jab has its moments. The Cavern Dweller falls to a Fire horde in the front and the flank, Magnilde is one-rounded by her Fire horde (hot rout checks ftw) and the Fallen on the right get beat up but no other result. In shooting, the Sprites on the right burn down a Conclave, the Thrall legion starts taking chip damage, the little Mage-Priest prays a few wounds off the Cavern Dwellers Fire horde, and the tall Mage-Priest heals the right Fire horde to 8.

Blurry rage-filled photo is blurry, rage-filled. The Direfangs charge the 3 damage Fire horde, the King + left Fallen take on the fresh Fire horde next to them, and the right Fallen head back into their half-dead Fire horde. The surviving Conclave tags some Sprites for 2 more damage but they hold fast.

Combat is a mixed, largely painful affair. The Direfangs steamroll through a second Fire horde, really putting that strider to work, as do the King + Fallen, evaporating the Bloodfire flank save for Agnes and support staff. On the right, the Fallen do admirable damage (16 total) but double ones it ;D

Bloodfire 4 is a whole hell of shooting with a side dish of punching Fallen. Agnes + CLOFD + Sprites + the little Mage-Priest unload into the King on Chimera, erasing him from existence. The Fallen next to him cop a couple wounds in the process, once the King hit 18 damage 😛 The other Conclave is killed by marauding Ember Sprites shortly before the right Fallen are wavered by their Fire horde.

Thralls shuffle about in the absence of their King, whilst the Fallen on the hill kick some Sprites and the Direfang lawnmower charges Agnes, Tundra Wolves supporting in her flank (hindered).

Hill Sprites are punted and the Fallen overrun, and -/20 Agnes takes 9 damage but tanks it like an enormous legendary fire creature.

Bloodfire 5 and the game feels firmly in Salamander claws, but theres plenty of fighting left. Agnes counter-charges the Direfangs, with flanking support from the CLOFD (it came down to a dice off whether he was in). The right Fire horde goes one more round with their Fallen, and after a cheeky diadem breath, the Diadem horde is surged into the other Fallen. The Direfangs are smashed under monstrous, molten fists as are the beleaguered right Fallen, but the center Fallen hold fine. Meanwhile, the Thrall legion absorbs Sprite breath and Agnes is prayed down to 7 damage by the lil Mage-Priest.

Everybody fights! Tundra Wolves have a go at Agnes front this time (hindered), the Thrall regiment spots the flank of the towering CLOFD and charges in (I totally missed this!), the Fallen have a go at the Diadem horde and the Thrall legion prepares to feast on Ember Sprite.

Wolves cant hurt Agnes, Thralls stab 2 wounds into the CLOFD, the Diadem horde goes up to 5 but whatever, and the Thralls have a nosh.

Bloodfire 6 in dominate means consolidating my lead and closing this one out. Its currently 9 to 8 (nimble on the Fallen makes them -1 US). Center Fire horde charges into the last Fallen, routing them (9 to 6), and Martyrs Prayer + heal brings them down to no damage. Agnes, not disordered, and the CLOFD turn their attention on the Thrall regiment but can only waver that Varangur nerve. The Fire horde on the right shuffles into the 12 zone, knowing that at 17 damage its an insta-rout, but hoping the last of the Sprites have blocked enough of the legions charge path.

Last gasp for the Varangur is the Wolves back into Agnes flank (hindered) for a couple wounds, but mostly the Thrall legion scooting past the Sprites and popping the mangled Fire Elementals. The game goes to 6 to 6

and theres no Turn 7, which would have been an easy Bloodfire victory.

BLOODFIRE DRAW

This was a fun one, with some powerhouse rolling on the Varangur part, a good display of the strength of breath weapons on hard targets on the Sallies part, and a snake eyes that tipped the game into my hands until it slipped away again. Always happy to go 1-1-1, and cool to finally play Tim.

Up Next: DWARFS IN THE AM

GAME 27: RATKIN

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

Anyhoo, second round is Ray and his rats, an army I play myself but have rarely faced. There were four rat armies at this tournament, and all of them ended up on the top five tables come round five, if that says anything.

BLOODFIRE GAME 27: RATKIN

Ratkin 2250

Warriors Regiment*
Warriors Regiment*
Warriors Horde*
Shock Troops Horde – Brew of Sharpness
Shock Troops Horde – Brew of Strength
Shock Troops Horde – Potion of the Caterpillar
Blight Horde
Vermintide Regiment
Vermintide Regiment
Enforcer on Fleabag* – Blade of Slashing
Enforcer on Fleabag
Warlock – Bane-chant (3)
Warlock – Bane-chant (3)
Swarm-Crier
Swarm-Crier
Demonspawn – Fly & Speed 10
*Lab Rats Formation

Im not going to say its the best Ratkin list, simply because you can play the army pretty differently and still do great (note the suspicious lack of Death Engines and Weapon Teams here), but its got a smart formation and triples down on what may be the best line unit in the game. Plus lots and lots of bodies for the scenario

Second round was Pillage, a scenario my army is not good at, which is a fact I probably over-focused on going into this game. Rolling maximum counters (7), against a horde army piloted by a very competent player (I heard Ray is the highest ranked player in the Mid-Atlantic currently?), meant I was pretty much resigned to my fate. Ratkin won initiative as well and took it.

BATTLE

Battlelines!

Rats roll out, with the Warrior horde going far left to claim one of two tokens (just barely too far apart to claim them both). The +1 to hit Shock Troops are on the left, the +1 CS ones are mid, the pathfinding ones leaving the forest on the right, and the Blight are the rightmost horde. Rat shooting lightnings an Ember Sprite reg off the field, because Ray was more concerned about them than most of the army

Bloodfire shambles forward, but the cagey rats are all out of breath range and theres nothing to heal.

The Ratkin maintain the standoff, except for the Warrior regiments, goaded into bait range, and the Enforcer, who charges the right Sprites and disorders them. The remaining central Sprites are lit up with lightning and wavered.

Given something to destroy, Bloodfire obliges. On the left, Sprites + Clan Lord breath on the left Warriors for 5 damage (but no waver), while Agnes + Diadem horde + both Mage-Priests incinerate the other, obviously bait Warriors. I advance my own, less obvious bait Fire horde in the center, and on the right the Enforcer is shredded by a combo-charge from the Sprites + Fire horde, with the Sprites advancing 6 and the Fire horde backing up 2-3. Things should get spicy next turn

and indeed they do! Blight charge and wreck the right Sprites, as the other Enforcer charges and disorders the inspiring, surge Mage-Priest nearby. The Fire horde perched on the hill/obstacle get jammed by some Vermintide (ensuring theyll be hindered next turn), and the leftmost Sprites are flanked and removed by the surviving Warriors (who regenerate 2 wounds). The wavered Sprites blocking a Fire horde is wavered again thanks to lightning and poor rout dice, and its on to the main event: Can a bane-chanted Shock Troop horde flip over a -/18 Fire Elemental horde in a front charge? Math says its close (~11 damage + rerolled 7 rout)!

12 wounds and some solid routs later, the Fire Elementals are no more Q_Q

As we start this turn, I comment that despite getting rocked I have a surprising amount of Fire Elemental left, so maybe I can still fight it out? Ray gives me a quizzical look and I shrug and declare some charges: On the right, one Fire horde charges the Blight and another hits the Enforcer in the flank. After smashing the Enforcer, that horde overruns into the Blight and both Fire hordes go to work. Ensnare is a bear but they manage to put 11 wounds on the horde, which isnt enough for anything but itll do in a grind.

In the center, Agnes is forced to go it alone against the Shock Troops, as her backup Fire horde is stuck behind wavered Sprites. In retrospect it might have worked better to pound the Shock Troops with Agnes laser + 20 Mage-Priest fireballs, and let the rats do the charging. As it was, Agnes smashed 4 damage into the horde and they cared not.

On the left, the Fire horde scattered the Vermintide, despite hindering, and the CLOFD backed up a bit and roasted the Warriors again (5 damage total and wavered).

Ratkin 4 and its all out aggression now. The Fire horde on the hill take a charge from the CS 2 Shock Troops (hindered), Agnes (-/20) facetanks CS1 Shock Troops + the Demonspawn, and the Blight counter-charge the Diadem horde. Even with bane-chant on them, math says they 7.5 wounds and get melted in my next turn

15 insane wounds later, that Fire horde is dead, as are the hill Fire Elementals as well as Agnes. All his dice were amazing this game, but the Blights were the spikiest by far, pretty much eliminating my ability to grind.

Its basically over, but theres attrition to be had. Also vengeance. The surviving Fire hordes go into Shock Troops and Blight respectively, while the CLOFD and Ember Sprites scoot around and bake 10 wounds into the CS2 Shock Troops. The Fire horde punching Shock Troops does a statistically low 6 damage while those fighting Blight do a statistically expected 5 damage. No rat cares.

Ratkin 5 means more murdering.

The CS2 Shock Troops devour the last of the Sprites, the central Shock Troops rip 12 wounds into their Fire horde but dont roll the 6 to rout, and the Demonspawn + (bane-chanted) Blight zero-to-rout the other Fire horde.

Bloodfire 5 and weve got a lot of 12 damage to slop around. One Mage-Priest fireballs the Blight off the table while the other tags 5 damage into the Demonspawn, and the CLOFD hammers 6 more damage into the CS2 Shock Troops as he prepares to meet his fate. The last of the Fire Elementals pounds another ~6 damage into the pathfinding Shock Troops but cant get lucky.

In Ratkin 6, the CS2 Shock Troops + Demonspawn zero-to-rout the CLOFD and the central Shock Troops finish off the final Fire horde. A Mage-Priest gets tickled by lightning as well.

In a final FU, the inspiring Mage-Priest hammers the pathfinder Shock Troops with fireballs, sending them packing, while her understudy Martyrs Prayers her clean because reasons. The Herald scooches her pot out of LOS of things in case Turn 7 happens. Blessedly it does not.

BLOODFIRE LOSS

This was a game I was never going to win, especially once we rolled maximum counters, and especially with how his dice were. I needed some things to work out for me to grind things out, but I never caught a break. Ah well.

Up Next: VARANGRRR

GAME 26: UNDEAD

On November 28, 2018November 28, 2018 By SalvageIn BLOODFIRE1 Comment

After many months of being very busy with life and faffing around with AOS 2.0 (less irritating now, but still not great), I painted a few more fire elementals and threwdown at the Keystone GT last weekend out near Hershey, PA. The army got a lot of praise from other players, which was definitely appreciated, and felt great to play again. I don’t know if I’m running them at the Crossroads GT in September, as it’s a team tourney and Bloodfire is an intentionally underpowered list, but after being the only Salamanders player at a ~34 player GT I don’t know that I want to be the 5+ Ratkin player at a 48 player one. Though that’s a tale to come.

In the meantime, stay tuned for five batreps from Keystone! I’ll aim to have them done through the rest of the week, starting tomorrow since I need to upload a lot of pics

Salamanders 2250

Fire Elemental Horde – Diadem of Dragonkind
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), Inspiring Talisman
Mage-Priest – Martyr’s Prayer (7), Bane Chant (2), Healing Brew
Clan Lord on Fire Drake - Blessing of the Gods

In the end I went with the fifth Fire Elemental horde because it was about half painted already, as opposed to the Jar-raider horde which wasn’t even built yet. While I don’t regret the diadem, especially as it further reinforces the theme of the army, I’m still debating downgrading it to brew of courage and slapping bane chant on the surge priest. But here I am still getting ahead of myself! I’ll be back soon with game one.

—

First round of Keystone saw me back in the saddle and playing Joe, a super nice dude for whom this was his first GT! So time to teach a tournament newbie how the warm, liquid goo phase that is Bloodfire works

BLOODFIRE GAME 26: UNDEAD

Undead 2250

Ghouls Troop
Ghouls Troop
Revenants Horde – Lifeleech (2), Brew of Strength
Wraiths Regiment – Healing Brew
Mummies Regiment
Zombies Horde
Werewolves Horde – Staying Stone
Wights Horde
Soul Reaver Cavalry – Dwarven Ale
Revenant King on Winged Undead Wyrm
Vampire on Undead Pegasus
Necromancer - Bane-chant (2)

A nice varied Undead force, lots of different tools for different jobs. Bit light on inspiring and I would have scrapped all the items to give the Soul Reavers pathfinder (or the Necro inspiring), but should make for a nice scrap.

First round was Invade, ensuring a grind between our two close-up armies, which Im all about. Bloodfire won the initiative, which is very helpful when most of your US shambled 6!

BATTLE

Battlelines!

All the battlines!

Bloodfire rolls out, maintaining standard refused flank formation. Im fully aware his fast, elite units are headed around the left flank – my goal is to wheel around the central fulcrum while maintaining enough power in my right flank to deal with his troops over there (Ghouls + Wights + Peg). This is pretty standard stuff for Bloodfire at this point.

Undead shuffle forward on the right and begin to head in on the left, while the Werewolves blitz deep down the left flank. The King on Wyrm has some trouble with facing and decides to punch it towards the left at the double rather than getting closer to the red tide.

Turn 2 means Operation: Chaff Cull + Chip Damage goes into effect. The line continues to bow out, maintaining a footing in terrain where able, getting Ember Sprites and the Clan Lord into range. Double bane-chant succeeds on the CLOFD and its time to cook: right Ghouls die, Revenants take 5 damage, and left Ghouls take 2 as well.

Not keen to weather the building firestorm, the Undead start to get stuck in, with decidedly underwhelming results. The left Ghouls tackle the Sprites what shot them and fail to land a wound (!), the Mummies smack some central Sprites around and waver them, and the Vampire + Wights get bogged down in the edge of the right pond and largely bounce off the diadem Fire Elementals. Meanwhile the left flank gets oriented to devastate in coming terms – the Werewolves perform an L-shaped maneuver deeper into the southwest to make room for the Wyrm.

The Bloodfire battleline continues to rotate, with Agnes and a Fire horde turning to phase the incoming Undead beaters, as a second Fire horde waits to provide backup to either the left or center. Agnes also tags the Soul Reaver Cav with her heatway, melting 3 wounds into them. The Ghouls Sprites walk sideways to get in the way of chargers, then puke on the Ghouls and remove them. Centrally the Clan Lord and more Sprites continue breathing on the Revenants, burning them up to 15 damage, while the wavered Sprites keep the Mummies – and looming Fire horde – gummed up. On the right, Sprites get out of the way so the fresh Fire horde can flank, and obliterate, the Vampire on Pegasus, as the Diadem horde punches the Wights in the face.

No longer able to contain themselves, the Undead pounce on red things across the field: Soul Reavers into Sprites, Wraiths into a Fire horde (hindered), Revenant King into Agnes (hindered), Revenants into Sprites, Mummies back into Sprites, and Wights into the Diadem horde. The Zombies and Werewolves continue their voyage into relevance.

Although the hindered Undead flyers have little luck against their targets – 3 damage to Agnes, 1 to the Fire horde – and the Mummies manage no wounds against their Sprites (?!), other combats are more decisive. The Soul Reavers devour their Sprites (lifeleeching 2), the Revenants feast on theirs as well (lifeleeching 2), and the Wights finish what they started and wreck the Diadem horde, turning to face their bros.

With the grind underway, Bloodfire returns the favor. The right Fire horde charges the Wights, shattering them for great justice. Unable to charge the Mummies thanks to the last of the Sprites, a central Fire horde stands 1 away and waits for their opening (in retrospect I think I could have surged them in, the surge Mage-Priest is on the tall one on the right with nothing to do). The other central Fire horde slams into the battered Revenants (13 damage), finishing them off, as the Clan Lord tries to shoot off the Necromancer (since Soul Reavers in cover were less appetizing!). In the forest grind, the Mage-Priest pulls 1 damage off Agnes with Martyrs Prayer (7 :P), and both Agnes and the Fire horde counter-charge their partners. Damage happens.

Undead 4 begins with a discussion about what the Wraiths could do to make room for the Soul Reavers, and ultimately they slide sideways 5 and surge forward into a Fire horde, letting the Soul Reavers charge in (hindered). Similarly the King on Wyrm GTFOd south, tagging the Werewolves into Agnes (also hindered). Finally, the Mummies make contact with their own waiting Fire Elementals.

Damage is light across most combats, with the exception of the Soul Reavers who get their Fire horde up to 10 (vs -/18 nerve), and the Undead bounce. Oh, the Zombies meanwhile realized they should be a little more convincingly in the enemy side and scoot down.

Bloodfire 5 delivers a sharp blow to the Undead, as both the Mummies and Wraiths are exorcised on the counter-charge and the Necromancer is immolated by the Clan Lord + Ember Sprites. Agnes, fully healed by the little Priests prayer, smashes 6 damage into the Werewolves and lands a lucky waver, but the damaged Fire horde fighting the Soul Reavers struggle and land just a couple damage, stripping the vampires TC at best.

Undead 5 sees the Revenant King reorient his Wyrm to take on whatever he wants next turn, the Werewolves shake their waver and regenerate half of their damage, and the Soul Reaver Cav explode their Fire horde and back up 1.

Seeing an opening, Agnes corkscrew charges the flank of the Soul Reavers, along with a derpy hindered Fire horde charge into their front. Maybe with bane-chant the horde manages to do something, but the real story here is Agnes incinerating the vamps with 18 CS4 attaks. Other stuff happens – Bloodfire pumps unit strength into the Undead side of the board, the CLOFD tries to breath on the Werewolves, the Herald attempts to block said puppers (badly) – but it isnt as exciting.

Undead 6: Everybody fights! The Zombies finally make contact, swarming a Fire hordes flank as their Revenant King slams into its front (hindered). While the Zombies manage a couple wounds, the King rolls like a boss and pops the elementals. Meanwhile Agnes facetanks the Werewolves again, thanks to her friend the forest.

We prepare for Turn 7 but it doesnt happen.

BLOODFIRE VICTORY

A great first game against a great guy, just what I needed after months away from KOW. Joe would go on to win Best Sports and a pile of swag, all very well-deserved.

Up Next: RATSSSSS

GAME 20: OGRES

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

Final round up against our TO Jesse, a dude I knew from Master Crafted Gaming batreps (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUodTbAv0XfqvwwG2cBHuA/videos?disable_polymer=1) and who my clubmates ran into at Keystone GT not too long ago. All around great/funny guy playing a balanced and unexpectedly strong Ogre list.

BLOODFIRE GAME 20: OGRES

Salamanders 2000

Fire Elemental Horde – Brew of Haste
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Fire Elemental Horde
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ember Sprite Regiment
Ankylodon Battle Platform – firebolts
Herald on Raptor – Diadem of Dragonkind
Herald on Raptor – Healing Charm
Mage-Priest – Surge (8), Heal (3)
Clan Lord on Fire Drake – Banner of the Griffin

Ogres 2000

Warriors Horde
Warriors Horde
Siege Breakers Horde – Cat Potion
Siege Breakers Horde
Boomers Horde
Boomers Horde
Red Goblin Scouts Troop
Red Goblin Scouts Troop
Army Standard – Banner of the Griffin
Army Standard
Army Standard
Sweaty Gigante

Third round was Occupy, with Sallies once more going first! Shamble army says yes please! (Admittedly going first wasnt the best idea in 2/3 of these matchups, but as they all involved moving I was happy to oblige.)

BATTLE

Deployment is central-right, with the left objective ignored. I thought about sending some Sprites to grab it late game, but decided Id rather they did something in the game itself. Griffin Bearer is the double flag behind the Siege Breakers.

The red wall trundles forward. I expected him to clear chaff next turn, plus was curious what hed do with his Scouts on the right.

The flesh wall trundles forward. Boomers chunk into the central Sprites, wavering both units and stalling the fires advance. The Scouts double charge the speedy right Fire horde, doing appreciable damage but for naught.

Largely stuck in the center, the only real action is on the right, where one unit of Scouts is baked to death by the speedy Fire horde and the other is wavered by Sprite shooting. The speedy horde is healed a bunch, and the left Boomers suffer the CLOFDs breath, though without even being wavered.

The Ogres continue to press the issue, getting the Boomers closer while setting up traps should the red hordes get stuck. The Giant goes aggro and bops a couple wounds on the speedy Fire horde but whatever. Shortly before which one unit of Boomers clears out the left Sprites, and the other rips into the central Fire horde, shredding 11 damage into them (with 18 shots!). Thankfully they cant land the rerolled 7 to break them. Whew!

Suffering under the Boomer barrage and needing to act, the left Fire hordes power into Warriors and Boomers respectively, as the right Fire horde countercharges the Giant and Sprites get in the way of Siege Breakers. The Goblin Scouts were purposefully left alone this turn, so they would remain in the way of the Siege Breakers.

While damage is spread around – including breath attaks into the right Boomers – nothing results save for wavering the left Boomers.

The Ogres keep the mayhem going: Warriors countercharge the left Fire horde, more Warriors flank the deeply-wounded central horde, Scouts pounce on the third horde and the Giant countercharges the speedy horde. While the central Fire horde predictably goes down, damage is otherwise relatively light, with the Giant completely fluffing. The CLOFD cops a couple wounds from the right Boomers as well.

More fighting! The left and right Fire hordes countercharge their dance partners, though the third horde chooses not to countercharge the Scouts, to keep them in between the Breakers for another turn (this was an overthinking mistake on my part). The riskiest move was sending the Ankylodon into the wounded Boomers, as I was relying on 8 hindered attaks to land at least one wound and pop the Boomers, allowing the ABP to reform and not be flanked by things with CS that hit good. The plan also required at least wavering the other Boomer horde with shooting, which thankfully the CLOFD + Sprites were able to do, despite hitting on 5+. Combats work out, with the Boomers and Warrior both dying. The Giant is wavered but Fury dont care. And the Scouts gumming up the right flank are wavered from shooting (I guess I hoped to clear and charge in my next turn? However charging now and charging then would have worked too).

Around this time the Diadem Herald had worked his way around the left flank, incinerating the leftmost Army Standard ❤

Hindered Warriors and Army Standard hit the Ankylodon, doing two points of damage, of which the big beastie heals one from Iron Resolve. On the right the Giant figures out how clubs work and hammers the speedy Horde but no lucky rout.

The Sallies turn the heat up and brutalize the Ogre army, with the left Warriors disappearing under a Fire horde flank attak (the Ankylodon helped), the Giant burned to cinders and the Scouts finally ended, forcing the Breakers over there to make a choice. Happily the Boomers are also routed, thanks to a sterling round of vomit from the CLOFD.

At this point things feel pretty great. Its Turn 5, with just two Siege Breaker hordes and two Army Standards left up against a lot more red than Im used to. Clearly I didnt know what Siege Breakers are capable of O_O

Cat Siege Breakers charge the Ankylodon and the less-wounded Fire horde on the right, with their Army Standards flanking the Ankylodon and blocking the rightmost Fire horde. While the ABP takes 7 wounds, hes able to survive the rout test. This is not the case for the Fire horde, which is absolutely jellied in one go.

Sally 6 is a scramble that has the left Siege Breakers slammed by Ankylodon + Fire while the right Siege Breakers are fed some Sprites to keep them occupied (and available to be shot). The Diadem Herald is only able to waver the left Breakers Army Standard, meaning that despite taking 11 points of damage the central Breakers dont go down. On the right, breath from the CLOFD + Sprites is unable to dent the other Breakers, and the Fire horde only wavers their Army Standard in combat.

The right Siege Breakers obliterate the last of the Sprites, securing a secondary objective, as the left Siege Breakers erase their Fire horde, securing another secondary objective. With no Turn 7, the Ankylodon contented himself with securing the primary objective and calling it a draw.

BLOODFIRE DRAW

All told three good games, and Im always happy to go 50%. Mantic provided prizes for the top three, which included me! I walked away with a Forge Father Sturnhammer, which Im actually very excited to use as an APC in Necromunda. Though thats a topic for another batrep thread . . .

GAME 19: DWARFS

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

Another round, another clubmate. In this case Senator Rossi, who I havent played in over a year Id reckon?

BLOODFIRE GAME 19: DWARFS

Salamanders 2000

Dwarfs 2000

Berserkers Troop
Ironclad Horde – [Magic Item?]
Ironguard Regiment – CS1/D5
Ironguard Regiment – CS1/D5
Earth Elemental Horde
Berserker Brock Riders Regiment – [Magic Item?]
Ironbelcher Organ Gun
Ironbelcher Organ Gun
Army Standard Bearer – Diadem of Dragon-king
Army Standard Bearer – Lute of Insatiable Darkness
King – Wings of Honeymaze
Stone Priest – Bane Chant (2), Banner of the Griffin?
Battle Driller
Battle Driller
Greater Earth Elemental

There are 45 spare points, which Im guessing were items on the Ironclad and the Brock Riders, as there are plenty of good ones they might have had. Anyway props to Rossi on sticking with Dwarfs and trying to make mostly-infantry work – in the past hes done the gyrocopters as Elohi thing, and I know hes fighting against going back to that.

Second round was Push, with Sallies going first again.

BATTLE

Deployment sees a flank denied, as the Bloodfire does. Wondering how often its the left flank I ignore, because it seems like most of the time. Push tokens are on the left Ironguard, the Earth Elementals and the Ironclad; and the Ankylodon, central Earth Sprites, and rightmost Fire Elementals.

Roll out! Redementals scoot forward, trying to stick to cover where able. The central Fire horde is surged forward a few inches, because I already know theyre a target.

Dwarfs shuffle forward a bit, knowing theyre outpaced nearly across the board. And the Brocks hold still, not wanting to start absorbing breath damage when they dont need to. Organ Gun fire plinks off a couple wounds from the leading Fire hordes.

Sallies reach that 12 standoff band with the Dwarfs. Exploratory breath attaks cant get much purchase in D6 rockementals 😐

With a resounding cry of YOLO! the Dwarf line slams forward, with the Earth Elementals hitting the bait Sprites and the Brocks thundering off their hill into the token-bearing Fire horde, plus the flying King bopping the Healing Herald.

The Sprites evaporate, as do the Fire Elementals (which was a bit surprising to me, given the 4+ and 4+ they needed per wound, although the Dwarven rout dice were definitely hot all game). The Herald also wavers, on a rerolled 11! The central Fire horde also copped more shooting damage from the Organ Guns.

With the battleline getting cramped and not enough Dwarfs dying, things get a big drastic for the Sallies. The Ankylodon flanks the Greater Earth along with Fire Elementals in the front, with the understanding that hes screwed if this doesnt work. Meanwhile Fire hordes go into the Ironclad to begin the grind and the right Ironguard to hopefully break through next round. To protect their flank the Diadem Herald tosses himself in front of the Brocks, offset to pull them to the side when they align. Breath attaks lay a little damage into the Brocks but their nerve is far higher than I remember.

The Ankylodons gambit pays off and the GGE is reduced to rubble, and happily the Ironguard fall to the speedy Fire horde as well, letting them scoot past the arc of the Brocks. Even more unexpectedly, the central Fire horde is able to waver the Ironclad! Headstrong or not, thats pretty sweet.

[We then went into his turn and forgot the lucky waver on the Ironclad, which resulted in a lot of carnage and so on until I went and spotted his headstrong token. He failed the headstrong roll and, being an absolutely gent, we reset the game based on my photos ]

Despite these setbacks the Dwarfs shoulder on, as they do. Earth Elementals piled into the waiting Ankylodon (for little result) and the Brocks ran over the poor Diadem Herald. A battle driller had a shot at the hasty Fire horde for a lark and the King continued to harass the Healing Herald. The Dwarven left flank crept closer and Guns tried for 6+ to hit vs something red.

That failed headstrong on the Ironclad is punished to the full extent when the Dwarven horde receives Fire Elementals in the front and the flank, as the speedy Fire horde smashes through a Battle Driller and follows into the Ironclad. They die. The Ankylodon faffs away at the Earth Elementals (his 4+ to hit being way harder to deal with then their D6) and the Brocks take another breath bath from the CLOFD, but likewise dont care.

The Dwarf answer by hitting the speedy Fire horde with Brocks (tons of damage but no rout); flanking the Ankylodon with bane chanted Berserkers + Earth Elementals in the front (the Serkers roll insanity and the ABP is toppled); and shooting the hell out of the central Fire horde (popping it). Brutal stuff. Also note that the King has been chasing the Healing Herald around all this time, bopping him for a single wound to disorder him.

Sally 5 sees the flanking Ironguard finally engaged by a Fire horde, the Earth Elementals receive some breath loving (for all the good it did), and the speedy Fire horde punch the Brocks, who still refuse to rout.

The Dwarfs drop the hammer once more, double teaming the left Fire horde, running over some Sprites and dispersing the speedy right Fire horde. Somehow the left Fire horde survives the (hindered) Berserker blender in the flank! And the CLOFD is wavered after suffering focused Organ Gun shelling.

Sally 6, the last Fire horde pounds into the Ironguard, triumphantly claiming their token.

Dwarf 6 sees the Fire horde extinguished by the Berserkers and a lot of stuff made dead – I think the King killed the Mage-Priest this turn, after a lucky 10 reroll on the Healing Herald the turn before. Well ahead on tokens, Turn 7 would have simply given the Dwarfs a chance to table the Sallies by shooting the CLOFD to death, but the extra turn die said no.

BLOODFIRE LOSS

GAME 18: VARANGUR

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

Back with another handful of quickie Salamander reports! November 18^th I drove down to Philadelphia to hangout at PAX Unplugged and throwdown in the KOW tournament going on that Saturday. Originally it was supposed to be four games with a 20 person cap but for whatever reasons it ended up just being me, two clubmates from Albany, and the TO (a great dude Im happy to see going to more NE events). So we cut it down to just three games, which suited me fine, as I was able to get in a little vendor time and drive home early.

BLOODFIRE GAME 18: VARANGUR + NIGHT-STALKERS

Salamanders 2000

Originally I had wanted to change things up and start running double Mage-Priests, but I wasnt about to go into a tournament with a list Id never played – one I hadnt played for a few months was bad enough!

Varangur + Night-Stalkers 2000

Warband Regiment – Banner of the Griffin
Warband Regiment – Brew of Courage
The Fallen Horde – Helm of the Ram
Tundra Wolves Troop
Mounted Sons of Korgaan Regiment – Cat Potion, gift of the warrior
Horse Raiders Troop – bows
Magus Conclave – famulus
King on Chimera – Brew of Haste, gift of the warrior
Skald – Lute of Insatiable Darkness
+
Fiends Horde
Void Lurker

The two monsters I respect most in the game right now are probably Kings on Chimeras and Void Lurkers, and this list has them in a tagteam O_O I also was shocked at how mediocre Warbands are, although they are pretty cheap for their stats, so I suppose it works out.

First round was Invade, with Sallies grabbing first!

BATTLE

Deployment sees a flank denied, as is typical for the Bloodfire.

After Sally Turn 2, the red battleline prepares to receive chargers. Not counting the rightmost Sprites, who got eaten by Wolves, who then were barfed on and destroyed by more Sprites.

Boom! The Varangur elite crash into the elemental host. The Fire horde facing Mounted Sons + Void Lurker explode in a shower of fiery gore, however the King finds himself stuck after his solo venture into a neighboring horde. On the left flank the Horse Raiders begin a long grind in the woods vs some very tenacious Ember Sprites.

Retaliation is brutal, with the Void Lurker ignored in favor of hitting the Sons with CLOFD + ABP and smashing the King with a Fire countercharge to the front and surge charge to the flank. The Sons are smacked around (wavered but whatever) and the King is melted to slag under 54 CS2 cuddles.

The Varangur head in again, this time punching in their flankers – Fiends (hindered) + Fallen into a Fire horde, Warband + Raiders into their own obnoxious Sprites. The Void Lurker makes contact with the Kings Fire horde (which had been rather significantly healed at this point) and the Sons countercharge the CLOFD. Despite putting out a lot of hurt none of the Salamander targets go down, including a cheeky snake eyes on the central Sprites holding up the Warbands. Importantly the leftmost Sprites take no wounds from the Horse Raiders.

Last turns lucky nerve roles are particularly nasty as they let a Fire horde flank the first Warband reg, followed by countercharges on the Fallen (ignoring the Fiends to keep them hindered), the Void Lurker and the Sons. Plus the free Ember Sprites questing for the Magus Conclaves heads. And on the deep left flank those pesky Sprites combine fire with the Diadem Herald to cook the Raiders.

After combats, the Sons have been devoured by the Bloodfire heavies, the first Warband is toast, the Fallen are wavered, and the Void Lurker remains unmoved.

As is typical for Fire Elementals, the following turn sees most of them burn out. A hindered flank from the Fiends finishes the leftmost horde and the Void Lurker ends what the King started.

It must be a Bloodfire late game with so few red things on the board. The surviving Fire horde shoots the gap into the Fallen, the CLOFD takes matters into his own hands and stomps into the Void Lurker, and the hero-mode Sprites charge the Magus Conclave. With the exception of the CLOFD, things work out great: the Conclave is devoured by Ember Sprites, the Fallen are beaten to a pulp, and, unexpectedly, the Diadem Herald manages to waver the uninjured Fiends with a ridiculous display of dice!

Varangur 5 sees the surviving Warband shove for the enemy half of the board, and the Void Lurker waver the CLOFD. The end is nigh!

Sally 6 is largely spent sending a Magmadroth into the front of the Warband (no result) and making sure unit strength is on the enemy side. Annnnd the Diadem Herald killing the Fiends with another stunner of a breath roll ❤

In Varangur 6, the Void Lurker chops down the CLOFD and the Skald powers up for what could be a game tying throw. If he can hit and wound the last Fire horde with his throwing axe the game will be a tie! He hits! He fails to wound!

BLOODFIRE VICTORY

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.