Post: #1

The Midlands Open 2011 took place on July 30th and 31st, six weeks after my previous tournament, the Summer Incursion. It was a 2400 point event of five games using the main scenarios from the rulebook, apart from Watchtower, and took place in Brierley Hill which is in the West Midlands in the UK.

Somewhat different than my experience so far was the scoring system which, rather than being the 20-0 that seems to predominate, or the Maelstrom Games 5000 point system I've played under a few times, was a 30-10-1 system.

After the Summer Incursion I had mulled over making some changes to my list but due to not being able to get enough practice games in I decided in the end to stick with the same list as before. Fortunately the comp for the event was pretty minimal so I didn’t have to make any changes to fit it in.

Going into the event I was basically looking to do as well as I had done in terms of wins at the last couple of tournaments, maybe better if I’d remembered any lessons learned from the Incursion.

As I'm currently a High Elf player, those of you looking just for undead action will want to skip to the report for game 2

Post: #2

Army List

Arch Mage (General) (Lore of Metal)
- Level 4
- Silver Wand
- Talisman of Preservation
- Ironcurse Icon

Mage (High Magic)
- Level 2
- Seerstaff of Saphery (picking Curse of Arrrow Attraction and Flames of the Phoenix)

Noble
- Battle Standard Bearer
- Banner of the World Dragon
- Dragon Armour
- Shield
- Great Weapon

24 Spearmen
- Full Command
- Standard of Discipline

10 Archers
- Musician

10 Archers
- Musician

10 Archers
- Musician

21 Sword Masters
- Full Command
- Amulet of Light
- Dragonbane Gem
- Banner of Eternal Flame

19 White Lions
- Full Command
- Ruby Ring of Ruin
- Banner of Sorcery

5 Dragon Princes
- Musician

Repeater Bolt Thrower

Great Eagle

Great Eagle

Post: #3

Game 1 – Andrew Davies – Beastmen
Scenario – Dawn Attack

Beastlord (General)
- Blackened Plate

Great Bray Shaman (Lore of Shadow)
- Level 4

Wargor
- Battle Standard Bearer

Bray Shaman (Lore of Shadow)
- Herdstone Shard

Bray Shaman (Lore of Shadow)

30 Gor
- Full Command

20 Gor
- Full Command

Tuskgor Chariot

Tuskgor Chariot

Tuskgor Chariot

Tuskgor Chariot

35 Bestigor
- Full Command

Razorgor

Razorgor

5 Ungor Raiders
- Musician

5 Ungor Raiders
- Musician


Magic Selection

High Elves

Arch Mage – Lore of Metal

1. Searing Doom
2. Plague of Rust
3. Glittering Robes
4. Gehenna’s Golden Hounds
5. Final Transmutation

Beastmen

Great Bray Shaman – Lore of Shadow

1. Mystifying Miasma
2. The Withering
3. Penumbral Pendulum
4. Okkam’s Mind Razor

Bray Shaman – Lore of Shadow

1. Enfeebling Foe

Bray Shaman – Lore of Shadow

1. Mystifying Miasma


Table Set-up and Deployment



The table was almost a mirror image across the diagonal. In my left quarter there was a piece of impassable terrain about mid way across the deployment zone and just straddling the 12” line. There was a hill in the right quarter, just to the right of the centre line and almost touching the back board edge and then a wood about eight inches from the right board edge and in front of the deployment zone.

Things were pretty much the same from Andy’s point of view and there was just an obstacle wall in the centre.

Rolling for deployment in the left section I ended up with one Eagle, which I put close to the left corner, and the Bolt Thrower which I deployed just behind the impassable terrain piece.

In the right zone I got two units of Archers, one of which I deployed behind the wood, angled in towards the centre of the table, while the other was facing up the right flank. The Dragon Princes also ended up in that zone so I ended up deploying them behind the first unit of Archers, again, angled in towards the centre of the table.

Across the central zone I had a unit of Archers a couple of inches to the right of the Bolt Thrower, the Spearmen with the Arch Mage to their right, followed by the White Lions with the Mage and then the Sword Masters with the BSB. Finally the second Eagle was to the right of the hill.

As I looked at the table, the Beastmen had a Razorgor in the left deployment area right on the board edge with a unit of Ungor Raiders about five inches to the right of it.

In the right zone was the larger unit of Gor with the Beastlord and BSB, angled to face the centre of the board, and a Tuskgor Chariot facing down the right flank.

Across the central deployment zone the smaller Gor unit deployed with the two Bray Shamans a few inches from the back board edge close to the left deployment zone, along with the Herdstone Shard. On the front slope of the hill the Bestigor were deployed with the Bray Shaman while behind them on top of the hill was a Tuskgor Chariot. To the right of the hill were the other two chariots and in front of them was the second unit of Ungor Raiders. Finally the second Razorgor was to the right of the Raiders.

The Game

With the first turn there was a bit of movement forward from my blocks and the Dragon Princes but everything else stayed put. The Winds of Magic plus my channelling attempts and Banner of Sorcery delivered a maximum dice phase for me. First spell of the game was Flames of the Phoenix which went off irresistibly on the Bestigor, killing the champion plus six rank and file. For once the miscast result for the Level 2 was pretty kind with just two White Lions dying, although I did lose my remaining power dice.

That just left the shooting phase for me. The Archers on the right shot at the Tuskgor Chariot on the right flank and took two wounds off it. Their comrade behind the wood shot at the Bestigor and killed another while the Bolt Thrower on the left fired a volley at the Razorgor on that flank, doing one wound.

(Those of you paying attention may have noticed that I didn’t mention the unit of Archers on the left flank. I think that would be because I forgot to move them and so they were out of range or they did shoot at the Ungor Raiders and missed).

For the most part Andy’s army moved up, with the left hand Razorgor sprinting down the left flank. The Ungor on the left flank moved into the wood while the other Razorgor moved backwards onto the hill.

Andy also had a maximum dice first turn courtesy of the Herdstone Shard. He started off with a Bray Shaman casting Miasma at the Bolt Thrower which failed. The Great Bray Shaman was more competent in his casting, managing to get the spell off and dropping the crew’s ballistic skill by one. Next up was the Ruby Ring of Ruin used to launch a Fireball at the Sword Masters. This turned into a mere warm breeze thanks to the Banner of the World Dragon. Finally Andy used his last dice to dispel Flames of the Phoenix.

Last action of the turn was the Ungor shooting at the Sword Masters, killing one.

Second turn and my three blocks edged forwards again while the Archers on the left swift-reformed to be able to draw a bead on the Razorgor steaming down the flank. Magic saw Flames of the Phoenix on the Bestigor dispelled while Final Transmutation on the Bestigor went off irresistibly, killing five. From the miscast result the Arch Mage forgot Final Transmutation, Gehenna’s Golden Hounds and Searing Doom. (Just to add insult to injury, I forgot Andy needed to take Stupidity tests for those units within 12” of the Bestigor in Andy’s turn, although given the proximity of the General and BSB I can’t imagine many would have failed.)

Shooting saw the Bolt Thrower take another wound off the Razorgor while the Archers on the right took another wound off the Tuskgor Chariot.

The second Beastmen turn saw the Razorgor on the left sprinting up the table again, angling in at the end to face the Bolt Thrower, and the Ungor Raiders also sprinting up the table in support of it. The other Ungor also sprinted up towards the Sword Masters and Dragon Princes while the Bestigor reformed and shuffled forwards with the other Tuskgor Chariots and large Gor block. The second Razorgor now came down the hill to the left of the Bestigor block

The Bray Shaman cast Miasma at the Dragon Princes, taking 3” off their movement and used the lore attribute to swap places with the Beastlord. A Bray Shaman attempted to cast Miasma at the Bolt Thrower again but this was dispelled. Shooting saw the right Ungor kill another Sword Master while the left unit shot at the Bolt Thrower to no effect.

High Elf turn three saw the Sword Masters and Dragon Princes back peddle a bit while the Eagle on the left flew out to block any charge attempt by the Razorgor on the Bolt Thrower.

The Arch Mage attempted to cast Plague of Rust on the Bestigor but this was dispelled while Flames of the Phoenix on them brought out Andy’s dispel scroll. The Mage then failed to cast Flames of the Phoenix.

On the right the Archers carried on their sterling shooting attempts by shooting the remaining wound off the Tuskgor Chariot in front of them. The Bolt Thrower shot down the Razorgor while the Archers on the left shot dead two Ungor Raiders causing the unit to flee. Finally the Archers behind the wood shot at the left most remaining Tuskgor Chariot, taking two wounds off it.

The furry brown hordes moved forward once more with the chariots pointing menacingly towards the Sword Masters while the Bestigor moved up to the obstacle in the middle. The remaining Razorgor hopped deftly over the wall to face the White Lions while the fleeing Ungor rallied and their kin moved up close to the Dragon Princes and Sword Masters again.

Miasma went off on the Dragon Princes again, reducing their movement by one. The Great Bray Shaman then cast Miasma at the highest level at the White Lions which went off irresistibly, reducing the stats by three. From the miscast result the Shaman took a wound and killed five Gor around him. The only shooting was the Ungor at the Sword Masters again although this turn no elves fell.

Despite the penalty to their stats, the fourth turn saw the White Lions charged the nearest Tuskgor chariot which fled, leaving them free to redirect at the Razorgor which also fled. The Sword Masters and Dragon Princes charged the Ungor in front of them, who held, while the Great Eagle on the left charged the other unit who fled. Finally, the Archers on the right advanced up round the edge of the wood to give themselves something to shoot at.

The Mage cast Flames of the Phoenix on the Bestigor which, thanks to the Blackened Plate on the Beastlord, only killed two of the beasts. Plague of Rust was successfully cast on the right hand Tuskgor Chariot but Curse of Arrow Attraction at the small Gor block and Drain Magic were both dispelled.

Elven shooting proved effective again this turn with the Archers on the right taking a wound off the closest chariot and the other Archers on that side of the table taking two wounds off the chariot next to it. The Archers on the left and the Repeater Bolt Thrower shot down six Gor from the small block between them, causing a panic that saw the unit run off the board.

Combat was short and brutal as the Sword Masters brutally cut down the Ungor. The Dragon Princes overran into the right hand Tuskgor Chariot while the Sword Masters were clearly a bit tired and only overran 5”.

Beastmen turn four saw the Bestigor start off declaring a charge at the White Lions. Knowing the reaction to this could be pivotal I spent a minute trying to make up my mind on what to do before electing to hold to that and the subsequent charge declared by the unengaged Tuskgor Chariot. The fleeing Ungor rallied but the Tuskgor went another 5”.

Andy put all his magic dice into casting Miasma on the White Lions but this was dispelled. Not that this mattered as the White Lions only managed to kill six Bestigor and were wiped out, leaving the Bestigor free to reform and face the Spearmen while their flank was, temporarily, protected by the chariot.

This good result for the Beastmen was tempered by the Dragon Princes destroying the Tuskgor Chariot they had overrun into and causing the Gor block to panic and flee.

Unsurprisingly the Sword Masters charged the Tuskgor Chariot in front of them while both the Spearmen and the victorious Dragon Princes charged the Bestigor. The Eagle on the left charged the Ungor Raiders while I finally remembered to move up the right hand Eagle.

It was a low dice magic phase with my three dice to Andy’s two and I seem to have forgotten write down what I attempted to cast – it would probably have been Plague of Rust on the Bestigor or Glittering Robes on the Spearmen but either way it was dispelled.

Shooting saw the right hand Archers put a wound on the Razorgor that was meandering a bit too close to the rear flank of the Dragon Princes and the Ungor Raiders wiped out.

Combat wasn’t quite as brutal as I’d expected with the Spearmen and Dragon Princes managing to put seven wounds on the Bestigor and the beasts in return doing eight wounds, three of which were overkill from a challenge between the Beastlord and Spearmen champion. The Bestigor held thanks to the Crown of Command on the Beastlord.

Closer to expectations the Sword Masters mangled the final wounds off the chariot and reformed to face the flank of the Bestigor.

The fleeing Gor block rallied, fortunately for Andy, as did the running chariot. Andy decided to chance Penumbral Pendulum at the Sword Masters, forgetting the Banner of the World Dragon and to add insult to injury, casting with Irresistible Force and killing three Gor as a result of the miscast.

The Bestigor concentrated their attacks on the Dragon Princes this turn, managing to reduce the unit down to the musician, although in return they took two casualties and still lost the combat.

For the final High Elf turn the Great Eagle on the left attempted to join the fray but failed to roll high enough to make it into combat. Keen to protect my general I charged the BSB out of the Sword Masters and into the flank of the Bestigor, thinking that this gave me the best chance of protecting my Arch Mage. If I had been paying attention I’d have remembered that the Bestigor Champion was dead at this point so I could have just charged the Sword Masters in and challenged with the champion, thereby sparing both my BSB and General. (I had only charged the BSB in the first place as he would obviously have had flaming attacks from the banner in the Sword Masters giving the Beastlord a 2+ Ward Save to any of the Elf’s attacks that got through his armour).

Magic saw Plague of the Bestigor dispelled and Glittering Robes go through on the Spearmen. The Bolt Thrower shot down the surviving Razorgor although the surviving chariot was more fortunate. In the combat the surviving Gor were all cut down. Despite easily beating the BSB to death the Beastlord was run down as he failed his break test.

The last actions of the game were a charge by the Tuskgor Chariot on the surviving Dragon Prince. With holding being the only option that possibly didn’t give up any points, as long as the chariot fluffed impact hits and normal attacks, the Dragon Prince held but was cut down.

At dice down the scores were 1364 to me and 1026 to Andy, meaning I’d scraped the win by 39 points (a 300 point margin being needed for a win under the tournament rules).

Post: #4

Game 2 – Walter Simpson – Vampire Counts

Scenario – Blood and Glory

Vampire Lord (General) (Lore of Vampires)
- Level 4
- Master of the Black Arts
- Helm of Command

Vampire
- Forbidden Lore (Lore of Death)

30 Ghouls
- Champion

30 Ghouls
- Champion

25 Skeletons
- Full Command

30 Grave Guard
- Full Command
- Great Weapons

3 Spirit Hosts

3 Fell Bats

6 Cairn Wraiths
- Tomb Banshee


Magic Selection

High Elves

Arch Mage – Lore of Metal

1. Searing Doom
2. Enchanted Blades
3. Gehenna’s Golden Hounds
4. Transmutation of Lead
5. Final Transmutation

Vampire Counts

Vampire Lord – Lore of Vampires

1. Raise Dead
2. Vanhel’s Danse Macabre
3. Winds of Undeath
4. Summon Undead Horde

Table Set-up and Deployment



On my side of the table there was a piece of impassable terrain if the left quarter, about eight inches from the left board edge and about the ten from the back edge. There was then a gap of about two feet to a wood, again just in and extending beyond my deployment zone, and then a hill in my half of no-man’s land that was just beyond my deployment zone and about eight inches from the board edge. Things were pretty similar from Walter’s point of view in his deployment zone. Then there were a couple of obstacle walls in the centre of the board.

From left to tight I had a unit of Archers just behind the impassable terrain with one Eagle behind them. To the right of the impassable terrain went the Sword Masters with the BSB and Arch Mage, with the Repeater Bolt Thrower behind them almost on the board edge. To the Sword Masters’ right were the Spearmen with the Mage then finally in the last gap before the wood was the second unit of Archers. The White Lions deployed in the wood while the last of the Archer units was parallel to them to their right with the Dragon Princes in front. The second Great Eagle was also on the right flank.

Walter deployed one unit of Ghouls on the 12” line with the Ghouls behind them. To the right of the Ghouls were the Grave Guard then the other Ghouls in the wood. In a long line behind the Wraiths, Ghouls and Grave Guard were the Skeletons with both Vampires and behind the Skeletons were the Fell Bats. Finally, the Spirit Hosts were to the right of the wood.


The Game

Winning first turn all my units bar the first Archers and the Bolt Thrower moved up. In the magic phase Flames of the Phoenix on the Grave Guard was dispelled but Enchanted Blades on the central Archers went off, as did Drain Magic.

The Archers made use of their newly acquired +1 to hit and magical attacks to shoot 5 wounds off the Spirit Hosts.

Walter used his first turn to move his shambling hordes up the table, apart from the Spirit Hosts who were beating a retreat and the Fell Bats who stayed at the back board edge. Magic saw him add 10 Ghouls to the unit in the centre but another couple of casting attempts were dispelled.

Needing to find out if the Vampire Lord had the Helm of Commandment on him or not I decided to sacrifice the Dragon Princes by charging the central Ghouls in the flank.

Magic saw two Grave Guard fall to Flames of the Phoenix at the cost of a miscast that killed one Spearman and wound the Mage. The White Lion champion unleashed the Fireball from his Ruby Ring of Ruin at the Grave Guard, killing four while the Mage’s attempt to get Drain Magic back up was dispelled.

In the combat the Dragon Princes and their steeds struck down five Ghouls for no losses, despite the Ghouls receiving the benefit of the Vampire Lord’s weapon skill.

Walter moved the left most Ghouls across the hill at the start of turn two while the Skeletons reformed so that they were now in a 16 wide line angled slightly towards the Dragon Princes. The Fell Bats edged away from the back board edge while the Spirit Hosts reformed to face the flank of the Dragon Princes. The Wraiths also moved up the field.

In his Magic phase Walter added eight back to the numbers of the Grave Guard but then failed to dispel Flames of the Phoenix stopping his Lord from doing anything else that magic phase. Soul Blight from the other Vampire was dispelled.

The Dragon Princes held out yet again, killing two Ghouls for no loss.

High Elf turn three and I decided to risk charging the Sword Masters at the Grave Guard but fell massively sort. Consequently the Spearmen and White Lions were moved up in support and the left Eagle was sacrificed to stop the Ghouls charging the Sword Masters in Walter’s next turn. Likewise the right Eagle was sacrificed to stop the Spirit Hosts charging the flank of the Dragon Princes.

In the magic phase the Banner of Sorcery delivered maximum dice to give me eight dice versus Walter’s three. Flames of the Phoenix killed another four or five Grave Guard but for once I decided not to do the usual dispel and recast trick, instead leaving it on the Grave Guard to try and force Walter to use his power dice to dispel it in his following magic phase if he didn’t during this one. Instead I cast Final Transmutation on the Skeletons, killing ten and then tried Searing Doom as well which failed to cast. With my remaining dice I cast Fireball from the White Lion champions Ruby Ring of Ruin at the Grave Guard, killing another one.

Shooting was pretty uneventful with only three Ghouls from the unit on the left being shot down. For the third phase in a row the Dragon Princes killed a couple of Ghouls for no loss (although by now they had fewer attacks thanks to having killed a rank of their opponents)

As expected Walter charged the left Ghouls into the blocking Great Eagle and the Spirit Hosts in the other Great eagle. The Wraiths moved up onto the hill while the Fell Bats flew out to block the White Lions charging either the front of the Ghouls or the flank of the Grave Guard. Marching the Grave Guard up to menace the Sword Masters he then reformed the Skeletons to make sure they would fit through the gap between the Ghouls and the hill. And then he failed his leadership test to turn the manoeuvre into a swift reform.

So with his Lord out of range of the Grave Guard Walter needed a big roll on the Winds of Magic so he could Vanhel’s the Skeletons into range of the Guard. Naturally this meant that he rolled snake eyes which, with only the dice from Master of the Black Arts to add to that it was four dice versus two. Knowing that there was a good chance the Sword Masters would smash through the Grave Guard next turn he decided to gamble on casting Spirit of Bjuna at my Arch Mage. Who was safely bunkered in the unit containing the Banner of the World Dragon.

Fourth phase in a row the Dragon Princes held on without any losses while both Eagles, having done their jobs, were cut down by their opponents.

My moves for this turn were pretty obvious – Sword Masters charging the Grave Guard and White Lions into the Fell Bats. I also chanced charging the Spearmen into the Ghouls fighting the Dragon Princes in a bid to try and pop the unit and get some more points (as well as giving Walter the chance to get some more by attacking my Mage).

The magic phase saw Flames of the Phoenix (now at Strength 5) kill the Grave Guard champion along with six others. My only casting attempt, of Enchanted Blades on the Spearmen, was dispelled and there was no shooting this turn.

The Dragon Princes and Spearmen between them only managed a disappointing six wounds on the unit of Ghouls for the loss of the Mage and four Spearmen. The White Lions ripped through the Fell Bats and then it was the big one. With about 13 Grave Guard left my BSB kicked off proceedings by killing three and then the Sword Masters polished off the rest. And that was the game.

On victory points I’d scored 550 to Walter’s 265.

Post: #5

Game 3 – Adam Jones – Lizardmen
Scenario – Battle for the Pass

Slann (General) (Lore of Light)
- Becalming Cogitation
- The Focused Rumination

Scar Veteran
- Great Weapon
- Heavy Armour
- Cold One

Scar Veteran
- Spear
- Light Armour
- Cold One

24 Saurus
- Full Command

24 Skinks
- Full Command
- 3 Kroxigor

24 Skinks
- Full Command
- 3 Kroxigor

10 Skink Skirmishers

10 Skink Skirmishers

10 Skink Skirmishers

5 Chameleon Skinks

5 Chameleon Skinks

3 Terradon Riders

3 Terradon Riders

2 Salamanders
- 2 additional handlers


Magic Selection

High Elves

Arch Mage – Lore of Metal

1. Searing Doom
2. Enchanted Blades
3. Glittering Robes
4. Transmutation of Lead
5. Final Transmutation

Lizardmen

Slann – Lore of Light

1. Pha’s Protection
2. Speed of Light
3. Net of Amyntok
4. Banishment


Table Set-up and Deployment



I’ll describe this as if I am looking up the length of the table for the scenario rather than across the width as usual.

In my half of the table there was a hill about ten inches from the left long board edge and an inch from the short edge. About six inches in front of that was a wall pointing up the table and to the right and an inch higher up the table was a piece of impassable terrain. About ten inches from the right long edge and about 14 inches from the short edge was a wood.

In Adam’s half, as I would have seen it if I were standing at my short board edge, there was a hill about five inches from the right board edge and about 20 inches from the top board edge. About six inches from the top board edge and putting down-table and slightly towards the right long edge was a wall. Sixteen inches or so from the top edge and about twenty from the long left edge was a building and then a wood about size inches from the top edge and three or four from the left long edge.

Roughly between the two ends was a wood about six inches from the left long edge.

From left to right my deployment started with the Dragon Princes an inch from the left edge and about 14 from the short edge. Lining up next to them was one of the Archer units. In the gap between the wall and wood were the Spearmen with the Mage and then the Sword Masters with the BSB and Arch Mage, both deployed about 13 inches from the short board edge. The White Lions deployed towards the front of the wood with the two remaining Archer units deployed in the gap between the wood and right long edge.

One Eagle deployed just to the top left of the hill while the Bolt Thrower went on top of it. The other Eagle deployed a bit behind the wood.

Adam’s Lizardmen deployed with one Skrox unit partially in the closest part of his wood and the other unit went to their right with a unit of Skink Skirmishers in front of them. The Slann and Saurus went to the right and half way along the building with another unit of Skink Skirmishers in front of them and one of the Terradon units in front of that.

The remaining Skink Skirmishers and the Salamander Hunting Pack deployed behind his hill. One of the Chameleon Skink units managed to find space to deploy in my bottom right corner while the other deployed in the wood in the centre of the board, where they were joined by one unit of Terradons after Vanguard moves.


The Game

Adam moved his army forward with the Chameleon Skinks sprinting into shooting positions on the left hand Archers and the right hand Great Eagle.

The Slann cast Pha’s Protection successfully and then tried Net on the Sword Masters which failed to affect them. Shooting saw the left hand Chameleons kill four of the Archers while the others failed to wound the Great Eagle.

In my turn the White Lions failed their Stupidity test for the Fungus Forest that it turned out they were in (even with the BSB re-roll) and stumbled four inches forwards. The right-hand Archers closest to the Chameleon Skinks swift-reformed to face them while the Great Eagle beat a hasty retreat and the Dragon Princes backed up a bit.

In the Magic phase the Slann shut down the casting of Flames of the Phoenix on one of the Skrox units but the Arch Mage then failed to cast Enchanted Blades on one of the Archer units. The Mage succeeded in casting Drain Magic.

Shooting saw the rearmost Archers and Bolt Thrower fail to kill any of the Chameleon Skinks in my right corner. The Archers on the left killed one of the Chameleons in front of them while the last unit on the Right shot down five of the Skink Skirmishers in front of them.

In Adam’s second turn both Terradon units dropped rocks, one unit on the Sword Masters, which killed a couple, the other on the Archers on my left flank. This caused them to panic, fleeing through the Dragon Princes and off the board. The Dragon Princes duly panicked and fled off the board themselves. The rest of the Lizardmen moved up, with the Chameleon Skinks in the right side of my deployment zone chasing the Great Eagle they failed to wound last turn while the others hugged the wall on the left of my deployment zone.

Magic kicked off with an irresistible Banishment at the White Lions killing three and losing four dice from the Lizardmen power pool.

Chameleon Skinks shot the Great Eagle dead while the survivors of the shot up Skink Skirmisher unit managed to shoot down seven White Lions and the central skirmishers killed a Sword Master.

High Elf turn two and I charged the surviving Eagle at the Terradon’s on the left, the White Lions at the depleted Skink unit and the Sword Masters at the central Skink unit who fled only to be run down. Elsewhere the Archers who were slightly behind the wood on the right set off to shoot down the Chameleon Skinks behind my lines. The Spearmen reformed to face towards the Skrox unit in the wood.

The Mage managed to get Flames of the Phoenix off with irresistible force on the Slann’s unit which managed to kill a total of one Saurus. The miscast result put a wound on the Mage.

Shooting saw the Archers who were advanced up on the right shot at the Salamander unit for no effect. The Archers at the back right shot down a Chameleon Skink while the Bolt Thrower did a wound to the Terradons in front of it.

The Great Eagle managed to do a wound and then got chopped down. The White Lions managed to kill only four out of five Skinks, meaning they were held in place (although safe from the Salamander shooting for a turn).

In Lizardmen turn three the prospect of my shooting being greatly diminished reared up as the Terradons on the left charged my Bolt Thrower. The Scar Vet in the Saurus positioned himself just in front of the Sword Masters and the Salamander hunting pack moved to four inches from the flank of the Sword Masters.

The Slann dispelled Flames of the Phoenix and attempted to cast Banishment at the Spearmen but the Arch Mage dispelled this. He did succeed in getting Speed of Light off.

Spewing their fiery breath the Salamanders killed five Sword Masters while Terradons killed another two. Two Spearmen fell to shooting from Skinks while the Chameleon Skinks behind my lines on the right failed to hit the Archers facing them. Swooping in the Terradons killed the Bolt Thrower crew and were now facing into the centre of my deployment zone. This turn the White Lions dispatched the last Skink Skirmisher they were fighting.

This left them free to charge into the Salamander hunting pack, which they duly did. The Sword Masters charged the Scar Vet while the Archers in my back right zone charged the Chameleon Skinks, who fled.

In the magic phase the Slann predictably dispelled Flames of the Phoenix but I was able to get Enchanted Blades through on the White Lions and Drain Magic off. None of Archers could shoot, either through having failed a charge or lack of targets. That left the White Lions to kill the Salamander hunting pack with ease and reform to face the main action. The Sword Masters failed to get any wounds through on the Scar Vet and lost a couple of their number in reply. I still won the combat though and reformed the unit wide in the hope of eliciting a charge from the Saurus.

Needless to say Adam wasn’t falling for that one and instead he moved the nearest Skrox unit close to the Sword Masters’ flank and moved the Slann across to join them. The Saurus then reformed while the unit of two Terradons moved in close behind the Sword Masters. The Chameleon Skinks rallied while the other Skrox and Skink Skirmishers started to surround the Spearmen.

Banishment wiped four more from the White Lion unit while the Slann also managed to cast Net on the Spearmen before getting Speed of Light off. Shooting was equally deadly for the Spearmen with five falling to blowpipe shots while an Archer in the unit near the other Chameleons was shot down. Again the Scar Vet resisted the attacks of the Sword Masters who reformed to a narrower profile following the end of the round.

The surviving White Lions charged the flank of the Scar Vet at the start of my turn four while the unit of Archers highest up the table turned to face the Terradons behind my Sword Masters. Enchanted Blades on the Archers succeeded as did Final Transmutation on the Saurus which killed the champion plus eight others.

One wound done to the Terradons was the sum of my shooting phase while the Scar Vet and his Cold One killed another four Sword Masters.

Starting off turn five the Slann’s Skrox unit charged into the flank of the Sword Masters while the other Skrox charged into the Spearmen. The unit of two Terradons hopped over the wood to put themselves out of line of sight of my Archers while the others moved down to the bottom edge of the table, presumably ready to charge the Archers next turn.

The Slann cast Banishment at the so far untouched unit of Archers and killed nine, although fortunately for me the survivor didn’t flee. He then cast Pha’s Protection which went off and then miscast with Light of Battle, although the fall out from that didn’t do anything to write home about.

Shooting from the Chameleon Skinks killed three Archers and then it was on to combat where the Sword Masters and White Lions (although if memory serves, mostly the White Lions) managed to kill the Scar Vet but the Sword Masters plus the BSB and General were cut down. In the other combat the Spearmen did a slightly disappointing four wounds only to see the Mage cut down and the unit broken and run off.

Fortunately for me the Spearmen rallied at the start of my turn five after the White Lions had charged into the Saurus for the hell of it. Shooting saw the larger unit of Archers put a wound on the Terradons near my back board edge which was enough to kill one and the unit panic off from the resulting check. The surviving White Lion killed one Saurus but was cut down himself.

In Lizardmen turn six the Skrox charged the Spearmen and cut them down while the solo Archer was javelined to death by the Terradon riders.

Overall then it was a massacre to Adam. We totted the points up as 2557 to him against 450 to me at the time but looking at what I’ve written down for what I scored I haven’t got the points for the Salamanders, so unless I wrote down the points for that unit instead of the Scar Vet’s points, I should have had another 160 points on top of that, for all the difference it made.

Post: #6

Game 4 – Andy Barnes – Lizardmen
Scenario – Meeting Engagement

Slann (General) (Lore of Life)
- Becalming Cogitation
- The Focused Rumination
- Focus of Mystery

Scar Veteran
- Great Weapon
- Light Armour
- Cold One

Scar Veteran
- Spear
- Light Armour
- Cold One

Scar Veteran
- Shield
- Light Armour
- Cold One

Skink Priest

20 Saurus
- Full Command

24 Skinks
- Full Command
- 3 Kroxigor

19 Temple Guard
- Full Command

10 Skink Skirmishers

10 Skink Skirmishers

5 Chameleon Skinks

5 Chameleon Skinks

2 Salamanders

3 Terradon Riders


Magic Selection

High Elves

Arch Mage – Lore of Metal

1. Searing Doom
2. Enchanted Blades
3. Glittering Robes
4. Transmutation of Lead
5. Final Transmutation

Lizardmen

Slann – Lore of Life

- Loremaster


Skink Priest

1. Iceshard Blizzard

Table Set-up and Deployment



I’ll describe this as if I’m looking at the table for normal Battle Line deployment.

In my half of the table there was a piece of impassable terrain about seven inches from the left of the table edge and about ten from my board edge. About the same distance from the long edge and about two feet from the right edge was a wall. In Andy’s side there was a building about eight inches from the right board edge and ten from the top long board edge, a wood about five inches to the left of that and a hill a couple of inches closer to the long board edge and about an inch to the left of the wood. Another piece of impassable terrain sat about four inches to the left of that and then in no-man’s land there was a wall about 13 or 14 inches from the left board edge about 16 or 17 from the top board edge, a wood about five inches to the right of that and finally a hill roughly midway between the two long board edges and four or five from the right edge.

Andy won the roll to deploy first and rolled for his units which all turned up apart from one of the Scar Vets. As I looked at his deployment he had his Terradons on the left about five inches from the board edge and about 18 from his long table edge. Next to them were the Skrox and then one of the Skink Skirmisher units with the Temple Guard and Slann, plus the Skink Priest, behind. The Salamander Hunting Pack was parallel with the Temple Guard, thanks to the impassable terrain stopping them deploying level with the Skink Skirmishers. Level with them but about four inches away looking through the gap between the impassable terrain and the hill were the Saurus and finally the last skirmishers.

Rolling for my units everything turned up except for a Great Eagle. And the Sword Masters. This kind of put a dent in how I was planning to deploy.

That said, despite having vowed to myself after receiving yesterday’s Lizardmen pasting, I forgot all about my plan to just deploy as far away as possible to minimise the amount of time they’d have to shoot and magic me.

Instead I started with a unit of Archers pretty much on my board edge and about an inch from the deployment line. An Eagle was three inches to their right and a couple back from the deployment line. Four inches to the right and six back from the deployment line went the Bolt Thrower, next to them another unit of Archers and them the White Lions with the BSB and Arch Mage. The Spearmen and Mage were about four inches to their right ahead of the wall. The last unit of Archers were about ten inches to their right and finally the Dragon Princes were practically on the short board edge, about an inch from the deployment line.

Andy then deployed one unit of Chameleon Skins next to the wall in his half of the table and the others on my long board edge about a foot from the right board edge.


The Game

The game kicked off with the Terradons flying over the Great Eagle, dropping rocks on it as they went and going two wounds to it. The Chameleon Skinks on my board edge moved closer to my units while the rest of his army moved up generally. He brought the reserve Scar vet on from the short board edge so that it was only about six or seven inches from the left hand Archers. I spent a couple of minutes thinking “crap, that’s going to romp right the way through my flank” before thinking “hang on, that’s a bit of an oversight in the rules if he can bring it on there”. Checking the scenario rules I discovered that it wasn’t an oversight on GW’s part (although it wouldn’t have surprised me…) and asked Andy if he could move it on from his long board edge.

In the magic phase Throne of Vines went on the Slann which I let through and then Dwellers Below was cast on the White Lions which had no effect due to the Banner of the World Dragon. The Terradons shot one wound off the Bolt Thrower while Chameleons shots the Great Eagle to death, causing the Archers on the board edge to panic off.

My turn one and I brought the Sword Masters came on not far from where the Archers had fled the table and wheeled so that they could see the Terradons or the Skrox if they advanced. The Eagle came on and flew to the part of the impassable terrain closest the left board edge. Other than the Dragon Princes moving up and the Spearmen wheeling and moving forward a smidge, the other units that started the game on the board stayed put.

Magic kicked off with the Arch Mage failing to cast Enchanted Blades on the Archers next to the Bolt Thrower. With only the Mage now able to cast an attempt was made to get Curse of Arrow Attraction off on the Terradons but was dispelled while Flames of the Phoenix at the Skrox unit drew out Andy’s dispel scroll. Drain Magic was then dispelled.

The Archers on the left killed one Chameleon Skink while the Bolt Thrower killed two Terradons and the other Archers shot down two Saurus.

The surviving Terradon Rider decided he didn’t want the same as what his colleagues had had and flew back beyond the impassable terrain. The Skrox reformed to face the Great Eagle while the first unit of Chameleons moved to the flank of the Sword Masters and the other moved close up behind the Archers. The Temple Guard, both skirmisher units, Saurus and Salamanders moved up as well.

The Slann took advantage of the Sword Masters having come onto the table by casting Dwellers Below on them, killing the Champion and eleven more. This went off with irresistible force with no serious effects for the Slann. With spare dispel dice I was able to stop Flesh to Stone and dispel Throne of Vines.

The Skinks in the Skrox unit all threw their javelins at the Great Eagle but only managed to put two wounds on it. Therefore the Terradon rider decided to finish the job but failed to hit. While one unit of Chameleon Skinks killed the Bolt Thrower the other shot at the Sword Masters but failed to score a fatal wound. Shooting from the Salamanders killed three White Lions.

With a choice between standing still and dying or charging and dying, I chose the latter and charged the Sword Masters in the Skrox unit, which cost three more Sword Masters their lives from the stand and shoot reaction but the unit made it in, albeit only contacting three skinks due to the impassable terrain in the way. The White Lions charged the Salamanders who fled leaving the Lions to charge the Skink Skirmishers in front of them who also fled. The Spearmen block moved into the wood while the Dragon Princes moved up onto the hill.

The magic phase saw the Becalmed Arch Mage fail to cast Glittering Robes on the Spearmen while Flames of the Phoenix was dispelled. The White Lion champion’s Ruby Ring of Ruin put two wounds on the Salamander hunting pack. Shooting saw the Terradon survivor cut down while the Archers on the right shot down two Skink Skirmishers.

Somewhat unsurprisingly the Sword Masters beat the Skrox unit in combat, although not without losing two of their number as well. With the unit Steadfast and the Slann within 12” of the unit they unsurprisingly held. They then reformed to bring as much of the unit as possible into combat next turn.

The Saurus Warriors charged the Spearmen in turn three. I decided it would be wisest to hold. The Skink Skirmishers on the right moved in front of the Dragon Princes, the Skink Priest went and stood in front of the White Lions while both Chameleon Skink units closed in on the flanks of the Archers on my left. Everything fleeing rallied while the solo Scar Vet took something of an interest in the Skinks in front of the Dragon Princes.

The Slann cast Throne of Vines at the start of the magic phase but then saw Flesh to Stone at the Saurus dispelled and Shield of Thorns at the same unit fail. Both Chameleon Skink units shot at the White Lions, managing to kill three. The Skink Skirmishers managed a single hit on the Dragon Princes from 16 shots and that was deflected by the armour.
In combat the Sword Masters killed another four Skinks but with the Kroxigor now contributing to the fight the survivors were wiped out. Despite not having any of the buffs on them the Saurus still only lost one of their number to the Spearmen whilst killing the Mage and winning the combat handsomely. The Spearmen only stayed put thanks to the BSB re-roll.

The inevitable charges were declared on the Skink Skirmishers and Skink Priest this turn by the White Lions, Great Eagle and Dragon Princes, while the Archer units faced the Chameleon Skinks to try and shoot the pests down.

Despite being becalmed by the Slann the Arch Mage managed to cast Glittering Robes on the Spearmen but saw his attempts to cast Transmutation of Lead on the Saurus and then Enchanted Blades on the Spearmen dispelled. The sum result of shooting for the phase was the loss of one Chameleon Skink from each unit.

The Great Eagle was first up to fight combat and did his usual routine of fluffing one of his attacks and only doing a single wound. The Skinks then managed to cut him down before he got his stomp attack. The Dragon Princes wiped out the Skink Skirmishers, reforming to face back towards the centre of the board. The Spearmen managed to do a grand total of zero wounds to the Saurus this turn and, despite the extra armour save granted by Glittering Robes, six were cut down. They fled and were cut down, as was the Skink Priest.

The Scar Vet charged the Dragon Princes while the Saurus swift-reformed to face the rear of the White Lions. One unit of Chameleons moved in front of the White Lions while the Skrox unit reformed to face towards them also.

Regrowth was cast successfully on the Skrox unit while Flesh to Stone was successfully cast on them. Shield of Thorns then went off successfully on the Scar Vet which killed all the Dragon Princes from its effects at the end of the Magic phase. The various shooting attempts at the White Lions killed another nine of them.

High Elf turn four saw the White Lions charge the Chameleons while the Archers on the right attempted a cheeky charge at the Salamanders but failed. The other Archers performed a swift reform to face the Chameleons. Final Transmutation was cast at the Skrox unit, killing seven Skinks and wounding a Kroxigor while Enchanted Blades was cast at the Archers who had Swift Reformed but this failed to cast thanks to Becalming. That didn’t stop the Archers shooting down three of the Chameleons. (I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the White Lions killed the Chameleons they were facing.)

Lizardmen turn five saw the Temple Guard and Saurus charge the White Lions, with the latter failing to make it in. The Skrox unit moved closer to my Archers while the surviving Chameleon Skink hightailed it away from my Archers and the Salamanders moved to the flank zone of the other Archers.

The Slann cast Shield of Thorns and Flesh to Stone on the Temple Guard while Earthblood failed. Shield of Thorns killed three White Lions and the Salamanders killed seven Archers with their shooting attacks. The BSB, Arch Mage and surviving White Lions were cut down by the Temple Guard.

In my last turn of the game I attempted to shoot down the last Chameleon Skink but couldn’t hit him thanks to the combination of range and to hit penalties for shooting at him.

Overall then another massacre with 2442 points to Andy and just 220 to me.

Post: #7

Game 5 – Hristo Nikolov – Dwarfs
Scenario – Battle Line

Dwarf Lord
- Shield Bearers
- Rune of Challenge

Rune Lord
- Dispel Rune

Thane
- Battle Standard Bearer

Slayer

Slayer

26 Warriors
- Full Command

25 Warriors
- Full Command

10 Thunderers

10 Thunderers

20 Hammerers
- Full Command

Organ Gun

Cannon

Cannon

Grudge Thrower


Magic Selection

High Elves

Arch Mage – Lore of Metal

1. Searing Doom
2. Plague of Rust
3. Enchanted Blades
4. Transmutation of Lead
5. Final Transmutation

Table Set-up and Deployment



For this final game in my half of the table there was a wood nine or ten inches from the left board edge and a couple of inches in front of the deployment zone. About six inches to the right of that and just inside my deployment zone was a wall. Eight inches from my long board edge and about a foot from the right edge was a hill.

In Hristo’s half was a hill about ten inches from the left edge and three or four from this long board edge. About a foot to the right of the hill and approximately four from the long edge was a wall. A piece of impassable terrain was about a foot and a half from the left board edge and slightly more towards Hristo’s long board edge than mine. Eighteen or so inches from the right board edge and probably about 15 from Hristo’s long board edge was a wood. Finally there was another piece of impassable terrain about three inches from the right board edge and roughly on the centre line across the table.

I set up with a unit of Archers facing the gap between the left board edge and the wood and the White Lions behind the wood. The Spearmen with the BSB and Arch Mage went to the left and level with the wall while a second unit of Archers went just behind the wall. The last unit of Archers were parallel to the right of the wall. A couple of inches to their right were the Sword Masters and Mage and then the Dragon Princes on top of the hill. To the right of the hill went one Eagle with the other about six inches behind the White Lions. Finally the Bolt Thrower was around four inches from the back board edge looking through the gap between the Archers and Sword Masters.

Hristo deployed on of the cannon a couple of inches from the left board edge and about four from the back edge. One unit of Warriors were to the right of that with a Slayer behind them. The Organ Gun and a unit of Thunderers went on top of the hill then the Hammerers with the Dwarf Lord and BSB. Behind them was a cannon while to their right was the second unit of Thunderers with the Grudge Thrower behind. Finally to their right was the other Warrior unit with the Runelord and the second Slayer behind them.

The Game

Winning the first turn movement was, as you’d expect from most Dwarf armies, non-existent. Instead Hristo’s only action of the first turn came in the shooting phase where one cannon shot down the Bolt Thrower, which caused the nearby Archer unit to panic off the board. The other cannon shot at the Eagle on the left and killed that while the Grudge Thrower landed on top of the Sword Masters and killed twelve.

Not wanting to get shot much more than that if I could help it the White Lions marched through the wood, although as they were still just in it at the end of the movement phase they lost five of their number, it being a Wildwood. The Spearmen kept pace with them while the Sword Masters and Dragon Princes plus the surviving Eagle moved up (as did both remaining Archer units for reasons which escape me at the moment).

The Arch Mage attempted to cast Plague of Rust at the Dwarf Lord’s unit but this was dispelled. Enchanted Blades did go off on the unit of Archers on the left while Transmutation of Lead at the left hand Thunderers went through. Finally a Fireball from the White Lion champion’s Ruby Ring of Ruin put a wound on the Organ Gun. The only tin I’ve noted as happening in the Shooting Phase is the Archers putting a wound on the left cannon (I think the middle unit may well have missed or failed to wound).

Dwarf turn two saw a bit of movement s the Slayers both moved forward a bit while the Warriors on the left edged round the hill a smidge.

The Grudge Thrower misfired while one cannon put a wound on the surviving Eagle. One unit of Thunderers and a cannon killed eight Spearmen between them while the Organ gun and other Thunderers kill three White Lions.

Second High Elf turn saw more movement up the table with the White Lions advancing into charge range of the left hand Warriors while the Spearmen moved up more slowly behind them. The Eagle moved out to the flank of the right hand Warriors while the Sword Masters and Dragon Princes again moved forwards.

Thanks to some miserable rolling for the Winds of Magic and channelling / Banner of Sorcery, Hristo actually had more dice than me in the magic phase and the sole spell-casting attempt of Flames of the Phoenix on his Lord’s unit was easily dispelled. Shooting was disappointing with the middle unit of Archers taking down two of the Thunderers on the hill while the others shooting at the cannon on the left did not do any wounds.

Hristo declared the first charge of the game in turn three as the left Warriors charged the White Lions while the slayer on that side moved up a bit more and his Lord’s unit also moved forwards a little. Shooting saw the Thunderers on the left shoot at the Dragon Princes but the only two wounds bounced off the armour. The Grudge Thrower also took aim at the Dragon Princes but the shot scattered onto the Sword Masters, killing five. The right cannon shot at the Eagle but it stopped short while the other Thunderers and Organ Gun shot at the Spearmen, killing five.

Combat was short (no pun intended) and brutal with the White Lions killing ten Warriors but losing eight of their own in reply and losing the combat by one overall but holding.

My turn three and the Dwarf Lord used his Master Rune of Challenge to compel the Spearmen to charge his unit. Charges declared of my own will were the Dragon Princes into the Slayer next to the Warriors and the Great Eagle into the Grudge Thrower.

Magic saw parity on the dice and Plague of Rust on the Dwarf Lords unit dispelled and Transmutation of Lead on the same unit fail. The Archers on the left put another wound on the cannon while the unit in the centre killed another Thunderer.

Fighting the Eagle’s combat first it fluffed its attacks and got cut down for its efforts. The Dragon Princes cut the Slayer down and managed to overrun into the Thunderers (thanks to the slightest of clips). Things didn’t go so well in the other combats with the White Lions cut own and then the BSB, unable to direct his attacks into the Lords unit, couldn’t get through the armour and Ward save of the BSB while the unit attacks that could only go on the Lord also failed to score any wounds. In the end only one Dwarf fell while they did eight wounds back and broke the Spearmen who fled off through the impassable terrain and lost the remaining rank and file to Dangerous Terrain tests. The Dwarfs meanwhile reformed to face the flank of the Dragon Princes who they duly charged at the start of the fourth Dwarf turn.

While that was the only charge the Warrior blocks both moved up, as did the surviving Slayer. There was some good news for the Elves when the Grudge Thrower misfired and destroyed itself but then the Thunderers on the hill kill the last of the Spearmen, causing a panic on the Sword Masters who fled nine inches towards the right board edge.

In combat the Dragon Princes concentrated their attacks on the Thunderers, killing six and losing only one of their number in return but still losing the combat from static resolution they stuck around.

My fourth turn and the Arch Mage failed to rally as did the Sword Masters. The central Archers scored six hits on the Slayer but no wounds while the other unit failed to wound the cannon with their shots. The Dragon Princes were cut down this turn and the Lord’s unit reformed to head towards the central Archers which they did in Dwarf turn five while the shot up Warrior .block also advanced after them as did the Slayer while the more complete Warrior block was lining up the Arch Mage.

The Arch Mage was the target of shooting from Thunderers and cannon and took two wounds while the organ gun shot down six Archers from the central unit.

In High Elf turn five the Arch Mage rallied which let him cast Final Transmutation at the Warriors but this was stopped by another dispel rune. The left hand Archers finally shot the last wound off the cannon while the others did a wound to the Slayer.

Hristo kicked off the last turn of the game by charging the depleted Warriors into the Archers who stood and shot while the other Warriors charged the Arch Mage who didn’t really have any choice but to hold.

The Dwarf shooting did for the last unengaged Archers who panicked off the board after taking six casualties, while as expected the Dwarfs killed the Archers and Arch Mage in combat.

Overall then another big massacring for the High Elves, losing 2647 to 475, although I think Hristo may have actually given me points for a unit I didn’t kill.

Post: #8

So, after five games, what was the final result? Well two wins and three big losses. Thanks to the 30-10-1 scoring system that put me 61st overall according to the results posted on The Warhammmer Forum, although according to the results posted up on Rankings HQ I was 60th. Either way, a big improvement on my previous results (although I should say going by the details on TWF I think I’ve been given too many Victory Pointsl). Out of 92 players I think that’s a pretty good showing considering my Warhammer experience thus far.

To put that result into context by comparing my position to well known players on the UK scene, I was only two places behind Bobo and five behind Mark Wildman in the standings. I was second highest (out of six) High Elf player as well, although I was nearly 30 places behind Gareth Stoneham who was top High Elf general (frankly I’m just relieved not to be bottom High Elf General). On the flip side, on victory points scored I’d have been 82nd according to the published results (and possibly lower depending on how many people’s points are mis-recorded).

Coming into the event I hadn’t been too sure about the scoring system. Having played under it I think it’s a case of swings and roundabouts – this system rewards you primarily based on the results (since victory points are still the decider) whereas the 5000 point system I’ve mostly played under rewards you more for scoring victory points (for example, a high scoring draw can get your far more tournament points than a low scoring win). Not too sure which I prefer - I certainly think that the 30-10-1 system might be fairer to those armies (and players) who struggle to get big wins whereas the 5000 point system does discourage negative play as if you want to stand a chance of winning the tournament you have to play for every point that’s out there.

Overall it was a good tournament, although I think they should have amended the rules for Blood and Glory so that breaking your opponent’s fortitude gave you bonus victory points, rather than just ending the game. It made a change to be playing away from home and have woods where you could actually pick the trees out of the way if you were moving a unit in, rather than having to faff about positioning the odd model to show where the unit was. The hills used were also a change as you could position an infantry unit behind them and they would block line of sight, although on the other hand they were rounded rather than sloped, so you could put a unit on top of the hill but not on the sides unless it was also big enough to prop up.

Learning points from this event? Well most obvious is that I’m just not scoring many victory points in most games. Granted game two was an exception as that was Blood and Glory but that was actually my second highest score of the weekend. Looking back at my other tournament results the same holds true.

Part of that may be down to the fact that I’m just not sure how to go about tackling some armies whether I change my list or not. Lizardmen are the obvious example. I just struggle to deal with all the chaff units and keep my damage dealers alive long enough to get into combat and try and take on my opponents. I actually think I could have done a lot better (by which I mean not losing by as much) against Lizardmen in this tournament because of the scenarios but not having played the scenarios much (in fact, apart from Watchtower, this was only the second time I’ve played any of the scenarios apart from Battle Line) I just ended up deploying to go after them rather than hanging back..

At the moment I’m considering trying different magic lores on my wizards, maybe Shadow on the Level 4 (even though I’ve been trying to go about things without copying the herds) and Fire on the Level 2, although I’m also considering Death for the snipes. I’m also considering Light for Pha’s Protection which might help me a bit against that troublesome shooting I face against Lizardmen and Skaven. Having said that, I’m also debating whether to swap the Spearmen out for the Sea Guard that were originally in the list but which I dropped prior to the Incursion as I didn’t think I’d have time to get them painted.