Game 90 - Vampire Counts vs Lizardmen - 2013/12/18

Game 4 - Army Swap - Simon - Lizardmen

This time I had a pleasure to play against Simon, with whom we have already played a few games and whose army I had an honour to use in the army swap in the previous round. This time I got the very Vampire Counts I have faced in round 2, while Simon commanded Lizardmen, designed by Nick H. Let's have a look at the army lists:

Vampire Counts - Army List

Vampire Lord, level 1, great weapon, heavy armour, Dragonhelm, Talisman of Preservation, Book of Arkhan, Other Tricksters Shard, Red Fury, Flying Horror - 411 - Lore of Vampires
Master necormancer, level 3, Power stone - 185 - Lore of Vampires
Necromancer, level 1, Dispel scroll, Obsidian trinket - 105 - Lore of Death
Wight King, great weapon, Nightshroud - 130

34 Crypt Ghouls, champion - 350
5 dire wolves - 40
5 dire wolves - 40
30 zombies, musician, standard bearer - 100
20 zombies, musician, standard bearer - 70
28 grave guard, great weapons, full command, Banner of the barrows - 416
7 Crypt Horrors - 266
2 fell bats - 32
2 bat swarms - 70
4 vargiests - 184

Comp 12.5

I have seen what this army can do and I was curious if I could repeat the incredibly fast march that force can make. I observed how Mick is using his forces and I decided I will try to imitate it. Keep the army together for the purpose of march moves and spells. Try to use faster elements to outflank the enemy and use the fact I can rise the fallen back and replenish casualties to grind down theoretically more powerful foe. I simply needed to see if that foe was enemy's toughest unit or some other regiment.

I was a little concerned with the relative lack of protection on the Vampire Lord. As I have seen in my previous game, a 4++ ward save alone is really not that much in the case of such an expensive and important individual as Vampire Lord.

Lizardmen - Army List

Slaan, BSB,  Focus of Mystery, Standard of Discipline, Dragonbane Gem - 380 - High Magic
Oldblood, coldone, light armour, great weapon, Charmed shield, Dawnstone - 215
Scar veteran, coldone, shield, [i]dragonhelm, other tricksters shard, luckstone, sword of might [/i] - 154
Skink priest, Dispel scroll - Lore of Heavens - 90
Skink chief, light armour, Obsidian Amulet, Warrior Bane, Enchanted Shield - 82

10 Skink Skirmishers, javelin, shield - 70
10 Skink Skirmishers, javelin, shield - 70
24 Skinks, full command, 3 kroxigor - 300
10 Skinks, musician - 60
16 skinks, musician, champion - 100
3 Terradon Riders, Fireleech Bolas - 108
23 Temple Guard, full command, Jaguar Standard - 402
5 Chameleon Skinks - 65
6 Cold One Riders, musician, standard bearer, spears - 224
1 Salamander Hunting Pack - 80

Comp 13.9

Game 89 - Dwarves - 2013/12/13

Game 3 - Army Swap - Matt - Dwarves

Time to start reporting on game 3. This time it was this unique army swap that created so much discussion and is a very interesting point of the whole tournament. The armies were drawn and ... I got another HE army, this time Simon's MSU. Technically it was a perfect choice for me but there are some things I would like to point out while discussing the army list itself:

High Elves - Army List

Archmage, level 4,  Earthing rod - 245 - Lore of Heavens
BSB, halberd, dragon armour, reaver bow, charmed shield, potion of strength  - 157
Noble, eagle, dragon armour, star lance, golden crown of altrazar, enchanted shield, potion of foolhardiness - 180
6 silver helm, shields, full command - 168
9 silver helm, shields, full command - 237
5 reavers, spears, bows, musician - 105
5 reavers, spears, bows - 95
12 white lions, full command, gleaming pennant - 191
12 white lions, full command - 186
15 phoenix guards, full command, banner of the world dragon  - 305
12 phoenix guards, musician, standard - 200
Eagle claw bolt thrower - 70
Eagle claw bolt thrower - 70
Eagle claw bolt thrower - 70
Eagle claw bolt thrower - 70
eagle - 50

Swedish Comp: 13.2

Technically MSU army and I should rejoice :) However, it has only 10 deployment drops, units are more expensive and not that choppy as Swordmasters. There are more characters but that is ok as they are similar to what I have anyway. Lack of small arms shooting can be a problem as Eagle Claws are either overkill or not good enough when you need to divide the attention. What is more, I expected problems with line of sight clearance when I started to move my regiments. Especially, when there are no hills to occupy.

At the same time I had a chance to see how that powerful banner works, how is phoenix guard in small-ish units and how can I do with less but more powerful shooting.

It was also even more challenging since I was about to face Dwarves and Adam's army led by Matt:

Dwarves - Army List

Runelord, shield, rune of speed, rune of stone, rune of spellbreaking - 178
Master Engineer - 70
Master Engineer - 70
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50
Dragon Slayer - 50

18 Dwarf Warriors, shield, musisian, standard - 177
13 Dwarf Warriors, shield, musician, standard - 132
10 Dwarf Warriors, shield, musician, standard - 105
10 Dwarf Warriors, shield, musician, standard - 105
10 Dwarf Warriors, shield, musician, standard - 105
35 Miners, full command - 410
Cannon, rune of flaming - 95
Cannon - 90
Cannon - 90
Grudge Thrower, 2 x Rune of Penetrating - 130
Organ Gun - 120
Organ Gun - 120

Swedish Comp: 13.8

Game 88 - Vampire Counts - 2013/12/09

Game 2 - Mick - Vampire Counts

In game 2, which also used Dawn Attack scenario rules, I had a pleasure to play against Mick and his horde of undead. We haven't had a chance to play against each other yet although I believe there were a few occasions in the past when it was quite possible.

Mick is a current number 2 in Oz and he was also selected to the Australian ETC 2014 Team. That meant I was playing against a veteran Master player :) Let's see what he decided to bring to the tournament:

Vampire Counts - Army List

Vampire Lord, level 1, great weapon, heavy armour, Dragonhelm, Talisman of Preservation, Book of Arkhan, Other Tricksters Shard, Red Fury, Flying Horror - 411 - Lore of Vampires
Master necormancer, level 3, Power stone - 185 - Lore of Vampires
Necromancer, level 1, Dispel scroll, Obsidian trinket - 105 - Lore of Death
Wight King, great weapon, Nightshroud - 130

34 Crypt Ghouls, champion - 350
5 dire wolves - 40
5 dire wolves - 40
30 zombies, musician, standard bearer - 100
20 zombies, musician, standard bearer - 70
28 grave guard, great weapons, full command, Banner of the barrows - 416
7 Crypt Horrors - 266
2 fell bats - 32
2 bat swarms - 70
4 vargiests - 184

Game 87 - High Elves - 2013/12/04

Game 1 - Chris - High Elves

The drawing for the first game was done during the recording of Watchtower podcast. People had time to bet who is going to win against whom in round 1. I had an honor to play against previous year winner, Chris. He decided to use the army list Aaron used in the ETC tournament. Here is the list:

High Elves - Army List

Archmage, Level 4, Moon Dragon, Talisman of Preservation, Dispel Scroll - 590 - Lore of Death
Dragonmage, Level 2, Dragon Armour, Charmed Shield, Golden Crown - 410 - Lore of Fire
Noble, BSB, Barded Steed, Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Sword of Might - 170

9 Silver Helms, Full Command, Shields - 237
6 Silver Helms, Musician, Shields - 148
20 Lothern Seaguard, Full Command - 260
6 Dragon Princes, Full Command, Banner of Swiftness, Starlance - 249
Bolt Thrower - 70
Bolt Thrower - 70
Bolt Thrower - 70
Bolt Thrower - 70
Great Eagle, Razor Talons - 55

Australian Masters 2013 - Introduction

Greetings!

Year 2013 was by far the most successful of my Warhammer "career". I participated in tournaments more often than ever, played more frequently in general and as a reward, I qualified to Australian Masters!

This is a unique event that you can participate in only via invitation. The criteria to qualify were as follows:

* 2012 Masters’ winner

* Top ranked players from (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, TAS, ACT, SA)

* Top 10 ranked players in the Australian warhammer fantasy rankings who have not already received an invite.
​
* 11-20 ranked players in the Australian warhammer fantasy rankings (but only to fill total of 16 spots available).

If you want to read about it in more details here is the link to the appropriate topic:

Australian Masters - Criteria and Players Pack  

I was very happy to qualify as a best ACT player and at the time 7th in the country, according to Rankings HQ. :)

Another unique thing at the Masters is that 2 out of 6 games are played with army swap. Each player randomly pick somebody's else army and plays against the next player in current standings (players are still matched up based on their current result). It is a very interesting idea. It is based on the assumption that a Master player should be able to adapt to any army and play well with it even if he it is not his preferred army choice for other games/tournaments. Since there are 2 games like that it can have a significant impact on the overall result.

This year the armies were composed with the use of the Swedish Comp and had to be in the 9-14 brackets. What is more, there was a battle comp used in the tournament. Each point of difference in the comp was multiplied by 200 and added to the result of the player with softer list. That inspired people to design army lists that got good scores in the comp but at the same time had some powerful choices regardless.

Here is the link to the topic with army lists that were sent by the invited players: 

Australian Masters - Army Lists

The event was of course commented by many players (as you can see in the army list topic) and two podcasts were dedicated to the army lists analysis and predictions (The Dwellers Below from Melbourne and Watchtower (unfortunately, Watchtower is no longer continued and I could not find the archive with this podcast anymore :() from Sydney).

Here, I am going to report on my own games and experiences from that fantastic event. If you are interested in checking the coverage with some pictures, here is the link to the relevant topic:

Australian Masters - Coverage & Results

I decided to take the following army list to the event:

Outcasts - Army List

Larry the Loremaster - level 2, Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown, Earthing Rod, Sword of Might - 300
Bob the Battle Standard Bearer - Dragon Armour, Halberd, Charmed Shield, Potion of Strength, Reaver Bow - 157

15 Archers - Full Command - 180
15 Sea Guard - Full Command - 210
5 Ellyrian Reavers - Spears, Bows, Musician - 105
5 Ellyrian Reavers - Spears, Bows, Musician - 105

5 Dragon Princes - Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame - 185
5 Dragon Princes - Full Command - 165
12 Swordmasters - Bladelord, Musician - 176
12 Swordmasters - Bladelord, Musician - 176
10 White Lions - Full Command, Gleaming Pennant - 165
10 White Lions - Full Command - 160

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70
Great Eagle - 50
Great Eagle - 50
5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70
5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70

I wanted to achieve the following:

1. Test HE MSU against tough armies in all my games.
It goes without saying that MSU style is rather unforgiving. It is also believed that it cannot compete against certain armies, in particular these that have big flying monsters. Seeing as there are quite a few there I wanted to test the army and collect valuable experience. I believe that MSU still can be a very good army to play against any opponent. The best way to find out is by playing games!

I was also very curious how other players will do with my force.

2. Test my own skills in highly competitive environment

In a regular tournament I can count on an element of surprise when I face players who have never fought MSU army before. I could not use that advantage here. All players are very experienced (otherwise they would not play in that event). On top of that I might have played against players whom I met before or that simply know my style of play anyway. It was a totally different type of a challenge and I was really eager to test my mantle!

Basically, if you want to improve you need to constantly challenge yourself and play against better players than yourself. :) Having played with MSU HE only for last 2 years I was also curious if I can play a decent game with whatever army I am about to pick.

3. Experience Australian WHFB Spirit to the fullest!

Last but certainly not least is that unique approach Australian players have as a community. They play tough but fair. You can expect challenging games but as a whole, they will do their best to play as fair as possible. It is amazing attitude and something a lot of competitive players (my own countrymen including) should learn from them.

You can play on top tables, compete to be the best of the best but do it in style! I can tell you already that it was exactly how I expected. Well done, guys! Keep this attitude no matter what!  

Next: Game 1 Battle Report!

Game 86 - Lizardmen - 2013/11/25

Game 5 - Bounty Hunt - Lizardmen - Alex

After 3 wins and a draw (which was technically a win :)) I was still in good position to place well and as I have found out after the tournament, at this stage I was among 6 players who were fighting for top 3. Talk about some pressure! On top of that I was about to face Alex, whom I have never met before but I knew is very strong player.

The scenario was relatively simple Battle line but with a nice twist. You got extra points for the enemy general, bsb or standards according to the following rules:

1. Did you capture more Standards that your opponent? - 1BP or 0.5 BP each if tied
2. Did you slay your opponents general? - 1BP
3. Did you slay your opponents BSB? - 1BP
4. Did you keep your General alive? - 1BP
5. Did you keep your BSB alive? - 1BP

I think it was a good scenario, that encouraged more aggressive approach and ensured that players didn't play defensively in their last game of the tournament. It was also a good motivation for attacking when you simply wanted to gamble and try to get extra points so that you place better.

Alex brought Lizardmen but it was a different army to the one I played the day before.

Lizardmen - Army List

Slann, level 4, BSB, Loremaster, Channeling Staff, 3 channels per turn
Scar Veteran, Cold One, Stegadon Helm, Dawnstone (?)
Scar Veteran, Cold One
Skink Chief on Terradon, 2+ armour, explosive egg!
Skink Priest

30+ Saurus Warriors, Full Command
10 Skink Skirmishers
10 Skink Skirmishers
10 Skink Skirmishers

30+ Temple Guard, Full Command
3 Terradon Riders
3 Terradon Riders
Salamander Pack
Salamander Pack

Game 85 - Warriors of Chaos - 2013/11/10

Game 4 - King of the Hill - Warriors of Chaos - Marcel

King of the Hill was a modified Watch Tower scenario. Instead of the building we had a fort in the middle, which was treated as a building with the following exception:

1. The garrison is -1 to hit with shooting and close combat attacks.
2. The garrison has +1CR in combat and +1 LD but not steadfast.
3. Combat resolution is counted based on wounds and standards only.

Depending on who had the fort by the end of the game different bonus points applied:

1. 5 BP if you kept the fort
2. 2.5 BP each if fort was not occupied by any army

This time Marcel was my opponent and he brought a very interesting army that was heavily converted from Beastmen miniatures and represented his mutated Warriors of Chaos.

Warriors of Chaos - Army List

Nurgle Daemon Prince, General, 2+ armor save (I think re-rollable) and 2+ ward against flaming attacks
Nurgle Daemon Prince, General, 2+ armor save and 2+ ward against flaming attacks
BSB on Daemonic Mount, 1+ armor save, 3+ ward, re-rolls 1's
Level 2 Sorcerer, Ruby Ring - Lore of Metal
18 Chaos Warriors (I think Slaanesh), Halberds, Shields, Full Command
5 Marauder Horseman, Mark of Slaanesh
5 Marauder Horseman, Mark of Slaanesh
Chariot of Slaanesh
Chariot of Slaanesh
Gorebeast Chariot
5 Warhounds
5 Warhounds
Giant, Mark of Nurgle
Shagoth

Ellyrian Reavers with Scale75 - WiP and back to painting

Greetings!

I hope to get back to painting, despite some lack of motivation in the meantime due to big unknowns of Warhammer future. That was really tough for many people, should they continue with their projects or not? I decided to do so, even if it is just for the sake of completeness.

I was looking for improvements to my style and painting skills and simply wanted to continue with replacing old miniatures that still had metallic paints on them so that I can have a cohesive look of the army. I haven't finished Sisters of Avelorn yet as I started using the armies without them but I will come back to them to simply finish the unit. I added extra work with pinning the models. I had an accident long time ago with plastic White Lions that broke to pieces. I wanted to prevent that. I also bought some nice resin bases I intend to use although with new rumors about possibility of big changes in that department it seems a little bit difficult to commit.

However, I decided that I am going to finish a couple of units anyway. If 9th edition is different, then I will have nicely painted models. If we can still use the armies we have then I will have them ready.

Another important addition was a selection of painting sets produced by Scale75. These paints were recommended to my by master painter Volomir. I sent him some pictures and he was very kind to reply and give me his advice. I accepted the criticism and bought 2 sets of metallic paints (Alchemy series), two sets of NMM paints (gold and silver) and set of inks.

The paints seem to be quite thick (mat colors) so require proper mixing (I got a small "blender" tool for that) and you need to make sure they are well diluted. Volomir suggested I get back to metallic colors as unfortunately the way I highlight is not the correct one (if one aims to create realistic reflections). I did try them but while they are good colors I noticed I would need to get back to square one and learn painting metallic colors from scratch. What is more, I didn't like the effect I am achieving. It is not that they don't look good, they do! It is just the fact I prefer this more cartoony feel you get with NMM colors even if they are not applied perfectly.

I also enjoy layering them much more than metallic colors and I decided to to stick to these.

Just a note on ordering. I contacted Scale75 about it as my friend was interested in purchasing their mega set. The problem was that they offered only regular post shipment and I felt it was not secure enough to do so when you want to send it to Australia. The cost was huge too. It took me some time to dig out the information from their website and I must regretfully say that their customer service is not that helpful. Because of that my friend decided not to purchase these paints and I ordered my sets through Hangar18 instead. They were absolutely amazing, replying in 12 hours (and probably only due to time difference) and in the end I actually paid less for the whole transaction as Hangar18 offered good shipping price with insurance included. What is more, when it happened that they forgot to put one of the sets in the package and I had it delivered in a week at no extra cost!

It is a shame then that such a fantastic producer has such a poor customer service.

Ok, apart from the fact I wanted to improve my technique I also wanted to use the advice I got some time ago from Ana - Painting Mum - another proficient painter. I was interested what to do to keep my gold-blue scheme and create better contrasts between areas that are bluish but are not of the same type, such as clothes and scale armor for example. She suggested that I add warm colors for clothes and cold for armor which I did! I even used purples, reds and greens on clothes to create nice blending in between. I tested that on Sisters and their cloaks and was very happy with the results.

Ok, here are some WiP of Ellyrian Reaver, poor quality pictures unfortunately that seem to be a little pale in comparison to reality. But I really enjoyed painting sessions and I hope to be able to continue regularly.

The contrast I talked about is not great here but hopefully with better pictures I will be able to show that.

Cheers!

Game 84 - High Elves - 2013/11/07

Game 3 - Blood and Glory - High Elves - Marc

In game 3 we played Blood and Glory scenario with the following modifications:

1. Breaking point is 3 fortitude points
2. Did you break the enemy? - 3BP
3. Was the winning army 1 point away from breaking itself? - 2 BP to the loser
4. Was the winning army 2 point away from breaking itself? - 1 BP to each player
5. Was the winning army 3 point away from breaking itself? - 2 BP to the winner

Apart from that all was as in the rulebook.

It was a very interesting match up as I had to play against another HE army. Before the new book it was always a pillow fight as none of the units had re-rolls and everybody hit at the same time. Now it was different as some units kept re-rolls against some and getting into combat with right units was crucial.

Marc had a HE army with striking, purple-pink color scheme, Mr. Frosty as a center piece and some nice Reavers conversions.

High Elves - Army List

Archmage, level 4, Talisman of Preservation - Lore of Beasts

BSB, Halberd, Armor of Caledor
Mage, level 1, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Heavens

30 Spearmen FC
10 Archers
5 Reavers bows, spears, musician
5 Reavers bows, spears, musician

23 Pheonix Guard FC
21 White Lions, Musician, Banner of World Dragon
5 Shadow Warriors

Frostheart Pheonix
Great Eagle
Great Eagle
Bolt Thrower
Bolt Thrower

Game 83 - Lizardmen - 2013/10/31

Game 2 - Battle for the Pass - Lizardmen - Ethan

Game 2 of Castle Assault was Battle for the Pass. The usual rulebook scenario but again, in line with the whole tournament player's pack, with modifications. First of all each player had to bring appropriate objective marker. Something that fits army theme and is either on 40x40mm or 50x50mm base. I decided to use the miniature I have been given by my Secret Santa (thanks a lot again, grntmepower! :)) and she was looking attractive enough to stir even coldblooded Lizardmen so that they wanted to capture her :) We had to place our respective markers in the middle of no man's land and then scatter them. Then we rolled a dice and as I won the roll-off I was to pick what was the primary and what was the secondary objective. I naturally chose my own marker as primary objective! But as you can see on the diagram, both scattered towards my own deployment zone.

To claim an objective a player needed to position a unit (or part of it) in 6" away from the objective. If both players had units close to the marker, then the one with higher static combat result (ranks, banners, bsb, etc.) would claim the objective. 3 battle points were granted for taking Primary objective, 2 for Secondary and points were shared if no one could claim the objective.

Ethan was my opponent this time. We haven't had an opportunity to play before but I can tell you right now that he is a very nice person to play against and it was yet another very pleasant game for me. Thanks a lot, Ethan!  

Ethan brought his stalwart Lizardmen. I was very curious about the outcome as I haven't played against new Lizards yet. They were always a tough opponent for me and I had no doubts it would be the case here as well. But then would it be because of their new toys or due to old tricks?

Below is the army list Ethan brought to the game, obviously, with some details lacking as I don't remember all the items  

Lizardmen - Army List

Slann, level 4, BSB, Knows all signature spells
Oldblood on Coldone, Piranha Blade, 1+ armor save (I think)
Scar Veteran on foot
Skink Priest - Lore of Heavens

30 Saurus Warriors, Full Command
30 Saurus Warriors, Full Command
10 Skink Skirmishers
10 Skink Skirmishers
10 Skink Cohort
6 Saurus Cavalry
5 Chameleon Skinks
5 Chameleon Skinks
Bastiladon (bound spell shooty thing)
Stegadon Ancient (lots of blowpipes)

Game 82 - Beastmen - 2013/10/26

Greetings!

This is the first report from the games I played during Castle Assault 2013 tournament that took place in Newcaslte.

The first game of Castle Assault was Dawn Attack. The scenario followed the rules from the rulebook with following modifications:

1. If you had 1 or more standards in your opponent's deployment zone at the end of the game you got 2 Battle Points.
2. If you kept your deployment zone clear of enemy standards at the end of the game you got 2 Battle Points.
3. If you had more standards in your opponent's deployment zone than they had in yours then you got 1 Battle Point. If there are the same number of standards then 0.5 BP each.

As you can see it payed off to have units with standards and keep them moving too!

In the first game of the tournament I played against Jonathon and his Beastie Boyz. Jonathon traveled from Queensland to participate in the event and I had a pleasure to meet him earlier this year when I played at the tournament organized by Queensland Northern Knights. Back then our game was unresolved as it ended up with a draw. I think we both were eager to find out if one of us can prevail this time :) I was very happy to start the tournament with a game against Jonathon as he is a gentleman and a great player. I was sure I could have a challenging game played in great, sporting spirit!

Johnathon brought different army than the one he had at QNK Joust 9.0 Here is his list (from memory):

Beastmen of Chaos - Army List

Great Brayshaman - Lore of the Beast
Brayshaman - Lore of the Beast
Brayshaman - Lore of the Beast
BSB, Beast Banner

40 Gors, Full Command
25 Bestigors, Full Command
25 Bestigors, Full Command
5 Ungor Riders
Tuskgor Chariot
Tuskgor Chariot
Tuskgor Chariot
5 Harpies
5 Harpies
5 Harpies

Game 81 - Daemons of Chaos - 2013/08/03

Game 6 - Daemons of Chaos - Battle Line

The tournament entered its final stage. I was very happy with my results in general. I wondered if I could get yet another win but at the same time I knew I am going to face another tough opponent.

And I was correct! Current No.3 in Oz, Jamie Payne, with whom we had a few nice chats about MSU in general, was my opponent in the final round. Jamie is no stranger to HE so he knew my army in and out. While he brought MSU version of his daemons. It was a very interesting and potent unholy alliance of all 4 gods:

Daemons of Chaos - Army List

Karanak - Army General
Herald of Tzeentch - Lore of Tzeentch
Herald of Tzeentch - Lore of Metal
Herald of Slaanesh on a Steed

10 Horrors - Lore of Tzeentch
10 Horrors - Lore of Tzeentch
10 Horrors - Lore of Tzeentch
15 Plaguebearers, Full Command
7 Fleshhounds
6 Fiends of Slaanesh
5 Furies
Beast of Nurgle
Beast of Nurgle
Skull Cannon
Skull Cannon

Game 80 - Warriors of Chaos - 2013/07/31

Battle 5 - Warriors of Chaos - Meeting Engagement

After fighting a greenskin menace I was about to clash with yet another evil army (funny how in this tournament I was facing forces of destruction all the time :)). This time I had a great pleasure to play against Travis and his wonderfully converted Warriors of Chaos army. Travis is an amazing painter (and fast too!) and I have already had a chance to admire his fantastic Gnoblar "Wood Elves" army at CanCon. If I only managed to take better photos from that game.

What was also important in that game was the Meeting Engagement. There are a lot of factors one needs to take into account here. Armies can be deployed closer to each other. There is a slim possibility that the enemy will steal the initiative so while trying to take advantage of that first turn it pays off to be a little cautious too. And last but not least it was also a big question mark which units (if any!) are going to end up in reserves. We both had a significant amount of regiments that increased the chances of some of the units being out of the battle field. In general it is an interesting option as it opens new possibilities. But if you end up without your main wizard, for example, it might not be that nice.

Travis themed his army around Khorne Warriors but there were some additions from followers of other deities and the whole army formed some kind of unholy alliance. His army looked more or less like this (as always apologies for lack of details):

Warriors of Chaos - Army List

Sorcerer Lord, level 4 - Lore of Nurgle
Sorcerer, level 1 - Lore of Shadow
BSB on Daemonic Mount

10 Warriors, Shields, Halberds, Full Command, Mark of Khorne, Banner of Eternal Flame
10 Warriors, Shields, Halberds, Full Command, Mark of Khorne
10 Warriors, Shields, Halberds, Full Command, Mark of Khorne
5 Boars of Chaos
5 Marauder Horsemen, Flails, Mark of Slaanesh
5 Marauder Horsemen, Flails, Mark of Slaanesh
Gorebeast Chariot, Lore of Nurgle
Gorebeast Chariot, Lore of Nurgle
3 Skullcrushers
3 Dragon Ogres, Two Weapons
3 Dragon Ogres, Two Weapons
Chaos Spawn