2017 - Review

Greetings!

It's been a very good year for me considering all things hobby related. It was definitely the year of Kings of War where I dedicated my hobby time to playing and reporting various KoW games as well as modelling and painting units for my KoW Elves army. 

I have not done annual review for blog activities before but I think it may be a great idea to do so. I find it good to reflect a bit upon the things that happened, the plans the came into fruition and those that didn't. Things I learned and things I hope to do next either as a continuation or as completely new projects. 

It is also a great opportunity to thank you, the blog readers. I would like to thank you for paying a visit to the blog, reading the articles I posted and the comments you left. It is one of the best motivation to see that things I have to share are worthy reading and commenting. It was great to have these conversations here on the blog, on forums where I posted the links as well as on twitter and facebook. I hope to provide even more quality content in 2018 for your to enjoy!

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 10

Greetings!

Part 10 is the last one of the series dedicated to Australian Masters 2017 and I would like to conclude with a collection of summaries, observations and simply share some general experiences.

It was great to be able to qualify and participate in that unique event. Many thanks to KenF for organizing the event, Good Games Ipswich for hosting us and for the great gifts and to all people who were one way or another involved in making this tournament happen! 

I feel privileged and honored that I made it thus far and I hope that Australian Masters will get more and more popular in the future!

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 9

Greetings!

In the part 9 of the series about Australian Masters 2017 I present the battle report from the last game of the tournament. This time I had a pleasure to play against Adam who also fielded all mounted army of Undead.

Interestingly, I had a chance to play against the very same force in my preparation games so I was even more curious about the battle. Would my preparation pay off? How would Adam use the army he designed? These and more questions were about to be answered!

Undead - Army List

10 Soul Reaver Cavalry, Regiment, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- Revenant King on Undead Winged Wyrm, Hero

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops 

- Revenant King, Hero, Mounted

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Army Standard Bearer, Hero, Mounted, Lute of Insatiable Darkness

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment
- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Necromancer, Hero, Mounted, Bane Chant, Inspiring Talisman

6 Werewolves, Horde

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 8

Greetings!

In the round 3 of Australian Masters 2017 I played against another Varangur army, also led by Ken! :) In fact, there was a "best Ken" competition going on during the Masters and as far as I know both Ken's had it a few times before. It was great to play against both of them again too! In fact, Ken "Chaarge" who was my opponent this time, played against me during one of the Valley of Kings events before (although back then he used Trident Realms army). I was very curious how would I do against his all mounted, super aggressive Varangur force that embraced an opposite concept to the one I was using myself.

Varangur - Ken - Army List

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- King on Chimera (also known as Fluffy), Hero, Headstrong, Fury, Brew of Haste

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Blade of Slashing

- Magus, Hero, Lightning Bolt (4), Fireball(12), Elite, Mount, Chant of Hate

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Mace of Crushing

- Magus, Hero, Lightning Bolt (4), Fireball(12), Elite, Mount, Heart-Seeking Chant

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury

- Herja the Fallen

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 7

Greetings!

In the round 2 of Australian Masters 2017 I had a great pleasure to play against Andrew and his Abyssal Dwarfs.

Andrew came a very long way from Melbourne to participate in the tournament and it was the very first time I had a chance to play against him.

He commanded one of the two Abbysal Dwarfs army with a strong theme of slave warriors force. There were very few Abyssal Dwarf in fact, as the arm's main body count came from three hordes of Slave Orcs!

Abyssal Dwarfs - Army List

6 Abyssal Grotesques, Horde, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- 10 Gargoyles, Troops
- 10 Gargoyles, Troops

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine

- Greater Obsidian Golem, Monster

- Ba'su'su the Vile, Hero

6 Abyssal Grotesques, Horde, Brew of Haste

- 10 Gargoyles, Troops
- 10 Gargoyles, Troops

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine
- Slavedriver, Hero, Banner of the Griffin

40 Slave Orcs, Horde, War-bow of Kaba

40 Slave Orcs, Horde 

40 Slave Orcs, Horde

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 6

Greetings!

Usually, the first post about the games from a particular tournament would be about armies I faced, scenarios played and some initial deployment maps for those who would want to try and predict the results. 

However, I have already posted about Armies of Australian Masters 2017 and in the part 5 of the series about the event itself you could see who played against who and what was the result.

I think that is about time I start posting the reports from my own games and in round 1 I had a privilege to command Ken's Varangur army. The fact that I could play with a completely different force to what I usually use was intriguing enough in itself. But to spice things up the fate intervened further. First, I played against Ken and his trusty Varangur almost a year ago during the first round of Australian Clash of Kings 2017. He defeated me back then so I was curious if I can even the score. It was thus quite an unusual re-match! 

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 5

Greetings!

After preparation period and smooth journey to Brisbane and then to Ipswich I hoped I was ready to compete in Australian Masters 2017. The event took place at Good Games Ipswich store and it was a nice and cozy place to play.

In the part 12 of Armies of Australian Masters I talked about unique round one of the event. In this part of Australian Masters 2017 I am going to remind you which armies and which players were paired with each other (we played Loot scenario). And then I will present the results of these games so that you can see if your predictions were accurate!

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 4

Greetings!

In the last preparation game before Masters 2017 I played against my good friend Michael aka DarthSabre. Michael did well in this season too and was sooo close to qulify himself! Next year, Michael! :)

He was kind to agree to play with one of the Master lists too and he chose Kingdoms of Men with Goblin Allies as it was the closest to what he often plays with himself.

Kingdoms of Men - Army List

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde, Healing Brew

- 10 Militia Mob, Troops
- 10 Militia Mob, Troops

- General on Winged Beast, Hero, The Boomstick

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde

- 10 Militia Mob, Troops
- 10 Militia Mob, Troops

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3) 

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3) 

20 Pole-Arms Block, Regiment

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3)

40 Arquebusiers, Jar of the Four Winds

Goblin Allies

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

- Wiz, Hero, Fleabag, Lightning Bolt (3)

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 3

Greetings!

In the second game of my preparation for Australian Masters 2017 I played against Eastern Barbarian, my usual sparring partner over Universal Battle. We have not played against each other for quite a long time too so it was a good opportunity to catch up.

I asked EB which army he would like to play and he picked Adam's Undead. I was really intrigued about this all cavalry Undead force as it was very unique and I have never played against this type of Undead army before. 

Undead - Adam - Army List

10 Soul Reaver Cavalry, Regiment, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- Revenant King on Undead Winged Wyrm, Hero

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops 

- Revenant King, Hero, Mounted

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Army Standard Bearer, Hero, Mounted, Lute of Insatiable Darkness

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment
- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Necromancer, Hero, Mounted, Bane Chant, Inspiring Talisman

6 Werewolves, Horde

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 2

Greetings!

After the 12 players who qualified for Masters got and confirmed the invitations, it was time for preparation. My most recent tournament was at 1200 points so I needed to get back to playing at 2000 points again. In addition, by the time I managed to organize a game, all the army lists were published so I wanted to use that for the preparation too.

Luckily for me, my Universal Battle sparring partner and UK Master player, Edzig, was happy to help me with the preparations. We quickly discussed the options and he also kindly agreed to play with my own army against Varangur force that I was to use in the first round.

I must say I was very intrigued because I have never played with a different army in KoW and that in itself sounds like a very interesting experience. In addition, I would see my own army lined up against me and I was curious how Ed would play with it. 

Here is the army list I was about to use as a reminder:

Varangur - Army List

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong and Fury

- Devourer, Monster

-  Magus, Mounted, Elite, Soul Drain, Lightning Bolt (4), Inspiring Talisman

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong and Fury

- Devourer, Monster

-  Magus, Mounted, Elite, Soul Drain, Lightning Bolt (4), Myrddin’s Amulet of the Fire-heart

6 The Fallen, Horde, Brew of Strength 

- Cavern Dweller, Monster

- King on Chimera, Hero, Chant of Hate

Australian Masters 2017 - Part 1

Greetings!

On 3rd December I took part in Australian Masters 2017 tournament. It is one of a kind event where the highest ranking players after the full season are invited to play against each other for the title of a supreme Master. 

Qualifying for that event was a huge achievement for me as at the beginning of the year I didn't even think about such a possibility. I was very happy when I got the invitation and wondered if I have what it gets to compete with the best players in Australia.

However, in the following series of blog posts I would like to cover not only my games I played both to get ready for the event and battles I played during the tournament. But also the event itself as I think it deserves more advertisement and publicity. I would like to try and describe the experience one gets from attending it and the unique way it is organized. By doing so I hope I will make it more interesting to all Kings of War players so that the event that is a culmination of the season would become something to aspire to attend and to follow by wider group of people. 

In the first part I would like to focus on the specific way the tournament is organized and discuss a few important things from the players pack.

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 12

Greetings!

Welcome to the last installment of the Armies of Australian Masters 2017 series! The event is taking place in two day and some of the Master players are already on their way. Some of them will play in the 1 day tournament the day before, on Saturday. Sounds like a very busy weekend, packed with a lot of Kings of War action!

Today I would like to highlight something unique to the Australian Masters. The first round pairings are not randomly determined. Instead, depending on the final ranking, the first player is going to be matched with the twelfth, the second with the eleventh and so on. However, the most interesting part is that the players in the first round are also going to be using their opponents' army against their own! 

That always guarantees some crazy start of the tournament and today I simply want to show which armies are going to fight against each other and who is going to command them!

Also, if you are interested in some betting, Ken prepared his "guide" for those who are willing to risk some money :) Here is the link: Australian Masters 2017 - "Bookmakers" advice!

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 11

Greetings!

Today in the Armies of Australian Masters 2017 series we have Goblin force led by the current 1st player in the rankings - Clint. 

Clint also holds the  "Most tournaments played" award as he attended eleven events this year during which he played with various armies. Most recent two saw his Goblins unleashed and he decided to take this army to the Masters.

Goblins - Clint - Army List

6 Trolls, Horde, Dwarven Ale

- War Trombone, War Engine

- Mincer, Monster

- King on Chariot, Hero

6 Trolls, Horde

- War Trombone, War Engine

- Mincer, Monster

- Flaggit, Hero

6 Trolls, Horde

- War Trombone, War Engine

- Mincer, Monster

10 Fleabag Riders, Regiment

- Big Rocks Thrower, War Engine

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

10 Mawbeast Pack, Regiment

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 10

Greetings!

Today in Armies of Australian Masters 2017 we have quite unusual army of Dwarfs commanded by the current Champion - Jeff. 

Jeff is a frequent tournaments participant and he also known to play with armies from many different factions. In fact, in the last season in nine events he used eight different armies!

He brings an army that seems to follow Multiple Small Units approach as he has no less but 18 elements in his force:

Dwarfs - Jeff - Army List

6 Earth Elementals, Horde

- 10 Ironclad, Troop

- 5 Sharpshooters, Troops

- Flame Belcher, War Engine

- Battle Driller, Monster

- Army Standard, Hero, Healing Charm

6 Earth Elementals, Horde

- 10 Ironclad, Troop

- 5 Sharpshooters, Troops

- Flame Belcher, War Engine

- Battle Driller, Monster

- Army Standard, Hero, War-bow of Kaba

6 Earth Elementals, Horde

- 10 Ironclad, Troop

- 5 Sharpshooters, Troops

- Flame Belcher, War Engine

- Battle Driller, Monster

6 Earth Elementals, Horde

- 10 Ironclad, Troop

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 9

Greetings!

We are getting close to the end of Armies of Australian Masters 2017 as there are only three left! Today we have another version of Abyssal Dwarves commanded by Evan.

Evan played with this army throughout entire season and if I am correct he didn't really change the army list. This is also his second Masters event and last time he finished on third position.

His army embraced "Slow and Purposeful" theme with many Obsydian Golems present.

Abyssal Dwarves - Evan - Army List

6 Lesser Obsidian Golems, Horde

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine

- Iron Caster, Hero

6 Lesser Obsidian Golems, Horde

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine

6 Lesser Obsidian Golems, Horde

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine

6 Abyssal Grotesques, Horde

- Abyssal Halfbreed Champion, Hero

- Gargoyles, Troop 

- Gargoyles, Troop 

40 Slave Orcs, Horde

40 Slave Orcs, Horde

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 8

Greetings!

Welcome to the next part of Armies of Australian Masters 2017! Today we have another Varangur army, also commanded by Ken (but I assure you, a different Ken than the "Chaarge!" one  - although he likes charging too. Must be the Varangur thing, or Ken thing, or both! :))

Ken played all his events in the last season with his Varangur army and this is his second Masters event. In fact, he is the organizer of the event and it was thanks to his initiative that the first tournament was organized last year. He played with Forces of the Abyss then and finished 2nd so I am sure he has the appetite for the 1st place! :)

Ken's army is much different to the previous version from the same faction and here are the details:

Varangur - Ken - Army List

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong and Fury

- Devourer, Monster

-  Magus, Mounted, Elite, Soul Drain, Lightning Bolt (4), Inspiring Talisman

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong and Fury

- Devourer, Monster

-  Magus, Mounted, Elite, Soul Drain, Lightning Bolt (4), Myrddin’s Amulet of the Fire-heart

6 The Fallen, Horde, Brew of Strength 

- Cavern Dweller, Monster

- King on Chimera, Hero, Chant of Hate

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 7

Greetings!

Today in Armies of Australian Masters 2017 we have the only representative of Ratkin army commanded by Dru. He switched to this force relatively recently but that was a good decision as he was very successful with it.  He won one of the local events and finished 3rd during his last tournament with it.

What is also interesting is that there are two other Master players who are known for playing with Ratkin but decided not to choose this army this time.

Ratkin - Dru - Army List

40 Shock Troops, Horde, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- Weapon Team, War Engine, Storm of Lead

- Death Engine, Monster, Vile Sorcery

- Warlock, Hero, Inspiring Talisman, Lightning Bolt (5), Bane Chant (3)

40 Shock Troops, Horde, Healing Brew

- Weapon Team, War Engine, Storm of Lead

- Death Engine, Monster, Vile Sorcery

- Swarm-carrier,  Hero, Lute of Insatiable Darkness

40 Blight, Horde, Blood of the Old King

- Daemonspawn, Hero, Fly

20 Tunnel Slaves, Regiment

20 Tunnel Slaves, Regiment

20 Tunnel Slaves, Regiment

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 6

Greetings!

While yesterday we had an army that had lots of models and units, then today the force featured in Armies of Australian Masters 2017 is a complete opposite. The Varangur commanded by Ken "Chaaarge!" contains only heavy cavalry regiments and a few but deadly associated heroes.

Ken is a frequent tournaments participant and in all but one of the events he brought his cavalry focused Varangur. The only exception was when he visited Canberra and had to borrow any army to participate :)

Varangur - Ken - Army List

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- King on Chimera, Hero, Headstrong, Fury, Brew of Haste

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Blade of Slashing

- Magus, Hero, Lightning Bolt (4), Fireball(12), Elite, Mount, Chant of Hate

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury, Mace of Crushing

- Magus, Hero, Lightning Bolt (4), Fireball(12), Elite, Mount, Heart-Seeking Chant

10 Mounted Sons of Korgaan, Regiment, Headstrong, Fury

- Herja the Fallen

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 5

Greetings!

In part 5 of the Armies of Australian Masters 2017 we have Kingdoms of Men army with Goblin allies (yes!) commanded by Chris!

Interestingly, Chris attended eight tournaments in the last season but only once with Kingdoms of Men army! He usually played with Ratkin and twice with Goblins. 

Kingdoms of Men - Chris - Army List

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde, Healing Brew

- 10 Militia Mob, Troops
- 10 Militia Mob, Troops

- General on Winged Beast, Hero, The Boomstick

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde

- 10 Militia Mob, Troops
- 10 Militia Mob, Troops

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3) 

40 Pole-Arms Block, Horde

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3) 

20 Pole-Arms Block, Regiment

- Wizard, Hero, Pegasus, Lightning Bolt (3)

40 Arquebusiers, Jar of the Four Winds

Goblin Allies

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

- Wiz, Hero, Fleabag, Lightning Bolt (3)

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

10 Fleabag Rider Sniffs, Regiment

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 4

Greetings!

In the next installment of Armies of Australian Masters 2017 we have Abyssal Dwarves commanded by Andrew! 

Andrew is attending Masters for the second time and brings his trusty Abyssal Dwarves again. In the last season he commanded this army three times out of five events that counted towards the Masters and he brings the army that embraces the image of the evil slave masters.

Abyssal Dwarfs - Andrew - Army List

6 Abyssal Grotesques, Horde, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- 10 Gargoyles, Troops
- 10 Gargoyles, Troops

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine

- Greater Obsidian Golem, Monster

- Ba'su'su the Vile, Hero

6 Abyssal Grotesques, Horde, Brew of Haste

- 10 Gargoyles, Troops
- 10 Gargoyles, Troops

- Angkor Heavy Mortar, War Engine
- Slavedriver, Hero, Banner of the Griffin

40 Slave Orcs, Horde, War-bow of Kaba

40 Slave Orcs, Horde 

40 Slave Orcs, Horde   

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 3

Greetings!

Welcome to the part 3 of Armies of Australian Masters 2017! Today another Undead army is going to be featured but this one is of a completely different flavor. 

This undead force is commanded by Adam who currently holds the "Best in Race: Undead" title. Adam is a regular tournaments participant and in four out of six events last season he took his Undead Army. And while Josh puts his faith in Mummies and War Engines, Adam brings all mounted force of Undead Cavalry!

Undead - Adam - Army List

10 Soul Reaver Cavalry, Regiment, Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar

- Revenant King on Undead Winged Wyrm, Hero

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops 

- Revenant King, Hero, Mounted

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Army Standard Bearer, Hero, Mounted, Lute of Insatiable Darkness

10 Revenant Cavalry, Regiment
- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Necromancer, Hero, Mounted, Bane Chant, Inspiring Talisman

6 Werewolves, Horde

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 2

Greetings!

Welcome to part 2 of Armies of Australian Masters 2017!  

Today I would like to present Josh from Victoria who is bringing his trusty Undead army to the tournament. Out of six events Josh took part in this season, Undead were featured four times and I got lucky to play against him and his shambling hordes during the Australian Clash of Kings 2016! 

I must tell you that Josh is one of the nicest opponents I have ever had a pleasure to meet. He was more happy when things went well for me and more sad when unlucky rolls happened than myself. :) 

Who knows, it may be that we will have the rematch during the Masters!

Undead - Josh - Army List

20 Mummies, Regiment

- Liche King, Hero, Banner of the Griffin

20 Mummies, Regiment

- Liche King, Hero

20 Mummies, Regiment

- Balefire Catapult, War Engine  

20 Mummies, Regiment

- Balefire Catapult, War Engine  

20 Mummies, Regiment

- Balefire Catapult, War Engine 

10 Soul Reaver Cavalry, Regiment, Brew of Haste

- Cursed Pharaoh, Hero, Wings of Honeymaze

Armies of Australian Masters 2017 - Part 1

Greetings! 

The tournament season in Australia ends on 31st October and it is now time to prepare for the Australian Masters - invite only event that is organized for the best 12 players in the country to determine the ruling Champion for the next season. It is the second year of Kings of War Australian Masters too. 

This year I got very lucky to qualify and I am already looking forward to the event that will take place in Ipswich in Queensland on 3rd December! 

The event is one day tournament with 4 games being played and Clash of Kings 2017 in place. There is, however, one very interesting tradition that the very first game is so called Army Swap. It means that the players would play against each other but commanding their opponent's army against their own! 

The pairs are already determined and 1st player in the ranking is going to play against 12th, 2nd against 11th and so on. 

If you are interested in details here is the link to the player's pack:

Australian Masters - Player's Pack

Once the players confirmed their attendance there was the deadline until 17th November to submit our respective army lists and they have just been officially published. Here is the link to the army lists:

Australian Masters - Army Lists

You may expect discussions on various social media about the lists and the chances of each player to win this year and I wanted to add to it a bit as well. However, I decided to go for armies and players presentation. The main reason is that I think the players and their armies deserve it after the full year of campaigning as qualifying to Masters is a success already. In addition, I think the event itself is worthy talking about as it further promotes a fantastic game of Kings of War. And while naturally it is going to be a very competitive event, there is so much more to it!

Game 66 - Romans - 2017/11/18

Greetings!

After a very interesting set of games at 1200 points during the most recent local tournament, it was time to get back to playing at 2000 points! This time, however, it was a game like no other as I had a unique chance to play against - Imperial Romans!

During the tournament I talked to Glen, another great local player and he is known for bringing his beautifully painted Romans to the events. While terrain rules for KoW Historical are not in use, such armies are usually allowed. I would love to play a proper KoW Historical one day but this time we agreed I am going to bring my Elves as usual.

We are spoiled for choices these days as we have two gaming nights per week (I wish I could attend every week at least once, not to mention twice!) in our local stores. This time we played at Jolts

Glen brought all infantry army with no less than 6 war engines!

Romans - Army List

40 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon, Shiltron

- General, Hero

- Catapult, War Engine

40 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

- Eagle Bearer, Hero

- Catapult, War Engine

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

- Army Standard, Hero

- Catapult, War Engine

 

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

- Musician, Hero

- Bolt Thrower, War Engine

 

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

- Bolt Thrower, War Engine

 

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

- Bolt Thrower, War Engine

 

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

20 Legionnaires, Iron Resolve, Foulkon(2), Single Throwing Weapon

Valley of Kings 4 - Summary - 2017/11/12

Greetings! 

Time for a short summary of the most recent tournament. It was great to be back after a short break and I really enjoyed small size format too. My concerns that smaller tables would be a challenge for me or that 5 games in one day might be a little bit too much proved to be unjustified. Which is simply great! :)

Once again the crew at Three D6 perfectly accommodated the group of Kings of War enthusiasts and Matt delivered yet another perfectly organized event. This time, as we were testing a new scoring system, he prepared scenario sheets with rules explaining not only how the scenario works but also how it is scored. It helped a lot and players didn't have to spend time to calculate the scores as the three-step procedure was really easy to follow. 

We had 12 players this time which is also a nice attendance number. The interesting I observed, however, that every time I participate in the event there are players who did not necessarily participated in previous tournaments. It simply means that the number of Kings of War players in Canberra is much larger than and that is awesome! I am sure that the regularly organized Valley of Kings series of events helped in fueling the enthusiasm and kept people interested in this game.

I had great 5 games and it would not have been possible without my fantastic opponents. My thanks to Mark (congratulations on the 2nd overall!), Damian, Chris, Sean and Craig (congratulations on 3rd overall!) for great games!

Valley of Kings 4 - Elves - 2017/11/11

Greetings! 

I begun the tournament with a civil war and it happened that I was about to finish the event with the civil war too! 

This time I had a great pleasure to play against Craig who was very enthusiastic about  our incoming battle too! We have not fought against each other yet. Craig brought Elven army that was different in composition to mine and Mark's (check battle report 1) so all three Elven forces were truly unique. Craig's Drakon Riders looked great in particular and properly intimidating! His army also had a nice contingent of allied Elohi:

Elves - Army List

6 Drakon Riders, Horde

- 10 Archers

- Drakon Lord, Hero 

10 Storm Wind, Pathfinder, Regiment

- Mage, Lightning Bolts, Hero

Basilean Allies

6 Elohi, Horde

Valley of Kings 4 - Night Stalkers - 2017/11/08

Greetings!

In the game 4 I played against the army that is going to be (or is already becoming) a very popular choice thanks to the new Mantic releases - the Night Stalkers. I played against Sean who is getting back to wargaming with this army. We played against each other long time ago so it is great to have him back. I am sure he has an eye on the new concept art and models and I am looking forward to seeing how is he going to develop his force.

I had a few games against the Night Stalkers but I haven't had a chance to play against some of Sean's choices. I was also very curious how to play against them at small points and I was really looking forward to our game. Here are the details of the army list:

Night Stalkers - Army List

20 Reapers ,Regiment

- 10 Spectres, Troops

- 10 Spectres, Troops

- Horror, Hero

20 Dopplegangers, Regiment

- 10 Phantoms, Troop

- Plannar Apparition, Monster

3 Nightmares, Regiment

Valley of Kings 4 - Undead - 2017/11/05

Greetings!

In the third game I played Chris and his Undead horde. We have played against each other a few times already and last time Chris defeated me during the Edge of the Abyss campaign.  It was thus a great opportunity to even the score!

The interesting part of playing against the known player is that we both started developing certain behaviors as a result of previous encounters. Chris became even more patient with his army, slowly but purposely approaching my army, being careful not to expose the flanks. I learned some painful lessons about being too hasty in the attack or underestimating the power of Surge. I really hoped I would not make these mistakes again! 

Chris had some usual suspects in his force but there were a few surprised for me too:

Undead - Army List

40 Zombies, Horde

- 10 Skeleton Warriors, Troops

- 5 Soul Reaver Cavalry, Troops

- 5 Revenant Cavalry, Troops

- Liche King, Hero

6 Barrow Wights, Horde

- Army Standard, Mounted

20 Wraiths, Regiment 

Valley of Kings 4 - Forces of the Abyss - 2017/11/03

Greetings!

In the second game I had a great pleasure to play against Damian. He brought his very nicely painted evil Abyssals and I was really looking forward to our game. One reason was to have kind of classic blue vs red battle (almost literally when you look at the respective color schemes!). Another was that I have not played against one of the iconic armies of Mantica for some time. Last but not least I have not had a chance to play against Damian before either so it was great we were finally matched against each other.

Forces of the Abyss - Army List

40 Lower Abyssals, Horde

- 5 Gargoyles, Troops

- 5 Hellhounds, Troops

- Abyssal Chmpion with Wings, Hero

20 Succubi, Regiment

20 Succubi, Regiment

6 Tortured Souls, Horde

Valley of Kings 4 - Elves - 2017/10/31

Greetings!

In the first game of the tournament I played against Mark and his Elves. I played against Mark several times already and he brought his favorite units with a smaller force too.  His army was more compact, very fast and more durable than mine. It is always very interesting to play against Mark because he has a different approach to the Elven forces. Hence, it creates an unique match up where opponents have good understanding of each other armies but due to different compositions it still feels as if two completely different forces were fighting.

Here are the details of Mark's list:

Elves - Army List

40 Archers, Heart-seeking Chant

- Army Standard, Lute, Hero

6 Drakon Riders, Horde

- Dragon Kindred Lord, Hero

 

6 Drakon Riders, Horde

Valley of Kings 4 - Introduction - 2017/10/29

Greetings!

After a month or so of a break in playing after the Edge of the Abyss campaign I was eager to get back to some games. Fortunately for me, local tournament organizers, Matt and Tas, planned another of their fantastic events in the series known as The Valley of Kings.  As usual, the great crew of Three D6 store hosted a group of 12 Kings of War enthusiasts.

This time things were a bit different. First of all, we played with 1200 points armies and that immediately looked a bit of a challenge for me as I have never played this size of the game. However, I managed to downsize my current 2000 points force and was set to participate. 

Second change, which was more of a consequence of the first one, is that we played on 4 x 4 feet tables. It is understandable and recommended for smaller battles but it also meant that the battle fields were narrower. To the player who needs space for maneuver it was another thing to quickly adapt to.

However, the most intriguing and discussed modification as compared to Clash of Kings standard for tournaments was an introduction of a new scoring system - BlackJack. For details, please, follow the link:

Black Jack - scoring system for Kings of War

In short, the aim is to shift the focus to the scenarios and decrease the impact of the attrition on the overall result the player can achieve. It means that under BlackJack system a player may earn more points if he can fulfill the scenario requirements in a more decisive way. For example, one may earn more points if he gets all the loot tokens rather than just one more than his opponent that is required to win the scenario. At the same time the brackets for getting a significant shift in the scoring due to attrition were increased and the player can no longer claim up to 5 extra points in this way. 

I must say I was intrigued but at the same time a little concerned that checking all these tables to get the result may be a bit time consuming. However, to help with that special score sheets were prepared for each player and it turned out to be faster than I expected. 

The aim for the organizers was to collect data about the new system and ask participants for the feedback. Did the new system affect their decision making at any stage (including army design)? Did it reward playing for the scenario conditions more and did it entourage them to do so? Did they like it (simple but important!)? etc.

I decided I am going to scale down my usual army without taking into account the new scoring system. What would be ideal is 2000 points size games with exactly the same army. I could then better assess what was the impact of the new system on my decisions during the games. However, with the army that had all the units I usually have in my 2000 force that was as close as I could get.

I also decided to approach the scenarios in a similar way as before. It means that I wanted to focus on the scenario conditions first. Destroying enemy units is important but my assumption was that if I were to make a decision between destroying more units or getting more scenario points I should go for the scenario. Unless destroying the enemy units allowed to do both and/or was the safest option. I would leave more detailed considerations on that matter for the battle reports :)

Here is the army list I brought to this event:

1200 version of the Outcasts.

Outcasts - Army List

3 Drakon Riders, Regiment - 175
- 5 Silverbreeze, Troop - 145
- 5 Silverbreeze, Troop - 145
- Drakon Rider Lord, Hero, Large Cavalry - 160

3 Drakon Riders, Regiment - 175
- 10 Palace Guard, Troop - 105

- 10 Palace Guard, Troop - 105

 - Army Standard, Hero - 50

3 War Chariots, Regiment  - 140
 

Kings of War - Past, Present and Future

Greetings!

I have recently listened to a new episode of the Counter Charge podcast. It was a big one to celebrate the fact at it was episode 200! If you haven't listened to it yet, I really recommend it to any Kings of War enthusiast, here is the link:

Counter Charge - Episode 200

Rob and Mark have been delivering fantastic episodes and 200th one was truly special. Congratulations once again! Such a great achievement for sure and it is great to know that they have plans for more! The episode contains some very interesting recollection of the KoW past, the way the game evolved in time and how did the hosts of the podcast participate in that process. It also had a discussion of the way people see that state of the game at the moment and continued with a very interesting discussion about ways the game could evolve in the future.

I have played quite a few games recently and I was more focused on the global campaign but after listening to the podcast I started thinking about the future of Kings of War again. There were some thought provoking ideas in the podcast. Initially I considered short feedback about these but the more I thought about the more it was obvious I may need a bit more space. Hence, I decided it may be a good option to write a post blog instead. :)