Clash of Kings Australia 2020 - Introduction - 2020/01/29

Greetings!

Welcome to the introduction to the series of battle reports from the games I played during Australian Clash of Kings 2020! Traditionally, Clash of Kings takes place in Australia in January and is the first big tournament of the year, during a three day gaming convention CanCon. 

I did not attend Clash of Kings in 2019 so I was very excited about getting back, catching up with players who often travelled from far to participate, meet new players and play some games of 3rd edition Kings of War. That excitement grew even higher when it was announced that Ronnie himself is going to pay us a visit!

Clash of Kings would not be the same if not for the best Tournament Organiser in the Southern Hemisphere - Matt aka "Apron Boy" and his trusty legion of helpers! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt and everyone who contributed to the organisation of this fantastic event! You are all Legends! 

Matt and Ronnie wearing famous Aprons!

We played six games during Australian Clash of Kings at 2000 points. If you are interested in the details, here is the link to the Players Pack:

Clash of Kings 2020 - Player's Pack

This post is intended as an introduction to the series of the battle reports from my own games. However, it is going to take same time for me to prepare them. Because of that I decided it may be a good idea to tell you a bit about the army I took to the event and provide army lists of my opponents, maps representing deployments and scenarios as an appetiser! 

I would also like to give you a challenge to predict the results of each battle based on the deployment maps and army lists! 

If you would like to check the results already, as well as the results of the battles in each round, here is the link:

Clash of Kings 2020 - Results

If you do, I would like to ask you to keep the information to yourself for time being so that those who would like to predict the outcomes would not have the answers revealed too early! 

Game 133 - Forces of the Abyss - 2020/01/24

Greetings!

In my last game prior to Australian Clash of Kings 2020 I played against yet another fantastic player I had an honour to play against many times in the past - Simon.

You may recall my games against his Brotherhood of Dobrensk or Night Stalkers. This time Simon decided to use Forces of the Abyss army. He told me he was inspired by Jeff in his army composition so you may notice some similarities. However, Simon added a significant amount of his own ideas to the mix as well. 

It was thus even more intriguing for me to see how this game would go. On one hand, I hoped I would be able to come up with a good plan, especially after my last game against Jeff. On the other, I knew I may not be able to use the lessons learned directly. The armies are not identical and generals have different personalities, it is pretty much playing against completely different force! 

Here are a the details of the army Simon brought to the game:

Forces of the Abyss - Army List

Moloch Horde (M1), Monstrous Infantry - 225

Moloch Horde (M2), Monstrous Infantry - 225

Abyssal Horsemen Regiment (AH), Cavalry - 240

Abyssal Ghoul Regiment (AG1), Infantry - 90

Abyssal Ghoul Regiment (AG1), Infantry - 90

Abyssal Ghoul Regiment (AG1), Infantry - 90

Abyssal Fiend (AF), Titan - 175

Gargoyle (G), Troop - 85

Manifestation of Ba'el (MoB), Hero (Monster) - 265

Despoiler Champion (DC), Hero (Large Cavalry), Blade of Slashing - 135

Abyssal Warlock (AW1), Hero (Large Infantry), Drain Life (6) - 120

Abyssal Warlock (AW2), Hero (Large Infantry), Drain Life (6) - 120

Seductress (S), Hero (Infantry), Pipes of Terror - 140

Game 132 - Forces of Nature - 2020/01/21

Greetings!

In my next game I played against another fantastic opponent and UK Master player - Ed! He kindly agreed to help me with some practice before Australian Clash of Kings. 

It's been a while since our last game and I knew Ed is currently playing a lot with his new Forces of Nature army he designed for 3rd edition. I had a chance, however, to have a glimpse at his army prior to our game. I must admit I liked it from the beginning!

It is melee orientated army based around two units, Forest Shamblers and Centaur Bray-Striders. It can be moved really fast thanks to many units having Scout ability. It can use Surge to catch some enemies off guard and has some interesting additions that, in my opinion, add a lot of character to this force. Here are the details of the army at 2000 points that Ed brought to our game:

Forces of Nature - Army List

Forest Shambler Horde (FS1), Large Infantry - 200

Forest Shambler Regiment (FS2), Large Infantry - 120

Forest Shambler Regiment (FS3), Large Infantry - 120

Forest Shambler Regiment (FS4), Large Infantry - 120

Centaur Bray Strider Regiment (CBS), Cavalry, Frenzied Otter - 165

Centaur Bray Strider Regiment (CBS), Cavalry, Frenzied Otter - 165

Centaur Bray Strider Regiment (CBS), Cavalry, Frenzied Otter - 165

Centaur Bray Strider Regiment (CBS), Cavalry, Frenzied Otter - 165

Pegasus (P), Monster - 80

Tree Herder (TH), Hero (Monster) - 260

Forest Warden (FW1), Hero (Large Infantry) - 90

Forest Warden (FW2), Hero (Large Infantry) - 90

Unicorn (U1), Hero (Cavalry), Shroud of the Saint - 150

Centaur Chief (CC), Hero (Cavalry) - 110

Game 131 - Forces of the Abyss - 2020/01/19

Greetings!

Australian Clash of Kings 2020 is approaching fast so I was looking for the opportunities to do some practice games. Fortunately for me, there are some great players out there who are always happy to have a game on Universal Battle 2. 

We quickly locked dates in our calendars and the first opponent I was about to play was a well known and rightfully feared Australian Master - Jeff.

If I can put up a fight against him, it should be a good indicator I can do so against many other players! So I naturally was very happy to have another opportunity to play against him. It also happened to be the last day before the army lists were due. Hence, it was probably one of the last tests for both of us before we submitted our lists to Matt, our fantastic Tournament Organiser!

Jeff decided to take the evil army to the tournament and chose Forces of the Abyss with some Abyssal Dwarfs allies. Here are the details:

Forces of the Abyss - Army List

Abyssal Ghoul Horde (AG1), Infantry - 150

Moloch Horde (M1), Large Cavalry, Blade of Slashing - 235

Moloch Horde (M2), Large Cavalry, Mace of Crushing - 235

Abyssal Ghoul Regiment (AG2), Infantry - 90

Abyssal Ghoul Regiment (AB3), Infantry - 90

Manifestation of Ba'el (MoB), Hero (Monster) - 265

Abyssal Fiend (AF), Titan - 175

Abyssal Warlock (AW1), Hero (Large Infantry) - 90

Abyssal Warlock (AW1), Hero (Large Infantry) - 90

Abyssal Warlock (AW1), Hero (Large Infantry) - 90

Abyssal Dwarfs - Allies

Lesser Obsidian Golem Horde (OG1), Monstrous Infantry - 215

Lesser Obsidian Golem Horde (OG1), Monstrous Infantry - 215

Hexcaster (H), Hero (Heavy Infantry), Weakness (3) - 70

Game 130 - Elves - 2020/01/12

Greetings!

In the first game of 2020 I played against one of my regular gaming opponents, Michael. In fact, it just occurred to me he is also one of players I met for the first time at my very first CanCon event, 9 years ago! I am really grateful we are continuing our gaming friendship for such a long time and it is only fitting that the first game in 2020 would be against him.

Michael is currently building his brand new Northern Alliance army so it was a great opportunity for me to get a bit more familiar with this new faction. I was really curious about it because it is a new army and one of the forces that heralded the arrival of 3rd edition with the Night Stalkers.

Northern Alliance - Army List

Human Clansman Horde (HC), Infantry, Chalice of Wrath - 245

Ice Naiad Horde (IN), Infantry, Blessing of the Gods - 260

Frostfang Cavalry Horde (FC), Large Cavalry, Brew of Haste - 285

Dwarf Clansman Regiment (DC1), Infantry - 115

Dwarf Clansman Regiment (DC2), Infantry - 115

Huscarl Regiment (H), Heavy Infantry, Brew of Sharpness - 260

Tundra Wolf Troop* (TW1), Cavalry - 115

Tundra Wolf Troop* (TW2), Cavalry - 115

Ice Kin Bolt Thrower (BT1), War Engine - 95

Ice Kin Bolt Thrower (BT1), War Engine - 95

Lord on Frostfang (LoF), Hero (Large Cavalry), Snow Fox - 200

Ice-Queen (IQ), Hero (Infantry), Bane Chant (2), Icy Breath (10) - 100