Clash of Kings Australia - Introduction

Greetings!

Between 27th and 29th January, Canberra hosted the biggest annual gaming convention in Australia - CanCon. It is a great event for the enthusiast of probably every game that is being currently played. People come for the tournaments, to buy new toys, to learn new games, to participate in painting competitions and workshops etc. 

I attended my first CanCon in 2012 and have done so for a few years. I missed it in 2016 and I really wanted to return in 2017. However, this time it was to play Kings of War!

Clash of Kings - Australia

Although Kings of War was played last year, this year it was the first time when the tournament took place under official Mantic patronage as Clash of Kings. But it was thanks to the two individuals from Canberra, who months ago took on the very tough task of organizing it, Matt and Tas. They started early but worked relentlessly to negotiate with CanCon organizers as many tables as possible (with so many games taking place, the space was limited), to obtain support from numerous sponsors, to co-ordinate the help from many players who contributed terrain for the event and probably many other things only they know about but that were absolutely crucial for the event to happen. 

The official website Clashofkingsau was regularly updated with videos of Unboxing of any new package from the sponsors. In the end, there were so many things that the organizers could have a welcoming package for each player and plenty of various awards at the end of the event!

Contents of the door prize!

Even without such a fantastic support from the sponsors, Matt and Tas created such a hype about the event that 62 spots we got were filled very quickly and people waited in the reserve list just in case there were some last minute drop outs. 

As Clash of Kings the event followed the official Mantic tournament pack with the only change about number of battles to be played. We had seven! Four on Saturday and three on Sunday. Here is the link to the pack: Clash of Kings AUS - Players Pack

I would also like to stress out that while Matt and Tas were main organizers they had a fantastic support from the players. Many of them provided their own terrain so that each table had enough to use Kings of War - Map Pack

I believe Michael, Dru, Mark and Tony were among those who provided the most but I am sure I missed other people who also contributed. Many players answered the call from Matt when he asked for donations so that he could buy chess clocks for each table. Every person who did so would then take their own chess clock back home and thanks to that fantastic idea every table was equipped with everything that was needed!

I also have to mention a fantastic job a software designer, Dennis, did to help to run the event smoothly. He created a website Tabletop Tournaments that allows you to enter your event and proceed with updating the result, creating match ups and checking the ladder live online. All we had to do was to register for free and then submit the results. No need to hand over the results on paper so that they could be entered to the system by a TO. No waiting for the next turn draws either. Extremely useful and I am sure it made the running of the event on the day so much smoother.  

It was shaping up to be the best event I had a pleasure to attend and people were very excited about it weeks before the tournament. Many were painting frantically, modelling their new bases and display boards. Others focused on choosing the best army list, some not making the final decision until the very last moment.

As I have already decided to take the very same list I have been using recently, I focused on finishing my second unit of drakons. I also multi based them and I must admit that I should have made that decision earlier about all my units. Just rebase them all, even if that is for that event only. Ah well, I guess it will be part of my Project 2017 :)

Quick Photo of Drakons on multi-base.

  

Here is the army list I took for reference:

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
- 5 Stormwind, Troops - 140
- 5 Stormwind, Troops - 140

 - Army Standard, Hero, Mounted - 65

3 War Chariots, Regiment - 140

 - Army Standard, Hero, Mounted - 65

 

20 Palace Guard, Regiment - 150 

- 10 Palace Guard, Troop - 105

 

20 Sea Guard, Regiment - 170
- 10 Palace Guard, Troop - 105

- Elven Mage, Hero, Inspiring Talisman, Bane Chant(2), Fireball (10) - 120

Outcasts making their return to CanCon

I was really happy to come back to CanCon and that I will take part in the very first Australian Clash of Kings. I was looking forward to catching up with people I know and to meeting new players. I expected to play seven great games against fantastic opponents, also hoping to have a chance to play against armies I have never faced before.

 

I also knew that I will have one of the best tests for my army and I was very curious about the results. I hoped to provide reasonable challenge to my opponents and learn from them as much as possible!

It will take me some time to create battle reports for each game so please, be patient. I will aim to post at least one game per week. Making these maps takes a little time and so does writing up but I do hope your patience will be rewarded with some nice stories. 

For now, a teaser with pictures and maps of deployments as well as army lists (as best recreated as I could).   

  Game 1 - Ken - Varangur - Pillage

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong, Fury
 - King on Chimera with Def 6 Armor

40 Bloodsworn, Horde, Headstrong, Fury
- Sorcerer, Lightning Bolt, Talisman of Inspiration
  

6 Fallen, Horde, Brew of Strength
- Mounted Sorcerer, Lightning Bolt

10 Mounted Sons, Regiment, Pathfinder, Headstrong, Fury

- 5 Mounted Horsemen, Troop with Bows
- 5 Mounted Horsemen, Troop with Bows

- Mounted Skald with Breath Attacks

Game 2 - Jules - Night Stalkers - Dominate

60 Blood Warms, Legion, Brew of Strength
- Shadow Hulk, Monster
- Void Lurker, Fog

20 Spectres, Regiment
- Screamer, Monster

20 Spectres, Regiment
- Screamer, Monster 

20 Phantoms, Regiment
- Banshee, Lightning Bolt (5)

3 Nightmares, Regiment

3 Needle Fangs, Regiment
3 Needle Fangs, Regiment

Game 3 - Josh - Undead - Loot

40 Skeleton Archers, Horde
- Catapult, War Engine 
- Lich King

20 Mummies, Regiment
- Catapult, War Engine
- Lich King 

20 Mummies, Regiment
- Lich King
 
20 Mummies, Regiment

6 Zombie Trolls, Horde
6 Zombie Trolls, Horde

10 Soul Reavers, Regiment
 

Game 4 - Micky - Night Stalkers - Invade

20 Dopplegangers, Regiment
- 5 Shadowounds, Troops
- 5 Shadowounds, Troops
- Void Lurker

20 Dopplegangers, Regiment
- Shadow Hulk
- Banshee, Lightning Bolts 

6 Butchers, Horde
- Banshee, Lightning Bolts 

20 Scarecrows, Regiment

3 Nightmares, Regiment
3 Nightmares, Regiment
 

Game 5 - Tony - Ogres - Push

6 Shooters, Horde, +1 to hit
- Army Standard with Boomstick
- Goblin Blaster
 

6 Boomers, Horde, Piercing
- Warlock, Lightning Bolts
- Mammoth

6 Boomers, Horde, Elite
- Warlock, Lightning Bolts
- Giant
 

6 Braves, Horde, +1 CS
- Warlock, Lightning Bolts

Game 6 - Clint - Ratkin - Control

40 Shock Troops, Horde
- Death Engine, Monster
- Weapon Team, Storm of Lead
- Daemonspawn 
 

40 Shock Troops, Horde
- Warlock

40 Shock Troops, Horde
- Warlock

40 Blight, Horde
- Enforcer

40 Slaves, Horde

20 Slaves, Regiment

20 Slaves, Regiment

Game 7 - Michael - Kingdoms of Men - Kill and Pillage

40 Foot Guard, Horde, +1 CS
- Ballistae, War Engine
- Mounted Hero 

40 Arquebusiers, Horde, +1 to Hit 
- Ballistae, War Engine
- Mounted Hero 

40 Polearms, Horde
- Wizard

20 Militia, Regiment
- Wizard

20 Militia, Regiment
- General on Winged Beast

20 Bowmen, Regiment
20 Bowmen, Regiment

10 Knights, Regiment, Pathfinder

I hope you will have some fun predicting the results of each game and/or the overall standing but if you want to check it already, here is the link: Clash of Kings Australia 2017 - Results

Thanks for reading!