Game 92 - Empire - 2013/12/31

Game 6 - Max - Empire

In the last game I met Max, probably the youngest participant of Masters. Like me, that was his very first tournament of that kind and he was very excited about being among the best players in Oz. Max took his stalwart Empire troopers to show that humans can fight against any odds. :)

Empire - Army List

Arch Lector, Great Weapon, The armour of meteoric iron, Luckstone,  Van horstmann's speculum - 200
Battle wizard lord, Level 4, Sceptre of stability - 215 - Lore of heavens

Captain of the empire, BSB, Full plate armour, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Sword of might - 141
Captain of the empire, Imperial pegasus, Lance, Shield, Full plate armour , Potion of foolhardiness, Dragonhelm - 135
Battle wizard, Level 2, Ring of volans, Scroll of shielding - 145 - Lore of beasts
Master engineer - 65

45 Halberdiers, Full command - 300
5 Knights, Musician, Banner - 130
5 Knights, Musician - 120
10 Archers - 70
5 Demigryph knights, musician - 300
28 Flagellents - 336
Great cannon - 120
Hellblaster volley gun - 120

Composition Score - 13

Game 91 - Warriors of Chaos - 2013/12/28

Game 5 - Sam - Warriors of Chaos

Back to our own armies! This time I was honoured to play against a veteran ETC player, Sam, who commanded dreaded Cacophonic Warriors of Chaos army. Here is his army list in detail:

Warriors of Chaos - Army List

Sorceror Lord, mark of slaanesh, level 4, charmed shield, talisman of preservation, arabyan carpet, chaos familiar, scaled skin - 420 - Lore of Slaanesh
Sorceror, level 2, biting blade, enchanted shield, luckstone, ironcurse icon - 170 - Lore of Death

Exalted hero, mark of slaanesh, great weapon, BSB, steed of slaanesh, dragonhelm, dawnstone, other tricksters shard - 224
Exalted hero, mark of slaanesh, halberd, steed of slaanesh, helm of many eyes, dragonbane gem, potion of foohardiness, burning body  - 194

5 chaos warhounds - 30
5 chaos warhounds - 30
24 chaos warriors, mark of slaanesh, full command, great weapons, banner of swiftness - 477
8 marauder horsemen, mark of slaanesh, standard, flails
chimera, regeneration 245
dragon ogre shaggoth, great weapon 227
dragon ogre shaggoth, great weapon 227

Comp score: 13.6

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!