Tournament Battlereport Conquest of the Rose City / Game 1 Hundred Kingdoms vs Old Dominion

Overview:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

The game night on Friday is omitted in the reports, as on Sunday, January 14, 2024, we traveled to an internal tournament at the German Club 89, Phalanx. Personally, I saw this as more of a preparation day for Beckum, as 1500 points were to be played here as well, and I still had no clear idea of which army to play.

Originally, I had planned to play the "small" goblin list, but at 1500 points, the game is only moderately balanced, and things like Incarnates, Fallen Devinity, Ashen Dawn, Dwegom Dirt, and Old Dominion can easily ruin your day. Therefore, I briefly considered my dinosaurs, but my heart beats for the brave humans and perhaps soon for the brave humans with genies. So, the night before, I had opted for many cards with "Good-Stuff."

Brave Humans [1500/1500]

== (Warlord) Imperial Officer [105]: The Kiss Farewell, Fire First, Aim Later, Aim For the Head
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:

== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Crimson Tower) [110]:
 * Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [215]: Standard Bearer
 * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer

== Mounted Noble Lord [115]: The Unwrought, Weapon Master
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
 * Household Knights (3) [140]: Standard Bearer
 * Household Knights (3) [140]: Standard Bearer

With a solid 11 cards in my deck, I probably have more than anyone else. Large blocks could be a problem, but with clever activations, I might be able to play them well and, incidentally, refer to my MSU article. Also, with the two heavy cavalry regiments, I have two hammers in tow that can beat the crap out of most things – something I felt was lacking in the playtests with the other 1500-point list. The equipment on the Noble Lord exists only because I had 5 points free, and "The Kiss Farewell" on the Imperial Officer because I hadn't played my archer model in a long time. So, he immediately exchanged "Double Time" event for "Murderous Volley." I don't think it's optimal and will almost never come into play, but it's a test, and maybe it will convince me again.

Game 1 against Simon aka SMN undead legions Hazlias

The Old Dominion [1495/1500]

== Xhiliarch [140]: Sanctified Labaron, Regalia 1
 * Varangian Guard (4) [295]: Standard Bearer, Princeps

== Archimandrite [100]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [120]:
 * Bone Golems (3) [210]:

== (Warlord) Strategos [85]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [120]:
 * Kataphraktoi (6) [425]: Standard Bearer, Hetairos

Essentially, it's the usual Old Dominion dirt, but with six riders and Hetairos, which is rather unusual but fortunately not as unusual as what Nick is currently testing. A peculiarity of this list is that with this regiment and Overrun, two attacks per round are possible. Especially with so few points, this could work quickly. Thanks to Strategos Supremacy, binding the riders would be useless, as they could simply perform a retreat, turn for free, and then launch another attack. Also, there were four stands of Varangians with more hit points than I could reasonably eliminate in one round, and unfortunately, the scenario was "Melee."

Since Simon didn't have any light regiments, I happily marched forward and found that there were no forests on this board, only numerous buildings that at least separated the small and large zones. That was a bit annoying, but on the other side of the board, a building divided Simon's deployment. Therefore, I simply decided to place everything on the right flank to break through from that side. If he takes the bait, maybe later a regiment of Household Knights could secretly take his zone.

In round 2, Simon gets an additional regiment and opts for two units of Legionnaires. My last Crossbows and a regiment of Household Knights with Lord arrive. Characters nicely placed on top, he started, being the first to move a relevant unit. In the middle, he moved the priest, and I carried out an alibi activation since I intended to hunt a warlord. Indeed, he appeared on the right flank and was greeted with numerous bolts. Thus, I accidentally entered the large zone – as if someone had planned it. The score was 3:0.

The next round started with a heinous betrayal of my dice. I could only put the Ashen Dawn in my deck, while Simon simply got everything that was missing. That was unsatisfactory, so the dice had to make up for it and redeemed the Strategos and the Legionnaires from their undead existence. Immediately, Bone Golems marched in at the same spot, and to lure him and his riders, I moved my Household Knights with Lord quite centrally. As expected, Varangians and the riders appeared there, ready to punish me in the next round, but everything was still fine at 12:0.

In the fourth round, my last two regiments arrived, and I placed the riders at the top, followed by a regiment of crossbowmen and many characters. Mentally, I had prepared myself for the loss of two units, but I got to start and could theoretically attempt a Charge Clash on the 3 or entangle his undead ponies with Move Charge. It was a difficult decision, and after a conversation with my traitorous dice, I decided to go for Move Charge, as this was a genuinely useful activation at the moment, and Simon would thus block half of his move.

At the top of Simon were, of course, the Kataphraktoi, who didn't like that at all, and without a Warlord, there were no nasty free turns. So, he withdrew and shifted the Legionnaires to the side to make enough space for the Varangians. Everything went as planned, but then he tried a Charge on the 3 against my crossbowmen, and his dice failed him. Thus, I remained alone in the zone, my Lord with the knights died to the Varangians, and on the far right, I could place my Crimson Tower, and on the far left, my second Household Knights. 21:14.

In the fifth round, Simon got to start, and his golems almost killed my crossbowmen with the Imperial Officer but were then torn apart by the Crimson Tower and the crossbowmen. Unfortunately, I miscalculated during deck building, and I had to activate my Household Knights earlier than planned. Seeing what I intended, Simon placed his riders to solve the problem. On one hand, that was annoying, but on the other hand, I could still gain another round before dealing with the Varangians. 21:4.

Also, in the sixth round, Simon got to start and tried to drive away my knights with the Legionnaires but only dealt two damage and then lost his entire regiment. As his riders were in place, we essentially traded, and in the middle, I threw another regiment of crossbowmen at him so that my Ashen Dawn could perhaps launch an attack against the Varangians. After a brief hesitation, he accepted the challenge, and the Ashen Dawn caused at least 11 wounds against the Varangians. The score was 30:8.

In the seventh round, I ignited the Supremacy, as I urgently wanted Hardend on the Ashen Dawn and wasn't sure if they could withstand the Move Charge of his cavalry. Since I had the first move and my Crimson Tower scored 14 impacts while Simon failed to roll, that was no longer a problem. The Varangians thus dissipated into thin air, and Simon conceded.

Conclusion: Overall, I once again had more luck than skill. If Simon hadn't accidentally given up the Strategos and I had won the initiative in a specific round, his cavalry block could easily have broken my neck.