Tournament Battlereport Conquest of the Rose City / Game 3 Hundred Kingdoms vs Nords

Overview:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

Game number 3 from Hildesheim, and here again is my list:

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

My opponent in round 3 was Lukas, or UniMonento on Discord, with stylish Nords:

 

Nords [1500/1500]

== (Warlord) Shaman [75]: Prize Silver
 * Raiders (4) [155]: Captain
 * Sea Jotnar (1) [240]:

== Konungyr [120]:
 * Ice Jotnar (1) [260]:
 * Huskarls (5) [250]: Standard Bearer
 * Bow-Chosen (3) [210]:
 * Mountain Jotnar (1) [190]:

Uziel also plays Nords, but his lists are massively focused on scoring quickly and permanently in scenarios. In contrast, the focus of this list was more on violence, without being well-protected against crossbow bolts or a well-placed Charge Clash from my elite cavalry. On the other hand, my units were vulnerable to fast attacks, especially when a Jotnar was nearby and ready to enter the game through Vanguard..

We played the last game, and the scenario was "Melee," which will also take place in Beckum in the first round. Killpoints, with two Warlords and a total of 11 fewer cards, are my favorite. Nevertheless, I hoped to score faster than Lukas and tie him up in the crossbows, then attack with my cavalry. In this plan, however, I forgot again that I wouldn't be sure to have two Heavys in round 3.

In the first round, all my units came out except for one unit of crossbowmen, while Lukas chose Raiders as a Medium Regiment. His Bow Chosen marched behind the forest, and I set up broadly, although more to the right, as the building on the left was in my way. In doubt, I could send knights to the left zone if Lukas wouldn't deploy anything there.

My reinforcements remained as in the rest of the games, and I only got one unit of Household Knights and crossbows, while Lukas only got his Raiders. He tried to delay the activation of the Raiders, but I had, of course, revealed both characters and could then eliminate one stand from each regiment, although the Bow Chosen had gone into the forest. The score was 7:2.

In the third round, I only got the Ashen Dawn, while Lukas got all units. I cursed my list internally and wished for Flank for a unit of knights, fearing that the Jotnars could break through my line. Luckily, at this point, we had about the same number of cards, and I put a few crossbows at the top of the deck, followed by characters, riders, crossbows, and finally the Ashen Dawn. This way, I would know where the Jotnars were and could possibly prevent the worst.

Lucas started, gave Vanguard to the Sea Jotnar and the Huskarls, and marched very widely to threaten as many zones as possible. On the far left, where there was nothing from me and nothing would come, the Ice Jotnar appeared. At the forest, the Sea Jotnar, in the middle the Mountain Jotnar, and on the far right, the Huskarls. I continued to shoot Raiders, and with Deadly, I also took out a stand of Huskarls. So, I would be able to hold out for a round, and I placed the Ashen Dawn directly behind my Imperial Officer, whom I offered as bait for the Huskarls. This round would still bring me 5 points, and the Ashen Dawn would win the duel against the Huskarls without Bastion to 100%. So, we would exchange 9 to 11 points if I didn't survive the retreat, as the impacts shouldn't kill me. The score now stood at 14

In the fourth round, the rest of my units came, and the Crimson Tower had to go down with the Ashen Dawn, above at least two units of crossbows. The rest didn't matter, so I first put Household Knights, crossbows, and a few characters at the top. In doubt, the Household Knights could run back since the Bow Chosen had already inflicted some damage on them, and I would need a few scoring regiments for the late game.

Lucas, on the other hand, started again and attacked the crossbows with the Imperial Officer using the Huskarls. As expected, the officer survived the impacts, and later I used the retreat action and even survived with 2 life. Then the Ashen Dawn killed the Huskarls and occupied the zone.

In the middle, the Mountain Jotnar performed a Move Charge against some crossbowmen, while the Sea Jotnar easily killed my Household Knights with the Lord and took a zone. The Ice Jotnar lurked around in his left zone, and from my point of view, he could stay there for the rest of the game. So, next round I might be able to chase two Jotnars, so I decided to set up my Household Knights and the Crimson Tower offset to make sure the Crimson Tower wouldn't be pinned. This allowed me to secure only two points across the zones compared to Lucas' nine, but two dead Jotnars would be worth the loss of points: The score at the end of the fourth round was 20:22.

In the fifth round, I used Supremacy and chose Hardened for the Ashen Dawn, which were placed at the top. My goal was to either tie up the Mountain Jotnar if it wasn't the first unit activated, or eliminate the Raiders while holding a zone. With a tactical advantage from having more cards, I chose to activate my units conservatively, starting with the Ashen Dawn, followed by crossbowmen, characters, Household Knights, the remaining crossbowmen, and finally the Crimson Tower.

I started, and the Ashen Dawn engaged the Jotnar, so in frustration, it killed the crossbowmen in front of it, allowing me a full volley of crossbows on its Sea Jotnar from close range. With only a handful of hit points left, the Sea Jotnar used its three actions and eliminated two regiments of crossbowmen, including one that was already weakened by the Bow Chosen. Nevertheless, I managed to coordinate my units successfully, and the Household Knights killed the Sea Jotnar, while the Crimson Tower took out the Mountain Jotnar. My Officer moved towards the zone he had left, and the Ice Jotnar remained with a toe in its own zone. Although I didn't hold any zones this round, I was satisfied as the score was as expected and catchable at 24:35.

In the sixth round, with Lucas' initiative, the Raiders attempted a Move Charge on the Crimson Tower to block me. Thanks to the Ashen Dawn, positioned at the top, I freed the Crimson Tower, which then eliminated the Bow Chosen. My Household Knights and the Imperial Officer captured a zone, while the Ice Jotnar advanced to attack my Household Knights in the next round. The Crimson Tower held him back, so from the seventh round onwards, I could continuously score alone.

Conclusion: Although I won the game, my satisfaction was clouded. The placement of my crossbowmen proved to be unwise, and the planned strategy turned out to be at best mediocre. I again realized how different a 1500-point game can be compared to 2000 points, and with the appearance of the Sealed Temples in Beckum, I am now considering a pure cavalry list. The equipment, as expected, brought no benefit, and I missed my Double Time and the not very effective Rangers several times. Due to a slightly better tiebreaker, Nino secured the first place, while I gloriously landed in second place.