On the second weekend of February, we eagerly headed to the first Hamburg tournament at Zwergenfürst. However, this event had a special touch: it was the first German tournament with a painting requirement for the miniatures. Additionally, the games were played using the rule set prior to the Sorcerer Kings update.
Registration proved to be interesting as many players had not yet found the motivation to paint 2000 points. Representing Bremen, we had a small but motivated group of 4 players, where painting the miniatures was considered standard. The others were Stephan, who is always present, and the Hamburg players. All painted and ready.
* Mounted Squires (3) [135]: Standard Bearer
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
* Longbowmen (5) [215]:
* Longbowmen (5) [215]: == Imperial Officer [75]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
* Imperial Ranger Corps (3) [120]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]: == (Warlord) Priory Commander (Crimson Tower) [160]: Olefant's Roar, Long Lineage
* Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Crimson Tower (4) [295]: Standard Bearer
Turnier | Nords 2k v1 [2000/2000]
== Vargyr Lord [135]: Mistcaller's Raiment
Fenr Beastpack (3) [140]:
Fenr Beastpack (3) [140]:
Werewargs (3) [160]:
== (Warlord) Shaman [85]: Sacrificial Lamb
Raiders (3) [110]:
Sea Jotnar (1) [240]:
Raiders (3) [120]: Captain
Mountain Jotnar (1) [190]:
== Konungyr [160]: Wolf, Figurehead of the Naglfar, Tactical 1
Huskarls (5) [260]: Thegn
Ice Jotnar (1) [260]:
We hadn't asked before, and so I was paired against Uziel for round 1. This annoyed me because we had driven 2 hours to compete against other players, and now I was supposed to face Uziel, with whom I had already played numerous test games. At least the scenario with "Divide and Conquer" was positive for him.
In the first round, two of my Crossbows didn't make it onto the battlefield, but otherwise, everything from both of us arrived. I welcomed this unexpected development as I now saw the opportunity to lure Uziel into a trap. Conscious of this, I positioned all of my troops on the left flank. Uziel also placed his Raiders there, while the Wargs appeared on the right side, intending to infiltrate my right zone in the next round.
In the second round, the last two Crossbows finally arrived on the battlefield. Simultaneously, Uziel summoned the second Raiders, the Fenr, and the Huskarls. I pushed my Squires to the edge of a central zone to protect it from the Fenr and simultaneously score points myself. Our exchange of activations began as Uziel continued to build troops on the right flank and sent the Wargs towards my zone. Gotcha! Two Crossbows appeared and focused their attention on the Wargs, who nevertheless held their ground. Ultimately, my Longbows had to solve the problem with Arcing Fire, and I was pleased to have received 2 cards as a gift. With a score of 3:0, I took the lead against the Nords.
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In the third round, my two Heavys arrived, while Uziel summoned the Sea and the Ice Jotnar. Faced with the imminent destruction of my Squires, I decided to put them on hold. If I didn't start, I wouldn't lose anything since I only had one Squire regiment in the deck. Of course, I did start and sent them successfully into the Fenr. This went better than expected, and the vicious hounds all died obediently, but my Squires fell victim to a counterattack from the other Fenr. Nevertheless, I had bought some time, and the Fenr were too far back to pose a direct threat. Uziel's plan was obviously to overrun me with a variety of regiments simultaneously, but I had now wiped out two of the 8 and pinned one to the rear. So, he only pushed five regiments in my face, and I could eliminate the Raiders with the Warlord. Thus, Uziel was now missing 5 cards, and I only two. That would punish him badly next round, but we weren't done yet.
At some point early on, my Knights also marched left and center because I wanted to delay the shooting for as long as possible, but he had positioned himself well, and the only targets available were the Huscarls. With D4 RR6 and the need to repeat all ranged attacks, I faced a challenge. Nonetheless, I managed to kill a stand and hold a zone. 6:0
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In the fourth round, there was only one sensible order of operations for me, as the focus was on shooting, characters, and cavalry. Additionally, Uziel's last Jotnar appeared, and the shooting gallery began. While Uziel didn't have any meaningful options for attacks, his Fenr still posed a threat. However, with targeted shots, I managed to secure both flanks and push everyone back, slowly advancing with the shooters from both sides. His regiments in the center were resilient, and here, the card advantage rewarded me as he was forced to activate his Huscarls and Jotnars in front of the Crimson Tower. They went for the Huscarls with Move Charge, but did not inflict enough damage to eliminate them completely. 8:2
Round 5 turned into a Mexican Standoff for Uziel. He had to start by destroying the Crimson Tower. Then, he would likely survive this round with two Jotnars and could potentially break my ranged combat. The Ashen Dawn were another problem; his options were limited. Naturally, his dice betrayed him in this round. My Commander used Supremacy, and the Crimson Tower began. Clash with Blessed on the Huscarls and then onto the Sea Jotnar. It fell like a tree from the 20 impacts. The look in Uziel's beautiful eyes was clouded by torment and hopelessness. He knew that was the final blow, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. It was only when his Ice Jotnar failed to kill the Crimson Tower in the flank and fell from exactly 14 hits from the Longbows himself that he ended the battle. Victory for the brave humans.
Game 2
The organizers informed us that the scenario points would serve as tiebreakers, and the two players with the highest scores would face each other. This news was annoying, especially since Sir Nino now looked at me with a confident smile from the other side of the table, presenting a list against which I had only lost in our test games.
Xhiliarch [2000/2000]
The Old Dominion
== Hierodeacon [80]:
* Kanephors (3) [210]:
* Kanephors (3) [210]:
* Legionnaires (3) [120]:
* Legionnaires (3) [120]:
== (Warlord) Xhiliarch [220]: Aventine Armor, Calamitas, Blade of the Caelesor, Gladiator, Combat 1, Combat 2, Combat 3
* Praetorian Guard (5) [260]: Standard Bearer
* Legionnaires (3) [120]: * Varangian Guard (3) [210]: Standard Bearer
* Varangian Guard (3) [210]: Standard Bearer
== Strategos [120]: Regalia 1, Regalia 2, Regalia 3
* Legionnaires (3) [120]:
On the other hand, I would have wanted to play against it in Round 2, but not on Echolon. Well, I couldn't change it, and even though Nino kindly offered me a 20:22, I still wanted to make it as difficult for him as possible. After all, we had traveled to Hamburg to play.
In Round 1 at the table, he insisted on placing a house in the middle because the terrain was quite small. Then all my regiments marched onto the battlefield except for the Crossbows. I knew Echolon by heart and knew exactly where to position myself to secure both objectives in the next round and gain a lead of 10 points.
In the second round, nothing arrived for me except all the Legionnaires from Hazlias' servants. Although this was disturbing, I collected the markers, secured my zone, and watched as Nino advanced slowly. His troops spread out to the left, center, and right in front of his zone. The score was 10:0 in my favor.
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In the third round, the rest of my troops reached the battlefield, while everything except the two Kanephors arrived for Nino. Knowing that Nino wouldn't attack early, I first placed my Squires on hold, followed by the characters, and finally, at the bottom, two regiments of Crossbows. Although I had the option to block his Legionnaires in front of the zone, I decided against it as the chances of success seemed too low for the 5+. We moved, and his Legionnaires marched in single file towards his zone. Meanwhile, the Strategos' regiment lost two stands simultaneously due to the shooting. His Varangians advanced once in the center and once directly behind his zone, while the Praetorians positioned themselves all the way to the left. Then, when he engaged my Rangers with a Move Charge using his Legionnaires, my trap snapped shut. The two missing Crossbows advanced on the flank and took out half of the units. The rest were shot down by the Longbows at short range and by the Crossbows on the flank. Satisfied with this outcome, I could place my two riders on the right flank and have the second group of Longbows deal 6 wounds to the Strategos' Legionnaires. The score increased to 12:2.
In the fourth round, only one regiment of Kanephors appeared in Nino's deck, but the bigger problem for him was the house in the middle of the battlefield. Anything running towards my zone would never be able to change flanks again, and Nino was slowly realizing the difficulty of the situation. I was in no hurry and placed my characters, shooters, and riders on hold. With a card deck of 13 to 9 in my favor, I eventually decided to put another regiment of Crossbows on hold. Despite Nino's clever positioning and his progress forward, I already had a clear strategy in mind. If I could take another card from him in this round and not lose any myself, there might be a chance to win. His wounded Legionnaires with the Strategos were the best target for this. Of course, he started by positioning other Legionnaires in front of the Strategos. Too bad.
In essence, everything from him marched forward wisely and at the right intervals. Even the Praetorians utilized Bastion. But on the left flank, I placed two regiments directly in front of his army at a distance of 1", to make his Supremacy less effective in the next round and limit his space gain. Just as his middle Varangians were heading towards my zone, I decided to go all-in as I saw no other chance of winning. First, the Crimson Tower launched an attack on the fresh Legionnaires with the Priest who had positioned themselves in front of the Strategos. They managed to wipe out the regiment with the impacts, then moved aside by 3.5", and finally, I placed the Ashen Dawn directly in front of his zone, next to the already activated Varangians. Nino recognized the threat but could do little against it. And so he placed his Kanephors on the right flank. More importantly, the score rose to 14:4.
[Bilder Runde 4] The remaining pictures are unfortunately blurry and unusable. I'm sorry.
The fifth round began, and my deck building proceeded quickly: Ashen Dawn, Crimson Tower, Squires, Crossbows, Characters, Longbows. Nino knew that I usually don't plan to start, but the fact that these Ashen Dawn were right in front of him posed a problem. So, Varangians were on top, and both of us used our Warlord's Supremacy. After three dice rolls, I was indeed allowed to start. Nino knew it would have been important to start, but he didn't see what I had planned.
The Ashen Dawn launched a charge against the Varangians. They inflicted one damage less than expected, but they stood in the zone. On the other hand, the Varangians barely damaged the Ashen Dawn, and my Crimson Tower came by and removed the Strategos. Thus, they stood perfectly to prevent anything from reaching this zone. Nino cursed as he realized how my deck was built and that he would hardly make any progress. Although he killed my sacrificial regiments, I would simply block him on the right flank and hold him off for as long as possible to score points. With a bit of luck, I might even break through, which forced him to turn the second Varangians around and have the second Kanephors appear on the flank too.
The other Kanephors attacked the Crimson Tower, and thanks to Blessed, only two riders died. So, I would definitely score points for two rounds since the Crossbows were ready to stand in the way. Before that, however, they shot down another statuette, while the Longbows eliminated the Varangian in front of the Ashen Dawn. On the other side, Nino's Praetorians attacked my Rangers, killed them, and marched on. They were exactly in short range of two Crossbows, which stood on the flank of the regiment, and the Longbows in the front. All short range. I rolled well, Nino didn't. The Praetorians were broken, and so was Nino. We set up our decks for Round 6, but I got to start again, and Nino surrendered. Another victory for the brave humans.
Game 3
Before lunch, it looked like the Wadrhun would be facing me in the final. However, surprisingly, Jens' Dweghom managed to turn the game in his favor. Interestingly, we had played the exact same scenario a few weeks ago in Lübeck, but with different results. This time, we were once again faced with the same challenge of separating the zones with a house, which Jens was keen on defining as size 2. Well, be my guest with the 24" Longbows. === The Last Argument of Kings ===
Dweghom [2000/2000] == Ardent Kerawegh [80]: * Flame Berserkers (3) [170]: <-- Ardent * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]: == Hold Raegh [90]: * Dragonslayers (4) [305]: Standard Bearer * Dragonslayers (3) [240]: Standard Bearer * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]: <-- Reagh * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]: == (Warlord) Tempered Sorcerer [155]: Cthonic Flame, Magma School, Hellbringer Sorcerer * Hellbringer Drake (1) [180]: * Fireforged (3) [180]: * Fireforged (3) [180]:
And we see only one Mage, no flank with the Dragonslayers, and a lot of shooting. Additionally, Jens seemed to be playing for the scenario and wanted to score one last time with Medium characters in Light regiments. Uziel usually plays Dweghom too, and his current list is similar, albeit with more Mages, etc. So, I knew exactly what to expect and where I needed to stand, boldly proclaiming that the Drake would be the first to be shot off the board. The only problem was that there was a forest in one of the zones.
In the first round, we both brought out our light regiments. On the left flank, Jens placed his Ballistas and the Reagh to secure the zone, while I formed a defensive 23.1" semicircle. On the far right, I positioned the Squires with a mix of Longbows and Crossbows. He placed the Berserkers there, probably because of the forest. Nonetheless, I managed to take out one of their stands already.
In round two, he got the Dragon and a Fireforged unit. I placed my characters up top and then the Squires. I can't remember what I was thinking there, but that was a mistake. I started, and we were just plodding along, and I pushed the Squires forward. I don't know why, but they had been working too well today and needed to be punished or something. Jens watched, went with Move Charge into the zone. Attracted by the lovely forest, the Drake also positioned himself on the right flank, and the Mage took enough Squires from me to break them. So much for an early lead. Then the Fireforged ran in front of the Drake, and I shot at the Berserkers a bit. In vain, of course. On the other flank, however, I did well, and when the Raegh moved forward, his regiment died. I secured the zone and shot down one stand each from the other two Ballista regiments. I was pleased with that, but we both went into the next round with one zone each. 2:2
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Round 3, and he only got one unit of Dragonslayers and no Fireforged. However, I got both units of Knights. So now was the chance to overrun and secure the left side. Both objectives were there, offering more points. Deckbuilding was straightforward: Longbows, Squires, Characters, Riders, and then the rest of the shooting. I wanted to at least put pressure on the right flank and kill the Berserkers, then something would have to stay there and hold the zone. On the other side, the living shield for the mission would start again, and the Rangers were eager to go in front of the Dragonslayers if they were placed on this side. I started, the Longbows were in short range, aimed, and spared the Berserkers. Not as planned, but the Squires, or rather the last Squire with the Noble Lord, just slaughtered the Berserkers and then had to be flambéed by the Mage to leave the game. The execution wasn't as planned, but the result was. So his Fireforged had to run into the right zone, and with my last activation, I slid a regiment of Crossbows into that zone so that no one would claim it. On the other side, I shot down four stands of Ballista, leaving only one stand remaining, but it should survive two rounds of Crossbow shooting before eventually dying. However, his Dragonslayers naturally marched in 11", and my Rangers turned around, shot at them, and positioned themselves just before the zone. The rest of my shooters moved a bit, and both Riders came in front of the left zone. 4:2
In round four, his remaining forces arrived, and with four more cards, I only placed the Rangers and the right flank up top. I wanted to wait for the rest, and of course, the Riders would go last. He started, my Crossbows in front of the Fireforged on the right died to the Mage, but my Rangers on the other side dealt 5 damage to the Dragonslayers. Then he marched on, the 4-strong Dragonslayers and the Fireforged on the left behind the other Dragonslayers, and I shot a bit with Longbows at the Fireforged, causing exactly two damage to both regiments. That's not enough, guys. Not nearly enough. Then came the moment when his second unit of Dragonslayers had to decide what to do, and he saw it as the lesser evil to wipe out the Rangers with a Charge Clash. I had hoped he wouldn't do that, but now I had to deal with the Dragonslayers. First, another volley of Crossbows, followed by the killer ponies. With Olefants Roar, the damage from the block is simply beautiful, and the Dragonslayers just go home. Ashen Dawn placed next to them, and so he wouldn't get this round next round. 6:4
In round five, I activated my Supremacy, bringing up the Riders and the Longbows. I wanted to keep him as far away as possible from the left zone and, if necessary, throw Longbows into the meat grinder on the right to keep the Drake from getting any ideas. We rolled, I started, and the annihilation began. The killer ponies were up top and rolled the charge against the Fireforged, using Blessed for the impacts and wiping them out. Then they ran past the Dragonslayers, who looked dumbfounded. With no alternatives, they charged the Ashen Dawn and naturally succeeded. Thanks to Hardened and Blessed, the Ashen Dawn stood firm. In return, the Dragonslayers now stood within short range of a lot of shooting, and the Ashen Dawn got to strike back. Two stands went down, the unit was broken, and I scored. 8:6
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In round six, I start and deal the final two damage to the Dragonslayers to shred them. Afterward, I clear the objectives and send the Riders towards the right zone, while my Longbows shoot nicely at the Drake and the others get in the way. In round 9, I reach the Drake with Move Charge of the Ashen Dawn, and the following round, the Drake dies to the Charge Clash of the Crimson Tower. So much for "I'll shoot this Drake first."
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