Tournament Battlereport Battle for the Throne #2 / Hanna Game 3, Hundred Kingdoms vs. Hundred Kingdoms

Overview: Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
For the sake of clarity, here's my list again so you don't have to flip through:
The Hundred Kingdoms [1500/1500] == (Warlord) Priory Commander (Sealed Temple) [110]: * Order of the Sealed Temple (3) [185]: Standard Bearer <-- CP * Order of the Sealed Temple (3) [185]: Standard Bearer * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer == (Warlord) Imperial Officer [75]: On Your Feet, Fire First, Aim Later * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]: * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]: <-- IO * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]: * Imperial Ranger Corps (3) [120]:
The app doesn't pair the table leader against the second in the standings but rather the first from the bracket with the last, and so on. Therefore, once again, I didn't face an Old Dominion player as an opponent. They were allowed to beat each other up in a mirror match. In my opinion, they deserved that.
Instead, I got to play against Sven from Hildesheim (Laebby on Discord), who also plays Hundred Kingdoms. We had already played against each other at the first Leipzig tournament, and a few weeks ago, we were at the Hildesheim club tournament, where we occasionally discussed lists. So, I had a rough idea of what friendly forces awaited me. It could only be friendly; they were Hundred Kingdoms, after all.
The Hundred Kingdoms [1495/1500]
== Noble Lord [80]: Weapon Master
* Men at Arms (5) [200]: Standard Bearer, Seasoned Veteran
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105] : 
== (Warlord) Imperial Officer [105]: The Kiss Farewell, On Your Feet, Fire First, Aim Later
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]: 
== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Crimson Tower) [110]:
* Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [255]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [215]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [215]: Standard Bearer
I had tested a very similar list, with the Officer not having the Kiss Farewell and the Noble being a Chapter Mage with Arcane 1 Focus. As a Fire Mage, he feels more impactful than the Noble Lord, and I didn't do that because Aura-of-Death lists were popping up everywhere, and Bastion comes after Aura of Death. In other words, the guys die too quickly against what Old Dominion is doing. Against me, the situation looked different, and depending on when his three Heavys came, it could quickly turn ugly.
We played the Forlorn Hope scenario, and the terrain was the same as for the others. Sven looked at me and explained that he was a loyal follower and servant of the queen and didn't understand why my troops were marching for a punitive crusade here. Well, as a loyal servant of the queen, he surely wouldn't mind bending his knee and laying down arms, right? No? Well, then send in the troops.
Round 1: Everything came out for both of us, except for one regiment of Crossbows each. Very pleasing, just like the almost synchronous deck building, and so we almost theatrically marched forward. Almost because I have Rangers and want to go into the forest. My Medium Knights can destroy the objective in round three, but I need to control the shooters and build enough momentum to break a flank, score more points, and then hunker down in a nice little corner and wait out the points lead. That's the theory.

Round 2: Everything came out for both of us, which I found extremely pleasing. Our deck builds differed somewhat, and I used my two extra cards to boost both the characters and the Sealed Temple. They should go into the zones anyway, and I wanted to activate my shooters late. Sven first grabbed the objective, I did a bit of damage to mine, and let my Officer hop over to the other side once, for reasons. So, I scored both zones, and Sven only one: 4:5

Round 3: Both Ashen Dawns came out for me, and the agony was written on Sven's face. I enjoyed it mischievously until he rolled for his Heavys, and they all came out. Fair enough, but I would have preferred it differently. The problem now was that we both had 10 cards and would likely throw alibi activations at each other. However, I have Rangers in the forest and can play somewhat more aggressively. Also, my right Sealed Temple looks very eager to reach the Man at Arms, theoretically within a 3" reach. After brief consideration, I decide to wait, shoot, Knights. Sven probably expected a more aggressive approach from me, pulled the Man at Arms back a bit, had the Imperial Officer jump into another regiment, shot a bit, and then it was my turn. The Rangers first killed two stands of Crossbows.

Then, two more damage came to the Rangers, and I had to put one stand aside, but it was worth it to me. So, his Crossbows stayed where they were, and my Crossbows could do some damage to them, and the Sealed Temple with Move Charge liberated the zone from these separatists. Behind them, in each zone, Ashen Dawns marched forward, and his Ashen Dawns and Crimson Tower both went for a flank. He only placed one Crimson Tower directly in front of my Sealed Temple, and I still managed to grab my marker with something. 16:5

Round 4: I placed the Sealed Temple up because Sven couldn't sensibly reach anything of mine. Although the Rangers would be smarter and also my first choice, with the points lead, I didn't care if I had a wasted activation if I didn't start. In short: I started, and we talked about the dumb possibilities the Sealed Temple had now, and how absurd half of them were. I decided on a charge against the Crossbows with the Imperial Officer, destroyed them with the impacts, kept going, and simply turned behind his army.

Sven looked at this, turned his Crimson Tower, and with the impacts did some damage because he had packed those good 40k dice. He looked at my deck and asked soberly: Ranger, Imperial Officer, Crossbows? I nodded, and he shook his head. He realized how the decks are built, and so I shot one of his Crimson Towers and, with Seek New Escort, had my left Crossbows with March, Shoot, March March run into his far-left zone. His riders moved forward, and his Man at Arms went into the right zone. But I still had a few cards, and suddenly my Priory Commander switched to the Ashen Dawn, and they mowed through the Man at Arms because Seek New Escort is still pretty good for such maneuvers. This way, I had all four zones and killed a character. 29:5

Round 5: We both triggered the Supremacies, and on the left flank, his Ashen Dawns were too far away. They could flank my Imperial Officer, but only with Move Charge. However, there were already shooters and the Ashen Dawns ready. On the other side, with a four, he could reach my Ashen Dawns, but then he would get shooters and Sealed Temple in the flank. Unless I started. Then, the Crossbows would pivot. All bad options, and of course, I started, and the subsequent grind was over in minutes. Even though he could score two zones two more times, I got to hold all four zones for four rounds. Victory for the Queen's troops.

Conclusion & Notes

Regarding the Para Bellum app's rating, I've already mentioned my thoughts, and there are enough negative comments about it in the German Discord from others. In my opinion, this rating system is simply not good, and while Max's idea with the terrain was cleverly chosen, it's almost always irrelevant in practice. Only the central forest was relevant because I consistently claimed and used it for myself. I would like different regulations for it next time.

In general, the location is superb. There is an extremely spacious area, the store's staff is super nice, and everything seemed incredibly professional. Since Max wasn't playing, he could focus entirely on the organization and managed to have only two games unfinished, even though there were "only" two hours available. In short, there was a smooth process and a friendly atmosphere.

I was very satisfied with my list and the Sealed Temple. Even though I didn't apply them well in the first game, I have to revise my opinion from a few weeks ago. At that time, I told Nick that I didn't find them that good and saw them only as cheap Mainstay for the Ashen Dawn, but they are simply one of the best choices in the army book. Fluid Formation, Impact 4, Movement 8 is a combination that feels cheeky, and the banner made sense as well. This allows me to charge at Clash ranges like the Wadrhun, and, on top of that, they score points. Great unit; let's see what's left of it on February 8th.

As for the army lists, a kind of, I don't really want to call it, meta is slowly emerging. Nino does enough advertising for his dirty Aura of Death list (one of the three most clicked articles on the blog is Nino's OD battle report at the Bedburg tournament), and generally, the lists in all factions are slowly moving more and more in one or two directions. Or maybe it's all hogwash, and I read too much into it. In any case, it's great that the next tournaments are back to 2000 points. I find 1500 points awkward in terms of balancing, and I just want to see more stuff on the table :D