Hamburg, April 2024: Game 3 - Hundred Kingdoms against Dweghom at Forlon Hope

Overview:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

Finally, the finale from Hamburg against Dweghom. But first, as a reminder, here's my army list:

All you need is love [1500/2000]
Relentless Drill

== (Warlord) Imperial Officer [90]: Brace for Impact, On Your Feet
 * Men at Arms (3) [105]:
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:
 * Mercenary Crossbowmen (3) [105]:

== (Warlord) Priory Commander (Crimson Tower) [110]:
 * Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [200]:
 * Order of the Crimson Tower (3) [200]:
 * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [240]:
 * Order of the Ashen Dawn (3) [240]:

My final enemy once again was Jens Karacho with double Sorcerer on a toad.

Dweghom [1500/2000]

== (Warlord) Tempered Sorcerer [135]: Magma School, Hellbringer Sorcerer
* Fireforged (3) [180]:
* Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:

== Tempered Sorcerer [135]: Magma School, Hellbringer Sorcerer
* Fireforged (3) [180]:
* Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:

== Hold Raegh [110]: Fuelled by the Furnace
* Hold Ballistae (3) [140]:
* Dragonslayers (3) [220]:

The list is for really good friends. Or as Nick would put it: "I deserve opponents like these." I see it a bit differently, and the firepower of the list is quite impressive. Fortunately, we're playing Forlorn Hope, and a high field divides the battlefield, so he'll have to split up.

Round 1: We both deploy our light regiments onto the battlefield and coincidentally in positions to shoot the markers.

Round 2: Jens gets a Drake and both Fireforged. I settle for my Men at Arms and bring them into the right flank rather late. Prior to this, facing me are one unit of Fireforged and on the other flank the others along with a Drake. This is the Drake without a Warlord. As one unit of Crossbows is eager, my objective quickly falls, leading us into round three. Score: 5:0

In round three, he receives the rest and I get two units of Riders. I opt for Ashen Dawn and Crimson Tower with a Commander and place the characters on top, then the riders, Crossbows, and at the very bottom, the Men at Arms. The main reason I had placed the Men at Arms on the right side was that there was no Drake there yet. If perhaps I place both riders on the left flank, then there might be the option for him to place the second toad and the Dragonslayer there as well. Then the Men at Arms could safely run into the rear right zone and deny it to him. That was the plan. It held up for two activations, and then the second toad, the Warlord, marched onto this flank. Nevertheless, I placed the Ashen Dawn on the left, and facing them came the Dragonslayer, allowing for a slightly modified version of my plan. My Crimson Tower also went to the right flank, and my Men at Arms positioned themselves so that the Fireforged, who had previously gone into the zone, could shoot at me directly if they moved a bit, just enough so that the Crimson Tower didn't have to roll unnecessarily. The hope was that he would overlook that and not lay a puddle there next round, making it difficult for me to maneuver. Score: 7:4

In round 4, we had 10:8 cards. Deckbuilding was straightforward since I was far enough away from him. I decided to start by placing the Crossbows at the top to annoy the right Drake and the Fireforged, and the Crimson Tower far down. If needed, I could even delay my advance for another round. Then Jens got to start, destroyed the marker, and I shot a bit at the Fireforged and then at the dragon. Three damage each was okay, and it was enough to make the Warlord feel provoked enough to summon a lava pool towards the Crossbows and deal some damage there. The second sorcerer followed suit, and one regiment of Crossbows went down. At least the Fireforged on the right flank also moved forward, and then came the Crimson Tower charge. I left one stand with two lives, but overall, I was satisfied. Now I controlled three zones, and the next Crimson Tower went to the same position as the first ones. However, the second Ashen Dawn was a bit excessive since the first ones only just moved into the zone, and I had no interest in running into the firing range of the left flank. Score: 16:6

In round five, I started with my Supremacy and got to go first. Naturally, the Crimson Tower were at the top and managed 9 hits without Inspire. Okay, the Commander got five and the others four, but altogether it was nine, and Jens considered taking five tokens to maybe survive the onslaught. However, he only had a total of five, and the regiment only had four lives left. He decided against it, and the Fireforged perished. Then I went for the dragon, and 16 impacts with Blessed and Terrifying were too much even with 5 tokens, so the Warlord went down, and I finally owned the entire right flank.

I brought up the second Crimson Tower, positioned the Men at Arms so that they could score both zones next round, and then charged the second Fireforged with the second Ashen Dawn using Move Charge. This left him with the choice of sacrificing the next round to kill the Ashen Dawn with the Dragonslayers or shooting at the guys for a few rounds. Either way, I would score at least nine more points over the next two rounds. Score: 27:8

Rounds six to ten, I positioned myself, and he tried steadfastly and successfully to defend his zone. However, since I withdrew the Crossbows, from round seven onwards, I had almost twice as many cards as he did, and most of them I could use to bide my time. So, I consistently scored in three zones, while Jens scored in one for the rest of the game, which... Here are a few more pictures, but essentially, it was all over in round 5 with the death of the Warlord. Even if he managed to break through on the left, I could have held him off long enough to secure the victory on points. Plus, I could now attack him from two sides, and I had four almost unscathed blocks of knights, which with five or six lives would last that bit longer, just as I always needed.

The tournament was over, I had secured three victories, and since the scoring was based on scenario points rather than SoS, I could rejoice in the first place, as well as in a true rain of prizes at the raffle, which I accepted together with Uziel.

My pre-tournament considerations proved to be accurate, however, I remain dissatisfied with the 1500 points for exactly that reason. Wuetty had set this point value solely because he was eager to host another tournament with painting requirements, and many players couldn't present enough painted units. From this perspective, it was an acceptable compromise. Furthermore, despite the delayed start - the store employee roughly opened up a quarter of an hour after official closing time, which delayed the welcoming, scenario setup, etc. - Wuetty managed to stick to the schedule.