Tournament Battlerepor from Victorum Liubice III Game 1 Sorcerer Kings against Dweghom

Overview
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

On the first weekend of May, the Victorum Liubice III took place, and I wanted to play my Sorcerer Kings after painstakingly painting them. The new rule changes left me feeling disconnected from my units. The test games during the week leading up to the event were discouraging, and I was unsatisfied with the results. Nonetheless, I really like the models, and since Lübeck and Bremen currently have the most active players in Germany, I thought it wouldn't be so bad. Spoiler: It was.

Sorcerer Kings [2000/2000]

- Raj [160]: Shu'laat, Bound to the Elements
  - Efreet Sword Dancers (5) [270]
  - Ghols (3) [110]
  - Steelheart Djinn (3) [190]
  - Steelheart Djinn (3) [190]

- (Warlord) Maharajah [120]: Court of Fire
  - Rajakur (3) [120]

- Sorcerer [130]: Eye of the Blazing Tempest, Court of Fire
  - Efreet Flamecasters (3) [160]
  - Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]
  - Rajakur (3) [120]
  - Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]

In contrast to the lists before the update, I included the Maharajah again as the Warlord. Rituals, or the third action for Elementals, are crucial in my opinion, and without the Maharajah, I only have one or two rituals in the game. With him as the Warlord, I can have up to four rituals if all characters are on the field by round 2, even up to five. The first strike is not as important as the option to quickly move troops and capture zones. Capturing zones did not become easier with the update, and Sorcerer Kings are among the armies with the lowest scoring potential in the game. That's why I also brought the Fire Sorcerer. She can score points with the Ghols in round 2 and ensure that I only need to close a small single-digit gap. Unless there aren't enough Mediums in round 2, then it quickly becomes a double-digit gap.

This also brings me to the point of why I now only play with one monster. Since I no longer have access to two or three rituals each round, the extra costs for the Elemental special rule are sometimes simply too high. Additionally, I absolutely need all characters on the field, and since I don't have any helpful special rules for that, it only works with increased probability. That means more regiments that are Medium to have more dice. With seven regiments, I can roll six dice in round 2, thus on average having three regiments and all three characters in my deck. At least until they die, and unfortunately, that often happens very quickly.

Originally, I wanted to include more Efreet units, but once the Dhanur Disciples arrived, some of the Sorcerer Kings' issues should be resolved. Then, they can inflict damage from a distance. Right now, that's not possible, and I didn't want to buy two more boxes of Efreets. So, I opted for Steelheart Djinns instead. However, these have been quite disappointing in most of the test games so far. 190 points seem a bit much for the low number of attacks, especially because my list doesn't synergize well with most of the Djinn's special rules. Perhaps I'll see things differently if more Wind models are introduced.

The rest of the setup seems similar at first glance to the old test games. Raj with a block of Sword Dancers, now accompanied by Shu'laat for additional ritual markers, and the Sorcerer with the Eye of the Blazing Tempest. I was undecided for a long time whether to include the Eye or Jadoo, and I actually prefer Jadoo. However, since I rarely have the Wizards activate early due to the new ritual mechanics, the effect doesn't come into play as often. The healing is theoretically situational, but in almost every game so far, I've had to revive an Efreet or Djinn, and just having that option is good. Additionally, there's a simple reason why Raj carries Shu'laat instead of the Maharajah. Shu'laat is usually the first of the three characters to act in a round, whether it's casting Wreathed in Fire for defense or Molten Blades for offense. In most cases, he's ahead of the other characters. The Maharajah, on the other hand, often ends up very low in the deck, and I found myself in situations where I had to move him up to try to push through a ritual somehow, thus pushing other important things to the back. That annoyed me so much that Raj ended up with Shu'laat, and Jadoo was removed.

But enough about my list; that went on longer than I intended. Let's continue with the report from game 1.

Tim (Discord: shamenix) challenged me for Round 1, making him the first player from Lübeck to face off against the new Sorcerer Kings. His list featuring the Steelshaper was designed to generate maximum tokens for healing purposes:

Dweghom [2000/2000]

- Tempered Sorcerer [130]: Magma School
   - Fireforged (3) [180]: 
   - Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:

- Tempered Sorcerer [130]: Magma School
  - Fireforged (3) [180]:
  - Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:

- (Warlord) Tempered Steelshaper [120]:
  - Hold Ballistae (3) [160]: Herald of Magma
  - Steelforged (3) [210]:

- Tempered Steelshaper [120]:
  - Hold Ballistae (3) [160]: Herald of Magma
  - Steelforged (3) [210]:

I explained my army, and unlike Tim, I knew very well what would happen on the table. I just needed some favorable terrain to escape the artillery fire from the troops gathering on the other side.

Well, it seems like Nick was trying to pull a fast one on me. In the middle, there were two ponds, and the rest of the terrain was on the edges. It was like skeet shooting, but I was the clay pigeon. It would have been terrible if I didn't have the Eye and hadn't played against Dweghom, albeit not against this list, multiple times before. So, it was just challenging, and I had to try to survive and resist for as long as possible. Thanks to "Grind them Down," I would probably be the first to score points. Then he would have to advance, and if that was too much for him and I happened to have about three rituals or so in the deck, things could escalate pretty quickly. After all, about a quarter of my nearly 40 test games had been against Dweghom.

In the first round, we both only had our lights, meaning I had only my Ghols. They marched on the left flank, while both Ballista regiments appeared on the same side. That's when I noticed that this huge hill would soon turn into lava because there was a Herald on Magma inside it. It was annoying, but nothing could be done about it. Immediately after, Round 2 began, and I simply received 4 regiments while he could only add the Steelforged to the deck. This was solid and relieved a lot of pressure because I could score before him, and time was on my side. Naturally, all three regiments with the wizard were added to my deck, along with a regiment of Wind girls. In the picture below, it looks like they're in a zone, but the tray shows their position, and I only put them in front because I had made the bases too extensive. On the left side, his Steelforged marched on, and opposite them were the Sorcerer and the Raj. The Ghols became a scoring unit and secured the desired zone. On the left flank, the girls and the Maharajah arrived, and I led comfortably with a 4-point lead. Additionally, three rituals had been started. Score: 4-0

In round three, I simply rolled for the remainder of my army, while he added everything except one Drake. I placed the characters in the middle of the deck because I might need the healing. I advanced my Rajakur and the girls on the right side and added more girls to the center. On his side, the Steelforged marched on the opposite side along with both Fireforged units. The Drake came on the left flank, and then all his models cast spells and collected tokens. Finally, it was just my turn, and I could take zones without worry. So, I placed the Raj in the middle zone, the Sorcerer healed the Ghols and moved forward to enter the zone herself. Two Efreet units came on the left, and the Bakasura in the center. Two rituals were almost complete, with "Conflagration" cast twice by Raj, and I contemplated where to place my three additional tokens. He was still far enough away, but if I didn't put any ritual into the deck, he wouldn't come any closer either. So, I put one "Conflagration" in the deck and distributed the other markers among the remaining rituals. He secured his desired zone, and I secured three zones with the desired zone. Score: 12-4

In round four, I once again explained in detail to Tim how the rituals functioned, and since he didn't know that my only ritual was at the bottom to give me a triple action for the next round, he acted accordingly cautiously. I positioned my Raj, some Sword Dancers, Rajakur, and then the upper right flank. After that, the Ghols, the second Rajakur, my other two characters, and the Flamecaster. The second group of Sword Dancers and the Bakasura were deliberately placed at the bottom, simply because theoretically, he had the largest threat range, and Tim didn't know if he had three actions available. He started, and the mountain next to me spewed lava because I was standing too close. Silly mistake. The Sword Dancers suffered 10 damage and were pushed back. The Flamecaster and the Sword Dancers from Raj each suffered three damage from the Ballista, which happened to be the ideal amount for the Eye. We worked through the round, I placed rituals, and eventually, I placed five rituals with 4, 4, 2, 2, and 1 markers in front of the markers I could later obtain through the zones. Coincidentally, the Steelforged were within range of the Sorcerer in front of me, making them a good Sandstorm target, allowing the Flamecasters to shoot one with "Move Volley." Then the round was over, Tim looked confused because I seemingly did little besides taking tokens from him, and I placed two rituals in my deck. The plan was to free the left flank from Dweghom in the following round and prepare for it now. I had moved far enough away from the mountain, and Ghols stood in front of the Steelforged. The incoming fire could be healed. On the right flank, I stayed out of the Fireforged's range and settled for my lead. Score: 17-9.

In round 5, since I planned to break through in the next round, my goal was to suck as many tokens as possible from the Dweghom's pool. Therefore, a Bakasura and a regiment of girls with halberds were positioned at the bottom, each with a ritual above them. Coincidentally, "Intrusive Thoughts" were also included. The rest of my deck built up quite simply: Ghols, Sword Dancers, Raj, Wind girls, Sorcerer, Maharajah, Sword Dancers, and the two Rajakur to reach within range of "Intrusive Thoughts." Not much happened in this round except for the Flamecasters and Ghols sucking 10 tokens from his pool as he wanted to keep the Steel Forged. The Sorcerer healed the shooting well, and I placed markers on all rituals. Then the Ghols died. Finally, the first girls with halberds advanced into melee, and the last tokens were consumed for them. This resulted in only two damage to the Steelforged on the right side. But I still had the Bakasura, who actually wanted to head for the Warlord Steelshaper's ballista, but for that, I had to roll. So, a safer Move Charge Clash on the left Steelforged weakened by Sandstorm. The Steelforged were almost full again, but after the Bakasura's Clash, there were only three lives left. Tim realized he was too passive but positioned wisely enough in the right zone so that I couldn't prevent scoring there with my ritual. Score: 22-10.

Round 6, and I placed three rituals in the deck, this time with two of them coming to the top: "Conflagration," Sword Dancer, "Conflagration," Bakasura, Wind girls, Raj, and the left flank, and finally at the bottom, the last ritual because I didn't know what to do with it. He started and shot somewhere. I started with "Sandstorm" on the left side against the last remaining Steelforged, and the Sword Dancers attacked. He obediently died from the impacts, and I blocked the zone sideways. The now free Bakasura attacked the far-left ballistas and took them out of the game. I led with a three-card advantage, and his activation order was messed up. He hadn't expected me to attack the Warlord, but now there were no more magma spells on that flank. The Herald on Magma turned the hill into lava, and the damage from the two Sorcerers would have been too much in the long run. Finally, my almost fully restored second group of Sword Dancers and the Flamecasters moved forward, and the left flank could be considered almost pacified. Three zones were mine, and his damage was offset by healing at times. The right flank didn't look quite as promising. While I managed to exchange the Steelorged for a regiment of Wind girls, the two Magma Sorcerers with Fireforged would kill the Rajakur and the last Wind girls in a couple of rounds. Score: 29-11

Another note about the pictures: In almost all of them, the Bakasura is facing the wrong way, but the swords and such protrude too far, limiting the options for where he can look.

In round 7, I started, and the Bakasura took out the Warlord without using a ritual. Then one of his Drakes fell victim to the Sword Dancers, and on the other flank, my regiments perished. In the following rounds, I pursued him a bit more, but since I was consistently scoring in three zones, the brave people with their servants from other planes ultimately won the game.

Closing Thoughts:

The victory in this game was largely based on my detailed knowledge of the Dweghom, while Tim had no experience with the Sorcerer Kings at all. From my experience in test games, the win rate of Sorcerer Kings against players who have seen them multiple times tends to decrease significantly. An exception is Old Dominion, where my Sorcerer Kings haven't won a single game yet. It just feels like not enough damage is being dealt, and my units crumble under Aura of Death. Against a lot of ping damage like that caused by Tim's Dweghom list, it's okay. At least as long as he doesn't concentrate the damage, I can heal some of it. However, facing a fortress of shooters in an open field is still rough. The game went well because my reinforcements arrived much more effectively, but in test games, I always felt like I lost if not all three Wizards were on the field by round 2. Next Game 2