Tournament Battlereport from 2. Eroberung der Scheune Game 2: Hundred Kingdoms against Spire

Overview:
Game 1 
Game 2
Game 3

After the first game, there was a lunch break, and the pairings for Round 2 were announced. During the break, Nick explained to me what the odd Spire units do, and Redbeard corrected some slightly inaccurate statements. Spire...they wonder why everyone always flinches around them. But before we get to Lun's list, which is a mix of Redbeard's and Nick's lists, here are my valiant humans and Ugr with sticks on ponies again:

== Warlord Priory Commander Sealed Temple [110]:
* Order of the Sealed Temple 3 [205]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Sealed Temple 3 [205]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Ashen Dawn 3 [265]: Standard Bearer
* Order of the Ashen Dawn 3 [250]:

== 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]:

== Priory Commander Crimson Tower [160]: Olefant's Roar, Long Lineage
* Order of the Crimson Tower 4 [295]: Standard Bearer

Lun's list features the nasty Incarnates block, even nastier VCI, pesky Stryx, and other stuff. Overall, it seems friendlier than what the other three Spire players brought, which might also be because I hadn't seen such a combination before.

== Warlord Lineage Highborne [120]: Cascading Degeneration, Command Pheromones, Pheromantic Override
* Avatara 3 [200]: Superior Creations, Standard Bearer
* Incarnate Sentinels 5 [350]:

== High Clone Executor [130]: Infiltrator Variant, Overtax Nervous System, Disperse
* Vanguard Clones 3 [180]: Superior Creations, Standard Bearer
* Vanguard Clone Infiltrators 3 [170]:

== Biomancer [140]: Master of Flesh
* Bound Clones 3 [130]: Standard Bearer

== Pheromancer [120]: Avatar Projection, Attracting Pheromones
* Stryx 3 [120]:
* Stryx 3 [120]:
* Brute Drones 4 [220]:

At least the scenario "Grind them Down" was played, which I've played often and quite like in the past few months.

In the first round, we both received two regiments. He deployed his Stryx, and I deployed my Crossbowmen, with his flyers positioned almost opposite to mine.

In the second round, I received the last of the Crossbowmen, the Man-at-Arms, and the Sealed Temple. The Spire got Bound Clones with Biomancer, Brute Drones with Pheromancer, and Avatara. It was okay for me; I placed my Crossbowmen face down, and we moved onto the board. Essentially, not much happened as he didn't want to throw his Stryx into me. So, on the left flank, we had two Crossbowmen with Sealed Temple against Stryx and Bound Clones. On the other side, separated by a house, Man-at-Arms stood with Crossbowmen against Brute Drones, Avatara, and Stryx. I managed to shoot at the Avatara, causing some damage, but it was negligible. Score: 7:4.

Round 3 arrived, and both the valiant humans and the devious Spire received all their cards. However, for me, with three heavies, this was more advantageous. Being certain he would deploy the Incarnates in the center, I placed my characters face up, then the heavy cavalry, followed by the shooters, and finally the Sealed Temple. Lun also had no desire to rush into the mower, so once again, we didn't do much. His Avatara healed themselves and took more damage. Then, on the left, he moved the Bound Clones into the zone, positioning the Vanguard Clones and VCI behind them. Since that was also my desired zone, I sent the Sealed Temple charging in, immediately slaying one stand. In the middle, the other Sealed Temple marched into the central zone, followed by Ashen Dawn and Crimson Tower. On the right, the second Ashen Dawn and, as expected, the Incarnates in the center. Score: 15:5.

In the fourth round, I aimed to ignite my Supremacy and bring as much death and destruction to the ranks of the Spire as possible. The Commander, Sealed Temple, Crossbowmen, additional characters, and the heavy knights were positioned quite strategically. It was my turn to start, and I first challenged the Biomancer to a duel, which he graciously declined. Then, I inflicted four wounds with the regiment's Clash action, which left me somewhat bewildered. I had expected a different outcome, but the Bound Clones remained standing. Worse still, the Biomancer was able to fully heal them again, as declining duels no longer makes them Broken. The VCI behind them were pleased and shot down two riders, but thanks to Blessed, they remained standing. The Vanguard Clones didn't advance, and no one would score the zone. If that had been the only misery of the round, I would have been satisfied, but Lun wanted to make the round as troublesome as possible for me. So, the Spire invaded my army. The right Stryx made a Move Charge into the central Sealed Temple, and the others targeted the left Crossbowmen. I must admit, this bothered me. The Sealed Temple even failed to bring down a single stand of those creatures. Consequently, the Crimson Tower had to seriously take down the Stryx. Lun beamed like a Cheshire cat, and I was quite disappointed with the Sealed Temple blessed. Normally, they performed better. My Ashen Dawn made their moves with Move Charge and Reform Charge into the Avatara and the other Stryx. As things stood, next round, I would secure the Charge Clash with the Crimson Tower on the Incarnates, and I was sure they would perish as a result. Score: 16:9.

My plan for the fifth round was simple: kill the Incarnates. However, I couldn't do it first and had to therefore position Crossbowmen and Sealed Temple upwards. In the current situation, his Incarnates could only charge the Sealed Temple. If that happened, Crossbowmen could shoot at them, and then the Crimson Tower would intervene. If I started, I could simply block their path with the Crossbowmen and keep the knights. Therefore, the Crimson Tower were positioned far down. I started, the Crossbowmen made two moves and stood in the way. His Incarnates were at the top and now had to make a choice. He decided to charge and hoped that the impacts wouldn't be enough — in vain. The Sealed Temple once again failed in combat with the Bound Clones. Then they were shot down by the VCI. The other Crossbowmen shot down the remaining Stryx and freed the Ashen Dawn. His Vanguard Clones came forward, my other Crossbowmen shot, and there was more minor stuff. Then the Brute Drones were allowed to position themselves strangely, and my Sealed Temple crashed into the flank of the Avatara. That didn't kill them, but the Clash with Blessed of the Ashen Dawn did. As a result, they entered the zone and flanked the Brute Drones. On the other side, the Bound Clones approached, so close that I could risk a Reform Charge with the Ashen Dawn. That naturally worked, and in the impacts, the Bound Clones perished. Overall, that was enough for a round, but my Crimson Tower still had their turn and struck hard against the Incarnates. They survived with three lives, and I held three zones, including the preferred one. Score: 26:9.

Round 6, and I thought it was over, not much would happen anymore. Therefore, I built my deck rather quickly and didn't think about what could still happen. For example, that Lun would start and the Incarnates would make a double Clash with the Draw Event of the Highborne and inflict 16 damage on me. At least I had the Sealed Temple in front of the Crimson Tower, so I didn't die from the Aura of Death, but the amount of damage was still surprising. I had Ashen Dawn at the top, and they beat up the Brute Drones. They were buffed by the Pheromancer and turned around. They managed to kill an Ashen Dawn, and thus the zone belonged to the Spire again. On the other side, an Ashen Dawn also died to the Vanguard Clones and Infiltrators. Ashen Dawn and Crossbowmen wiped out the Vanguard Clones, and we scored again.

In Round 7, the left Ashen Dawn died to the VCI, and then I cleared the rest of his army from the board.

Closing Thoughts:
Playing against Lun was enjoyable, and his stylish army with the formidable Incarnates, Stryx, and VCI posed quite a challenge. Despite some setbacks, such as the disappointing performance of the Sealed Temple, the wasted Supremacy, and the surprising healing of the Bound Clones by the Biomancer, I was able to secure victory through strategic positioning. At least I had dealt with the obligatory Spire, but as in the last Bedburg tournament, I would once again have to face Spire in the final round. Next Game 3