Niederlage unter dem königlichen Banner – Sorcerer Kings entzaubert. Turnierbericht aus Victorum Liubice VI

Moin zusammen,

wieder Mal Lübeck. Beschaulich mit 12 Spielern und gewohnt gut organisiert. In den letzten Wochen gab es immer wieder gut gemeinte Versuche, mir ein schlechtes Gewissen wegen meiner Wadrhun zu machen. Und weil ich ja ein netter Mensch bin, habe ich beschlossen, sie fürs Erste im Schrank stehen zu lassen Eigentlich hatte ich daher geplant, meine Kirche aufs Feld zu führen, aber in letzter Minute kam die große Planänderung. Hauptgrund: Mein umgebauter Elefant, der es bislang auf kein einziges Turnier geschafft hatte. Das Modell liegt mir echt am Herzen, da steckt viel Bastelarbeit, Umbauten und Liebe drin. Wer meinen Blog liest oder mir im Discord folgt, weiß allerdings: Meine Meinung zum Mahut ist eher… na ja, sagen wir, reserviert. Ich finde ihn schlichtweg zu teuer für das, was er auf dem Spielfeld tatsächlich leistet.

Sorcerer Kings [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Maharajah [160]: Shu'laat, Niyantran, Court of Air
 * Dhanur Disciples (3) [140]:

== Maharajah [165]: Eye of the Blazing Tempest, Court of Fire, Favored of Hormus
 * Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame
 * Mahut (1) [240]:
 * Efreet Flamecasters (3) [170]:
 * Efreet Flamecasters (3) [170]:

== Sorcerer [130]: Jadoo Kavach, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:
 * Mahabharati Initiates (3) [160]: Born of Flame
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]: 

Einfaches Feuer-Theme, weitgehend Standard, weil es an Alternativen mangelt. Die Ghols sind ehrlich gesagt nur dabei, weil mir die Punkte für eine vernünftige Einheit fehlten. Der Plan war simpel: Szenariopunkte nicht überbewerten, hoffen, dass der Gegner nicht zu früh Druck aufbaut oder punktet  und dann mit genügend Ritualen gezielt Kämpfe forcieren, punkten und das Spiel drehen.

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Spiel 1 – Frank "lemartes" Langeloh (Dweghom)

Mein erstes Match ging gegen Frank aus Hamburg mit seinen Dweghom. Die Liste hatte doppel Steelshaper, was man auch nicht alle Tage sieht, dazu ein Ardent und ein Feuermagier-Warlord auf Kröte. Meist kenne ich das mit doppel Sorcerer, aber der Lichtblick daran: Die Liste war genauso gemütlich unterwegs wie meine. Wir konnten es also erstmal langsam angehen lassen. Die genaue Liste von Frank habe ich nicht mehr komplett im Kopf, aber grob sah sie so aus:

Dweghom [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Tempered Sorcerer [165]: Cthonic Flame, Fire School, Hellbringer Sorcerer
 * Fireforged (3) [180]:
 * Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:
 * Fireforged (3) [180]:

== Ardent Kerawegh [130]: Draegbhrud
 * Initiates (4) [190]:

== Tempered Steelshaper [130]: Lava Shots
 * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]:
 * Steelforged (3) [210]:

== Tempered Steelshaper [120]:
 * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]:
 * Steelforged (3) [210]:

Gespielt wurde „Forlorn Hope“, und in Runde eins hatten wir beide nur jeweils eine Light auf dem Feld. In Runde zwei kamen dann beiderseits solide Reinforcements rein. Leider schaffte ich es nicht, Ignite auf meine Ghols zu bringen, also blieb die Punkteausbeute meinerseits bei null. Frank ließ sich davon inspirieren und punktete ebenfalls nicht. Magier auf beiden Seiten.

Dann kamen ziemlich vieleTruppen auf’s Feld. Wir positionierten uns artig in unseren Zonen. Ich breitete mich gut aus, stellte Zauberin und Initiates in eine Zone, während der Wind Maharajah weit hinten blieb,  zu Recht, denn mittig lauerte die Kröte, und ich wollte ihm keine Gelegenheit für einen doppelten Move + doppelten Spell geben. Auch wenn der Mahut direkt neben den Bogenschützen das Ganze eher unattraktiv machte. Frank schickte ein paar Schüsse in Richtung meiner Ghols, während ich in aller Ruhe Ritualtoken sammelte und ein Ritual für Runde 4 ins Deck packte. Immerhin konnte Frank nur eine Zone scoren, da sein Ardent einfach nicht mitspielen wollte. Dafür sicherte er sich ein Objective und ich kniffelte meins auch raus.

In der vierten Runde überlegte ich, wie ich das Deck baue und ob ich mit dem Bakasura frontal reingehen sollte. Die Fireforged auf beiden Flanken, der Hellbringer... das war mir dann doch zu heikel. Ich entschied mich, das Ritual als vorletzte Karte zu legen und direkt darunter den Mahut. Der Plan war, erstmal noch etwas abzuwarten, weiter Rituale zu sammeln und dann gezielt zuzuschlagen. Also positionierten wir uns weiter. Frank stellte seine Steelforged vor den Rest der Armee, ich meinen Bakasura in Charge-Reichweite zu eben diesen. Damit war eigentlich klar: Gekämpft wird auf der linken Flanke  es sei denn, seine Initiates würden rechts plötzlich einen Vorstoß wagen, was ich aber bezweifelte. Als der Hellbringer durch war, schob ich die Flamecaster nach vorn. Dann kam der Mahut: Mit Ritual machte er einen großen Sprung in die Flanke der linken Steelforged, leider durch einen Wald, aber das Trample verursachte trotzdem ordentlichen Schaden. Viel wichtiger: Ich hatte plötzlich drei Zonen unter Kontrolle und baute meine Führung deutlich aus. Außerdem gab es sechs Gratis-Token für die Rituale. Und so wanderten drei davon ins Deck.

Um dem Mahut das Überleben zu sichern und dem Hellbringer ein bisschen Stress zu machen, wurden die Flamecaster als Erstes durch ein Ritual aktiviert. Mit Torrential Fire und Homing Winds kam eine absurde Anzahl Treffer zustande. Nur wegen seiner Token überlebte der Hellbringer überhaupt, was deutlich mehr Schaden war als ich gehofft hatte. Er schaffte es noch, zwei Flamecaster rauszunehmen, bevor meine Dhanur ihn endgültig ins Jenseits beförderten. Auf der linken Flanke taten die beiden Ballistas taten dem Mahut wenig und der zeigte endlich mal, was er kann, und erledigte sowohl einen angeschlagenen Stand der Steelforged als auch einen frischen. Mit Trample und einem späteren Burn to Cinders war der Weg frei für den Bakasura, der sich dann um die Ballistas kümmerte und sie einfach niedermähte.

Ab da war der Rest fast schon Formsache. Ich punktete weiter drei Zonen, zog mit dem Mahut und dem Rest rüber und holte mir zwei Runden später auch die letzte Zone. Auf der rechten Flanke gab es noch ein kleines Intermezzo, als die zweiten Steelforged meinen Sword Dancern wehtaten, aber meine Flamecaster mit Torrential Fire klärten das dann relativ souverän. 88:9 für die Sorcerer Kings

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Spiel 2  – Benny "Culexuss" Schneider (City States)

Im zweiten Spiel sollte es eigentlich gegen Nords gehen, und das auch noch auf Melee mit vier Zonen. Das war schon ein halber Albtraum. Da es aber bei den übrigen Matchups zu viel Friendly Fire gegeben hätte, wurden die Pairings noch einmal durchgemischt, und ich durfte gegen Benny antreten. City States mit punktenden Lights und Streitwagen war zwar ein neues Matchup, aber auch nicht unbedingt angenehmer. Auch Bennys Liste hab ich nur grob im Kopf:

The City States [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Aristarch [170]: Blades of Eakides, Initiative
 * Phalangites (7) [335]: Dorilates, Sacred Band Veterans
 * War Chariots (Flogobollon//Skorpios) (2) [260]: Skorpios
 * Thorakites (4) [180]: Minotaur Thyrean Auxiliary

== Polemarch [150]: Atalanta's Spear, Combined Arms Drills
 * Hephaestian (1) [240]:
 * Talos (1) [260]:
 * Agema (4) [220]: Sacred Band Veterans
 * Thorakites (4) [180]: Minotaur Thyrean Auxiliary

In Runde eins hatten wir beide jeweils nur eine Light auf dem Feld. Bei Benny war’s eine Einheit Thorakites, die direkt gegenüber meiner Ghols aufgestellt wurden. In Runde zwei kamen dann bei uns beiden je drei Auswahlen. Ich überlegte kurz, ob ich kuscheln sollte, denn die Thorakites würden ziemlich sicher mit Initiative angreifen und ich wollte nicht dass die Autos anfangen Magier zu jagen. Also entschied ich mich für beide Magier und eine Auswahl Flamecaster. Benny schob von der Flanke einen Streitwagen in die rechte Zone. Auf der linken Seite kamen seine Phalangites und der zweite Streitwagen, genau da, wo meine Armee langsam aufzog. Dann sprangen die Thorakites in mein Gesicht, ließen meine Ghols mit einem Leben stehen und verloren selbst zwei Stands an den Flamecastern. Kurz flackerte so etwas wie Hoffnung auf.

In Runde drei kamen dann bei mir nur mein Mahut und der Bakasura, was den kurzen Hoffnungsschimmer gleich wieder zunichte machte. Benny hingegen bekam seine Thorakites zurück sowie beide Heavies. Damit war klar: Er würde mindestens eine Runde lang durchpunkten. Zwei, wenn ich mich nicht überstreckte und dumme Dinge versuchte. Das Problem war nur: Wenn ich ihn aufhielt, würde eines meiner Monster gegen eines seiner kämpfen müssen– und die Chancen dafür sah ich eher kritisch. Außerdem waren da noch die lästigen Autos und meine Magier, die leicht Punkte abgaben.

Zuerst tauschten wir Thorakites gegen Ghols, wobei auch seine Einheit wieder mit einem Leben überlebte und ich sie mit Burn to Cinders vom Mahutreiter aus dem Spiel nehmen musste. Da der Mahut also auf der linken Flanke war, stellte Benny dort beide Heavies auf. Ich platzierte meinen Bakasura zentral, damit er notfalls zur rechten Flanke rüberlaufen oder meine Magier decken konnte. Benny schob seine zweiten Thorakites in die kleine Zone auf seiner Seite, den anderen Streitwagen in die große. Ich stellte meine Sorcerer in eine Zone, einfach um zumindest ein paar Ritualmarker zu sammeln.

Runde vier: ein Ritual und der Rest meiner Armee kam wie erwartet auf der rechten Flanke im Wald. Benny stellte seine Agema gegenüber. Auf der linken Seite passierte derweil nicht viel. Sein Auto erschoss einen Flamecaster, ich schob meine Einheiten an das Fahrzeug ran, um die beiden Titanen auf Abstand zu halten.Ich erschoss ein paar Phalangites und schickte dann den Mahut in eben diese rein. Rückblickend wäre es vermutlich klüger gewesen, den Mahut in die Zone zu stellen und einfach zu hoffen, dass er da halbwegs überlebt, aber ich hatte Angst, dass der bereits aktivierte Phalangites Block in der nächsten Runde einen Move + Charge auf meinen Rajakur macht und ich ihn dann nicht mehr weg bekomme. Mit Zaubern und Trampel starb noch ein weiterer Stand Phalangites, aber Benny punktete erneut sieben Punkte.

Statt jetzt mit Mahut, Zaubern und Schützen auf Tabula Rasa zu spielen, entschied ich mich leider für eine eher dumme Entscheidung: Ich legte den Mahut ziemlich weit unten ins Deck. Die Folge: Fast erschlagen von den Phalangites, nochmal von den Sorcerern hochgeheilt, und dann, kurz vor seiner Aktivierung, vom Streitwagen erschossen machte Fanti gar nichts. Das brachte die linke Flanke komplett zum Einsturz. Dass die Dhanur mit der Sorcerer den Phalangites-Block dann fast noch komplett rausnahmen, war reine Kosmetik. Als dann auch noch der Bakasura bei den Agema patzte, wenn er auch im Tod immerhin noch den Rest der Phalangites mitnahm, wurde es eng. Ein Mahut und ein Bakasura in einer Runde zu verlieren, war heftig. Ich musste anfangen, verzweifelte Dinge zu tun, und begann, Charges zu würfeln. Etwas was ich normalerweise immer versuchte zu verhindern. Die Sword Dancer schafften den Charge auf den Streitwagen, ließen ihn aber stehen und kassierten im Gegenzug acht Wunden von dem komischen Auto. Die Initiates verpatzten ihren Charg, aber immerhin erschossen die Flamecaster noch das Auto. In der Runde drauf starben meine Sword Dancer an den Agema und die Agema an den Flamecastern. Ich bereute es etwas die eine Einheit so weggeworfen zu haben, da die zweite mir gerade fast schon Slinger Vibes gab.

Ab dann wurde es wild. „Intrusive Thoughts“ bei mir, zwei Titanen bei ihm auf Jagd nach meinen Magiern. Immerhin: Meine Zauberer machten den beiden noch beachtlichen Schaden. In einer Runde punktete Benny dank Intrusive Thoughts nur eine Zone, aber mir gingen schlicht die Modelle aus. Der Abstand vergrößerte sich wieder, als er in der Folgerunde drei Zonen hielt und auch noch meinen Warlord rausnahm. Rechts konnte ich noch die Agema und Thorakites beseitigen, aber zwei Zonen reichten nicht – ich musste also meine Position verlassen. Ich hoffte, die letzte Runde zu beginnen, um mit den Initiates den letzten Streitwagen zu chargen und noch in seine Zone zu kommen. Aber Benny begann, blockierte mit dem Talos, und begrub meine letzte, winzige und eher unrealistische Chance. Aber die Flamecaster drehten weiter auf und In jeder Schussphase schickten sie einen Titanen ohne Torrential Fire ins Jenseits. In Runde zehn hatten wir beide jeweils nur noch ein Regiment auf dem Feld. Der Abstand war mit 39 zu 65 aber zu groß.

Damit also die erste Turnierniederlage seit September. Der Spott meiner Freunde ließ natürlich nicht lange auf sich warten, aber darauf war ich innerlich vorbereitet. Und besser in Lübeck als in Winnenden.

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Spiel 3  – Christian **** (Old Dominion)

Den H3m3 kenne ich noch aus meinen Warmachine-Zeiten, und als ich seine Liste sah, machte ich mir wenig Hoffnung. Drei Geister, die ich irgendwie kontrollieren musste, und eine Fallen Divinity. Ich hätte mir stattdessen lieber einen Prätorianerblock gewünscht, denn ich hatte keine Ahnung, wie ich dieses Ding auf Stufe 3 beseitigen sollte. Christians Liste habe ich nur noch grob im Kopf:

The Old Dominion [2000/2000]

== (Warlord) Fallen Divinity [330]: Eternal Discipline
 * Centaur Kerykes (3) [180]:

== Hierodeacon [100]: The Reaping Crook
 * Cultists (3) [90]:
 * Kanephors (3) [210]:
 * Kanephors (3) [210]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [100]:

== Archimandrite [110]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [100]:
 * Kheres (4) [210]:
 * Moroi (3) [180]:
 * Moroi (3) [180]:

Gespielt wurde Grind them Down und das war auch das Motto des Spiels, nur leider war ich auf der falschen Seite des Tisches. Jedenfalls fühlten blickten meine Ghols  schon deprimiert, als zwei Moroi, die FD und eine Handvoll Kultisten das Spielfeld betraten. Ich entschied mich für die linke Seite, da dort ein Hügel war und ich hoffte, der könnte helfen, die doppelten Moroi in Schach zu halten. Für Runde zwei bekam ich immerhin zwei zusätzliche Regimenter, aber richtig gut fühlte sich das Ganze trotzdem nicht an. Ich wurde gnadenlos ausaktiviert und versuchte, mir eine kleine Burg aufzubauen, während die Fallen Divinity gemütlich in eine Zone marschierte.

In Runde drei kam dann auf beiden Seiten fast alles aufs Feld. Die ersten Moroi wollten direkt in meine Linie springen, scheiterten aber mit ihrem Zauber und zogen sich zurück. Nervig. Die zweiten Moroi hatten mehr Erfolg, griffen an und töteten fast meine Rajakur, die kurz darauf von der Kavallerie den Rest bekam. Im Gegenzug nahm ich die Moroi raus und schob links die Ghols als Meatshield sowie einmal Flamecaster in die Zone. Damit kontrollierte ich eine Zone, Christian jedoch drei. Auf der rechten Seite stellte ich mein Mahut auf. Ich war überzeugt, dass "Oblivious" gegen den Spell der Kheres helfen würde. So spielten wir es auch, bis Nino mir später erklärte, dass das im Grunde als Defense-Roll zählt und daher nicht klappt.  In der Mitte schob ich den Bakasura nach vorne, um Druck auf die FD auszuüben, die sich allerdings hinter einer Steinsäule versteckte. Viel passierte dort nicht, immerhin bekam ich ein Ritual ins Deck. Dabei hatte ich nur noch zwei Magiern etwas Sorge um meine Ritualversorgung. Aber wenn ich es schaffe, Bakasura und Mahut in einer Zone zu halten, sollte wenigstens ein Ritual  pro Runde sicher sein.

In der vierten Runde gingen die letzten Moroi links in meine Ghols, wir tauschten ziemlich direkt, was für mich okay war. Der Bakasura ging in die Pferde, erreichte aber fast nichts. Von dem Modell war ich das ganze Turnier über eher enttäuscht. Die Untoten ignorierten Moralverluste komplett, und der Archimandrite heilte alles fleißig wieder hoch. So dümpelten wir durch das Midgame. Rechts stellte ich Sword Dancer und Mahut in die Zone, während sich die FD langsam um die Steinsäule bewegte. Dann sprangen die ersten Kanephors per Move-Charge in meine Sword Dancer. Ich schickte ihnen zur Begrüßung noch ein Burn to Cinder entgegen. Beide von uns punkteten.

Durch die zusätzlichen Ritualmarker lief meine Versorgung mit Conflagration ziemlich gut. Ich durfte die Runde starten, setzte Burn to Cinder auf die Statuen, und der erste Kanephor zerbröselte. Die Flamecaster rückten nach, machten aber kaum Schaden und gingen weiter vor. Während der Bakasura weiterhin an den Pferden scheiterte, erledigten die letzten Statuen mit Hilfe der Kheres meine Sword Dancer. Und dann sprang die Fallen Divinity vor. Ich hatte vergessen, dass sich das Ding heilt, wenn es eine Stufe aufsteigt. Normalerweise ist das Vieh bei mir mit Wadrun spätestens in Runde drei raus. Jetzt hatte ich zwei Optionen. Entweder ich töte den letzten Kanephor mit dem Mahut, der nur noch zwei Leben hatte und räume danach die rechte Seite auf. Das hätte mir solide Punkte eingebracht. Oder ich gehe mit voller Wucht auf die FD. Ich entschied mich für den zweiten Weg. Mein Mahut, hübsch, groß, teuer und vermeintlich gefährlich, stürzte sich rein.  Was folgte, war einfach nur peinlich. Die Fallen Divinity brauchte drei oder vier Runden, um das Mahut zu töten. In dieser Zeit machte mein stolzer Koloss genau zwei Schadenspunkte. Zwei. Ich hätte ihn und den Feuer Maharajah am liebsten in die Tischkante gerammt.

Immerhin konnte ich auf der anderen Flanke mit Bakasura und den Flamecastern etwas Kontrolle zurückgewinnen. Die zweiten Kanephors und Legionäre wurden eingebremst, und die Ritualmarker vom Mahut reichten zumindest, um meine Versorgung konstant zu halten. Dann drehte sich langsam das Blatt. Die Flamecaster übernahmen kurzerhand den Job als FD-Killer und legten zusammen mit den Dhanur um. Endlich kippte das Spiel zu meinen Gunsten. Die Attrition sah auf einmal solide aus, ich sammelte gut Punkte, doch bevor ich richtig aufholen konnte, war die Zeit vorbei. Zweiter Kratzer für den Tag, ärgerlich, aber verdient. Das schabte dann doch schon mehr an meinem Ego als ich am Sonntag zugeben wollte.

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Rückblick

Fazit: Gelernt habe ich was. Beim nächsten Mal dann mit weniger Mahut und mehr Verstand. Das Vieh und mein Spielstil sind keine gute Kombination. Das war mein letztes Turnier vor dem Sorcerer Kings Update, und es zeigt mir deutlich, dass ich mir mehr Werkzeuge für wünsche, um dem frühen Druck anderer Fraktionen besser begegnen zu können. Auch mit meiner normalen Liste hätte ich ähnliche Probleme gehabt, wenn auch vielleicht andere Lösungen.

Ich habe Fehler gemacht, keine Frage. Manche Entscheidungen waren einfach schlecht, besonders die mit dem Mahut. Und ja, das Modell frustriert mich immer wieder. Für mich ist und bleibt es viel zu teuer für das, was es leistet. Ich brauche keinen Anker, erst recht keinen, der mir meine Flexibilität kostet. Ich würde jederzeit lieber Rajakur mit Feuer Maharajah spielen. Die agieren clever aus der zweiten Reihe und geben mir genau die Optionen, die mir mit dem Mahut fehlen. Aber ich will nicht nur jammern. Als sehr positiv habe ich empfunden, dass ich fünf Mal Arcane Conduit in der Liste hatte. Das hat  sich extrem komfortabel angefühlt. Die Ritualversorgung lief stabil und besser wie sonst, auch wenn ich damit weniger anfangen konnte. Rückblickend hätte ich statt der Initiates lieber eine zweite Sword Dancer Einheit gehabt, aber das lag eher an den Zielen dir mir gegenüberstanden als an Jungs.

Defeat Under the Royal Banner – Sorcerer Kings Disenchanted. Tournament Batllereport from Victorum Liubice VI

Hello,

back to Lübeck again. A cozy event with 12 players and, as usual, well organized. Over the past few weeks, there have been plenty of well-meaning attempts to make me feel guilty about my Wadrhun. And since I’m a nice person, I decided to leave them on the shelf for now.

Originally, I had planned to bring my Church to the battlefield, but there was a last-minute change of plans. The main reason: my converted elephant, which has never made it to a single tournament so far. That model really means a lot to me—it’s full of kitbashing, custom work, and love.

Those who read my blog or follow me on Discord know this already: my opinion of the Mahut is… well, let’s say, reserved. I simply think he’s too expensive for what he actually brings to the table.

Sorcerer Kings [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Maharajah [160]: Shu'laat, Niyantran, Court of Air
 * Dhanur Disciples (3) [140]:

== Maharajah [165]: Eye of the Blazing Tempest, Court of Fire, Favored of Hormus
 * Ghols (3) [110]: Born of Flame
 * Mahut (1) [240]:
 * Efreet Flamecasters (3) [170]:
 * Efreet Flamecasters (3) [170]:

== Sorcerer [130]: Jadoo Kavach, Court of Fire
 * Rajakur (3) [120]:
 * Mahabharati Initiates (3) [160]: Born of Flame
 * Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
 * Rakshasa Bakasura (1) [260]: 

Simple fire theme, largely standard because there’s a lack of alternatives. Honestly, the Ghols are only included because I didn’t have enough points for a proper unit.

The plan was simple: don’t over-prioritize scenario points, hope the opponent doesn’t apply pressure or start scoring too early, and then use enough rituals to force fights at the right time, score points, and turn the game around.

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Game 1 – Frank "lemartes" Langeloh (Dweghom)

My first match was against Frank from Hamburg with his Dweghom. His list featured double Steelshaper, which you don’t see every day, plus an Ardent and a Fire Mage Warlord on a toad. I’m more used to seeing double Sorcerer, but the upside was: his list was just as relaxed as mine. So we could take it easy at the start.

I don’t remember Frank’s exact list in full detail, but roughly it looked like this:

Dweghom [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Tempered Sorcerer [165]: Cthonic Flame, Fire School, Hellbringer Sorcerer
 * Fireforged (3) [180]:
 * Hellbringer Drake (1) [200]:
 * Fireforged (3) [180]:

== Ardent Kerawegh [130]: Draegbhrud
 * Initiates (4) [190]:

== Tempered Steelshaper [130]: Lava Shots
 * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]:
 * Steelforged (3) [210]:

== Tempered Steelshaper [120]:
 * Hold Ballistae (3) [140]:
 * Steelforged (3) [210]:

We played “Forlorn Hope,” and in round one we both only had a single Light unit on the field. In round two, solid reinforcements arrived on both sides. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get Ignite off on my Ghols, so I ended up scoring zero points. Frank took that as inspiration and also didn’t score. Mages on both sides.

Then, a lot of troops came onto the field. We positioned ourselves neatly in our zones. I spread out well, placing the Sorceress and Initiates in one zone, while the Wind Maharajah stayed way back, which was the right choice because the toad was lurking in the middle, and I didn’t want to give him a chance for a double move + double spell. Even though the Mahut being right next to the archers made it less attractive. Frank sent a few shots towards my Ghols while I calmly gathered ritual tokens and put a ritual for round 4 into my deck. At least Frank only managed to score one zone, since his Ardent just didn’t want to play along. However, he secured an objective, and I also managed to take mine.

In round four, I considered how to build my deck and whether I should charge in with the Bakasura. The Fireforged on both flanks, the Hellbringer... that felt too risky. I decided to place the ritual as the second-to-last card and the Mahut directly under it. The plan was to wait a bit longer, keep collecting rituals, and then strike when the time was right. So, we kept positioning. Frank placed his Steelforged in front of the rest of the army, and I positioned my Bakasura within charge range of them. That pretty much made it clear: the fight would happen on the left flank unless his Initiates made a sudden push on the right, which I doubted. Once the Hellbringer was out of the way, I moved the Flamecaster forward. Then came the Mahut: with a ritual, he made a big jump into the flank of the left Steelforged, unfortunately through a forest, but the Trample still dealt significant damage. More importantly, I suddenly had control of three zones and extended my lead significantly. Plus, I got six free tokens for the rituals. So, three of them went into the deck.

To ensure the Mahut's survival and to put some pressure on the Hellbringer, I activated the Flamecaster first through a ritual. With Torrential Fire and Homing Winds, an absurd number of hits landed. He only survived thanks to his tokens, and it was much more damage than I had hoped for. He still managed to take out two Flamecasters before my Dhanur finally sent him to the afterlife. On the left flank, the two Ballistas did little to the Mahut, and he finally showed what he was capable of, taking out both an injured Steelforged stand and a fresh one. With Trample and a later Burn to Cinders, the way was clear for the Bakasura, who then took care of the Ballistas and just mowed them down.

From there, the rest was almost a formality. I kept scoring three zones, moved the Mahut and the rest over, and captured the last zone two rounds later. On the right flank, there was a small interlude when the second Steelforged hurt my Sword Dancers, but my Flamecasters with Torrential Fire cleared that up fairly smoothly. 88:9 for the Sorcerer Kings.

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Game 2  – Benny "Culexuss" Schneider (City States)

In the second game, I was supposed to play against Nords, and it was going to be on Melee with four zones. That was already a bit of a nightmare. However, since there had been too much friendly fire in the other matchups, the pairings were reshuffled, and I ended up facing Benny. City States with scoring Lights and chariots was a new matchup, but not necessarily a more pleasant one. I only have a rough memory of Benny’s list, though:

The City States [1995/2000]

== (Warlord) Aristarch [170]: Blades of Eakides, Initiative
 * Phalangites (7) [335]: Dorilates, Sacred Band Veterans
 * War Chariots (Flogobollon//Skorpios) (2) [260]: Skorpios
 * Thorakites (4) [180]: Minotaur Thyrean Auxiliary

== Polemarch [150]: Atalanta's Spear, Combined Arms Drills
 * Hephaestian (1) [240]:
 * Talos (1) [260]:
 * Agema (4) [220]: Sacred Band Veterans
 * Thorakites (4) [180]: Minotaur Thyrean Auxiliary

In round one, we each had only one Light on the field. Benny’s was a unit of Thorakites, placed directly opposite my Ghols. In round two, both of us brought in three selections. I briefly considered whether to play it safe, since the Thorakites would almost certainly attack with Initiative, and I didn’t want the chariots starting to hunt my mages. So, I decided on both mages and a selection of Flamecasters. Benny pushed a chariot from the flank into the right zone. On the left side, his Phalangites and the second chariot came in, exactly where my army was slowly advancing. Then the Thorakites jumped into my face, leaving my Ghols with one life remaining, while losing two stands to the Flamecasters. For a brief moment, a glimmer of hope appeared.

In round three, I only got my Mahut and the Bakasura, which immediately extinguished the brief glimmer of hope. Benny, on the other hand, got his Thorakites back along with both of his heavies. That made it clear: he would score at least one round, possibly two, if I didn’t overextend and do something stupid. The problem was: if I held him off, one of my monsters would have to face one of his—and I wasn’t feeling too confident about those odds. Plus, there were the pesky chariots and my mages, who were easily giving away points.

First, we exchanged Thorakites for Ghols, with his unit also surviving with one life left, and I had to remove them from the game with Burn to Cinders from the Mahut rider. Since the Mahut was on the left flank, Benny placed both of his heavies there. I positioned my Bakasura centrally so he could either run over to the right flank if needed or cover my mages. Benny moved his second Thorakites into the small zone on his side, and the other chariot into the large one. I placed my Sorcerers into a zone, just to collect a few ritual markers.

Round four: a ritual, and the rest of my army came onto the right flank in the forest as expected. Benny placed his Agema opposite. Meanwhile, not much happened on the left side. His chariot shot a Flamecaster, and I moved my units up to the vehicle to keep the two titans at a distance. I shot a few Phalangites and then sent the Mahut into them. In hindsight, it would probably have been wiser to place the Mahut in the zone and just hope he would survive there, but I was worried that the already activated Phalangites block would move + charge my Rajakur next round, and I wouldn’t be able to get him out of there. With spells and Trample, another stand of Phalangites died, but Benny scored seven points again.

Instead of playing with the Mahut, spells, and archers for a fresh start, I unfortunately made a rather stupid decision: I placed the Mahut quite far down in the deck. The result: Almost crushed by the Phalangites, then healed back up by the Sorcerers, and finally, just before his activation, shot by the chariot, making Fanti do absolutely nothing. This caused the left flank to completely collapse. The fact that the Dhanur with the Sorcerer almost completely removed the Phalangites block was just cosmetic. Then, when the Bakasura also failed against the Agema, although at least in death he took the rest of the Phalangites with him, things got tight. Losing both a Mahut and a Bakasura in one round was brutal. I had to start doing desperate things and began rolling for charges, something I usually tried to avoid. The Sword Dancers made the charge on the chariot but left it standing and took eight wounds in return from the weird chariot. The Initiates failed their charge, but at least the Flamecasters shot down the chariot. In the next round, my Sword Dancers died to the Agema, and the Agema died to the Flamecasters. I regretted throwing away that one unit, as the second was almost giving me Slinger vibes.

From then on, it got wild. "Intrusive Thoughts" for me, two titans on his side hunting my mages. At least my Sorcerers dealt considerable damage to both of them. In one round, Benny only scored one zone thanks to Intrusive Thoughts, but I was simply running out of models. The gap grew again when he held three zones in the following round and also took out my Warlord. On the right, I managed to eliminate the Agema and Thorakites, but two zones weren’t enough—I had to abandon my position. I hoped to start the last round to charge the final chariot with the Initiates and still make it into his zone. But Benny started, blocked with the Talos, and buried my last tiny, and rather unrealistic, chance. However, the Flamecasters kept going, and in every shooting phase, they sent a titan to the afterlife without Torrential Fire. By round ten, we each had only one regiment left on the field. The gap was 39 to 65, though, and it was too wide.

And so, my first tournament loss since September. The teasing from my friends didn’t take long to arrive, but I was mentally prepared for that. And it’s better to lose in Lübeck than in Winnenden.

---

Game 3  – Christian **** (Old Dominion)

I still remember H3m3 from my Warmachine days, and when I saw his list, I didn’t have much hope. Three ghosts that I somehow had to control, and a Fallen Divinity. I would have preferred a Praetorian block instead, because I had no idea how I was supposed to get rid of that thing at level 3. I only have a rough memory of Christian's list:

The Old Dominion [2000/2000]

== (Warlord) Fallen Divinity [330]: Eternal Discipline
 * Centaur Kerykes (3) [180]:

== Hierodeacon [100]: The Reaping Crook
 * Cultists (3) [90]:
 * Kanephors (3) [210]:
 * Kanephors (3) [210]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [100]:

== Archimandrite [110]:
 * Legionnaires (3) [100]:
 * Kheres (4) [210]:
 * Moroi (3) [180]:
 * Moroi (3) [180]:

We played Grind them Down, and that was also the theme of the game, unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the table. In any case, my Ghols already looked depressed as two Moroi, the FD, and a handful of Cultists entered the battlefield. I decided to take the left side since there was a hill, and I hoped it might help keep the double Moroi in check. For round two, I at least got two additional regiments, but overall, the situation didn’t feel good. I was mercilessly outactivated and tried to build a small fortress while the Fallen Divinity casually marched into a zone.

In round three, almost everything came onto the field on both sides. The first Moroi tried to jump straight into my line but failed with their spell and pulled back. Annoying. The second Moroi had more success, attacked, and almost killed my Rajakur, who was soon finished off by the cavalry. In return, I took out the Moroi and pushed the Ghols left as a meat shield, along with one Flamecaster into the zone. That allowed me to control one zone, while Christian controlled three. On the right side, I placed my Mahut. I was convinced that "Oblivious" would help against the Kheres' spell. We played it that way until Nino later explained that it actually counts as a defense roll and therefore doesn’t work. In the middle, I pushed the Bakasura forward to put pressure on the Fallen Divinity, but it hid behind a stone pillar. Not much happened there, but at least I got a ritual into the deck. I was a bit worried about my ritual supply, since I only had two mages left. But if I could keep the Bakasura and Mahut in a zone, at least one ritual per round should be safe.

In the fourth round, the last Moroi went into my Ghols, and we exchanged units fairly directly, which was fine by me. The Bakasura went into the cavalry but achieved almost nothing. I had been pretty disappointed by the model the entire tournament. The undead completely ignored morale losses, and the Archimandrite was healing everything back up. So, we trudged through the midgame. On the right, I placed the Sword Dancers and Mahut in the zone, while the Fallen Divinity slowly moved around the stone pillar. Then the first Kanephors jumped into my Sword Dancers with a Move + Charge. I greeted them with a Burn to Cinder. Both of us scored points.

Thanks to the additional ritual markers, my supply of Conflagration was going quite well. I got to start the round, cast Burn to Cinder on the statues, and the first Kanephor crumbled. The Flamecasters moved up, but dealt almost no damage and continued advancing. While the Bakasura still failed against the cavalry, the last statues, with the help of the Kheres, took out my Sword Dancers. And then the Fallen Divinity jumped forward. I had forgotten that it heals when it levels up. Normally, that thing would be out by round three when I play Wadrun. Now I had two options. Either I kill the last Kanephor with the Mahut, who only had two health left, and then clean up the right side. That would have given me solid points. Or I go all in on the FD. I chose the second path. My Mahut, pretty, big, expensive, and supposedly dangerous, charged in. What followed was just embarrassing. The Fallen Divinity needed three or four rounds to kill the Mahut. During that time, my proud colossus dealt exactly two points of damage. Two. I almost wanted to slam him and the Fire Maharajah into the edge of the table.

At least on the other flank, I was able to regain some control with the Bakasura and the Flamecasters. The second Kanephors and Legionnaires were slowed down, and the ritual markers from the Mahut were enough to keep my supply steady. Then, slowly, the tide turned. The Flamecasters took over as the FD-killers and teamed up with the Dhanur. Finally, the game tilted in my favor. Attrition suddenly looked solid, I was collecting good points, but before I could catch up properly, time ran out. Second scratch for the day, frustrating but deserved. It definitely scratched more at my ego than I was willing to admit on Sunday.

---

Reflection

Conclusion: I learned something. Next time, I'll go with less Mahut and more sense. That beast and my playstyle are not a good combination. This was my last tournament before the Sorcerer Kings update, and it clearly shows me that I need more tools to better handle the early pressure from other factions. Even with my usual list, I would have faced similar problems, though perhaps with different solutions.

I made mistakes, no question about it. Some decisions were simply bad, especially the one with the Mahut. And yes, that model frustrates me again and again. For me, it remains way too expensive for what it actually does. I don’t need an anchor, especially not one that costs me my flexibility. I would much rather play Rajakur with Fire Maharajah. They operate cleverly from the second row and give me exactly the options I miss with the Mahut. But I don’t just want to complain. A very positive aspect was having Arcane Conduit five times in the list. That felt extremely comfortable. My ritual supply ran smoothly and better than usual, even though I couldn’t use it as much. Looking back, instead of the Initiates, I would have preferred a second unit of Sword Dancers, but that was more because of the objectives I was up against than because of the units themselves.

Battle Reports from the Two-Day Tournament in Winnenden

Last weekend marked the second German two-day tournament in Winnenden, and the line-up was stacked: 22 players, including the French elite and the South German scene at its finest. One thing was clear – this wouldn’t be a walk in the park.

On a spontaneous whim, Nino and I decided to represent the North and throw ourselves into the fray, despite the 8-hour journey. Sadly, Uziel couldn’t join us due to work obligations, so I had to survive the weekend without my Schatzi-mon.

I stuck with my tried-and-true list, the same one that had already brought me solid results at the ITC and other tournaments. It really makes an impression on the battlefield, I know it like the back of my hand, and my goal was clear: a clean 5:0.

== (Warlord) Chieftain [130]: Conquest, Vision

• Veterans (3) [170]
• Veterans (3) [170]
• Slingers (3) [150]

== Predator [100]: War

• Braves (3) [130]
• Hunting Pack (3) [120]
• Apex Predator (1) [190]
• Slingers (3) [150]

== Predator [100]: War

• Braves (3) [130]
• Hunting Pack (3) [120]
• Apex Predator (1) [190]
• Slingers (3) [150]

No changes to the list, but still green brutality—at least when it comes to my paint scheme. The list delivers at least five cards in round 1, and a minimum of seven in round 2. On top of that, it generates enough tokens to consistently fuel three Slingers, and occasionally lets a few Braves or Veterans do some chanting as needed.

What really makes the list a pain to deal with are the Hunting Packs. Alongside the Slingers, they apply massive pressure and also act as the perfect screen and bodyguard for the shooters. I accept that I won’t be scoring in round 2 in some scenarios—that’s a trade-off I’m willing to make. In theory, I could avoid that by swapping the two Apexes for a Winglord and a Quatl. That’s definitely on the table, but playing with unpainted models is a no-go for me.

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Game 1 with Konrad „DrizztDarnok“ Zacharias (Nords, NTR 9 Germany)

The tournament in Winnenden kicked off with a tough opponent right out of the gate. In my first game, I faced Konrad, currently ranked 9th on the German NTR list. He’s not only one of the best and most experienced northern tournament players, but also known as a co-founder of the “Feldherren von EA” podcast and winner of the second-to-last Bedburg tournament.

I was genuinely looking forward to the match. Even though we know each other well from various events, we rarely end up facing off at the table. Our last direct encounter was early last year in Frankfurt, and I was excited for a rematch.

I don’t have Konrad’s list on hand, so here’s a rough overview from memory:

Nords [2000/2000]

== Jarl [120]: Reyngeir, the God Spear
 * Raiders (3) [140]: Captain
 * Raiders (3) [140]: Captain
 * Bearsarks (3) [200]: Savage
 * Bearsarks (3) [200]: Savage

== (Warlord) Volva [115]: Ancestors' Blessing
 * Huskarls (5) [270]: Skald

== Vargyr Lord [175]: Massive Frame, Wild Beasts
 * Fenr Beastpack (3) [140]:
 * Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:
 * Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:
 * Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:

Unfortunately, things didn’t go well for him in the early game. His reinforcements came in at unlucky times in rounds 1 and 2. I, on the other hand, was able to apply early pressure on the field thanks to Flank. With less resistance than expected, I quickly destroyed two markers and was then able to fall back and play it safe.

The plan was to let him crash against my front line bit by bit—because on Echelon, the only way he could catch up was by controlling my zone or at least denying me access to it.

In round 3, his army finally made it onto the field almost in full. But by then, my position was already solid: Slingers on each flank and in the center, with both Veterans and Braves stacked on one side, each backed up by an Apex. I had originally planned to play symmetrically, but as the game progressed, Konrad shifted his focus more and more to the right flank. So I decided that doubling down on veteran firepower over there would be the more constructive move.

Konrad moved forward cautiously and blocked me with a move-charge to prevent me from slipping the Hunting Packs between his units and breaking apart his army.

In round 4, it became clear that his positioning wasn’t optimal. Many of his units were blocking each other, and on top of that, more bad luck with the dice struck when a few Berserkers only dealt a handful of damage to an Apex. Under the constant pressure from my list, it became increasingly difficult for him to position himself in a way that kept me from regularly taking two cards for every one of his.

I got a bit too greedy and careless, which led to me giving away a Veterans Regiment unnecessarily. I had overlooked that his Volva and a few Gotrl hadn’t activated yet. That was annoying, and when Konrad then attempted a charge with the Berserkers on a 6 in round 5, succeeded, and my Slingers only dealt two damage, I briefly saw the right flank start to collapse. But the card losses I had suffered up until that point were too heavy, and in the end, it was a clear victory for me.

From the outside, it might have looked more one-sided than it actually was, but the momentum was on my side early on. I’m hoping for a rematch soon – with a better start, a bit more luck, and new ideas from both sides, it will definitely be exciting again.

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Game 2 with Kilian „Rawr“ Sieutat-Lacaze (100k, France NTR 1)

The second scenario was "Melee," and as regular readers of my blog know, I consider this scenario the best for the Hundred Kingdoms. So, it wasn’t particularly exciting to hear that in round 2, I’d be playing against France’s number 1 and one of the best Hundred Kingdoms players in the world. A matchup I’d have expected in the final. However, Kilian also wasn’t too thrilled about playing a killpoint mission against my list.

Assault on Winnenden [2000/2000]
The Hundred Kingdoms

== Mounted Noble Lord [155]: Dynastic Ally, Tourney Champion, Eccentric Fighting Style
* Household Knights 5 [270]:
* Household Knights 3 [160]:

== Crusading Noble Lord [155]: Elysian Fragment, Get in Position
* Men at Arms 8 [270]: [Veteran]

== Warlord Imperial Officer [130]: Art of War
* Mercenary Crossbowmen 3 [110]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen 3 [110]:
* Hunter Cadre 3 [160]:
* Hunter Cadre 3 [160]:

== Chapter Mage [100]: School of Water, School of Fire, Talented
* Mercenary Crossbowmen 3 [110]:
* Mercenary Crossbowmen 3 [110]:

Kilian’s list, besides having absurd amounts of ranged firepower, also boasted an impressive reinforcement curve, which was better than mine. Aside from two regiments, he could score with almost everything. I wasn’t sure how to trade cards effectively, especially because he had more attack range than me with his Knights and the Supremacy of the Imperial Officer. On the other hand, I had the Slingers, three regiments, and their theoretical potential was equally intimidating.

In round 1, only my reinforcements arrived, while Kiki already had everything on the field. That was a problem, so I decided to hold back my Hunting Pack a bit and use my Slingers more aggressively. A building separated one of the large zones from the rest of the battlefield, and I decided to ignore that side at first. It was clear that Kiki wanted to move his cavalry into the forest in front of his small zone, and my Slingers had the potential to wipe out a Crossbow unit with a single hit. Of course, he knew that as well and positioned his Crossbows with characters almost at the edge of the battlefield to avoid losing any points. He placed the other two Crossbows a bit further ahead, but so far to the left that they weren’t interesting to me.

In round 2, his card advantage continued to grow. I hoped he’d leave me alone until the rest of my army arrived, but I couldn’t quite figure out what plan he had for jumping in my face by the end of round 2. At least I got another Hunting Pack, both Veterans, and one Braves regiment. Thanks to my Slingers positioned at the front, I could theoretically reach both large zones. I decided to claim the left zone with the Veterans, since his firepower didn’t reach far enough. Otherwise, we both made sure not to make any silly mistakes. My Braves moved to the center, and his two cavalry units did the same. Then, suddenly, the Man-at-Arms block appeared on the far right. I knew he had it, since we had talked about his list online, but somehow I had forgotten about it. 8 Man-at-Arms with characters on the field are pretty imposing.

My second Veterans unit was supposed to go to the flank, but I decided to position them on the left instead. By rounds 3 and 4, very little came from Kilian, and I saw the opportunity to break through on that side in the long term. At least I went into the next round with a point lead.

In round 3, my last Slingers and an Apex arrived. With the Conquest Chant, I tried to land a few lucky hits on the Knights in the forest, but D4, RR6, and Obscuring were too much, and I only dealt two damage. We continued positioning, claiming both the small and large zones. He couldn’t really make use of his card advantage since I had positioned my Slingers far downfield to punish any potential advances. The last Slingers also marched up the left side so that with double Veterans and Slingers, I could just overwhelm his Crossbows and Hunters.

In round 4, the rest of my army finally arrived, and we hadn’t lost anything up until then. This round was rather drawn-out and focused purely on positioning. We talked, but neither of us wanted to make the first move, especially since our positions almost completely covered each other. Risky initiative rolls and charges weren’t an option, so we played conservatively and calmly.

By round 5, I finally had a bit of luck, or rather, Kiki unfortunately had some bad luck. Finally, a few of his protective rolls failed, and both Knight units lost two stands each. On the left, a Crossbow unit died, and the Hunters took significant damage. Kiki retaliated by killing a Hunting Pack, and he almost managed to get something rolling. But we still had the most important cards left, so neither of us had the chance to really catch the other in a bind. What was noteworthy was that the player who won initiative always let the opponent go first, because there was simply no reason to start yourself.

Then, I broke the last resistance on the left flank. I consistently dealt 6 damage to the Man-at-Arms through the forest and killed the small HHKs. Kilian cleared my screen of Hunting Packs, and his HHKs made a move-charge on the first Apex, while the second one had been broken by a failed charge. He had to do that because a unit of Slingers and Veterans from the left side started clearing his backfield. I was now able to close in on him from both sides. The Apex held as expected and survived the clash in the following round, which ultimately decided the game.

All in all, it was a real challenge both tactically and mentally—by far the closest victory I secured that weekend.

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Game 3 with Guillaume "BillyZeKid" Verdier (City States, France NTR 2)

Gilli is the organizer of the ITC and had won a major tournament with Spire in the winter. Luckily, he didn’t bring my hated faction and instead went with City States. I think the list itself is pretty solid: 12 cards plus a Strategic Deck, potentially five cards in round 1. A combination of double Agema, Sacred Band for healing, and Chariots applies a lot of pressure and is quite fast. Especially the Loose Formation of the Selinoi is always a real problem for me as a Hundred Kingdoms player. But today, I wasn’t playing Hundred Kingdoms. I had Dinos instead. 14 cards, five guaranteed cards in round 1, and Slingers who couldn’t care less about Loose Formation. With Hundred Kingdoms, I would have probably struggled a lot, but with my list, I felt clearly advantaged. I had tested a lot against City States in the last few weeks and knew: If I get in close, everything bursts. Admittedly, that was also true for my own troops, but we were playing Divide and Conquer. That means everything has to go to the center. And anyone who stands there will be shredded by the pressure from the ranged regiments. The fact that the Wadrhun all had 5 or 6 health helped a lot too.

The City States [2000/2000]

== (Warlord) Aristarch [140]: Standard of Last Oration, Expert Scouts
 * Selinoi (3) [130]:
 * Selinoi (3) [130]:
 * War Chariots (Flogobollon//Skorpios) (2) [260]: Skorpios

== Polemarch [160]: Aristia, Blades of Eakides, Disorienting Strikes
 * Agema (5) [295]: Andromachos, Sacred Band Veterans
 * Agema (4) [245]: Andromachos, Sacred Band Veterans
 * Minotaur Haspists (3) [180]:
 * Sacred Band (3) [190]:

== Mechanist [90]: Hephaestian Alloys
 * Thorakites (4) [180]: Minotaur Thyrean Auxiliary

In round 1, Gilli only got one unit of Selinoi, while I brought everything. As usual, I placed my Hunting Pack in the center, Slingers on each flank, and a regiment in the middle. His Selinoi were also placed in the center, but too far forward.

In round 2, I had the pleasure of shooting them, despite their Loose Formation. However, in this round, I only got my required selections, which were the two Veterans. Gilli brought his chosen Agema with Polemarch, the second unit of Selinoi with Aristarch, and the cows. His chariots came in the center and left, while the rest was pushed to the right flank, probably because I had deployed wide.

Round 3 saw the rest of the armies arrive, though I was still missing one Apex. The first and later the second Apex naturally landed on the right. But the real fighting hadn’t begun yet. We faced off, shot a little, I aimed at the cows and chariots, while he shot at my Hunting Pack, which eventually fell. Then his cows pushed into a regiment of Slingers, which put me in a good position to threaten the flank with my Hunting Pack in the next round. But then his Agema with Polemarch dared to enter the zone and showed the first Apex their flank. Although it was standing in the forest, Gilli saw the matchup as so bad that he wanted to gamble on initiative.

In round 4, Gilli activated his Supremacy, but my Apex got to start fairly. He lost two out of five Agema stands right away. They didn’t want to reform because of other threats and caused hardly any damage. As expected, my Slingers were overrun by the cows and died in return to the Hunting Pack. The chariots tried to shoot my Veterans out of the zone, but with 6 health per stand, they were just too resilient. One of the many points I think should be adjusted for Wadrhun at the moment. Then the Selinoi brought my Apex down to 10 health. I let the small Veterans wipe out the Agema, took the counterattack from the Thorakites, but thanks to the large health buffer, I didn’t care. The second Apex had meanwhile arrived on the field and positioned itself in charge range, and the remaining Slingers pushed both chariots to half their health. The attrition was going very well for me overall. I had actually expected the Thorakites to go into the Apex, but instead, Gilli had sent the Sacred Band with a Move Charge into it. Especially because it didn’t fit with his activation order. This meant he was once again relying on the initiative in the next round.

Father loved me, so I got the initiative. The Apex ate two stands of the Sacred Band and also survived the counterattack. The second Apex went into the Thorakites, who fought with the Veterans, and even they were slowly worn down. My Veterans with Cheifthain finally engaged the chariots, which marked their end. Overall, I took almost his entire army off the field in this round. Gilli still had his second Agema, which tried to circle around me and advance into the small zone, but it was too late. I consistently held two to three zones and had a massive card advantage.

Day 1 was over, and I was exhausted but also satisfied with my performance. Two games in English and three strong opponents—it was definitely draining. For the next day, I was hoping for a somewhat easier opponent, but in the bracket, there was no one left who promised that. So, we all went together to a cozy inn and enjoyed the southern German cuisine.

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Game 4 with Maphi "Farnir" Werner (Wadrhun, Germany NTR 7)

Maphi, the winner of the last Worms tournament, joked that I had wished for an "easier" opponent yesterday at dinner, and now I had gotten him. A humorous comment that highlighted his strong self-irony, as he was fielding a list very similar to mine.

Double Time [2000/2000]
The W'adrhun

== Warlord Chieftain [100]: Conquest

* Veterans 4 [220]:
* Veterans 3 [170]:
* Braves 3 [130]:
* Slingers 3 [150]:

== Predator [100]: Death
* Braves 3 [130]:
* Slingers 3 [150]:

== Matriarch Queen [110]: Death, Apex Master

* Warbred 3 [180]:
* Warbred 3 [180]:
* Apex Predator 1 [190]:
* Apex Predator 1 [190]:

The scenario was Breakout, and the terrain divided our deployment zones. This made one of the outer zones less attractive, which shaped the game right from the first round. We chatted a bit, and while I was well familiar with the mirror match, Maphi had no experience with it. In the first round, he deployed his Slingers very passively, which gave me the opportunity to push forward and advance my reinforcement line quite far. This allowed me to score both outer zones in the second round, which surprised Maphi a bit. He had previously assessed the side game as not particularly relevant, and I took the time to explain to him at what range I thought it would make sense to consider this strategy. At the same time, I cleared the mission marker out of the way and kept my position at a distance, aiming to score for two rounds before he could start doing so. To prevent that, Maphi set up double Warbread on the right flank and kept his distance as well. But then, almost recklessly, he threw his first Veterans with Chiefthains into range of 18" from my Slingers. I gladly took this opportunity, shot one, and placed a Hunting Pack in Auto Charge for the next round.

I got to act first, and the Hunting Pack tore Maphi's Veterans apart, sending them off the board. Completely thrown off by the loss of his anchor in the center, he sent his Warbreads with Move Charge on the right side into my Veterans. However, half of those Warbreads fell victim to the Slingers. I then placed my first Apex behind the Veterans to protect them and failed the Clash action to eliminate the last Warbread. That was annoying, but it didn’t matter since I denied the zone. On the other side, I caused some damage to his second Veterans, which were supposed to cover the center, and his Queen, riding with healing on an Apex, marched forward on the left flank. Primarily to heal the Veterans, but overall too far ahead. She and the big Dino were right in the range of my Slingers for the next round.

In the following round, Maphi began, and we exchanged Veterans for two Warbread regiments. That was fine, but I knew I could have played it better; however, I got greedy and made some mistakes. When the Slingers then reduced the Apex of the Queen to one life during a shooting phase and the next shot finished the job, I had an absurd card advantage. With that, I could afford to finally position my Veterans in the middle zone to put pressure on his two Slinger regiments. This forced Maphi to confront me with his Braves. He positioned them in such a way that my Slingers could shoot at his Braves, and with Fire and Advance, they stayed out of his range. We played half a turn more, but eventually, Maphi conceded when he realized he couldn’t score any more points and I would wipe out his troops completely.

With that, the path to the final was clear, and since Nino had defeated the last French player, it was certain that the victory would definitely go to our club.

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Game 5 with Nino "Torsul" Beck (Old Dominion, Germany NTR 2)

Dear readers, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The grand final in Winnenden, and my opponent was none other than the incomparable, legendary Mr. Bonegolem in both body and spirit: Nino Beck. Winner of the last Bedburg tournament, ITC 2025 Champion, and for over 20 years my loyal friend, which is probably best explained by a severe case of Stockholm syndrome.

Nino knows my list inside and out. We play multiple games a month, even though his current OD list hadn’t faced my green wave yet. We played Head to Head, and his three Lights with Loose Formation were basically ten points on a silver platter for me. Either he set them up so defensively that they did nothing, or I wiped them out and got the 10 points. Even Nino estimated the matchup in this scenario at 65-35 in my favor, as long as I didn’t lose my Slingers unnecessarily. The issue with the Slingers is currently significant, as they simply tear through Loose Formation regiments with effective range and Torrential Fire at 18". Hopefully, this will be adjusted with the update at the end of the month.

Rheinhippoteetisch unter Tierschutz [1995/2000]
The Old Dominion

== Warlord Strategos [165]: Legio I 'Primigenia', Skofnung, Eternal Discipline
* Praetorian Guard 5 [260]: Standard Bearer
* Athanatoi 3 [170]:
* Athanatoi 3 [170]:

== Hierodeacon [90]:
* Buccephaloi 3 [220]:
* Buccephaloi 3 [220]:
* Cultists 3 [90]:
* Legionnaires 3 [115]: Standard Bearer, Optio

== Archimandrite [110]:
* Moroi 3 [180]:
* Cultists 3 [90]:
* Legionnaires 3 [115]: Standard Bearer, Optio

The game started. I got all my Lights except for the third Slinger, Nino got all of his. I went straight on the offensive, despite the Moroi, because I wanted to put pressure on them as early as possible. Nino placed his Cultists with Loose Formation on the right side towards the large zone, while the Moroi and other Cultists were placed centrally. So, he decided to play aggressively.

In round two, both sides had an additional selection. Nino got double Athanatoi and Praetorians, and I got double Veterans and Braves. I went first. My Slingers managed to do no more than two damage to the Moroi. In return, one Hunting Pack was almost completely wiped out, while the other cleared the Moroi. Nino's Archie failed to deal damage to the full Hunting Pack, so his Cultists decided to take the heavily damaged pack off the table for points. The other Cultists advanced boldly, allowing the Hiero to cast spells, but my Slingers were faster. They shot down almost the entire regiment and then withdrew. This left Nino without a target. The rest of the round was just a straightforward advance. My two Veterans regiments moved up to the side of the large zone, while Nino placed his Praetorians directly opposite. Two Athanatoi regiments appeared in the center and moved towards my small zone, where Braves were already waiting.

In round three, I got to go first. My Hunting Pack wiped out the Cultists of the Archimandrite. The others tried to retreat, but with Conquest, my Slingers were able to catch up with them. The score was 10 to 2. I would probably lose the Hunting Pack in the center to the Athanatoi, but Nino simply couldn’t get enough stands into the zone to surpass two Braves with characters. We quickly handled the rest of the round. The small dinos died, but in the center, the cows and my two Apexe appeared on the field to continue the dance later. Since things weren’t going well for Nino, he decided to double-move with the Athanatoi to force a reinforcement roll in the next round and maybe take out one of my Slinger units. Since he had the bonus, the idea was good, but I started again as in the following rounds. My Slingers wiped out the first Athanatoi unit, and the Apex almost ate the second regiment alone. The cows attacked my Apex but failed to kill it in the clash. In return, the second Apex went straight into their ranks and killed two cows. At this point, we both knew the game was essentially over, as I still had three Slinger regiments, which would simply cause a mountain of hits everywhere. Nonetheless, we kept playing, and as expected, the flank broke under the pressure.

Damage rained down from all directions. The Praetorians held out the longest, and both Veteran regiments fell to them. This cost them two or three stands as well, but when my Chiefthain was forced into a duel, both generals ended up killing each other. With that, the RR6 buff of the Praetorians was gone, and with Braves on one side and an Apex on their flank, they were finally cleared off the field.

With that, I won the second German two-day tournament. Nino secured second place. Gilli came in third, Kilian fourth, and Gregor with his Sorcerer Kings landed in fifth.

Nino and I were both completely satisfied with the result. Not only did we play a tactically strong and fair final, but it was also the first time that the French didn’t take home the victory at a tournament in Germany that they participated in. The fact that our club took first and second place made it the perfect conclusion to the event.