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.

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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.

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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.