Ard Boyz 2011 Prelim Report

It's that time of year again when everyone brings the filth and fights the worst of the worst composition. For those that don't know, Ard Boyz is a 3000 point tournament with no comp, Grand Armies, and special characters allowed. The format is 3 separate tournaments, over 3 months, with 3 rounds each. To be invited to the next round, you must place top 3 at a Prelim and then Semi final to move on. Last year I fought through all 9 games to get a tie for 3rd place at the Chicago Battle Bunker Final for Ard Boyz 2010. This year was a much harder Prelim, at least army composition wise...

First, lets start with my list. I discussed my army build on the BAd Dice Podcast, but I ended up changing at the last minute to to some interest in getting another hard hitting unit, but not sacrificing any I already had :

Grey Seer, talisman of preservation
Grey Seer, power scroll
Plague Priest, plague furnace, dispel scroll
Chieftain, bsb, storm banner
Warlock Engineer, doomrocket
47 Clanrats, full command, shields
30 Storm Vermin, full command, banner of eternal flame
40 Slaves, musician
40 Slaves, musician
43 Slaves, musician, shields
24 Plague Monks, musician, standard bearer
6 Rat Ogres, 4 packmasters
5 Gutter Runners, poison, slings
Hell Pit Abomination
Hell Pit Abomination
Hell Pit Abomination

As you can see, I dropped the Screaming Bell and tweaked some other points in favor of adding a 6 strong Rat Ogre unit I was hoping to count on to harass the flanks.

We ended up having a very poor turnout for our Prelim location, but that is to be expected with SO MANY prelim locations now available. The second round will have only 1 location per state or so, so I expect much larger turnouts. I still got in 3 quality games against 3 very tough lists. So lets get right into it...

Game 1, Dark Elves

Crone Hellbron
High Sorceress, lvl 4, lore of Fire, sacrificial dagger, pendant of khaeleth, ironcurse icon
Haq Queen, bsb, banner of hag graef (ASF banner)
Haq Queen, cauldron of blood
Sorceress, lvl 2, lore of dark magic, dispel scroll, guiding eye
45 Witch Elves, manbane, banner of murder
33 Warriors, standard of discipline
20 Repeater Crossbowmen
1 Assassin
1 War Hydra
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower

Scenario 1 was Meeting Engagement with random sight distance. My opponent was hindered in many of his attempts to shoot by rolling low, but I don't think it effected the outcome of the game at all. I set up first and deployed my Slaves and one Hell Pit up front ready to take on the Witch Elf horde. I was planning on stalling with Slaves all game, but ended up not having to! My opponent did not take initiative by rolling a 6, so I went first.

I moved forward ready to take charges and getting into the witch elves with sacrificial slaves, I manuevered my doomrocket 14 inches from the center of the Witch Elves who had also set up on his own deployment line. The winds of magic were kind, and after launching a scorch on the witch elves that failed, I skitterleaped my second Grey Seer into the dark elf lines next to the Cauldron. Power Scroll and crack's call lead to a dead cauldron and 2 of 3 dead bolt throwers in his lines.

After this turn of events, I crippled his plans to continue to buff up the witch elves and run through my army. Shortly after, I fired a perfect 14 inch doomrocket shot into the center of the witchelves and killed 25 in a single go! My Gutter Runners had managed to put 2 wounds on the hydra as well on the far flank. Another turning point in the game was when the Furnace unit was able to charge the witch elves that remained after their slaying of many slaves that continued to hold them with Steadfast leadership. Crone Hellbron challenged the Plague Priest on his furnace, put all of her attacks onto the furnace, and with 7 hate-filled strength 10 attacks only did 5 wounds, so that when everything attacked back I hit her in the face with the wrecking ball (on my own turn) 10 times fr max combat res.

After wiping the Witch Elves I was able to finish off the Dark Elfs easily and complete the game with perfect battle points 24-0. My opponent conceded after 4 turns so I also scored 3250 victory points vs his 400.

Game 2, Lizardmen



Slaan, general, bsb, lore of shadow, cupped hands, rumination, mystery, cogitation, standard of discipline
Old Blood, burning blade, armor of fortune, dawnstone, other trickster's shard
Skink Priest, lore of heavens, cube of darkness
Scar Vet, armor of destiny, great weapon
10 Skinks, blowpipes
24 Saurus, hw/s
24 Saurus, hw/s
24 Saurus, spears
25 Temple Guard, banner of eternal flame
8 Chameleon Skinks
8 Chameleon Skinks
2 Salamanders
2 Salamanders
2 Salamanders


Game 2 was against Mike Hernandez, who I have posted before as some of my main compestition and one of my toughest opponents that I regularly play against. During setup, I deployed using the same strategy that I used against him on a smaller scale in the pre-Adepticon Primer where I beat him on the final table. I loaded up my troops on my right flank away from the side where he deployed his first 2 units of Salmanders, content to let him flame my Slaves.

Mike went first and moved forward. His Blood Soaked Choppa unit to get +1 strength and attack were the Saurus with spears. Mine were my Storm Vermin. He moved his Chameleons on the right to attempt to slow down my hell pits that filled that side, and had ineffective magic. I was able to get my Storm Vermin into one unit first turn, one Hell pit into another, break through both units into that side's alamander pack, and really disrupt the entire flank on the first turn.

I took the charge from Mike's Blood Soaked choppa unit with my Slaves and held them to be magic'd and doomrocketed before eventually getting a Hell Pit into them to finish them off. My Storm Vermin finished off the Salamander pack and overran out of charge range, leaving my Furnace able to charge the Saurus with the Old Blood. The Temple Guard got into my flank the next turn, leaving them open for a triple abom charge combat!

The Abominations worked through the Oldblood, Saurus, and Temple Guard over 2 turns. Over those 2 turns I used my Power Scroll to cast Wither on the Slaan unit, and the next turn also got it on irresistable force. At minus 2 toughness vs Hell Pits, you are in a tough spot even as Saurus with a flaming banner. The far Hell pit finished off the Old Blood and the second turn got into the rear of the Slaan, killing him on our last turn time allowed and getting me the maximum victory 24-0 with about 2900 vps vs 400 or so again.

Game 3, Lizardmen

Slaan, general, bsb, lore of heavens, rumination
Old Blood, carnosaur, burning blade, armor of fortune, other trickster's shard
Skink Priest, engine of the gods, lore of heaves, dispel scroll
Skink Priest, engine of the gods, lore of heavens
28 Saurus, hw/s
30 Saurus, hw/s
12 Skinks
Stegadon
Ancient Stegadon
1 Salamander
1 Salamander
1 Salamander

Wow, this was definitely a monster mash list. I was quite nervous sitting across the table at first, because I had dropped all of my cannons in favor of the hell pits because of the scenarios. 4 stegadons and a Carnosaur should be very rough against my army if supported right with Saurus. BUT, we would never find out...

I deployed first for the Meeting Engagement rules and the Chaos Portal scenario. My opponent loaded up my left flank with all of his stegadons in a row and put his Slaan and 30 Saurus in a building next to them. He went first but we ruled Tsunami for the scenario chart, halving all movement. He left all of his Stegadons in a row, and with an inneffective magic phase due to low dice, I went and unleashed the Skaven.

I positioned my Plague Furnace on the Chaos Portal in the center of the board, because the scenario was such that if you controlled it you got +500vp's, but if no one controlled it the game was an auto Draw. It didn't matter though as my second Grey Seer was Skitterleaped next to the line of Stegadons and the Slaan in the building. Power Scroll, Cracks's Call, and a phenominal distance roll of 18" on the 4d6 hit all 4 Stegadons and the building with the 30 man Saurus unit and Slaan. Unfortunately for me I only killed one ancient stegadon, but unfortunately for my opponent I rolled a 6 and destroyed the building. According to Crack's Call, if you hit a building you destroy it on a 5+ and then EVERY MODEL inside must take an Initiative test or be removes. After the dice rolling, he had 5 of 30 Saurus left and his Slaan had fallen into the cracks of the Under Empire. My opponent shook my hand and said good game, and I won the third game of my Ard Boyz prelim.

Last year was a better turn out by far for the prelim, but I do believe this year the limited armies were tougher competition and composition. I will be attending the Michigan location for the Ard Boyz semi finals, held at the same store as my prelim (Pandemonium in Garden City, MI). I expect a much larger turn out, and a very different Skaven list now that I have already peaked at the round 2 scenarios. I will of course be updating my game when the time comes, so follow me on Twitter @Rhellion, and keep an eye on this space!

P.S. I didn't get the 13th Spell off the entire tournament. I cast it once vs Dark Elves and got scrolled.

Bad Dice Interview

Hey cool news! Episode 59 of The Bad Dice Podcast is out and I have a nice long interview about Adepticon, Skaven, Tournaments, and 'Ard Boyz. Please have a listen to support the Ben's if you're not already a listener!

I had a great time and appreciate the guys inviting me onto their show. Check them out HERE or on my Podcast list on the right margin further down the page!

Blood in the Sun

Blood in the Sun is a 2 day GT in Hainesville, IL on July 8-10. I will be attending with the Skaven with 2400 points of ratty goodness. The tournament is already full, but they are starting a waiting list, and if you pay up front I believe you go straight to the front of the line ahead of people already registered, but who have not paid. Another interesting aspect to BITS is the Re-Roll token. There are 4 possible re-rolls to earn that can be used once per game during the first 4 games of the tournament for any single six-sided die including artillery dice. They are earned by paying on time, having your list in on time, participating in the terrain contest, and one for just showing up! Here is more info on the terrain contest:

Terrain Contest

Participants should create one piece of terrain no larger than 8”x8”x6” (Length, Width, Height). It should be Fully Painted and should represent one of the following from pages 118-131 of the Big Red Book. Please use the word “represent” loosely and feel free to be as creative as you would like.

• Anvil of Vaul
• Temple of Skulls
• Necrotic Ooze
• Blazing Barricade
• Blessed Bulwark
• Ghost Fence
• Plain Ol' Fence
• Altar of Khaine
• Arcane Ruins
• Bane Stone
• Idol of Gork
• Magic Circle
• Plain Ol' House
• Dwarf Brewhouse (High Elf Nightclub?)
• Haunted Mansion
• Wizard's Tower

Terrain Pieces will be used during the event and will be placed on a randomly allocated gaming table. Winners for the Terrain Awards will be chosen by the tournament organizers as well as peers. Entries must show craftsmanship or it will be rejected from the competition (No Pre-made and Pre-Painted Terrain or random object that you attempt to justify ie no handing us a Snickers Bar and stating it's a Ghost Fence). Prefab houses, etc. are fine as long as it took some effort on your part to assemble and paint it.

 Scoring is 50% battle, 15% comp (opponent scored), 15% sports, and 20% painting. There are no item or army restrictions other than no special characters and your comp score. Dogs of War and Dwarfs of Chaos are allowed.

 I will be playtesting lists at 2400 points over the next few months, in between other events! BITS is definitely the big event of the summer for me, so I am looking forward to it.

Find more info about BITS on their WEBSITE.

'Ard Boyz 2011!

Just got off Skype with the Ben's of the Bad Dice Podcast, and we had a nice chat about Adepticon, 'Ard Boyz, and the sort of tournaments I attend. With that said, 'Ard Boyz 2011 is in THREE days. What are you bringing? I am showing up to Pandemonium with these bad boys...

Some more pics of each here, here, and here.

Warhammer Fantasy Championships 1-2

And now for the Main Event at Adepticon 2011: the Warhammer Fantasy Championships. 4 games in one day of Warhammer at 2200 points with very little restriction other than no special characters. To start, my list was similar to something I would normally run, but I risked my General by giving him a Power Scroll and guaranteeing one miscast per game if I used it. Here is the list

The list:
Grey Seer, Level 4 (3 Ruin, 1 Plague), Talisman of Preservation, Power Scroll
Plague Priest, Level 1 Plague, Plague Furnace, Dispel Scroll, Ironcurse Icon
Chieftain, BSB, Shield, Dragonhelm, Opal Amulet
Warlock Engineer, Doomrocket
30 Storm Vermin, Fang Leader, Musician, Standard, Storm Banner
30 Clan Rats, Claw Leader, Musician, Standard
40 Slaves, Musician
39 Slaves, Musician
30 Plague Monks, Bringer, Musician, Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame
5 Gutter Runners, Slings, Poisoned Attacks
5 Gutter Runners, Slings, Poisoned Attacks
Hell Pit Abomination, Warp Spikes
Warp Lightning Cannon
Warp Lightning Cannon

2199

As I walked around the room, I saw a lot of nasty looking lists (not that mine was a fluffy bunny). The only thing that really worried me righ off the bat was all of the double Hydra Dark Elf lists. The I sat down to my first table to find a double Hydra Dark Elf list!

Game 1: Dark Elves

My opponent had 2 Hydras, a Cauldron, General on pegasus, Cold Ones, block of spears, block of corsairs, repeater crossbowmen, and 2 units of shades. My opponent set up first with Dawn Attack with most of his army on my left. I set up with my entire army split, and only 1 unit deployed in the center.

I rolled and stole the initiative! It was now or never so I decided to do something rash to take the game early. Skaven plans NEVER fail...right? My Grey Seer cast Skitterleap and my opponent let it go off. What damage can a Grey Seer on his own do? I decided to place my Seer right in the middle of my opponent's lines, next to 2 Hydras. I then cast a Power Scrolled Crack's Call through both Hydras, all 6 Cold Ones, and his level 4. The first Hydra rolled a 1. The second Hydra rolled a 2. Heartbreak. Laughter. Lamenting the imminent death of my Grey Seer. But he survived! Ever with the Dark Elf Shades on his tail, the scenario rules were basically a Storm Banner, and on the Dark Elf turn I activated my own Storm Banner to stack with the effect.

Because my Grey Seer was in his lines, I actually marched blocked his Hydras. The were in a nice line, so on the second turn I shot my Warp Lightning Cannons. The first shot misfired and did nothing. The second shot went through both Hydras, doing 5 wounds to the first and 4 wounds to the second! A sigh of relief as the Grey Seer's failure did not cost me too much. With the Storm Banner active, my opponent could also not move his General into position to effect the game much until the third turn. By that time he had moved out into the open, baiting my Hell Pit Abomination. On my third turn I took a shot at him and the Cold Ones with my WLC, destroying the Cold Ones and revealing the reverse ward save pendant. Next turn I charged my Hell Pit into him and did ZERO wounds. But he did no wounds back, and I won the fight on combat res. My opponent then rolled and failed his leadership, and was run down by the Hell Pit's 3d6 random movement!

That was pretty much the game as my opponent had lost both Hydras, his General, has my HPA in his midst, and my Plague Furnace was mopping up archers and coming down his flank. Great game, crazy dice, and big win for the Skaven in round 1.

Game 2: High Elves

More Elves! Game 2 was against Chris Yu and his beautiful High Elf display that was Player's Choice. The Elves had a level 4 Life mage, Swordmasters, White Lions, Dragon Princes, a spearmen bunker, large unit of archers, a bolt thrower, and 3 eagles.

With my deployment I set up to take control of the center of the board, guard my flank from Dragon Princes with Slaves and a building, and move my Hell Pit and Furnace in from the flank. This game was almost entirely tactical movement, as we didn't get into any serious combat until the bottom of the third turn. My Storm Banner combined with Skaven magic kept his Eagles out of the majority of the game and I believe was a large factor to my winning. I saved spell dice each turn to keep the birds grounded.

Early on I tried to soften his small but elite numbers up with cannon fire and magic. I even ran my Hell Pit backwards rather than towards him on one turn in order to delay combat for another turn, and it worked out perfectly. My Gutter Runners nuetralized the Eagle and Bolt Thrower in the center of the board late in the game, and I made my moves.

He charged his Swordmasters into my Slaves that had moved up to protect my Grey Seer's unit. The Dragon Princes were into the Slaves that were hugging the building. The Archers had fled from a charge from the Storm Vermin and Furnace, and were out of play (but not out of the game). To counter, I finally unleashed the 13th Spell on his White Lions, that I had waited to use. They were taken down to manageable numbers, but then fled and were caught by my Gutter Runners. I fired Warp Lightning into the Slaves and Dragon Princes, recuding them to 1 knight eventually. The Hell Pit Abomination crashed into the flank of the Swordmasters and decimated them. His two main fighting units gone, the High Elves were effectively crippled.

Throughout the game, my strategy was to dispel Throne of Vines first and foremost. My opponent was very hesitant afterwards to throw 6 dice at Dweller's, knowing his Lord was unprotected. Finally he did decide to go for it, without Throne. 3 times he got Dweller's Below off on my Grey Seer's Clanrat unit. 3 times I passed the test with both my Grey Seer AND Chieftain BSB. This luck, combined with my wiping out the Swordmasters and White Lions, led to another big Skaven victory.

I was 2-0 going into game 3 against what turned out to be my nemesis of Adepticon: Vampire Counts! Next report with cover games 3 and 4, and my final standing.

WIP Arachnarok

Here is the post where I apologize for not having my Championships report up yet by posting why I didn't write my report this weekend. I was painting the Arachnarok! Here are the progress pictures I have from my weekend of spider painting.

Adepticon Results

I still have to post up my Championships review, but in the mean time the results have been posted on Adepticon's website!

Big Brawl (2-1)
22/73 Place, 36/60 Battle, 19/25 Paint, 30/32 Sports

Warhammer Championships (3-1)
23/143 Place, 65/100 Battle, 25/25 Paint, 31/32 Sports

Next year I think I may play all three days!