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8th Ed. First Tournament Recap

Discussion in 'Battle Reports' started by MHK Pathfinder, Oct 10, 2013.

  1. MHK Pathfinder
    Cold One

    MHK Pathfinder Member

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    Just got back from my first 20 person tournament–800 points, 5 games, 75 minutes per game (yikes!)–and had an absolute blast. I thought I’d write up a little after-action report before I start forgetting everything that happened.

    Before the tournament, my friend and I ran two practice games at 500 and 1000 points to learn the rules, so this was really my first real experience playing in a semi-competitive setting

    Unfortunately, I don’t have any new images for you, as my camera on my phone doesn't work, and I forgot to grab my nice SLR before heading out.

    One note about the game: in each round we were issued a secret mission that would give us bonus points if we accomplished it. These were handed out as face cards from a card deck, and corresponded to a mission (kill a wizard, kill the BSB, end the game with a unit in the enemy’s deployment zone, kill and enemy general). Also, we were allowed to upgrade one standard bearer to a BSB for free.

    I’m not going to give a turn-by turn battle report of everything that happened, as today was largely a learning experience for me, but I’ll run through the games and give some of my thoughts about what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised me. Of course, since I faced all new races (except one), I encounter a lot of strange, wondrous, and terrifying units.

    Here's the list I played with:

    Hero
    Saurus Scar-Veteran on Cold One w/ halberd
    Magic Items: Dawnstone, Ironcurse Icon, Gambler's Armour

    Core
    20 Saurus Warriors w/ Full Command
    11 Skink Cohort w/ Musician and 1 Kroxigor

    Special
    5 Cold One Riders w/ Full Command, BSB w/Lichebone Pennant
    6 Chameleon Skinks w/ Stalker



    Round One: Lizardmen vs. Lizardmen

    So this tournament was a cold-blooded affair. 6 players brought Lizardmen, and the last guy I played in the tournament played 4 of his 5 games against the scaly monsters.

    First game was drawn randomly, and I faced off against another new player–first tournament, etc. This game was pretty slow, as we plodded through the rules, and we only made it through three rounds in the 75 minutes. We brought totally different armies, and he utilized several units I don’t have, so it was still fun. In any case, my Chameleon Skinks harassed his Saurus line throughout the game, while my saurus crushed his terradons and general. My Cold One Riders and Skrox unit double teamed his Temple Guard, and his Stegadon-mounted skink priest blew himself up with a strength 10 miscast. (Note: I don't think his list was legal, as he brought a stegadon with a skink priest to a 800 point game, but it didn't matter, because he wasn't that good at deploying/utilizing his units.)

    Result: Massacre Victory.

    Round Two: Lizardmen vs. Warriors of Chaos

    This game was great because I got to play against a really experienced and good player. The tournament is set up so you get matched with players based on your current victory points. I earned max points in round one (victory and mission points), so round two I was pitted against other players who had also done well in their games.

    The WoC player used a monster heavy army, which was to my advantage, as they were perfect targets for my 6 Chameleon skinks and their poisoned blow darts. He brought a Chimera, two chaos chariots, 20 chaos warhounds, and an exhalted hero. I scored some incredible hits early on his Chimera and one of his chariots with my chameleons and skink cohort, putting some much needed wounds on the models before they engaged my cavalry and general. My cavalry were all killed by the end of the game, but they took on the chimera, a chariot, plus the general, which only left two units for my Saurus Warriors to deal with: Chaos warhounds and the other chariot. Fortunately, his block of warhounds fled while my saurus charged, and couldn’t rally before leaving the board. The game ended with my unit of Saurus untouched, and my general, while he had one chariot and his general dodging my units until round six ended.

    Result: Tie (point-wise, nearly a Minor Victory for me.)


    Round Three: Lizardmen vs. Dark Elves

    So point-wise I’m still doing pretty well, playing at the top three tables. Maybe not winning gloriously, but certainly holding my own, and giving a good account for the scaly host of Lustria.

    And this is where everything went to hell.

    The Dark Elves player definitely knew what he was doing, and I made some pretty big mistakes that kept my riders and general out of combat for the entire game. Also note that he was using the old rulebook for the tournament, as the new book came out a day or two before the tournament.

    The DE player used his War Hydra as the hammer of his army, so I pushed my saurus warriors to keep it occupied while moving the rest of my forces. My Chameleons were able to put a few wounds on the hydra before it hit my saurus block, so I thought they would be able to take it down in a round or two of combat.

    Yeah…That didn’t work. The Hydra just had a blast breathing fire on my poor saurus, throwing a billion attacks at them, and then stomping them into the ground. They held fast til the end, but were annihilated to a man.

    On top of that, I had my cavalry pursuing other units the whole game without ever being able to charge them, so they didn’t get into combat until turn 5, and managed to kill one infantry model before being flanked and crushed.

    The most effective unit in my army was my Skrox. One skink managed to kill a DE Cold One Knight…just before they were overrun.

    Result: Massacre Loss


    Round Four: Lizardmen vs. Orcs and Goblins

    Let me just say, the first three games were relatively straight-forward. Playing against O&G is just different. They have so many special rules and abilities, that if you don’t know what you’re doing (like me), you just die. I can’t believe how many random S(x) hits I had to take when trying to charge or attack certain units. In any case, this was the first army I played against that used some real magic and war machines.

    I initially thought I was in some serious trouble, as after round two I had lost half my cavalry and a handful of saurus before they got within attack range. For the most part, I was able to dispel all magic during the magic phase, which allowed my Chameleons to run behind his lines and shoot at his war machines (unfortunately, they didn't put many wounds on his bolt throwers until the last two rounds). Once my guys got into combat, my Riders and Skrox charged his 30 goblin archers and overran them right into his wizard. The wizard challenged my Scar-Vet General, swung his pitiful blade at him, and then was sliced in half with the general’s mighty halberd.

    As this was happening, my saurus warriors were chopping down his mangler squiq and a fanatic before facing off against his big block of night goblins. His massive unit of 50 night goblins with a goblin warboss failed an EASY charge against my saurus, stumbling within 4 inches of my line, allowing my fearless saurus to counter-charge. Once the Cold Ones killed the wizard (only my general, the unit champion, and the BSB were still alive), they reformed and flanked the unit of night goblins and began grinding them down. The war machines couldn’t fire at anything, and my Skrox and Chameleons began knocking them down like dominoes.

    The battle against the night goblins was CLOSE, and my saurus warriors were almost all killed, but every unit I had managed to survive until turn 6, so Orcs and Goblins left with zero points.

    Result: Major Victory


    Round Five: Lizardmen vs. Vampire Counts

    I was worried about this game as we started placing units on the board. As we were explaining our units the VC player mentions that his unit of cavalry are ethereal, meaning they can only be killed by magic spells or attacks, OR, if they lose combat they take wounds. OH AND ALSO THEIR ATTACKS GRANT NO ARMOR SAVES.

    That’s all well and good, except I HAVE NO SPELLS OR MAGIC WEAPONS. I thought I was DOOMED.

    My battle plan from the start was to tarpit the ethereal unit with my unit that’s hardest to hit–the Cold One Cavalry and general–and hope that they miss a lot, and that I win combat resolution. I charged them turn one, and even though my guys couldn’t attack, they didn’t receive any hits, so I won combat resolution, killing one of the riders.

    At the same time, I’m moving my Chameleons to harass his monster, Varghulf, and my saurus and skrox towards his ghuls and lvl 2 Vampire Lord wizard.

    This is when things get awesome.

    The Vampire Lord gets one spell off, bolstering the ethereal knights (NOT COOL), but casts it with irresistible force, resulting in a miscast (COOL). She rolls Dimensional Cascade (I start laughing), dealing a S10 hit to 14 of her models. 14 ghuls die, and then she rolls poorly and is cast into the realm of Chaos. At this point the army has to make leadership tests or begin disintegrating because no undead vampire is around to maintain the undead army. 14 ghuls fail their check and disappear, and the remnant are charged by my saurus and crushed.

    At this point it’s looking pretty good for me. I've managed to wound his monster with some poison darts, and ethereal knights are failing leadership tests and disappearing. At this point he charges the flank of my Cold One Cavalry and general with Varghulf, and between him and the one remaining ethereal knight, they manage to kill my remaining cold one cavalry. My general flees, but the ethereal knight overruns him and kills him. Fortunately, my saurus are close. They reform and charge Varghulf (who has one wound left). This should be easy, right?

    WRONG. Their attacks do nothing. He takes out a whopping 10 saurus in combat, my unit flees, and he runs them down. I charge the ethereal knight with my skrox, and though they can’t attack, he misses with his attack, so my guys win combat advantage, and he disappears from the battlefield. My Chameleons, hungry for revenge, hunt down the Varghulf and bring it down with a hail of poisoned darts.

    Result: Minor Victory


    That left me with a 3-1-1 for my first tournament, which I'm happy with.

    A few thoughts about the tourney:

    [*]In an 800 point game, Cold One Cavalry are pretty spectacular.
    [*]The opponents magic helped me WAY more than it hurt me this tournament
    [*]Chameleon skinks are totally worth their cost.
    [*]DON’T pit saurus warriors against monsters.
    [*]Predatory Fighter is my new favorite Lizardmen rule.

    After battle, I decided that my Scar-Veteran acquitted himself well, often being the sole character that held a line or flanked at just the right moment. Thus, as a reward, I have given him a name and record. May his many future victories honor the will of the Old Ones!
    BoomShakalaka_zpsb6fa3ff8.jpg
    Some NBA Jam humor for you...
     

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