In our occasional series of looking outside the Worlds of Warhammer, I recently finished Andy Weir’s book which follows on the success of The Martian.
Cover from Goodreads
From Goodreads:
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian–while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
First up and to be honest — this is not a follow up to The Martian. It is a stand alone book. That said it includes all the styles and things that made the Martian so successful. Science… and lots of it – with some Engineering thrown in for good measure. There are also two story-lines here — one of Ryland Grace and his new companion trying to find the reason why the star they have visited is safe – and the second of the build up to the Earth mission.
This method is well executed by Weir and allows us to find out information at the same rate as the hero. It also allows for twists and turns in the story and some suprises and ‘ohhhhh’ moments which is great fun.
Meanwhile the main story is all about the difficulty of communication, new technologies, space, and science and Andy Weir does it superbly. It was a great read and definitely one worth considering if you’re looking for stories outside the Warhammer worlds.
My Genestealer Kill Team article is proving to be a bit of a slow burner hit, and I recently added some Termagaunts to the Kill Team to give me some slightly friendlier options if playing against new players, or irregular wargamers.
I have long loved the Tyranids and have a large collection in various stages of painting. In the distant past I did manage to make a 2,000 point army but this is now from such an old edition it needs a complete re-write before it would be useable.
Whilst painting my Warlord Games Napoleonic British I got a bit stuck on the 14mm models, and – taking my own advice – decided to paint something different. I remembered I had a Broodlord somewhere and, after a little rummaging, found it and undercoated it before I could get distracted by something else.
The ‘little’ chap ready to go.
The main paint scheme here is using Talassar Blue (still magic) with Teclis Blue drybrush. The base is from a 40mm sector imperialis base cut up to go around the pipe. And – as is normally the case with me – the base has more colours on it that the model. Oh well; I still think he looks good.
As I was completing him, I noticed a Space Marine helmet and had to decide what colour to paint it. Normally I would go red, because I collect Blood Angels as well, but it’s March so there was another option. Taking on the #MarchonMaggrage hashtag, I painted it blue for the Ultramarines (although it could be a Blood Angel Devastator of course)!
I don’t know what he’s pointing at, but I hope it’s not me.
With the Broodlord finished, I can now go back to Napoleonic troops… more small toys!
Hobby Bingo
This also means that I’ve done another Hobby Bingo Box!
The Brewdog AOS GT was a five game event that took place in Aberdeen, Scotland on 25th Feb. It saw 34 players fight it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
Win Rate
Advertisements
The Top Three Lists
John B – Cities of Sigmar
John B won all five games beating Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribein Round 1, 3rd placed Mike Callaghan with his Ironjaws/Ironsuns in Round 2, 2nd placed Phil McGuinness with his Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Bonesplitterz/Icebone in Round 4 and Maggotkin of Nurgle/Drowned Men in the last round.
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar – Subfaction: Living City – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Freeguild General on Griffon (290)* – General – Lance – Command Trait: Ironoak Artisan – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Soaring Guardian – Lore of Leaves: Lifesurge Doralia ven Denst (115)* Sorceress (95)* – Lore of the Leaves: Ironoak Skin
Battleline 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)* 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)* 10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)*
Units 4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)* – Drakerider’s Lance – Reinforced x 1 4 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (460)* – Reinforced x 1
Declan – Peter’s found me a non-Stormcast, non-Seraphon 5-0 list… however this is a Stormcast list in disguise with two of the best units from the book included – Stardrake Guard and Dracothian Fulminators. Mortal range shooting is currently very powerful and with over half the army being from a different book is it really Cities?!
The Freeguild Crossbowmen provide some shooting whilst holding objectives and providing bodies, and the Freeguild General on Griffon can help take out screens and charge with the Stormdrake and Fulminators — have your own screens present.
It’s a very powerful list but does need practice to win, and a little luck to go 5-0; Well done John B.
Advertisements
Phil McGuinness – Ironjawz
Phil managed an impressive four wins and one loss, losing against John B and his Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 3. He beat Sylvaneth/Winterleaf in Round 1, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 2, Beast of Chaos/Darkwalkers in Round 4and Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 5.
Allegiance: Ironjawz – Subfaction: Bloodtoofs – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – Boss Choppa and Rip-Tooth Fist – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un – Artefact: Destroyer Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Get ’em Beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Fixin’ Beat Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)** – Spell: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-Tooth Fist – Command Trait: Mighty Waaagh! Leader – Artefact: Arcane Tome – Lore of the Weird: Bash ‘Em Ladz
Declan – With the rise of Stormcast the Ironjawz may have been forgotten, but this list is still hard as nails and smashes and bashes it’s way through tournaments.
The two Maw Krushas are insanely quick and with Hand of Gork from the Shaman it is possible to have them on a 3″ charge at the end of the hero phase (teleport 12.5″ away, Mighty Destroyers). The Warchanters increase the damage output of the Krushas significantly and the Brutes (whilst small units) provide some solid defense of objectives. They can’t be taken out without an active effort.
Good to see Ironjawz in the top 3 again. I’m sure more will get there soon.
Advertisements
Mike Callaghan – Ironjawz
Like Phil, Mike won four games and lost only to eventual winner John B and his Cities of Sigmar/Living City list in Round 2. Along the way he beat the Flesh-eater Courts/Court of Delusion in Round 1, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 3, Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 4 and Lumineth Realm-Lords/Iliatha in Round 5.
– Army Faction: Ironjawz – subfaction: Ironsunz – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS ———-
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – General – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth Fist – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome – Spell: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Get ‘Em Beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* – Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)* – Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth Fist – Artefact: Destroyer – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un
BATTLELINE ———-
10x Orruk Brutes (320)** – Reinforced: Once 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)* 5 x Orruk Brutes (160)**
Declan – … as if by magic, there’s a second one — like buses! Almost identifical in the character loadout, with the shaman being dropped, but the 2 Warchanters & 2 Maw Krushas being maintained. This allows for Phil to take Ironsunz which have a superb counter charge ability at the end of the opponent’s phase.
The 10 Brutes are a very damaging unit, especially when given the Warchanter Violent Fury buff (+1 damage) once the Maw Krushas are out of range or dead. With lots of Drops this army rarely has the choice to go first, but with 121 wounds and 2 Maw Krushas there’s not much in the game that will successfully alpha-strike it.
A final shout out for taking Rippas… Phil’s clearly a great strategist! Read here to find out why I think they’re one of the best units available to the Ironjawz.
Advertisements
Wildcard – Cara Newby – Beasts of Chaos
Cara managed to get three wins and a draw during her weekend and finishing 7th. Beating Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 1, drawing against Blades of Khorne/Reapers of Vengeance in Round 2, beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Zaitrec in Round 3, losing against 2nd placed Phil and his Ironjawz/Bloodtoofs in Round 4 before beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Syar in the final round.
– Army Faction: Beasts of Chaos – Subfaction: Darkwalkers – Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain – Triumph: Indomitable
LEADERS ———-
Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)*** – Artefact: Tanglehorn Familiars – Spell: Hailstorm – Spell: Sundering Blades Grashrak Fellhoof (150)*** – Spell: Savage Dominion – Spell: Tendrils of Atrophy Great Bray-Shaman (100)*** – Spell: Wild Rampage – Spell: Tendrils of Atrophy Great Bray-Shaman (100)**** – Artefact: Desolate Shard – Spell: Wild Rampage – Spell: Vicious Stranglethorns Great Bray-Shaman (100)**** – Spell: Savage Dominion – Spell: Vicious Stranglethorns Doombull (115)**** – General – Command Trait: Nomadic Leader
BATTLELINE ———-
6x Bullgors (260)** – Reinforced: Once 30x Gors (225)** – Two Gor-Blades – Reinforced: Twice 20x Gors (150)** – Two Gor-Blades – Reinforced: Once 10x Ungor Raiders (90)*** 5x Grashrak’s Despoilers (0)****
Declan – Beasts of Chaos are having a resurgence following the recent White Dwarf article and it is good it see. Cara has gone full magic (I won’t pretend to know what it all does), with an additional spell for 5 characters, giving loads of options for all occasions, as well as all 3 Endless spells for the Beasts.
This is backed up by two Monsters allowing easy access to Monstrous Takeover and bonus points for other battle tactics. They are cheap enough to throw away as well once they’ve picked up the additional points available.
And it’s rounded off by some horde Battleline and 6 Bullgors. What an army… and hopefully I’ll see some Beasts of Chaos on my travels soon.
The below list are the tournaments that have been used to populate this data.
Quest of Champions – Heat 1 Columbus Brewhammer Ragnarok Hobbies Mindgames and Magic February AoS Tournament South Bend Age of Sigmar: February Tournament Da Great South Waagh Gods of War 2 Sunday Slaughter 7 Torna! (A Udine) AoS Bloodshed in the Shires Battle of Copenhagen Age of Sigmar 3rd Edition Tourney 2/12/2022 @Level Up Games Schlact Um Wiener Neustadt 3 Apotheosis – 22 Emerald City Open The Lone Star GT Giga King of the Hill Pt 1 Beginner Friendly Learner Tournament War Under the Mountain 11 Grot Gang RTT 3: Reloaded Atomic Age of Sigmar Lone Star GT Practice Tiny Fanatic I TTB Aos Open 2022 Leodis Legion AOS 19th February Age of Sigmar Hispania 2022 Loremaster #2 Cherokee Open – age of Sigmar GT Age of Sigmar Tournament Hosted by Oscar Lars & Warp Charged Gaming Slambo Age of Sigmar PCG Hosts Lightly Salted’s 1st Age of Sigmar RTT Old Town Throw Down AOS Milano – February Warm Up Brewdog AOS GT GT Pomeranian Little Alpacup III Mawtribes Massacre: Resurgence
Most Selected Grand Alliance
This month I’ve included a split as calculated by the number of battletomes for each Grand Alliance, the column on the far right shows each Grand Alliances variance to this ideal share. Order maintains its 40%+ share of all armies at tournaments. While Death still props up the rest with 13.3% in Feb falling from 15.4% in January.
Grand Alliance Win Rates
Order remain the top faction with a win rate of 50.7% but this has dropped from 53.3% last month. While last months second placed Grand Alliance, Destruction has fallen to last place with a win rate of 46.3%. Chaos climbed from last place in January to 2nd place in February, increasing their win rate to 48.5% from 42.9%.
Most Selected Battletome
Stormcast Eternals are still the most selected faction with 14.7% choosing to play the faction. Fyreslayers claim the wooden spoon with 1.1% allowing the Hedonites of Slaanesh to move up a position and increase their share from 0.6% to 1.3% or armies played.
Battletome Win Rates
Many articles I’ve read and players I’ve spoken too have said that for balance to be in the game each Battletome needs to have a win rate of between 45-55%. This of course is a pipe dream and an extremely difficult task to achieve, that being said this does show which Battletomes possibly need to be reviewed by GW in the future. More so if a Battletome is consistently underperforming such as Skaven or Gloomspite Gitz
Top 20 Most Selected Sub-Faction
It’ll probably come as no surprise that the Hammers of Sigmar still lead the table in the most played sub-faction.
Win rates for Sub-Factions with 50+ Games
Legion of the First Prince leads the way here with a disgustingly good 61.1% over Jan and Feb. While Skaventide prop up the rest with 34%.
5-0’s & 4-1’s
Below is a list of the number of times a faction/subfaction combo has achieved a 4-0-1 or better at a 5 game tournament
The AOS Milano – February Warm Up was a one day three game event that took place in Milan, Italy on 26th Feb. It saw 48 players fight it out to be crowned champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
Win Rate
Advertisements
The Top Three Lists
Bonalda Filippo – Stormcast Eternals
Bonalda won all three games beating Kharadron Overlords in Round 1, Daughters of Khaine/Khailebron in Round 2 and Ogor Mawtribes/Thunderbellies in Round 3.
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Subfaction: Hammers of Sigmar – Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence – Triumphs: Inspired
Units 4x Stormdrake Guard (680)* – Reinforced x 1 6x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)* – Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions *Battle Regiment
Total: 1995 / 2000
Advertisements
Luca Onorati – Legion of the First Prince
Luca also managed three wins. He beat Bonesplitterz/Icebone in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 2 and Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 3.
Allegiance: Legion of the First Prince – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Be’Lakor the Dark Master (360) – Spell: The Master’s Command Great Unclean One (495)* – General – Command Trait: Ruinous Aura – Artefact: Fourfold Blade – Spell: Flaming Weapon Kairos Fateweaver (435) – Spell: The Master’s Command
Battleline 10x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)* 10x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250) 5x Flesh Hounds (105)*
Roberto also won all of his games, beating Kharadron Overlords/Barak Thryng in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Hallowed Knights in Round 2 and Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 3.
– Army Faction: Stormcast Eternals – Subfaction: Hammers of Sigmar – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumph: Inspired
Federico also won all his games with a Nighthaunt faction that rarely finishes in the top half of tournament tables, he eventually finished the event in 6th. He won against Legion of the First Prince in Round 1, Legion of the First Prince in Round 2 and Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 3.
– Army Faction: Nighthaunt – Subfaction: Emerald Host – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumph: Bloodthirsty
LEADERS ———-
Guardian of Souls (135)* – Artefact: Lightshard of the Harvest Moon – Spell: Soul Cage Knight of Shrouds on Ethereal Steed (120)* – Artefact: The Traitor Knight’s Bade Guardian of Souls (135)* – Artefact: Pendant of the Fell Wind – Spell: Soul Cage Lady Olynder (215)** – General – Spell: Shademist Krulghast Cruciator (120)** Krulghast Cruciator (120)**
I’ve never actually owned an airbrush despite wanting one for many years. With the birth of my first child in 2019 I decided to postpone this purchase further as I was concerned that an airbrush would wake any children in the house when I used it (myself being a late night painter).
Recently however I had seen the YouTube advert for the neat and handy airbrush. The main draw was the fact that this was a cordless airbrush and no louder than an electric razor.
Delivery
I ordered the product on 21st February via their website, when ordering you’re given three locations for the airbrush to be despatched from. These are the UK, USA and Australia. I was given updates throughout the week on the progress of my order until it arrived on my doorstep on 23rd February. 3 working days! Impressive!
The box
Note I purchased the pack with the additional battery.
The airbrush came very well wrapped inside a bubble wrap envelope, the airbrush itself sits in a foam tray as shown above, very little opportunity for this to be damaged on route.
Batteries
Being an eager beaver I charged up the batteries immediately with the USB connector supplied. There is no plug with this, so you will need to plug the USB either into a computer or a phone charger plug with a USB port. The batteries were charged within 40 minutes each and they both provide 30 minutes of non-stop use.
Note that you can also use this while connected to the power supply if you wish through a power inlet on the compressor shown below. So if you do run out of battery you can still continue using the airbrush.
Noise
So how was the noise? Was it really as quiet as an electric razor? Actually, it was quieter! I recorded this on my phone (phone is approx 15cm from the airbrush).
But the true test of this, was my infant son of 5 months was sleeping in his cot in the next room and he didn’t even stir! Exactly what I need so far!
First Use
Here I had a problem. I had connected the charged battery, screwed the cup in and filled the cup with a little diluted Abaddon Black. I went to use the airbrush and only air was ejected from the nozzle. After playing around for sometime and becoming increasingly frustrated I emailed neat and tidy using their contact us page.
Bear in mind that I emailed them at 23:30 GMT, with this in mind I had a response within half an hour from a nice chap called John. John asked me how I had used it so far and if I could provide a video for them to view. After saying that I had cleaned the brush and tried it with water alone I was provided with a link to a quick fix.
Yup, that did the job!
I used citadel paints on my first go and immediately found that these needed diluting for them to work, but once they had a little water added to them the airbrush worked a treat.
There is very little in the way of over spray from what I can tell and the airbrush is extremely easy to control.
Conclusion
It’s obviously not a high end airbrush but it’s a perfect tool for undercoating your miniatures indoors as well as giving you an easier way to paint OSL if you wish.
Plus with the support I received I can’t recommend this brush enough!
The February Old Town Throw Down was a five game event over two days that took place in USA on 26th and 27th Feb. It saw 45 players fight it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
Win Rate
Advertisements
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from The February Old Town Throw Down.
Alexander Gonzalez – Soulblight Gravelords
Alexander won all five games beating Maggotkin of Nurgle/Blessed Sons in Round 1, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 2, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 3, Blades of Khorne/Reapers of Vengeance in Round 4 and Seraphon/Fangs of Sotek in the last round.
Leaders Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (435) – General – Deathlance – Command Trait: Pack Alpha – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Foetid Miasma – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon Radukar the Beast (315)** Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (380) – Lore of the Deathmages: Fading Vigour
Battleline 10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)** 10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)** 10 x Dire Wolves (135)**
Units 20 x Grave Guard (280)* – Great Wight Blades – Reinforced x 1 20 x Grave Guard (280)* – Great Wight Blades – Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions *Hunters of the Heartlands **Battle Regiment
Declan – Alexander went 4-1 at Emerald City with the same list… and he’s gone one better here. It shows the benefit of playing multiple games of Age of Sigmar especially if you get two tournaments in two weekends. Not essential by any means, but I know I’ve improved playing in multiple tournaments!
But it’s been less than a week, I’ve not really learnt anything new here… so a repeat of the Emerald City comments!:
40 Grave Guard! Wow! I’ve fought 20 of them before and they can kill a Mega Gargant over a couple of rounds of combat. Backed up by Mannfred and a Zombie Dragon, this army can get where it needs to get to.
The really secret tech (may not be secret) is Mannfred’s command ability:
From: Wahapedia
Considering most armies pay 1 command point for a one phase +1 to hit this is amazing value for a command ability. Sure it’s a relatively small range but with the smaller boards and Mannfred’s ability to run away from combat this is almost impossible to stop. Then it’s Grave Guard for the win!
Advertisements
Christopher Hernandez – Seraphon
Christopher managed an impressive four wins and one draw over the weekend. He beat Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 1, drew against Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 2, Big Waaagh! in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Tempest’s Eye in Round 4and Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 5.
Declan – Ah Seraphon… how I’ve missed you. Although I’ve not had a lot of chance to do so. This is Seraphon… again … and they are as good as ever. As I’ve said before they have a great toolkit and you can almost pick what you like… except maybe Saurus foot and Carnosaurs.
The Battle Regiment is taken by Christopher, to reduce the drops – a very popular choice – and he’s taken Kroak. He’s a monster of a Wizard and can throw out loads of damage, much of it board wide or essentially board wide. Also, good luck killing him as he heals all his wounds each phase (sort of)!
Wahapedia
So you can kill him with only 2 wounds… but good luck trying! I’ve fought Kroak 3 times and not come close to killing him in any of the games. Bring guns… loads of guns!
Kroak is backed up by some great monsters including the ubiquitous Bastiladon. – what a great list!
Advertisements
Aaron Newbom – Big Waaagh!
Aaron won four of his five games, losing only in Round 3 against 2nd placed Christopher and his Seraphon/Thunder Lizard list. Along the way he beat the Daughters of Khaine/Hagg Nar in Round 1, Slaves to Darkness/Hosts of the Everchosen in Round 2, Slaves to Darkness/Despoilers in Round 4 and Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 5.
– Army Faction: Orruk Warclans – Army Type: Big Waaagh! – Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence – Triumph: Indomitable
LEADERS ———-
Orruk Megaboss (140)* – Artefacts of Power: Destroyer Orruk Warchanter (115)* Orruk Warchanter (115)* Wurrgog Prophet (150)** – Artefacts of Power: Glowin’ Tattooz – Spells: Ghost-mist Orruk Megaboss (140)** – Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)** – General – Command Traits: Master of Magic – Spells: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
BATTLELINE ———-
5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)* 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)** 15 x Orruk Brutes (480)*** -Reinforced: Twice 15 x Orruk Ardboys (255)*** – Reinforced: Twice 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)***
ARTILLERY ———-
1 x Beast-skewer Killbow (130) 1 x Beast-skewer Killbow (130)
CORE BATTALIONS – *Warlord – **Warlord – ***Hunters of the Heartlands
TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000
Declan – Ah… Big Waagh! It has had a mini-revival recently and I’ve been having fun leading this charge in the UK. Aaron only lost to Christopher’s Seraphon and has gone a very different route than my ‘almost Ironjawz’ approach.
The Wurrgog is great with his stare (beware of ending a turn within 12″ of him), and I love the double Megabosses on Foot which I’ve tried before in Ironjawz. When Big Waagh is up and running they are 2+/2+ which is difficult to better. The Hand of Gork allows Aaron to threaten teleport into any area of the board which keeps opponents honest and means they have to defend their territory.
Meanwhile the Killbows provide reach to go and get the enemy – although if you play with this be aware that the Big Waagh hit and wound bonuses don’t apply. A great army and a superb result.
Advertisements
Wildcard – Gregory Brewer – Kruleboyz
Gregory also won 4 games with a Kruleboyz faction that rarely finishes with more than 3 wins at tournaments, he eventually finished the event in 6th. He lost his third game against Lumineth Realm-Lords/Helon list. He won against Lumineth Realm-Lords/Ymetrica in Round 1, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 2, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 4 and Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in the last round.
– Army Faction: Orruk Warclans – Army Type: Kruleboyz – Subfaction: Big Yellers – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumph: Bloodthirsty
LEADERS ———-
Kragnos (720) Gobsprakk (280)* – Spells: Nasty Hex Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot (105)* – Artefacts of Power: Mork’s Eye Pebble – Spells: Nasty Hex Killaboss with Stab-Grot (110)* – General – Command Traits: Supa Sneaky – Boss‑hacka and Skareshield
BATTLELINE ———-
9 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (360)* – Reinforced: Twice 3 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (120)* 3 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (120)*
OTHER ———-
20 x Hobgrot Slittaz (160)* – Reinforced: Once
CORE BATTALIONS – *Battle Regiment TOTAL POINTS: 1975/2000
Declan – When Kruleboyz were first released, people immediately looked towards the Big Yellers and this is no expection. The Man Skewer Boltboyz remain a solid option, although maybe not up the shooting standards of other battletomes. They have the reach to do damage at range, and means that once Kragnos is in amongst your opponent’s troops causing damage left and right.
It’s great to see Kragnos starting to appear in 4-1 lists since his warscroll re-write in December. It certainly seems to be an improvement, and he’s scary to face as I found out at Chumpionship last weekend.
The Cherokee Open was a five game event over two days that took place in USA on 26th and 27th Feb. It saw 51 players fight it out to be claimed champion.
Most Selected Faction/Subfaction
Win Rate
Advertisements
The Top Three Lists
These were the top three lists from the Cherokee Open tournament.
David Fields – Stormcast Eternals
Astral Templars by Vincent Knotley
David won all five games beating Flesh-eater Courts/Gristlegore in Round 1, Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in Round 2, Daughters of Khaine/Khelt Nar in Round 3, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befoulding Host in Round 4 and Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Arcanum in the last round.
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Stormhost: Astral Templars (Stormkeep) – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders ———-
Karazai, The Scarred (600)* – General Lord-Relictor (145)* – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Spell: Celestial Blades – Prayer: Bless Weapons
Battleline ———-
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Lance 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Lance 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Lance 5 x Liberators (115)* – Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield 5 x Liberators (115)* – Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield
Core Battalions *Battle Regiment
Additional Enhancements Holy Command: Steadfast March
Declan – I don’t know how many times I can say / write ‘Dragons’ without the readers getting bored… but here’s one more time! Dragons!
But David has brought Karazai with him and – not having seen him much up to now – I checked out his warscroll.
Wahapedia
He’s effectively a more damaging version of the Maw Krusha (for more points) with great rend and the very little degredation in his profile. You need to do 12 wounds on him to even get the Jaws down to a 3+ to wound…! Wow!
So it’s not really a reduction in power, just a reduction in units. All in all a great result from David and his Dragons.
Advertisements
Mrigank Jha – Stormcast Eternals
Knight Excelsior Chapter
LVO 2022 top eight veteran Mrigank also managed an impressive five wins over the weekend. He beat SIronjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 2, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 3, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 4and Daughters of Khaine/Khelt Nar in Round 5.
Knight-Judicator with Gryph-Hounds (205)* – Artefact: Mirrorshield Lord-Imperatant (175)* Lord-Relictor (145)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Spell: Starfall – Prayer: Translocation
Battleline ———-
3 x Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (240)** 3 x Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (240)** 3 x Annihilators (200)* 5 x Liberators (115)** – Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield – 1x Grandweapons
Units ———-
6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)* – Reinforced x 1 3 x Aetherwings (65) 3 x Prosecutors with Stormcall Javelins (115) – 1x Stormsurge Tridents
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands
Declan – You can tell a Battletome is doing well when two players get 5-0 at a tournament with completely different armies. Mrigank has got a lot of different units in here, but it all revolves around the Longstrikes. They are well priced as a unit (480 points for 12 wounds is expensive), but it’s the support functions that operate with it that makes them crazy good.
The Thunderbolt Volley allows the player to teleport a unit on a 2+ (with re-roll), and then the Thunderbolt Volley allows the unit to shoot in the hero phase (once a game). Shooting at 30″ and doing mortal wounds with great rend, these models can take out whole units at once – with minimal risk to themselves. We’re seeing a lot of these in the UK meta at the moment!
Advertisements
Jon Anderson – Idoneth Deepkin
Jon won four of his five games, losing only in Round 1 against Ogor Mawtribes/Boulderhead. Along the way he beat the Ogor Mawtribes/Boulderhead in Round 2, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 3, Ogor Mwatribes/Boulderhead in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 5.
Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin – Enclave: Fuethan – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
LEADERS ———-
Eidolon of Mathlann, Aspect of the Storm (330)* – Artefact: Cloud of Midnight Isharann Tidecaster (105)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Lore of the Deeps: Arcane Corrasion BATTLELINE ———-
20 x Namarti Reavers (340)* – Reinforced: Once 20 x Namarti Reavers (340)* – Reinforced: Once 10 x Namarti Reavers (170)*
UNITS ———-
3 x Akhelian Ishlaen Guard (155)* 3 x Akhelian Ishlaen Guard (155)*
BEHEMOTHS ———-
Akhelian Leviadon (380)* – Mount Trait: Reverberating Carapace
CORE BATTALIONS *Battle Regiment
Declan – Non-Stormcast – what a relief… and I struggle to comment on this as Idoneth are not well represented in the UK meta at the moment so I haven’t played against them recently.
Wahapedia Again!
So what do they do – A reasonable shot (4+/4+/-/1) and good melee weapons, they can do two roles in a game where movement and range is key – they look great. I ran Gitmob archers in AOS1 and know how much damage 60 shots at 4+/4+/-/1 can do, especially now that there is access to All Out Attack. A great result from Jon to be top of the 4-1 bracket.
Advertisements
Wildcard – Calvin Rarie – Bonesplitterz
Calvin also won 4 games with a rarely seen Bonesplitterz faction and finished the event in 6th. He lost his second game against Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Arcanum list. He won against Disciples of Tzeentch/Eternal Conflagration in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Knights Excelsior in Round 3, Flesh-eater Courts/Gristlegore in Round 4 and Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in the last round.
Allegiance: Bonesplitterz – Warclan: Icebone – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders Wurrgog Prophet (150)* – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Glowy Green Tusks Maniak Weirdnob (100)* – General – Command Trait: One Wiv Da Beast – Glowy Green Tusks – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un – Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)*
Battleline 15 x Savage Boarboys (420)* – Stikkas – Reinforced x 2 5 x Savage Boarboys (140)* – Stikkas 10 x Savage Orruks (165)* – Chompas
Units 10 x Savage Boarboy Maniaks (290)* – Reinforced x 1
Declan – Peter knows how to get my attention and Bonesplitterz is certainly a great call. Calvin has Kragnos (Kraggy) and 31 Boarboyz. This army can run straight forward and trap you in your own deployment stopping the opponent getting objectives.
And although Kraggy is a lot of points, there is still 123 wounds of 6+ (or better) ward saves backing him up, including one turn at 4+ in combat). Difficult to kill and the Boarboyz are not completely useless in combat – ignore them at your peril — and bring screens!
