This is the Top Three AoS Lists for the Boise Cup O AoS GT that took place in Texas, USA on 30th and 31st July. It involved 52 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament. A larger event with a good spread of lists in the Top 5. The tournament used the CORRECT scoring system which awards bonuses to the Battleplan scoring including for denying a Battle Tactic. Something for TOs to consider.

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The Top Three AoS Lists

Army Faction: Soulblight Gravelords
– Army Type: Legion of Blood
– Grand Strategy: Lust for Domination
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

LEADER
1 x Neferata (365)
– Spells: Decrepify
1 x Vampire Lord (140)*
– General
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Arcane
– Artefacts: Arcane Tome
– Spells: Levitate, Invigorating Aura
1 x Mannfred Von Carstein (380)*
– Spells: Fading Vigour

BATTLELINE
5 x Black Knights (100)*
5 x Black Knights (100)*
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (80)*

ENDLESS SPELL
1 x Horrorghast (40)
1 x Chronomantic Cogs (40)
1 x Purple Sun of Shyish (70)

OTHER
10 x Blood Knights (390)**
– Standard Bearer
– Kastellan
20 x Grave Guard (280)**
– Standard Bearer
– Hornblower
– Seneschal
– Great Wight Blade

CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment
**Bounty Hunters

TOTAL POINTS: (1985/2000)

Brett: It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Soulblight in the spotlight it seems. Quickly checking the stats it’s still a popular faction at tournaments (right around the middle in entries) but is slowly dropping in performance against newer books. After spending a year around a 50% win rate it’s now dropped in the last month to a 38% win rate. This underlines how good a performance this is. While in the states the army is interesting for taking a less popular Sub-faction and an uncommon battle line.

What this army does bring though is three Flying Vampires wizards (thank you for that nightmare), a whole mess of spells and a murder of summonable (not sure that’s a word – Peter) units that will keep coming back. Six casts across the three heros and the current staple Cogs and Purple Sun. Cogs for rerolls before casting the Purple Sun for it’s typical debuff and potential to eat something important. Lets assume you drop it near two units everytime (10″ separation is required to prevent the sun touching two units) then over the course of a tournament it will eat something 8 times. With flying multi cast Vampire Wizards that could drop it in a home objective castle on turn 2. I’m not saying that did happen, but lets say it ate a Bastiladon or a Storm Drake. Or even Thanquol. That’s possible.

The list has a lot of mobile threats with the Knights combining with Manfred and Neferata to give a lot of options on positioning. The Vampire Lord is most likely going to stay close to the Summonable (Still not sure – Peter) units he can heal. Importantly for the Vampire Lords they all have heals if they kill something. Otherwise they work to weaken their enemy and reduce their bravery. Combining Horrorghast with the effects of the army is a nice touch, you can potentially lose a lot of 1 wound models in a turn that way. Their spells mostly reduce the combat effectiveness of their opponents and, like most Death armies there is a 6+ ward

The Grand Strategy is an interesting one, it’s book specific and requires you to control more gravesites than your opponent. They either need to disperse their forces to cover one or two of them and risk being attacked by summonable units (like the Black Knights) or cede the GS to you. You pick how many points there are and where they are. Nasty.

It’s good to see a different list from a faction that is struggling do so well, congratulations to Jeremy for taking it all the way to number 1.

Army Faction: Lumineth Realm-lords
– Subfaction: Zaitrec
– Grand Strategy: No Place for the Weak
– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS
Sevireth (345)**
Scinari Cathallar (110)***
– General
– Command Traits: Fast Learner
– Artefacts of Power: Gift of Celennar
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat, Protection of Hysh, Total Eclipse
Scinari Loreseeker (170)***
– Artefacts of Power: Blade of Leaping Gold
– Spells: Flaming Weapon, Lambent Light, Overwhelming Heat
The Light of Eltharion (220)***

BATTLELINE
Vanari Dawnriders (140)*
– Steedmaster
– Standard Bearer
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat, Total Eclipse
Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)**
– High Warden
– Spells: Lambent Light, Overwhelming Heat
Vanari Auralan Wardens (145)**
– High Warden
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat, Speed of Hysh
Vanari Auralan Sentinels (510)**
– High Sentinel
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat, Speed of Hysh

OTHER
Vanari Dawnriders (140)*
– Standard Bearer
– Steedmaster
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat, Speed of Hysh

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Emerald Lifeswarm (60)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Bounty Hunters
**Battle Regiment
***Command Entourage – Magnificent

TOTAL POINTS: 1985/2000

Brett: This tournament has been a bit of a blast from the past, Lumineth on the podium with a massive block of Sentinals and sporting Emerald Lifeswarm. So 2021. Still it’s hard to argue with 30 Archers that can shoot you even behind cover from across the map. That’s the heart of the list, a big block of archers with Wardens as screens. With Power of Hysh the 30 are still averaging 10 Mortal Wounds per turn. Unleash hell while they have Power of Hysh up is very painful. The Dawnriders in Bounty Hunters provide flexibility and threat across the board with much needed increased damage. No MSU is safe, particularly Galletian Veterans.

Severith is a unique threat piece with his extraordinary movement and fire and fade abilities. Exposing small heroes offers him opportunities, the Light and Cathallar are most likely going to remain near the shooting castle offering improved saves. increased bravery and spell protection. The Light of Eltharion is a good covering piece with his MW ranged attack and multiple attacks. The Scinari Loreseeker having Flaming Weapon (+1 damage) with Blade of Leaping Gold (+3 attacks) is very interesting combined with his Lone Agent ability. Drop him within 3″ of something important and apply 7 attacks hitting on 2s wounding on 3s with -1 rend and D3+1 damage.

Beaten into 2nd by one point this is a strong list harking back to the hey day of Lumineth. His opponents, apart from Nighthaunt, mostly had something big that would be a deserving target and without which the army would find it hard to recover. The final match up with Teclis would have been interesting, Dustin couldn’t have relied on his spells at all. The mobility of the Loreseeker, Seviarath and the Dawnriders would appear to be the difference. Loreseeker could do a lot of damage to a Sentinal block in one turn (and die).

Army Faction: Hedonites of Slaanesh
– Army Type: Invaders
– Army Subfaction: The Lurid Haze
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADER
1 x Sigvald (205)*
– General
1 x Bladebringer, Herald on Seeker Chariot (185)*
– General
– Spells: Hysterical Frenzy
1 x The Contorted Epitome (245)*
– General
– Command Traits: Feverish Anticipation
– Artefacts: Oil of Exultation
– Spells: Flaming Weapon
– Bonding: Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur

BATTLELINE
22 x Blissbarb Archers (280)*
– High Tempter
22 x Blissbarb Archers (280)*
– High Tempter
11 x Blissbarb Archers (140)*
– High Tempter

BEHEMOTH
1 x Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur (400)*

ENDLESS SPELL
1 x The Burning Head (20)
1 x Purple Sun of Shyish (70)

TERRAIN
1 x Fane of Slaanesh (0)

OTHER
5 x Centigors (85)*
5 x Centigors (85)*

CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: (1995/2000)

Brett: Archer meta? Krondspine, Purple Sun, 55 Blissbard and Sigvald, what a fun army. The Krondspine to threaten your heroes, block the board and eat endless spells. You don’t want to engage him but his movement makes him hard to ignore and you definitely don’t want to feed him. But if you do try to deal with him you give the opportunity for either the Epitome or Sigvald to wreck face. Sigvald is going to try to come from a board edge and the Epitome can move very quickly.

There aren’t a lot of buffs to their casting but the Epitome has reroll casts. That’s a big buff to getting the Sun out. Flaming Weapon with the Lurid Haze artefact and trait is good combo. 9 attacks at 2 damage particularly if it gets Overwhelming Acquiescence off. Sigvald will typically be entering from a board edge and using his charge to get into something important. Lots of damage, very small screens (Centigors) and a reason to get into your deployment. This is a fun army that is going to be very determined. It’s interesting that Matt’s only lose was to Lumineth.

That list was built around Teclis, so no Purple Sun and included a block of Sentials, the natural enemy of Blissbard. The Epitome and Sigvald would struggle with Teclis as well, this would have been a difficult army to engage. 3rd in a big tournament is a solid effort and reflects the value of Slaanehi lists.

Army Faction: Flesh-eater Courts: feast day
– Grand Strategy: No Place for the Weak
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty

LEADERS
Abhorrant Archregent (245)**
– General
– Command Traits: Dark Acolyte
– Artefacts of Power: The Dermal Robe
– Spells: Deranged Transformation
Abhorrant Ghoul King on Royal Terrorgheist (445)**
– Artefacts of Power: The Grim Garland
– Mount Traits: Gruesome Bite
– Spells: Blood Feast
Varghulf Courtier (160)**

BATTLELINE
Crypt Ghouls (85)***
Crypt Ghouls (85)***
Crypt Ghouls (85)***

OTHER
Crypt Horrors (220)*
Crypt Horrors (220)*
Crypt Flayers (360)*

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Purple Sun of Shyish (70)

TERRAIN
1 x Charnel Throne (0)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Bounty Hunters
**Command Entourage – Magnificent
***Expert Conquerors

TOTAL POINTS: 1975/2000
9 drops

Brett : An army that is currently among the lowest ranked in the current meta with some potential in this season 17th is a good result. Flesh Eater Courts work by applying overlapping buffs from their Nobles (or Heroes) to the Knights (Horrors and Flayers) and Serfs (Ghouls). That means, at least early on, you can expect a pretty big castle.

That makes a lovely target for some serious shooting if you have it. The army has 3 casts with the Archregent having +1 to cast, unbind or dispel from the Dermal Robe. The command trait appears to add a spell but they aren’t gaining the wizard trait (since it is a wizard) and he add Deranged Transformation to throw those Horrors further faster. The Ghoul King and his Terrorgheist have some “interesting” abilities but they are let down in the execution. Death Shriek is only really effective against Destruction armies or Cities but the other attacks inflict serious damage. The Gaping Maw/Gruesome bite combo is extremely nasty, reroll hit rolls, it has 3 attacks, where a 6 does 6 MW. Enough to one shot a Stormstrike Chariot. Twice. In the same game.

The Horrors have 3 attacks hitting on 4s that can be improved, doing 2 damage and 3 on wound rolls of 6. Flayers have 4 attacks only doing 1 damage but can redeploy quickly and does MW on 6s. The Archregent and Ghoul King can return models on top of their summoning which can make clearing the Horrors/Flayers more difficult. To stop the army you need to kill the heros or they will heal and summon. Unfortunately this army has effectively 6 screens to stop you doing that. You can play around the bigger units and pick up the screens through MW attrition and shooting. Like most death armies their strength is often in numbers and if you are patient you can deal with them.

Cody did very well taking the army to 17th dealing with Ironjawz, DoK and SCE all of who have strong play into this list, well done.

Final Tournament Placings