This is the Top Three AoS Lists for the Scottish Lasters that took place in Scotland on the 21st and 22nd of January. It involved 26 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.

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The Top Three AoS Lists

Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar (Scions of the Storm)
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: No Place for the Weak
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Knight-Vexillor (120)*
– General
– Meteoric Standard
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Spell: Celestial Blades
Knight-Incantor (120)*
– Spell: Azyrite Halo
Lord-Commander Bastian Carthalos (300)*

Battleline
2 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (240)*
2 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (240)*
4 x Dracothian Guard Tempestors (440)*
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Judicators with Skybolt Bows (200)*

Units
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Lance

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Additional Enhancements
Holy Command: Thunderbolt Volley

Total: 2000/ 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 96
Drops: 1

Another Stormcast with unusual choices, it’s good to see more diversity and a few different heroes. Knight Vexillor is being discussed in Discord a lot lately, but mostly for his teleport potential (Pendant of the Stormbringer). Here he’s been equipped with the Metoric Standard and also provides Celestial Blade support. The Standard gives a once a game Comets Call. Azurite Halo isn’t commonly seen, but on a 6 to save it inflicts a Mortal Wound (MW). Then there is Bastian, a great model with amazing abilities but slow movement. Otherwise, the list is very mobile with Drakes and Draconiths (12” and 10” movement, respectively). Tempestors are seeing a revival just now, short range, but they offer a lot of shots and are pretty tough to boot. Their mounts still have -2 rend 2 damage attacks. And the pairs of Fulminators and Storm Drakes for Mobil threat generation and scoring.

And there you have it, a lot of mobile small threats able to apply pressure centred on Bastian with a large hammer unit that can also perform as an anvil. Ranged MW for chip damage and multiple small units to charge, blunting the effectiveness of Unleash Hell. The icing on the cake is the Judicators, only 10 shots, but the ability to double shoot makes a sizeable difference. JJ scored well throughout and weathered everything thrown at home, proving again that mobility and flexibility are a winning combination.

Allegiance: Daughters of Khaine
– Temple: Zainthar Kai
– Grand Strategy: Bloodthirsty Zealots
– Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS
Bloodwrack Medusa (140)*
– General
– Command Trait: Zealous Orator
– Artefact: Shadow Stone
– Lore of Shadows: Mindrazor
Morathi-Khaine (350)*
The Shadow Queen (350)*

UNITS
10 x Witch Aelves (120)*
– Sacrificial Knives and Blade Bucklers
10 x Witch Aelves (120)*
– Sacrificial Knives and Blade Bucklers
15 x Blood Sisters (450)*
15 x Blood Sisters (450)*

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL: 1980/2000

It’s Morathi and the Stab Sneks in a Zainthar Kai ‘pins and needles’ configuration – guaranteed to stab you even on death! Double the stabs, double the fun.

In all seriousness, it’s at least interesting in the sense that it’s using new points, so we can see a slight squeeze on bonus units such as Khinerai. This list is still going to rip, and tear – 30 Blood Sisters just asks the rather rude question to each opponent of ‘do you prefer an unkillable giant snake or 13 ish MWs per activation’. The question is whether sheer glass-cannon power (the whole army is on a 5+ bar the Morathis) can make up for lesser board control in the meantime?

Losing to the movement and strike/fade shenanigans of Sylvaneth suggests no, to some extent. Beating down on Seraphon, OBR, and Soulblight makes sense – although it’s interesting that Alastair was able to get the win against KO, who are typically able to just utterly neuter the stab-threat with early shooting. My guess based on my own games is that he was able to use Shadow Queen – and potentially Morathi with Steed of Shadows to make her super fast and more importantly fly – to tag the big boats and shut down their game. Certain KO builds are less vulnerable to this but in general, when tagged by a flying unit they lose a lot of their abilities – being one drop, I’d love to have seen whether Alastair dared the KO to come close and used the Witch Aelves to screen best they can, or whether he took first to capitalise on the KO player not deploying quite far away enough.

Either way, gratz on the new points win against some touch matchups.

Allegiance: Disciples of Tzeentch
– Change Coven: Eternal Conflaguration
– Grand Strategy: Master of Destiny
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Kairos Fateweaver (440)*
Curseling, Eye of Tzeentch (180)*
– General
– Command Trait: Cult Demagogue
– Lore of Fate: Arcane Suggestion
– Lore of Fate: Shield of Fate
Fatemaster (140)*
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of Fate: Glimpse of Future
– Universal Spell Lore: Levitate

Battleline
20 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (500)**
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)**
10 x Kairic Acolytes (120)**
6 x Tzaangor Enlightened (180)*
– Reinforced x 1

Endless Spells
Burning Sigil of Tzeentch (60)
Tome of Eyes (40)
Soulscream Bridge (80)

Core Battalions
*Warlord – Spell
**Expert Conquerors

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 83
Drops: 7

Craig’s list of 30 Pink Horrors and support is something I think we’re more likely to see in the new GHB without Bounty Hunters around to split those daemons fast enough to stay on top, but Craig gave them a final run-out with Expert Conquerors and was able to dodge Bounty Hunters in all but one of his matchups (that he still won!). What makes Pinks with Expert Conquerors such a challenge is that the situation on objectives just gets worse the first 20 wounds you do, with the unit going from counting as 60 on an objective to a maximum of 120! It is only at the point of the 81st wound, after killing the 21st Brimstone Horror, that the unit holds an objective less securely than when it started. So, do you bother early game? If you don’t, you might never get through it, but if you do, then you might not be scoring. This is exactly the dilemma that seems to have outfoxed all opponents until the ultimate winner, JJ, essentially passed the DPS check with Fulminators and Dragons at his disposal.

The support casters help buff that big unit up, with the Curseling knowing an extra spell via the Warlord battalion so it can cast Arcane Suggestion for -1 to hit and -1 to wound on the unit most likely to hit the Horrors and then Shield of Fate for a 5+ ward save on them too. The command trait Cult Demagogue is also there, making any cast on a double not only successful and worth two fate points instead of one, but also unable to be unbound. Low Destiny Dice are perfect for this roll, with double 2s or 3s getting the casting value 8 spell Arcane Suggestion off. Kairos will then give you a Destiny Dice back each hero phase and the Fatemaster, who also gives +1 to wound to all Disciples of Tzeentch units wholly within 9”, can cast Glimpse the Future to gain an additional Destiny Dice. Throw in Tome of Eyes for re-rolls, probably on the Curseling, and the key buffs the Pinks need to hang around are very likely to be in place.

Another cool little bit of tech that Craig has included is 6 Tzaangor Enlightened on foot. These hit as hard as their cavalry mounted beast-kin, but are half the price. Included in the list as well is the Soulscream Bridge, probably cast by Kairos, which can get these elites where they need to be, able to make a 9” charge with the Destiny Dice. While some sacrifices have to be made to get this combo off (no Cogs or Portal in the list), the Enlightened can be almost as mobile as the ones on disc for 100pts less – 100pts this army needs elsewhere.

All in all a fantastic result for Craig, spending 4/5 games on the top two tables and just slightly being edged out in the end.

Allegiance: Fyreslayers
– Lodge: Greyfyrd
– Mortal Realm: Ulgu
– Grand Strategy: Master of the Forge
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Auric Flamekeeper (90)*
Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (360)*
– General
– Command Trait: Blood of the Berzerker
– Artefact: Master Rune of Unbreakable Resolve
– Magmadroth Trait: Coal-heart Ancient
Auric Runemaster (130)*
– Artefact: Volatile Brazier
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Battlesmith (150)**
– Artefact: Nulsidian Icon
Auric Runesmiter on Magmadroth (330)**
– Runic Iron
– Magmadroth Trait: Flame-scale Youngblood
– Prayer: Wrath of Vulcatrix

Battleline
10 x Hearthguard Berzerkers (300)**
– Poleaxes
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Hearthguard Berzerkers (300)**
– Broadaxes
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Bladed Slingshields (150)**
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Bladed Slingshields (150)**

Endless Spells & Invocations
Zharrgron Flame-spitter (40)

Core Battalions
*Command Entourage – Magnificent
**Battle Regiment

Additional Enhancements
Mount Trait

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 128
Drops: 4

Many heroes make light work, at least with Fyreslayers. It is possibly one of the factions that will really take to Galletian Champions and the added mobility from Tunnel Master. Mobility is, of course, their biggest weakness, with most moving only 4″. Magmadroths help (16″), but Fyreslayers units remain pretty close for all of that overlapping buff goodness. Greyfyrd gives 2 extra artefacts, and each hero an extra wound. Sean’s answer to the mobility issue is to make the foot heroes hard as nails and let them buff +heal the infantry (Prayer: heal and 4+ Rally from the Battlesmith) and mitigate incoming spell damage resulting in a solid anvil that hits back. Then he has the Magmadroths tooled for war, the Runefather fights twice (once per battle), and has a 3+ ward (again once per battle). Funny if you trigger both on the same combat phase, normally Turn 2 or 3, to remove a big threat – hits once, weathers the incoming damage on the ward, and then destroys his target. The Magmadroth reduces incoming damage by 1. This is a tanky build.

The Runesmiter is more of a glass cannon, designed to charge, use Stomp as its monstorous rampage for extra damage, and can fight on its top row with a prayer (Wrath) The Berzerkers are nasty in combination with the Flamekeeper, especially the Poleaxe equipped unit. 2 Mortal Wounds on every 6, and they can be made to fight on death or give an extra attack. It’s a nasty combination to watch for. Really, you want to stay away and make them come to you to try to split up the heroes and the units. You really don’t want them to get into and hold the centre or a key objective because they’ll be very hard to move. With the Magmadroths to pin your screens and that hard centre, it can take serious work or magic/shooting to deal with a list like this. And your archers are likely to have to deal with MW from Zhaggron.

The second round draw is interesting, 2 very slow armies, one with range and the other with Cavalry – in the end, a high scoring draw, it makes me wonder how much fighting there was. The loss was to the winner, and we’ve covered that. That list has multiple units that would take down the elements in this list (Fulminators, Drakes).

Final Tournament Placings