This is the top three AoS lists for A Gathering of Might that took place in the UK on the 18th and 19th of March. It involved 27 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.

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The Top Three AoS Lists

Army Faction: Lumineth Realm-lords
– Subfaction: Helon
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS
Archmage Teclis (700)*
Scinari Cathallar (110)*
– General
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Artefacts of Power: Silver Wand
– Spells: Speed of Hysh
– Aspects of the Champion: Stubborn as a Rhinox
Scinari Loreseeker (160)*
– Spells: Overwhelming Heat

BATTLELINE
Vanari Auralan Wardens (150)*
– High Warden
– Spells: Etheral Blessings
Hurakan Windchargers (130)*
– Windspeaker Seneschal
– Standard Bearer
Vanari Auralan Sentinels (300)*
– High Sentinel
– Spells: Speed of Hysh

OTHER
Vanari Auralan Sentinels (300)*
– High Sentinel
– Spells: Etheral Blessings

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Umbral Spellportal (80)
1 x Rune of Petrification (60)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1990/2000

Jon Anderson: Sticking to the old ways of the Sith is David Jack piloting the Helon Castle to an undefeated finish. With a pinch of his own spice we have a Scinari Loreseeker making its presence known allowing David to play scenarios with spread objectives to a more effective manner.

The Rune of Petrification has really grown on me over the past month or so. What a great Endless Spell for its cost. Personally, I have found that more Windchargers equals more control but this nets you an extra wizard so the defense for the pick is there. Well done David.

Army Faction: Gloomspite Gitz
– Grand Strategy: Chasing the Moon
– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS
Skragrott, the Loonking (160)*
Dankhold Troggboss (200)**
– General
– Command Traits: Loonskin
– Artefacts of Power: Glowy Howzit

BATTLELINE
Rockgut Troggoths (320)*
Rockgut Troggoths (320)*
Rockgut Troggoths (320)*

OTHER
Sporesplatta Fanatics (90)*
Gobbapalooza (145)*
– Spells: The Hand of Gork
Dankhold Troggoths (360)**

ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Malevolent Moon (80)

TERRAIN
1 x Bad Moon Loonshrine (0)

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Troggherd Heavies

TOTAL POINTS: 1915/2000

Staring at this list and thinking it looks really familiar and didn’t I just write about it? Only to realise it was this list and I lost my work. Anyway, I’m ignoring my cognitive decline and focusing on the list – back to the future in many ways. Before the new book, the most successful Gitz lists were Troggoths (Trolls). Great to see they are still viable and show this is a good book, with decent internal balance allowing a lot of builds. Anyway, this time, trolls with ‘shrooms.

As usual, this is about layering buffs on the Trolls and letting them punch on. Starting with the Sporesplatter, +1 attack for friendly units within 9″. Their Spore Cloud is tricky to use but makes them one of the best screening units in the game, letting them screen both charges and shooting (with careful positioning). Gobbapalooza brings all the buffs to the yard. Every round, you get to choose from +1 run/charge, +1 to hit and wound, -1 rend. They also have 2 unique spells to either turn off commands for an enemy unit or make a unit -1. And they have a teleport spell (Hand of Gork). They can give a unit +1 run/charge and then gate them to outside 9 for an 8″ charge. They are an almost auto, including their ability to react and only 145 pts. They have a worsening ward (starting a 4+ and gone by round 4) to make you commit them early.

Skragrot is another almost auto include – 2 spells with an innate +1 to cast/dispell and knows all of the Moonclan spells. Then there is the Dankhold Troggboss, everything a Dankhold brings (4+ ward against spells, MW on within 3″, Crushing Grip and when he gives other Trolls all out attack they get an extra attack. Good on the Dankholds (2 attacks with potential for 6 damage from each), better on the Rock Trolls (6 extra attacks on a 6 Troll unit). With heals and damage, you have 4 hammers, but of course, on a 4+ save. Even with reduced spell effects (4+ and 5+ wards to magic) , it hurts them they can wilt. With only an average unbuffed potential damage of 15 per 6 Rock Troggoths are going to take more than a turn to guarantee a kill on anything too big.

A solid counter to most of the armies around now where 10 wounds are going to drop an MSU unit. The Trolls will struggle with either the Krondspine or something that can either fight on death or fight twice, preventing their heal between phases. And that happened with DoK here. The Blood Sisters will easily lift a Troggoth unit a round. Without some luck, it’s a tough match-up.

Army Faction: Slaves to Darkness
– Subfaction: Knights of the Empty Throne
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty

LEADERS
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)*
– General
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
– Spells: Daemonic Speed, Warp Reality
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)*
– Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
– Spells: Levitate, Warp Reality
– Aspects of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)*
– Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
– Spells: Chaotic Conduit, Warp Reality

BATTLELINE
Chaos Knights (460)*
– Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
– Standard Bearer
– Hornblower
– Doom Knight
– Ensorcelled Banner: The Eroding Icon
Varanguard (870)*
– Mark of Chaos: Khorne
– 4 x Ensorcelled Weapon
– 5 x Fellspear
Varanguard (290)*
– Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
– 3 x Ensorcelled Weapon

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1980/2000

James Workshop likes to talk about internal balance in their recent – and welcome! – Meta Watch dis – and Slaves to Darkness are a prime example of what happens when it’s out of whack. The list pioneered by Big Phil has seen plenty of copycats, and a few tweaks here and there recently – and now this Phil (Little Phil?) has gone 4-1, losing only to the current boogeyman of Helon Lumineth, with what can only be described as a twist aimed at having even less warscrolls to remember.

We start off with an additional Sorc Lord compared to Big Phil’s archetype for a grand total of three of the buggers. And don’t ask me why one of them is marked as Slaanesh. Little Phil then replaces the Chosen – because two legs bad, four legs good in Knights of the Empty Throne, allowing for mounted units to run and charge and Varanguard to be battleline – with loads more Varanguard! Including a rather hilarious double-reinforced block marked as Khorne. So yeah, that’ll hurt. We also see a min unit of Nurgle Varanguard for a smaller, tankier missile to give options, while the usual 10 blob of Nurgle Knights lead the way as a pinning device and screen for the V-guard.

And that’s it, really. How does it play? Charge. Double fight. Profit. I can only imagine the Helon list was able to adequately screen the initial knight charge and hit back with enough mortals (which Helon has a habit of doing…) to buy them time – especially if they won the double – to then whittle down the Varanguard at range – despite their 4++, they’re still vulnerable to weight of dice or simply being hit first. I mean, you’d think a large blob of fast wounds with a 4++ vs. mortals would be one of the few things capable of tangling with Helon, but there you go! A great effort nonetheless, and further fuel on the ‘Slaves book = 3 warscrolls’ fire.

Army Faction: Daughters of Khaine
– Subfaction: Khailebron
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS
Melusai Ironscale (120)*
– General
– Command Traits: Zealous Orator
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
– Spells: Mindrazor
– Aspects of the Champion: Tunnel Master
Morathi-Khaine (700)*
The Shadow Queen (700)*

BATTLELINE
Khainite Shadowstalkers (160)*
– Shroud Queen
Blood Sisters (300)*
– Gorgai
Blood Stalkers (540)*
– Krone

OTHER
Khinerai Lifetakers (80)*
– Harridynn
Khinerai Lifetakers (80)*
– Harridynn

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1980/2000

Unfortunately, there are no comments for this one because I’m silly and used Baz’s comments from an older list!

That being said, it’s Morathi and the Sneks, which I’m sure you’re all familiar with by now.

Final Tournament Placings