This is the top three AoS lists for Wappler Harvest Gathering that took place in Austria on the 30th and 1st of October. It involved 20 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
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The Top Three AoS Lists
Allegiance: Lumineth Realm-lords
– Great Nation: Zaitrec
– Grand Strategy: Spellcasting Savant
Leaders
Scinari Enlightener (170)*
– General
– Command Trait: Loremaster
– Artefact: Rune of Senthoi
– Lore of Hysh: Overwhelming Heat
– Lore of Hysh: Speed of Hysh
– Lore of Hysh: Protection of Hysh
– Lore of Primal Frost: Hoarfrost
Scinari Calligrave (110)*
– Lore of Primal Frost: Rupture
– Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard
Ellania and Ellathor, Eclipsian Warsages (190)**
– Lore of Hysh: Ethereal Blessing
– Lore of Hysh: Total Eclipse
Scinari Cathallar (120)**
– Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard
– Lore of Hysh: Total Eclipse
Sevireth, Lord of the Seventh Wind (270)**
The Light of Eltharion (230)***
Battleline
10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (150)**
– Lore of Hysh: Ethereal Blessing
– Universal Spell Lore: Ghost-mist
15 x Vanari Bladelords (360)***
– Reinforced x 2
5 x Vanari Dawnriders (120)***
– Lore of Hysh: Speed of Hysh
– Lore of Hysh: Overwhelming Heat
10 x Vanari Auralan Wardens (150)***
– Lore of Hysh: Speed of Hysh
– Lore of Hysh: Overwhelming Heat
Endless Spells & Invocations
Aethervoid Pendulum (40)
Suffocating Gravetide (30)
Quicksilver Swords (60)
Core Battalions
*Andtorian Acolytes
**Warlord
***Vanguard
Additional Enhancements
Spell
Terrain
Shrine Luminor
Total: 2000 / 2000
Jon Anderson: News from the realms of order, light, and all things pointy eared.
Andreas Schwarz has proven that sometimes you don’t need a god to show everyone what you’re made of. Going undefeated this past weekend with Zaitrec Lumineth,
we have a fantastic mix of support pieces, threats, and utility all bundled into one neat 2000 points on the nose. Triumphs are for chumps. Utilizing the Spellcasting Savant
Grand Strategy is unquestionably the best option in a GT setting, and by ensuring their survival with the 10 bladelords, I would wager Andreas likely never felt much pressure on his caster
corps.
By taking the Warlord bonus for an extra spell, all of his Wizards (as well as Wizard units) become very knowledgable little elves, and their toolbox evolves from something you’d carry in your hand, to something you roll around in a shop. Nearly every spell available to him is in the list somewhere, and the power of that can not be overstated. The Enlightener packing enough spells
for a whole classroom while also having the ability to double tap the Lore of Hysh means you have a spectacular option as general, and the Rune of Senthloi is a nice change of pace!
As if summoned out of the desert itself, a wild Sevireth has appeared! Mobile, annoying, smashes faction terrain? Sounds like a winner in my book.
The three endless spells are a choice I myself am quite a fan of. This ensures you have redundancy for the battle tactic as well as producing needed projection for damage down field. I personally
would have taken a Lifeswarm, but that’s because I’m a coward.
Great list, and congratulations to Andreas on the undefeated finish.
Alegiance: Khorne
– Slaughterhost: Reapers of Vengeance
– Grand Strategy: Slaughter of Sorcery
– Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (110)*
– Artefact: Halo of Blood
– Prayer: Killer Instinct
– Prayer: Unholy Flames
Bloodsecrator (120)*
– Nullstone Adornment: Pouch of Nulldust
Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury (330)*
– General
– Command Trait: Firebrand
– Artefact: A’rgath the King of Blades
– Prayer: Bloodbind
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse
Bloodmaster, Herald of Khorne (110)**
– Prayer: Witchbane Curse
– Prayer: Bronzed Flesh
Skulltaker (120)**
Slaughterpriest (110)**
– Hackblade and Wrath-Hammer
– Prayer: Blood Sacrifice
– Prayer: Killer Instinct
Battleline
20 x Bloodletters (360)
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Flesh Hounds (200)
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Flesh Hounds (100)
Units
9 x The Unmade (80)
– Mark of Chaos: Undivided
9 x Untamed Beasts (80)*
– Mark of Chaos: Undivided
9 x Untamed Beasts (80)**
– Mark of Chaos: Undivided
Karanak (140)
Endless Spells & Invocations
Bleeding Icon (50)
Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Warlord
Additional Enhancements
Prayer
Artefact
Terrain
Skull Altar
Total: 1990 / 2000
Patrick German: We’ve once again broken away from the standard Khorne list to see a top performer with some interesting choices. We’ve discussed the Bloodmaster, Bloodthirster General, Bloodsecrator, and Bloodletters at length. They’ll perform in this list as well as they ever do, so long as Benedict plays the movement phase well (which he obviously did with his 2nd place finish).
What I would rather focus on is the addition of three Warcry warbands that we haven’t seen in top spots since the days when Slaves to Darkness was dominating the top three lists. Benedict has clearly answered the question that many of us on the Woehammer Discord regularly ask: what do you do to score turn 1?
The trouble with the current GHB is that turn one is often extremely difficult to score for some armies. Khorne’s battle tactics generally require you to kill a unit in special conditions, or finish the turn with a large number of units in combat. This really leaves two options for scoring turn one, either Intimidate the Invaders or Surround and Destroy. The first is deceptively difficult, since it defines territory instead of deployment zone, meaning some missions are requiring 11″+ of movement, which Khorne cannot reliably do. Surround and destroy however…
Enter the Untamed Beasts. For 80 points you get a 6″ pre-game move. It doesn’t matter what they can or can’t do past that point, because you are taking them for the 6″ pre-game move. The ability to quickly get out of your deployment zone and within 6″ of a board edge is scoring those battle tactics early, and if you can also manage to get your units on an objective or two, even better. The inclusion of these units should immediately make your opponent question whether to force you to take the first turn, since you can so easily start the game on a leg up.
Past that inclusion, he has the Unmade to shut of enemy commands, Karanak to help boost up the Flesh Hounds (and making summoning more effective), and Skulltaker to knock the heads off of enemy heroes to score some bonus Blood Tithe.
All around a great list that dips into some less-popular units. Congratulations on the 2nd spot, Benedict!
Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Subfaction: Legion of Night
– Grand Strategy: Empire of Corpses
Leaders
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (400)
– Lore of the Deathmages: Waste Away
Vampire Lord (150)*
– Artefact: Morbheg’s Claw
– Lore of Primal Frost: Hoarfrost
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (480)*
– General
– Deathlance
– Command Trait: Unbending Will
– Lore of the Vampires: Vile Transference
Battleline
10 x Dire Wolves (150)*
3 x Fell Bats (90)*
3 x Fell Bats (90)*
Units
20 x Grave Guard (320)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1
20 x Grave Guard (320)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total: 2000 / 2000
Danny Wadeson: Here, we have a fairly standard Manny list, but with my personal favourite chaff combo of 2x 3 Fell Bats. Their speed, ability to trade up (damage 2 and bonus attacks if they kill stuff, plus vampiric healing and 3 wounds a model) just means they’re wonderfully useful in a variety of situations – and in msu format, when they return from the dead, you’re getting 2/3 models back which is wonderful ROI.
The flex points in this list are spent on a 2nd brick of Graveguard, which makes sense because even after their points hike, they still slap like mad and play wonderfully into the army’s recursion abilities. Combined with the counter charge and the potential to be buffed by two sources (Manny killing a model with Gheistvor and the foot vamp), a double brick probably feels fairly overwhelming for most armies.
On that note, I can’t say I can instantly guess why it struggled with a Zaitrec list without seeing it. I suppose the weakness of a list like this in theory is that Graveguard rely on volume of attacks, but if you have ways to reach out and decimate them from range, they’re much less of a threat, and the vlozd is the only piece with traditional threat projection. Either way, LoN is loads of fun, and it’s nice to see a bit of experimentation within the sub-faction. Plus, it’s probably a good sign it can be beaten!
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz
– Gittish Horde: Jaws of Mork
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Protect da Shrine!
– Triumphs: Indomitable
Leaders
Grinkrak The Great (220)**
Skragrott, The Loonking (230)**
Squigboss with Gnasha-squig (110)**
– General
– Command Trait: The Clammy Hand
Madcap Shaman (70)*
– Artefact: Moonface Mommet
– Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard
Battleline
5 x Boingrot Bounderz (150)*
36 x Squig Herd (420)**
– Reinforced x 2
24 x Squig Herd (280)**
– Reinforced x 1
Units
5 x Gobbapalooza (170)**
– Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork
6 x Sneaky Snufflers (140)**
6 x Grinkrak’s Looncourt (0)**
1 x Marshcrawla Sloggoth (170)*
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
Terrain
Bad Moon Loonshrine
Total: 1960 / 2000
Lodivicus: Sometimes there is a recipe that just works despite various tweaks over a period of time. This list is a current GHB version of the type of army list that was very popular a couple of battlescrolls ago. Pretty much every unit in the list has had its points increased (some twice) since the release of the battletome, yet Tristan illustrates here that it can still perform at a pretty high level and still works.
In some games, you’ll be more cautious and wait for an opening. In others you’ll play aggressive right from turn one. The premise, regardless of timing, is pretty much the same.
Take one unit of Squig Herd, season it with all the buffs, and fling it across the board at your opponent. Next turn, do it again with the other Squig Herd. If the opponent manages to kill a Squig Herd, you pop another half sized unit out of the Bad Moon Loonshrine and get back in line to do it again. Send wave after wave of spiced up meatballs at an opponent until victory is yours.
So what are the main buffs, spells and abilities that spice up the list?
Need more rend? The Madcap Shaman’s Moonface Mommet and Gobbapalooza’s Nasty Poisons have your back.
Mortal wounds? Squigboss with Gnasha-squig’s Yellow Lurka, Skragrott’s Fangz of the Bad Moon, and the Madcap Shaman’s Merciless Blizzard come through.
Fight on death? Grinkrak the Great can ‘I Dub Thee…’ Moonclan (which includes Squigs) units.
5+ ward (and less commonly +1 attack)? Sneaky Snufflers’ Looncap Mushrooms.
+1 hit in melee? The troggoth ally, the Marshcrawla Sloggoth, brings his Krew Drummer to help mitigate that Squig Herd can’t receive commands.
And that’s not all, the list is still loaded with other less commonly used or situational abilities, spells and buffs too. While it may not be your grandmother’s jambalaya, packed with all of the previous ingredients from times past, it’s still plenty spicy and loaded with meatballs. It just works!
Final Tournament Placings
To view all of the results for the tournament please follow the link below to Best Coast Pairings
https://www.bestcoastpairings.com/event/WL41AAKMD1
