The Tournament and Setting

Some of us GAW people

The 2023 2024 Las Vegas Open Age of Sigmar Championships had the most participants ever! Since the last LVO I have played in a few more GTs and they’ve become a bit more routine but still fun. 

This tournament uses the GHB 2023-2024 (aka Andtor aka “God I hate blizzard”) and a battlescroll that has passed its expiration date. Once again it was held at the Rio, an off-strip hotel in Las Vegas. The Rio is still kind of a dump, but it’s improving! We celebrate improvements here, folks. I personally stayed on the strip in the (cheap af) Flamingo.

I was attending with some of my Georgia Warband teammates (big congrats to teammate Jon Anderson on his stellar 5-0 with LRL). Sadly we had fewer of us going this year, but still enough to be called a crowd. I got in a few days early to do some hiking this time instead of Vegas shenanigans. The parks were cooler than the hotels anyway, so that was well worth it.

It’s da desert

I ended up going 4-1, placing 56th out of 345 (lower in the 4-1 bracket) in the main event, and 3-0 in the doubles, placing us 5th out of 65.

My List

Army Faction: Fyreslayers
- Subfaction: Greyfyrd 
- Grand Strategy: Masters of the Forge 
- Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS
Auric Runemaster (130)*
- General
- Command Traits: Master Priest
- Artefacts of Power: Volatile Brazier 
- Prayers: Heal 
Auric Runesmiter (130)*
- Forge Key 
- Artefacts of Power: Ash-cloud Rune 
- Prayers: Prayer Of Ash
Ionus Cryptborn (400)* 
Battlesmith (150)**
- Artefacts of Power: Nulsidian Icon
Auric Flamekeeper (90)**
- Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome 
Auric Runeson on Magmadroth (320)**
- Ancestral War-axe
- Artefacts of Power: Master Rune of Unbreakable Resolve
- Mount Traits: Coal-heart Ancient
BATTLELINE
Auric Hearthguard (360) 
Vulkite Berzerkers with Bladed Slingshields (150)*
Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)** 
ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Molten Infernoth (50)
1 x Runic Fyrewall (60) 
CORE BATTALIONS
*Warlord (+1 artefact)
**Warlord (+1 artefact)
TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000
Created with Warhammer Age of Sigmar: The App

Dragon

Fyreslayers are not in the best spot in the meta, but I still had a couple lists to choose from. While more match-up dependent, I decided on an Ionus ally list because he’s cool and I like dragons. This year I got a little more practice so I at least knew the gist of the list. An alternative list idea that seemed to work well was a Flameseeker spamming Greyfyrd or Lofnir, but I was uncertain about it with so little practice.

This list itself plays as a grinding control list. It’s attempting to shift the battlefield in such a way that Ionus, the droth, and the AHG are all frustrating opponents, hurting their damage or objective staying power, while you slowly grind them down. Further, Ionus’ ability to instantly put out invocations means that on turn 1 you can use your Runemaster for either invocation (depending on needed ranges and invocations)  and then not worry about failing the other.

Ionus’ breath attack + soul burn, his -1 attacks characteristic ability, and his halting of inspiring presence all add up to make him a potent ally in Fyreslayers. Not only does it add to the army’s ability to take a hit, but it ensures that any damage hangs on the opponents sticks. Killing 20 skeletons and watching the rest flee to battleshock is very nice. He also adds ranged mortal wound output on top of the infernoth’s and AHG’s (with searing heat) to burn down high save targets.

The list is tricky to play though: it has fewer wounds than most Fyreslayers lists and damage is concentrated in three key hammers. The single flamekeeper means that Vulkites can become somewhat of a hammer too, and that turned out to be  very important in a couple matchups. But with fewer bodies, getting them there is tricky when they might well be the unit that dies. The flamekeeper also means that even the AHG can hang some two damage attacks onto opponents. 31 attacks at a 2 damage isn’t anything to ignore even if they have no rend.

Games Summary:

Every one of my opponents were great and fun. I liked all my games. I do have awful memory so the exact details of these events are probably slightly different from reality, but this is as best as I can remember. Sometimes memories blur the rounds together.

Game 1: Win vs. Jules Nguyen on Kharadron Ovelords. 
Game 2: Win vs. Landon Jennings on Ossiarch Bonereaper.
Game 3: Win vs. Steaphen Isaac on Ogor Mawtribes. 
Game 4: Loss vs. Gavin Grigar on Cities of Sigmar. 
Game 5: Win vs. Josh Chournos on Soulblight Gravelords.

Day 1: Games 1-3

Tourney space: it’s big and full of nerds

Game 1 vs. Jules Nguyen’s KO on Power Flux

Army Faction: Kharadron Overlords
- Army Subfaction: Barak-Zon
- Grand Strategy: Rule the Skies
- Triumphs: Indomitable
- Stick To The Code (Amendments): Prosecute Wars With All Haste
- Stick To The Code (Artycles): Settle the Grudges
- Stick To The Code (Footnotes): There’s No Reward Without Risk
LEADER
1 x Aetheric Navigator (100)*
- Artefacts: Voidstone Orb
1 x Arkanaut Admiral (140)*
- General
- Command Traits: Stormcaller
- Nullstone Adornments: Hand-carved Nullstone Icon
1 x Endrinmaster with Dirigible Suit (170)**
BATTLELINE
6 x Endrinriggers (120)*
3 x Endrinriggers (120)*
10 x Arkanaut Company (90)**
- Skypike
6 x Endrinriggers (120)**
- Mizzenmaster
3 x Skywardens (130)**
- Custodian
BEHEMOTH
1 x Arkanaut Frigate (300)*
- Heavy Sky Cannon
- The Admiral's Flagship: The Admiral's Flagship
- Great Endrinworks: Prudency Chutes
1 x Arkanaut Frigate (300)**
- Heavy Sky Cannon
OTHER
1 x Grundstok Gunhauler (170)*
- Drill Cannon
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)

Jules was a fantastic opponent who took the impending infernoth incineration like a champion. Her list was a mostly-melee KO list which can be quite potent and could potentially get around my screens to dismantle my key pieces. 

With that in mind I set up with a HEAVY screen surrounding my core, setting up my vulkites to ensure a top of 1 attack will do nothing but kill them at best while getting bled for some wounds with their fight on death. Her shooting could potentially clear some of them, but probably not enough to completely remove a screen. I measure to ensure my infernoth will easily be getting into range of at least one boat as well.

With that, she gives me top of turn 1 and I proceed to end the game through sheer luck. I plop the Molten Infernoth between her two boats, roll doubles, and proceed to kill half her army. I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 mortal wounds total, possibly more. I note her bravery and losses, then move Ionus up to ensure no inspiring presence, the rest run. I also manage to put soulburn on some stuff and lock him in a spot to tank her if she does want a reprisal. But that’s basically the game.

KO being KO she still completes multiple tactics as she instead opts to just score points and avoid combat at all costs. As your battle points are based on tactics achievement/denial, this does deny me some points and garner her some. Very clever on her part and just good play in the face of a bad situation in which she was diced. Hats off to her for not only staying cool but staying fun. 

I win a major victory, 25-10.

Game 2: Win vs. Landon Jennings’ OBR on Fountains of Frost

Fyrewalls are dickbags

Army Faction: Ossiarch Bonereapers
- Subfaction: Ivory Host
- Grand Strategy: Overshadow
LEADERS
Arkhan the Black (380)*
Liege-Kavalos (180)*
- Artefacts of Power: Marrowpact
Mortisan Soulmason (160)*
- General
- Command Traits: Aura of Sterility
- Spells: Hoarfrost
BATTLELINE
Kavalos Deathriders (190)*
- Necrophoros
- Mortek Hekatos
- Nadirite Blade
Morghast Archai (440)*
- Spirit Halberd
Immortis Guard (220)*
Kavalos Deathriders (190)*
- Necrophoros
- Mortek Hekatos
- Nadirite Blade
Kavalos Deathriders (190)*
- Necrophoros
- Mortek Hekatos
- Nadirite Blade
ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Malevolent Maelstrom (50)
TERRAIN
1 x Bone-tithe Nexus (0)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

A non-null myriad list! Actually one of my larger fears as this gives tanky/strong OBR access to more tools that could destroy me. Meanwhile, null myriad does nothing against me. Ivory Host is particularly potent and allows for the deathriders to absolutely SLAP. 

Landon decides to give me the top of 1 and I proceed to plop a fyrewall immediately in front of his Immortis. I move up and toe tap objectives while I keep my guys spread out and behind terrain. Sadly I make a massive misplay here and forget to account for the drop location of my AHG, causing them to be weirdly split by terrain. 

Still, I have screened my big boys well and his only option is to kill the AHG and shield vulkites while also getting hit back by my own monsters. He rams the deathriders down my throat and picks up a large amount of my Auric Hearthguard. Luckily my Shield Vulkites stay strong and hold him. He also runs the Morghast to get over the terrain and positions for a double. 

He gets the double, brings back a deathrider and heals his boys up. I deny him crucial spellcasting with Ash-Cloud Rune; this puts his plans in a bit of disarray as it catches even some of his own units disallowing mystic shield. I had specifically dropped my AHG earlier than I wanted just to have the ash-cloud in place for this. He sends the Morghast in along with the Liege-Kavalos and finishes off the AHG and most of the shield vulkites. However, importantly, Ionus, my droth, and my axe vulkites live. 

On the bottom of two I proceed to dumpster his deathriders with axe vulkites + flamekeeper, his morghast with the magmadroth, and Ionus seals Arkhan back in his tomb. His morghast don’t completely die, but they die enough. The Immortis are locked up doing the slow walk around the entire back end of the board while trying to keep their hero in range of the shrug.

Round 3 sees me finish tabling his army with his only remaining units being his general, and the Immortis. At this point he’s on his back foot and can’t get enough done in this round to do much to me. 

Round 4 and 5 are basically a talk out at this point and I win a major victory, 23-18, denying him his grand strategy.

Game 3: Win vs. Steaphen Isaac’s Ogors on Lines of Communication

Allegiance: Ogor Mawtribes
- Mawtribe: Boulderhead
- Grand Strategy: Ready for Plunder
- Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders
Butcher (140)*
- Cleaver
- Lore of Gutmagic: Blood Feast
Huskard on Thundertusk (330)
- Blood Vulture
- Mount Trait: Rimefrost Hide
- Prayer: Pulverising Hailstorm
Frostlord on Stonehorn (460)*
- General
- Command Trait: Touched by the Everwinter
- Artefact: The Seat of Alvagr
- Mount Trait: Rockmane Elder
- Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Battleline 
4 x Mournfang Pack (340)*
- Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists
- Reinforced x 1
4 x Mournfang Pack (340)*
- Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists
- Reinforced x 1
4 x Mournfang Pack (340)*
- Culling Clubs and Hackers with Ironfists
- Reinforced x 1
Endless Spells & Invocations
Suffocating Gravetide (30)
Faction Terrain
The Great Mawpot
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total: 1980 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 108

Steaphan is probably my favorite opponent of the event. A cool guy and I appreciate how chill he was. This match is a grind and basically hinges on me being able to slowly, but surely, do wounds to his army before he can table me with charges. 

This works great as he has low mortal wound protection outside his two mounted heroes. 

I also opt to counter-deploy far from his Stonehorn and Huskard, I know this will eat up one whole turn for him to run them over. This gives me the screening potential to eat up a double and be completely fine.

As expected the game devolves into us both smushing our armies together in the center. Through the power of a 3+ ward and an enhanced rend rune (fyreslayer heroic action) I am able to kill his Stonehorn and then his Huskard. The attack reduction from Ionus is CLUTCH and is an immense help in letting me tank his army. Premeasuring to always ensure any hits onto my vulkites/AHG receive a -1 attack is great. Proper screening goes a long way here. 

Once his stonehorn and huskard die the mournfangs aren’t long for this world and I proceed to table him. While it comes at great cost to me, I still am able to clear him from the table. The slow soul burn, shooting damage, fight on death, and magamdroth swings really help the list grind. I win a major victory, 24-19.

Day 2: Games 4-5

Game 4: Loss vs. Gavin Grigar’s Cities of Sigmar on Limited Resources

Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar
- City: Hallowheart
- Mortal Realm: Ghur
- Grand Strategy: Reclaim for Sigmar!
- Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
Battlemage on Celestial Hurricanum (260)*
- Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
Battlemage (100)**
- Arcane Trinkey: Realmstone Orb
- Lore of the Collegiate Arcane: Wildform
Alchemite Warforger (110)*
- Lore of Primal Frost: Merciless Blizzard
Steam Tank Commander (270)**
- General
- Command Trait: Divine Champion
- Artefact: Mastro Vivetti's Magnificent Macroscope
- Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Battleline
Steam Tank (230)*
Steam Tank (230)*
Steam Tank (230)**
Steam Tank (230)**
Units
6 x Freeguild Command Corps (170)*
6 x Freeguild Command Corps (170)**
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment
Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 118
Drops: 2

A night of drinking and eating sees me entering day two a bit hungover but having a good time. I find that I get my worst possible match-up: CoS tanks. I know full well they can not only shoot me off the board but also fully heal any and all mortal wound damage I can apply while tanking on a 1+ save.

Round 1 I set up the fyrewall to block and bank on it not going away. However, I have a choice: put Ionus up far enough to hang his prayer on the opponent if he doesn’t die or keep him back and get a few more points next round but he can’t accomplish anything effectively.

I choose poorly. His tanks easily do 16 wounds to Ionus, taking only 3 tanks to kill him despite +2 to save. Almost all wounds are from the mortal wound output of the alchemite warforger, so there isn’t a lot to be done.

Ionus goes down and he gives me the top of 2. I can’t accomplish anything except a tactic and point capture as I have no way to do damage to his tanks. I hang some more wounds on the tanks, which he heals. He kills the droth.

At the top of 3 I accomplish another tactic then scoop. He was easily going to table me in his turn. My army has no way to deal with shooting damage of that magnitude, especially against a great player with good target selection. Major Loss, 27-17.

Game 5: Win vs. Josh Chournos’ SBGL on Geomantic Pulse

Army Faction: Soulblight Gravelords
	- Army Type: Legion of Night
	- Grand Strategy: Empire of Corpses
LEADER
1 x Vampire Lord (150)*
	- General
	- Command Traits: Master of Magic
	- Artefacts: Morbheg’s Claw
	- Spells: Hoarfrost
	- Aspects of the Champion 
1 x Vampire Lord (150)*
	- Spells: Merciless Blizzard
1 x Mannfred Von Carstein (400)**
	- Spells: Fading Vigour
BATTLELINE
30 x Deathrattle Skeletons (110)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (110)**
3 x Fell Bats (90)**
20 x Deadwalker Zombies (150)**
OTHER
10 x Grave Guard (160)
5 x Black Knights (130)
20 x Grave Guard (160)**
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Andtorian Acolytes
**Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (1990/2000)

The benefit of losing is that you are free to drink to your heart’s desire. My heart has a great desire! Josh is chill and really nice. So it’ll be a good match. 

His list relies on swamping down opponents with his deathrattle then hammering the enemy with grave guard. Theoretically this should be potent, but I have enough damage and tank that I think I can deal with it.

As always, I punish my opponent for giving me turn 1 by walling them off. But the wall has to be 1” from terrain so his skeletons can still swarm around it. My infernoth goes off and does a lot of mortal wounds to various units on his side of the board. Most will come back but it’s a good start. I shoot the black knights, killing a few and slowing them.

His turn sees him just running forward and banking on a double by dropping his units from the graves and smashing into my screens. He then proceeds to nail a 9+ charge on some guard.

He gets the double and it’s looking grim after those charges. But he fails to kill my smith by 1 wound and can’t touch Ionus or the droth. This is his doom as I turn it around, killing basically everything in his army with Ionus, the droth, and my vulkites which had swung wide to deal with the zombies. The infernoth plus Ionus prayer and shooting finish off all of his heroes.

I get the turnaround double here and he calls it. Even bringing back units he wouldn’t be able to do anything and I notch the win. We talk out some objective play and tactics then go to eat and drink more! I win a major victory, 28-14.

Day 3: Doubles Event

Big naked guys and little naked guys burn down a forest and beat up some murderous women.

I am roped into the doubles event on day 3. I initially did not sign up, but my teammate Fred convinced me as he was injured and could not play in the main tournament. He has one arm, so between us both we have three. I name the team “Team Eric” in honor of my good friend, and usual doubles partner, Eric Urbas.

He plays King Brodd’s warstomp and I play a cobbled together slapfather 1k list. It’s a good time and I maintain a “slow drip” of beer buckets. By round 3 I am quite drunk against our final opponents. 

Round 1 sees us play “The Everchosen.” An Ironjawz and S2D combo that could be a potent round 1. However, with proper screening and the ability to tank anything for at least one combat, Fred and I clear them. Oh, not to mention an early infernoth double that clears a lot of models off the field. Major Victory, 24-20.

Round 2 sees us play “Bigs and Littles” which is a match of King Brodd’s in a mirror plus Squiggy Gitz. Both Gargant armies do basically nothing. Between two King Brodds almost no damage is applied. I particularly enjoy both just not hitting anything with terrain ever. Luckily a magmadroth fighting twice can down a gargant. Once that happens their army falls apart and we get a win. Awesome dudes, though. Zachary’s ward saves will haunt my nightmares forever.  Fred is amped and I’m happy it’s a good time.

Round 3 has me slurring my words and entering a match versus “Season of War’s” Sylvaneth plus DoK combo. Oliver and Jordan are cool guys and very chill. In stark contrast to Fred who has gone off the deep end and destruction is in his veins now. Fred hits full ahead on the gargants, losing their ward as they spread. Luckily my magmadroth easily clears the Swords and through the power of lava blood kills the Cauldron. King Brodd dies, but he tanks long enough. We end up clearing all of DoK and leaving Belthanos to try to do it on his own. But he can’t and we end up winning it. Major Victory, 27-24.

Oh, and in all three rounds we had King Brodd throw the forge at the opponent’s. It was free ammunition!

We manage a 3-0 somehow and finish 5th out of 65 teams. A good showing. 

Conclusion:

Good times with good people. I did worse this year than last, but the only way to do better was a 5-0. I think one was in the cards, but sadly I fell short. 

The list itself turned out to be quite potent. I feared it was actually an 0-5 list, but it performed admirably. Still, it has a huge hole against mortal wound shooting armies, so it just wants to dodge those matchups. Sadly, one of them happens to be meta at this moment.

Like last LVO, the molten infernoth is a monster that can’t be stopped or reasoned with. It simply must destroy all.

The real takeaway for this list was that deployment is THE most important game time for this list and how you move on turn 1 can make or break things. Properly spacing and screening won me most of my games more than anything.

My highlight might be the hiking before LVO. The desert’s beauty is in stark contrast to the usual tree-filled east coast. Such an alien landscape was a treat to explore in The Valley of Fire.

ROCK AND STONE!

It seems that no one can escape travel frustrations during LVO. Our flight was delayed, but luckily it was with friends and we played narrative Age of Sigmar in the airport. Azyr is now without power after the Big Waagh! orruks stuck a fork in it. Otherwise we got home safe and everyone started getting LVO-Covid, as is tradition.

Airport Narrative Event: Plugs are the objectives

Will I go to LVO again? We’ll see. I may skip next year and instead go to Japan or something.