By: Kevin Lathers
The Setting
The 2023 Las Vegas Open for Age of Sigmar had the most participants ever! It was a new experience for me, as it was my first Grand Tournament with over 50 participants and this one had over 300 competitors. This tournament used the 2022-2023 Season 1 GHB, with a standard 5 rounds, followed by a knockout tournament for the top 8 competitors.
The event was held at the convention hall connected to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. If Vegas is a “sinful theme park,” then the Rio can be described as a dumpster of depression therein. However, the convention hall was nice; silver linings or something.
I’d be attending with a fantastic group of beautiful people: The Georgia Warband. A big shout out to my friend Josh Bennet for finishing 10th! My team all did great, and it was a lot of fun. I’m personally very happy with my 12th place finish and 4-0-1 record for my first LVO.
As a preface, the exact details of matches are sometimes fuzzy or forgotten, so the reports are to the best that I can do with my awful memory.
The List
I had a few lists in mind for the event. I seldom take cookie-cutter lists and so indecision struck me hard; I like being a special snowflake. This was further compounded by being unable to practice while in COVID isolation. In the end I simply asked my wife, “what should I bring to LVO?” to which she responded, “lots of naked men.” Thus, Vostarg was selected with a list I had used variations of on a few occasions.
Allegiance: Fyreslayers
– Lodge: Vostarg
– Grand Strategy: Master of the Forge
– Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders
Auric Runemaster (130)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master Priest
– Artefact: Volatile Brazier
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (360)*
– Artefact: Axe of Grimnir
– Magmadroth Trait: Coal-heart Ancient
Auric Runesmiter (120)*
– Runic Iron
– Prayer: Ember Storm
Battlesmith (150)**
– Artefact: Nulsidian Icon
Auric Flamekeeper (90)**
Auric Flamekeeper (90)**
Battleline
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Bladed Slingshields (150)***
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)***
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)***
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)****
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)****
10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (160)****
Endless Spells & Invocations
Runic Fyrewall (40)
Molten Infernoth (40)
Core Battalions
*Command Entourage – Magnificent
**Command Entourage – Magnificent
***Expert Conquerors
****Bounty Hunters
Additional Enhancements
Artefact
Artefact
Total: 1970 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 162
Drops: 12
This list would hinge on how many Bounty Hunters I would face, but I was confident there would be few. This proved to be a correct assumption, as the tournament had very few Bounty Hunters overall. Part of me feared the mirror match against a 3-BH Runeson Lofnir list.
This Vostarg list operates by forcing opponents to make tough decisions where they often believe both are the bad choice. Killing the Vulkites – which must be done to capture points and slow damage – only counts up flamekeepers to make the remaining Vulkites more powerful. But focusing heroes, such as flamekeepers, means the Vulkites continue to hold objectives while still outputting high damage. Combine this with a Runic Fyrewall to block undesirable movement and a molten infernoth to pressure foot heroes/low wound units, and you have a list which forces opponents to be aggressive.
But aggression only leads to death between fight on death, first-strike, and flamekeepers. This is a high damage list and these Vulkites can table an army that is not playing carefully. For any higher save units, the Runefather can be juiced up to -4/-3 rend swings. When the Runefather goes full bane mode there’s few things he won’t kill.
In play the most important pieces seemed to be the Expert Conquerors which often held objectives against swarms or monsters while forcing opponents to fight them. The Molten Infernoth is the true MVP though: for 40 points it did more than it should in nearly every game.
Games Summary:
Game 1 vs. Karl Rohr, Slaves to Darkness: Cabalists – Major Victory
Game 2 vs. Alexander Gonzalez, Soulblight Gravelords: Vyrkos – Draw
Game 3 vs. Cam Reid, Flesh-Eater Courts: Blisterskin – Major Victory
Game 4 vs. Seth Monegue, Maggotkin of Nurgle: Blessed Sons – Major Victory
Game 5 vs. Matthew Barker, Maggotkin of Nurgle: Blessed Sons – Major Victory
Day 1: I Feel Chill, My Heart Says Otherwise
(Yes, that’s my heart rate on day 1)
Game 1 vs. Karl Rohr, Slaves to Darkness: Cabalists on The Presence of Idols
Opponents List:
Faction: Slaves to Darkness
– Subfaction: Cabalists
– Triumph: Inspired
– Grand Strat: Take What’s Theirs
Leaders
Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore (265)*
– General
– Mark of Nurgle
– Master of Magic
– Binding Damnation
– Daemonic Speed
Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)*
– Mark of Nurgle
– Chaotic Conduit
– Binding Damnation
Chaos Lord on Manticore (270)
– Mark of Nurgle
– Flame Weapon
– Sword and Spear
Chaos Lord (115)*
– Mark of Nurgle
– Spite-tongue Curse
– Reaperblade and Daemonbound Steel
Battleline
Chaos Warriors (440)*
– Mark of Nurgle
– Sword and Shield
– Eroding Icon
– Reinforced Once
Chaos Marauders (85)*
– Mark of Nurgle
– Sword and Shield
Chaos Marauders (85)*
– Mark of Nurgle
– Sword and Shield
Units
Chaos Chosen (480)*
– Mark of Khorne
– Reinforced Once
Endless Spells
Gnashing Jaws 70
Cogs 70
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total 2000/2000
Karl is a great guy and was running an awesomely kitbashed army. It was probably one of the coolest armies I’d seen at LVO. I sadly took no pictures during LVO, I don’t know why, but I assure you his army was dope.
Karl’s list is interesting: two manticores! Reinforced Nurgle Warriors are also going to be no easy task to chew through. Luckily I am playing Fyreslayers so few things can’t be murderzoned.
I get the chance to put terrain on the board. I put it such that two large impassable pieces lock both players from the long-ways objective from their deployment. This allows me to make use of invocations to block lanes.
Karl outdrops me (as does everyone in the tourney) and takes the top of 1. This is what I meant by “tough decisions.” He, correctly, sees that I’m going to drop a Fyrewall to completely lock off the center of the map from him. He has no priest and no way to stop it if I take top of 1. So he has to do it. I proving grounds (PG) the bottom-right objective, as the left is blocked to him by impassable terrain.
The only unit he can take the PG with is Chaos Warriors, forcing them onto it, while his Chosen and Manticores move up the middle. But I’ve deployed back far enough they cannot reach me. He plays it cautious and toes the objective.
In my turn I auto-run EC vulkites to the upper-left objective and put two units of Vulkites on the center with a 5+ ward up from the battlesmith. My molten infernoth goes off and slaps some wounds on various things.
Round 2 proves decisive for me. I push hard forward, wiping out his chosen down to one guy and holding the center, denying him the central objective. He counter punches and wipes out some vulkites, but that only powers up my army. He’s already behind and needs some big moves in round 3 to stage a comeback.
Instead, I take priority and my molten infernoth rolls doubles: this immediately kills both his manticores, one from full health, which was a very nice roll for me. Further, I finish off the remaining Chaos Warriors with some flamekeeper buffed vulkites. The game is basically over here, though he can still steal a couple tactics, there’s no way he can come back with no Chaos Warriors, Manticores, and one living Chosen.
Fyreslayers nab a major victory, 28 – 14.
Game 2 vs. Alexander Gonzalez, Soulblight Gravelords on The Prize of Gallet
Opponent’s List
Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Lineage: Vyrkos Dynasty
– Grand Strategy: Vampiric Conquerors
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders
Vampire Lord (140)***
– General
– Command Trait: Pack Alpha
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Universal Spell Lore: Levitate
– Lore of the Vampires: Amethystine Pinions
Radukar the Beast (310)***
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (400)***
– Lore of the Deathmages: Fading Vigour
– Lore of the Deathmages: Decrepify
Cado Ezechiar, The Hollow King (140)***
– Spirit Gale
– Lore of the Vampires: Amethystine Pinions
Battleline
10 x Dire Wolves (130)**
10 x Dire Wolves (130)**
20 x Deathrattle Skeletons (160)**
– Reinforced x 1
Units
1 x Corpse Cart with Balefire Brazier (80)***
20 x Grave Guard (280)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1
1 x Vargskyr (110)*
1 x Vargskyr (110)*
Core Battalions
*Bounty Hunters
**Expert Conquerors
***Warlord
Additional Enhancements
Spell
Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 137
Drops: 11
Alex is energetic and fun. He’s a good dude who offers me a Corsairs die at the start of the match. That dice proceeds to roll 6’s like no other! I’ve decided to stop using it, fearing it’s actually weighted. He is the first of two Corsair team members I play against.
Alex’s SBGL is exactly the type of list I fear: BH heavy and has a big, fast, disruptive control piece in Manny. Further, I have no way to shoot him off the board, the infernoth and axes will have to do the work.
I once again set up terrain, doing it in a way to block off lanes. He gives me the top of 1. I place the Fyrewall to block off his units, but don’t really pay attention and leave some spots open for wolves which come back to haunt me later. It pays to be precise with this thing! I spread out to lock out grave summoning from my lines and objectives while he activates the center objective.
He pushes forward in the bottom of two and we just trade the center objective doing little damage to each other. Mannfred does hit my left side and kills 5 or 6 Vulkites, but takes a couple wounds from their fight-on-death. His flying skeletons (via levitate) are the real MVPs here.
I’ll take the bottom of round two and activate my home objective. He moves to contain me fully within my starting zone with wolves on my right and basically everything that isn’t graveguard on my left and center. The vulkites, with fight on death, fight first, and a little tank manages to hold the lines.. Further, my nulsidian icon completely nullifies his offensive spellcasting and the center. This is a huge deal as it will enable my runefather to maintain high damage. I proceed to push onto the center objective and wipe out nearly everything on it, including Cado. The molten infernoth comes down and, in one of the best rolls of my life – rolled doubles into a lot of 6’s for d3 mortal wounds per 6, DUMPSTERS Mannfred. With him gone the game is now back in my favor, I’d say.
As round three kicks in, he takes the bottom and activates his own objective. The wolves are still flanking right and I clear them with the magmadroth as well as some Vulkites. His army has mostly begun being tabled except for some wolves and the grave guard still in the graves.
However, in round 3 he gets a very long charge on his graveguard to not only get into a unit of Vulkites, but spread out across three units of Vulkites. This proves to be disastrous positioning for myself and he proceeds to kill them all with BH Graveguard. Still, I hold both side objectives going into four. But we are basically out of time. Both of us are playing slooooow armies and we don’t have time for another fourth round.
It’s a close game, we talk it out. We both will get our GS for certain. It’s hard to say who would win with the grave guard coming in like they did. I’m confident I can kill them, but its possible I don’t. As we can’t really agree – and indeed, it’s hard to even say what would happen! – and don’t have time to play it out, we just score what we know we can do (tactics and certain objectives). The result is a true draw! What a fantastic game.
Alex is a super great guy, when my molten infernoth rolled that bonkers roll he kept whatever salt he may have had inside, which is better than I would have done! Great dude and lady luck paid off his sportsmanship with a dope charge later. He was also a fantastic general and I think he outplayed me for the most part. It was only by luck and vulkite power that I kept that game so tight.
Fyreslayers draw with SBGL.
Game 3 vs. Cam Reid, Flesh-Eater Courts on Silk-Steel Nests
Opponent’s List
Army Faction: Flesh-eater Courts
– Army Subfaction: Blisterskin
– Grand Strategy: Take What’s Theirs
– Triumphs: Inspired
LEADER
1 x Abhorrant Archregent (240)**
– Spells: Spectral Host
1 x Crypt Infernal Courtier (130)**
1 x Abhorrant Ghoul King on Royal Terrorgheist (450)**
– General
– Command Traits: Hellish Orator
– Artefacts: Eye of Hysh
– Mount Traits: Gruesome Bite
– Spells: Deranged Transformation
BATTLELINE
9 x Crypt Flayers (540)*
10 x Crypt Ghouls (80)**
10 x Crypt Ghouls (80)**
10 x Crypt Ghouls (80)**
TERRAIN
1 x Charnel Throne (0)
OTHER
5 x Blood Knights (200)*
– Kastellan
5 x Blood Knights (200)*
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Bounty Hunters
**Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)
Cam’s list is an interesting one. Cam seems like a fun guy so I know this will be a fun match, which proves to be true! His list has three BH which will prove to be trouble for me as even the horses do 2 wounds. It’s also a list type I’ve never seen out of FEC and I’m not quite certain how it works to my own detriment.
The Molten Infernoth did so much in the last game but would do nearly nothing in this one, often rolling no mortal wounds at all. I guess luck comes and goes.
Cam lets me set up the terrain and I do what I always do: block lanes that a large base wants to be in. I set up defensively knowing he has speed and hoping if he does take first to bait him into bad positions.
Instead, he takes the bottom and I set up the usual castle with the battlesmith ward. He moves forward in the bottom and we both just get two points plus tactic. He gives me the top of two, sadly, and I push further up on the right to begin threatening those objectives. I accomplish little. Meanwhile on his turn he hits my left side HARD and wipes out my shield vulkites which take a few Flayers with them. He’s now a point ahead on VP.
I take the top of three and punish him for his aggressiveness. My magmadroth kills his general terrorgheist. I also kill a few Flayers and push the center and right to threaten his home objectives. Sadly, his Flayers double activate (didn’t know they could) and kill my magmadroth as well as most of my vulkites on that side, though on death they do kill his courtier.
On his turn the blood knights wipe out the vulkites threatening his objectives, taking some wounds in return. The decisive moment comes here though. He charges my line of foot heroes on the lower left. This allows me to combat-charge my vulkites that are behind the heroes into the flayers and pump their damage as well as activate their fight first. They kill the flayers down to one remaining.
He takes the top of four and retreats the flayers as well as brings up blood knights to wipe out more vulkites. On my turn I’m pushing back on the left and center while the right side has stalemated. But by auto-running a flamekeeper with the movement rune I take a center objective though. Movement rune once again being clutch late game. Funny, I used it and almost forgot to add the movement (2” is important!).
I win the priority roll into five which allows me to take more objectives and gain more tactics. At this point there’s no way for him to outcap me on anything and he has to choose between objectives or tactics. My final vulkite unit which has been sitting holding the bottom right the entire game is Expert Conquerors ensuring his blood knights can’t auto-run to cap any objectives.
Another nail-biter against a death army. Cam played a great game. I feel like my ignorance of his army definitely hurt me here and I should have deployed more heavily to counter the flayers.
Fyreslayers nab a major victory, 27-26, a one point win.
Day 2: My Brain Has Finally Stopped Functioning
I head into day 2 after a night of drinking, eating, not-sleeping, and spending too much money.
Game 4 vs. Seth Monegue, Nurgle on Realmstone Cache
Opponent’s List
Army Faction: Maggotkin of Nurgle
– Grand Strategy: Spread Rampant Disease
– Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS
Gutrot Spume (170)*
Lord of Blights (150)*
Lord of Blights (150)*
– General
– Command Traits: Overpowering Stench
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
– Spells: Plague Squall
BATTLELINE
Putrid Blightkings (500)*
– Icon Bearer
– Sonorous Tocsin Bearer
Putrid Blightkings (500)*
– Icon Bearer
– Sonorous Tocsin Bearer
Putrid Blightkings (250)*
– Icon Bearer
– Sonorous Tocsin Bearer
Putrid Blightkings (250)*
– Icon Bearer
– Sonorous Tocsin Bearer
TERRAIN
1 x Feculent Gnarlmaw (0)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1970/2000
I’m confident going into this game against Seth. Fyreslayers generally don’t have issues with damage and there’s only one center objective to kill things on for two rounds. Seth’s cordial and we both seem burnt out from the previous day. Math becomes arduous for us both.
This game proves to be a quick one. Seth takes the top of one in order to prevent me locking him off the objective with a Fyrewall. A wise move considering which army he is playing. He pushes onto the center objective with two units of 10 blightkings, the other two units of five being off board at the moment. I push forward and simply take the center objective and knock a few wounds off some Blight Kings. I keep my walls up so he can’t deep strike into anything important.
Both Nurgle players I had as opponents made the same mistake: counting their blight kings as two on objectives even when they are four wounds each (the bonus wound spell not being on them at that time or on a different unit). I didn’t know they only should count as one until after the tournament. This forced me to commit too many models in both games against them, but it’s not a huge deal.
I gave him the top of two and he pushed into my lines. Between a 5+ ward, fight on death, and a gigantic molten infernoth blocking a huge lane, he doesn’t get much done. He hangs some wounds on the magmadroth and kills some vulkites which fight on death to kill a couple blightkings and push wounds onto a hero.
On the bottom of two I pop my flamekeeper buff, my Runefather +1 attack buff, the rend rune, and basically anything and everything else I have ready. This juices my army so massively that I kill all the remaining blightkings, I believe there were 18 or so on the board, and his general. Four damage swing Vulkites (BH + flamekeeper buffs) with four swings each is potent.
The game is basically over here. I’ve lost a unit of vulkites and he’s lost his general and both of his main blight king units. We talk it out and go grab a drink!
Fyreslayers win a major victory, 26-16.
Game 5 vs. Matthew Barker, Nurgle on Nidus Paths
Opponents List
Allegiance: Maggotkin of Nurgle
– Subfaction: Blessed Sons
– Mortal Realm: Ghyran
– Grand Strategy: Tend the Garden
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders
The Glottkin (650)*
– Lore of Malignance: Rancid Visitations
Lord of Afflictions (230)*
– General
– Command Trait: Overpowering Stench
– Artefact: The Splithorn Helm
Battleline
10 x Putrid Blightkings (500)*
– Reinforced x 1
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (250)*
10 x Rotmire Creed (130)*
10 x Rotmire Creed (130)*
Units
3 x Nurglings (100)*
Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 116
Drops: 1
Matt’s probably my most enjoyable opponent of the tournament. He’s a great dude and the second member of Corsairs that I play against. We both are clearly running on very tired hamsters at this point and will make frequent mistakes throughout the game. A couple of funny ones are me forgetting to even put my forge down and him choosing a tactic that can’t be accomplished (I let him pick a different one in like the charge phase and he lets me put the forge down when I notice something like round 3). Mostly the game is just a fun one at this point.
That said, Matt is probably the most skilled of any of my opponents (no disrespect to any of the others). While I usually find Nurgle an easy match for Fyreslayers, this one will prove difficult. It turns into a real chess match and Matt knows his army well. He also does not commit any of the mistakes the previous Nurgle opponent makes. He is crafty and knowledgeable, and this makes the game truly fun.
I place terrain and set the middle up with two large pieces exactly 6” apart to help block movement in the entire center of the board.
He gives me the top of round 1. I drop a Fyrewall to block the entire center of these terrain pieces ensuring his Glottkin and blightkings have to go around. I push hard to the top left, leaving one vulkite in the rear to block the nurglings. I also bring over some shield vulkites on the right to hold the objective.
In the bottom of 1 he brings his flying units left along with his rotmire and Glottkin. His blightkings go right but won’t be able to affect too much yet. On the left the attack kills some vulkites but doesnt take objective due to the 5+ ward basically. Positioning here is weird for us both as the table has a gigantic dip in it making our models fall over.
At this point my brain is fried and I don’t recall the exact order of how things go down. But I can summarize by location.
On the upper-left: his Glottkin is a true thorn in my side and I can’t retreat and rally Vulkites because he’ll movement-phase charge. This means I have to sacrifice any units already in combat. Still, my magmadroth and the vulkites in the area, combined with flamekeeper kill everything but the Glottkin at first, and eventually do take down the Glottkin. His Rottmire hangs onto the objective a bit longer than I’d like but will fold.
On the bottom-right: His blightkings fail a charge and can’t take the objective from my EC shield vulkites. They then make a charge and wipe out the vulkites. But by this point a bounty hunter group of vulkites makes its way there and nearly wipes out the blightkings. The remaining shield vulkites give enough wounds to hold the objective.
On the bottom-left: He never gets a chance to threaten this objective and I teleport in round four a unit of vulkites from here across the board.
On the top-right: The vulkites I’ve teleported here will take this objective in round four or round 5. There’s not a lot he can do to stop this as the rotmire he ran back to stop this can’t hold out if they do get charged and can’t out-cap the vulkites.
We talk it out and just due to objective holding power I take the win. A fantastic match! Not my closest, but probably the most fun.
Fyreslayers win a major victory, 25-19.
Conclusion
Some great games, some great players, and overall a fantastic experience for my first LVO. While I missed the 5-0, I went into this event with no expectations and would be happy with a positive finish. So ending 12th place with a 4-0-1 record had me thrilled. I nearly brought Lofnir, feeling it may have performed better, but it’s hard to argue with results.
The list itself ran great and while it was difficult to pilot, showed the true power of Vulkite Berserkers. If there’s one major downside, it’s how it makes you and opponents feel. I explained the flamekeeper before every single game. But when you use a combat round charge or fight on death with them, the opponents always feel like you have gotcha’d them. In fact, a lot of once per game abilities in FS feel that way and it’s difficult to talk about them all as there are so many.
The molten infernoth proves once again to be worth its weight in ur-gold. Killing Mannfred on its own was probably one of my favorite Fyreslayer moments.
The shield Vulkites proved to be a perfect inclusion. They were able to tank and hold objectives where axes could not. While axes can throw damage out on death, sometimes you just need to hold an objective with models, not with damage.
Expert Conquerors was critical to the list’s success and is/was probably the most underrated part of this entire GHB. Its loss going into the new season means this list loses a ton of power, even without BH still around.
Will I go to LVO again? Probably, but I hope it’s not in the Rio.