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Shadow of the Horned Rat: The Battle of Blackclaw Bay (Old World: 500pts Battle March)

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For those who have been following along, this is part of two wider series on Woehammer where I collect the army I longed for in the 90s, the Grudgebringers, inspired by the video games Shadow of the Horned Rat and Dark Omens.

It’s also the first of hopefully many battle reports to come that will follow the Grudgebringers through our clubs escalation campaign.

This battle was the first for Dave and I at 500 points using the Battle March rules. This game would go towards our clubs narrative escalation event, the Kasrabad Campaign.

For the first two months, players fight as many 500 point battles as they can, before selecting their best two results to submit to the ongoing campaign narrative. Once that phase ends, each player adds another 250 points to their force and the campaign escalates further.

Each player commits their faction to one of the three that vie for control of Kasrabad, the Nobles, the Merchants Guld and the Revolutionaries.

The Lists and Faction Introductions

The Grudgebringers

The obligatory family shot

Morgan spat into the mud and adjusted the grip on his reins. “Elves,” he muttered, like the word itself tasted sour.

Across Blackclaw Bay sunlight gleamed off the polished armour as the High Elves advanced with all the pomp and ceremony of nobles attending a feast rather than marching to battle. At their head a tall lord in ornate armour, every inch the arrogant princeling. Morgan snorted.

“Look at that,” he said. “Not a speck of dirt on him. Either he’s never fought a battle in his life, or his servants deserve a pay rise.”

A few of his men chuckled nervously. Corporal Fletcher squinted towards the approaching host. “Think they’re here for Kasrabad, Commander?”

Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “Everyone’s here for Kasrabad. Dwarfs, Orcs, Trolls, Vampires, madmen…” he paused. “Now elves.”

Lt Schepke frowned. “Think they’ll negotiate?” Morgan gave him a flat look. “That depends. Do you think that peacock brought his army halfway across the world to talk?”

Schepke considered this. “No.”

“No, neither do I.”

Morgan drew Grudgebringer, the runeblade humming to life as flames licked along its edge and his men stood a little straighter. “I’ve fought greenskins, beastmen, chaos worshippers and worse. Every one of them thought they were something special.” He turned to his men, his voice rising.

“Know what I learnt?” The grin that crossed his face had no warmth to it. “They all bleed. Hold the line men and let them come to us.” He lifted his sword high. “We’ll part flesh with cold steel.”

===
The Grudgebringers [498 pts]
Warhammer: The Old World, Renegade Crowns, Battle March
===

++ Characters [102 pts] ++

Morgan Bernhardt (Renegade Captain) [102 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Heavy armour
– Shield
– General
– The Wandering Diestro [Feint & Dodge]
– Warhorse
– Burning Blade
– Paymaster’s Coin

++ Core Units [296 pts] ++

5 Grudgebringer Cavalry (Freeblade Knights) [112 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Great weapons
– Heavy armour
– Shields
– Standard bearer
– Musician
– Warhorses

10 Grudgebringer Infantry (Sellsword Infantry) [87 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Heavy armour
– Shields
– Officer (champion)
– Standard bearer
– Musician

10 Grudgebringer Crossbows (Sellsword Infantry) [97 pts]
– Crossbows
– Heavy armour
– Officer (champion)
– Standard bearer
– Musician

++ Rare Units [100 pts] ++

Grudgebringer Cannon (Border Princes Bombard) [100 pts]
– Bombard
– Hand weapons
– Light armour

—
Created with “Old World Builder”
[https://old-world-builder.com]

The High Elves

Lord Filanderol could smell Kasrabad even before his keen eyes sighted the foul smoke rising from the city.

He had thought his mission to claim recompense for undelivered goods was beneath him but now he understood the wisdom behind it.

A plea for help, salvation even, had reached him. Written on disgusting filthy parchment, the scratchy writing had said:

‘Betrayal of elf creatures most dire, city Lord highs fallen to chaos things. No safe. We lead, must overthrow bad nobles and nasty merchants. Help-help, come save.’

Filanderol, who is fluent in all of the languages recorded within the White Tower – which of course meant all of them, recognised the thick tongue of the men of the empire.

Kasrabad, or as it should more properly be known, Tor Atora, was a former Elf colony. To have teeming masses of men and their squalid dwellings built on top of, and around the splendour of his ancestors irked him. This colony had been settled by Caledorians. Those brave souls had braved this dismal land with their presence to try and elevate it to something approaching the glory of Ulthuan.

Filanderol could see the opportunity here and the true mission that had been given to him, bring back Tor Atora back into the fold.

He would, with the graciousness typical of his kind, offer the rulers and merchants of Kasrabad the opportunity to surrender. If they declined, then he would impose new leadership to rule the city under the guiding hand of Caledor.

He had set ashore with a small bodyguard, leaving the rest of his forces to begin establishing a camp and unload the equipment needed for the coming campaign. A few miles from the beachhead his Reaver knights reported sighting a human warband.

Hoping for contact with his mysterious correspondent, Filanderol proceeded in the open showing no aggressive intent.

The creatures were organising a ragged battle line, one of their crude black powder war machines squatted ugly at the rear. On the right a unit of Swordsmen stared dully ahead, grunting to each other in their crass tongue. Next to them were a unit of Crossbowmen who fiddled with their weapons, perhaps not understanding which end posed the danger. On the far right was a unit of human cavalry, a laughable imitation of his own Silver Helms. the tortured looking horses a poor relation to the glorious horses of Ulthuan.

They didn’t appear to be worshippers of the Dark Gods but the knowledge of the White Tower spoke to him and he recalled that this was not always in the open and, in any case, what difference was there, truly?

His loyal Herald Maleneth whispered to him ‘Grudgebringers my Lord, a mercenary band of Humans we believe,’

Filanderol’s lips curled with disgust, ‘Grudgebringers’ he mused, ‘In league with the Dwarfs then.”

‘Errr, no my Lord, -‘ Maleneth began ‘Nonsense!’ Filanderol responded, ‘Powder weapons and look, some sort of pathetic bound magical blade.’

‘Bold men of Caledor, we see before us these poorly made creatures. Pawns of the Dark Gods, in league with the stunted creatures of the mountains! They would deny us a homecoming to our ancient colony! Force of arms is all these beasts understand, go forth and give no quarter!’

===
High Elf Realms [498 pts]
Warhammer: The Old World, High Elf Realms, Battle March
===

++ Characters [106 pts] ++

Noble [106 pts]
– Hand weapon
– Sword of Hoeth
– Full plate armour
– General
– On foot
– Seed of Rebirth
– Warden of Saphery

++ Core Units [260 pts] ++

14 Elven Spearmen [151 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Thrusting spears
– Light armour
– Shields
– Shieldwall
– Sentinel (champion)
– Standard bearer
– Musician

5 Ellyrian Reavers [109 pts]
– Hand weapons
– Cavalry spears
– Light armour
– Shortbows
– Skirmishers
– Harbinger (champion)
– Musician

++ Special Units [132 pts] ++

9 Swordmasters of Hoeth [132 pts]
– Swords of Hoeth
– Heavy armour
– Bladelord

—
Created with “Old World Builder”
[https://old-world-builder.com]

Deployment

Peter: My plan was fairly simple for this battle, with the objectives only being worth 10 points each per turn, I intend to leave them alone for the first half of the game and plug away with my ranged units to whittle them down (especially the scary Swordmasters) before counter attacking.

With this in mind I deployed my forces quite far back to force Dave an extra round of movement before reaching me.

Dave: High Elves are quite limited (as they should be!) at 500 points. I have a small unit of spears, an even smaller unit of Sword Masters and a yet smaller unit of Reaver Knights.

My General is the Noble Filanderol, a cad and bounder of the higest order, banished from his home for his various minor misdeeds and indiscretions – dalliances with the spouses of various high-ranking houses, ill-treatment (general) of the Lower Orders, burning of Druchii slave barges. The very reasonable defences of ‘I respect their marriages as much as they!’, ‘What do you mean ill-treatment, what’s the point of the Lower Orders then?’ and ‘Burning their captured slaves is simply denying the enemy valuable resources and, in any case, they were from Chrace’.

My plan was to march forward and sieze the objectives, horribly massacring any defenders. My Spears would then hold the left while my swordmasters would push on aggressively and swing across to the centre. The Reaver Knights would push up and pick off a few troops with their bows. They would then charge the exposed flanks of any engaged enemies which my infantry can fix in place.

High Elves Turn 1

The Swordmasters led by Filanderol march towards the furthest objective with the pitiful human line ahead of them still fumbling for their weapons.

The spearmen move forwards onto the northern objective eyeing the Human cavalry warily.

The Reavers move down the Elven right flank with the intention to charge the human infantry in the flank. They let loose with their bows on the fly but with the range still quite far, the Humans have plenty of time to raise their shields.

High Elves 20 v 0 Grudgebringers

Grudgebringers Turn 1

Lt Schepke orders his infantry to wheel and make sure that the oncoming cavalry aren’t able to take them by surprise. Otherwise, the Grudgebringer line holds steady, knowing that they currently have the ranged advantage.

“Fire!” Cpl Fletcher shouts, and the Grudgebringer crossbows let loose with their bolts at the Swordmasters, two of the elite swordsmen fall. A look of shock momentarily passes across Filanderol’s face.

A large blast rolls across the valley as the Grudgebringer Cannon opens fire on the Elf spearmen, though the wet weather the day before causes the cannonball to embed itself in the mud a few yards from their front splattering the Elf ranks with mud but little else.

High Elves 20 v 0 Grudgebringers

High Elves Turn 2

Filanderol and the Swordmasters let out a shout and charge towards the Grudgebringers only for them to struggle through the mud, Filanderol orders them to hold once more and redress their ranks with the intention of closing with the Humans a little more before attempting another charge.

The Reavers ride their horses around towards the Infantry and let fly with their bows once more, with the range closer this time the Humans still manager to raise their shields, but one human falls to the ground with an arrow through his chest.

The spearmen remain where they are, building up the courage to take on the Humans cavalry.

High Elves 40 v 0 Grudgebringers

Grudgebringers Turn 2

Sensing the Elves doubt about taking them on, Morgan orders his cavalry forward towards them.

“Fire!” comes Cpl Fletcher’s familiar call once more, and two more of the Swordmasters fall from the hail of bolts.

The Grudgebringer Cannon lines up the spearmen once more and lets fly. But the cannonball once more beds itself in the mud twenty yards short of the Elves.

High Elves 40 v 0 Grudgebringers

High Elves Turn 3

Filanderol lets out his frustration at the humans and he and the Swordmasters charge towards the infantry. But to the Elves confusion the Humans fall back and away from the Swordmasters.

Seeing the cavalry start their move towards them, the spearmen decide to close the gap with them to stop the cavalry gaining momentum. Meanwhile with the human infantry falling back the Reavers switch their targets and see the human cavalry’s exposed flank. They move behind the Swordmasters hoping to catch the Human cavalry flat footed. The Reavers loose their arrows at the cavalry but with the range at the extreme end for the bows their arrows fall short of their mark.

High Elves 137 v 0 Grudgebringers

Grudgebringers Turn 3

Morgan lets out a yell and the Grudgebringers charge into the Elf spearmen.

The crossbowmen let fly at the Swordmasters once more killing another three of the blade masters. The Swordmasters waiver at the bolts, but a shout from Filanderol gives them courage.

On the right, the spearmen brace for the charge and impale two of the riders as they close. The Grudgebringers do little in response.

High Elves 137 v 0 Grudgebringers

High Elves Turn 4

Filanerdol charges his Swordmasters into the crossbowmen, they loose their bolts again as they charge but with their aim rushed the bolts miss their mark.

Following their Lords example, the Reavers follow suit and charge into the flank of the cavalry. The Reavers make short work of the remaining Human horsemen cutting them all down and leaving Morgan alone who cuts down the spearmen champion before fleeing from the massed Elves.

The Reavers gives chase and the spearmen reform with the intention of taking both objectives.

Filanderol cuts down one of the crossbowmen to the south while the two remaining Swordmasters follow suit, but to Filanderol’s suprise one of his loyal guard falls with a knife embedded in his neck. Filanderol orders his Swordmasters to fall back and the Crossbowmen pursue.

High Elves 249 v 0 Grudgebringers

Grudgebringers Turn 4

Morgan flees off the battlefield.

Cpl Fletcher and his crossbows let loose at the Swordmasters fleeing away from them. Their bolts fell the last Swordmaster while Filanderol takes one to the leg.

The cannon fires at the spearmen closing on the objectives but suffers a misfire. The cannonball is still fired and five of the spearmen are turned to paste by the ball. But the crew have to work hard now to remount the cannon before the enemy can advantage.

High Elves 351 v 142 Grudgebringers

High Elves Turn 5

Filanderol turns towards the crossbowmen with hate in his eyes, readying his sword, but before he can the spearmen charge into the flank of the crossbows killing one and forcing them to fall back.

The Reavers wheel around with the Cannon in their sights.

High Elves 361 v 142 Grudgebringers

Grudgebringers Turn 5

The combat between the spearmen and crossbows continue with another human falling to the spears of the Elves.

With the Elves in control of the battlefield, the Humans decide to withdraw leave Filanderol nursing his wounds, but in control.

High Elves 361 v 142 Grudgebringers

‘My Lord, we had them! Why did you halt the pursuit, we could have cut down their war machine crew and the crossbowmen both!’ the herald raged, almost looking like he wished to strike Filanderol himself! Though, of course, the very thought was ridiculous.

‘My dear boy, you must see the game board entire, not just the pieces moving. We would have pursued straight into a Dark Elf trap, there are doubtless more shades ahead of us. Trust me, Maleneth, I can smell a Dark Elf trap a league away’

Crossbows are good now?

Peter: That was great fun and despite the loss I’m really pleased with how the game went. I think I was right to hold my troops in position for a couple of turns to allow my advantage at range to take a toll.

What I didn’t expect was how well the Crossbows would do against the Swordmasters, killing 7 across three turns of shooting was no mean feat. I chose to flee the Infantry deliberately when they were charged purely so that I could shoot the Swordmasters for another turn. I had little hope that if the Infantry had received the charge that they would have taken out any of the Elves. The gamble paid off there.

What didn’t pay off for me this time was the cavalry or the cannon on the other side of the battlefield. I felt the cavalry could have performed a little better in their combat, but Dave’s march to reduce the charge range on the spears and allow them to hit first was a genius move.

The Cannon just suffered with bad dice rolls, but as mentioned the bad dice rolling here was more than made up for by the crossbows. But three shots and rolling three misfires at different stages of the roll was something else!

All in all it was a good fun game, and Morgan lives to fight again.

Dave: Well! That was a game and a half! My poor Swordmasters got shot to bits and Pete completely flat-footed me and them when he fled off the table from their charge.

I absolutely underestimated the crossbowmen. Having played Empire many times I have never had Crossbows perform for me but I hadn’t considered that they’re often at short range in Battle March and the Swordmasters suffered as a result.

Once they did get the charge they were so few that even with the Filanderol present they couldn’t even beat the Crossbowmen (or Dark Elf Shades in disguise!) and I was lucky not to get run down!

The Spearmen didn’t let me down though and, after a cheeky march up to prevent Pete’s knights from getting the full initiative buff for charging, they held the Empire Knights and their Captain (As Filanderol might say ‘Merkin Grungebonger or some such, I forget’).

They held the knights up enough for my Reavers to charge them in the flank and wipe out what remained of them and made Morgan poop his pants. My spearmen reformed looking to claim both the objectives and sadly this was when Pete’s cannon crew remembered which end the balls came out of and killed five of my spearmen!

With the Empire Captain fled off the table I had succeeded in my secret objective, no doubt to great cries of Huzzah from the Reaver Knights.

I should now have charged the cannon but it was a long charge and it couldn’t fire again….. and I had foolishly forgotten that this was the last turn… so, I moved up for an easy charge in the next, non-existent, turn.

I have to say, Pete had terrible luck with his cannon and a little bit more luck could have seen him win this. Clearly, the crew were simply overcome by the glittering majesty of the high elf forces and the tears in their eyes impaired their shooting. It definitely wasn’t me whispering misfire during his rolling.

This was a really fun game and had some good back and forth. I was surprised by how effective my spearmen were, I thought they might be the weak link. In hindsight I think I should have been even more aggressive but I was a bit nervous about Pete’s heavy cavalry.

I have certainly a lot to think about for my next 250 points in the slowgrow but I’m looking forward to getting some more games in with the list too!

Key Moments

  • Grudgebringer Crossbows killed 7 Swordmasters across three turns.
  • Grudgebringer Cannon misfired three times.
  • High Elf Spearmen held against Morgan’s cavalry.
  • Reavers successfully flanked and routed the Grudgebringer Cavalry.
  • Filanderol survived, though wounded and more convinced than ever of Dark Elf treachery.

      Age of Sigmar, Battle Report, Competitive, Fantasy, Fyreslayers, Games Workshop, General Speaking, Kevin Lathers, Order, Tournaments

      World Championships of Warhammer Tournament Report: Fyreslayers

      2 Comments

      Credit: Games Workshop

      Event and Venue

      Whelp, I somehow acquired a Golden Ticket for the Championships. It’s in Atlanta, which is great because it’s 15 minutes from my bed to the play area. The event is very large this year with almost 150 players for AoS and hundreds or thousands more for everything else (including the 40k Narrative event).

      Credit: Games Workshop

      The event is in the Hyatt in downtown Atlanta. The venue itself is clean, large, and with access to multiple other larger hotels (via tunnel in case of weather). It’s also connected to a passable food court for lunch. Overall it’s a good venue for any tournament really, but quite suitable for such a large one.

      More importantly buckets of five beers are $20 and I took advantage of that on days one, two and four.

      This is a Games Workshop official event, so the terrain is all GW terrain. The setup is all on GW and the TOs/Judges including official Games Workshop staff (and rules writers). This makes it unique in how rulings come down but also unique in how little arguing people (normally) have with TOs!

      I appreciate getting the TOs to rule on “Sacred Rites” for Fyreslayers players: it does not give a magmic token! I don’t appreciate that they refused to elaborate on why that is, but so it goes.

      Honestly, going into the third year it seems like they really got all the kinks out of thing. Other than a technical problem during the preview show, everything seemed to run quite smoothly on the surface.

      A lot of the staff helping run the event are actually my Georgia Warband clubmates, and a lot of us have lent out models to various participants. I guess we also have a hand in making it run smoothly: shout out to my teammates!

      This is also a great chance for me to see some old friends and acquaintances. Hell, I might make some new friends: a new opponent is just a friend you’ve not played yet.

      My List

      As per normal, I am running Fyreslayers. I’ve been running various lists over the past couple of months. I couldn’t settle on one so just went with one of the recent iterations, which I sort of regret, but it performed well enough.

      I wish I had had more time to practice, but other than the event a bit beforehand, work and life has me up against the wall and I just can’t take the time I really should to get reps in. I’m basically hoping my nonstop play with only this army for years can carry me.

      Fyreslayers
      Scales of Vulcatrix (10)
      General’s Handbook 2025-26
      Drops: 5
      Wounds: 112
      Prayer Lore – Vulkyn Gifts
      Manifestation Lore – Magmic Invocations

      Battle Tactic Cards: Intercept and Recover, Restless Energy

      General’s Regiment
      Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (320)
      General
      Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (120)

      Regiment 1
      Auric Runesmiter on Magmadroth (280)
      Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)

      Regiment 2
      Auric Runemaster (180)
      Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)

      Regiment 3
      Auric Runeson on Magmadroth (Scourge of Ghyran) (320)
      Droth-helm (10)
      Fiercely Competitive
      Thickened Scales
      Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (120)

      Faction Terrain
      Magmic Battleforge

      Regiments of Renown
      Sky-Port Profiteers (320)
      Grundstok Thunderers
      2x Grundstok Mortar or Aethercannon
      Grundstok Thunderers
      2x Grundstok Mortar or Aethercannon
      2x Aetheric Fumigator or Decksweeper
      Codewright

      The list functions closer in playstyle to older infantry Fyreslayers lists than it does a full magmadroth pedal to the metal list — though it can do that some, too.

      The Thunderers, Poleaxes, and Flameseekers not only all do some damage but add heavy screening, point capturing pressure, and just wounds to the list. Opponents always have to be aware that the Codewright can teleport anyone from himself to a flameseekers unit (9-models) around the map.

      The Auric Runesmiter on Magmadroth adds heavy utility and defensive capability. The rampage is extremely good at adding pre-combat mortals on larger units which can thin their ranks before they swing. Further, the +1 wound (on a 3+) ability is useful and being priest (1) is extremely useful.

      The Runefather and Runeson Magmadroths are, of course, the mobile hammers which skew it from an infantry list into a damage output game.

      I took the Fiercely Competitive trait over the others, in retrospect I really would have liked Blood of the Berserker due to failing many MANY charges by 1, but on the other hand, Fiercely Competitive straight up wins me the mirror match against the other Fyreslayers player, so it wasn’t a BAD pick, just a situational one.

      Thickened Scales and the Droth Helm continue to always pay dividends.

      The list, at its core, isn’t about having maximum utility, objective holding, or damage, but a little of each. My hope is that makes it a good all-comers list.

      The Tournament: Pod Play

      I’ll note that the specifics on every game are sometimes misremembered or a bit fuzzy, so I’m doing my best to see through the haze of alcohol and brain cooking to remember everything in these sections.

      (The deep recesses of the AoS area)

      My big critique of this phase of the tournament is that they released the pods well-before the tournament but then shifted them around (due to drops I guess?). This caused a bit of confusion for many of us. Really, they should have just released lists but waited for pods to be shown the day-of. I felt like this maybe caused some inequality in list knowledge and expectation, but it didn’t overly affect me due to aforementioned lack of prep.

      Day 1: Losing Game 1 is Relaxing

      (Locked in)

      Game 1: Loss Against Nighthaunt on Surge of Slaughter

      My Game 1 opponent is David Demmel from Germany with a Pyregheists heavy list (like all NH players). 

      1990/2000 pts
-----
Grand Alliance Death | Nighthaunt | Quicksilver Gheists (40 Points)
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 3
Spell Lore - Lore of the Underworlds
Manifestation Lore - Infernal Sorceries
Battle Tactics Cards: Restless Energy and Scouting Force
-----
General's Regiment
Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief (300)
• General
Chainghasts (90)
Scourge of Ghyran Black Coach (300)
---
Regiment 1
Krulghast Cruciator (160)
• Brazier of Nagashizzar
• Ruler of the Spectral Hosts
Myrmourn Banshees (180)
• Reinforced
Pyregheists (150)
Pyregheists (150)
---
Regiment 2
Lord Vitriolic (120)
Chainrasps (200)
• Reinforced
Pyregheists (150)
Pyregheists (150)
-----
Faction Terrain
Nexus of Grief

      David’s list is extremely good at accomplishing tactics and he can basically effortlessly get 4 of them with the other two being a bit harder, but not much. It also has one of the most points efficient units in the game in Pyregheists backed by Olynder being a very strong utility and damage piece that borders on unkillable without HEAVY mortal damage threat.

      I know he can play the tactics game very well and so I play somewhat agressive into him. This works in turn 1 as he plays more passive, mostly screening and toe-touching objectives. I outscore him while eliminating his chainghasts.

      But it falls apart in Round 2 when I fail nearly every single one of my very short short charges. I still do damage due to shooting, but it’s not enough. Further, I think my rune usage was poor here and that is the real thing that will haunt me.

      This was a big misplay on my part and a valuable lesson: never ever consider charges guaranteed. I need to be much more cautious, especially around armies with such a strong hit back on damage output. I felt I had to play agressively into a shooting army, but I probably didn’t.

      I think his positioning was okay but if I do make those charges I think I win the close game, but since I didn’t, his positioning seemed genius and his clap back kills my runefather droth as well as gaining him just an overall fantastic scoring and positioning turn.

      From here on out I play the game of scrambling for points as my gameplan has gone awry and I do claw back but my lack of tactics adds up while he accomplishes them with ease and I end up losing a very close game while both of us have very few models left on the board.

      David’s a strong player and I think once he saw where the pieces landed in Round 2 he knew as long as he didn’t make any mistakes it was game over for me going into Round 3.

      Great opponent and a good close game. I think I played poorly into the battleplan, not helped by the underdog mechanic being useless against Nighthaunt.

      I learned some real lessons here on being more meticulous and less gambling-prone and I credit David with out playing me for the lessons here.

      Game 2: Win Against Seraphon on Lifecycle.

      I am now fully relaxing heading into my game 2. With the weight of winning off my shoulders I can play to my strengths but not stress. It’s probably a character flaw of mine that I play better when winning a tournament is out of my reach. Technically I have a chance at top 16, but it’s now not fully in my own hands so I don’t stress it hard.

      This game is against Erik Armstrong from Canada playing Seraphon.

      Your list scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could include the Sky-Port Profiteers, they didn’t stop to think if they should 2000/2000 pts
-----
Grand Alliance Order | Seraphon | Eternal Starhost
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 3
Spell Lore - Lore of Celestial Manipulation (20 Points)
Manifestation Lore - Aetherwrought Machineries
Battle Tactics Cards: Restless Energy and Wrathful Cycles
-----
General's Regiment
Skink Starpriest (110)
• General
• Coatl Familiar
• Child of the Stars
Raptadon Chargers (260)
• Reinforced
Ripperdactyl Riders (220)
• Reinforced
---
Regiment 1
Sunblood Pack (150)
Kroxigor (200)
Kroxigor (200)
Kroxigor Warspawned (420)
• Reinforced
---
Regiment 2
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (120)
Saurus Warriors (150)
Saurus Warriors (150)
-----
Faction Terrain
Realmshaper Engine

      I’m pretty comforted going into this matchup as I recently played almost this identical list so I’m quite familiar with it.

      Erik is chill and quite competent in his deployment which tells me he’s a strong player. No wishy washy play here, he’s got a plan!

      I deploy conservatively with knowledge I can double move if need be and that he basically can BARELY get one unit into me turn 1 if he gets the run/charge spell off so I’m not worried about an alphastrike.

      In round 1 I basically toe touch the objectives with some throwaway units and ping some damage on his dudes. I do push the right side a bit harder with infantry and keep my middle hammers waiting for him to make a move while my other droth pushes harder on the left side.

      This drags some of his units to deal with the threat on one side. He uses Saurus to screen the Kroxigors waiting for a nice opening. But he also used the -1 rend asterism so he can’t really step out of his own territory without great risk to himself, so the screen can’t be too far forward and he can’t walk into the middle of the map without getting blasted.

      With this setup I can safely give the turn away in round 2 and be perfectly safe or take it and wipe him out pretty hard.

      He gets the turn, he can’t do a ton and pings some of my units, but with the strikes first rune he knows he has to play safe. Sadly for him on the bottom of two I kill basically all the screens, especially his Ripperdactyls, and ping some other stuff.

      I get the double and basically end the game right there by tabling anything of actual note he has. Some decent charges up the center ensure this.

      Erik takes the loss like a true champion but apparently has places to be so sadly I missed my shot at buying him a beer.

      I go out with some people and we grab some okonomiyaki, that’s some good food. The power of knowing the area, I guess.

      Day 2: Opponent Game Win % is an Exciting Tie Breaker

      Going into Day 2 I’m, again, fairly chill. What I am not excited about is the insanely early start time of 8:30 A.M. Bonkers, GW, bonkers. Humans were not designed for such hours!

      Game 3: Win Against Gloomspite Gitz on Cyclic Shifts

      (Shown: my confusion over Boingrot’s being so undercosted)

      This game is against Ricky Fischer from the US on Gitz. I’ve played Ricky a couple years prior at Nashcon, actually and we had a good game then. Ricky always brings the HEAT when it comes to hobbying and he absolutely crushes me in that contest — a beautiful army from a beautiful man.

      (Oh yea, I got btfo on hobbying)

      2025 WCW 1990/2000 pts
Gloomspite Gitz
Squigalanche
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 2
Spell Lore - Lore of the Clammy Dank
Manifestation Lore - Dank Manifestations
Battle Tactic Cards: Intercept and Recover, Restless Energy
General's Regiment
Skragrott, the Loonking (200)
 • General
Doom Diver Catapult (160)
Gobbapalooza (150)
Rockgut Troggoths (360)
 • Reinforced
Rockgut Troggoths (360)
 • Reinforced
Regiment 1
Squigboss with Gnasha-Squig (120)
 • Fight Another Day
 • Leering Gitshield
Boingrot Bounderz (220)
 • Reinforced
Boingrot Bounderz (220)
 • Reinforced
Squig Herd (200)
 • Reinforced
Faction Terrain
Bad Moon Loonshrine

      His list lacks chariots, which is great for me, but has lots of boingrots, which is less great for me. The doomdiver may also pose issues, though it’s far more swingy.

      Still, I have high damage output and enough ranged power to at least force his positioning to be off if he wants obscuring of any kind and if he wants good positioning he’ll have to take the licks.

      The story of this game is basically that Troggs do not form a good screen if they can’t have a ward. He has to screen his actual fast hammers and units from my very fast droths, but once the Troggs lose their ward even the breath attacks are clearing them.

      He makes good use of his moon buffs and spells to keep me at bay a bit and play the objectives. In Round 1 we both play conservatively, but in round 2 I push the right side super hard forcing his hand on his turn to come deal with me. He forgets I have the fight first rune and pushes a bit too hard setting me up for some big turns.

      Still, with some nice charges and positioning he kills a unit of thunderers, wounds some poleaxes, and puts wounds on a magmadroth. Sadly for him it’s the smiterdroth who can do lots of mortal wounds to large units before combat causing him to fail on the closing out the droth.

      He pulls back on the left side and consolidates for a countercharge, but this does sacrifice his Loonshrine, so no recursion can save him here. I’m basically fighting him in his territory at this point and the game is gonna be lost on points even if he can finish clearing out my magmadroths.

      But he doesn’t and I get to play whack-a-mole on his final dudes.

      A good game, but I think the droth pre-combat damage + ranged pressure was too high for his list on this map.

      Ricky is a great opponent and I know he won awards later for hobbying at the very least.

      Game 4: Win Against Stormcast Eternals on Roiling Roots

      (How the hell do you show a panoramic image on this thing?)

      This game is against Joss Wheeler from the US on SCE.

      From the top rope its sigmar with a steel chair. 2000/2000 pts
Stormcast Eternals
Thunderhead Host
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 2
Battle Tactic Cards: Intercept and Recover, Master The Paths
General's Regiment
Yndrasta, the Celestial Spear (290)
 • General
Aetherwings (80)
Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (180)
Vanguard-Palladors with Starstrike Javelins (240)
Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (200)
Regiment 1
Lord-Imperatant (110)
 • Banner of Sigmar
 • Shock and Awe
Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (360)
 • Reinforced
Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (360)
 • Reinforced
Gardus Steel Soul (160)
Faction Terrain
Stormreach Portal (20 Points)

      I read Joss’ list and felt doom wash over me. This list is VERY good against mine. Longstrikes aren’t going to kill a magmadroth (probably) but those wounds add up. The grandhammers can definitely kill a magmadroth though, easily.

      Then there’s Yndrasta, the hardest hard counter to Magmadroths. Her spear toss alone SLAPS.

      I know I have to do two things: play a very SPREAD game, abuse the 9″ bubbles, and second is push HARD if I see an opening to get as many points as possible, especially if I have the fight first rune up. I probably also have to pray to the dice gods for him failing some charge rolls (which he later does).

      Joss wisely takes the top of 1 and bum rushes my front line to pin me in on the left/center. I pop the 5+ ward rune and he sees that my screening would have him killing some infantry and then dying horribly to magmadroths so he doesn’t drop his big boys.

      He pins me with the palladors and Yndrasta pushes my right side, killing a hero and taking objective, getting him a solid lead.

      I know better than to directly fight Yndrasta with a droth if I don’t have to, instead opting to shoot her a lot and strip her ward. Which I do, putting some damage on her. I finish off the Palladors and hold my line, we get to go to round 2.

      Going into round 2 he has the top and I hit the fight first rune. This disuades him from dropping (too risky and no great openings) and he pulls Yndrasta WAAAAY back to safety and rallying her back up.

      On my turn I push further up and clear more of screens/units on the board and spread waaaay out in fear of his drops still out there.

      I get initiative into round 3 and RUSH his Lord-Imperatant killing it. This is HUGE for me. My flameseekers threaten the left side now and are chasing his longstrikes and his remaining objective.

      He has a combeback chance if he can free the longstrikes, but he can’t. In one of the worst dice rolls he could get, his Gardus fails to do a single point of damage to some Flameseekers who in-turn kill the longstrikes. Further he fails all of his drop charges.

      He gets the double into four but it’s too little too late, Yndrasta is JUST NOW getting back into the fight maybe and he needs some lengthy charges just to get onto two objectives, let alone take multiple.

      The game is basically over on points and I go to 3-1. I view the standings and see: yep I’m WAAAAAY low on tie breaks (opponent game win % is the first one) so that ship has sailed and I have no shot at a shadow round. Let’s drink!

      The Games: Bracket Play

      After the pod play everyone is separated into brackets. The brackets are the top 16, then all 3-win players, all 2-win, and so on. I am in the “3-win players bracket.”

      Day 3: Migraines Suck; If I Could Drop I Would Have

      This day sucks terribly for me, not due to losses, I don’t care about that. I randomly get terrible migraines maybe three or four times a year. Whelp, I got nice timing on that.

      I happened to get one the night before and got maybe 2 hours of sleep on top of the daylong incredible headache that medicine just couldn’t shake. Any other tournament and I would be dropping, but I can’t do this here.

      Due to this, I really don’t remember a lot about this day — it’s basically a blur — and I’m sure I show my opponents some uninspired play and behavior. Thankfully reviewing opponents lists and battleplans somewhat jogged at least a little memory.

      Game 5: Loss Against Nighthaunt on Passing Seasons

      (it’s me, dying, and David, hopefully not dying)

      This game is against David Demmel (again) with Nighthaunt. The list is the same as above. He actually went to the “shadow round” for a chance at top 16, but sadly fell just short.

      Again, I don’t remember a ton but I lost to the same list twice so I believe it went roughly the same way. I do recall the end though: I misplayed very badly taking some units off my back objective compounded with him making a fantastic roll to drag his banshess over and grab my back objective which gave him the points needed to win.

      I could make a comeback but only with a super long bomb charge with my droth and some hot rolling, which didn’t happen ending the game. David takes the game by 5 in part due to my error at the end.

      David’s really nice and a good opponent. I was glad that if anyone would beat me it would be a skilled player and nice guy.

      Game 6: Loss Against Lumineth Realmlords on Grasp of Thrones

      This game is against Jos Chang from the US on LRL.

      Can someone send me Jarod Brown’s discord info? He keeps making sweet LRL lists and I need to know the secret sauce.
My discord username is josbert
1970/2000 pts
-----
Grand Alliance Order | Lumineth Realm-lords | Scinari Council (10 Points)
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 3
Spell Lore - Lore of Hysh
Manifestation Lore - Manifestations of Hysh
Battle Tactics Cards: Restless Energy and Scouting Force
-----
General's Regiment
Ellania and Ellathor, Eclipsian Warsages (290)
• General
Alarith Stoneguard (120)
Scourge of Ghyran The Light of Eltharion (270)
Vanari Auralan Wardens (280)
• Reinforced
Ydrilan Riverblades (160)
---
Regiment 1
Scinari Enlightener (200)
• Silver Wand
• Flawless Commander
Vanari Auralan Wardens (140)
Ydrilan Riverblades (160)
-----
Regiments of Renown
Sky-Port Profiteers (320)
Codewright
Grundstok Thunderers
Grundstok Thunderers
-----
Faction Terrain
Shrine Luminor (20)

      I really like Jos but I really hate Lumineth. I am full doomer going into this game and you know what they say: if you don’t believe you will win then you won’t. That addage holds true here.

      I don’t really recall the exact details but Jos played a great game. Very technical using obscuring and his heroes to full advantage as well as the Riverblades.

      My Runefather got stuck on a single objective the WHOLE GAME. A huge mistake on my part to let him stay on that objective and get trapped. I should have played more passively and taken the objective in turn 2, then brought the sondroth to middle.

      Just huge positioning errors on my part let the game get away from me right at the end for Jos to take it by 2 points.

      Some great play from Jos here and a lesson in, as always, how awful LRL can be to play against, haha. But also in not giving up when you know you’re coming back.

      I wish I could remember more specifics, but I was super checked out.

      Some friends want Hattie B’s and I oblige despite not feeling well. Give the people what they want.

      Day 4: Healthy and Get a Mirror Match

      I got home around 10 p.m. the night before and immediately fell asleep clear through until 8:30 where I had to rush to the venue (dice roll at 9, allegedly). I feel great now, shaking off the headache and having plenty of sleep, I’m ready to rock ‘n’ roll.

      Game 7: Win Against Fyreslayers on Creeping Corruption

      (How many people does it take to move a model? Chris is finding out!)

      This game is against David Sulava from Australia on Fyreslayers. Hell yea, my fellow Fyreslayer!

      Scoville 9000 2000/2000 pts
Fyreslayers
Scales of Vulcatrix (10 Points)
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 5
Prayer Lore - Vulkyn Gifts
Manifestation Lore - Magmic Invocations
Battle Tactic Cards: Intercept and Recover, Restless Energy
General's Regiment
Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (320)
 • General
 • Blood of the Berzerker
Scourge of Ghyran Auric Runeson on Magmadroth (320)
Regiment 1
Scourge of Ghyran Auric Runeson on Magmadroth (330)
 • Droth-helm - (10) Points 
Regiment 2
Scourge of Ghyran Auric Runeson on Magmadroth (320)
 • Incandescent Blaze
Regiment 3
Auric Runemaster (180)
Hearthguard Berzerkers with Berzerker Broadaxes (240)
 • Reinforced
Regiment 4
Auric Runesmiter on Magmadroth (280)
Faction Terrain
Magmic Battleforge

      I’ve played the FS mirror match a few times now. I also know this list he is running very well and realize I have the hard counter to David’s list: Flameseekers and Fiercely competitive.

      He gives me the top of 1, I basically scoot around and faff about. I position such that if he does the same I can push on the next turn. I do teleport a unit to toe-touch his back objective and take it from him for a quick 10 instead of 8 points turn — I know he didnt deploy on it for a reason, likely to bait someone for his Runefather to get in combat with and grab an easy Restless 1, but I don’t mind as that drags one of his precious magmadroths way away from the fighting.

      He takes the initiative and pushes hard into me, but with my fight first rune up he can’t do too terribly much on charge. But his shooting is potent and he nearly kills a flameseeker unit as well as my runefather droth. He charges the flameseekers to take my right back objective, but fails to kill them due to damage reduction. He also kills my teleported Thunderers, no big deal.

      I win the priority and he uses the fight first rune. This is what I’ve been waiting for! I was actually fearful he’d use the 5+ ward/+1 save rune which would let him tank me and hit back. I put heavy shooting into his droth helm runeson, damaging it, then charge everything to the right and center.

      With fiercely competitive, even though he has strikes first, I do, too. I easily dispatch his +1 hit aura magmadroth. This nerfs his other droths damage, though he still finishes off my runefather. My Runesmiter droth finishes off his second runeson droth and my flameseekers put the other one on notice with it being nearly dead and stuck in combat with them.

      That’s game and he concedes. Even if he gets the turn all he can do is kill some flameseekers basically (maybe) and then Ill immediately kill everything but a remaining runefather who is way out of position.

      A fast game, maybe 45 minutes, and I’m off to go drink! David is a really great guy and I’m glad I got to play him even if it was a shorter game.

      Game 8: Win Against Seraphon on Bountiful Equinox

      (Gonna be honest, the smell wasn’t great)

      This game was against Thomas Burgett from the US on Seraphon. I now realize I was not ready to rock ‘n’ roll. It turns out 8 games in four days is a lot of AoS and I’m pretty done with the ordeal. I make this quite clear to Tom and that I’ll be probably full-sending if I see an opening.

      P is for pandemonium 2000/2000 pts
Seraphon
Shadowstrike Starhost
General's Handbook 2025-26
Drops: 3
Spell Lore - Lore of Celestial Manipulation (20 Points)
Manifestation Lore - Primal Energy (20 Points)
Battle Tactic Cards: Restless Energy, Scouting Force
General's Regiment
Slann Starmaster (260)
 • General
 • Incandescent Rectrices
Raptadon Chargers (260)
 • Reinforced
Raptadon Chargers (130)
Raptadon Chargers (130)
Raptadon Hunters (120)
Regiment 1
Skink Starseer (170)
 • Beastmaster
Kroxigor Warspawned (420)
 • Reinforced
Raptadon Chargers (260)
 • Reinforced
Raptadon Hunters (120)
Regiment 2
Skink Starpriest (90)
Faction Terrain
Realmshaper Engine

      I’d met Tom a couple years ago when I lent him a grouping of all the Annihalators we could scrounge together in the Atlanta area. He’s a cool guy and I’m glad he’s back!

      His list is way way more agressive than Erik’s, wow. I know those Raptadons can basically cross the board on turn 1 if they want.

      With that in mind I… deploy agressively, let’s get this shit over with! He gives me the top but has screened heavily so there’s no real point in doing much. I move my guys slightly forward and screen.

      He pushes hard on the right, kills a Codewright and loses the unreinforced Chargers for the trouble. It gets him a solid lead though and takes my teleporting piece off the board.

      I win the priority into round 2, give it to him, and hit 5+ ward. He basically pushes his screens up a bit and puts some light damage down.

      I get my turn and just send it, killing all his screens and powering through off an endless spell to take one of his objectives putting me up on points.

      He gets the top of 3 and I hit fight first. He has to do something though because if he does nothing I’m killing everything on my turn, if he does something I.. might kill everything.

      He chooses to try to kill my runeson on magmadroth, fails, and we shake hands. He knows on my turn I’m clearing the Korxigor, the raptadons, and basically everything I can off the board then we would have a priority that would no longer matter.

      I finish the tournament 3-1 and 2-2 for a total of 5-3 and ranked 32. Not bad, but not amazing. I blame poor play on day 1 for missing my shot at the top 16, but I think I wouldn’t have done well anyway with the migraine on day 3, so maybe it was for the best.

      The End or: How I Stopped Fearing and Learned to Love My Brain Being Cooked

      I live close enough I bounce home for a shower and a snack before I head back for the award ceremony with my wife. My brain is now thoroughly fried and I exist in a state of unconciousness functioning solely on instinct, an instinct to drive too fast around Atlanta roads!

      I missed top Fyreslayer for the event, which went to Philip Springall and his very cool list and a beautifully painted army — I’m quite happy with this as he’s nice and his list is far more interesting/different than mine! I love unique FS lists.

      Philip’s list is here. A flamekeeper? What a chad.

      Just a few handfuls of dwarves in my carry on.

      2000/2000 pts

      Grand Alliance Order | Fyreslayers | Forge Brethren
      General’s Handbook 2025-26
      Drops: 5
      Prayer Lore – Zharrgrim Blessings
      Manifestation Lore – Magmic Invocations

      Battle Tactics Cards: Scouting Force and Wrathful Cycles

      General’s Regiment
      Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (320)

      • General
      • Mark of Vulcatrix: Thickened Scales
        Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (240)
      • Reinforced
        Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (120)

      Hearthguard Berzerkers with Flamestrike Poleaxes (120)

      Regiment 1
      Auric Runemaster (200)

      * Ash-beard

      Regiment 2

      Auric Flamekeeper (80)

      Regiment 3
      Grimhold Exile (120)

      • Ash-cloud Rune
        Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)
        Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)

      Vulkyn Flameseekers (160)

      Regiments of Renown
      Sky-Port Profiteers (320)
      Codewright
      Grundstok Thunderers

      • 2 Grundstok Mortar or Aethercannon
        Grundstok Thunderers

      * 2 Grundstok Mortar or Aethercannon

      Faction Terrain
      Magmic Battleforge

      I did, however, get top Fyreslayers in ITC and thought we would get an award for that as we have in previous years. They even mention it at the beginning of the award show but then just didn’t give one out, oh well. I was happy to cheer for all the winners!

      WIth the event over I am more than happy to not play Age of Sigmar for a bit with my next event just being a charity event a bit away. I think my brain is cooked.

      Will it come back to Atlanta next year? The venue seems perfect for it and few airports are as well connected as Atlanta’s.

      That said, the Europeans seemed REALLY REALLY not keen on traveling such long distances so I suspect it will go to Europe (any other continent is probably just not even a consideration). If they do move it, I hope the new venue has buckets of beer for $20!

      (Hell yea, Mexico wins team spirit! I hope my brother from the south can make it to Europe!)

      Feel free to comment if you have any specific questions about the event. This is just a brief rundown of games, after all.

      4th Edition, Age of Sigmar, Battle Report, Death, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Hobby Update, Kharadron Overlords, Narrative Play, Order, Peter Holland, Soulblight Gravelords, Spearhead

      Death’s Season – Chapter 1: Sand & Bone

      Leave a comment

      It’s been about a month and half worth of work, but the Soulbight Spearhead is finished!

      When the leaves fall, so too shall the living

      — Inscription on the barrow-banner of Vaereth the Withered Crown

      In the forgotten hollows of Mournleaf Vale, where the trees grow gnarled and graves lie layered like fallen leaves, the Barrow-Fall Court stirs. Once noble lords of ancient bloodlines, now twisted by time, curse, and oath, they rise not for conquest but to reclaim the dignity of death.

      Led by the spectral tactician Vaereth the Withered Crown, the Court is a funereal procession of rusted honour. His lesser commanders, like Serida the Emberbound, are bound to him by pacts of loyalty and undeath. Their ranks swell with The Hollow Guard, tireless skeletal sentinels. The sky howls with The Gloamfangs, fallen nobility turned feral. And when the blood truly runs, the Rustcrown Lancers thunder forth, their cracked lances piercing through the veil between memory and oblivion.

      Death’s Season begins.

      What better way to celebrate than a clash of wits with fellow Woehammerer Ian at our local gaming club:


      Spearhead Game: Sand & Bone
      Kharadron Overlords (Ian) v Soulblight Gravelords (Peter)

      Ian won the roll off to decide who would be attacker and defender and chose to be the defender.

      I chose the Endless Legion regiment ability to bring back a unit of dead skeletons at some point in the game and the Cloud of Bats enhancement for my Vampire Lord to allow them one teleport during the game. Bringing back a unit of skeletons and placing them on an objective would be very handy in the late game, while having the opportunity for my Vamp Lord to teleport over and either kill something or score an objective for a tactic would also be potentially game changing.

      Ian chose Disengage as his regiment ability and Leave No Duardin behind as his Generals enhancement.

      Ian chose for us to play on the Dolorum side of the gaming mat and the standard length-wise deployment map. As attacker, I chose to take the first turn.

      Deployment

      In my Hero Phase I decided to take a risk and jump my Vampire Lord to 6” away from his Frigate using the Cloud of Bats ability, hoping that I could get a tasty charge off and down the Frigate in combination with the Vargheists which could hopefully also tag it in the charge phase.

      The Knights and Vargheists moved up the board while my two skeleton units claimed the two friendly objectives in my deployment area and sat still to see how the battle would unfold.

      The Knights launched a successful charge against the Arkonaut Company on Ian’s right flank and managed to get a toe-hold on the objective in his zone, which Ian had left open.

      The Vargheists didn’t get as high a charge roll as I would have liked and instead had to settle for the other Arkonaut unit on Ian’s left flank. The Vampire Lord pulled of his charge before that, however (learning point here), and managed to connect with the boat.

      Feeling confident in both the Vargheists and Knights, I chose to use the Vampire Lord to fight first and managed to only score two damage on Ian’s boat.

      Knowing that his Arkonaut companies were at risk, Ian elected to go with his p against the Vargheists first and managed to score 3 damage against them.

      I next chose my knights, but Ian used his Translucent Flesh from one of his cards to prevent me from hitting and wounding him on rolls of 1 to 3’s. I used the ability Grid them to Dust from one of my cards to give the Knights fight twice, but I lost a Knight rolling for the mortal wounds from this before I made my first set of attacks. The knights managed to kill only one Duardin as a result.

      Ian chose for his Arkonauts facing the Knights to go next, and all of their attacks failed to cause any damage. Neither did his boat attack against the Vampire Lord.

      The Vargheists managed to kill 4 Arkonauts with their attacks, which also meant they were able to heal back the 3 damage they’d suffered earlier in turn. (Note, it’s possibly worth delaying the Vargheists’ attacks to heal wounds back rather than choosing them first).

      Finally, the Knights for their second set of attacks in and killed all the remaining Arkonauts on Ians right flank. (or so I thought).

      With my turn 1 over, I held 3 objectives and more than Ian, giving me 3 points. I also managed to claim two objectives from my tactics cards; Hold Ground, where I had to hold the large terrain piece in my own deployment area (thank you skeletons), and Raze, which required me to have a unit within 3” of the opponents long table edge, which I’d achieved with the Knights on the charge.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 5 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 0 Points

      Ian used Final Breath, one of his card tactics, to bring back four Arkonauts in the centre of the battlefield on the objective. Then his admiral brings back two arkonauts fighting against the Vargheist with No Duardin Left Behind.

      His Frigate disengages with the Vampire lord and flies over the top of him for a bombing run, causing 3 mortal wounds to the Vampire Lord. While his Sky Wardens move towards the Knights to try and prevent them from rolling up his flank.

      The Sky Wardens shot at the Knights in the shooting phase, which included a massive 12 shots from the Aethermatic Volley Gun. But, with all that shooting, Ian only managed to take two health of one of the Knights.

      The Arkonauts in combat with the Vargheists use their pistols against their massive foes wounding once.

      The Admiral shoots at the Vampire Lord but fails to damage it.

      After what appeared to be some very unlucky shooting Ian chose to shoot the Vampire Lord with the Frigate, and here his dice rolls turned as he did enough damage  to remove the final two health points off the Vampire Lord killing it.

      The Arkonauts that have freshly arrived in the centre take some shots at the Blood Knights, killing one and wounding another.

      Then Ian did his charges…. With his Admiral connecting with the Vargheists and the Sky Wardens charging into the Blood Knights while his Frigate charged into the Skeletons on my right flank.

      Ian’s dice rolling continued as he managed to kill two more Blood Knights in the combat phase with his Sky Wardens.

      Not wanting to be outdone, my Vargheists killed the remaining Arkonauts facing off against them.

      Ian’s rolls return to normal with his Frigate fighting the Skeletons, only managing to kill one of their number (who would later be returned to the battle at the end of the combat phase through their ability).

      Hoping for a little luck, my remaining Knight manages to kill one of the Sky Wardens.

      Ian’s fickle dice continue to frustrate him as his admiral fails to damage the Vargheists.

      My skeletons return the favour to the Frigate, dealing it one damage in return.

      Ians scored 2 for the objectives he held and managed to claim the battle tactic Desolate Landscapes.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 5
      Kharadron Overlords: 3

      Winning the priority roll, Ian chose to go first in round 2 and immediately set about evening the score.

      His Arkonauts in the centre move towards my skeletons that are in combat with the Frigate and then charge them.

      With everything else in combat, he skipped straight into the shooting phase with his admiral, killing one of the Vargheist. His Sky Wardens managed to wound the last Blood Knight twice, leaving it with one health.

      His dice rolls, turning turning in his favour again, continue with his Frigate, killing four of the skeletons and his Arkonauts, killing 5 skeletons on my left flank.

      In the combat phase, his frigate kicks things off by killing two more skeletons.

      My Vargheists do two damage to the Admiral, and his Sky Wardens kill my remaining Blood Knight.

      My skeletons whiff against the Arkonauts that charge them (me choosing them to try and remove them from the objective).

      At this point, Ian chose to use one of his cards to use Bloodlust on his Admiral and managed to kill the remaining Vargheists.  This left me with just the two Skeleton units on the board. His Arkonauts fail to kill any further Skeletons and we move on to his scoring.

      At this point, Ian held 3 objectives and managed to score two battle tactics; Control the Necropolis Dias and Raze.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 5
      Kharadron Overlords: 8

      With only two units of skeletons left, my choices were dwindling quickly.

      I run the Skeletons on my left up to the centre of the board to claim the centre objective and make sure thar they’re all within Ian’s half of the board to score not one, but two of my battle tactics this turn.

      My Skeletons in the right kill the remaining Arkonauts facing off against them in the combat phase.

      Those Skeletons in the centre managed to claim an objective for me as well as two battle tactics, meaning that I held 1, 2, and more for five points in this turn.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 10 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 8 Points

      With a win of the priority roll, I chose to go first considering what little units I had on the board.

      The Skeletons on the right do two more wounds to the Frigate, and the Frigate kills two in return.

      Still holding three objectives and managing to score all three battle tactics this turn gave me a massive 6 points.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 16 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 8 Points

      The Admiral moves towards the skeletons in combat with the Frigate, and his Sky Wardens move towards the objective on the right of his area.

      Ian retreats his Frigate out of combat using his ability.

      Then the dreaded shooting phase….

      The Admiral kills two skeletons.

      The Sky Wardens kill 1 skeleton in the centre and the Frigate kills two more of then.

      The Frigate charges into combat with the Skeletons killing 1 and suffering no damage in return.

      At the end of Ian’s turn, he holds 1,2, and more, as well as achieving two of his battle tactics.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 16 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 13 Points

      It was the final turn, and things were coming down to the wire. In our little pre-turn discussion, Ian mentioned that he was confident he could score 5 points in his next turn, which meant to claim the win. I would need at least 3 points to keep the victory. Luckily for me, the Battle Tactics I drew made this possible. If I could just run my Skeletons on the centre objective down to the friendly objective on my left flank, I could claim one of my tactics and score two from objectives.

      The movement phase came, and I rolled a massive 2″. Not enough.

      On to the combat phase and the Frigate kills another skeleton with no reply.

      I did score 1 victory point for holding an objective but I doubted it would be enough to keep the game in my favour.

      Soulblight Gravelords: 17 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 13 Points

      With the game essentially over, there was no combat left, and Ian claimed hold 1,2, and more as well as two of his tactics. Victory to the Duardin!

      Soulblight Gravelords: 17 Points
      Kharadron Overlords: 18 Points

      Post Game Thoughts

      That was my first game of Spearhead and I got to say, I can see what people love about it. The match felt close throughout and neither of us felt like we couldn’t win the game at any point. Even when I only had Skeletons left on the field I was more than able to achieve battle tactics to score. Great stuff. Great opponent.

      What did I learn? Well first off, I forgot a lot of Heals thanks to the battle trait ability, so I’ll try and remember that for the future. Also, the Vampire isn’t a wise choice to fight against a Frigate on his own.

      Tactically, I felt charging up the field and engaging as soon as possible was the correct choice, though I should have perhaps moved my skeletons further forward in the early stages to support. The Vampire, could have perhaps hung back and supported the Skeletons against the Frigate once it made its move against them and THEN I could have used his ability to jump up the board.

      The Ember Gambit

      “She flew too early. Or too bold. And so the tide turned.”
      — Castellan Hrelg of Barak-Nar

      The first clash of the Death’s Season saw the Barrow-Fall Court descend upon the skies of Dolorum, their banners whispering through the still autumn air like falling leaves. Serida the Emberbound, restless and untested, led the vanguard, her auburn hair trailing behind her like the last gasp of sunset.

      The plan was bold, Serida leapt into the heart of the enemy, seeking to shatter the Kharadron Frigate in a swift, glorious blow. Behind her, the Rustcrown Lancers and Gloamfangs surged from the mists, crashing into flanks and hammering the Duardin’s outer lines.

      But the skyfolk were not so easily scattered. Their cannons roared, their frigate soared, and Serida paid the price. Cut down mid-assault, her body vanished in a swirl of bats, her ambition silenced.

      What followed was a bitter, grinding war of attrition. The Hollow Guard, tireless and unyielding, clawed back, rallying behind broken tombstones and shattered hulls. Even as Vargheists fell and the Knights were gunned from their saddles, the dead marched on.

      In the end, the Court stood but inches from triumph. Their bony hands grasped the threshold of victory, only to see it snatched by the cunning of the Kharadron admiral and the final thunder of sky-steel.

      Battle Report, Dwarfen Mountain Holds, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, Ian Humpage, Peter Holland, Ravening Hordes, The Old World, Warriors of Chaos

      Butchery at the Tower of Mourn: An Old World Battle Report

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      About two weeks ago, Ian and I had our first game for our slow grow campaign. 500 points of his Warriors of Chaos against 500 points of my Dwarfs. What follows is my attempt at recalling what happened.

      All graphics in this article have been produced using Battle Chronicler.

      The Lists

      WARRIORS OF CHAOS

      Aspiring Champion [102 pts]
      – Hand weapon
      – Heavy armour
      – Shield
      – Mark of Nurgle
      – General
      – On foot
      – Favour of the Gods
      – Poisonous Slime

      8 Chaos Warriors [130 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      8 Chaos Warriors [130 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      4 Chaos Knights [134 pts]
      – Lances
      – Shields
      – Heavy armour
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      DWARFEN HOLDS

      Runesmith [97 pts]
      – Hand weapon
      – Great weapon
      – Full plate armour
      – General
      – Rune of Spellbreaking

      8 Dwarf Warriors [87 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Veteran (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      8 Dwarf Warriors [87 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Veteran (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      6 Slayers [114 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – 5x Giant Slayers
      – 5x Additional hand weapons
      – 1x Great weapons

      8 Rangers [114 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Crossbows
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Ol’ Deadeye (champion) [Crossbow]
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      Prologue: The Gathering Storm

      The Tower of Mourn stood silent against the cold wind, its crumbling stones a relic of a bygone age. Here, amidst the hills and the scattered woods, a clash of steel and fury was about to unfold. The forces of Chaos, led by the twisted Aspiring Champion known as General Humpy, had descended upon the land, their tainted banners flapping in the chill wind.

      Opposing them stood the stalwart warriors of the Dwarfen Mountain Holds, led by the grim-faced Runesmith Peter. With their shields locked and axes sharpened, the Dwarfs knew there would be no retreat, only defiance.

      Deployment

      The Battle Begins

      Chaos Turn 1: Dark Blessings of the Gods

      As the warriors of the Dark Gods advanced, the heavens churned with malign energy. Humpy, ever favoured by his twisted patrons, felt a surge of unnatural power—his already honed skill in combat becoming even deadlier as the Gifts of the Gods bestowed upon him heightened his martial prowess.

      Dwarf Turn 1: First Blood

      From the shadows of the woods, the keen-eyed Rangers took careful aim and loosed their bolts. Their crossbows sang, and three Chaos Warriors fell, their armour pierced by Dwarfen craftsmanship. Yet, even in death, their kin did not falter, the dark resolve of Chaos keeping them firm.

      Turn 1

      The Clash of Steel

      Chaos Turn 2: The Charge That Faltered

      The tides of Chaos surged forward, the warriors of the Dark Gods crashing toward the Ranger lines. The Dwarfs stood firm, their crossbows firing a withering volley. Another Chaos Warrior fell, but the charge faltered. The momentum was lost, and the warriors staggered to a halt.

      Elsewhere, the thunder of hooves shook the ground as the Chaos Knights lowered their lances and crashed into the waiting Slayers. The air was filled with the screams of the dying as three Slayers fell beneath the cruel steel of the Knights. Yet the doomed Dwarfs struck back with savage fury, dragging a Knight down in return. The Slayers gave ground, but the Knights pressed forward, eager for more slaughter.

      Dwarf Turn 2: A Moment of Hope

      The Rangers, nimble for their kind, withdrew from the advancing Warriors, loosing another volley as they moved. Three more of the tainted warriors fell, their bodies riddled with Dwarfen bolts. A moment later, panic gripped the remaining Chaos Warrior, and they turned and fled, their faith in the Dark Gods shaken.

      Meanwhile, the Knights and Slayers continued their bitter duel. Two more Slayers were cut down, but in their dying breath, one managed to bury his axe deep into a Knight’s side, sending the armoured rider tumbling from his saddle. As the blood pooled around them, the Knights reformed, their cold, dead eyes turning toward the Dwarfen battle lines.

      Turn 2

      The Battle Turns

      Chaos Turns 3 & 4: The Duel of Champions

      As dark forces continued their advance, the Aspiring Champion Humpy found himself face-to-face with Runesmith Peter. With a sneer of contempt, the Chaos warrior issued his challenge, and the Runesmith met it without hesitation. Their weapons clashed in a storm of sparks, and the Champion managed to land a solid blow on his foe, wounding him through his armour.

      But elsewhere, the battle wavered. The Chaos Knights, having already shattered the Slayers, turned their lances toward the Dwarfen shieldwall. The heavily armored warriors braced themselves, but the Knights crashed into them with brutal force.

      Despite the fury of the charge, the Dwarfs held their ground. Axe met sword, shield met lance, and neither side gave an inch.

      Dwarf Turn 4: The Runesmith Falls

      Turn 3

      The battle between champions raged on. But then, with a cruel laugh, Humpy’s blade found its mark, and the Runesmith fell, his armour rent, his body broken. The Rangers, seeing their leader fall, rushed to reinforce their kin, but their blades found no purchase in the Chaos Warriors’ armour.

      And yet, in a strange moment of fate, the Chaos warriors too faltered. Blades swung and missed, shields deflected killing blows, and the combat became a desperate struggle, neither side gaining the upper hand.

      Turn 4

      The Final Stand

      Chaos Turn 5: The Fall of the Dwarfs

      As the battle dragged on, the Dark Gods continued to favour their champion. Strength and unnatural resilience coursed through Humpy’s veins. He became an avatar of destruction.

      The Rangers’ champion stepped forward, issuing a challenge of his own, hoping to avenge the fallen Runesmith. But Humpy merely laughed. With a swift, brutal strike, the Dwarf was slain. The remaining Rangers lost heart, their courage breaking as they turned and fled the battlefield.

      The last of the Chaos Knights, locked in combat with the Dwarfen warriors, fought on. But at last, the Dwarfs’ relentless strikes found their mark, and the final Knight was felled.

      Turn 5

      Turn 6: A Last Gasp

      With the Rangers gone and the Runesmith slain, only the stubborn core of Dwarfen warriors remained. Their backs were against the wall, their fate all but sealed.

      As Chaos Warriors turned and marched toward them, their blades dripping with blood, the last of the Slayers charged in, howling for vengeance. The final stand had begun.

      Turn 6

      Turn 7: The Killing Blow

      The final charge came. The Chaos Warriors crashed into the Dwarfs once more. Humpy, now a monster of war, cleaved through their ranks, sending more of the Dwarfs to their graves. The warriors of Chaos struck again and again, until at last, the last of the Dwarfs lay still.

      The battlefield belonged to Chaos.

      Chaos 884pts v 364pts Dwarfs

      Turn 7

      Epilogue: The Price of Defeat

      As the last echoes of battle faded, the Tower of Mourn stood untouched, watching impassively over the carnage. The forces of Chaos had triumphed, their dark will imposed upon the land.

      The few surviving Dwarfs—battered, bloodied, and leaderless—would retreat to their hold to tell the tale of what had transpired. Their axes had sung true, their shields had held fast, but against the relentless march of Chaos, even Dwarfen stubbornness had not been enough.

      For General Humpy, this was only the beginning. The Dark Gods had taken notice of him, and their blessings were only just beginning…

      Gallery

      4th Edition, Age of Sigmar, Battle Report, Fantasy, Fittsy, Games Workshop, Kharadron Overlords, Order, Tournament Preview, Tournaments

      Raccoon Rumble Tournament Report – (ToOO part 4)

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      Author’s note: Oh man, I wrote this back in December and I’m only just getting it out to you now… so it’s a bit out of date, the meta has shifted and so have I, for the better. This tournament was a bit of a bummer for me and that’s one of the reasons it took me so long to get this out and I even thought about skipping it. You’ll see it touched on in the article but it was all on me really. A bit of reflection has helped thinking about how I want to play and the type of opponent I want to be. I figure sharing this is still good though as we should address not just the good times but also sometimes the bad (that sounds overly dramatic but here goes nothing).

      Finally, I’m back again! My avid fan will be happy (cheers to you Dirk)! Crap, I just realised this is my first one since start of 4th… well I haven’t been getting as many games in as I thought (life ya know) but I have been enjoying 4th with KO in general although I’m still finding myself adjusting to their playstyle.

      Drekki just got finished the week beforehand… he looks as grumpy as I felt afterwards

      I was touch and go whether I’d make it in the end after getting sick the weekend before… come Wednesday I thought I was feeling well enough and I didn’t want to miss out on my first big event ever! I could tell it was going to be a bit of a tough slog though with all the travel and battling through 6 games in 3 days. Luckily for you, dear reader, I pulled myself together got my things packed up and headed on down to Hof which turns out was way further from where I live than I’d realised.

      This was only my second GT (I’ve racked up quite a few one-dayers but it’s hard for me to get a weekend free)… and I wanted to set myself a realistic aim of winning 2 games out of 6 😊 in my heart of hearts though I really wanted 3 and 3 or 4 and 2… I’m playing an off meta mixed arms KO list which I’m not doing too badly with in general but it’s been a bit of a shock to the system after really good success with my crazy Nighthaunt list at the end of 3rd.

      A little pre tournament deployment practice against the evil forces of fruits… Banana for scale

      What it was

      Raccoon Rumble is “the big one” here in Germany and the roster was full of the big AoS names from all across Germany and quite a few visitors from nearby countries and some from afar. The room was split 50/50 AoS and 40k. I didn’t check out much of the 40k action but from the few chats I had with some of the players, I heard things went well over there too. There were 192 players for 6 games over 2 days 9-11 November 2025.

      Webpage here: https://raccoonrumble.de/

      Top three lists here: https://woehammer.com/2024/11/26/top-three-aos-lists-for-raccoon-rumble-2024/

      The good

      The tables looked fantastic with some really meaty pieces of scenery on the tables. The forests were done with Perspex bases and that really helped to make it clear when you were on the terrain or not. Some of the terrain was a bit too big for the small terrain pieces. After realising that this could have a big effect during my second game, I talked it through with my opponents and we placed them to make sure they weren’t stopping big bases from passing on the sides of the table. I don’t think this actually made any difference to any of my games though and I was happy to be playing on nice looking tables!

      The organisation of the event seemed from an outsider’s perspective really solid. Things were almost all of the time really clear and they were very communicative in advance of the tournament too. The people who had to help me out from time to time were really nice and patient too. Hats off to the people running around in the giant Racoon costume, it must have been hot in there!

      I was generally happy with the judging… it was always quick to get a call or a clarification, I reckon they did a really good job in a tough environment!

      Even though it was a German event, all of my opponents agreed to play in English until the last when I tried to play in German again (my choice). I really noticed the impact of that especially after 5 other games. So thanks to all my opponents again for playing in English, that made a big difference for me! Oh yeah, that hardly makes sense without context, I’m not a native German speaker, I think I wanted to point this out for all you fellas out there playing AoS even if English isn’t your first language, kudos mates! Edit: reading this last sentence back makes me understand why people tease me saying I’m not a native speaker either.

      The bad (nah, I’m just calling it that because I couldn’t think of better titles)

      Could have done with some more reminders about time during play, my army often needs a good 1:30 to play through to turn 5 and I know it’s a tricky list to play against. Even though the clock was up most of the time I happened to have my back to it 5 out of 6 games which was trickier for me to keep track. What I did was set a timer on my phone for some of the games… that also gave me a good indication that I was still playing quickly enough. In hindsight, I wished I’d just used my chess clock. I know KO can be a bit of a feel bad to play against from a time perspective because of the long move, shoot, fight first chain which tends to happen so I’m also conscious of making sure I am moving the game along quickly enough. Little update: This is part of what made the tournament hard for me, there’s a lot if thinking to be done with KO, and now a lot of pre-measuring and moving too, coupled with time pressure, that’s a big old drain on the old brain.

      The ugly

      Oh wait, I have to criticise something… the food sucked! It’s not a cheap tournament to head to and I honestly expected better from the food. I’ve got some dietary restrictions which does makes it harder but I wasn’t hearing anything much nice said about the other food either. Luckily for me, on the day when the food did have something I’m allergic to in it, the server double checked after the manager said there wasn’t any in there and I avoided what could have been a really unpleasant afternoon! Honestly, fuck you whoever that manager dude was. It wasn’t the fault of the organisers but I hope they make some changes there (one of the organisers was there and helped out from a moral support perspective but wasn’t much she could do either at the time).

      A lovely sunrise over the sewage plant near our hotel

      My List – a boring heading for a boringly named list

      KO Double Trouble 1990/2000 pts

      Kharadron Overlords | Aether-runners
      Drops: 2

      General’s Regiment
      Aetheric Navigator (130)
      • General
      • Endrinmaestro
      • Voidstone Orb
      Arkanaut Company (200)
      • Reinforced
      • 2x Light Skyhook
      • 2x Aethermatic Volley Gun
      • 2x Skypike
      Arkanaut Company (100)
      • 1x Light Skyhook
      • 1x Aethermatic Volley Gun
      • 1x Skypike
      Arkanaut Frigate (320)
      • 1x Heavy Sky Cannon
      Grundstok Thunderers (280)
      • Reinforced
      • 4x Grundstok Mortar or Aethercannon
      • 4x Aetheric Fumigator or Decksweeper

      Regiment 1
      Drekki Flynt (160)
      Arkanaut Frigate (320)
      • 1x Heavy Sky Cannon
      Endrinriggers (240)
      • Reinforced
      Endrinriggers (240)
      • Reinforced

      Games Recap

      This may well be the bit you were actually here for… I don’t know, this is my first tournament report so if you’d like more of one bit or another, let me know!

      1st up, Mirko with Beasts of Chaos

      Oh, how I wish I could play this one again. I could see that Mirko was a strong player, BoC is a rough matchup for my list, and I haven’t played BoC since 1st edition. Ok, look I’m just trying to make my loss look better with all those excuses. He was rocking a unit of Centigors, Shamans, 2 x full Bestigors and Phulgoth’s. I went in with two options. Take 1st and go hard and try to fight in the middle of the battlefield or give up 1st and stay back using my counter charge as a deterrent. I went for the exciting option straight up the middle and unleashed practically every gun I had… and the game was decided before we even got to the 2nd turn after an absolutely miserable round of shooting into Phulgoth’s Shudderhood and some other targets. I had a good chat with the PATAP discord about this matchup in the week before but in the end, I’m a sucker for taking a big chance when I think the other option might be a slow death.

      My lovingly painted army getting CRUSHED in the first game

      So yeah, start of the tournament was a 20:0 on the matrix. Nowhere to go but up from there!

      2nd game, the nicest cheeriest Pawel I’ve ever met with Flesh Eaters

      Good solid game for my KO, was a good scenario and I could use my strengths to take out quite a lot of his troops, this is a bad matchup for FEC. I started with my two frigates split apart to whittle his forces down and then brought them together in the middle to try and push my scoring up a bit earlier and that helped me in this game.

      Pawel was such a nice guy and I enjoyed this game so much that how the game played out really didn’t matter much

      Pawel wins my award for Best Opponent. We had a great game, I got a bit chatty which didn’t help us to finish on time but even when things weren’t going his way, he always had a charming smile on and I hope he had a good game too!

      14:6 for KO

      Game 3: Florian with Stormcast

      I was dreading this game… the Vice is really tough for my list and going into Stormcast, I wasn’t sure if I could do enough damage to the army. He was rocking an Annihalators heavy list with Ionus, Bastian, and Stormdrakes.

      The one game where I actually did what I should be doing with my army… could split his forces and take them out bit by bit, got some silly good luck on the shooting too. Played one Frigate with the 20 Arkanauts and Thunderers on one flank and the other with my Riggers on the other side. Of course, I accidentally killed the dragons in shooting when I was meant to be charging for Do Not Waver because I misunderstood how many wounds they had left.

      This is me about to fuck up Do Not Waver… it didn’t matter much but this is about principles

      This dude was super nice and he had a supporter with him who was also super nice. I hope they both had a really nice weekend. This was the best painted army that I played against and he even had a sweet as display board to go with it!

      16:4 this time for me

      Game 4: Markus with Tzeentch

      Could have easily gone my way if we could’ve played through 5 rounds but that’s one of the downsides to what I’m playing. It’s not a quick army although I know I can knock out my 5 rounds in under 1:30… but because it is hard to see where my army is going and a lot of different shooting attacks, there is a lot of back and forth for the opponent’s saves as well. I did manage to take Kairos down pretty quickly… the Tzaangors were slowly grinding towards me though. This was my first taste of Tzeentch annoyingly teleporting about in my turn… and I didn’t like it. I was feeling pretty tired at game 4 on the 2nd day.

      Kairos trying to play hide and seek

      9:11 for Markus

      Game 5: Michael with Tzeentch

      Again! After a drop caused a re-pairing, I’d just met my friendly Seraphon opponent and was looking forward to that game.

      Michael was really tired but played a solid game, even if I managed to put him on the back foot, he kept in the scoring game and knew how to stop me from scoring too. With double chicken and all those -1s to hit.

      This was the one game where I really screwed myself over… did a classic redeploy to take my Thunderers out of threat but I didn’t take them as far away as I could which left open the charge from the Tzaangors into my Arkanauts and then let them pile straight in and wipe the Thunderers off the board. If I had had the Thunderers, the game would have looked very different from there onwards. Fought a good fight and just couldn’t crack through all the -1 to hits and I found tactics really tough with the constant potential teleporting in either turn. I did the right thing I think after that and kept playing a cat and mouse game on one side with Kairos whilst threatening his castle with the Riggers and Frigate but when I did go in, it wasn’t enough and Markus took the win here with a series of teleports.

      This would be ok if it wasn’t the 4th time I’ve made this mistake with KO. Shame on me!

      8:12 for Tzeentch but the moral loss was all mine for the lazy redploy

      Game 6: Tobi with Blades of Khorne

      Oh come on lady luck… paired into my teammate, Tobi, for the last round with Blades of Khorne. I was absolutely zonked at this point and I couldn’t grasp the impacts of the redploy and blood tithe move. He was running two big blocks of letters, hounds for tactics, a priest on the altar and a “Blood”thirster. Although I decimated his army early on, he kept up the scoring turn and turn again. The Bloodthirster was more like a Pointhirster and boy did he do that well! We ended up on a bang on draw which I wasn’t expecting but even in the last turn (after realising that the terrain he’d been setting up to take was half in his territory) he managed to eke out as many points as possible. Tobi is a good player and he’s got a good eye for the board state and really knew what he could do with his list.

      Doesn’t matter what the board state looks like. Points win games.

      10:10 and 10/10 for Tobi being a great fella

      How did things go for me?

      Shit, this article is getting really long. Thanks for sticking it all the way through to here! I’d say something about wrapping it up quickly but I’ve still got a few words to throw out to finish this one off.

      6 games was tough for me mentally… impacted by the army I chose and those I had to play up against. Honestly, it felt too tough and it left me feeling so drained by the end of it and this impacted how happy I was with the tournament overall.

      I didn’t come out of this tournament happy with how I played. At times I felt salty and was becoming a bit of a grump. My sincerest apologies to all my opponents for not being the best opponent I could be which is a really important aspect of my game for me. For myself, I set the bar really highly in this regard and perhaps I should just relax and throw dice a little more. Luckily, I was propped up by a bunch of friendly faces there who I know from past events and I did meet some really nice new people too.

      Looking forwards…

      I’m now at a bit of a point where I was really bummed out about how it felt and I might have bought some Mancrushers (I always wanted to take a crack at converting some) and am at the same time really thinking about getting my Nighthaunt back out for the next GT I’m planning to head to in January. I did listen to an episode of PATAP the other day where they had a really good discussion about losing and how to deal with it and I’m ready to get out there and lose better again now. It’s taken a couple of weeks of reflection (and Necromunda) to really feel ready to throw dice for AoS again but I’ve got the bug and I’m finally excited for a couple of games before Christmas. I guess that’s why I’ve finally gotten around to finishing off this article too.

      Edit: since it took me so long to get this out, I’ve gotten back into things by switching back over to Nighthaunt for a bit which I’m enjoying a lot more… so I’ll be back soon with a quick update of what playing NH after two nerfs is like (it’s in a much better place than before)

      We’ll just have to see how it goes from here! I hope you’re doing all well in the new edition and I wish you all the best of luck in your games (unless you’re playing against me… then roll some more 1s please)!

      Battle Report, Fantasy, Historics, Ian Humpage, Narrative Play, Osprey Games, Peter Holland, The Silver Bayonet

      Silver Bayonet Battle Report: Echoes of the Past

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      Last week, I gave Ian his introductory game of Silver Bayonet. Like Dave before him he played the Wolf Pack scenario from the rulebook. Unlike Dave, he decided to use the French. This would enable to the two to meet in combat in the future if they both decided to continue with their respective stories.

      Ian’s warband was chosen by me and designed to be extremely simple, with 7 infantrymen and an Officer. These represent a small scouting party sent into the Forest and are equipped as such. In the build up we decided that none of the men apart from his Alexis would have any idea about the Supernatural. Alexis though, does know snippets based on stories his father told him.

      Captain Alexis Escoffier (+1 Accuracy, +1 Health, +1 Courage)

      • Fencing Weapon, Pistol (x2), Breastplate, Holy Symbol, Cold Iron Weapon
      • Great Faith
      • Quick Load

      Introduction – A Figure in the Night

      The unit he had been sent to find had vanished without a trace. Sixteen men, all skilled scouts from the 12th Light Infantry, had disappeared into the heart of these woods almost a week ago. They had been tasked with gathering intelligence on the movements of an Austrian contingent, but no reports had come back. No word, no signal—nothing. Now, it was Alexis’s duty to discover what had happened, and if possible, retrieve any documents or orders they might have carried.

      But the deeper he ventured, the more the task seemed like an impossible one. The forest was vast, confusing, and, if the whispers in the taverns were to be believed, cursed. The local peasants spoke in hushed tones of strange noises heard in the trees at night, sounds that no creature could make, distant drums, eerie songs sung by voices that belonged to no living thing.

      Alexis had heard these stories before. In fact, they were some of the tales his father had often told him when he was a child. His father, a former officer in the Napoleonic army, had gone missing several years ago, vanishing without a trace. Alexis was determined to find answers—not just for the missing unit, but for the unanswered questions that gnawed at him in the quietest moments.

      He turned to his sergeant, Bernard Chavelle, who was standing several paces away, scanning the forest line with a wary eye. Bernard’s furrowed brow told him all he needed to know: something was wrong.

      “Sir,” Bernard said, his voice low. “We have found nothing. No signs, no tracks—nothing. I don’t like this. It’s as if the men never existed.”

      Alexis remained silent, his gaze fixed on the dark, endless rows of trees. He could feel a heavy weight pressing on his chest, a feeling he had not experienced since that last night with his father, when they had spoken of things that seemed too strange to believe. His father had spoken of shadowy figures, of lights that led men astray, and of things that should not be possible—things that were beyond human comprehension.

      “I know, Bernard,” Alexis said at last, his voice strained. “But we must keep searching. If we don’t, no one will ever know what happened to them.”

      Chavelle nodded, but his eyes betrayed his growing unease. Alexis knew that fear was beginning to take root among the men. The rumours about the forest were well known, and no one spoke of it without a shiver. It was not only the missing unit that had the men on edge. It was the feeling that something far darker was at work in the depths of the trees.

      As night fell, Alexis made his decision. The unit would press on.

      “We will set up camp here,” he said, turning to his men. “At dawn, we move deeper into the forest.”

      The men, though weary and apprehensive, obeyed. As the fire flickered and the night crept in, Alexis could see their eyes glancing nervously toward the woods. He had no words of reassurance for them—he shared their fear.

      That night, sleep came reluctantly, if at all. The sounds of the forest were everywhere—screeching owls, rustling branches, distant howls. And yet, there was something else. As he lay there, staring at the stars above, Alexis thought he saw something move between the trees—too fast, too dark to be anything natural.

      He sat up, heart racing. His father’s words came rushing back to him. “Never trust the silence of the forest, Alexis. It is only waiting for you to make the first mistake.”

      At that moment, the sharp crack of a twig broke the silence, followed by a soft, almost imperceptible growl. Alexis’s breath caught in his throat. He stood up quickly, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword, and turned toward the source of the sound. But there was nothing. Only darkness. Only the weight of the forest pressing in.

      “Sergeant” Alexis whispered urgently, turning to Chavelle. The man was awake, sitting up and listening intently. “Did you hear that?”

      Bernard nodded, his face pale in the flickering firelight. “I did, sir. Something is out there.”

      Without another word, Alexis stood, motioning for the men to follow him. They moved in silence, carefully, like shadows among shadows, each man straining to listen, to see. The darkness pressed in all around them, a thick, suffocating cloak.

      And then, they saw it.

      A dark shape moving quickly through the woods without making a sound. A shape of a man, but much too fast.

      Alexis felt a chill run down his spine. This was not what he had expected. He had been prepared for the horrors of battle, for ambushes, for enemy soldiers—but not for this. This… thing in the woods.

      “Do you see it?” Bernard asked, his voice a whisper of disbelief.

      “I see it,” Alexis replied, his voice tight. He swallowed hard, his father’s warnings ringing in his ears. “Some things are not meant to be found, Alexis.”

      And yet, he had come this far. He could not turn back now.

      Alexis stood frozen in place, his heart hammering in his chest. The men around him muttered nervously, their eyes scanning the trees. Something was wrong—something was terribly wrong.

      “Sir,” Bernard said, his voice shaking. “We have to get out of here. This is madness.”

      But Alexis couldn’t move. His feet felt rooted to the ground, as if something was holding him there. He glanced to his right, and that’s when he saw it.

      A figure—tall and dark—standing just beyond the edge of the trees. It was watching him.

      The Battle

      The game started reasonably well for Ian, with the French downing three wolves straight away. moving as a group the warband decided to investigate the clues as a group, overturning the first to find a Silver Saint Medallion.

      However, as the group moved two more wolves arrived and the pack circling them closed in.

      The French downed two more in the second turn, but the wolves were closing in. One was beaten back after ripping a chunk from one infantryman’s arm. Yet another wolf arrives at the end of the turn, its hungry eyes taking in the French warband.

      Turn 3, and with the French now surrounded with little room for any movement, the wolf pack starts attacking in fury. The first French casualty occurs, and the French kill two wolves in reply. But at the end of the turn, a dark shadowy figure appears on the battlefield…. Alexis chooses to take a chance and sees a gap between the wolves. He runs through as the wolves close in.

      The wolf pack begins to take down the French

      As the French warband is attacked and brought down to a man, Alexis investigates a clue and luckily finds the missing orders. Taking one last shot, which downs a wolf, he runs from the battlefield as the sole survivor of the mission.

      Alexis fires off one last shot before fleeing with the orders

      Aftermath

      Alexis stared into the flickering flames at his feet, their light casting dancing shadows on the forest around him. The warmth did little to soothe the tremors wracking his body. His hands clutched the coarse wool of his coat, but no amount of fabric could shield him from the cold that had settled deep in his bones. It wasn’t just the chill of the night—it was fear. 

      He could still hear their screams, faint but persistent, echoing through the trees. The men who had trusted him, who had followed him into this cursed forest, had been torn apart. Swift shadows darting between the trees had brought them down with inhuman speed and savage precision. The memory of their cries clawed at his mind, mingling with the guttural growl of a creature too unnatural to belong in this world. 

      And then, the howl. 

      It was no ordinary wolf that had hunted them. Alexis knew that now. The creature had stood upright, towering and powerful, its eyes gleaming with a feral intelligence. He had frozen at the sight, his feet rooted in place as his mind replayed the tales his father used to tell by the hearth. The stories of men who became beasts under the full moon. Stories he had dismissed as nothing more than superstitious nonsense. 

      Now, those stories had claimed lives. His men. 

      The thought of his father stirred a darker fear within him. His disappearance, so many years ago, had been shrouded in whispers and unanswered questions. What if these beasts, these *werewolves*, had been the answer all along? 

      A sharp crack shattered the oppressive silence. Alexis flinched, his breath catching as he peered into the shadows beyond the firelight. His heart pounded, the sound almost deafening in his ears. He strained to see, desperate to discern what lay beyond, yet dreading the confirmation of his doom. 

      Something moved. 

      “Be still, mon ami,” a voice called softly, yet firm. “Quite a frightful day you have had.” 

      The figure emerged from the darkness, cloaked in shadow and wearing a hood that obscured their face. They moved with practised ease, setting a rifle down by the fire before kneeling. Alexis couldn’t decide if the newcomer’s presence was a blessing or another herald of death. 

      “I almost thought I saw a ghost,” the figure continued, their voice calm, almost conversational. “You look just like him, you know. The day we met. Right down to the wide-eyed look you are giving me now. It is always terrifying to find the world is not as simple as you once thought.” 

      Alexis swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper as he asked, “Who?” 

      The stranger tilted their head slightly as if surprised by the question. They reached up, pulling back the hood to reveal a face worn with age and experience. A small, knowing smile played at their lips. 

      “Your father, of course.”

      Battle Report, Fantasy, Hamsfans, Historics, Narrative Play, Osprey Games, Peter Holland, The Silver Bayonet

      Silver Bayonet: Franz and the Forest of Doubt

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      I recently introduced Dave to the joys of Silver Bayonet.

      For those who don’t know what Silver Bayonet is, it’s a skirmish game of Napoleonic Gothic Horror for 1 or more players. It’s recently seen a massive increase in gaming clubs thanks to Peachy and his awesome battle reports.

      Wanting to engage Dave as much as I could, I also painted up a unit of Austrians for him to use in the game. We kept the various profiles to a minimum and had a number of infantrymen, a Sapper, and an officer. This would allow us to focus more on the rules instead of looking up different abilities all the time.

      Pre-Game

      Dave didn’t know too much about Silver Bayonet, so the first thing we did was to set up his officer, who he named Franz Schweinsteiger.

      Going through the setup of the officer, a player has a few bonuses they can give to them before the start of a campaign. Dave chose to increase his melee, health, and courage.

      He also equipped Franz with two Pistols, a Breastplate, fencing weapon, oil and torches and made the fencing weapon a cold iron weapon.

      The Forest of Doubt

      Captain Franz Schweinsteiger, officer of the Austrian Empire, stood at the edge of the darkened forest, his hand resting uneasily on the hilt of his sabre. The dense trees loomed before him, shrouded in a thick mist that clung to the ground like a ghostly veil. It was early morning, but the sunlight barely penetrated the dense canopy above, leaving the woods in an eerie twilight. Behind him, his men shuffled nervously, their usual bravado dampened by the foreboding atmosphere.

      A messenger had arrived at dawn, his horse covered in sweat and foam, bearing grave news. A unit under the command of Captain Dietrich had been sent into this very forest the previous day, tasked with locating a small chapel.

      Franz found it strange why the Austrian army would be interested in such a location, but his friend Dietrich always followed his orders.

      Dietrich’s unit was to report back with its exact location so the Austrian forces could secure it before the French. But Dietrich’s unit had not returned.

      Now, the task fell to Franz and his men.

      Colonel von Ried had made it clear. “Captain Schweinsteiger, your orders are to find Captain Dietrich’s unit and, more importantly, retrieve their orders. The chapel’s location must not fall into French hands. Understand?”

      Franz nodded sharply. He didn’t agree with the missing orders. After all, what importance could a chapel serve the Austrian Empire in the war effort. But his friend, Dietrich, he would find.

      “Yes, sir. We will leave immediately.”

      And so here they were, standing in the depths of the forest. Franz turned to face his men, his face calm, though inside he felt a creeping unease.

      “Listen closely.” Franz began, his voice firm but low, mindful of the strange echo that seemed to carry through the forest. “Dietrich and his men have gone missing in these woods. Our task is to find them and bring them back.”

      The soldiers nodded, their faces serious, though the fear was evident in their eyes.

      “Sergeant Müller, take the left flank. Weiss, you’re on the right. Keep your men tight and your eyes sharp. The rest of you, stay close and follow me. We move swiftly and silently. No unnecessary noise, and no lights. If we encounter anything, anything at all, you signal me immediately. Understood?”

      “Yes, Captain!” the men responded in unison, though their voices were muted, as if the forest itself had stolen their breath.

      With a final nod, Franz drew his sabre, its blade catching what little light pierced the gloom. He turned towards the forest, steeling himself for the unknown. The trees closed in around them as they advanced, the air growing colder and the mist thicker with each step.

      As they delved deeper into the forest, the sounds of the outside world faded away, replaced by the oppressive silence of the woods. The soldiers moved cautiously, their boots sinking into the soft, damp earth, the only sound the occasional rustle of leaves underfoot.

      Time seemed to stretch, and Franz had no idea how long they had been walking when they came across the first sign of trouble. A broken branch, a piece of torn fabric clinging to it, unmistakably from an Austrian uniform. Franz crouched down, examining the cloth. The blood on it was fresh.

      “We’re close,” he whispered to Müller, who had come to stand beside him. The sergeant nodded, his hand tightening around his musket.

      The mist thickened as they pressed on, and soon, they came upon a small clearing. The sight before them made Franz’s heart sink. The remnants of Captain Dietrich’s unit were scattered across the ground, their bodies cold and lifeless, their faces twisted in expressions of pain and terror. Their bodies had been mangled as if by wild animals.

      Franz knelt by one of the fallen soldiers, a young man whose name he couldn’t recall. He closed the soldier’s eyes and muttered a quick prayer. They had been attacked —no doubt about it, but by what? And where were the orders?

      He signalled his men to fan out and search the area. They moved quickly, driven by the urgency of their mission, yet careful not to disturb the scene more than necessary. Time was of the essence, but they couldn’t afford to miss anything.

      Franz heard a howl. Wolf, Franz thought.  Soon after, it was joined by further howls. Franz was shocked. Wolves were not known to attack groups of men. “Men, on me!” He called. Finding the ruins of an abandoned building, the men regrouped inside.

      The Game

      After an hour of the wolves pacing around the ruins and the Austrians becoming increasingly nervous, Franz makes a call.

      “You three, with me” Franz calls to the closest three infantrymen. Darting out of the ruined doorway, the four men rush towards the closest of Dietrich’s fallen men, while the three infantrymen lay down covering fire Franz runs to the body. Two wolves howl in pain and fall to the disciplined fire of the men. Shots ring out from the ruins as the rest of the unit tries to hold the wolves back. Another yelp of pain in the distance.

      The wolves stalk closer, keeping to the shadows.

      “Sir, these are no normal wolves!” Shouts one of the men.

      Turning the corpse over, Franz finds the soldier wearing an unusual silver medallion around his neck. Franz takes the medallion from his neck, hoping that someone back at the camp will be able to remember the soldiers name by the distinctive jewellery.

      Two wolves dart from the trees on the far side of the ruins and attack the men at the edge, one wolf is bludgeoned to death by the butt of a musket while the other takes a chunk from a man’s arm before darting back to the tree line.

      Franz watches as fire continues to ring out, two more wolves fall. Taking the opportunity, he runs to where the wolves lay fallen and searches another of Dietrich’s men, finding a bag of what looks to be silver shot.

      Curiouser and curiouser, Franz thinks. He pockets the silver shot, hoping to ask the supply officer about it.

      The three men that had accompanied him advanced southwards through the woods in a group, trying to clear and scare the wolves away from the corpses of Dietrich’s men, firing shots into the gloom as they go.

      Sergeant Müller leads his men out of the ruins, as they advanced the injured man takes aim and kills another wolf in the treeline.

      In the distance, more howls arise. It’s becoming clear that this is a very large and unusual pack. He hears Müller cry out.

      Sergeant Müller reaches the nearest corpse and begins searching the body. A low growl begins in the shadows nearby and grows in intensity. Looking up Müller sees a dark shadow standing on two legs coming towards him.

      Rising to his feet, the old Sapper takes out his heavy axe. The shadow charges at him, and a large claw tears at his arm. He swings his axe and hears a yelp of pain from the figure. It backs away. He reels in horror as he sees the figure has the head of a wolf and is covered in fur but is standing.

      Nearby, another wolf falls as the men continue firing at the dark shapes prowling the tree line. None of the other men seem to notice the beast, being too focused on their own personal battles.

      A shot rings out, and the wolf-man staggers backwards. Another shot, and the figure falls to the floor bleeding. Franz comes through the trees from behind Müller. “What the hell is going on here sir?!” Says Müller. “I’ve no idea, but I suspect the Colonel knows a little more than what he’s told us,” Franz replies “But I think I know why Dietrich’s men had so much silver on them. Tell me Müller, do you believe in Werewolves?”

      The wolves back off a little further into the treeline as the musket shots continue to take a toll on their numbers.

      “Sir, I’ve found Captain Dietrich” one of his men calls.

      Rushing over, they find Captain Dietrich lying in the undergrowth. The poor Captain had been disembowelled by some wild animal and his insides eaten. Saddened by the death of this friend, Franz searches his remains, and finding the orders in Dietrich’s satchel, Franz and his men regroup. Aside from a few minor injuries, his unit had suffered no losses.

      More howls in the distance, but Franz and his men retreat back through the forest towards the Austrian lines staying close together, the wolves stalk behind them but make no further attacks after losing so many of their number.

      Post Game

      That was insane, Dave was rolling hot from the very first turn with his first three of four shots all hitting and all rolling higher than 8 on the power die. One shotting wolves all over the place, he’d killed 4 four on the first turn alone. It really helped in the later game as Dave could focus on having a few members searching for clues while the others kept killing the wolves who turned up. When the Werewolf turned up, his officer, who had found three clues, was fully kitted out that it wasn’t much of a problem for him.

      It’s always the way, though. The orders weren’t uncovered until they reached the final clue marker.

      Post Game Story

      The air inside Colonel Von Reid’s tent was thick with the acrid scent of tobacco smoke, mingling with the earthy aroma of damp soil from the surrounding camp. A single oil lamp flickered, casting wavering shadows across the maps and reports strewn haphazardly on the wooden table. Schweinsteiger stood rigid, his face flushed with anger, the tension in his shoulders palpable. Across from him, Colonel Von Ried leaned back in his chair, a weary yet knowing expression etched into his features.

      “Colonel, I demand to know why my unit was not informed about the existence of these… these creatures!” Schweinsteiger’s voice rang with frustration, sharp as a blade. “We could have been better prepared. Two of my men are injured, and Captain Dietrich and his men were lost to those beasts!”

      Von Ried sighed, steepling his fingers as he regarded Schweinsteiger with a mixture of sympathy and resolve. The weight of unspoken truths hovered in the air between them.

      “Franz, I understand your anger. But you must realise that the supernatural is not something we speak of lightly. It is a matter long buried beneath layers of secrecy and disbelief,” he replied, his tone measured. “Would you have believed me If I had told you?” he continued.

      “A matter of secrecy?” Schweinsteiger clenched his fists, his knuckles white. “My men were ambushed! We fought for our lives against creatures of legend, and I had no idea what I was facing! Silver shot—where was the warning?”

      Von Ried leaned forward, his voice firm but calm. “The truth is, the higher-ups have kept the knowledge of the supernatural hidden. They fear panic among the ranks. But we are soldiers, Franz, and we must face the reality of what lurks in the shadows.”

      Schweinsteiger’s eyes narrowed, the anger simmering beneath the surface. “So you admit it. You knew of these creatures and chose to keep us ignorant. How many more lives have been lost because of this silence?”

      The colonel paused, his gaze piercing through the dim light, heavy with the burden of his own regrets. “More lives than I care to count. We’ve encountered the unnatural before—vampires, ghouls, and yes, werewolves. Each time, the orders were to maintain discretion. But discretion has its price.”

      “And what is that price?” Schweinsteiger’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper. “The lives of my men? Dietrich was my friend, Colonel. His blood is on your hands.”

      Von Ried’s expression softened, the hard lines of his face etched with regret. “Dietrich knew what he was up against. He’d fought these creatures many times before. His sacrifice was not in vain, I promise you that. We must adapt to this reality if we are to survive. From now on, you will be briefed on the supernatural threats we face. But you must also understand the risks of speaking out. Not everyone will believe you.”

      “Then I will be their voice, Colonel. They deserve to know what they’re up against. The next time we face such a horror, we will be ready.”

      Von Ried nodded, a flicker of respect crossing his features. “In fact, I have a proposal for you. I want you to form a specialised unit to combat these supernatural threats. Dietrich led such a unit before, but now he and his men have been lost, and we need an experienced unit to replace them. You will not be alone. You will have allies.”

      “Allies? Who?” Schweinsteiger raised an eyebrow, curiosity piercing through his anger.

      “First, there is a half-human, half-vampire named Alaric. He possesses unique abilities that can be very useful against our enemies. He walks the line between darkness and light, and his knowledge of supernatural creatures is unparalleled.”

      “A vampire?” Schweinsteiger frowned, skepticism creeping into his voice. “Can we trust him?”

      “He has proven himself time and again. He has a stake in this war, just as we do. You’ll also have a skilled light cavalryman named Lucian. His speed and agility will be invaluable in scouting and surprise attacks.”

      Schweinsteiger considered the implications, the weight of responsibility settling even more heavily on his shoulders. “And what will our first mission be?”

      “Your orders are to locate the hidden chapel in the forest. It is rumored to house sacred relics, silver artifacts that could be used against the supernatural. You will need to find these relics and bring them back.”

      Schweinsteiger nodded resolutely, determination igniting within him. “We will find this chapel and recover those relics. My men will be ready.”

      “Remember,” Von Ried cautioned, “knowledge is a weapon, and sometimes, the hardest battles are fought in the minds of those who don’t want to believe. Prepare yourself and your unit. We will meet this darkness together.”

      As Schweinsteiger turned to leave, he felt a newfound sense of purpose igniting within him. The shadows of the forest had followed him back to camp, but now, armed with knowledge and allies, he would not let fear dictate his path. The battle against the unknown had only just begun.

      4th Edition, Age of Sigmar, Battle Report, Fantasy, Fittsy, Games Workshop, Hobby Update, Kharadron Overlords, Order, Slow Grow Challenge

      Tale of One (Kharadron) Overlord – Part 3

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      So wow… this month ended up looking a lot different than I expected… I managed a whole zero models finished within June. For the slow grow, I cheated and did finish a Khemist a couple of days late. My first game of 4th also got postponed into July (using what we know of the new edition). Thinking back… I realise this didn’t mean I was getting a bit of hobbying done with prepping another 7 Endrinriggers (1 with Volley gun for the bloody Spearhead) and getting started on my Endrinmaster with balloon. I also did sit down and do a Necromunda conversion. That’s life though, sometimes there’s just other stuff you need to do or want to do… it was a busy month, and July looks a lot better for getting games in and expanding my Kharadron forces.

      If you haven’t already, check out May’s article here!

      Khemist

      A few things didn’t really work out… may come and back and do some touch ups. I was trying out a few new things with the gun, the condenser vial at the top, and some of the dials. More or less happy with the thing that looked a bit like some sort of condenser but it’s rougher than I had planned. Another model done is another model ready for the tabletop so that part is good. Need to keep going though if I want to have enough to roll with in 4th Ed.

      Bonus Necromunda Model

      I just wanted to put it in here… see if you can spot the Kharadron parts I used to spice up this conversion 😊

      1st game of 4th

      I got in my first game of 4th as we had seen enough warscrolls to put together 1100 points each and most of the rules were in the wild by the time we got around to play… here and there we didn’t have the answers but it seems like we got most of it right.

      I was going to write something about how much cover impacted my shooting but that’s because we played it wrong. Yes, it will still have more of an effect because we’ll see a lot more obscuring terrain but we won’t be getting -1s every time we shoot because a bit of the unit is in cover.

      Hiding in the corner is legitimate if you’re playing KO 😉

      The weight of shooting from KO feels strong but partially due to reduced saves and survivability in general for all armies. Managed to take down the Stonehorn in my 1st turn and could knock off a few foot ogors too.

      Strike first with 6 Riggers was nice, can see the impact of getting 12 into combat (and giving them a bit more survivability beyond just 12 wounds on a 4+ save)… I look forward to suprising opponents with this especially on the potential counter charge.

      Sorry Stonehorn and Gluttons… you had to be taken down in the name of profit / winning.

      On the other hand, a massive counter-charge with a double 6 the Gorgers meant that my Arks and Thunderers copped a pounding. This is going to be a really tough part of the game to play with but more importantly for KO I think will be playing against it well!

      Ouch! The threat ranges got a lot bigger for all units!

      We called it at the end of round 1 with just a few Ogors left on the table!

      Onwards into July

      Well… I guess my plans look pretty similar to June, just a month later. I will have more time so I do hope to finish at least 1 more unit, if not already 2. I’m starting to feel torn towards building up 2 different lists which might be dangerous if I try to paint all of them bit by bit… I’ll try and stick to the Frigate, 6 more ‘Riggers, and 5 more Thunderers plan to at least have a sensible-ish 2000 pts army ready (ignoring that I now have way too many heroes ready but that feels like it’s always the way).

      You can see my KO Faction Review here which gives you a lot of my thoughts about the new rules and I already have some dates planned for some games. I’ll be joining a Spearhead league too which I’m considering trying to win (I feel like I may have a competitiveness problem :P). I’ll be back soon with July’s update (especially since it’s almost end of July when this is going live anyway).

      Get out there, fight some good battles and remember to have fun doing it!

      Age of Sigmar, Battle Report, Fantasy, Fittsy, Games Workshop, Hobby Update, Kharadron Overlords, Order

      Tale of One (Kharadron) Overlord – Part 2

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      So… I’m back again with another update for my tale of four warlords style article, albeit with only one warlord and weirdly I’m doing it as we change editions at the moment making my life much harder than it needed to be. May was a really productive month for me, I had a real focus on painting (helped by cutting back on PC gaming and TV). I was also feeling a little pressure to get more of my models painted up knowing that June and July are going to be pretty busy at home.

      You can see part 1 here if you’ve missed it or want to recap.

      More screening bodies

      First up was getting more Arkanauts finished for the Slow Grow for May. Nothing really new here… a lot of these ones I’d painted before for Warcry so they all had to be stripped so that I could do my new scheme. I also realised that when I’d done the previous month, I’d mixed the cutlasses and axes but now with this unit painted up, I can field 10 of each for easy unit identification on the battlefield (what I do for the next 10… no idea :D)

      Their job is to die first but I still feel a bit sorry for them

      The first big one!

      I also pushed through these Arkanauts because I knew I wanted to get my Frigate done and get it on the table for 3rd edition. It was a lot of fun to tackle the Frigate. I had a few “what should I do” moments as I was painting, similar to the Gunhauler for where to use which colours but especially when it came to the windows. I scoured the internets for windows which were in a style that a) I liked, and b) that I though I could reproduce. In the end, I happened to see Bair from Goonhammer’s Frigate in their Spearhead Article and reached out to him for the scheme. I then did it a little differently (of course) and went with a dark metal underneath with Akhelian Green over the top and a layer of Ardcoat to give it that window shine.

      Oh how I wish I’d done more subassemblies… Still painted every dial and knob!
      I’m really happy with how this looks on the table!

      Finishing off my Spearhead

      Then it was onto the Admiral to complete my Spearhead (I’m still pissy at GW that actually I’m not finished because it’s not like the cover art but instead is 3 Skywardens with a volleygun). This also finished off my card for the GW campaign to help the settlement be founded and I got a fancy Coin Malleus too! It was nice to work in more gold colours I use for heroes and also to do up the crystals on the base. I have run into a bit of a problem here with my heroes as I had a planned basing scheme for them but they mostly come on sculpted bases which mean I can’t but slate rocks underneath them… I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to deal with that in the future.

      Why not one more unit for May?

      At this point, I still had a week left of May and not much left prepped ready to paint so I went through my project box and pulled out my Thunderers. These were 2nd hand ones built with 3 special weapons so I’m short a fumigator unfortunately and still trying to figure out a good solution for that.

      Getting in some gaming!

      We kicked off the Path to Glory campaign at the start of May and I had my first two games against FEC and Cities, along with some nice cocktails for the kick off event!

      Off to a flying start 😉

      Over May, I got quite a few games in to sort of wind down with 3rd Edition. It was fun to focus on the narrative side of things and to build up the Kharadron Port around an old abandoned mine. A combination of winning my early games and some good luck with the dice meant that the Aetherdogs quickly built up a serious amount of Aethergold and started to work towards “repairing the damaged frigate” (adding Barracks and buying the Frigate for the army).

      The gunhauler was a real winner at the small scale and survived some attacks it really shouldn’t have against Morbhegs, Aleguzzler, and Gorgers. The other strong unit was the ‘Riggers who did a lot of work (so long as they didn’t get attacked first). Playing around with different Artycles and Enhancements was nice, having Grudgebearer giving my Endrinmaster 6 damage against an enemy hero was nasty in Path to Glory but fun when it worked.

      This is where the Frigate is flying to! (…and being destroyed in the next turn)

      The first game I really lost hard was my last one… where both the Frigate and Gunhauler both went down (and everything else). This was the first time the Gunhauler went down in a match and it went down destroyed (which I accepted since I hadn’t rolled for my frigate yet).

      All in all, KO felt a little oppressive in PtG and most of my matches easily went my way but was clear with the right counterattack that the KO would go down quickly too.

      Building up to 4th Edition

      In June, my plan is to do more thunderers if I can find a fumigator (please let me know if you have one spare 😉) work on a couple more heroes and either do some more ‘Riggers or probably more sensibly another boat. The hype is real and I can’t wait to get some games in with the new edition!

      Check out the next episode here!

      Battle Report, Dwarfen Mountain Holds, Fantasy, Forces of Fantasy, Games Workshop, Lore, Old World: Conquest, Path to Glory, Peter Holland, Ravening Hordes, The Empire of Man, The Old World, Warriors of Chaos

      Old World: Conquest – The Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar (Part 3: Game 2)

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      Previously, in part one, I went into detail about the lore behind my list and how I decided upon my unit choices. The result felt solid and lore accurate with enough punch to hopefully put some halt in the step of an opponent.

      In part two, Fimbur faced his first challenge at the gates of Grung Gandaz, fighting the hated Grobi.

      Today, Fimbur and his retinue continue their mission of finding the lost hold of Bhurali-Dwar.

      We used our freshly made Triumph & Treachery ruleset that we adapted from the recent Age of Sigmar version for Old World.

      I also wanted to show how flexible the Conquest rules were by showing how my Conquest army could fight against two non-Conquest armies in a three-way Triumph and Treachery game.

      If you want to find out more about Old World: Conquest, our narrative system for Old World, based on the Age of Sigmar Path to Glory system, then click here.

      We’ve also a friendly Discord server, where you can share your own suggestions for Conquest.

      The Story So Far

      (Epic American Voiceover Guy) Previously, on the Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar

      Fimbur Grimsson had spent his entire adolescence behind his father’s beard-tails. His father, Grim Fimbursson, had amassed a large fortune and was among the wealthier Dwarfs of Karak-Norn.

      Fimbur had heard tale of a lost haunted hold called Bhurali-Dwar while in the ‘Grobi’s Head’, a rather run down Tavern in the lower levels of Karak-Norn. Wanting nothing more than to make a name for himself, Fimbur  began planning an expedition to find the hold and reclaim it.

      Fimbur, having a good relationship with his father, ran the expedition plans past him one evening. His father, who wanted nothing more than for Fimbur to succeed in life, decided to fund the expedition.

      After months of preparation, the expedition was ready to leave the gates of Karak-Norn. Bidding his father goodbye, Fimbur took his force southwards, heading towards the mine of Grung Gandaz.

      After 3 days, the scouts began reporting killing the odd Night Goblin here and there who seemed to be fleeing away from the mine. As the day progressed and the army marched closer, the number of reports increased, each one the same. Night Goblins fleeing southwards in terror away from the mine.

      It wasn’t long before his rangers reported a large army of Night Goblins fleeing southwards from the mine. Seeing an opportunity to cross out some Grudges from the Dammaz Kron, Fimbur deployed his force across the road, aiming to wipe these Grobi out as they fled.

      These plans were good, but they didn’t take into account the sheer numbers of Grobi fleeing the mine. Trying to hold back a flood, the walls of Dwarfs gave way, and the Grobi fled southwards. Entering the mine, the Dwarfs found the crew of an organ gun sharing cups after a hard fought battle. Agreeing to join the expedition, the forces of Fimbur made their way into the depths of the underway.

      The Search Continues

      After a few days and with nought to show for it, the Dwarfs climbed out of the underway and descended into the foothills of the eastern Grey Mountains. Finding an imperial village called Halgerbach, the Dwarfs speak to the village leaders.

      The leaders of the village are all too aware of the tales of the lost hold and claim a Dwarf who resides in the village knows of its location, pointing the Dwarfs towards a sturdy stone building outside the village.

      ………..

      “Aye, I know of a way to get to Bhurali-Dwar. But it isn’t for beardlings.” The Old Runesmith stated after some time talking to Fimbur.

      “There’s a map in the possession of some human mage not far from here. I’ve spoken to him a few times about claiming it back for the Dawi, but the Gruznak refuses to give it up.” He continued.

      “I’ll come with ye to see if we can’t get the umgi to relinquish it.”

      …….

      The Dwarfs marched south towards the mage’s location. However, as they neared, they saw plumes of smoke rising in the distance and heard the clamour of battle carried on the air.

      Entering the valley, the Dwarfs found embattled Empire troops facing off against a Chaos warband. The mage’s home was in flames, and Fimbur realised he had to act quick to reclaim the map. Paying no heed to either army, the Dwarfs decide to march straight to the home and resolve to fight anyone who got in their way…..

      The Battleplan

      Once again, with only a couple of hours to spare, Ian, Dave, and I rolled our battleplan at random from those in the Old World: Triumph & Treachery battlepack, rolling the Relic.

      Each turn, the player who controlled the relic at the end of the turn, would earn a number of victory points equal to the turn number. Also, for every 100 points of enemy troops destroyed a player would earn 1 victory point.

      Fighting at 750 points for this game meant that I had to introduce a temporary unit into the army to match the other players. Both of whom aren’t fighting with a Conquest army in this particular game. I decided to add a Runesmith who would be useful against the potential magic that both armies could bring. To up the points to 750, I also gave the Runesmith the Master Rune of Calm.

      My plan was simple. Use as many ploys as I could early doors to try and keep both Ian and Dave off me as I rushed to claim the Relic early.

      The relic…

      The Pregame Lists

      The Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar

      ===
      The Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar [750 pts]
      Warhammer: The Old World, Dwarfen Mountain Holds
      ===

      Gold: 4
      Stronghold: Bazaar
      Quest: Search for the Artefact
      Quest Points: 0
      Vault: Empty

      Limits
      Units: 6
      Characters: 2
      Wizard Level: 1
      Special: 1
      Rare: 1
      Monster: 0
      War Machine and/or Chariot: 1
      Allies: 1
      Magic Items: 1

      ===

      ++ Characters [212 pts] ++

      Thane [79 pts]
      Fimbur Grimsson
      – Hand weapon
      – Great weapon
      – Full plate armour
      – General
      – Oathstone
      – 5 Renown

      Runesmith [133 pts] (Not Conquest)
      Grigor Makksson
        – Hand Weapon
        – Full plate armour
        – Oathstone
        – Master Rune of Calm

      ++ Core Units [210 pts] ++

      10 Rangers [110 pts]
      Karak-Norn Sharpshooters
      – Hand weapons
      – Crossbows
      – Heavy armour
      – 3 Renown

      10 Thunderers [100 pts]
      Grindir’s Raiders
      – Hand weapons
      – Handguns
      – Heavy armour
      – 2x Casualties

      ++ Special Units [208 pts] ++

      1 Gyrocopter [60 pts]
      Hambir’s Flyer
      – Hand weapons
      – Steam guns
      – Full plate armour (armoured fuselage)

      10 Longbeards [148 pts]
      Fimbur’s Guard
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Elder (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      ++ Rare Units [120 pts] ++

      1 Organ Gun [120pts]
      Helga
      – Organ gun
      – Hand weapons
      – Light armour

      ===

      Dave’s Empire of Men

      ===
      Empire 750 [747 pts]
      Warhammer: The Old World, Empire of Man
      ===

      ++ Characters [183 pts] ++

      Master Mage [95 pts]
      – Hand weapon
      – Level 2 Wizard
      – General
      – On foot
      – Earthing Rod
      – Elementalism

      Captain of the Empire [88 pts]
      – Hand weapon
      – Full plate armour
      – Shield
      – Brace of pistols
      – Battle Standard Bearer
      – On foot

      ++ Core Units [338 pts] ++

      10 State Missile Troops [80 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Handguns
      – Detachment

      5 Empire Knights [123 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Great weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Preceptor (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      20 State Troops [135 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Light armour
      – Shields
      – Sergeant (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      ++ Special Units [226 pts] ++

      5 Outriders [101 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Pistols
      – Repeater handguns
      – Heavy armour
      – Sharpshooter (champion) [Repeater handgun]

      Great Cannon [125 pts]
      – Great cannon
      – Hand weapons

      ===

      Ian’s Warriors of Chaos

      ===
      Warriors of Chaos [746 pts]
      Warhammer: The Old World, Warriors of Chaos
      ===

      ++ Characters [296 pts] ++

      Exalted Sorcerer [130 pts]
      – Hand weapon
      – Light armour
      – Mark of Nurgle
      – Level 2 Wizard
      – On foot
      – Battle Magic

      Exalted Champion [166 pts]
      – Lance
      – Heavy armour
      – Shield
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – General
      – Daemonic Mount

      ++ Core Units [450 pts] ++

      8 Chaos Warriors [146 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – Mark of Nurgle
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      4 Chaos Knights [126 pts]
      – Hand weapons
      – Shields
      – Heavy armour
      – Mark of Chaos Undivided
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      10 Chaos Warriors [178 pts]
      – Additional hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Mark of Khorne
      – Champion
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician

      ===

      The Battle of Durnheim Pass

      Deployment

      With Ian to my far right and Dave ahead of me, my immediate concern was Dave and his ranged weaponry. Knowing Ian had no shooting I lined most of my ranged units up to face Dave and to try and thin out the fire coming towards me. I then placed my Longbeards with the Thane ready to march on the tower at the earliest opportunity, and the rangers slightly outside my deployment area on my left to take shots at the oncoming Chaos forces.

      The Empire troops viewed from the Dwarf lines.
      The Chaos lines (right) look across the Empire and Dwarf forces
      Dwarf deployment. Organ gun with Thunderers on the left, longbeards angled to the relic in the centre with the Gyrocopter behind. Rangers on the right.
      Empire deployment. Handgunners near the ruins with the cannon and Outriders behind. Spearmen in the centre and knights on the left.

      Turn 1

      The roll off meant that Dave got to choose who went first this turn. Choosing himself, he sent most of his force forward against the Dwarfs while positioning his Outriders to protect his left flank from any Chaos cavalry. Declaring me as his enemy in the shooting phase, I played my first ploy Allies of Convenience,  forcing Dave to choose Ian as his enemy instead. As a result, Dave was unable to fire any missile weapons. Ian and I then rolled off with me winning but choosing to let Ian take his turn first.

      Using his first ploy of the game, Ian declared me as his enemy in the movement phase and played Suprise Attack to increase the charge range of his Exalted Champion to attack the Rangers on my right flank. The Rangers managed to take a wound off the Champion through stand and shoot.

      The Champion and his mount downed three Dwarfs, who caused no wounds in reply.

      The Exalted Champion charges the Dawi

      The Rangers fell back in good order with the Exalted Champion pursuing.

      The remaining Chaos forces, marching forwards.

      In my first turn, I cast my hex from the Master Rune of Calm, with neither Dave or Ian able dispel it. I then attempted to perform a march with my Longbeards and Thane towards the relic to claim it, but Dave played Hidden Pitfalls, which disallowed them from marching.

      In the shooting phase, I chose Dave as my enemy and used the ploy Target Their Blind Side to give my Organ Gun +1 on it’s hit rolls. Dave countered this by playing Sabotage, halving its range and effectively making it unable to shoot. The Thunderers had a little more luck, though, and shot one of the knights on Dave’s left flank from its horse.

      Victory Points

      Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar: 0

      Empire of Men: 0

      Warriors of Chaos: 0

      Turn 2

      Rolling off once more to determine who went first in turn 2, I was lucky enough to win the roll. Choosing to keep it this time, I once again tried to cast the Hex from the Master Rune of Calm, but Ian manages a dispel.

      In the movement phase, Fimbur and the Longbeards march forward and claim the relic from the ruins of the Mage’s home.

      The Dwarfs claim the jelly baby (map)

      I then chose Dave (once again) as my enemy in the shooting phase, Dave used the ploy Allies of Convenience to switch this to Ian, only for Ian to play the same ploy and switch it back to Dave! (Ian couldn’t even be shot by me, but wanted to “see the carnage.”)

      The Organ gun crew, drunk out of their minds, fire on the Handgunners near the Longbeards, felling 5 of their number. The Thunderers add to this tally downing a further three. However, being made of stern stuff, the last two handgunners shake it off and stare down the Dwarfs.

      Having Ian and Dave both play their Allies of Convenience ploys meant that I could choose Dave as my opponent in the combat phase, resulting in the Rangers and Exalted Champion combat being a push.

      Ian won the roll off to go next, he chooses Dave as his enemy who uses the Allies of Convenience to change it to me, not wanting to be charged by Ian, I use the same ploy to change it back to Dave. Dave keeps asking Ian to choose an enemy in the shooting phase and that he should choose me, so I suspect he’s up to something. So when Ian does choose me, I offer Ian one of my ploys if he chooses Dave instead, which he promptly accepts. It turned out Dave had a ploy that would allow him to shoot as a neutral. Lucky guess….

      In the combat phase, Ian chooses me as his enemy and finally gets to fight again with his Exalted Champion. However, only the Stomp manages to flatten one ranger, and the Dwarfs hold their nerve.

      Going into Dave’s turn and he chooses me as his opponent. Wanting to hold on to the jelly baby and not get charged, I use Allies of Convenience to force him to pick Ian. In his shooting phase, Dave once more picks me as his enemy and promptly misses with everything (queue evil laughter).

      With time up and the club closing, we draw the game to a close. Having the Jelly Baby means I got two victory points and scraped a small victory over the other two.

      Victory Points

      Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar: 2

      Empire of Men: 0

      Warriors of Chaos: 0

      Post Battle Review

      It was a short game, but immense fun. The addition of ploys to the game kept everyone guessing. I honestly think if the game had continued, I would have snuck the win. With the Longbeards and Thane holding the map (Jelly Baby), they would have been hard to defeat by the other two. Perhaps only with a joint effort by the two of them together would have guaranteed the victory. My organ gun and thunderers did well clearing down the handgunners, removing some of Dave’s ranged threat, just a shame they couldn’t make the last two Flee to have given me another victory point.

      Either way, it was great fun, and it’s enticed Ian into collecting some Old World now….

      Aftermath Sequence

      With the game over, it was time to sort out my army for the campaign in the aftermath sequence as defined in Old World: Conquest.

      Step 1 – Earn Gold

      Nice and simple, we played a 750-point game, and so got I got 5 gold. I won a minor victory and got a further 2 gold, and my General took part and survived for yet another gold piece. This, with the 4 gold I had remaining after the last game, gave me 12 in total.

      Step 2 – Resolve Injuries and Casualties

      Only the four casualties in the Rangers here, and my roll saw them all come back to the unit. I spent a gold coin here so that I could try and recover the two injuries I had left in the Thunderers, which I did. This left me 11 gold.

      Step 3 – Gain Renown Points

      The bonus renown didn’t apply to anything in my army, but all my units survived and so each gained 1 renown. On top of this I had Favoured Warriors, which I gave to the Rangers. This was a little gamey, as I knew they already had three renown from the last game had just gained 1 from surviving and was hoping to get them over 5 so they could earn an ability! I rolled a 1….. I added this to their total on my roster.

      This made them Veteran Warriors, I decided to give them Deadly Volley, which would add 1 to their ballistic skill for one turn in a battle. (Note that I can only use this against a player who is also playing a Conquest army).

      Step 4 – Complete Quests.

      I didn’t get any Quest Points from the game as my units had to be in Dave’s or Ian’s part of the table.

      Step 5 – Manage Stronghold

      With a unit cap of 6 and 5 units in my roster, I would need to buy barracks soon to increase my unit cap to 9. However for now, we’ll leave this until we’ve reached our cap.

      Step 6 – Manage Your Territories

      So rolling a D66, I got 14 for a Bazaar, which would increase my Allies cap to 2. I decided not to take this as with only two more slots for territory available to me at this point, I wanted to reserve them for something I really needed.

      Step 7 – Manage Your Order of Battle

      Here I spent 4 gold. I really liked the Runesmith in the game and especially the Master Rune of Calm, plus it makes narrative sense to have the Dwarf with possible knowledge of Bhurali-Dwar to join the expedition. This left me 7 Gold. This bought me up to my unit cap, so I’ll have to buy a barracks next time around.

      Updated List

      ===
      The Dwarfs of Bhurali-Dwar [750 pts]
      Warhammer: The Old World, Dwarfen Mountain Holds
      ===

      Gold: 7
      Stronghold: Bazaar
      Quest: Search for the Artefact
      Quest Points: 0
      Vault: Empty

      Limits
      Units: 6
      Characters: 2
      Wizard Level: 1
      Special: 1
      Rare: 1
      Monster: 0
      War Machine and/or Chariot: 1
      Allies: 1
      Magic Items: 1

      ===

      ++ Characters [212 pts] ++

      Thane [79 pts]
      Fimbur Grimsson
      – Hand weapon
      – Great weapon
      – Full plate armour
      – General
      – Oathstone
      – 6 Renown

      Runesmith [133 pts]
      Grigor Makksson
        – Hand Weapon
        – Full plate armour
        – Oathstone
        – Master Rune of Calm

      ++ Core Units [210 pts] ++

      10 Rangers [110 pts]
      Karak-Norn Sharpshooters
      – Hand weapons
      – Crossbows
      – Heavy armour
      – Deadly Volley (Veteran Skill)
      – 5 Renown

      10 Thunderers [100 pts]
      Grindir’s Raiders
      – Hand weapons
      – Handguns
      – Heavy armour
      – 1 Renown

      ++ Special Units [208 pts] ++

      1 Gyrocopter [60 pts]
      Hambir’s Flyer
      – Hand weapons
      – Steam guns
      – Full plate armour (armoured fuselage)
      – 1 Renown

      10 Longbeards [148 pts]
      Fimbur’s Guard
      – Hand weapons
      – Heavy armour
      – Shields
      – Elder (champion)
      – Standard bearer
      – Musician
      – 1 Renown

      ++ Rare Units [120 pts] ++

      1 Organ Gun [120pts]
      Helga
      – Organ gun
      – Hand weapons
      – Light armour
      – 1 Renown

      ===

      Post Battle Lore

      Leaving the manlings to fight out their wars, the Dwarfs retired from the battle.

      “Aye” Said Grigor “That’s the map”. The map was at least a few hundred years old by Fimbur’s reckoning and it was so worn that in places the markings were too faint to make out.

      “Southwards” Said Grigor.

      “How are you so certain?” Fimbur asked.

      “You see this rune here” Grigor pointed at a point on the map that Fimbur could barely make out, “that shows Grung Gandaz mine, the old Hold is not far from there. Looks to be a days march in the underway west of the mine.” he continued.

      “We’ve just come from there!” Fimbur cried.

      “Aye, but if you’re not looking for a Kobold, then you won’t find a Kobold.”

      Fimbur laughed at the old proverb. “Tell everyone to rest, we’ll break camp in the morning”.