Pyrhammer 2022 took place in Poland on 18th and 19th June. It involved 40 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Allegiance: Sons of Behemat – Tribe: Breaker Tribe (Fierce Loathing: Bossy Pants and Clever Clog) – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Kragnos, The End of Empires (720) Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant – kaptur (525)* – General – Command Trait: Old and Gnarly – Artefact: Enchanted Portcullis Gatebreaker Mega-Gargant – Broda (525)* – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact)
Battleline 1 x Mancrusher Gargants (170)
Core Battalions *Bosses of the Stomp – Magnificent
Additional Enhancements Artefact
Total: 1940 / 2000 Wounds: 100 Drops: 4
Danny: Sons walk again! With Kragnos leading the charge – the 3d6 charge 12″ aura to be precise. Gatebreakers, if you haven’t been keeping up, are the really hitty ones. A ‘little’ Mancrusher fills out the points. If you’ve not played Sons before, they can be surprisingly whiffy – something Kragnos is most definitely not. And now, with the new GHB, they don’t even give up monster points – so I can see them doing even better than usual for quite some time…
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar (Scions of the Storm) – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Knight-Draconis (300)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Scintillating Trail – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon Lord-Castellant (155)*
Battleline 4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)* – Drakerider’s Lance – Reinforced x 1 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Lance 2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)* – Drakerider’s Lance
Units 20 x Skinks (150)* – Meteoric Javelins Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers – Allies – Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions *Battle Regiment
Additional Enhancements Holy Command: Steadfast March
Danny: Many of you will be aware that Dragons just lost their hero-phase move, and many of you will not be happy with it. But it was necessary to slow the roll of lists like this that could pretty much end the game inside of one battle round after their hero-phase move, double shoot from the Knight Draconis, almost guaranteed turn 1 charge and then murder from there. Hilariously, this one also allies in 20 skinks for a fast, cheap objective grabber. So there’s that!
Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos – Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain – Triumphs: brak
Leaders Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Lore of Dark Storms: Sundering Blades Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)** – Artefact: Horn of the Tempest – Lore of Dark Storms: Hailstorm Great Bray-Shaman (100)** – Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Tendrils of Atrophy
Battleline 9 x Dragon Ogors (375)* – 3x Paired Ancient Weapons – 6x Draconic War glaives – Reinforced x 2 6 x Dragon Ogors (250)* – 3x Paired Ancient Weapons – 3x Draconic War glaives – Reinforced x 1 6 x Dragon Ogors (250)** – 3x Paired Ancient Weapons – 3x Draconic War glaives – Reinforced x 1
Other 1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95)** – Allies Ghorgon (155)* Ghorgon (155)** Ghorgon (155) Ghorgon (155)
Danny: Beasts of Chaos are just on a complete rampage after their Tome Celestial, and it’s not even just the one list they have! Dragon Ogors are definitely up there though, with a choice of three weapon loadouts for flexibility – this list has doubled down on the 2″, rend 1 flavour – re-rolling 1s to hit thanks to the Shaggoth heroes. Four Ghorgons that, from now on no longer give up points provide even more punch – for 155 they’re 14 wounds (albeit on a 5+) of fast ‘fishing for 6s to wound for d3 mws’ pain. Scary.
Allegiance: Blades of Khorne – Slaughterhost: Reapers of Vengeance – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)* – Axe – Mark of Chaos: Khorne Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury (295)* – General – Command Trait: Mage Eater – Artefact: Skullshard Mantle Skarbrand (380) Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280) – Artefact: Harvester of Skulls Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280)** Bloodsecrator (125)*
Battleline 10 x Bloodreavers (80)** – Meatripper Axes 10 x Bloodreavers (80)** – Meatripper Axes 10 x Bloodreavers (80)** – Meatripper Axes
Danny: Khorne are now officially the worst Chaos faction, so 3-2 is definitely an achievement. That said, ‘worst’ is relative – three Boomthirsters and Skarbrand will still absolutely ruin your day unless you can either screen them out, trade very efficiently up against them or just snipe them from range. Did you know that Bloodthirsters of Insensate Rage do 4 mortals to EVERYTHING IN AN 8″ RADIUS if they roll a 6 to wound? It’s swingy given they only have 5 attacks but…you can see why the blood flows freely when they roll hot.
Final Tournament Placings
For the full tournament details visit: Tabletop.to
Before I begin, I wanted to clarify that when I discuss anything that involves a dice roll then I will refer to the average dice roll. For example, an average run roll being 3-4″ (average of 3.5 on one die).
This does mean that depending on how lucky your dice rolls are you can achieve more or less than the amount specified. But to keep it simple and for comparison purposes we will always refer to the average.
This fella is your Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker who costs an additional 5 points. As a named character you’ll lose the ability to give him command traits or his mount Mount Traits, but gain an added extras of being able to get you an additional triumph during the game. An expert Snatch and Grab ability, 1 extra wound and his Noisome Bite does D3+4 instead of D3+3.
To take Skummdrekk, you’re kind of forced to take a unit of HobgrotSlittaz (I say forced, but we all know the Hobgrots are the mightiest unit in Age of Sigmar). These Hobgrot units get assigned as the ‘Kountin’ Krew‘. Another friendly unit will be assigned as the ‘Bet‘.
If the ‘Bet‘ is the first unit to be destroyed from your army in the battle you gain an additional Triumph, but this Triumph can only be use on Swampboss Skumdrekk or the Hobgrot Slittaz unit designated as the ‘Kountin’Krew‘.
As you can tell it’s an ok ability, but you’re limited in the reward which is a bit…. nah in my eyes. For the five points expense and at the cost of losing those Command Trait abilities I’d rather take the standard Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast.
Swampboss Skumdrekk has an Expert Snatch and Grab ability which allows him to remove a model with 7 or less wounds if he rolls equal to or more than their wound value on 2D6. This is great as you have a higher chance that with the standard Snatchaboss to remove a hero character on foot, or even wiping a chunk of a unit out through coherency.
Other than that he does everything your Snatchaboss will do, so for that I would look at my Warscroll review on him here.
Combinations
Source
Ability
Description
Kruleboyz Allegiance Abilities
Grinin’ Blades
During the first battle round, friendly GRINNIN’ BLADES units are not visible to enemy models that are more than 12″ away from them.
Kruleboyz Command Trait
Egomaniak
If this general is within 3″ of another friendly unit, roll a dice before you allocate a wound or mortal wound to this general or instead of making a ward roll for this general. On a 4+, pick 1 other friendly unit within 3″ of this general. That wound is allocated to that unit instead and cannot be negated.
Kruleboyz Command Trait
Supa Sneaky
If this general is on the battlefield at the start of the first battle round, before determining who has the first turn, you can pick 1 friendly KRULEBOYZ unit and set it up again anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9″ from all enemy units.
Kruleboyz Command Trait
Slippery Skumbag
This general can retreat and charge in the same turn.
Mount Trait
Tough ’Un
MONSTER only. Unless this model has a number of wounds allocated to it that exceeds half its Wounds characteristic, use the top row on its damage table, regardless of how many wounds it has suffered.
Mount Trait
Fast ’Un
Once per battle, in your hero phase, this model can make a normal move.
Mount Trait
Mean ‘Un
MONSTER only. When you carry out the Stomp monstrous rampage with this model, the enemy unit you pick suffers D6 mortal wounds on a 2+ instead of D3.
Mount Trait
Loud ‘Un
MONSTER only. When you carry out the Roar monstrous rampage with this model, pick all enemy units within 3″ of this model instead of 1.
Mount Trait
Weird ‘Un
This model has a ward of 4+ against mortal wounds caused by spells and the abilities of endless spells.
Mount Trait
Smelly ‘Un
Subtract 1 from hit rolls for attacks made with melee weapons that target this model if it has not made a charge move in the same turn.
Kruleboyz Battle Traits
Venom-encrusted Weapons
If the unmodified hit roll for an attack made by a KRULEBOYZ ORRUK model is 6, that attack causes a number of mortal wounds to the target equal to the weapon’s Damage characteristic and the attack sequence ends (do not make a wound roll or save roll). This ability has no effect on attacks made by a mount unless noted otherwise.
Kruleboyz Battle Traits
Kruleboyz Waaagh!
Once per battle, in the combat phase, when you pick a friendly KRULEBOYZ general to fight, you can say that they are calling a Kruleboyz Waaagh!. If you do so, pick up to 2 other friendly KRULEBOYZ units wholly within 18” of that general and that have not yet fought in that combat phase. That general and the units you picked can fight one after the other in the order of your choice.
Kruleboyz Battle Traits
Dirty Tricks
After the players have received their starting command points but before the start of the first turn, you can pick 1 of the following Dirty Tricks to employ during the battle: Noisy Racket: On the eve of battle, you make sure the enemy receives no respite as your war drums and rattle-skulls ring out into the night. Subtract 1 from wound rolls for attacks made by enemy units in the first battle round. Lethal Surprise: Your scouts have laid cunningly disguised pitfall traps out in no man’s land. Roll 3 dice. For each 4+, you can pick 1 different terrain feature or different objective that is not wholly within enemy territory and secretly note it down. The first time any enemy unit finishes a move within 1″ of that terrain feature or objective, roll a dice. On a 2+, that unit suffers D6 mortal wounds. Disappearin’ Act: You have sent out your grots to lure a band of enemy warriors into the swamp mists until they become utterly lost. Roll 3 dice. For each 4+, you can pick 1 different enemy unit on the battlefield that has not been reinforced. Then, roll a dice for each unit you picked. If the roll is greater than that unit’s Wounds characteristic, your opponent must remove that unit from the battlefield and set it up as a reserve unit. At the end of your opponent’s first movement phase, they must set up that unit on the battlefield wholly within their territory and more than 9″ away from all enemy units. This Dirty Trick cannot be picked if the battleplan has the ‘No Reserves’ rule (for example Tooth and Nail). Covered in Mud: After some ‘hard finkin’, you command a group of warriors to slather themselves in muck and sneak up on the unwitting enemy. Roll 3 dice. For each 4+, pick 1 friendly unit that is not a HERO or MONSTER. While that unit is in cover, it is not visible to enemy units.
Killaboss
All Part of Da Plan
If a friendly KRULEBOYZ unit fails a battleshock test within 3″ of any friendly units with this ability, only 1 model from that unit will flee.
Murknob with Belcha-banna
Power of Kragnos
When a friendly KRULEBOYZ ORRUK unit wholly within 12″ of this unit is affected by a spell or the abilities of an endless spell, you can roll a dice. On a 5+, ignore the effect of that spell or the effects of that endless spell’s abilities on that unit.
Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot
Poisons and Elixirs
At the start of your hero phase, if this unit is more than 3″ from all enemy units, instead of attempting to dispel an endless spell or cast any spells with this unit in that phase, you can say that it is brewing either a poison or an elixir. If you do so, pick 1 friendly KRULEBOYZ ORRUK unit wholly within 12″ of this unit, more than 3″ from all enemy units and that has at least 1 model within 3″ of this unit to be given that poison or elixir. A unit that has been given a poison or elixir cannot be given another poison or elixir in the same hero phase. If that unit is given a poison, until your next hero phase, when you use the Venom-encrusted Weapons battle trait for that unit, mortal wounds are caused on an unmodified hit roll of 5+ instead of 6. If that unit is given an elixir, add 1 to save rolls for attacks that target that unit until your next hero phase.
Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot / Gobsprakk, the Mouth of Mork
Summon Boggy Mist
Summon Boggy Mist is a spell that has a casting value of 7. If successfully cast, until your next hero phase, add 1 to charge rolls for friendly KRULEBOYZ ORRUK units on the battlefield and subtract 1 from charge rolls for other units on the battlefield.
Gobsprakk, the Mouth of Mork
Mouth of Mork
If this unit issues the Redeploy command to a KRULEBOYZ unit, you can re-roll the dice that determines the distance the unit that receives the command can move. If this unit issues the Unleash Hell command to a KRULEBOYZ unit, you do not have to subtract 1 from the hit rolls for the attacks made by the unit that receives the command.
Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast Swampboss Skumdrekk
Sludgeraker Venom
Add 1 to the number of mortal wounds caused by the Venom-encrusted Weapons battle trait if the unmodified hit roll was 6 and the attacking unit is wholly within 12″ of any friendly units with this ability.
Kragnos, the End of Empires
The End of Empires
If a friendly DESTRUCTION unit is wholly within 12″ of this unit, you can attempt a charge with that unit if it is within 18″ of an enemy unit instead of 12″. In addition, when making a charge roll for a friendly DESTRUCTION unit wholly within 12″ of this unit, roll 3D6 instead of 2D6.
Rogue Idol
Livin’ Idol
Add 1 to casting rolls for friendly ORRUK WIZARDS while they are within 6″ of any friendly models with this ability. In addition, add 1 to the Bravery characteristic of friendly ORRUK units while they are wholly within 18″ of any friendly models with this ability.
Kruleboyz Wizard
Sneaky Miasma
Sneaky Miasma is a spell that has a casting value of 6 and a range of 18″. If successfully cast, pick 1 friendly KRULEBOYZ MONSTER within range and visible to the caster. That MONSTER can make a normal move.
Missile Attacks
This unit has no missile attacks.
Melee Attacks
This model has weapon profiles for the boss and for his mount, and while only Kruleboyz Orruks benefit from the Venom-encrusted Weapons, the Warscroll specifies that this also applies to the Sludgerakers Noisome Bite and Grasping Talons as well.
Attack
Av Threat Range
Av # of Attacks
Av # of Hits
Av # of Wounds
Damage Output (Pre-save)
Chain-linked Grappling Hook
15″
3
2.0
1.3
3.9
Grasping Talons
15″
5
1.7 +2mw
1.1 +2mw
2.2 +2mw
Noisome Bite
15″
1
0.6
0.5
2.5
Thrashing Tail
15″
2
1.3
1.1
2.2
Based on average dice rolls
Looking at the damage after saves:
Save
Chain-linked Grappling Hook
Grasping Talons
Noisome Bite
Thrashing Tail
–
3.9
2.2 +2mw
2.5
2.2
6+
3.9
2.2 +2mw
2.5
2.2
5+
3.2
1.8 +2mw
2.1
2.2
4+
2.6
1.5 +2mw
1.7
1.8
3+
2.0
1.1 +2mw
1.3
1.5
Amount of damage after saves based on average dice rolls
The chance of this units charge connecting:
Distance
Chance
11″
97%
12″
92%
13″
83%
14″
72%
15″
58%
16″
42%
17″
28%
18″
17%
19″
8%
20″
3%
Chance of making a charge (including movement)
Resilience
With 15 wounds and a 4+ save this model is surprisingly tough. It’ll need on average 30 damage from zero rend weapons allocated to it BEFORE any saves on order to have a chance of destroying this in a single turn.
Peter: Today we’re doing something a little different with out top three. I invited members of our Discord chat to take part and we had a few victims, I mean volunteers. First up is fellow Chump member Kieron Bailey.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
The Game Knight GT was held in Ontario, Canada on the 11th and 12th June, nestled snuggly between the Great Lakes of Huron and Erie and the great cities of Detroit and Toronto. It was a 12 person event with two undefeated armies, but only one 5-0.
Army Faction: Idoneth Deepkin – Subfaction: Mor’phann
LEADERS Isharann Soulrender (120) – General – Command Traits: Teachings of the Túrscoll Isharann Soulscryer (150) – Artefacts of Power: Rune of the Surging Gloomtide – Prayers: Curse – Bonding: Krondspine Incarnate of Ghur Lotann (115)
TERRAIN 1 x Gloomtide Shipwreck (0) 1 x Gloomtide Shipwreck (0)
TOTAL POINTS: 1985/2000
Kieron: That 5-0 belongs to Jordan Duncan of Season of War fame (not to be confused with *Seasons* of War, the new Sylvaneth sub-sub faction). The early games with the new Idoneth book on his channel featured a range of options from the new book, going to a pure Mor’phann list earned his first clean sweep with the new book. Along the way, Jordan amassed quite a trophy cabinet, defeating Kragnos twice, Sons of Behemat, a full dragon list and Legion best pals, Be’lakor and Kairos.
Jordan left his sharks and turtles in the ocean for this one, leaning heavily into Namarti with 20 Reavers, a frankly terrifying 30 Thralls, a pair of 10 Reavers and then 10 Thralls to round off the troops.
While the sharks and turtles may have been left at home, a Krondspire Incarnate joined the raiding party. The army was led by a trifecta of buffing characters with an Ishrann Soulrender, an Ishrann Soulscryer and Lotann, with these three leaders bringing the army together.
The Soulrender uses his Lurelight ability in the battleshock phase to bring D3 models back to those big units of Thralls or Reavers, but with an additional 3 on top because the army is Mor’phann. The Soulrender also has the Teachings of Turscroll as their artefact, allowing the order of the tides to be reversed, crucially meaning that the whole IDK army gets to fight first in turn 2 instead of having to wait until turn 3 for that honour. This gives Jordan the option to step on the gas early on if he wants to.
But how do those 50 Namarti get across the board – with the help of the Soulscryer, of course. The Soulscryer can drop in (or should that be surface?) anywhere outside of 9″ of an enemy unit and he can take two friends/units with them. They can also casually toss out a second Gloomtide Shipwreck down with the Rune of Surging, giving a second potential garrison for the smaller units of Reavers to pepper the enemy with, while giving any Deepkin unit a 5+ ward if they are wholly within 6″.
The third leader of the raiding party is Lotann, doing solid work adding +1 to wound in melee and allowing a ritual to be taken, probably either the 5+ ward on Namarti to still have that protection further away from the shipwrecks or +1 to run and charge, probably depending on whether the tides are reversed or not.
Other aspects of the list to take note of is the Thralls Warscroll ability to do +1 damage on each of their attacks when the enemy has a wound characteristic of 3 or more…which was everything Jordan faced from round 3 onwards! In addition, possibly in place of a Smash King or another unit, we have an Incarnate. Apart from being an incredibly tough monster that can go toe-to-toe with Kragnos (and probably did for at least a turn!), it keeps Jordan as a one-drop, controlling when a potentially devastating double turn can take place. The Krondspire Incarnate also prevents enemies from retreating too, so there’s no escaping the relentless advance of the Idoneth High Tide.
All in all, a great showing for Jordan and his list.
Army Faction: Sons of Behemat – Army Type: Breaker Tribe – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
Kieron: Next up is Patrick Allen’s Sons of Behemat list and while Jordan was busy manoeuvring around close to a hundred IDK, Patrick was moving his four models around: Kragnos, two Gatebreakers and a Mancrusher in a Breaker Tribe force. He went 3-2 overall, with his only losses coming to Zach’s third place Ogor Mawtribes in round 1 and then Jordan’s Deepkin round 4. Spare a thought for James Henderson and his OBR who, after facing Jordan in the first round, ran into Patrick’s Sons the game two!
With both Gatebreakers being pretty (and appropriately) destructive anyway, Patrick seems to have leant into survivability with his big boys, with the general being Monstrously Tough to take him up to 40 wounds and also taking the Enchanted Portcullis for a 6+ ward, making him closer to 45-50 wounds. His fellow Gatebreaker also has a ward save, in the form of the Amulet of Destiny. While the premium 5+ ward Amulets were taken off the shelves several months back, a 6+ ward is nothing to be sniffed at on a model with so many wounds, making the second Gatebreaker have an effective 40 wounds for an opponent to have to chew through. While Kragnos has a lot fewer wounds, he also has a much better armour save along with a 6+ ward and protection against enemy spells. With these three together, there are well over 100 wounds to try and get through with Kragnos and the Gatebreakers counting for 30 (at full wounds) and 20 models on an objective meaning that you can’t just sneak one away from them.
Finally, the Mancrusher is running around being by far the least threatening unit Patrick had (and the easiest to kill) while still being dangerous in its own right. You can’t really focus on the Mancrusher as then there’s no way you will have enough damage output to attempt to at least severely wound one of the big three. If you don’t as The End of Empires has justifiably drawn your attention, then the Mancrusher can be grabbing objectives and bashing battleline.
While Sons are nowhere near as common as they used to be, Patrick showing that they can still take down podiums at least.
Leaders Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)* Frostlord on Stonehorn (430) – Artefact: Brand of the Svard – Mount Trait: Metalcruncher Icebrow Hunter (125)* – General – Command Trait: Lord of Beasts Firebelly (125)* – Lore of the Sun-Eater: Billowing Ash Frostlord on Stonehorn (430)** – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Old Granitetooth – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline 2 x Frost Sabres (55)** 2 x Frost Sabres (55)** 2 x Frost Sabres (55)**
Kieron: As mentioned above, Zach Ahrens came in third with an interesting tweak to a Beastclaw Raiders list that, while taking some Mawtribes units, allows the list to squeeze in two Frostlords on Stonetooths along with Kragnos for some mortal wound on the charge insanity. Zach went 3-2 also, beating Patrick in round one, but losing to Mike’s Bonesplitters (see below) in round two with the second loss coming to Jordan in the final round.
Starting with the general, Zach went with an Icebrow Hunter with the Boulderhead compulsory Command Trait Lord of Beasts, but more importantly, allowing Zach to take Frost Sabres as really cheap battleline. He also featured a Firebelly with Billowing Ash, a really cool model that, while tricky to get off, creates an aura of -1 to hit within 12″ of him. By keeping the cost down on these units, Zach could pour all of those points into the big three threats of this list, Kragnos and two Frostlords.
Each of Kragnos and the Frostlords are decent threats on their own (easily scoring bonus points for being monsters too) but it is when they synergise together that the magic happens. On the charge, Ogors roll a dice for each inch of charge they roll on the dice, with a 6+ causing a mortal wound. If you’re a monster, and the Frostlords are, this improves to a 4+. The Granitetooth Frostlord adds 1 to charge rolls (while also taking the Arcane Tome to get their spears up to damage 4) and Frostlords have a command ability where you can re-roll the charge for other Beastclaw Raiders units, in this case, both Frostlords. Then add Kragnos into the mix and you can roll 3D6 for those charges to decide how many dice you roll for mortal wounds. In addition, the general’s mount trait is Metalcruncher, which does an additional D6 mortal wounds if the enemy unit has an armour save of 4+ or better and then he could stomp on top of that too. Combined, you’d probably expect 18MWs in the charge phase with the two Frostlords combined, but the general on his own could do as many as 28MWs! With Kragnos himself doing up to 36 MWs against monsters, it’s no surprise that Zach was able to defeat Patrick’s Sons of Behemat army and Jordan Siler’s Dragon list.
All in all, a really well thought-out list that allows the most powerful units available to work together well.
Allegiance: Bonesplitterz – Warclan: Icebone – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs:
Leaders Wurrgog Prophet (150)* – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Glowy Green Tusks – Lore of the Savage Beast: Power of the Were-boar Maniak Weirdnob (100)* – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un – Lore of the Savage Beast: Glowy Green Tusks – Lore of the Savage Beast: Power of the Were-boar Savage Big Boss (65)* – General – Command Trait: Great Hunter Savage Big Boss (65)** Savage Big Boss (65)** Savage Big Boss (65)** – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline 10 x Savage Boarboys (280)*** – Stikkas – Reinforced x 1 5 x Savage Boarboys (140)* – Stikkas 5 x Savage Boarboys (140)** – Stikkas
Units 10 x Savage Boarboy Maniaks (290)*** – Reinforced x 1 10 x Savage Boarboy Maniaks (290)*** – Reinforced x 1 4 x Savage Big Stabbas (160) – Reinforced x 1 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)* 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)**
Core Battalions *Warlord **Warlord ***Hunters of the Heartlands
Kieron: The fourth list we’re looking at today is Mike Simeon’s Bonesplitters list, which also went undefeated, but Mike sadly couldn’t make the second day. It’s a shame as you may have seen Mike on Bulldog Hammer’s battle reports and he recently defeated Jordan’s Sylvaneth on Season of War using the exact same list he took to this tournament.
Not many Bonesplitters armies are out there at the moment, with them making up less than 1% of AoS 3.2 meta according to the excellent Honest Wargamer stats from Ziggy and Rob, but with a very healthy win rate of 56%, albeit from a very small sample size.
The list revolves around putting too many wounds on the table with 189 wounds to get through BEFORE the 6+ ward the whole army has that can be increased to a 4+ ward whole army once per battle for the whole phase. You’ll need to be able to do over 200 damage to table this army.
It will also be coming at you quite fast with 40 pigs coming high speed at you, with the option for half of the Bonesplitters units to make a pre-game move of 8″, thanks to the general’s Great Hunter ability that increases the standard pre-game move from 5″. The bigger units of boarboys (of both types) both have Hunters of the Heartlands so that All-out Attack can go off, increasing the number of hits they get in order to maximise the Icebone sub-faction ability to do mortal wounds on 6s to wound. The stabbas can also do work, with the larger unit doing 12 attacks that hit and wound on 3s with -2 rend and 2 damage, which is no joke. That can be increased by Power of the Were-boar to give an extra attack and increase run and charge. The other support spells can increase the rend on all the boarboy tusks and making an enemy fight last via Gorkamorka’s War Cry that is inscribed in the Arcane Tome of the Savage Ork Boss that is carrying it (though probably more pictures than words!).
The Savage Ork Bosses also have a neat trick in that after fighting, they can nominate another unit to fight before the enemy…which could be another Savage Ork Boss! Combined with the fight last from Gorkamorka’s War Cry, all four Bosses could fight and two units of boarboys before the enemy gets to attack back.
The best has been left until last and that is, of course, the Wurrgog Prophet, often the only Bonesplitters representative in a Big Waaagh, who can decide not to cast spells, but go full on Paddington Bear and do a ‘hard stare’ at the enemy. Essentially, you choose an enemy unit within 12″ and, on a 3+ you do D3 mortal wounds. At this stage you could stop, but where’s the fun in that! Instead, you can roll the dice again and do D3 mortal wounds on a 3+ BUT D6 mortal wounds to yourself on a 1-2. You can keep doing this until one of the following is true: the enemy unit is dead; you decide to stop; the Wurrgog blows his head up with the staring! To help with the third one, you usually see the prophet with Glowin’ Tattooz to increase his ward save to 4+, giving you an effective 14 wounds to try and do infinite mortals wounds to an enemy!
And that’s the list. Very different, with lots of fun combos to pull off and, with mounted battleline being what seems to be the Holy Grail of list creation going into the new GHB, could be a sneaky contender to be one of the winners of the new book. Great trailblazing, Mike!
Mawtribes Massacre: Annihilation took place in England, UK on 11th and 12th June. It involved 30 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals – Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar (Scions of the Storm) – Grand Strategy: Pillars of Belief – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Lord-Relictor (145)* – General – Command Trait: High Priest – Artefact: Mirrorshield – Prayer: Translocation Lord-Commander Bastian Carthalos (300)*
Battleline 5 x Liberators (115)* – Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield – 1x Grandweapons 5 x Vindictors (130)* 5 x Vindictors (130)*
Units 6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)* – Reinforced x 1 4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)* – Drakerider’s Warblade – Reinforced x 1
Danny: Longstrikes go brrr. Dragons go raaawr. Relictor flings them around and Bastion is a distraction carnifex that’s also a beat-stick. It’s been done before and it will be very interesting to see if lists like this still function in the forthcoming GHB meta. I kinda hope not, just for a change!
Leaders Orruk Megaboss (140)** – Artefact: Destroyer Orruk Warchanter (115)* Fixing beat Orruk Warchanter (115)* Get em beat Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)** – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)** – Boss Choppa and Rip-roof Fist – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline 5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)* – 1x Gorkamorka Glyph Bearers- 1x Drummer- 2x Shields- champ 5 x Orruk Ardboys(85)* – 1x Gorkamorka Glyph Bearers- 1x Drummer- 2x Shields- champ 10 x Orruk Brutes (320)*** – Jagged Gore-hackas- champ w/ boss klaw and brute smasha – 2x Gore Choppas – Reinforced x 1
Units 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)*** – Jagged Gore-hackas- champ 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)** – Jagged Gore-hackas- champ 3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)* – Jagged Gore-hackas- champ
Danny: The tried and tested core of 2 Warchanters, a murder-cabbage, and loads of feral hogs (with an added Megaboss on foot and a nice big blob of killy battleline Brutes) make for a great early pressure list. A cheeky emerald lifeswarm makes an unusual appearance but it’s a great endless spell, so why the hell not? Another list archetype that in light of the forthcoming battleline rules will likely want to put way more points into battleline blobs (and Brutes stonks definitely go up due to their ability to steal objectives of n number of 1 wound infantry).
Allegiance: Maggotkin of Nurgle – Subfaction: Drowned Men – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Bloab Rotspawned (300)** – Lore of Malignance: Rancid Visitations – Lore of Malignance: Magnificent Buboes Festus the Leechlord (150)** – Lore of Malignance: Gift of Disease – Lore of Malignance: Cloying Quagmire Lord of Afflictions (210)** – General – Command Trait: Overpowering Stench – Artefact: The Splithorn Helm Orghotts Daemonspew (300)**
Battleline 20 x Plaguebearers (300)** – Reinforced x 1 2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)* 5 x Putrid Blightkings (250)* 5 x Putrid Blightkings (250)*
Core Battalions *Hunters of the Heartlands **Warlord
Danny: Nurgle, but they’re tried to avoid spam, bless ’em, by running the full gamut of battleline options and two giant walking filth piles. The usual Drowned Men sub-faction allows for pre-game movement to accelerate the hurt and pressure they can pile on. Blightking stonks – given they’re supremely tanky infantry models – are about to go WAY up.
Allegiance: Fyreslayers – Lodge: Greyfyrd – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Auric Runefather on Magmadroth (360)* – General – Command Trait: Blood of the Berzerker – Artefact: Master Rune of Unbreakable Resolve – Magmadroth Trait: Coal-heart Ancient Auric Runemaster (125)* – Artefact: Volatile Brazier – Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal Auric Flamekeeper (90)* Auric Runeson (80)* – Ancestral War-axe – Artefact: Axe of Grimnir Battlesmith (150)* – Artefact: Nulsidian Icon
Battleline 10 x Hearthguard Berzerkers (320)** – Broadaxes – Reinforced x 1 15 x Hearthguard Berzerkers (480)** – Poleaxes – Reinforced x 2 10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (170)** 10 x Vulkite Berzerkers with Fyresteel Handaxes (170)*
Endless Spells & Invocations Runic Fyrewall (55)
Core Battalions *Warlord **Hunters of the Heartlands
Danny: Good to see Fyreslayers continue to find their bare, sooty, blood-stained feet, with a list here mixing up bezerkers with go-wide Vulkites. Hoo boy is THIS kinda list about to get a lot scarier with the new 1/2″ double rank rule. The single ‘Droth will always be a great option, and the suite of Fyreslayer heroes throw out a panoply of buffs that keep the swathes of battleline very much alive, and frenziedly kicking (and chopping)!
Sunshine Coast Open took place in England, UK on 11th and 12th June. It involved 74 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Declan: To say Seraphon have done well in AoS3 is an understatement of the year. Chris has not taken Thunder Lizard, but has gone for magic. In order to compensate for the slightly reduction in survivability there’s an Incarnate! I don’t know how many of these we’ll see but they are nigh on impossible to kill in one turn (there are a few ‘instant kill’ abilities that can do it). It’ll be interesting how many Incarnate’s we’ll see given their high price point.
If I do play one soon I’ll be able to add some additional comments!! Well done to Chris – Seraphon may be the best army out there (or perhaps second), but to take them to a 5-0 still requires a high level of skill.
Allegiance: Nighthaunt – Procession: Scarlet Doom – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Bloodthirsty
Leaders Krulghast Cruciator (150)* – General – Command Trait: Cloaked in Shadow Guardian of Souls (150)* – Lore of the Underworlds: Seal of Shyish Spirit Torment (115)* – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of the Underworlds: Shademist
Battleline 30 x Bladegheist Revenants (525)* – Reinforced x 2 10 x Bladegheist Revenants (175)* 10 x Bladegheist Revenants (175)* 6 x Spirit Hosts (250)* – Reinforced x 1
Matt rocks up undefeated with what must be the new Nighthaunt… how do I know – he’s got the Black Coach and is taking Nighthaunt! From one player in the UK with the Coach to three in one list at the Champions event this weekend, things have certainly changed for the ghostly bois!
No crossbow lads for Matt despite GW trying to flog them; but he has gone Bladegheists instead – and loads of them. They must be good to have gone 4-1-0 and the debuffs to opponents will be helping to keep them alive.
Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin – Enclave: Ionrach – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: None
Leaders Lotann, Warden of the Soul Ledgers (115)* Akhelian Thrallmaster (110)** Akhelian King (250)* – General – Bladed Polearm – Command Trait: Unstoppable Fury – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Mount Trait: Voidchill Darkness – Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Battleline 3 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (195)* 3 x Akhelian Morrsarr Guard (195)* 20 x Namarti Reavers (340)* – Reinforced x 1 10 x Namarti Reavers (170)** 10 x Namarti Reavers (170)** 10 x Namarti Thralls (130)** 10 x Namarti Thralls (130)** 3 x Akhelian Ishlaen Guard (195)*
Faction Terrain Gloomtide Shipwreck
Total Points: 2,000
Declan Hazel has taken another of the new army releases, and like my recent comments there are reavers and thralls… lots of them! The reavers are the shooty ones, and although they have shorter range than the LRL Sentinels, they do move — and quick! — so expect them to grab some objectives whilst shooting you off the board.
It’s good to see different armies emerging since the release of the new book, but I would much prefer to see better internal balance (like Seraphon), than the famine & feast of the last two IDK books. Great work by Hazel!
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz – Option: Glogg’s Megamob – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Dankhold Troggboss – Trev (240)* – General – Command Trait: Shepard of Idiotic Destruction – Artefact: Aetherquartz-studded Hide Fungoid Cave-Shaman – Freddie the Fungoid (95)** – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork Madcap Shaman – Madcap Max (80)** – Artefact: Moonface Mommet – Lore of the Moonclans: Itchy Nuisance Breaka-Boss on Mirebrute Troggoth – Mr Marvin Brute (180)* – Allies
Battleline 6 x Rockgut Troggoths (290)*** – Reinforced x 1 6 x Rockgut Troggoths (290)*** – Reinforced x 1 3 x Fellwater Troggoths (155)*** 3 x Fellwater Troggoths (155)**
Units 5 x Spider Riders (100)* 3 x Rippa’s Snarlfangs (70)* 1 x Marshcrawla Sloggoth – Drummer Dave (150)*
Behemoths Aleguzzler Gargant – Gary (165)*
Endless Spells & Invocations The Burning Head – Steve the Swamp Trogg (20)
Core Battalions *Battle Regiment **Warlord ***Hunters of the Heartlands
Declan – Peter has clearly listened to my comments about his last secret pick and gone down the list somewhat. And I’m surprised he only had to get to 10th to get a Gitz list. Dominic managed the holy grail of 2 draws… a result that’s probably rarer than a straight 5-0; and all with Troggs. As Stuart Hodges (Trogg) will tell us – Troggs are the best and Dominic has proven this with a Trogg list whose only allies are the Marshcrawler and MireBrute. This means it’s all Troggs, all the time.
To cement my opinion of Dominic being a genius amongst Troggs, he’s also got an Aleguzzler, Rippas & Spider Riders. Remember the Aleguzzler falls over on any double to charge (welcome back to AoS1… which everyone thought dead!) and Spider Riders with poison arrows in the fluff — but none anywhere near the army. I think the lads leave them at home to prevent friendly fire. Great list, and a frankly superb result. Well done Dominic — and more of these please Peter!
San Diego Open took place in California, USA on 11th and 12th June. It involved 74 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Danny: Sometimes a Seraphon list comes along that makes me do a little ‘whoop’ because it has something new to talk about! This list has the usual core HQ, but goes off piste by taking 6 Terradons! These super fast moving (16″) ‘tiny dragons’ pop up here and there because they can drop a once per game d3 mw bomb (aka ‘rocks’) over a unit they move over on a 4+. So a unit of 6 can zoom over something important and do an average of 6 mws. It even packs the Terradon Chief who makes the Terradons do their MWs on a 2+ instead of a 4+. That changes the maths to (checks calculations…) a boat load! 2 cheap-as-chips Ark Bastiladons form a durable objective grabbing core while the rest does what Seraphon do. But props for an unusual list that no doubt caught a few people off-guard on the way to 5-0.
List name: Definitely not Gavin’s 2022 LVO list
Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar – City: Living City – Mortal Realm: Ghyran – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Doralia ven Denst (115)* Sorceress (95)* – General – Command Trait: Master of Magic – Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact) – Lore of Leaves: Ironoak Skin Freeguild General (100)* – City Role: General’s Adjutant
Battleline 30 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (315)* – Reinforced x 2 See it is different! He took crossbows. 10 x Freeguild Handgunners (105)* 10 x Dreadspears (90)* – City Role: Honoured Retinue (Must be 5-20 models)
Units 4 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (460)** – Reinforced x 1 4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)** – Drakerider’s Lance – Reinforced x 1
Core Battalions *Battle Regiment **Hunters of the Heartlands
Danny: It’s hard to write about Cities lists, mainly because they have so many damn options. As you might guess from the list name, this one has been tried and tested and revolves around the great Living City trait of shooting units being able to move after shooting, which makes them all surprisingly fast and agile, and no doubt leads to many shenanigans and gnashing of teeth and whiffing of charges. Doralia also makes a cameo for wizard sniping, there’s a Sorceress for very cheap magic support, and a few other little tricks. Oh yeah, and 4 Fulminators and 4 Stormdrake Guard. Just a little kicker there. Just imagining playing this list gives me more of a headache than trying to remember what all the random cities units do!
Army Faction: Cities of Sigmar – Army Type: Living City – Grand Strategy: Mighty Beachhead – Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage (280)* – Spells: Lifesurge Celestant-Prime (325)** Celestial Hurricanum with Celestial Battlemage (280)** – General – Command Traits: Master of Magic – Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome – Spells: Ironoak Skin
BATTLELINE Longbeards (105)* – Ancestral Weapon and Gromril Shield Longbeards (105)* – Ancestral Weapon and Gromril Shield Longbeards (105)** – Ancestral Weapon and Gromril Shield
Danny: pops some headache meds Ok, another 5-0 Cities list with a bunch of odd units that synergise in a hundred ways I’m probably missing. At a glance, it’s a really smart list already – a sneaky unit of Khinerai who can now drop out of reserves, fire then move 6″ make for some very cheeky objective grabbers, while the Fulminators and Celestant Prime offer pure, fast moving hammers who wouldn’t have a huge amount of trouble taking down a gargant by themselves. Then there’s the artillery – 3 Celestial Hurricanums – who on top bracket roll 3 dice each and do d3 mortals on a 2+ and give out a 10″ +1 hit aura each – that’s a lot of CP saved with careful positioning over the course of a game. The Longbeards are a tanky battleline choice at a budget cost of 105 too. Is it thematic though? Is it fuck, dwarves would be well sus of all that human magic flying over their heads!
Allegiance: Bonesplitterz – Warclan: Drakkfoot – Grand Strategy: Get Dem Bones! – Triumphs:
Leaders Savage Big Boss (65)** – General – Command Trait: Great Hunter Wurrgog Prophet (150)** – Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry Wurrgog Prophet (150)** – Artefact: Mork’s Boney Bitz – Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry
Battleline 10 x Savage Orruk Morboys (155)* 10 x Savage Orruk Morboys (155)* 10 x Savage Orruks (165)* – Chompas
Units 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80) 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)** 2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)
Endless Spells & Invocations The Burning Head (20)
Core Battalions *Hunters of the Heartlands **Warlord
Danny: Big. Stabbas. Lots. And Lots. Of. Big. Stabbas. I don’t normally applaud spam lists but going 4-1 at a major with Savage Orruks right now – no Big Chadnos in sight! – is definitely a feat. Props to the double Wurrgog too for what assuredly would be a series of hilarious staring contests and heart-stopping dice rolls (for this list’s opponents).
It’s clever, but it is hilarious. And bloody successful!
On Reddit Warhammer 40k has the Meta Mondays posted by the brilliant u/JCMS85 on r/WarhammerCompetitive. So why can’t we have one for AoS? Well we can….
Here are the stats for all the Grand Tournaments that have taken place between Monday 6th June and Sunday 12th June 2022. These are all the GT’s that I can locate on Tabletop.to or BestCoastPairing, if you know of any others please send me a link and I’ll add them.
There was a total of 10 Grand Tournaments last week, however only 9 had data available to analyse. Valleycon 2022 was a 26 player tournament but no lists were available at the time of publishing these stats.
286 players took part in 10 GT’s over the last week.
Grand Alliance
Win Rate
Armies
% Share of Armies
5-0 Wins
4+ Wins
Chaos
54.5%
56
19.6%
2
13
Order
51.0%
119
41.6%
6
22
Death
46.6%
48
16.8%
1
7
Destruction
46.1%
56
22.0%
0
5
Faction Stats
The below stat show the results for those factions represented by 5 armies or more only.
Faction
Win Rate
Armies
% Share of Armies
5-0 Wins
0-5 Losses
Seraphon
66.2%
13
2.27%
3
1
Legion of the First Prince
65.0%
8
1.40%
0
0
Maggotkin of Nurgle
58.6%
21
3.67%
2
0
Idoneth Deepkin
58.5%
11
1.92%
1
0
Soulblight Gravelords
57.7%
13
2.27%
1
0
Cities of Sigmar
57.0%
10
1.75%
2
0
Daughters of Khaine
56.4%
14
2.45%
0
1
Lumineth Realm-Lords
52.1%
10
1.75%
0
0
Ironjawz
50.8%
13
2.27%
0
0
Sons of Behemat
48.5%
14
2.45%
0
1
Ogor Mawtribes
47.2%
11
1.92%
0
0
Nighthaunt
46.7%
21
3.67%
0
2
Stormcast Eternals
45.0%
43
7.52%
0
3
Kruleboyz
44.3%
11
1.92%
0
1
Sylvaneth
40.0%
5
0.87%
0
1
Hedonites of Slaanesh
38.3%
6
1.05%
0
0
Skaventide
37.9%
7
1.22%
0
0
Fyreslayers
34.4%
9
1.57%
0
1
Ossiarch Bonereapers
31.1%
11
1.92%
0
1
Gloomspite Gitz
30.0%
6
1.05%
0
1
Despite Nighthaunt and Daughters of Khaine being released now for a couple of weeks, we still see Seraphon, Legion of the First Prince and Maggotkin of Nurgle topping the win rates. On top of that Seraphon managed to grab three 5-0 results this week.
As a rough guide factions should have win rates of between 45-55% to ensure the game is roughly balance (true balance being impossible). The above shows that 7 factions have exceeded this band (including the new Daughters of Khaine) with Seraphon and Legion of the First Prince have exceeded the 60% win rate barrier. There are also seven factions below this ideal range, including one of the new battletomes for 3rd Edition (Fyreslayers). While Stormcast Eternals have a win rate of 45% we have to bear in mind that this is the most popular faction and is often the ones new players use when first playing Age of Sigmar, so the range of skill of the players inside this faction will vary widely, while many of the other faction will have a dedicated fan base or have tournament players looking for a faction that provides them the best chance at good results.
Subfaction Stats
The below stat show the results for those subfactions represented by 5 armies or more only.
Faction
Subfaction
Win Rate
Armies
5-0 Wins
0-5 Losses
Seraphon
Thunder Lizard
67.3%
11
2
1
Maggotkin of Nurgle
Drowned Men
65.5%
11
1
0
Legion of the First Prince
65.0%
8
0
0
Lumineth Realm-Lords
Zaitrec
60.9%
5
0
0
Idoneth Deepkin
Nautilar
58.6%
6
0
0
Cities of Sigmar
Living City
58.3%
6
2
0
Nighthaunt
Scarlet Doom
54.3%
7
0
0
Daughters of Khaine
Zainthar Kai
54.3%
7
0
0
Soulblight Gravelords
Vyrkos Dynasty
53.3%
6
0
0
Sons of Behemat
Breaker Tribe
53.1%
10
0
0
Stormcast Eternals
Astral Templars
50.0%
6
0
0
Stormcast Eternals
Hammers of Sigmar
49.1%
23
0
1
Ironjawz
Bloodtoofs
44.2%
9
0
0
Kruleboyz
Big Yellers
43.4%
8
0
1
Hedonites of Slaanesh
Lurid Haze
42.0%
5
0
0
Nighthaunt
Emerald Host
41.5%
13
0
2
Fyreslayers
Greyfyrd
38.6%
7
0
0
Skaventide
37.9%
7
0
0
Stormcast Eternals
Hallowed Knights
35.6%
9
0
1
Ossiarch Bonereapers
Petrifex Elite
32.3%
10
0
1
Gloomspite Gitz
24.0%
5
0
1
The faction stats are pretty much replicated above with Lumineth Realm-Lords/Zaitrec joining the +60% club this week. Meanwhile despite Anthony Trentanelli’s heroics with Skaven recently (claiming two GT’s and going 4-1 this week) they still sit below 45% with a miserable 37.9% win rate. Will their new battletome and the Generals Handbook see a change in this though? A new tome can’t come soon enough for Gloomspite Gitz and Ossiarch Bonereapers….
Bugeater AoS GT took place in Nebraska, USA on 4th and 5th June. It involved 19 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament.
Before I jump into the Top Three, I wanted to remind everyone of our friendly Discord server where you can join in the conversation with the Woehammer crew and suggest articles or series for the website.
Also if there’s a one day or two day tournament you’d like us to cover drop us a comment on this post and we’ll have a look at it for you.
Army Faction: Maggotkin of Nurgle – Army Subfaction: Befouling Host – Grand Strategy: Beast Master – Triumphs: Inspired
CORE BATTALIONS: * Battle Regiment ** Hunters of the Heartlands
TOTAL POINTS: (1990/2000)
Peter: A bit different to your usual Nurgle lists, but no less deadly! This list relies on building up Contagion Points so that you can summon in units onto the battlefield – in this case, that’s likely to be even more Beasts of Nurgle! Mainly because Horticulous will allow you to set up a third Gnarlmaw, as well as give all those cute Beasts of Nurgle re-rolls on their charges and +1 to hit rolls on their attacks. Sloppity can then give them +1 on their wound rolls to boot!
Army Faction: Disciples of Tzeentch – Army Subfaction: Hosts Arcanum – Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
LEADER Kairos Fateweaver (435)* – Spells: Bolt of Tzeentch Changecaster (135)* – General – Command Traits: Spell Hunters – Staff of Change and Arcane Tome – Spells: Tzeentch’s Firestorm The Blue Scribes (135)* – Spells: Fold Reality Be’lakor (360)** Ogroid Thaumaturge (165)** – Artefacts: The Fanged Circlet – Spells: Arcane Suggestion
BATTLELINE Kairic Acolytes (115)* – Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield Kairic Acolytes (115)* – Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield Kairic Acolytes (115)** – Cursed Blade and Arcanite Shield Horrors of Tzeentch (Pink) (250)** – Split and Split Again
ENDLESS SPELL Chronomantic Cogs (45) Umbral Spellportal (70) Tome of Eyes (55)
Peter: Lots of magic to contend with here. Starting with Big Bird who can cast and unbind 3 spells as well as knowing any spells of friendly wizards within 18″, which includes the Changecasters Pink Fire of Tzeentch which can cause D6 mortals on a single enemy model within 18″, this combined with the Changecasters Tzeentch’s Firestorm (fishing D3 mortals on 6’s with 9 dice!) – means between them, they’re a good monster killer (a good anything-killer really). Then you’ve got the Umbral Spellportal to extend the range of all these mortal wound dealing spells by another 18″. Chronomantic Cogs will potentially add +3 spells across those casters. While they’re sniping away with those mortals you’ll find summoned units popping up everywhere.
Army Faction: Gloomspite Gitz – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
LEADER Kragnos (720) Dankhold Troggboss (240)* – General – Command Traits: Alpha Trogg – Artefacts: Arcane Tome – Spells: Levitate
BATTLELINE 1 x Rockgut Troggoths (290)* Rockgut Troggoths (145)* 1 x Fellwater Troggoths (310)* Rockgut Troggoths (145)*
OTHER Marshcrawla Sloggoth (150)*
CORE BATTALIONS: *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (2000/2000)
Peter: Troggs, your time is coming (if the cover of the GHB 2022 is anything to go by). This list is fairly simple but effective. Kragnos will do much of the heavy lifting but the Troggs are no slouches when it comes to combat especially when combined with the Marshcrawla Sloggoth who gives them +1 to their hits, Kragnos who’ll give them a charge buff and the Dankhold who’ll allow them to re-roll 1’s to hit.
Army Faction: Blades of Khorne – Army Subfaction: Reapers of Vengeance – Grand Strategy: Beastmaster – Triumph: Inspired
LEADER Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)** Skarbrand (380) Slaughterpriest (110)* – Prayer: Blood Sacrifice Bloodsecrator (125)* – General – Command Trait: The Mage Eater – Artefact: Skullshard Mantle Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280)* Bloodthirster of Unfettered Fury (295)* – Artefact: The Crimson Crown
UNITS 1 x Razorgors (55)* 1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95)*** – Allies 1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95)*** – Allies 1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95)*** – Allies 10 x Bloodreavers (80)** 10 x Bloodreavers (80)** 10 x Bloodreavers (80)**
CORE BATTALIONS: *Warlord **Vanguard ***Hunters of the Heartlands
ADDITIONAL ENHANCEMENTS Artefact
TOTAL POINTS: (1980/2000)
Peter: You’ll find the Bloodthirsters, Skarbrand and Daemon Prince running around trying to blend stuff while the rest of the army will essentially play back up and claim objectives. The Mindstealers are an interesting inclusion as they’ll subtract 2 from enemy bravery meaning the opponent should really suffer in the battleshock phase.
A few weeks ago I attended Rum and Rumble in the Realms, hosted by the Honest Wargamer crew in their TSports arena. It was a great event, but and out of 5 games there is one moment in particular which has stuck in my head. It is the story of a Madcap Shaman named Red Nosed Rodney, and the impossible challenge he took upon himself to deny me a single advantage and win the game.
The Grot who would be legend.
My opponent, the wonderful Filip Nica playing Gloomspite Gitz, needed to complete his battle tactic to win the game. He chose “Bring it Down!” meaning Morbidex Twiceborn, my extremely tanky monster, had to die this turn no matter what. If you’re familiar with Morbidex you know that taking him down from full health in a single turn (as a gitz player) is pretty difficult. He has 12 wounds, a 3+ save and Nurgle’s standard 5+ ward save. Worse, if you don’t manage to kill him by the battleshock phase he will rudely heal half of the wounds currently allocated to him! The cheek…
Filip was particularly concerned about me using all-out-defence to buff his 3+ Save even higher. He would be able to prevent this of course if he had a monster within range at the end of the charge phase to Roar at Morbidex, denying him to ability to use Command Abilities. The only problem was that his list had no monsters, and thus could not use any monstrous actions. In true Gitz fashion however, Filip concocted a plan that was so convoluted, so sneaky and so unlikely to succeed that it was practically doomed to fail.
So just kill this? Easy, right?
First of all he cast Metamorphosis on Rodney, which temporarily gave him the Monster keyword. An odd choice, I thought at the time, since the Madcap Shaman is a 4 wound hero with a 6+ Save who had already taken a wound from disease points earlier in the game and was blocked from engaging with any enemy units or contesting an objective by a dense scrum of his own Rockgut Troggoths. Regardless, I tried to unbind it and failed. I tried again, with my singular reroll for the phase, and failed again. Thus, the wheels of his evil engine were put into motion…
Next Filip cast Levitate. This would allow Rodney to leap over his own unit of Troggs and put him within striking distance of Morbidex. Now I began to see the true shape of my opponent’s dark design. Again, I attempted to unbind but failed. I should point out here that Filip hadn’t been rolling particularly well on his casts, but I had rolled worse. Despite this statistical improbability however success was still far from a certainty. Rodney would still need to roll a successful charge over the 2-model deep formation of Troggs and land in a tiny gap between Morbidex and my Plaguebearers. Following a slight change in positioning in the movement phase, the Shaman was ready, but measuring revealed he needed to roll at least an 8 with no bonuses. Disaster struck! His roll failed by only a couple of inches leaving him out of position for the final and most important step in the plan. Luckily, Filip was sitting on a seemingly endless supply of command points (seriously, he couldn’t seem to spend them fast enough) and rerolled that failed roll into a respectable 9.
Rodney’s new view of the action (recreated).
As the 25mm Shaman slipped snugly into a tiny gap next to the 100mm Morbidex’s left shin we were both grinning. This brave little grot, only 80 points, was about to accomplish the un-accomplishable and let loose a roar of such terrifying ferocity that the half-daemon Morbidex who was fully three times the size of the Shaman (even without taking into account his giant Maggoth Beast mount) would completely bottle it, leaving himself vulnerable to a killing blow!
Then my opponent failed his roar by rolling a 2.
It didn’t matter of course. It never did. My opponent’s Rockguts pounded Morbidex into a sticky paste, completed their battle tactic, claimed the objective and handily won the whole game. I did manage to kill Rodney but it was more of an afterthought by that point since he had failed to serve his (ultimately meaningless) purpose and was no longer necessary.
But weeks later I’m still thinking of that green little man. That legend of the Gitz. That wonderful fool who underwent a full body transformation into a monstrous (but still pint sized) form, flew across the battlefield on mystical currents, dared to land by the wretched heel of a 15 foot tall feral predator emitting a constant miasma of death and decay and bravely squeak out an unimpressive “grahhh…”
Probability is the backbone of wargaming. Almost nothing in a wargame is guaranteed and an unfortunate dice roll can transform the greatest of heroes into blundering jesters. Was my opponent’s play a good one? Statistically: definitely not. There were so many opportunities to fail, and he did. But this man clearly loves the game, loves his army and we both agreed – it was the right play for the Gitz. It was sneaky, cunnin’ and most importantly it was practically destined to fail. What could be more true to the spirit of the Gloomspite than that?
I salute you, or at least what remains of you, flattened smear that used to be Red Nosed Rodney – the Madcap Shaman. King of my heart. Battlefield tactician extraordinaire. Beautiful fool.
