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Battle Report, Games Workshop, Lehann, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Written Battle Report: Shadowkeepers vs Thousand Sons

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Preface:

At time of playing/writing, Custodes are yet to recieve their well deserved nerfs. This game was an exercise in trying to build a game that would be enjoyable for my opponent, by building weaknesses that he can attack and interact with into the army, without building a completely useless force that neither of us would enjoy. Sadly finding this middle ground is an exercise that I have had to repeat with some regularity lately. This author at least, is waiting for the promised balance dataslate with great hope and anticipation.

That said, going into this battle I set myself some army building ground rules to make sure my opponent has a fun game facing the horrendousness that is the current Custodes book. No Trajann, no bikes outside the single bike captain, and since I have no desire to see my mortal dependent Thousand Son’s opponent cry, no Emperor’s Chosen 4+++ vs mortals.

With that in mind, I built a joint Shadowkeepers and Sisters of Silence force. The further I got into building this list, the more the idea of a Witchseeker force thrown together for an expedition into Thousand Sons controlled space to recover a relic to serve the shadowy agenda of the Shadowkeeper Shield Captain started to appeal to me. So the narrative was born.

Shadowkeepers

  • Leader of the Host: Eorl the Young, Shield Captain on Dawneagle Jetbike, titled the Lockwarden, of Superior Creation, carrying the Stasis Oubliette. Tip of the spear of the offensive against the witches.
  • Unstoppable Destroyer Fëanor, Shield Captain in the Praetorian Plate Terminator Armour, famed for his ironclad Impregnable Mind.
  • Knight Centura Elbereth, Mistress of Persecution, carrying the Excruciatus Flamer.
  • The Centura leads 5 prosecutors, 9 Witchseekers and an Anathema Psykana Rhino to the expeditionary force.
  • 2 squads of Sagittarum Custodes, a lone Allarus Custodian, one squad of Venatari, one squad of Wardens of the Vaults make up the body of the host.
  • When word of the possible presence of Magnus reaches Eorl, he requests the honoured entombed to walk. 4 ancient names answers his call. Elendil and Isildur, Galatus pattern, and Gil-Galad and Elrohir, Achillus pattern will stride the witching world.

Thousand Sons

  • Responding to the hated presence of the null-maidens and the unwelcome tread of auric boots on the witching world, Magnus himself descends to the field.
  • From the mists rise 2 squads of 5 rubric marines and a squad of 10
  • 2 squads of 5 Scarab Occult Terminators grind to their primarch’s side.
  • 10 Tzaangors make their braying appearance
  • Ahriman and 2 sorcerers marshal the Rubricae.

Mission:

We are playing mission 22 Conversion from the Nachmund 2022 mission pack.

Secondaries:

  • Custodes: Assassinate, Stranglehold, Abhor the witch
  • Thousand Sons: Raise Banners, Stranglehold, Psychic Interrogation

Turn 1

We both deployed relatively conservatively, his Terminators and Rubrics in the North outside of the charge range of my dreadnoughts and the pistols of the Venatari. My Witchseekers and Knight Centura start in the rhino. My katah’s are Calistus, Dacatarai, Kaptaris. I won the roll off to go first.

In my command phase I activate the Calistus stance to roll 2D6 drop one for advances. I advance my single allarus terminator onto the middle objective, fly my venatari up to touch the north west objective and advance the other sagittarum squad into the ruins behind them. My south west saggitarum walk up to my home objective to draw a bead on the rubrics opposite. The dreadnoughts, wardens and prosecutors shuffle around so I can keep hiding some infantry pieces to throw out one per turn onto the centre. The achillus dreadnoughts draw lines of sight on the top Scarab squad. I position the north galatus slightly forward of the rest, so I have a closest dreadnought to eat the smites and hopefully absorb a bunch of hate with the 5++ vs mortals strat.

The witchseekers get out of the rhino, get a big six on their advance to flood his south eastern objective. I fully expect them to get slaughtered next turn, but they have 2 very important objectives. Kill the tzaangors to prevent my opponent from gumming up the centre, and shut down his banner. They set up at maximum distance from the Tzaangors, with the Centura right behind to provide her auras. After disembark I throw the rhino forward to hopefully touch the 10 man rubrics and force my opponent to divert some of his central units to deal with the sisters.

The witchseekers immolate the tzaangors utterly, and the Centura picks up 2 rubrics with her Excruciatus flamer. My southern Sagittarum account for one more. On the North Side my sagittarum, Galatus and 2 Achillus dreads manage to pick up 4 rubric marines and 2 scarab terminators. In the charge phase my rhino manages to touch his southern rubrics, and is slapped for 2 wounds as a reward.

In his turn my opponent brings Magnus and his sorcerers forward to deal with the dreadnoughts. I explain the Praetorian Plate counts-as-4-obsec-models-teleporting captain’s shenanigans, which leads to some deliberation on where he wants to commit. He ends up playing fairly cagey, not moving into the middle yet until he’s dealt with my dreadnoughts. Rubrics raise a banner on his home objective. He lines up his middle scarab squad to deal with the witchseekers, and positions Magnus and the 2 sorcerers with lines of sight to my dreadnoughts. I help him measure out to make sure no model is in range of more than 1 sister’s squad debuff, and he keeps his psychic interrogation sorcerer just outside of the terminator captain’s deny.

Now all set to smite the unworthy from his sight, he gets to work. The centre scarab terminators get +1 to hit, the north terminators get -1 to hit and a 4++ invulnerable save. The bottom rubrics smite a couple of wounds off of the rhino. The allarus terminator takes 2 wounds, and after spending a CP to give my Galatus a 5+++ against mortals, a deny on a low smite, and some (un)lucky rolls he takes 4 wounds, down to 5. He tears secrets from the mind of my bike captain for 3 points.

I was expecting to lose at least the Galatus dreadnought here, so I feel quite lucky thus far. He spends CP to power up his central terminators and take aim at the witchseekers. He hands me 9 5+ saves on my 9 sisters. I figure if I make even one or two and force him to commit a bit more here, that would be quite nice.

Welp.

The rest of his shooting removes the allarus terminator on the central objective and knock another wound off my galatus, 4 remaining.

We both scored 2 on the mission, End of Turn 1, he got 3 on psychic interrogation, I got 3 on stranglehold.

Custodes 5: 5 Thousand Sons.

Turn 2

Time to roll the dice. I get my 8 on primary. I move out most of my forces into the open. If this turn flubs I’m going to be very exposed, smack bang in mortal range of a whole lot of hurt. He does not have whole lot of things standing between me and his characters, and if I get to them I can hopefully cripple his output. The three dreadnoughts in the middle charge forward, one of them getting reroll wounds of 1 from Wisdom of the Moritoi. My prosecutors move into the middle objective to get my stranglehold and to cover his whole northern force in the -1 psychic bubble. My shield captain moves as far forward as he can to give himself options into the characters if I manage to kill the scarabs. Northern sagittarum and Venatari moves into range of the scarabs. The southern Galatus moves forward to have something that can punch his final scarab squad next turn.

The scarabs evaporate in a storm of adrathic and kinetic destroyer fire straight through their layered defenses. The bike captain has free reign now, and puts 6 wounds onto his demon prince thanks to Lockwarden. In the south the knight centura picks up another 2 rubrics. I’m starting to suspect this flamer may actually be good.

The bike captain and the Galatus charges Ahriman, and he gets spitted immediately on the Interceptor lance. The Galatus consolidates into the foot sorcerer. I breathe an immense sigh of relief. Downing Ahriman is huge! I still have nightmares from a game with the 8th ed. Custodes dex, where Ahriman solo took down a full health Telemon straight through his 5++ vs mortals. Not this time Ahriman. This time you can sit down nerd.

I get my 3 stranglehold, 7 on abhor and 3 on assassinate. I’ve done a lot of damage, and taking down Ahriman (one of his main damage dealers) feels big. Now we just need to weather the storm.

He scores 8 on primary. He positions Magnus, the sorcerers and the demon prince to deal with the Galatus and bike captain. His centre scarabs walk up to kill the prosecutors and take the middle. He needs a big psychic phase here, and possibly a big melee phase. I fully expect to lose the captain and the galatus, and hopefully no more than one of the achillus to still be in good shape.

What follows is one of the worst psychic phases I have ever had the (mis)fortune to witness. Through cabal points and copious rerolls the man still managed to perils three times. Fortunately one was on Magnus, who cannot suffer perils of the warp. Between the prosecutors debuff, a very lucky 4+ deny and the impregnable mind captain flexing his rock hard brain, he only managed to reduce the bike captain to a single wound and the galatus to 2. The scarab terminators handily cleared the middle of prosecutors in a hail of inferno fire. (We later determined that he only managed to shoot a single soulreaper volley all game between the 4 guns in the list . He either killed his target with the bolters or lost the wielder before it got to shoot)

My knight centura finally succumbs to the rubrics in the south east.

Fight phase, make or break time.

Magnus charges the Galatus and the captain. The demon prince flies over the swirling melee to land behind the bike captain. The disc sorcerer lends his staff to finally killing the bike captain. Very unhappy with the shifting balance of power in the centre, the praetorian plate captain activates his teleporter to appear between the disc sorcerer and the demon prince.

The bike captain makes Magnus fight last. I’m hopeful of tanking the demon prince in the face, but I have no intention of losing the Galatus and the bike captain to a single model activating before either get to swing.

The demon prince roars and swings and falls flat on his ugly face against the combination of – 1 attack and only wounding on 4’s from arcane generic alchemy. Only 2 saves to make, and the bike captain has no intention of dying to some jumped up blue johnny. He swings back with half of his attacks (Conniving Plate says hi) and eviscerates the demon prince (turns out no invulnerable saves are very good against a 3++ for a turn. Who knew?). Magnus splits his attention between the Galatus and the captain. The captain finally goes down, but – 1 to hit from the Galatus shield, no rerolls from emperors auspice and a very lucky 4++ sees him shrug off the blade of Magnus. He only rolls a 1 on the extra mortals, and the Galatus lives on 1 wound. The sorcerer on disk swings and bounces of the Plate terminator captain. The Galatus puts all his attacks into the sorcerer he piled into the previous turn, reducing him to mist with 12 unsaved damage. The allarus captain decapitates the sorcerer on disk

End of the turn and all is dust. Unfortunately for my opponent, just not the kind that resides in gold and blue armour.

Somehow I ended up doing more damage to him on his own turn. Shadowkeepers are real good guys, especially if your opponent suddenly forgets how to do mortals with his psychic army.

I max out my abhor the witch in a single turn, go up to 12 on assassinate. My opponent got his 3 on psychic interrogation and 3 on stranglehold. We both got 2 on the mission. After the dust has settled (hehe) I scored 40 points this turn. Abhor the witch is totally a fair and balanced secondary, nothing to see here.

Custodes 45 : 22 Thousand sons

Turn 3

We roll out the fight vs Magnus and the terminators in the middle to see if any magic happen, but at this point the writing is on the wall. We both put our armies out there to go for the back breaking turn, but my back is only very lightly bruised.

Final score Custodes 100 : 62 Thousand Sons

Elrohir the Achillus puts his spear through the heart of the demon primarch, earning a name on his first outing as part of my army. The last scarabs are overwhelmed. The Shadowkeepers walk tactically victorious from the field, but with Eorl the Young severely wounded, and his entire sisters contingent dead, dying or otherwise incapacitated the Shield host’s strategic goals have been stymied. For now…

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Rogue Trader, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Tale of Painters – March 22′

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March is out of the way, so it’s time to look at how we’ve all got on at Woehammer with our respective goals and painting pledges this month.

In alphabetical order let’s start with…..

Dave (@hamsfan)

Peter: Dave’s made a rather sinister looking chariot for his Slaves to Darkness. I love the snow bases Dave goes for with pops of static grass and flowers. The colour scheme is great and I can’t wait to see Dave’s army in the flesh.

CellExpert Level Goal:Miniature Painted
A4Unit of 2+ Models (Warhammer 40K)Heavy Weapons Team
C2Vehicle of Monster (Warhammer 40K)Basilisk
C3Any Model (Any System)Chariot
E3Fortification of Scenery (Age of Sigmar)Temple

So that brings Dave up to 40 points for the year with all four at the Expert Level.

Declan (@declanandeeyore)

Peter: I said you’d been busy last month when you had finished three units, now you’ve gone and smashed that with 9 units this month! That’s an incredible pace and great quality to go with it. It was a shame I never got to use the Kruleboyz you painted up at Burning Skies. The Genestealer pose always makes me think he’s replicating the smart GIF, love it!

You’ve also managed to paint the great pile of horsemeat Kragnos up as well in the same month, that’s a massive boxed ticked for th e Bingo card. Well done, he looks great! I especially love the bronze metal.

CellExpert Level Goal:Miniature Painted
A1Hero or Character (Warhammer 40K)Broodlord
A2Unit of 5+ Models (Age of Sigmar)Man-Skewer Boltboyz
A4Unit of 2+ Models (Warhammer 40k)Big Stabba
B1Fortification or Scenery (Warhammer 40K)Sector Mechanicus
B2Unit of 2+ Models (Age of Sigmar)Big Stabba
C1Hero or Character (Age of Sigmar)Killaboss with Stab-Grot
C3Any Model (Any System)Warmaster Squigs
C4Unit of 5+ Models (Kill Team)Termagaunts
C5Hero or Character (Age of Sigmar)Murknob with Belcha-Banna
D1Kitbashed Model (Age of Sigmar)Big Stabba
D2Unit of 2+ Models (Age of Sigmar)Man-Skewer Boltboyz
E1Lord of War or Behemoth (AoS)Kragnos

This brings Declan to 120 points and 11 at Expert Level.

Ed (@Dreadmund)

Peter: Ed has been working on some scenery for AoS. I’m in awe of anyone who can sculpt, these nurgle pustules look disgusting, great job!

Peter (@woehammer)

MonthModels Painted/SoldModels Acquired/BoughtMonths Total
Jan638+32 Unpainted
Feb2513-12 Unpainted
Mar10–-10 Unpainted

Peter: Not much for me this month as life got in the way of hobby! But I’ve maintained one of my goals this month which is to paint more than I bought!

CellExpert Level Goal:Miniature Painted
A3Unit of 10+ Models (AoS)Hobgrots
B2Unit of 2+ Models (AoS)Man-Skewer Boltboyz
B4Vehicle or Monster (AoS)Swampboss Skummdrekk
B5Unit of 10+ Models (AoS)Hobgrots
C1Hero or Character (AoS)Swampcalla Shaman
C3Any Model (Any System)Beast-Skewer Killbow
D2Unit of 2+ Models (Underworlds)Rippa’s Snarlfangs
E4Hero or Character (Warhammer 40K)Marneus Calgar

That brings me to 80 points and 8 Expert Level goals completed.

Rhys (@RhysSallabanks)

Peter: Rhys has been cracking on with his flesh-eater courts this month, and don’t they look great! That Ghoul is painted up to an expert standard and considering Rhys has only been painting for a couple of years its incredible, he’s like a miniature painter who’s been painting for 40!

Ryan

Peter: Ryan has been playing around with LED’s in his scenery this month and I think this only adds to what is already a superbly finished piece.

Steve (@Milford_Steve)

Peter: Steve has been busy once more, tying to get his Crimson Fists company completed. I absolutely love the Space Marine Ancient who is a copy of the space Marine holding an Ork head on the cover of Rogue Trader. Steve, like Declan can power through a pile of models in no time. I’d love to know what both of their back logs look like.

Tony

Peter: Tony has finished of the Crimson Court, and they really look the part in that scenery, the skin just screams vampire and the red armour contrasts nicely!

He’s also done some non- metallic gold on his Steelheart’s Champions for underworlds. Look at that sword!

Will (@WillHolley6)

Peter: Will has done a fantastic job of these OBR. I always like Red and cream as a combo and they are set off nicely by their red earth basing. They’ll look great en masse in an army. Will has also started some “Wet Elves”, I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the unit.

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Warscroll Review – Hobgrot Slittaz

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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.

Basic Info

Hobgrot Slittas painted by myself
Grand AllianceDestruction
BattletomeOrruk Warclans
SubfactionKruleboyz
Cost80 Points

I start my Warscroll Reviews with possibly the greatest unit inside Age of Sigmar, the Hobgrot Slittaz.

These are the cheapest unit available to a Kruleboyz only army, without including allies. At 80 points, they work out as 8 points per model with a single wound each.

For that 80 points you get a surprising amount of attacks which include short range missile attacks and melee.

Army Role

As they’re so cheap, they make great throwaway units that can be used as with Supa Sneaky to move them on to battlefield objectives further up the table or within shooting range of the enemy to harass and pick away wounds.

They can be used as screens, but with their low bravery and save they won’t last long to any determined attacker and you may need to use All Part of Da Plan if you’re able to, to stop them running.

As a chaff unit they’re the cheapest unit you can buy for your army that includes the Kruleboyz keyword. However there are other alternatives if you’re willing to spend a few more points. For example, Gloomspite Gitz Shootas, who have more resilience with twenty models but less damage output at four wounds per turn as opposed to eight from the Hobgrots. They also cost more at 140 points for a unit and you’re having to use some of your allies points that you may want to use elsewhere.

Combinations

Killaboss units are able to use their skill All part of da plan with Hobgrot Slittas, allowing them to only lose 1 model to battleshock if they’re within 3″. This is useful if they’re being used as a tarpit against a model you want locked in combat, otherwise you’re likely to use this skill on your other Kruleboyz Orruk units.

Kruleboyz Waaagh can also be used on Hobgrot Slittas if they’re near the general when this is declared. Though bear in mind their damage output when considering using the Waaagh.

Swampboss Skumdrekk has the skill Bet-master that links with Hobgrot Slittas. It require two units of Hobgrot Slittas to be included in the army list. One allocated to be the Kountin’ Krew and another to be the ‘bet’. If the bet is the first friendly unit to be killed on the battle then your army gains an additional triumph which can be used by either Swampboss Skumdrekk or the Kountin’ Krew.

Placing them near a Marshcrawla Sloggoth means that they can take advantage of its Krew Drummer ability, giving them +1 to hit in melee.

Swampboss Skumdrekk painted by myself

Generals with the Egomaniak command trait can use Hobgrot Slittas to offload their wounds on a 4+ to.

The Supa Sneaky command trait can also be used on Hobgrot Slittas to move them up the battlefield at the beginning of the battle to claim objectives or place them within shooting distance of the enemy to harass and pick off wounds.

Missile Attacks

The threat range of their missile attacks is a fairly decent 16-17″ as they are able to move, run and then shoot in the same turn (as long as a noise-maker is present in the unit).

AttackThreat Range# of AttacksAv # of HitsAv # of WoundsDamage Output (Pre-save)
Sulphuric Scrap-Grenade16-17″1053.33.3
Based on average dice rolls

These are all at rend -1, which isn’t too shabby for an 8 point model. How does this stack up against various armour values?

SaveUnsaved Damage
–3.3
6+3.3
5+2.7
4+1.7
3+1.1
Amount of damage after saves based on average dice.rolls

Melee Attacks

Rend – attacks with a fairly standard threat range of 12″ (movement + charge) plus a 1″ reach once in combat. However taking into account their Champion who gets an additional attack then a unit of ten can put out 21 attacks, and then their rule Stab ’em Good which should generate an additional 3-4 hits on average.

AttackThreat Range# of AttacksAv # of HitsAv # of WoundsDamage Output (Pre-save)
Slitta-knives12″21144.74.7
Based on average dice rolls
SaveUnsaved Damage
–4.7
6+3.9
5+3.1
4+2.4
3+1.6
Amount of damage after saves based on average dice rolls

Resilience

With one wound each, bravery 4 and a save of 6+, a stiff wind will knock these fellas over. The only way this unit could be any worse was to have no save at all.

Needing only four wounds to be suffered before they’re guaranteed to lose models in battleshock.

They do have the ability to re-roll their battleshock if there is a musician in the unit, but that pretty ineffective at this level unless you’ve only suffered 1 or 2 wounds.

The amount of damage needed at each rend level to destroy this unit in melee and the remaining fleeing in battleshock is shown below.

RendHits Required Before Saves
–8
-16
-26
-36
Hits needed before saves to destroy unit (based on average dice rolls)

Final Results

CategoryAmount
Movement5″ (Can run and shoot)
Missile Damage Output3.3 (16-17″ Threat)
Melee Damage Output4.7 (12″ Threat)
Combinations6
Total Wounds10 (8pts per wound)
Resilience8 Hits (Pre-saves)
Cost80 Points (8pts per Model)
Hobgrot Slittas

*There are four tiers of attacks in my view, tier 1 being those with -3 rend, tier 2 at -2 rend, tier 3 at -1 rend and tier 4 with no rend. A tier 3 attack is 16.7% more likely to wound an enemy than tier 4, tier 2 is 16.7% more likely to wound an enemy than tier 3, and so on.

Army Lists, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from Hampshire GT

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Hampshire GT saw 113 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament. This event is one of the Jewels in the UK Tournament scene and coming away as Champion here says a huge amount about your ability as a Wargamer.

1st Darren Watson – Seraphon

Darren won all five games. Along the way he beat Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot in Round 1, then Slaves to Darkness/Hosts of the Everchosen in Round 2, Beasts of Chaos in Round 3, Stormcast Eternals/Astral Templars in Round 4 and Fyreslayers/Lofnir in Round 5.

Allegiance: Seraphon
Constellation: Thunder Lizard
Grand Strategy: Beast Master
Triumphs:

Leaders
Engine of the Gods (265)*
– General
– Command Trait: Prime Warbeast
– Artefact: Incandescent Rectrices
– Mount Trait: Beastmaster
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Lord Kroak (430)***
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (150)***
– Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration
Celestant-Prime, Hammer of Sigmar (325)***
– Allies

Units
5 x Saurus Guard (115)**
10 x Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs
10 x Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs
Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*
Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*
Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Umbral Spellportal (70)

Core Battalions
*Alpha-Beast Pack
**Battle Regiment
***Warlord

Additional Enhancement
Artefact

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 325 / 400
Wounds: 104
Drops: 7

Peter: Afraid you have me today instead of Declan. He’s got a busy week ahead of him work-wise. I’m not as knowledgeable as Declan on AoS but I’ll give this a shot.

As Declan has mentioned on several occasions, theres so much depth to the Seraphon book. In this case it’s all about causing mortal wounds with Kroak, the Saurus with Fusil of Conflaguration and the Arcs of Sotek. While the Celestant-Prime is used as a counter for any dangerous threats, keeping it in reserve as a counter-punch. All of this while the Saurus and skinks get quietly on with work claiming objectives.

2nd Jack Armstrong – Maggotkin of Nurgle

Jack also won all five games. Winning against Cities of Sigmar/Hallowheart in round 1, then beating Seraphon/Thunder Lizard in round 2, Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in round 3, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in round 4 and Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in round 5.

Allegiance: Maggotkin of Nurgle
Subfaction: Drowned Men
Grand Strategy: Beast Master
Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Bloab Rotspawned (300)
– Lore of Malignance: Gift of Disease
Great Unclean One (495)*
– General
– Bile Blade & Massive Bilesword
– Command Trait: Nurgling Infestation 
– Artefact: The Witherstave 
– Lore of Virulence: Stream of Corruption
Orghotts Daemonspew (300)

Battleline
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*
2 x Pusgoyle Blightlords (220)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
The Burning Head (20)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 109
Drops: 3

Peter: With 8 Pusgoyle Blightlords this army is quicker than your usual Nurgle army. Only the the Great Unclean one moves less than 8″ per turn, the Pusgoyles each have 11 attacks per model on 3+/3+ means that each model will wound 5 times on average. Couple that with the fact they can cause mortals on the charge… 16 wounds on each pair of Blightlords means they’re hard to shift as well.

3rd Steven Follows – Legion of the First Prince

Steven just like the others in the top three also managed five wins. Beating Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in round 1, Legion of the First Prince in round 2, Lumineth Realm-Lords/Helon in round 3, Bonesplitterz/Drakkfoot list in round 4 and Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot in round 5.

Allegiance: Legion of the First Prince
Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
Triumphs:

Leaders
Be’Lakor, the Dark Master (360)*
– Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command
Kairos Fateweaver (435)
– Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command
The Contorted Epitome (255)*
– General
– Command Trait: Ruinous Aura
– Artefact: Fourfold Blade
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
The Blue Scribes (135)*
– Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command

Battleline
10 x Bloodletters (115)*
10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)*
10 x Pink Horrors of Tzeentch (250)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Emerald Lifeswarm (60)
Soulscream Bridge (70)
Umbral Spellportal (70)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 70
Drops: 2

Peter: Pink horrors. Under pointed. I’m afraid I don’t know too much more about this list. But it’s a great result to go 5-0 with any list, especially at a weekend where there’s so many competitive players as there are at the Hampshire GT.

Wildcard: Conor Gardner – Bonesplitterz

Check out Conor’s list! Not one, not two but 10 Big Stabba units! With this list Conor managed to finish 15th losing only a single game to 3rd placed Steven Follows! Beating Slaves to Darkness/Despoilers in round 1, Ironjawz/Ironsunz in round 2, Stormcast Eternals/Celestial Vindicators (including Stormdrake) in round 3. Losing to Steven in round 4 before going on to beat in round 5. Thanks to Woehammer Discord member Danny for pointing me to this list.

Peter: What a fun list, how this managed four wins over the weekend (including one against Stormcast/Stormdrake) I have no idea. The Big Stabbas each have 3 attacks at 3+/3+ with -2 rend and 2 damage. They’re also able to cause mortal wounds when destroyed.

The heavy lifting is all done by Big Drogg fort kicka though. While the enemy is trying to take down a 35 wound monster the rest of the Orruks claim the objectives.

Well done Conor!

Final Tournament Placings

For the full listings visit Tabletop.to

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Warmaster Gordrakk

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I’ve been having a debate (mainly with myself – as everyone else is just plain disagreeing) recently about Gordrakk being included in a Kruleboyz or Savage Orruk list.

Hear me out!

I have two pieces of evidence at present that say he can.

1) AoS App

When I was playing with budding Kruleboyz lists on Saturday I toyed with the notion of including Chadnos. So, I selected the filter and made sure Warmasters were selected. Sure enough Kraggy appears, but, who else should I see but Gordrakk riding his cabbage! That’s strange I think, so for S&G’s I decide to put him down and fill out the rest of the list.

Army Faction: Orruk Warclans
Army Type: Kruleboyz
Subfaction: Big Yellers
Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
Triumph: Inspired

LEADERS
Gordrakk (540)
Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot (105)*
– Spells: Da Black Pit
Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast (315)*
– General
– Command Traits: Supa Sneaky
– Artefacts of Power: Eye-biter Ash

BATTLELINE
Man-skewer Boltboyz (360)*
Man-skewer Boltboyz (240)*
Gutrippaz (180)*
– Wicked Stikka

ARTILLERY
Beast-skewer Killbow (130)*

OTHER
Hobgrot Slittaz (80)*

CORE BATTALIONS
– *Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1950/2000

And to top it off once the list was complete I just checked the indicator at the bottom:

From the Age of Sigmar App

I know, before you say it. This list isn’t competitive. But I wanted to see if Gordrakk would be ok by the app. Weirdly however, when you attempt to build the same list on Warscroll Builder it’s not possible.

2) His Warwcroll

My second piece of evidence points to his Warscroll and specifically his Warmaster rule.

What’s interesting to me here is that the Warscroll says:

If this unit is included in an Orruk Warclans army….

Games Workshop Age of Sigmar App

Orruk Warclans, NOT Ironjawz. But just to be certain I checked the Warscroll out in the physical book. Yes, it says the same thing.

But I’m still on the fence as to whether this is a thing so I’ve emailed Games Workshop and just asked them directly. Hopefully they’ll get back to me later today.

But what do you think? Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Tournaments

The Big Bristol Brawl

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On 13th August, Bristol Independent Gaming will be holding a 24 player one day event for Age of Sigmar.

Held in a large venue, the club has a large group of players who are welcoming to those who want to experience their first tournament or those who are tournament veterans.

Tickets are on sale now for £20, just email halejonathon@gmail.com for further information.

CHADNOS!
Army Lists, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from Super Major G&T

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Super Major G&T saw 16 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5 game tournament. Judging by the lists this tournament seemed like the an extremely fun and relaxed event. The type that would be a dream first tournament for any player.

1st Math Mallow – Sylvaneth

Math won four games and drew his last with Sylvaneth! Along the way he beat Ogor Mawtribes/Boulderhead in Round 1, then Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 2, Skaventide in Round 3, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 4 and drew against Gloomspite Gitz/Glogg’s Megamob in Round 5.

Allegiance: Sylvaneth
– Glade: Gnarlroot
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Alarielle the Everqueen (740)*
Branchwraith (95)*
– Deepwood Spell: Verdurous Harmony
Warsong Revenant (275)*
– General
– Command Trait: Nurtured by Magic
– Artefact: Chalice of Nectar
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Battleline
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)*
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)*
5 x Tree-Revenants (80)*

Units
6 x Kurnoth Hunters with Kurnoth Greatbows (450)*
– Reinforced x 1

Endless Spells & Invocations
Chronomantic Cogs (45)
Umbral Spellportal (70)
Spiteswarm Hive (40)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1955 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 73
Drops: 1

Declan: Normally I would say ‘wow’ at Slyvaneth winning a 2 day tournament, but check out the name… Math Mallow (shockingly not his real name!!) has been smashing opponents since AoS3 dropped including my Sons of Behemat at the same venue last year.

It is in essence a shooting / magic list with amazing mobility in the Tree Revenants helping with battle tactics. Whilst you may think that Alarielle is the key here, you’d be mistaken – it’s the Warsong Revenant, who is a beast! Casting Throne of Vines for bonuses to cast, and then throwing spells through the Spell Portal there is nowhere to hide from this army.

Whilst short on wounds, the one drop means Mallow gets the choice of first / second often and his shooting / magic can kill key units early on.

2nd Dominic Stonebridge – Gloomspite Gitz

Dominic won 3 and drew 3. Drawing against Ironjawz/Ironsunz in round 1, then beating Seraphon/Thunder Lizard in round 2, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in round 3 and Seraphon/Fang of Sotek in round 4 before drawing against 1st placed Math and their Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot list in round 5.

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

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 330 / 400
Wounds: 141
Drops: 8

Declan: Gitz, Gitz, Gitz!! Unbeaten as well. Dominic’s pulled it out of the fire here, with probably the strongest faction in the book (it’s a weak book!). He’s got a monster for the battle tactics (just don’t roll a double on the charge), and the Rockguts can put out damage, before coming back in useful groups of 3 when you kill them.

This is all about the units helping each other (Marshcrawler is now essential), or just being a beat stick (Mirebrute Troggoth). Dominic must have concentrated on the objectives here though, as there’s not quite enough power to kill enough of the enemy – great work!

3rd Matthew Gouldesbrough – Idoneth Deepkin

Matthew managed three wins, a draw and a loss. Beating Skaventide in round 1, Seraphon/Fangs of Sotek in round 2, Stormcast Eternals/Hallowed Knights in round 3, then losing against 1st place Math and his Sylvaneth/Gnarlroot list in round 4 before drawing against Ironjawz/Ironsunz in round 5.

Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin
– Enclave: Fuethan
– Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
KING NIMBUS, Alpha Chad of the Ocean – Akhelian King (250)*
– General
– Bladed Polearm
– Command Trait: Unstoppable Fury
– Artefact: Armour of the Cythai
– Mount Trait: Voidchill Darkness
Eidolon of Mathlann, Aspect of the Sea (325)**
– Lore of the Deeps: Counter Current
– Arcane tome
Eidolon of Mathlann, Aspect of the Storm (355)*
Isharann Tidecaster (150)**
– Lore of the Deeps: Steed of Tides
Celestant-Prime, Hammer of whatever army I’m playing at the moment (325)**
– Allies

Battle-line
1 x Akelian Allopexes (Bloodthirsty Shiver) (495)*
1 x Akelian Allopexes (Bloodthirsty Shiver) (0)*
1 x Akelian Allopexes (Bloodthirsty Shiver) (0)*

Endless Spells
Umbral Spellportal (70)

Core Battalions
Battle Regiment*
Command Entourage**

Total: 1970 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 325 / 400
Wounds: 74
Drops: 4

Declan: Matt has been one of the top players in the UK for some time now and he’s pivoted to the IdK here but left the Namarti Thralls at home and instead taking Allopexes in a Shiver! 4 Characters including a Prime doesn’t give him a lot of models on the table top (especially as one is off the table until turn 3), so it needs to survive and pick it’s targets.

But the tides help here, with strike first in turn 3 across the board, and the Akhelian King being able to give the units the same ability when required.

It’s fast, it’s small, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security – this will smash so many armies before you’ve realised the threat!

Final Tournament Placings

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Tournaments

Write My Tournament Army – Part 2

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Last week I asked you all to get involved with the writing of my tournament army for the Age of the Dark Gods tournament, run by Savage Hammer Gaming.

I thought it could be fun to see what Kruleboyz army you would all choose for me to run at this event, and so far you haven’t disappointed! Last week you chose which sub faction the army should be as well as which model should be the General and what their command trait is.

The responses were fairly clear cut after only a day or so. You all chose Big Yellers as the sub faction, which will give me an extra 3″ range on my Man-Skewers and Killbows in the first turn as well as the ability to re-roll 1’s when shooting. You also decided that the model to lead the army should be the Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast. This guy is expensive, but worth his points, giving all nearby Kruleboyz units the ability to add 1 to the number of mortal wounds caused on 6’s. Then you gave him Supa Sneaky which gives him the ability to set up a Kruleboyz unit anywhere on the battlefield 9″ away from the enemy.

Off the bat, it’s differed to what I would have chosen personally. While I would have included a Sludgeraker, I may have been more inclined to not make it a General and instead go with the Killaboss on Great Gnashtoof for the speed and the +1 to hit in combat after the charge.

Here’s the list so far:

Allegiance: Kruleboyz
– Subfaction: Big Yellers
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy:
– Triumphs:

LEADERS
Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast (315)
– General
– Command Trait: Supa Sneaky

Total: 315 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 14
Drops: 1

Next up we need to choose the first of our three essential battleline units.

Battleline Units

The Kruleboyz aren’t spoilt for choice here, and there are only two options with Big Yellers.

Notes

  • Both benefit from Venom-Encrusted Weapons causing mortal wounds to hit rolls of 6.
  • Both can benefit from our Snatchaboss on Sludegraker Beast who can add 1 to any mortal wounds they cause on hit rolls of 6.
  • Both can benefit from nearby Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-Grots who can grant poisons, giving these units the ability to cause mortal wounds on hit rolls of 5 or 6.
  • Both can benefit from nearby Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-Grots who can grant elixirs, giving these units the ability to add +1 to their save rolls.
  • Both can benefit from nearby Murknob with Belcha-Banna who can give them a 5+ ward save against spells or the effects of Endless Spells.
Gutrippas
Some of my Dominion Gutrippas ready for action

Notes: This is one unit that could be teleported to within 9″ of the enemy using the command trait Supa Sneaky.

Pros
Tough(ish) – One benefit of these guys is that they have two wounds each, meaning a 10 man unit is worth 20 wounds on the tabletop.
Attacks – Each model gets two attacks with 4+/4+ on the stikka (above) or 4+/3+ with the hakka, no rend and 1 damage. The Champion also gets an additional attack meaning a unit of 10 can dish out 21 attacks, thats an average success of 5 hits with the stikka or 7 hits with the hakka.
Charging – You can add 1 to their charge rolls if the unit includes a musician.
Scary Boyz – Has the potential to force the enemy to subtract 1 from their hit rolls when attacking this unit.
Cons
Expensive – At 180 points for ten models, you won’t want to be throwing them at the enemy without good reason. 18pts per model.
Low Bravery – Like most Orruks, these guys only have Bravery 5, which can be increased to 6 with the banner model.
Man-Skewer Boltboyz
Some of my Boltboyz
Pros
Hit at Distance – With these boys, if they don’t move they can shoot 24″ across the table (2+/3+). Each one making one shot and the boss making two. Not bad. I mean they’re not Longstrikes but….
Cons
Low Model Count – At 120 points for three models, they’re expensive (40pts per model). But does their range make up for this?
Low Bravery – Like most Orruks, these guys only have Bravery 5, which can be increased to 6 with the banner model.
Poor Shooting when Moved – If they move then their shooting ability gets cut drastically (4+/3+). With their range going from 24″ down to 12″. However the number of shooting attacks increase by 1.

Next Week

What should our next choice involve next week?

Cursed City, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Hobby Update – Kosargi Nightguard

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Watching Dave from Scent of a Gamer power through his Cursed City collection recently has given me the impetus to start mine.

So I chose to start with some of the larger models in the set…

Bill and Ted

Just need to finish the rims on the bases as I stupidly did those before flocking and now they’re incredibly dusty. The basing material is Geek Gaming Scenics Scrubland.

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland, Reviews

Krondspine Incarnate – A First Look at the Rules

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So we’ve had a little more information on the Krondspine Incarnate today from Warhammer Community.

EDIT: Plastic Craic has now managed to get hold of all the rules. For a complete rundown visit Plastic Craic.

Attacks

First off are its attacks, and it has quite a few. All at rend -2 or -3! The Krondspine works in a series of power levels rather then wounds. With each type of attack receiving a number of additional attacks equal to its level.

The model starts at level 2 and so will get 8 Vicious Claws attacks and 3 Tearing Fangs attacks. If you’re rolling REALLY well that will mean you can potentially dish out 28 wounds. However, that’s very unlikely, so let’s take the averages….

Attack# of AttacksSuccessful HitsSuccessful WoundsDamage Pre-Save Roll
Vicious Claws85.33.66-8
Tearing Fangs32.01.74-8
Based on Average Dice Rolls at Level 2

Note, that if it destroys an Endless Spell or devours a MONSTER, then it will gain a level and an additional attack for each attack type (it’s maximum level is 3). Most Monsters have between 12-18 wounds, so they’d need to be softened up first to guarantee the Throndspike making the kill and gaining the power level, but you’re probably only talking 3-4 wounds.

What about Killing it?

Yup, it has no wounds only power levels. Once it gets reduced to Power Level 0 it is removed from play, however what’s not clear is how easy it is to reduce its power level. There’s no mention of a save anywhere, but I suspect that each increase in power level brings an increase in its save value judging by this line on Warhammer Community:

The better they’re doing, the more lethal they become – and the harder they are to kill.

– Warhammer Community

The Krondspine will feed on Endless Spells as well, and for each one it consumes it will gain a power level. However, that’s not a guarantee!

Don’t get me wrong, on average the controlling player will be rolling a 9 (Level 2) which will consume most endless spells. However, if it does fail that roll then it will drop a level.

The best bet may be to kill the bonded character, at which point the Krondspine is reduced to its Wildform where it will attack the nearest unit (enemy or friendly) or Endless Spell within 12″. This could mean if you kill the bonded character early doors, the Krondspine could run rampant in its own lines.

As has been mentioned on our new Discord Server though, you could link it to a cheap as chips Savage Orruk Boss and just send them hell for leather up the table…

Conclusion

There’s a lot here, but we need more info yet. What’s its save, and exactly how much damage is needed to reduce its level? Does it reduce only one level per turn regardless of the damage inflicted on it? If this is the case, then things that cause a mass of mortal wounds are going to be pretty ineffective against it (looking at you Wurgog).

More importantly, what’s its value in points?

Availability

At the moment it looks like you need to buy the Battlescape Box in order to get the model as there’s been no official confirmation that the Krondspine will be sold separately.

Of course there are other options you could use…

Etsy