Somermund Skerry sits off the northern coast of Andtor in the Realm of Ghur and while has seen its fair share of violence, no one has truly settled the untamed land. Rumours abound that a giant beast who can tame Empire’s resides here. These rumours have proved to be enough for the Grand Alliances’ to send some of their brightest Generals to the island in an effort to locate and tame the God Beast.
This document will act as a live document and will be updated periodically with rules clarifications and other errata both before and as the campaign progresses.
Anyone who is both a member of our Discord server and can use a tabletop simulator of some kind, as players from around the world will be taking part.
Players will be divided into four equal sides of five players, each of which represents one of the Grand Alliances.
The players will decide on a leader from amongst their own. This player will dictate general strategy and also the landing points on the island for their alliance forces.
Player Starting Lists
We’ll be using the standard Path to Glory rules as specified inside the Core rule book. Players will need their Battletomes, up to date FAQ information, and an urge to play narrative games. Forces will begin at 600 points and will grow larger in line with the rules set out in the Games Workshop books.
The campaign will start in earnest on the 1st March and will continue as long as there is interest.
As the campaign progresses, the minimum roster size will evolve. At the start of the campaign for the first 4 battles, opponents will be expected to field 600 point armies for battle. For rounds 5-9, this will change to 1,000 points. Therefore, the minimum size of the battle will be set at 1,000 points. If your roster is smaller than this, then you’ll be at a disadvantage to your opponents 1,000 points. In round 10, this ups one final time to 1500 points as the minimum battle size.
Unique Characters
Unique characters are just that, unique. Only 1 of a unique character can appear in the entire campaign. If a player wants a unique character, they’ll need to negotiate with their Allies.
Campaign Map
A random map will be generated for the campaign, with a hexagonal grid laid over the top. Each Grand Alliance will then be given a number of options as to where they want to locate their capital.
Each Grand Alliance player will then explore the land they find themselves in. As players move around the campaign map, they will discover mountains, forests, and plains….. and other players.
A Campaign Turn & Movement
Each campaign turn lasts one week in actual time. During which the players will communicate with a ‘Campaign Master’ what they want to do and where they would like to move.
After that week, players will then have a further week to organise and play any battles that have occurred as a result of their movement.
Each player can move 4 hexes per turn. However, Forests hexes half that movement and Mountain hexes are impassable.
Passes through mountain ranges will be shown on the map as a red dotted line.
While inside a Forest hex, player armies also can’t be seen by other armies unless adjacent to them on the campaign map.
Vision
Player armies can all see 6 hexes in all directions around them. However, Forests and Mountains limit this view any further.
Terrain
Terrain is uncovered as players move through the campaign map. The campaign master will reveal the terrain and then communicate to the player what they’ve discovered.
Settlements
As well as the Grand Alliance capital players and build further settlements , and upgrade existing ones as the campaign progresses. However, upgrading settlements does cost valuable Glory Points (GP). Settlements can only be built and not discovered (apart from the initial capital), and they’re the only method of claiming territory via their Area of Influence (AoI).
Settlements must have at least 2 hexes between each other and can not be built within another settlements AoI.
Settlements fall into three categories;
Villages – Each village costs 10 GP to found and can not be built within 2 hexes of another settlement or within a settlement Area of Influence (AoI). A village has an AoI of 1 hex. Villages also contain their own garrison worth 1,000pts. Once a village has been founded, the garrison list must be created from a faction within the owning Grand Alliance. Villages can also have one construction within it (these are covered later).
A village and its AoI
Towns – Towns can only be upgraded from an existing Village and cost 25 GP to do so. Their Garrison increases from 1,000 to 1,500 points, and their AoI increases to 2 hexes in all directions. They can also have two buildings constructed within them.
A Town and its AoI.
Cities – Finally, there are cities. Cities are upgraded from existing Towns for a cost of 50 GP. These have an AoI of three hexes and also may have three constructions within their walls. Their garrison also increases to 2,000 points.
A City and its AoI
The colour of a settlements AoI will denote which Grand Alliance currently controls it.
Roads
Roads will automatically be constructed between friendly settlements. Moving along a road increases an army movement by 1 (if their entire movement is spent moving along that road).
So a road through plains will mean that a player moves 5 hexes per turn, a road through forests will result in a player moving 3 hexes per turn.
Settlement Constructions
To assist players in their campaigns, there are a number of constructions players can build within settlements;
Realm Gate (25 GP) – Allows fast travel between friendly cities which both have Realm Gates.
Training Pit (10 GP) – If an army stationed within the settlement and that settlementis not under siege, they may elect to send one of their units into the Training Pit. By doing so, that unit gains D6 Renown.
House of Healing (15 GP) – An army stationed inside which has injuries and casualties or both may recover these for free without paying GP to do so. This can only be done if the settlement is not under siege.
Scrying Stone (10 GP) – An army stationed inside this settlement, which also contains a Wizard I’m its roster, may use the Scrying Stone to view an area of the map previously undiscovered. By doing so, it reveals a hex and those immediately around it. Including enemy settlements or armies that are also within view
Aegentium Mine (20 GP) – An army stationed within this settlement may use the Aegentium Mine if the settlement is not under siege. When they do so, their army earns D6 Glory Points.
Boatyard (25gp) – Settlements may construct a Boatyard to construct ships to cross a body of water. To construct a Boatyard, the settlement must have at least one water hex adjacent to it. To construct ships, players will need to be in a settlement with a Boatyard and pay 5gp. Ship movement is 4 hexes per turn, but it must start and end their movement within 2 hexes of a land tile. Players board ships at a settlement with a Boatyard.
Attacking Settlements
Settlements can be attacked if an army moves to within one hex of an enemy settlement, and their army roster is at least the same as that of the settlement (I.e. if an army attacks a village, it must have a roster of at least 1,000 points). If they win their battles over both the Garrison and any player armies residing inside, then they can claim that settlement.
Battle Results
If a player loses a battle, then their army retreats in the following turn their entire movement allowance in the direct opposite direction to the army that defeated them.
The Destruction player loses their battle against the Death player and retreats their full move of 4 directly away from their opponent in the next turn.
In the cases where battles are drawn or are unable to be arranged before the time limit, both players retreat in the following turn.
If players find themselves unable to retreat following a battle, the Campaign Master will teleport that army to its nearest friendly settlement.
Player Communication
Players will be able to communicate with members of their own Grand Alliance as often as they wish each turn. As such, any discoveries one Grand Alliance player uncovers are uncovered for all Allies simultaneously.
To represent this, it is presumed that all Wizards know the Aether Projection spell.
Aether Projection:This wizard is able to project their body across a Realm to communicate with others.
A Wizard using Aether Projection may communicate freely with other armies that contain a Wizard on its roster. A Wizard projecting themselves in this way can neither be harmed by nor harm those that they are communicating with.
If a player wishes, they may purchase a Hedge Wizard for 3gp. This Wizard is not a battle Wizard and is too cowardly to take part in battles. Once purchased, the player notes they have a Hedge Wizard into their vault.
Where players have none of the above, they will instead be able to send messages via a messenger. Messengers move 8 hexes per turn. Players using messengers will be unable to communicate in real time with others unless their army is within 4 hexes of another (representing the messenger being able to make it to their delivery point and back in the same turn).
In practical terms, this means they’ll be a Grand Alliance discord chat for all four Grand Alliances so that their players can communicate freely. Players will also have their own Discord channel to receive turn updates from the Campaign Master and to ask questions and perform their after battle Path to Glory rolls.
Players can also request channels to communicate privately with other Alliance members or even opposing Alliance members if they so wish.
Players Without Battles
Players who are without a battle in a turn are able to join an LFG group where the campaign master will pair them with others who also have no battle that week. Those players may earn renown and glory as with any other battle fought during the campaign.
Random Events
Each campaign turn there will be a roll on the random event table, random events may be positive or negative in nature and may affect either one player or many.
Weak Winds of Magic – A lull in the Winds of Magic means its harder for Wizards to cast their spells in Battle. During a game, Wizards suffer from a -1 casting modifier. This is in addition to any other modifiers when making their casting rolls.
Bounty Hunt – One player is chosen at random as the object of some rando Gods wrath. For a turn, of that player is defeated in battle, the Victor will earn an additional 15 glory points for defeating them. However, should the Bounty defeat any attackers in Battle, any of their units that survive earn an additional D3 renown.
Clear Skies – The weather is particularly nice this week! There’s no swarms of Bray-flies, no killer clouds, everything is B-E-A-utiful. Armies have a vision of 7 hexes instead of 6 this turn.
No Event – Everything carries on as normal… well, as normal as it can in a Realm where continents eat each other and entire armies are destroyed by the flora and fauna in the blink of an eye. Perfectly normal…
Rough Seas – The Realm of Andtor is enraged. As a result, the seas are frothing in anger, making travel by sea even more dangerous than it normally would be. All ship travel is reduced to 3 hexes per turn, and ships must start or end their move within 1 hex of the coast rather than 2.
Strong Winds of Magic – The Winds of Magic are bellowing through the valleys and plains of Andtor. During any battles this turn, Wizards benefit from a +1 to their casting roll. This is in addition to any other modifiers they may benefit from.
We’re about to kick off a very special Path to Glory campaign on our Discord server. Mulptiple players will take part in trying to claim the island of Cratonia on behalf of their Grand Alliance! A maximum of 5 players from each Grand Alliance will co-operate with teach other to claim as much of island as possible. Players will be able to deploy garrisons and send messages via envoys to other allied players in the hope to find their opponents and destroy them in the field.
There may also be the odd event that crops up that affect players as they campaign across the island.
If you want to take part, then hop on over to our discord server and contact me on the TTS channel. The first moves will take place on 1st August 2023, and it’s open to all no matter your skill level.
We have the following spaces remaining:
Order (1 slot) Destruction (2 slots) Chaos (2 slots) Death (5 slots)
Campaign Rules
1. ORDERS
At the beginning of the campaign, each player will be given a starting location. They will then be asked to give the Campaign Master (CM) an indication of what they would like their army to do.
Example: I want my force to move to the East and take position on the opposite river crossing near Rustok.
Once all the orders are in, the game will progress with the CM mapping out the player movements until an event occurs or armies become visible to one another. This will be known as a ‘pause’.
At the point a game is paused, players will be able to give the CM new orders for their force if they wish.
2. MOVEMENT
Movement occurs at a rate of 3 squares per campaign ‘day’.
Armies will all move at the same rate. Movement North, South, East, or West 1 square counts as 1. Movement in a diagonal direction counts as 1.5.
Mountains and rivers are impassable apart from passes through the mountains or bridges over the rivers.
Movement along roads increases an armies movement that by 1. Movement through forests or woods decreases their movement by 1.
Ocean travel is possible, but each square of ocean travel will cost the player 5 Glory Points.
3. VISIBILITY
All armies are able to see up to 5 squares away (diagonal vision across squares will count as 1.5 in this case as well).
Armies cannot view over mountains or through forests/woods.
If an enemy army moves into your sight, the CM will pause the game and update all the players in the campaign as to what their scouts report to them.
The CM will then ask the players for new orders.
Example Pause Update: After marching for two days, your army is now encamped on the northern shore of Selina’s Cove. Your scouts report back an enemy force roughly the same size as your own is around a day and a half march north of yours at a bridge crossing. They believe the force is made of Duardin from the Kharadron Overlords. What are your orders?
4. FIGHTING BATTLES
Once armies are in adjacent squares, they have the option to fight a battle.
Battleplans will be chosen at random from the core book for the players unless one or both have the option to complete a quest via a battle plan. In these cases, the player who can complete a quest can choose to override the random battleplan choice. If both players have the option to complete a quest, then they must roll off for who decides.
If you find yourself adjacent to an enemy army. You may choose to flee your movement rate. However, this would be in the direct opposite direction of that army.
In cases where two or more armies from two sides meet, the players can either fight one large battle or two one v one battles if the larger battle is difficult to organise. In the case where two games of one v one is chosen, the CM will roll off and determine who gets to choose their opponents. The winner decides the opponents for their armies.
Example: Two Order armies (Sylvaneth and Kharadron) come across two Chaos armies (Slaves to Darkness and Skaven). The four players decide they would very unable to organise a full battle between the four of them and thus opt for two 1v1 battles. The CM rolls off and determines that Order have the choice, the Order players decide that the Sylvaneth force will fight the Skaven and the Kharadron will fight the Slaves.
In rare circumstances where three or more factions from completely different Grand Alliances meet. The CM will roll a priority order, and the highest scoring player will choose who they want to fight or whether they want to withdraw. Followed by the 2nd player, etc. If a player is asked to pick whether to fight or withdraw and no enemy remains unengaged, that player can choose to wait to fight any victor’s or carry on their movement to another location.
Games where one army have more points than their opponent will be capped at +25% of the lower valued force. I.e. a force of 2000 meets a 1000pt force. The 2000 point player will be limited to raking 1250pts. This also applies to summoning. Therefore, during a battle, the total points of an army cannot be more than 125% of the opponents force.
If an army loses a battle, they flee their movement rate directly away from the opposing army.
If an army that flees finds itself pinned in by enemy armies, the CM will offer them safe passage to another location within their own territory.
5. ALLIED PLAYERS
Messages can be sent to allied players in your Grand Alliance.
Messages travel at a rate of 5 squares per campaign day. Messages can communicate anything a player wishes. Such as the location of enemy forces. Size of enemy forces. Intention to challenge an enemy, or even just to ask how the weather is.
Players will not be able to communicate with other allied Grand Alliance players during the campaign. Messages are the only method they will be able to communicate.
If allied players occupy adjacent or the same squares, then they will be able to communicate directly while being so.
6. ARMIES
Armies will initially consist of 600 point forces following the standard path to glory rules. Territory, enhancements, and glory points are all completed in the same manner as a standard Path to Glory campaign.
However, where factions are able to summon in battle, they will not be able to summon more than +25% of the opposition forces’ value in points.
If a summoning army is fighting an army that is smaller than itself. Its point limit will be that of the smaller force +25% which must include summonable units.
Example: A Daemon Khorne army of 600pts finds itself facing a Sylvaneth army of the same value. The Khorne army is able to units during the battle, which effectively increases the points value of their army. Therefore, this summoning is limited to 150 pts during the battle. This being the +25% over the opponents force.
Where an army that is unable to summon meets an army much larger than itself in battle, the larger army will be able to use 125% of the points of the army that they are able to summon. However, the army with summon abilities may summon a further 25% of their points during the battle, making the contest even
7. POST BATTLE SEQUENCE
Following a battle, players will carry out their normal path to glory maintenance and update their rosters as per the core rules and any additional rules found inside their battle tome. I would ask that they carry out their maintenance in their individual private discord channels using the dice maiden bot so that the CM can ensure everything is above board.
8. GRAND ALLIANCE TERRITORY
Alliance territory is determined by the imaginary line between allied armies and the territory behind them. If an enemy army is able to get behind this line, then they lose any territory that they cannot defend without resorting to map choke points.
Example:
In the above image, we can see that the five death players have positioned themselves on key locations to encompass a large area of terrain. The majority of these borders are also protected by impassable terrain.
The death armies are located in the same places as image one. But this time, an Order army has snuck past Death Army 2 and reached deep into the Severin desert, cutting the territorial lines between army 2 and army 3 and army 2 and army 4. If the Order army were to pish further south into the Provincial Plains they would then cut the territorial line between armies 1 and 4 as well.
9. GARRISONS/GUARDS
For a cost of 25 Glory Points (the cost of which can be shared between players and agreed via messaging), a Grand Alliance can raise a garrison. Garrisons consist of 600 point armies made from the players faction who contributed the most Glory Points towards the fee.
These Garrisons do not move but are used to hold key locations so that player armies can continue their movement to capture and fight for more territory.
Garrisons have a line of sight of 5 and will report all enemy troop movements to all players in their alliance.
When Garrisons are challenged, a volunteer from the grand alliance will take control of that Garrison in battle. Garrisons do not gain experience or territory like the player armies. They are just 600 point armies.
If a garrison suffers a minor defeat, they are forced to retreat 5 spaces directly away from the enemy, but will make an immediate move back to their original location as soon as they are able and challenge any enemy forces present at that location. If a garrison suffers a major defeat, that garrison is destroyed.
Garrisons can be upgraded 100 points a time for a cost of 10 GP, no garrison can exceed more than 2,000 points.
10. SETTLEMENTS
There are a number of settlement on the campaign map, there are two benefits to being camped inside a settlement.
The first is that any unit casualties suffered are immediately recovered once inside a settlement.
The second is settlements grant a defensive bonus and you’ll be able to employ the settlements guard at the start of a battle to temporarily boost your forces. The settlement guard must be taken from the players faction that is in occupation and can be no more than 100 points.
If a Grand Alliance chooses to post a garrison to a town that force must amount to 600 points as per the garrison rules mentioned in section 9. Once a battle begins the force will be able to add an additional 100points of settlement guard made up of the garrison faction.
When a larger enemy force challenges a settlement that has been garrisoned, the enemy force can build a list of up to 125% of the garrison (600 +25% = 750), this is applied before any settlement guard are included in the defenders list and therefore means that the difference between the two sides should only be a maximum of 50 points in value.
You may have seen both Ian’s post and my own in the last couple of weeks showing our Path to Glory armies for the campaign we’re running at Woe Towers.
With our armies set, I challenged Ian to a quick game at our local gaming club (shout out to Battlefield Hobbies).
Gollok’s Plan (Kruleboyz)
Da plan is ded simple, right! All we’z gotta do iz shoot dat big boat ov derz outta da sky. Den we goes and stikk da rest of da stunties before dey noes wot ‘it ’em,right! – Gollok Spleenchewa
I’m not going to lie. Seeing where Kharadron sits in the stats, I was dreading going up against the list Ian had in mind. With an Aether-Khemist, Arknonaut Company, Endrinriggers, and a frigging Frigate, my hopes are pinned on removing the Frigate early game and hoping that my army isn’t too badly damaged to then mop the rest of the Dwarfs up. Luckily, I do have a killbow, which could be ideal for taking on a multi wound model such as the Frigate.
Army Faction: Orruk Warclans – Army Type: Kruleboyz – Subfaction: Grinnin’ Blades
LEADERS Killaboss on Great Gnashtoof(Gollok Spleenchewa) (130)* – General – Command Traits: Slippery Skumbag – Artefacts of Power: Eye-biter Ash – Mount Traits: Fast ’Un
OTHER Man-skewer Boltboyz(Gollok’s Skewers) (120)* – Boltboy Boss
CORE BATTALIONS *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 580/1000
Glory Points: 5 Quest: Tornado of Destruction Territory – Settlement
Khreld’s Strategy
Buck up, lads! My bones are tingling which means only one thing, a prize to be won! And all there is between us and the loot to be recovered is a rabble of greenskins. Lets pump them full of metal and grab our prize. Though we may need to wash the smell off it before we trade it in… – Khreld Thundergust
Going in to my first proper game of Sigmar I will admit I did not have high hopes. Peter is an experienced player who knows his army and has an idea of mine, whereas I am completely new and barely know my own. I know the Killbow needs to be avoided by my Frigate, and taken out quick, but otherwise I will just be seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Army Faction: Kharadron Overlords – Subfaction: Barak-Zilfin
LEADERS Aether-Khemist(Khreld Thundergust) (80)* – General – Command Traits: Cunning Fleetmaster – Artefacts of Power: Celestium Burst-Grenade
The Table with Deployment areas (Blue Kharadron, Red Kruleboyz)
We decided to play a standard battle plan, rolled on the tables in Season 2 to get Battle lines Drawn. So we would need to claim each table quarter. Ian had only four units to do so, but things weren’t much better for me with five!
Being a sneaky Orruk, I used all the tools in my arsenal and broke out the Dirty Tricks. With the recent Battlescroll update, I’m able to choose two of these. The first I chose Noisy Racket, which meant that the Kharadron would be -1 to wound against my units in the first battle round (which we promptly forgot!). I then chose Disappearin’ Act and rolled well to delay both the Endringriggers and the Arkonaut Company. This left just the Frigate and the Endrinmaster on the table. Ian, having the choice of priority elected to give me the first turn.
Kruleboyz Turn 1
Battle Tactic: Desecrate their Lands (Woods in centre)
Having the first turn, I moved and ran the hobgrots to secure the tactical woods in the centre of the table and also put them inside the lower left table quarter. The Rippaz followed them and took up position on the hill behind them while Gollok ran off up the right flank to secure that table quarter. Everything else I left still as a statue as they got ready to unleash all they had at the frigate. I got so excited about shooting my killbow at the frigate and carrying out Gollok’s genius plan, only for Ian to use Cunning Fleetmaster to move his Frigate to the other side of the hill, and out of reach! With his Aether-Khemist hiding out of sight of my Skewers, there wasn’t much else I could do this turn as Ian’s cleverness of giving the first turn to me became apparent.
Points Kruleboyz: 5 Kharadron: 0
Kharadron Turn 1
Battle Tactic: Opening Salvo
Ian, confident in his shooting (and why wouldn’t he be?), chose Opening Salvo as his battle tactic, meaning all he had to do was destroy one of my units in the shooting phase. He moved his frigate back across the hill near to the Hobgrots in the centre, along with his Aether-Khemist, once this had moved he bought on the other units I’d delayed through Disappearin’ Act and set them up around his Aether-Khemist.
Starting with the Khemist, he generated eight shots against the poor defenceless Grots in the centre. Luckily for me these all whiffed spectacularly (You’ll notice a trend emerge soon-Ian). He chose to shoot everything he had on the frigate at the grots as well, but unlucky rolls saw only four of the Hobgrots lifted from the table. The Arkanauts and Endrinriggers kill a further 2, meaning unfortunately for Ian, he was unable to achieve his battle tactic that turn.
With revenge against both his dice and the plucky Hobgrots in mind, the frigate charged into them killing three of them. This left just one alive, which thanks to Inspiring Presence decided to stick around.
Points Kruleboys: 5 Kharadron: 2
Kharadron Turn 2
Battle Tactic: Desecrate their Lands (Centre Woods)
Winning the priority and electing to go first this turn meant that Ian had the double, and the Kruleboyz were in serious trouble. Only needing to remove a single hobgrot, Ian wisely decided to try desecrate their lands and take the centre terrain feature away from my plucky hobgrot.
The Endrinriggers moved across the right to try and get into range of the Kruleboyz missile units while the Arkonauts moved to the south side of the northern hill and within range of the woods for the tactic.
Thinking it through, Ian designated three units for the target of his frigates attacks. The carbines at the hobgrot, the cannon at the Killbow and the skyhook at the Skewers. It didn’t take much to remove the Hobgrot and Ian knew his carbines on the frigate should be enough to do so, which they were. The poor hobgrot was transformed into a red mist giving Ian the objective. The cannon also did its job and left the Killbow as a mound of broken orruk and wood where it had previously sat. All eyes turned to the skewers, Ian rolled for the skyhook and…. missed! (Again…-Ian) However, it wasn’t over yet, the Endrinriggers and a few Arkonauts were still in range! Unfortunately Ian’s bad luck with his rolls returned and was only able to remove a single skewer and cause a wound on another.
With his forces having decimated mine with its shooting, Ian confidently charged his frigate into the Gutrippaz on the hill. Killing two of the Orruks and wounding another. The Gutrippaz replied in kind and with no less than 4 sixes on the to hit rolls, along with the other attacks the frigate suffered a mighty 10 wounds from the Rippaz. More was yet to come as we went into Kruleboyz turn 2.
Points Kruleboyz: 5 Kharadron: 7
Kruleboyz Turn 2
Battle Tactic: An Eye for an Eye
Seeing my opportunity, I chose the tactic, an eye for an eye, with the hope that the Gutrippaz would finish off the frigate in combat that turn.
Before that though, I gave Gollok‘His Finest Hour’ and used his mount trait Fast ‘Un to move him in the hero phase towards the juicy looking Endrinriggers, Arkonauts and Khemist. The movement phase saw him almost on top of the Endrinriggers, while the remainder of my skewers shuffled around to take a bead on the Endrinriggers and fish for those mortal wounds.
The shooting phase did not disappoint as the Skewers did enough damage to completely destroy the Endrinrigger unit. I chose to ignore the frigate, figuring that the Gutrippaz should have enough in their pocket to down it.
With the path to the Khemist and Arkonauts opened up Gollok let out a whoop of excitement as he and his doggo charged into Khemist and the surrounding Arkonauts. Using Unleash Hell, the Arkonauts managed to score 3 wounds on Gollok. Having the choice of first unit to fight, I didn’t want to risk the frigate killing enough Gutrippaz that meant I wouldn’t do enough damage back so I chose to go with these first. It was a formality as the 5 wounds were easy enough for the Gutrippaz to get through. The Khemist attacked Gollok but was unable to land a hit before his savage hound tore into the Khemist and left him for dead. The Arkonauts did what they could but were unable to get through the Gnashtoof’s tough hide.
Points Kruleboyz: 10 Kharadron: 7
At this point Ian conceded the game, with little options left to him and only the Arkanaut company on the table any threat to the Kruleboyz had been removed.
Kruleboyz – Post Battle Thoughts and Sequence
Part of me feels very bad for Ian, this was his first proper game of Age of Sigmar and with the Kharadron Overlords only for it to end at the bottom of turn 2.
Going into turn 2 after Ian’s clever ruse in the the first turn I thought the writing was on the wall for the Orruks. I envisioned Ian shooting me from distance I tried to close with him, this was compounded when he removed the killbow and a skewer, I was lucky to have two left. He then chose to charge the frigate, and this was what turned the tide. With the venom-encrusted weapons, Kruleboyz don’t care too much about your armour saves and this showed why. With 10 wounds in thee first round of combat and then finishing it off in the second it was easy meat for the boyz. If Ian had put his Arkonaut Company inside it however, it would have been entirely different!
I gained a total of 9 glory points from the game and 3 quest points. Meaning next time I can attempt to try and do the Tornado of Destruction battleplan. After their performance against the frigate it only seemed right to give the Gutrippaz the favoured warriors and the additional D6 renown, and this tipped them up into Veterans. I decided to give them the veteran ability Backstabbaz which will allow them to immediately fight after another unit in my army does so inthe fight phase. They did however have 1 casualty point, which would mean I’m starting the next game with only nine of them on the table potentially. All my other casualty rolls went well, apart from the Hobgrots wo suffered two. Deciding to keep the Well Spring I rolled for on the territory table and with 3 glory points remaining, I used these to purchase a Swampcalla Shaman for my small force.
GOLLOK’S SWAMPCRAWLERZ Army Faction: Orruk Warclans – Army Type: Kruleboyz – Subfaction: Grinnin’ Blades – Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS Killaboss on Great Gnashtoof (Gollok Spleenchewa) (130)* – General – 16 Renown – Command Traits: Slippery Skumbag – Artefacts of Power: Eye-biter Ash – Mount Traits: Fast ’Un Swampcalla Shaman (Grulb Da Mad) (100)* – Spell: Choking Mist
Well, that could have gone better. Yes, my rolls were against me in that first (and some of the second) shooting phase but that is all part of the game! I can pinpoint exactly where I went wrong, charging that Frigate in! I played with too much agression when, having the mobility, I could have out maneuvered Peter’s Orruks and pulled him out of position. Even used the Fly High command and repositioned my Frigate behind Peter’s weaker units. So, to sum up my learnings – use more commands, try putting my Company into the Frigate for a bigger impact (and better positioning), and don’t charge the unit that deals a lot of mortal wounds!
I gained 5 Glory Points from the game. I had to make casualty rolls for my Endrinriggers and my Aether-Khemist. The Aether-khemist I rolled a 1, which is death! Now that is a little harsh so I spent a Glory Point on a re-roll and ended up with no-effect. The Endrinriggers initially took a casualty point but I spent another Glory Point to reroll this (there are only three of them!) and got no effect. The Frigate rolled against the damage table from the Kharadron Battletome and also got no effect. Where were these good rolls during the game!
As for reknown, the Company gained 1 for surviving and the Frigate gained 2 as my nominated MVP which was a no-brainer. After all this I decided to add some Thunderers to my roster for 4 glory points, just to give me some more options and more boots on the ground.
Army Faction: Kharadron Overlords – Subfaction: Barak-Zilfin
LEADERS Aether-Khemist(Khreld Thundergust) (80)* – General – Command Traits: Cunning Fleetmaster – Artefacts of Power: Celestium Burst-Grenade
Dave and Ed have a game planned within the next couple of weeks. Then, the four of us will be meeting up for our second round of battles at the end of the month.
As a currently casual 40k player I have always been interested in playing Age of Sigmar, especially the narrative based Path to Glory campaign. On joining the Woehammer team I saw an opportunity and prodded some of the others until they ‘volunteered’.
Now having the excuse to build a Sigmar army I had the difficult task of choosing a faction. I narrowed my shortlist down until I remembered my original entry point to Warhammer Fantasy way back when – Dwarves.
Now Dwarves, in their original Warhammer Fantasy format, don’t quite exist in the new Age of Sigmar setting. There are elements of them in the Cities of Sigmar faction but, seeing as this faction appears to be getting a major refresh, I didn’t want to risk buying an army to find the units become defunct. This left me with the choice between Fyreslayers and Kharadron Overlords. Out of these the Kharadron Overlords sold themselves with their very dwarvish tendencies (aethergold obsession, codes of honour, grudges) and big ships. Who doesn’t love a giant airship?
Yes, it helps that the Kharadron Overlords have just had a new codex Battletome released. It also has not passed my attention that they are performing especially well. These were not the main motivators behind my choice and, honestly, if they are overpowered currently all it will do is balance out with my lack of talent. So at best I may just scrape a couple of wins.
Khreld Thundergust
My warlord, an Aether-Khemist by trade, Khreld has worked for many aspiring captains over the years and now feels his talents warrant a higher cut of profit than anyone is willing to give. This left him with only one option, talk his way onto a skyvessel to call his own.
As I intend to have a fairly airship-heavy fleet it made Barak-Zilfin the obvious choice of subfaction – giving me more access to Great Endrinworks later down the line and allowing me to run Frigates as Battleline in my army. This also led me to give Khreld the Cunning Fleetmaster command trait so I can reposition my precious skyvessels to catch the enemy offguard. I have also given Khreld the Celestium Burst-grenade to maximise the damage of my mortal wounds.
Khreld Thundergust
The Crafty Dispute (Arkanaut Frigate)
Yes, I have taken the stupid brave choice to put a 300 point frigate in a 600 point army. Obviously I couldn’t have a Kharadron army without a skyvessel (they are gorgeous models) and Khreld needed a ship to start out on, so here we are!
Armed with a Heavy Skycannon, giving me more utility, the purpose of my frigate will be to disrupt the enemy battleline using bombs and firepower whilst, with 15 wounds and a 3+ save, drawing as much enemy fire as possible away from my other units.
Keelborne’s Endrinriggers
Led by a Mizzenmaster, Gryn Keelborne, the Endrinriggers will be providing repairs to The Crafty Dispute mid-battle whilst acting as fire support. I have forced Gryn to keep a Rapid-fire Rivet Gun to maximise the additonal attack he will get with the Aethermatic Saw. I have also decided against the volleygun on my second Endrinrigger as I feel the addional 3″ range and an average addition of three quarters of a wound per shooting phase is outdone by the -2 rend of the Rivet Gun. I may regret it but we shall see!
I have however chosen to give the third Endrinrigger the Grapnel Launcher. I love the idea of them just yoinking themselves away from an enemy charge. I can see the Skyhook being useful later in the campaign when more monsters appear but I think the battlefield movement will be key early on, especially as I only have four units total!
Stoutstock’s Company
Last, but definitely not least (apart from maybe in their cut of the profits) is the Arkanaut Company led by their Captain, Malkunn Stoutstock, wielding an Aetherflare Pistol. This time I will be maximising my weapon choices by taking an Aethermatic Volley Gun and Light Skyhook. The addional shots of the Volley Gun and the -2 rend and extra possible damage of the Skyhook seem like no-brainers to me. I will also be positioning them near my Aether-Khemist to the additional -1 Rend should have a nice impact. They will also have one Arkanaut armed with a Skypike just to give a little more danger in the inevitable melees.
The Stubborn Prospectors
And so, after some deliberation, The Stubborn Prospectors of Barak-Zilfin were born. At 600 points exactly it will be an interesting start to the campaign as I find out how much of a handicap forcing that frigate in will be. They will be organised in a Battle Regiment, as that is the only battalion I could see that would allow my array of units.
First Quest
The starting endeavour for my Stubborn Prospectors will be to earn The Crafty Dispute it’s own Great Endrinwork. I have opted tow rok towards Prudency Chutes as I inted to use the frigate as a transport later in the campaign. Assuming it survives that long…(of course it will, I’m not worried…)
As for collecting and painting my starting force – in true Kharadron Overlords fashion Khreld is having to hire his starting force. I will work on procuring forces of my own but, as I am sure my fellow hobbyists can sympathise with, time and money are both against me. On the plus side, Khreld himself is built, painted and ready for action!
Ian, who is a recent addition to our team, is looking to get into Age of Sigmar. Coming from a 40k background he wanted a way to build up an army slowly and still get a few games in. We all suggested Path to Glory as there are a few of us in the area who can make it down to our local gaming club fairly regularly.
I’ve been itching to play Path to Glory for a little while, so I jumped at the chance! Hopfully, all being good, you should also see some articles from the others taking part; Ian, Dave and Ed.
What am I playing?
Kruleboyz…..
Yeah I know, I’m a sucker for punishment, but I can’t resist my green lads. I’m not expecting too much, but I’m going to use it as an opportunity to test some units you may not usually see in the competitive scene – after all this is just a friendly campaign.
Gollok Spleenchewa
My warlord for the campaign is one Gollok Spleenchewa, who is a Killaboss on Great Gnashtoof. I’ve given him Slippery Skumbag as his command trait, this’ll allow him to retreat and charge in the same turn meaning I’m always benefitting from the Savage Hound ability (add 1 to hit rolls for attacks made by this unit if this unit made a charge move in the same turn). I’ve also given them the mount trait Fast ‘Un, just to give them a little extra speed to get them into combat.
Gollok’s Rippaz
The main dudes, a unit of 10 Gutrippaz all with wicked stikka’s. Still a little pricey in my opinion at 150 points, but they have more staying power than the Hobgrots. Plus the recent boost to their Scare Taktikz (subtract 1 from hit rolls for attacks made with melee weapons by enemy units that are not Heroes or Monsters that target this unit) means they have a bit more sturdiness in combat than previously when it came down to a dice roll.
Gollok’s Grots
A unit of 10 Hobgrots, these dudes will be asked to capture the occasional objective, but will mainly act as a screen for the Skewers in the force.
Gollok’s Boltboyz
Noticed a theme in the names yet? Gollok isn’t the most imaginative of Orruks.
3 Man-Skewer Boltboyz to give some threat at range. Yes they’re made of paper, and yes it’s likely that all the other armies I’m facing will have decent shooting (Lumineth, Ogors and Kharadron). But, the ability to cause mortal wounds at range cannot be sniffed at, the only problem comes if they are sniffed at.. they’ll likely die.
Gollok’s Killbow
My first unit I’ve chosen that’s a little ‘out there’, I love the model and just want to see how it fairs against mainly the Kharadron and Ogors. It’s likely going to whiff a lot, but let’s see.
Gollok’s Swampcrawlerz
That brings me to 580 points and the vague possibility of a triumph in game, I chose Inspired for this. All of these units are wrapped up in the usual Grinnin’ Blades package which I considered a must considering the amount of shooting I could be facing off against. I also chose a Battle Regiment so that they could all be one dropped and give me the possibility of choosing whether I go first or second.
The First Quest
For the first Quest I chose to go with one in the Orruk Warclans book, Tornado of Destruction. Once I get 3 Quest Points, I’ll be able to play the Battleplan, Tornado of Destruction, and if I win I get to choose a unit from a rival warclan (Bonesplitterz or Ironjawz) to join my force.
Path to Glory for Orruks is incredibly fun since you can add rival Warclan units to your army as you progress. In a Vanguard force which we’re playing at 1 in 4 units can be a rival Warclan. As you progress this can increases to 1 in 2 and eventually as many as you want once you’ve built a mighty stronghold. The only question playing on my mind right now, is which unit would I choose to include?
I’m lucky in that almost all of the units I have in my force are painted. All I need to do is complete the Gnashtoof and I’m good to go. Best get cracking, I’ve got my first game against Ian next Wednesday!
To keep the interest alive for Path to Glory within the Woehammer camp I’ve decided to release the overall map as it currently stands and each players progression to date.
The map after the first few games
Declan and Aron are the first to have adjoining territory, with Aron having the larger for having a force of 2,000 points.
Aron and Declan have both played their first games and both won.
Ed and Dave have both played their first game which Dave won, however they’re yet to roll up the results due to time constraints.
Solo Wargaming for your Favourite Games
I’m in the process of creating a series of Wargaming Aids which allow players to play their favourite games in a single player format against an AI controlled enemy army. To find out more on this click here.
For as little as £1 a month (the price of a chocolate bar) you can help support me in this endeavour and receive cool perks as a thank you, such as access to our Discord Server as well as downloadable copies of the gaming aids which you can print out and use at home.
Why not pop over to Patreon and sign up and help me in this project? Money raised will go towards making these as physical products.
So with August over its time to review the Path to Glory campaign.
Three games took place this month. Two between Ben and Declan which you can read here, and another between Aron and his friend Rick.
Declan managed to take two wins against the forces of Chaos and he advanced further north-east on the map, building a small settlement around a realmgate. To the south-east of his settlement he discovered Wild Lands which are currently under the control of the Undead (Aron).
Meanwhile Aron’s forces led by the Vengorian Lord Shana, the Flame of the Heavens successfully repelled a chaos incursion into their lands, utterly defeating the force leaving no one alive to tell the tale.
After the battle his scouts returned advising him of a Troggoth settlement that had sprang up to the north just beyond the wild lands around what they had assumed to be a ruined realmgate.
Shana had to plan their next steps carefully.
Aron’s Undead Forces
We haven’t yet covered Aron’s forces in the campaign. Aron has 2,000 points of Soul light Gravelords.
Led by Shana, Flame of the Heavens a Vengorian Lord the forces include two heroes Wilhelmina Carmel a vampire lord in the thrall of Shana and Machtrohl the Unbroken, Shana’s iron fist.
Aron’s forces includes the following units;
Deathrattle Skeletons (Bone Legion)
Dire Wolves (Alpha)
Zombie Dragon (Deadarire, Bringer of the Dead)
Vargheist (Primus)
Blood Knights (Lord Vahl’s Riders)
Deathrattle Skeletons (Ossius Legion)
Grave Guard (Order of Merihim)
Black Knights (Knights Noir)
As Aron has a 2,000 point list he was able to claim three territories at the start of the campaign. He chose a Settlement, Arcane Waypoint and some Wild Lands.
No games for Rhys, Dave, Ed or myself yet. But watch this space. I have a feeling Nurgle and Chaos may be rumbling soon…..
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Woehammer is organising a few of us into a Path to Glory campaign. I am playing Troggoths (Gloomspite) led by my General – Phileas Fogg the Trogg. You can find out more about the starting warband on the first blog entry for the campaign.
My first games were against Ben’s Slaves to Darkness (StD) army which is mostly based on the starter set. He added 10 Chaos Warriors to it in order to bring it close to 800 points, and I dropped the Ravening Jaws and 3 Fellwater Troggoths in order to bring mine down to this level too. This would allow Ben to learn the rules and for me to have some practice with the Troggoths whilst still having at least one of each Warscroll.
Pre-game
Before starting off, I needed to pick the Quest for my Troggoths, and I decided that Verne (Fungoid Cave-Shaman) would influence Fogg to Hunt the Endless Spell – Scuttletide. To do this Verne would need to be near Arcane terrain at the end of the game – in order to assist with this I can automatically generate an Arcane terrain feature for 1 Glory Point if I don’t roll it. I then had to keep him alive against the StD.
Game 1 – Sudden Assault
The Slaves to Darkness brought a Lord on Karkadrak, 2 x 10 Chaos Warriors, and 5 Chaos Knights… all with the Mark of Khorne. This meant they were re-rolling 1s to hit!
The StD were trying to take over my Gloomspite Shrine, and Phileas sent out himself (Dankhold Troggboss), Fungoid Cave Shaman, 6 Rockguts and 3 Fellwaters. As this was a Sudden Assault where we would get points for holding table quarters.
The armies assemble.
Ben’s Slaves to Darkness advanced quickly on my right (bottom of the picture), whilst the Chaos Warriors started the slow walk towards my shrine. In response the Rockgut’s charged the Chaos Knights… and in rolling that embarrassed me, wiped out the Chaos Knights – wow!!
The StD counterattacked with the Lord and 10 Chaos Warriors who put a few wounds on the Troggoths, but they swung back and killed half the Warriors and put some wounds on the Lord. In my second turn the Dankhold charged in to help them and the Fellwaters charged the second unit of Chaos Warriors.
Turn 3 – The aftermath!
In Turn 3, I cleared up the Lord & Chaos Warriors and the Fellwaters continued to chip away at the last unit of Chaos Warriors without any casualties – the healing being very useful in a small point game.
The last two turns the Dankhold rescued the Fellwaters and then the units fell back to the four quarters – I had defended my Shrine!
Post-Game 1
The great benefit of Path to Glory is the ability to improve your army. So we returned to the core book and post-battle sequence.
Glory Points – I was now on 21 Glory Points for winning the game and having my Warlord still alive.
Injuries – With no models killed, I didn’t need to roll any. Fortunately for Ben his Slaves to Darkness resisted most of the damage and only failed 3 casualty rolls.
Renown Points – Each of my units gained a renown point for surviving the battle, and a bonus one for holding the objectives. Fogg’s Ladz were my chosen and rolled sufficiently to become Veteran Warriors. This allowed me to give them a bonus. I chose Disciplined Battle-Drill as they were rapidly becoming Fogg’s bodyguard. This would allow them to add 1 to wound once.
New Units – I added a unit of Fellwaters to the army. I now had all my painted Troggoths in the list… time to paint some more.
Quest – My Fungoid finished the game next to the Arcane terrain next to my Shrine, and found lots of Spiders to command.. Scuttletide was mine!
New Quest – I chose to Scout Fertile Lands to enable me to re-roll my new territory roll next game.
Territory – I found Wild Lands this time, but didn’t really need an extra Monster, so decided not to settle it.
Game 2 – The Trap
We had some time to play a second game, so Phileas Fogg decided to counterattack and invade the StD’s terroritory… unfortunately he was walking into a trap and was ambushed…
After the first game, Ben decided to bring some additional back bone; he had managed to convince Be’lakor to join him; as he is expensive it did reduce the size of the force – Chaos Lord on Karkadrak, Be’lakor & 10 Chaos Warriors… they would have to do some work!
Setup
The set-up left the Slaves looking more like the ambushers than the invaders, but how would Ben unpack to start killing my units?
The first few turns were cagy, with me running around board edges whilst the Chaos Warriors struggled forward. This allowed me to rack up a lot of Victory Points and solidify my control of the area.
In Turn 3 Be’lakor was unleashed and charged my Rockgut Troggoths. He did 10 wounds, killing two of them and the swingback only did 4 wounds as Be’lakor ignored Rend.
As my mission was to survive to end of Turn 3, I took no risks and the Rockgut’s retreated, whilst the Dankhold & Fellwaters advanced on the left towards the Chaos Knights.
In Turn 4 I charged the Chaos Warriors, killing most of them, and then Ben caught me again between Be’lakor and his Chaos Lord. The Lord killed 2 Rockgut’s whilst Be’lakor failed his rolls and the Fellwaters did a few wounds.
Turn 5 saw me retreat again, and Be’lakor chase my Fellwaters whilst the Chaos Lord chased the 2 remaining Rockguts. The Lord (Jeff) went first and killed the Rockguts (gaining a reknown). This did allow the Fellwaters to swing first against Be’lakor and they did 6 wounds. As Be’lakor had only 4 wounds left he needed to roll 5 out of 6 successful armour saves… Ben rolled! and Be’lakor lived; He took out 2 Fellwaters in revenge.
The Warlords face off; Whilst Be’lakor attacks Troggoths
I had won the mission although this was more bloody than the first game and I would need to roll some casualty rolls. This was a great fun game and Be’lakor definitely gave the StD the speed and damage potential to take out the Troggoths.
Post Game 2
Glory Points – I gained the maximum 13 Glory Points for winning the game and having my Warlord still alive.
Injuries – I needed to roll for 6 Rockgut’s and 2 Fellwaters. 2 Rockgut’s rolled the 1 and 1 Fellwater. I would need to roll for recuperating.
Renown Points – Each of my units gained a renown point for being alive in the third turn, and most of them survived and picked up points for this. Da Watery Boyz (Fellwaters) were my chosen and rolled sufficiently to become Veteran Warriors. This allowed me to give them a bonus as well. I wanted to be different to my Rockguts so they chose Deadly Volley for their spitting attack.
New Units – no new units for me, but I rolled to recuperate the Rockguts, and rolled 2 4+ meaning I got both of them back – good news for Fogg, who relies on this unit.
Quest – My Fungoid finished the game close to the board edge (after a turn 5 Hand of Gork), and so I could roll twice on the territories table
New Quest – I would need to consider this before my next game
Territory – After my reroll I found a Large Settlement (underground cave network), which would reduce the Glory Cost of my new units by 1. This would be useful when I had more painted Troggoths.
The Force
Warscroll
Name
Reknown
Points
Dankhold Troggboss
Phileas Fogg
19
250
Fungoid Cave-Shaman
Verne
4
95
6 Rockgut Troggoths
Fogg’s Ladz
7
290
3 Fellwater Troggoths
Da Watery Boyz
8
155
3 Fellwater Troggoths
Da Swampy Boyz
155
Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws
Da Wet Boyz
55
Scuttletide (Endless Spell)
85
End of Session!
Summary
What a great evening – Thanks to Ben for the games; it was great to play small games and see what everything did without being shot off the table – Khorne really wanted to get stuck in. I also learned a lot about the Troggoths, who I have never used in large numbers – these were mostly painted during lockdown. I needed more practice, but they may make an outing at Facehammer.
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An Army for the Ages…!
Welcome to Woehammer – have you noticed the lovely feeling of no adverts (ads), no pop-ups and no auto-playing videos? Well, that’s the norm here at Woehammer.
But this is only possible because of our wonderful Patreons. So, some articles over 1 year old will now display our Patreon request at the top of the article… like this one! Don’t worry, we are not adding ads – but if you can afford to donate to the site, we would definitely appreciate it.Membership is available from just £1/month (plus taxes!!)
My First AOS3 tournament
Woehammer has asked me to write a few Blog posts for tournaments I go to to give their readers an idea of what tournaments are like in the UK.
TL:DR; They are great fun; take the plunge and buy a ticket for one wherever you are based
Who am I?
That’s all very well, but why should Woehammer ask me – I wasn’t sure either, but I have been attending tournaments for Warhammer Fantasy and AOS since my first Bristol Brawl in 2002. I find the gaming fun, and the preparation of army lists interesting, but the main draw for me is meeting new gamers, and having fun over the table. The tournament scene has given me friends all over the UK; and there are friendly faces at each event.
This isn’t to say its insular and unwelcoming – new players are welcomed into the tournament scene and given help and advice by those of us a little longer in the tooth. Just let the organiser and your opponents know that it’s your first event and they’ll look after you.
THWG – Barbarians Brawl 2 (One Day; Three Games)
For my first event of any new edition I always take my Glooomspite Gitz. I’ve been playing Goblins forever since the Elves invaded the Goblin mountains in 4th Edition; and they are always my go to army.
I did have something a little different though, because the new Kragnos book had given Gloomspite new allegiance abilities and I had been painting a lot of Squigs … so Jaws of Mork (Gloomspite) it was.
I will admit to being concerned about the army as it was ranked in the lower tiers by most players since AOS3, and I knew it would be an uphill struggle, but I wanted to give the new toys an outing.
Army
Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz – Option: Jaws of Mork – Mortal Realm: Ghur – Grand Strategy: Hold the Line – Triumphs: Inspired
Leaders Loonboss on Mangler Squigs (310) in Warlord – General – Command Trait: Envoy of the Overbounder – Artefact: Amulet of Destiny (Universal Artefact) Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig (110) in Vanguard – Moon-cutta – Artefact: Syari Screamersquig Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95) in Warlord – Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95) in Warlord – Lore of the Moonclans: Itchy Nuisance
Battleline 36 x Squig Herd (480) in Hunters of the Heartlands – Reinforced x 2 20 x Squig Hoppers (360) in Hunters of the Heartlands – Reinforced x 1 10 x Squig Hoppers (180) in Vanguard
Units 10 x Boingrot Bounderz (210) in Hunters of the Heartlands – Reinforced x 1 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75) in Warlord 6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75) in Warlord
Core Battalions Warlord Vanguard Hunters of the Heartlands
There wasn’t a big plan for this; just to see how the new game worked, and whether I could bring the Gitz to a longer format tournament. I really like one dayer tournaments for this as it gives an opportunity to try out new things without waking up on Sunday morning 0-3 down and seeing 2 more games looming ahead.
My biggest concern was with the Squig Hoppers as their mortal wound damage (for moving over units), now only worked on normal moves. So, so run or retreat over units.
Game 1 v Nighthaunt
Nighthaunt are in a similar position to Gloomspite so this was going to be close. My opponent (Chris) had a nice list led by Olynder with Chainrasps and lots of other ghosts. Very thematic.
We both advanced on the objectives, and in the second turn I gave Chris the turn as he was far enough away to do limited damage – he charged the large squig herd and we both did damage to each other. I then set my Mangler Squig Boss on His Finest Hour and went to clear an objective setting him 3″ away. I rolled double 1; command point; rolled double 1 again!
This meant I had to take the third turn, allowed Chris to remove the objective my Mangler was (supposed) to be fighting on. My Hoppers moved onto the middle objective, and bounced onto a support character killing him, but I should have charged Olynder and I was too worried about losing the squigs.
This meant I was the first to drop points as I only held one objective, and the Chris came smashing back making a 10 inch charge roll with his ghosts (allowing an immediate round of combat), and taking back the central objective.
Once behind it was difficult to get back and I couldn’t achieve a fifth battle tactic, leading to the loss. Chris played really well, and I learnt a lot about the new game – lots of time at the beginning of each turn choosing battle tactic and making sure to leave one for the end!
Round
Priority
Declan (BT)
Chris (BT)
Points
1
C/D
Expansion (Y)
Advance (Y)
5-5
2
D/C
Conquer (Y)
Expansion (Y)
10-10
3
D/D
Broken Ranks (Y)
Conquer (Y)
13-15
4
D/D
Advance (Y)
Bring it Down (Y)
16-21
5
C/C
None possible
Spearhead (Y)
16-26
END
Hold the Line (Y)
Hold the Line (Y)
19-29
Scores on the Doors
Game 2 v Soulblight Gravelords
Greg’s army is unashamedly top tier – Nagash, Vengorian Lord, Manfred, 3 x 10 Zombies… ouch! I was in some trouble here but I started with an advance and send off my Boingrots towards some Zombies. I was in a defensive formation around the Shrine with the hope of weathering the storm and then striking with the Hopper’s mortal wound output.
Greg took the objective I had a toe on, won priority turn 2 and charged with everything. My screen was hit badly but with 72 wounds in the unit it weathered it well, and the Shrine ensured no battleshock. I now needed to get out.
I decided that I needed to kill one of the big things, and with Manfred’s ability to disappear and the Vengorian Lord to my right I went for Nagash. Despite retreating the Squig Herd couldn’t leave enough space for my hoppers who only did 2 mortal wounds to Nagash due to space constraints. The Mangler again did Finest Hour, charged Nagash and Manfred (with Sneaky Snufflers on as well), and did no wounds to Nagash…! The 2+ save rerolling 1s was very good.
My gamble over, Greg proceeded to take the Gloomspite apart. We chatted afterwards… perhaps after a little cursing at the different strengths of the books, and struggled to see how I could win!
Round
Priority
Declan (BT)
Greg (BT)
Points
1
G/D
Advance (Y)
Conquer (Y)
5-5
2
G/G
Bring it Down (N)
M. Takeover (Y)
6-10
3
G/G
Conquer (N)
Slay Warlord (Y)
6-17
4
None Possible
6-25
5
None possible
6-29
END
Hold the Line (N)
Beast Master (Y)
6-32
Breaking down the Doors
Game 3 v Skaventide
Skaventide have been making headlines for the Stormfield build, but George had brought a superb moulder army with 2 Hellpits, 2 Rat Ogre units of 6 and lots (and lots) of battle line Giant Rats… Hold the Line was going to be difficult to stop.
Due to the number of rats, I got to ask George to go first and he moved onto the central objective. I moved my Squig Herd forward, killed a few Giant Rats, and took the objective back. In the second turn George tried to kill the large Squig Herd with his Hell Pit Abominations for Broken Ranks. I don’t think he realised how many wounds they have and the unit survived, and smashed one of the Hell Pits down to a few wounds allowed me to pick up Bring it Down in my turn and go slightly ahead.
I then got the priority roll and a double turn allows my Mangler to kill some more rats (Broken Ranks was easy!), whilst my Boingrots killed most of one of the Rat Ogre units on my right. The smash back killed the Mangler (mostly through shooting), and started to reduce the Hoppers. The Squig Herd also died at this stage.
With little left my Boingrots went after a Master Moulder and got into the Grey Seer killing him and gaining savage spearhead with the Loonboss in turn 5, but on my left the Squig Hoppers (my last battleline) were trying to run away from the undamaged Rat Ogres… unfortunately, they were caught in George’s turn 5 and he stopped my Grand Strategy; giving him the game
Round
Priority
Declan (BT)
George (BT)
Points
1
D/G
Conquer (Y)
Advance (Y)
3-5
2
G/G
Bring it Down (Y)
Broken Ranks (N)
9-8
3
D/D
Broken Ranks (Y)
Slay Warlord (Y)
12-13
4
D/D
Advance (Y)
Conquer (Y)
17-16
5
D/D
Spearhead (Y)
Spearhead (Y)
20-20
END
Hold the Line (N)
Hold the Line (Y)
20-23
Door Left Ajar
What did I Learn?
Not a very destruction concept, but what did I learn?
Battle Tactics are very important and you need a plan about which ones you’ll do when.
Monster heroes are very good… when the Mangler charged he wiped out what he was fighting (except Nagash) and the finest hour made him great fun. Unfortunately the other armies have better ones – Manfred, Nagash & Arkhan who I played. The ability to do damage at range with these characters is very powerful
There’s book keeping – I used the AOS score sheet from thehonestwargamer.com which was essential for keeping track for both me and my opponent
Try to kill a monster a turn. I killed both Hell-Pits in the same turn; normally really good, but I could have grabbed an extra point if I’d managed to engineer them dying in different rounds. Difficult to do, but worth watching out for.
Conclusion
After the enforced COVID break, it was great to be back rolling dice, but the Gloomspite just didn’t cut it. I had very close games against Nighthaunt & Skaven but they weren’t top tier armies, and the only game against top tier was a demolition. In 5 game tournaments I like to aim for 3-2 and I couldn’t see how this was possible with the Squigs! Unfortunately the Gloomspite WhatsApp group didn’t provide much solace and so I made the decision to play Sons of Behemat… as luck would have it there was a team tournament the next day at the same venue, so I would be back!
