This is the top three AoS lists for Prleški Hammer 3 that took place in Slovenia on the 2nd and 3rd of March. It saw 22 players vying to be crowned champion in a 5-game tournament.
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The Top Three AoS Lists
Army Faction: Seraphon
– Army Type: Starborne
– Subfaction: Dracothion’s Tail
– Grand Strategy: Spellcasting Savant
– Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS
Lord Kroak (440)*
Slann Starmaster (310)**
– General
– Command Traits: Arcane Might
– Artefacts of Power: Spacefolder’s Stave
– Spells: Comet’s Call, Hoarfrost
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (160)**
Skink Starseer (160)**
– Spells: Cosmic Crush, Merciless Blizzard
BATTLELINE
Saurus Guard (140)*
– Saurus Guard Alpha
– Icon Bearer
– War-drummer
Skinks (90)*
– Skink Alpha
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler
Skinks (90)*
– Skink Alpha
– Boltspitter, Celestite Dagger and Star-buckler
Saurus Guard (420)*
– Saurus Guard Alpha
– 3 x War-drummer
– 3 x Icon Bearer
ENDLESS SPELLS & INVOCATIONS
1 x Aethervoid Pendulum (50)
1 x Quicksilver Swords (50)
1 x Ravenak’s Gnashing Jaws (70)
TERRAIN
1 x Starborne Realmshaper Engine (0)
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Command Entourage – Magnificent (Spell)
TOTAL POINTS: 1980/2000
Boris Belić: Everyone knows what Starborne does, and it’s been doing what it does for a while now. So, the goal of the list was to address the obvious problem: how to shore up weaknesses while still capitalizing on the core strengths. The solution, for me, was to include 15/5 Saurus Guard in DT and invest heavily in Endless Spells, along with a different trait to the nerfed Celestial Resonance.
The flexibility is staggering. Hoarfrost versus BoK suddenly gives those 15 Guards some non-spell damage output for objective contesting. Against KO, BoC, or any other alpha strike list, the 15 Guards can soak up anything, allowing the casters to wipe the board in the following hero phase. Against any other army, the 15 Guards can be in the sky, and after teleporting Kroak forward to unload mortals, they come down to protect as the second layer of screens, summoning Skinks in front for a double screen if needed.
The choice of Endless Spells is based on versatility. Almost all lists have something important with low speed for Jaws, QSS to counteract the rising ward prominence, and Pendulum primarily to cut down KO ships with everything inside them, though other uses are always available. Overall, the list still struggles somewhat versus anti-magic, though to a lesser degree, while not only retaining the overall Starborne strengths but also offering flexibility to approach each matchup from a better angle.
Army Faction: Cities of Sigmar
– List Name: My Little Ponies
– Subfaction: Misthåvn
– Grand Strategy: Banners Held High
– Triumph: Inspired
LEADERS
1x Battlemage on Griffon (250)
– Spells: Flaming Weapon, Wildform
1x Tahlia Vedra (300)*
1x Battlemage (100)**
– Spells: Hoarfrost, Pha’s Protection
– Arcane Trinkets: Ritual Dagger
1x Freeguild Cavalier-Marshal (120)**
1x Freeguild Marshal on Griffon (270)**
– General
– Command Traits: Grizzled Veteran
– Freeguild Lance
– Artefacts of Power: Sigmarite Warhammer
BATTLELINE
10x Freeguild Cavaliers (360)*
– Arch-Knight
– Arch-Knight’s Blade
– 2 x Cavalier Herald
5x Freeguild Cavaliers (180)*
– Cavalier Herald
– Arch-Knight
– Arch-Knight’s Blade
5x Freeguild Cavaliers (180)*
– Arch-Knight
– Cavalier Herald
– Arch-Knight’s Blade
OTHER
6x Freeguild Command Corps (200)**
CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment
**Warlord (Extra Spell Enhancement)
TOTAL POINTS: 1960/2000
Andrej Bunjac: To be fairly honest, my original goal for this tournament was to make a list I had fun with in terms of gameplay rather than chasing serious results or good placement. Originally I got very disappointed by playing the shooting castle that Cities were originally hyped with because it just forces me to play passive and pray to get some good rolls on prayers / spells in order to do anything.
I ended up compensating for this by creating a highly mobile army with 3 monsters and 20 cavaliers and some modicum of support in terms of Command Corps and a Battlemage.
The list was crafted before the battlescroll, and it was very lucky to survive the battlescroll because of Tahlia’s generous -40 points update. I was torn between putting it in Excelsis or Misthavn, but I decided I had enough punch from the warscrolls themselves and wanted additional movement shenanigans.
The game plan is simple – you have enough mobility to be outside of the range from any major threats the opponents can bring to the table and still be able to catch them. This was most apparent in my Kruleboyz matchup where the Boltboyz couldn’t do what they usually do best – snipe threats before they become threats.
The Battlemage on Griffon is a surprisingly strong piece and can be made even stronger provided appropriate buffs like Flaming Weapon. On multiple occasions in the tournament, both my opponent and I were shocked by the output potential there.
As for Tahlia, I never got in a situation where her combat rally would be valuable to use, but her double order and punch alone made her a valuable piece to have in the lineup. The list is quite smooth with achieving battle tactics – you can make good use of Mount the Charge and Raise the Banner from the Cities book at correct times in the game. And then there is enough GHB tactics for you to fill up the remaining three.
An unusual choice I made in the list was putting a Ritual Dagger as a trinket for the Battlemage. The reasoning was knowing that with 6 drops I will rarely get priority and in case I am stuck playing first – I want to be able to buff up the 10 block of cavaliers with Pha’s Protection and Hoarfrost to make them a big counter charge threat or a pinning block.
The list was originally at 1970 pre-battlescroll and it went down to 1960 post-battlescrll. I decided to not make changes and be happy with a hefty triumph bid making sure you always have access to very needed +1 wound buff at a correct time.
All in all, I was quite happy with how the list operated in different scenarios given the limited utilization of the toolbox available to Cities and most of it was due to the surprising movement spikes you can get in the hero phase that enable you to position exactly how and where you want. On the weak side – its lack of mortal wound protection makes it fragile into many matchups, most notably Seraphon, where you would always be playing an uphill battle and scraping for points and being very powerful screen-killer.
Army Faction: Kharadron Overlords
– Army Subfaction: Barak-Nar
– Grand Strategy: Rule the Skies
– Triumphs: Inspired
– Stick To The Code (Amendments): Prosecute Wars With All Haste
– Stick To The Code (Artycles): Honour is Everything
– Stick To The Code (Footnotes): There’s No Reward Without Risk
LEADER
1 x Aetheric Navigator (110)*
– Artefacts: Voidstone Orb
1 x Brokk Grungsson (220)*
– Nullstone Adornments: Hand-carved Nullstone Icon
1 x Endrinmaster with Endrinharness (90)*
– General
– Command Traits: Stormcaller
BATTLELINE
9 x Endrinriggers (130)*
– Mizzenmaster
10 x Arkanaut Company (90)*
– Company Captain
– Aethermatic Volley Gun and Gun Butt
– Light Skyhook and Gun Butt
– Volley Pistol
– Skypike
10 x Arkanaut Company (90)*
– Company Captain
– Aethermatic Volley Gun and Gun Butt
– Light Skyhook and Gun Butt
– Skypike
– Volley Pistol
BEHEMOTH
1 x Arkanaut Frigate (310)*
– Heavy Sky Cannon
– Great Endrinworks: Prudency Chutes
OTHER
1 x Grundstok Gunhauler (180)*
– Sky Cannon
1 x Gotrek Gurnisson (480)*
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (1960/2000)
Timon Grabovac: For me, this list answered the question, how to play KO without having 5 three hour long games.
We have 2 hammers in the always solid Gotrek and an amazing combination of 9 Endrinriggers and an Arkanaut Frigate. Gotrek has the incredible ability, to zone out a section of the board and is perfect bait for less experienced or overly brave players that think fighting him is a good idea. Gotrek’s presence in the middle of the board also discourages most armies from advancing their castle towards him, thus giving you time to wait out an opportunity to strike, while scoring the easy battle tactics KO have at their disposal.
This coupled with the Navigator debuffs and Brokk’s solid shooting gives a well rounded army that can adapt to most situations and pack a massive punch on the Frigate’s 3D6 charge.
Following the latest battlescroll, the point increases meant I had to reduce one unit of Arkanauts to 10, which was very likely the deciding factor in my round one loss agains BoC, where I was unable to effectively screen my army from the Bullgor charge.
Army Faction: Soulblight Gravelords
– Army Type: Legion of Night
– Grand Strategy: Empire of Corpses
– Triumphs: Inspired
LEADER
1 x Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (480)
– General
– Command Traits: The Bait
– Deathlance
– Artefacts: Shard of Night
– Spells: Vile Transference
1 x Mannfred Von Carstein (400)*
– Spells: Waste Away
1 x Vampire Lord (150)*
– Spells: Hoarfrost
BATTLELINE
30 x Deathrattle Skeletons (110)*
– Skeleton Champion
– 3 x Standard Bearer
20 x Deadwalker Zombies (150)*
20 x Deadwalker Zombies (150)*
20 x Deadwalker Zombies (150)*
10 x Dire Wolves (150)*
– Doom Wolf
CORE BATTALIONS:
*Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: (1960/2000)
Enes Humic: The general idea of the list is board control and using the Legion’s excellent traits to pin the opponents’ army in their deployment zone and denying the objectives. A block of thirty skeletons was supported by Vampire Lord with Hoarfrost spell in order to give them some damage output but primarily to be a main anvil of the army. Zombies and wolves are used for early pinning and completing battle tactics.
The army was deployed in a way that enables countercharge with Zombie Dragon or Mannfred, and using Unleash Hell on Zombie Dragon and Legion’s specific Monstrous Rampage to get 2 D6 attacks. This is where the primary damage output comes.
In the early game, I would keep them safe and only engage targets. I am sure I can destroy, never leave both of them in dangerous positions. Only later in the game would I commit them to fights.
In general, one hundred models on the table provide me with excellent screening and denying opponents’ movement.
The list was really fun to play because of teleporting/countercharging shenanigans made possible in the Legion of the Night, and often surprise opponents who didn’t consider that extra movement with which you can easily steal objectives and deny battle tactics.
Final Tournament Placings
