Weekend Tournament Round-Up 13

Dis an Orruk blog now.

Oi ya gitz. 13 iz usually da number of dem stinky rat bois but if ya take away 1 and multiply it by 2, ya get WAAAGH!

So ya probably all ‘umie flesh bags. Which means ya don’t crump as good as an Orruk. We smash good but youz all want fancy cards to do da werk. Well lucky for you I ‘ad one of my runty Grotz find it fer me.

Objectives (12)

Da whole plan iz all about lethal hexes, running through dem and then ‘ealing up all good. No need for silly thingz like Shardgale. Not gotta rely on dem wusses to hit ya anymore!

Oh and we were’z at The Gameshop Aldershot. Last time those creepy Skeletons were used but they failed. Only an Orruk can be relied upon to crump someone all proper like.

Round 1

Game 1 was against Paul with Magore’s Fiends. Winning boards, I placed The Cog board down in a straight forwards head-on setup. Going first, I moved Hakka out of charge range and through a lethal hex. The rest of the Fiends moved up as I ran my boys up the midfield and through lethal hexes. At the bottom of phase 1, I played Tainted Vitality to heal my whole warband, scoring Shining Example, Heroes All and Ploymaster leaving the score at 3/1 to me.

Phase 2 had me going in with Gurzag having +1 damage, Awakened Weapon and fully healed inspired warband. One of the Fiends charged in but was killed by Gurzag due to failing to do any damage. Riptooth then charged in, to which I replied with Quick Thinker and Kunnin’ but Brutal with Bonekutta. I scored successful attack and then played Twist the Knife (choppa*) to kill it. Gurzag next charged into Magore and the last Khorne warrior. The Orruk cleaved apart Magore. Upgrading him with Great Speed, I played Ready for Action and slayed the last Fiend. With no one left, phase 3 was spent cycling cards which resulted in a 12/2 win to me.

Game 2 had me lose deployment so I placed The Cog board down as usual. Going first again, I moved Hakka back and inspired him. The Fiends slowly moved up this time but more directly towards me. Riptooth ran through a lethal hex deep into my territory, he was an easy kill now but was clearly bait. Like all good Orruks, I charged anyway but failed to do any damage. Pushing back the dog, Illusory fighter was played to move Bonekutta to the top left of my board. The rest of the Orruks shuffled around lethal hexes into a clump and phase 1 ended with me playing Tainted Vitality again. Riptooth was healed too but I was able to score Heroes All and Ploymaster to put me 2/0.

Phase 2 had a Fiend charge into Hakka but failed once again. Riptooth charged into Basha but also failed. I then played Awakened Weapon on Bonekutta. Next I used Hidden Paths and put him adjacent to Magore. I then played Great Strength and Ready for Action but was crit’d away. Attacking again in my next activation, Magore was finally killed. Zharkus charged in but also failed. Gurzag then killed Riptooth with Twist the Choppa (Knife*).

Winning Phase 3, I killed the last 2 Fiends and then cycled once again. The game ended with a 9/0 win to me. Orktober had come early.

Round 2

Magore’s Fiends were my opponents again, this time played by Mike. Winning deployment but losing priority, I was allowed to go first and so moved Hakka back through a lethal hex. The Fiends moved up as I moved around again. This time an early charge killed Basha, putting my opponent up 3 glory. I charged back and managed to kill the Fiend but didn’t score much in return.

Phase 2 had me kill Riptooth but lose Gurzag along the way. With 2 fighters each it was getting very close and I was down 7/8. Going into phase 3 I had 5 objectives scored with Escalation in-hand as well as Superior Tactician. I just had to survive. Going first, I killed Magore. Zharkus tried charging up but failed to kill Bonekutta. Playing my 3 upgrades I scored 6 glory in total compared to my opponent’s 4, putting me on a 13/12 win.

Game 2 had me being charged early. This time it failed again and the Fiend was set upon by Orruks. Once pulled down, Riptooth charged in. I played Quick Thinker and Kunnin’ but Brutal to charge in with Gurzag. A successful Twist meant the dog died again.

Phase 2 started off with the death of Bonekutta but in retaliation Hakka avenged him, albeit thanks to Brutal Frenzy, Shadeglass Dagger and rolling 3 crits. Magore, on his own, decided to review his current situation. The Fiend stepped back but then I put another speed upgrade on Gurzag and then played Spectral Wings. The Orruk warboss flew elegantly through the air, landing with a decapitating blow on Magore. After cycling cards the game ended 13/9 to me.

It was a close set of games. Mike played very well despite being new to the game and his positioning was on point. Thankfully I was able to swing things around in both games

Round 3

Alec would be my final opponent in a mirror to last week’s Grand Clash final. This time, however, I was with my Orruks whereas he had his unchanged Reavers.

Game 1 began with my lethal setup. Going first I pulled back Hakka from charge range and into a lethal hex, inspiring him. Alec expected me to charge in immediately but the Orruks need to be bunched up for effectiveness. Charging off on your own means certain death. After a few more activations of movement, Saek finally charged in. I responded with Quick Thinker via Bone Kutta through a lethal hex and then played Kunnin’ but Brutal as a reaction. Saek was cut into 2. Alec rolled for last chance but rolled a crit and thus Saek stayed dead. I ended it with a Tainted Vitality to heal my warband.

Phase 2 had Gurzag charged by Karsus, doing 2 damage to him. Gurzag killed him but then was taken down but Arnulf with the Shadeglass Sword and crits. I was able to get a revenge kill but it was now just my leaderless Orruks vs Garek and Targor.

Going into phase 3 I just needed 1 more objective to score me Superior Tactician. I lost initiative and Bonekutta died. I was able to kill Targor along the way but lacked the damage to kill Garek. Unable to score just a single card, game 1 ended on 9/12 to Alec.

With game 2, I decided to abandon the lethal hex tactic as it hadn’t performed as desired. This time I moved back Hakka once again. Karsus charged in, failed and played Illusory Fighter. Seeing an opening, I played Spectral Wings. Next I charged in with Bonekutta into Saek and next to Arnulf. I rolled a crit, he failed to dodge, I played Twist the Knife and then Alec rolled a crit (again!) for Last Chance. Netting some glory, I then used Illusory Fighter to bring him back to Safety.

Phase 1 had ended with an opposing Great Concussion. Seeing as I had to strike now, I used Hidden Paths to put Hakka next to Karsus. Then I played Great Concussion to push Karsus, Hakka and Garek in the corner. I then charged in thanks to movement upgrades and placed the inspired Gurzag next to Karsus and Garek. With no Quick Thinker, I rolled 2 crits and killed Karsus. Garek then hit back with Shadeglass Dagger and 2 crits. I failed my Soul Trap and Gurzag died. Hakka took a failed charge from Garek. I then attacked back with Shadeglass Dagger but rolled 3 hammers. Sadly Bonekutta was also killed with a Shadeglass hammer.

With only 2 fighters left, I managed to take out Arnulf. Garek charged next to Basha on guard. If he survived, I would score Change of Tactics and potentially kill him but sadly the crits turned on me once again. By the end of phase 3, only Garek and Hakka were left but there was nothing I could do. The game ended with another 10/18 loss for me.

Sadly I was knocked out of 1st place but was still able to come in a respectable 3rd place! Although I was gutted for not coming out top, I had played 3 great sets, got all the Q3 loot outside of the trophy and had fun. It was nice playing with ol’ Gurzag again. Sadly I expected Reavers to tear them apart, especially when expertly played by Alec, but I did learn a lot in the process. The Lethal Boards tactic was surprisingly effective and helped turn the tides against the bad Fiends matchup.

My red ones really were the fastest. The Orruks will have their time to shine again soon. If you’re ever in the area, check out The Gameshop Aldershot. It’s another great store. Definitely worth your time. Meanwhile, I have more warband tactics to plan and crits to roll.