Tournament Round-Up 19

Double-trouble tournament fun!

It’s time for another tournament review. This time it’s a double featurette! For Saturday I was down at Ibuywargames in Woking. It’s a great gaming store that I’ve played at before and won tournaments at although not any of their glass trophy ones. Considering the players going as well as the high turnout of 14 I opted to go with Stormsire’s Cursebreakers, one of the few warbands I haven’t won with yet.

Decklist

Playstyle: Flex (Aggro, Control and MAGIC!)

Out of all the decks I’ve made recently, this is the one I’m most proud of. Once again it’s my own take on Cursebreakers and would have been my January Grand Clash deck (subbing a few cards of course). I have my standard restricted objectives along with Fired Up over Extreme Flank. I dropped Magical Supremacy for Master of War as the latter is more consistent and easier to score. Giant Slayer is still there as a favourite for me as well as Keep Them Guessing.

Ready for Action is a given and Twist the Knife for extra boosted damage because everyone seems to have forgotten about it. Helps making Measured Strike easier to score. Mighty Swing is there because it’s amazing on 3 smash fighters and one of my favourite tech cards.

Gather the Storm is in there over Inspiration Strikes as my 2nd tech card for a few reasons. It helps me score Harness the Storm, it makes getting Empower off guaranteed and also allows Stormsire to more reliably cast 2 channel spells. It unlocks magic for me while also inspiring fighters making it more useful than simply inspiring a fighter.

Spells are pretty obvious. Abasoth’s Withering is a very strong spell. Vital Surge is just so useful. Healing 2 wounds anywhere on the board is huge and can be soul crushing to your opponent. Lastly is Sphere of Chamon, my 3rd tech card. It made the cut over Abasoth’s Unmaking because I love removing multiple defence dice from enemy fighters. It can also be freely cast on my own fighters if no enemy is in range.

Upgrades are standard either to give me more free channel innates, more mobility (Great Speed) and extra spikes of damage (Concealed Weapon). Stormsire inspired can also reach a damage 4 Fulmination if so desired.

Remember the trusty kombat key!

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Saturday

Round 1

For the first round I was up against Charlie and his Chosen Axes. It would be an interesting game as Grimnir can demolish the Cursebreakers once he gets going. Winning boards he placed the Shattered Tower and I placed the Katophranes Reliquary as a wide configuration.

Letting him go first, Charlie began by charging into Ammis with Tefk with 2 smashes knocking her down to 2 wounds. I then casted Empower on Ammis as she was out of charge range from enemy Duardin. Vol moved up and Ammis charged into Grimnir rolling 3 supports. That’s fine. I reacted with Lightning Assault only for me to roll 1 smash only to be crit’d in defence. Grmnir hit back but I rolled a crit. Rastus then charged into Tefk with a smash to score What Armour? while Grimnir finally cut down Ammis. Stormsire then moved up to set up for round 2. I had managed to score Master of War and Keep Them Guessing.

Phase 2 began with Stormsire casting Fulmnation at Grimnir. A single focus went through to do 1 damage and inspire Stormsire scoring Harness the Storm. I then equipped Tempest’s Might and played Ready for Action. With a focus and a crit, Grimnir died to score me measured strike! Tefk charged into Stormsire but my 2 block proved too strong. Rastus got Empower off an Inspired while Vol moved up. Now Tefk had Great Fortitude so Rastus was given Great Strength. Charging in my rolls ended with 2 smashes and a crit which slayed the flaming Duardin.

Phase 3 had Vol unsuccessfully charge Vol. Rastus with Glory Seeker against an inspired Vol charged back and slew him with a single smash. Stormsire then tried casting Fulmination 3 times with little success via either rolling channels or being beaten by a single block. Still I was able to close out a 18/7 win.

Game 2 had me lose boards so I placed the Cursed Oubliette thinking wide was coming only to be long boarded with the Shattered Tower. This was fine as it allowed me to severely restrict where his 2 objectives were placed and I had the tools to deal with it.

Phase 1 was spent first by Empowering Ammis, then putting Stormsire on guard then moving Rastus onto objective 5. The Chosen Axes moved around while they took my bait and Tefk charged Rastus but failed to knock him back. I then attacked back with a smash and played Twist the Knife to kill Maegrim which scored me What Armour? This also allowed me to score Fired Up and Keep Them Guessing to my opponent’s single glory.

I began by putting Rastus on guard. Vol then moved up on the left. Rastus then casted Empower while Charlie drew a card. I used Hidden Paths to get Ammis adjacent to Vol by the single blocked hex so she was safe from being charged by an inspired Grimnir. Sadly her 3 smash attack failed again so Tefk charged in doing 2 damage to her. Rastus then charged in wounding Tefk to score Change of Tactics so I put Deathly Fortitude on Ammis. She took 2 more damage from Vol but stayed put. Using Gather the Storm, Stormsire successfully cast Vital Surge to heal Ammis by 2 wounds and inspire himself to score Shinning Example.

Round 3 had Ammis kill Vol with 2 crits and a smash. Grimnir charged in a killed her. Rastus then cleaved apart Tefk with 3 smashes. Grimnir used Ready for Action with Faneway Crystal to put Grimnir on objective 1. I drew a card then charged with Stormsire using Fulmination to score a single focus vs a block to push Grimnir away. The game ended with an 18/3 win to me. Hard fought but fun games.

Round 2

Now it was time for Tom and his Ironskull’s Boyz. Winning boards we both went with the Katophrane’s Reliquary.

Going first I got Empower with Ammis. Bonekutta charged in with 2 smash leaving her on a single wound. I then used Gather the Storm to get Rastus to bring Gurzag down to 4 wounds with Abasoth’s Withering. Ammis then charged Gurzag for Tom to play Aggressive Defence. I then rolled 3 supports. Rerolling, I got another support. Gurzag then cut down Ammis and charged into Rastus with a smash and a crit. He then played ‘Avin’ a Good Time, rolling a smash and then killing Rastus making Twist the Knife useless to me. Still I used my remaining activations to secure Keep Them Guessing.

Now with Great Strength, I lost priority and was quickly killed by Gurzag. The rest of the phases were spent securing objectives and drawing cards which ended only on a 5/10 loss to me thanks to a lucky Distraction.

Knowing my opponent was now flex aggro and hold objective Orruks I adjusted my tactics. The setup was the same for game 2.

This time I let Tom go first who charged in with Gurzag but failed to hit. I then played Gather the Storm and used Ammis to cast Sphere of Chamon on Gurzag to inspire her and score Harness the Storm. Giving her Great Strength she charged into Bonekutta rolling 3 smashes and killing him for Measured Strike. Rastus then cast Empower while Stormsire went on guard then Rastus moved up to score Escalation and Keep Them Guessing.

I won priority and charged Ammis into Hakka, pushing him back with my failed attack. Then with my brain fart I forgot Gurzag had Great Strength and Faneway Crystal. He charged onto the objective Hakka was on and brought down Ammis with a crit and a smash. I used Hidden Paths to put Stormsire safely between the 3 Orruks. I used Fulmination at Gurzag to knock him down 1 wound and inspired Stormsire. Basha charged in but failed. Stormsire then hit him back with 2 smashes from his staff. Hakka moved up while I missed with my last attack but scores Fired Up and Shinning Example.

I began phase 3 by charging Rastus into Basha and scoring What Armour? via slaying the Orruk. Now with Deathly Fortitude, Stormsire stood his ground. Gurzag charged in but I rolled a crit. He rolled ‘Avin’ a Good time successfully but failed with 1 smash vs 2 block. Stormsire fired back with Fulmination which was now at damage 4 thanks to Gloryseeker and Tempest’s Might. With a single focus Gurzag died to score me Giant Slayer. Hakka moved off and the game ended 15/8 to me.

Game 3 had me lose deployment so I placed the Shyishian Stardial while Tom placed the Shattered Tower with diagonal configuration.

Letting Tom go first, he moved onto objectives. I got Ammis to cast Empower and score Harness the Storm. Bonekutta charged in and took the bait but rolled a fury and a support. ‘Aving a good time failed to go off as well. Playing Great Strength, I attacked with Ammis. 2 smashes and a crit meant he died scoring me Strong Start and Measured Strike. I moved Ammis up while Gurzag set himself for a phase 2 charge.

Rastus charged into Basha and scored What Armour? Gurzag charged in, doing 3 wounds to Rastus. Ammis charged in against Gurzag who was trapped. A crit meant he took 3 damage. I then played Potion of Rage and Ready for Action scoring 2 crits and 3 smashes. Gurzag died to score me Giant Slayer. Basha charged Rastus and killed him via a crit and a fury.

Going into phase 3 I had Stormsire with Glory Seeker shot the in-range Basha and killed him via 2 focuses. Hakka then charged Ammis and failed. Using Ready for Action and Faneway Crystal he teleported away. Stormsire then went on guard while Ammis moved onto an objective. Stormsire then charged Hakka, failing but succeeding to push him off while scoring Change of Tactics. This resulted in an end phase of Keep Them Guessing, Escalation and Superior Tactician to win 19/10. Super tough and enjoyable games via a very sneakily surprising Orruk playstyle.

Round 3

Mollog made his impact played by Paul. It was time to put my anti-Mollog strats to the test! Check them out here. Losing boards, Paul put down the Arcane Nexus in response to my Shyisian Stardial.

Losing priority and made to go first, I casted Empower with Ammis and scored Harness the Storm. Paul then drew a card. Next I inspired Rastus with Empower. Playing Inspiration Strikes, Mollog killed Ammis with a crit and a smash. I used Gather the Storm and had Stormsire inspire via casting Abasoth’s Withering on Mollog. Rastus then charged Mollog scoring What Armour? with a smash and driving him back. Mollog then charged and killed Rastus so I played Hidden Paths putting Stormsire next to the weaker fighters. I shot the Spiteshroom, killing it with a single focus to score Measured Strike.

Winning Priority I next shot the Batsquig with Fulmination. Failing the first time, Lightning Assault allowed me to killing it with a crit and a focus to score Strong Start while Mollog began his trek back to Stormsire. I gave Stormsire Sudden Growth and attacked the Stalasquig but failed. Mollog charged and missed.

Phase 3 had me shoot the Stalasquig again but failed. Mollog charged, leaving Stormsire on 1 wound. I used Distraction then charged the Stalasquig but failed again. Mollog charged as well but his single smash failed against 2 block. Unable to push me, we drew cards and I won with a 16/7 win.

Game 2 had me win boards and we went with the same choices. This time I went with a diagonal configuration.

Getting to go first again I just inspired Rastus to score Harness the Storm. Mollog then moved up. Ammis then successfully casted Empower. Mollog, unable to attack Rastus due to hiding behind the blocked hexes, charged Ammis. A double crit did 3 damage with Pit Trap killing her. I responded by giving Stormsire Faneway Crystal and charging the Spiteshroom, killing him with 2 smashes to score Measure Strike. Rastus then charged to Mollog scoring What Armour?

Phase 2 had Great Strength Bat Squig charge Stormsire but failed to hit. Stormsire swatted him away with a crit to score Strong Start. Mollog then killed Rastus. Stormsire then went on guard. Mollog now began to move up I gave Stormsire Tempest’s Might then charged the Stalasquig. Fulmination rolled a focus but was defeated by a block. Using Lightning Assault I rolled a crit and a focus which beat out a defensive crit which killed the Stalasquig and inspired Stormsire who was then given Deathly Fortitude. Mollog charged thanks to Commanding Stride but was beaten by my defensive crit.

Phase 3 had Mollog whack down Stormsire to 2 wounds. I just shot him back to no avail. Mollog then killed Stormsire so we began drawing cards. Thanks to a phase 2 Tome of Offerings and correct sacrifices, I had won 18/9 despite being wiped out! A fun tough set of games but my Mollog tactics had worked.

Round 4

It was finale time against Rob and his Cursebreakers. I had beat him to 1st place last Saturday but who would prevail now in a face-off? Winning boards he placed the Cursed Oubliette while I responded with the Katophrane’s Reliquary.

Going first Ammis got Empower off scoring Harness the Storm. Rob’s Ammis tried to cast Empower but failed. I then used Gather the Storm and used Rastus to cast Abasoth’s Withering on Stormsire which inspired him. I then played Mighty Swing. Ammis charged into Stormsire and Rastus. 3 smashes brought Rastus down to 1 wound and he was pushed back 3 hexes, 2 crits and a smash on Stormsire killed him to score me Measured Strike with Strong Start. Rob tried to cast empower again but failed. Stormsire went on guard. Rob finally Inspired Ammis. Stormsire then moved up while the other Rastus inspired. I ended to score Fired Up with Keep Them Guessing.

Round 2 had Rob’s Ammis with Lightning Whip charge my Ammis and killed her with a crit and a smash. Stormsire then charged Rastus. My focus was cancelled out by a block but then I reacted with Lightning Assault. My 2 focuses killed Rastus and inspired Stormsire. Rastus then casted Empower and went on guard while Rob drew power cards. Rastus, now with Great Strength, charged Ammis rolling a crit and a smash. Reacting with Twist the Knife, she died scoring me Change of Tactics and What Armour? Phase 2 and 3 were spent cycling cards, ending on a 18/7 win for me.

Game 2 went the same setup wise. I was given first activation so I tried casting Empower on Ammis. I failed and only succeeded on my 3rd activation while Rob inspired Ammis then Rastus. I played Mighty Swing and charged Rastus and Stormsire again. I did 3 damage to Rastus but did not play Twist the Knife for some reason. I then hit Stormsire rolling no hits even with a re-roll. I reacted with Lightning Assault only to fail again. Rob’s Ammis charged and killed my Ammis with Great Strength scoring Strong Start and Measured Strike.

Phase 2 had Rastus die to Ammis. I tried to keep Stormsire in the game but he was eventually killed by Rob’s Stormsire. We cycled cards and it ended with a 3/12 loss for me.

Game 3 had me lose boards so I placed the Katophrane’s Reliquary while Rob placed the Cursed Oubliette long which was perfect for me as it maximised the effectiveness of Mighty Swing.

Rob gave me priority so I casted Empower on Ammis scoring Harness the Storm (so gooood). Ammis then tried casting her Empower but failed. I used Gather the Storm with Rastus to cast Abasoth’s withering on enemy Ammis. Using Hidden Paths I placed Ammis next to her and attacked, killing her to score Measured Strike and Strong Start. Rob used his Stormsire to cast Cry of Thunder on Rastus but failed. My Rastus charged Stormsire to score What Armour? He was attacked by Stormsire who used Fulmination then Ready for Action with Tempest’s Might to kill Rastus. My Stormsire then went on Guard. My Stormsire then shot the opposing Stormsire to score Change of Tactics. Phase 1 ended with Master of War, Escalation and Keep Them Guessing.

Rob went first and used Stormsire to kill my Ammis to score Strong Start. My Stormsire who now had Tome of Offerings, Potion of Rage and Glory Seeker casted Fulmination at the enemy leader via a charge. With a single crit, the opponent died to score me 2 glory. Rastus then charged me and I survived. This allowed me to score Fired Up and Shining Example.

Phase 3 had Rob go first and he killed Stormsire with a beefed up Rastus but this was fine for me. Cycling cards I had already guaranteed Superior Tactician and won with a tight 17/14 win. A very tough but enjoyable set of games.

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After a long gruelling 4 round tournament I had come out as the only undefeated player with a glory differential of +60. It was tough but helped out so much by Gather the Storm and Harness the Storm. Special shout-outs go to David Smee who managed to claim joint 2nd with his Eyes of the Nine. Thank you Rob for beating him in round 2 for me (Cursebreakers forever).

Ibuywargames is a great store for all your gaming needs. Check them out as they have amazing staff and amazing players too! You’ll really have a good time and the locals are just great.

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Sunday

Not content with 1 tournament, Sunday saw me travel all the way to Folkestone on the South East coastline at Chaos Cards for their best of 1 trophy tournament with 6 players. I was contemplating using Eyes of the Nine but I wanted to have fun so I went with Garek’s Reavers.

Decklist

Originally I planned to switch to Garek’s Reavers before the banned and restricted list so this was a more toned down version of what it would have been. Reavers have amazing cards so I was happy to only run 2 restricted objectives, ploys and Shadeglass Dagger.

Game 1

Melissa and her Skaven were my 1st opponent. Winning boards we both went with the Mirror Well set wide.

Going first I charged my fighters into Skaven with my 3rd charge scoring me Blood for the Blood God and Strong Start, ending with Keep Chopping. Phase 2 had 3 Skaven dead so Garek was inspired. With Great Strength he charged into Skritch and decapitated him. By the end of phase 2 all the Skaven were dead and phase 3 was spent cycling cards to end with a 12/2 win for me.

We then played another game for fun that ended on a Skaven wipeout in phase 3 this time. Melissa was a great opponent but was just unlucky as I’ve played as Spiteclaw’s Swarm vs Garek’s Reavers faaar too many times in the past and know the matchup inside and out.

Game 2

Mollog struck again! This time with the lovely Jeremy. He lost boards so placed the Shattered Tower. I then placed the Shyishian Stardial in diagonal configuration as my patented anti-Mollog tactics.

Jeremy placed the Stalasquig in my territory on objective 1 and let me go first. I had discard my first power hand but drew none of my movement cards. I still had plans though. Karsus hit him for 1 and he attacked Arnulf but failed. I need this thing alive so used Arnulf to attack who rolled…a crit and killed the Stalasquig. Although this did score me Strong Start. Mollog moved up so I charged Saek in. Twisting the Knife, he did 4 damage to Mollog. Mollog swung back and I failed my dodge. This was fine. I played Rebound and rolled a support. This is fine. I played Last Chance and rolled a crit. Sigh. Mollog then used Ready for Action with Tome of Vitality to move Mollog out of range and stop my Keep Chopping.

Phase 2 had us in a stand-off. I let Jeremy go first who drew a card. Passing I inspired Arnulf who had Potion of Rage. I then played Blood Offering and Haymaker. Arnulf charged into the Bat Squig with 7 dice!

I have no words. Arnulf then died to Mollog but it inspired my warband. Phase 2 ended with the Batsquig and Mollog in my territory.

Letting Jeremy go first again, Bat Squig flew into the top left corner then he played Commanding Stride. Seeing no option left I gave Garek Great Strength and charged Mollog. I rolled a crit and he rolled…a support! Mollog died and I scores Giant Slayer. Karsus, with Tome of Offerings, charged a trapped Bat Squig who easily defended my attack. Using Deathly Fortitude and Ready for Action to attack again, that failed as well. I used Faneway Crystal to move Targor deep into enemy territory. Jeremy scored Extreme Flank but It Begins won me the game 5/4! Super tough but so much fun at the same time. So close!

Game 3

My final game was against Martin and his Farstriders. We both went with the Mirror Well set wide.

Going first Arnulf charged in with a crit at Farstrider doing 1 damage and pushed him back. Martin used Distraction and attacked but I rolled a crit. Targor charged in with 2 fury doing 1 more damage to Farstrider. He finally cut down Arnulf with a smash. Garek then charged Farstrider, with a smash and a crit he was dead which scored me Blood for the Blood God. Swiftblade charged Karsus and brought him down to 1 wound. Saek charged Eagle-Eye and killed him with Twist the Knife to score Draw the Gaze of Khorne and inspire the warband. Phase 1 ended with Keep Chopping, It Begins and Master of War.

Phase 2 started with Saek going on guard. Swiftblade then cut down Kasus. Using Great Strength and Haymaker, Saek cleaved apart Swiftblade with 2 crits and 2 smashes scoring Change of Tactics and What Armour? We continued cycling cards for the remainder of the game resulting with a 16/2 win for me.

After we played a second game for fun where he did much better and I won via 2 glory. Martin was a great opponent who just got a really bad hand and dice rolls for game 1. Still we all had a laugh.

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At the end I won! Unfortunately the manager decided to hold the trophy for a bigger tournament so no glass this time. Still, I had a fun time and got a lot of swag to boot! Chaos Cards is really an amazingly big store. Check it out. It has great locals to who were all a blast to chat and play with. Tune in next time for more crits. Except when rolling 7 dice of course…