Life and death in the Mirrored City.
Welcome to another tournament review. This time I’ll be going over the event I went to on the Sunday right after the Grand Clash at Warhammer Fest, partly because I’m mad. It was at the Games Table in Norwich. I decided to use Ylthari’s Guardians as they needed to be ticked off my warband list and also this would be a tough tournament with 14 players.
Decklist
Playstyle: Flex (Aggro and Magic)
This deck is all about magic and hitting fast. I’m running 8 score immediately objectives, Combination Strike to complement this as well as Superior Tactician, Reclaim the Lamentiri for easy 2 glory and Keep Them Guessing due to the warband’s range and that fighter card reactions currently count towards it. Change of Tactics and Advancing Strike are my restricted score immediately objectives as Change of Tactics is an easy guaranteed objective and Advancing Strike can be scored via my gambit spells and ploys.
Gambits are split evenly between 5 ploys and 5 gambit spells. Pangs of the Great Lack, Sphere of Aqhsy and Abasoth’s Withering are my damage spells, Abasoth’s Unmaking to combo with Scorched Earth and finally Curse of the Dwindling to shut down fighters like Mollog. For ploys Healing Amphora is just a useful healing and inspiring card. Leech Power inspires Ylthari and also helps score Scorched Earth so I have 2 sources to score it. Healing Potion is a spot inspiration card. Ready for Action and Trap are my restricted cards that also help score Lithe Spirits.
Warding Stance is my only faction upgrade because Gallanghan with 3 block is mad. Blessing of Vytrix is the most important upgrade. Innate channel unlocks all my spells easily and ensures they always go off. Helps cast Curse of the Dwindling too. The rest of the cards are standard really. Challenge Seeker and Well of Power for Ylthari for a 4 dice the Reaping. The rest are damage cards to punish all those 4 wound fighters.
The warband does heavily rely on Ylthari so she needs to be kept alive. Once she’s scored all her objectives however then I’d happily throw her in to the thick of it.
Objective placement is a huge part of the gameplan too. Generally I want to put as many objectives in no man’s land as possible. This makes Reclaim the Lamentiri ridiculously easy to score. You just have to hope that your opponent doesn’t place their objectives in your territory next to no man’s land and blocking it off as a result. Also you need to factor in if your opponents wants the objectives too as in that case you’d want to keep 2 in your half of the board. You also want a close objective hex to burn while keeping your objective safe. It’s complicated but there’s a whole mini-game for objective placement with the Guardians and smart opponents can punish you.
Nature’s Combat Guide:
Round 1
Mollog’s Mob played by Steve was my first opponent. Winning boards Steve placed the Cursed Oubliette so I set the Amber Catacomb in diagonal configuration.
Letting me go first I moved Ahnslaine through a lethal hex to score Calculated Risk. Mollog moved up. Skhathael then charged the Stalasquig but his smash was beaten by 2 blocks. Steve then played Inspiration Strikes on Mollog and charged my now trapped Gallanghan. He rolled 2 smashes and I rolled no crits so he scored multiple objectives then gave him Tome of Offerings. Ylthari charged the Stalasquig with her staff and killed it with a smash and a support to score Strike Swiftly. Ahnslaine shot Mollog to no effect and my Curse of Dwindling Failed.
Losing priority, Mollog charged and killed Skhathael to score 4 glory. Ylthari shot at him but failed. Mollog then charged and killed Ahnslaine. After drawing cards to score Scorched Earth and Song of Hatred with Combination Strike, phase 3 had Mollog charge and killed Ylthari with a smash and a crit. RIP. The game ended with a 8/15 loss for me.
Game 2 had me lose the board roll so I placed the Arcane Nexus first so Steve set the Penitent’s Throne in diagonal configuration.
Mollog charged Gallanghan but I rolled double block compared to his single smash. Gallanghan went on guard then took a charge from the Bat Squig but he easily defended. Galanghan then charged onto objective 2 and hit Mollog for 2 damage with a single smash. Steve then drew a card. Ahnslaine then charged the Bat Squig by running through a lethal hex to score Calculated Risk but failed to do any damage. Steve drew another card. I played Healing Potion on Ylthari then gave her well of power and charged Mollog. I rolled a focus and a crit doing 2 damage leaving him with 3 wounds. I gave her Blessing of Vytrix and reacted with Ready for Action and shot again rolling a single focus on 3 dice which beat out Mollog and scored me Lithe Spirits. I cast Sphere of Aqshy with 3 focus (thanks innate channel) to kill Mollog and score me Song of Hatred. The end phase had me score Combination Strike and Reclaim the Lamentiri.
Winning priority Ylthari charged the Stalasquig and killed him with a crit and a focus to score Sorcerous Scouring. I then cast Curse of Dwindling on the Bat Squig. I then cast Abasoth’s Unmaking with a crit to burn objective 4 and score Scorched Earth. Bat Squig charged Gallanghan but failed. I then gave Gallanghan Faneway Crystal and charged the Spiteshroom but failed to kill it.
Winning priority again Ahnslaine shot the Batsquig for 1 damage. The Bat Squig then ran away. Ylthari charged but failed to kill it. I then cast Pangs of the Great Lack and killed it to score Advancing Strike. Gallanghan was locked in a deadly duel with the Spiteshroom but could not defeat his fungi opponent. The game ended 14/2 to me thanks to Superior Tactician.
Game 3 had me win boards. They remained the same but I set it even more diagonal.
Mollog moved up. Ahnslaine shot him to no effect. Mollog charged and killed Skhathael to score Longstrider and Strong Start. Ylthari shot him with a focus that was successfully blocked. Steve then drew a card. I successfully casted Sphere of Aqshy with a crit then charged Ylthari onto Objective 1 and rolled 1 focus to do 2 damage and drive him back while scoring Song of Hatred. Gallanghan charged but missed. I then gave Ylthari Acrobatic and Well of Power then Ready for Action but my 2 focuses were beaten by a crit. I did score Reclaim the Lamentiri though.
Mollog, thanks to winning priority charged my lead and rolled…double fury. Ylthari shot back doing 2 damage with a crit and a focus then I reacted with Trap to kill him and score Lithe Spirits. Ylthari then burned her objective with Leech Power to score Scorched Earth. Bat Squig the moved up. Ylthari charged and blew up the Squig with a crit and 2 focus to score Sorcerous Scouring. I also scored Combination Strike.
Phase 3 had Ylthari charge and kill the Spiteshroom for Advancing Strike. Then it was just cycling cards and the game ended with a 15/4 win to me.
Round 2
Martin and his Steelheart’s Champions would be my next opponent. I was unsure whether he was running control or aggro but I expected a long board. I lost boards so I set the Arcane Nexus and he then set the Penitent’s Throne long.
Losing priority I moved Gallanghan up though a lethal hex to score Calculated Risk onto objective 3. Sevrin then moved onto objective 2. I put Ahnslaine on gaurd. Martin then drew a card. I inspired Ahnslaine then charged Brightshield from 4 hexes away. I did 1 damage and drove her back to the right to score Change of Tactics. Martin then moved Brightshield so she was adjacent to the other Stormcast. I then moved Ylthari onto objective 4, played Leech Power to burn it, inspire her and score Scorched Earth. I scored Reclaim the Lamentiri, Combination Strike and Keep Them Guessing.
Martin went first and used Brightshield’s upgrade Block to put everyone on guard. Ylthari used her Blessing of Vytrix to put Curse of Dwindling on Obryn then casted Pangs of the Great lack to do 1 damage to Steelheart and score Song of Hatred. I then had Ahnslaine charge and shoot Brightshield but her smash was dodged. Brightshield then charged Ahnslaine doing 2 damage and scoring Change of Tactics. I gave Ylthari Well of Power and Gloryseeker. She shot Brightshield with 2 crits and a focus then I automatically casted Sphere of Aqshy to kill her and score Advancing Strike. Obryn charged but missed with his single attack dice. Ylthari then charged Sevrin and killed him with a single focus to score Sorcerous Scouring and Strike Swiftly.
Phase had me win priority. Ylthari shot Obryn with a crit and a focus to kill him for Advancing Strike. We then cycled cards and I won 14/3.
Losing the roll-off boards remained the same but Martin set them wide this time.
I moved Ahnslaine through a lethal hex onto objective 3 and scored Calculated Risk. Obryn then moved 2 hexes into the middle of his team. I drew a card. Sevrin moved up 3 hexes to be 2 away from Objective 4. I drew another card. So did Martin. I took a risk. I charged Ylthari through a lethal hex onto objective hex and shot Sevrin. My block was cancelled by a block but I pushed him into his friendly fighters. I then played Leech Power to inspire her and score Scorched Earth. I then played Pangs of the Great Lack and 1 damage to Sevrin. Expecting a charge from Brightshield, Martin drew a card. I then scored Combination Strike and Reclaim the Lamentiri.
Winning priority, Ylthari with Gloryseeker shot a Sevrin and I rolled single focus. He was inspired but I had pushed him into a position last turn so now he was trapped by his teammates. He rolled a single block on 2 dice and died to score Advancing Strike and Sorcerous Scouring. I then successfully cast Cruse of the Dwindling on Obryn to make him 1 dice again. Obryn charged my leader but I rolled double dodge. With Well of Power I shot back but he blocked and inspired. He then drew a card. I shot Obryn again and rolled 1 crit and 2 focus. He took 3 damage then I killed him with Abasoth’s Unmaking. He drew a card and I shot Brightshield with 2 crits leaving her with 1 wound.
Winning priority I let Martin go first so he ran Brightshield into a lethal hex and killed her. Oh. I just then cycled out cards to win 20/2.
Round 3
Chosen Axes would be my 3rd opponent. Losing boards I placed the Arcane Nexus while he set the Mirror Well wide.
Losing priority, I popped Ahnslaine on guard. Tefk moved onto objective 4. Ahnslaine charged through a lethal hex onto objective 2 and shot Tefk off for 1 damage to score Calculated Risk then Change of Tactics. Grimnir moved onto objective 5 then played the Earth Shakes to push Tefk back on. Gallanghan charged Tefk and killed him to score Strike Swiftly. Vol then moved onto objective 3. Ylthari charged and shot him off with a single focus. I gave her blessing of Vytrix and then played Abasoth’s Unmaking, rolling a crit to burn the objective Grimnir was on to score Scorched Earth.
Phase 2 had Ylthari with Well of Power shoot Grimnir for 2 damage with 2 focus. I then played Acrobatic and Ready for Action to blow him away scoring Advancing Strike, Sorcerous Scouring and Song of Hatred. Vol charged Skathael doing 2 damage. I charged back with him and rolled a crit to kill him scoring Lithe Spirits.
Maegrim tried his best in phase 3 but Gallanghan with Great Strength hacked him down. After cycling cards the game ended 20/3 to me.
I lost boards again but then for some reason I gave Martin all the objectives. I knew I had messed up at this point but it was too late.
Going first I put Ahnslaine on guard. Tefk charged onto objective 3 and did 2 damage to Gallanghan with a single smash. Ahnslaine charged Tefk but failed to drive him back although I did score Change of Tactics. Grimnir then moved onto objective 2. Ylthari shot Tefk off his objective but then Martin used the Earth Shakes to push him back. Vol then moved onto objective 4. Ylthari attacked Tefk again but failed to kill him, instead driving him back again. Martin then moved Maegrim onto objective 1 and scored a lot of objectives…
Phase 2 had pretty much all the Chosen Axes inspired. Ylthari shot at Tefk but missed. He then played Ur-Gold Boon and fully healed him. I casted Abasoth’s Unmaking with a crit and burned objective 1 to score Scorched Earth. Grimnir then charged and killed Skhathael. Gallanghan charged Tefk but failed to roll any smashes. Maegrim then charged and killed him.
Phase 3 went no better. Ylthari died to an inspired Tefk and Ahnslaine was killed by a charging Grimnir. After cycling cards the game ended in a 6/12 loss for me.
I lost the board roll again and the layout remained the same but this time I placed objectives better.
Going first again I put Gallanghan on guard. Grimnir moved onto objective 3. Gallanghan charged Grimnir and succeeded with 2 smashes for 2 damage to score Change of Tactics. Martin then healed the damage and pushed Grimnir back onto objective 3. Vol then moved onto objective 2. Ahnslaine charged onto objective 1 and shot Grimnir with a single smash but was blocked although I still pushed him off. He used the Earth Shakes to push Grimnir back. Tefk moved onto objective 5 but Skhathael charged in return. With a crit and a smash he died to score me Strike Swiftly. Martin drew a card. In the end phase Grimnir inspired but I scored Reclaim the Lamentiri.
Inspired Grimnir charged Gallanghan who had Warding Stance. He rolled 2 smash and I failed to roll any crits so sadly he died. I gave Ylthari Blessing of Vytrix then cast Abasoth’s Unmaking with a crit to burn Objective 3 and scored Scorched Earth. I then gave her Well of Power. I shot Grimnir with 2 focus doing 2 damage and scored Song of Hatred. I then gave her Challenger Seeker and Ready for Action to score Lithe Spirits and blast him down to 1 wound. I then killed him with Sphere of Aqshy.
Phase 3 had full power Ylthari charge and kill Maegrim. She survived a counter charge thanks to Acrobatic so I just forced whatever remaining Duardin off of objectives. The game ended with a 12/6 win to me.
Round 4
Thorns of the Briar Queen would be my final opponent played by Jon. It was a John vs Jon showdown! Winning the board roll-off Jon placed the Ruptured Seal while I set the Arcane Nexus wide. When it came to objectives I decided to put 2 in my territory instead of 2 in no man’s land as then it would be too easy for Jon to score Supremacy.
Going first, I had Gallanghan attack tbe Chainrasp opposite him but missed. Varclav then pushed the other Chainrasps up, I could see him trying to score Swarming Spirits as 3 where near Gallanghan. I had Gallanghan attack the same Chainrasp with 2 smashes to score Advancing Strike. The Ever-Hanged charged Gallanghan but took a crit in return. Ylthari charged the Ever-Hanged and rolled a single focus which wasn’t dodged. I then cast Sphere of Aqshy with a crit to kill him and score Song of Hatred. I gave Ylthari Well of Power and burned objective 2 to score Scorched Earth and Song of Hatred. The Briar Queen teleported in with Sudden Appearance. Charging my leader she missed then reacted with Endless Malice but missed again although did score Treacherous Foe.
With only 2 objectives on his half Jon had to now play the aggro game against me. Ylthari had Tome of Offerings so she shot a Chainrasp with a focus and a crit to Sorcerous Scouring for 3 glory. The Queen attacked Gallanghan but I defended with 2 block. Ylthari, with Gloryseeker and Challenge Seeker shot 4 dice at the Queen rolling a single focus that somehow got through. Then I cast Pangs of the Great Lack with a crit and killed her for 2 glory.
Phase 3 had the last Chainrasp die due to Ylthari while Varclav was able to survive barely. The game ended 20/2 to me.
I won boards so the layout remained the same but I got greedy with objective placement.
Gallanghan went first and killed the Chainrasp opposite with 2 smashes. Varclav then pushed all the Chainrasps onto all available objectives. Oops. I drew a card while the Ever-Hanged charged Gallanghan but I successfully defended. He reacted with Endless Malice and managed to damage Gallanghan with 2 smashes and scored Treacherous Foe. He reacted with Ready for Action but luckily missed for me. Ahnslaine charged the Chainrasp on objective 4 but failed to hit it. The Briar Queen used Hidden Paths and attacked Gallanghan but took 1 damage in return via my crit defence. He cast Howling Vortex and pushed Ylthari onto objective 2. I used Leech Power to inspire her and score Scorched Earth. She then charged the Ever-Hanged but rolled only channel symbols. I gave her Well of Power and shot the Chainrasp on objective 1 with 2 focus but he rolled a crit. I then cast Abasoth’s Unmaking on the Ever-Hanged to score Song of Hatred. Jon then went on to score Supremacy.
Phase 2 began with Ylthari shooting and killing the Ever-Hanged with Tome of Offerings to score Sorcerous Scouring. I then gave her Acrobatic. The Briar Queen attacked Gallanghan but he successfully defended with blocks. Skhathael then charged and killed a Chainrasp to score Strike Swiftly. The Queen attacked again but missed. Gallanghan charged back but was successfully dodge although it allowed me to drive her back. She then charged through him and did 2 damage with a crit and 2 fury. Ylthari charged and killed another Chainrasp while Jon played Inspiration Strikes on another and gave it Driven By Hatred. It charged and killed Gallanghan but didn’t have the movement to pass through him.
Going into phase 3 I had won priority but needed to score 1 more objective to score Superior Tactician but had it in-hand with Keep Them Guessing and Combination Strike with Change of Tactics as the only objective left in the deck. I began by charging with Ylthari and she killed Varclav but failed to roll a crit. The Briar Queen charged and killed Ylthari. I then moved Ahnslaine 4 hexes away from the Queen. Jon then pushed his remaining Chainrasps up with Drifting Advance and used the inspired ghost to charge…Skhathael and he promptly died due to Great Strength. I sighed with relief and inspired Ahnslaine with Healing Potion, shot the Briar Queen as she was now in range then went on Guard in my last activation as no one could reach her. I then scored Keep Them Guessing and thus Superior Tactician to win 16/13.
After the final round the results were in. 14 players and 4 round later left me as the only undefeated player and as a result I had won!
It was a really tough tournament but great fun to play at. All the players were amazing too. On top of that the store gave out so many prizes! I got all the pictured loot while others received medals for best painted and most sporting player (which more events need). If you want an top-notch place to play at then I highly recommend the Games Table in Norwich. It’s probably the best store I’ve ever been lucky enough to play in. I cannot rate it enough.
The warband performed amazingly well. Blessing of Vytrix won me so many games by basically guaranteeing nearly all of my gambit spells. The only change I’d make is maybe swapping out Advancing Strike for Escalation and possibly changing an upgrade for Potion of Constitution as it helps with survivability and counts as a reaction for the warband. Outside of that I feel the deck is super solid.
As for my warband checklist…
I’m finally back down to 3 warbands left. Can I get it down to 0 before anyone else? Who knows? I’ll just need to power up with those crits…
Can You Roll A Crit? 