Grand Clash Round-Up 11

It’s time to clash at Warhammer World!

Once again I was down in the all too familiar Warhammer World for their July Grand Clash. This was a first as it was using their new 2 day Grand Clash format, namely 5 rounds day 1 then top 16 playoff in day 2. It was a format I’ve been waiting over a year for as many longtime readers will know. Still I wasn’t very interested in playing honestly due to the state of the game.

Personally I find the current state of the meta to be very boring and uneven to play in especially with the familiar rise of hard control decks partly thanks to Power Unbound. I have no problem playing against such warbands generally but I just find those games very boring due to the general lack of interaction. So I had a choice, pass and relax or go down and just have a laugh with my mates. Obviously I did the latter.

Warband wise, I had 2 choices as well. My honed Thundrik’s Profiteers or the Godsworn Hunt. The 1st would have guaranteed a top 16 place whereas the 2nd was my last warband to win with. After much thought I chose the Godsworn. Not because of any secret tech or anything, just that I’ve spent a long time using the warband and I have fun playing with them. Sure it’s all down to dice but that’s half the fun. Plus if I won the clash with Godsworn I would never let anyone hear the end of it.

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Decklist

Playstyle: Aggro

Deck link

Now I know it looks like a crazy deck and you’re right. It is. I’m mad. I had a firm belief I wouldn’t make top 16 but to win you’d need a crazy deck like this. It’s heavily based off of the deck Jay Clare used to win with Godsworn Hunt. It’s pure aggro all the time but is actually full of mind games.

Oaths. I love them. Oath of Murder is Assassinate but gives an extra glory if you reveal it at the start of your 1st activation. I reveal it all the time. Generally causes the opponent to panic and move their leader into bad positions that I can capitalise on with Hidden Paths etc. Even then you can still score it normally when drawn mid-game. Oath of Denial is the same. I keep it secret game 1 unless I can 100% score it. Game 2 it forces my opponent to come to me otherwise I get 3 to 4 glory.

Next most of my score immediately objectives involved killing. Worthy Kill, Precise Use of Force and Strong Start. With the rise of score immediately objectives in general, these gave me the boosts I needed to get more glory than my opponent despite use scoring the same number of objectives as most immediately objectives are 1 glory. My kill objectives are worth 4 glory from the cards but range from 5 glory if scored all together to 7 if scored individually. It’s riskier but the reward is too tempting to pass up.

Martyred, Shining Example and Calculated Risk are all my reliable easy objectives. Escalation just is too good. Superior Tactician closes it out. Now I know, 2 3rd end phase objectives?? Pure madness. However I’m running 7 score immediately objectives. Plus I’m happy holding onto them both in-hand. The crazy glory they give me cannot be ignored either. Super risky but I’m already playing on a knife’s edge. A big point here is that all my objectives can be scored without needing cards like Cover Ground. Wanted an objective deck that didn’t rely on power cards.

Gambits are all about making my attack actions more reliable. Nothing really out of the ordinary there. Dark Destiny, Last Chance and Rebound help keep my fighters in the game. Ready for Action because I like attacking. Hidden Paths and Spectral Wings as my mobility cards. Sphere of Aqshy was my niche choice. Gave me more ways to do damage and kill 4 wound fighters without needing my damage cards. I also dropped Spoils of Battle as I didn’t really need it due to the glory gain.

Upgrades are also pretty self explanatory. All either boost attack accuracy or damage. Nullstone Spear is in there because wizards are cowards plus it also gives me a reliable 2 damage weapon with range 2. As I’m not running Great Speed it gives me more threat with my warband. Mainly goes on Jagathra.

Boards

Sinister Combat Symbols:

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Saturday

Day 1 saw 84 players and 7 Godsworn Hunt players! Fellow brothers-in-arms playing the game on hard mode. The bravest of them all. Unless you’re playing Eyes of the Nine of course.

Round 1

Game 1 was against Rob and his Thorns of the Briar Queen. We had last played in the January Grand Clash where his Thorns had beaten my Farstriders, would the same happen again?

Losing boards I placed the Ruptured Seal while Rob placed the Molten Shardpit in diagonal configuration.

Rob started off by pushing Chainrasps. Grawl then killed himself to score Martyred. Next as I had 3 objectives I was happy to sit back and camp them. Soon the Briar Queen teleported into my territory. She missed and struck again but missed with Endless Malice. Grundan charged in knocking her down to 2 wounds then she was finished off by uninspired Shond. With that I scored Oath of Murder and Worthy Kill. With the big threat out of the way I slowly began pushing through the choke point and killed all ghosts in my way. By the end only Varclav and a single Chainrasp remained which secured me a 19/7 win thanks to Superior Tactician and Oath of Denial.

For the next game I once again lost the roll-off. I placed the Arcane Nexus while Rob placed the Shattered Tower wide.

Game 2 was a slower paced affair although Grawl did kill himself again to score Martyred. The Queen was safely behind blocked hexes and a Chainrasp. I begun a slow and grinding advance. A scrum developed in the left centre half of the board where 4 ghosts and 3 Chaos Barbarians devolved into a game of rolling defensive ccrits eventually my Godsworn were able to break the deadlock with a revealed Oath of Murder and a Worthy Kill giving me 5 glory for killing the Queen. After that the rest of the Chainrasps broke to my offence and I narrowly won 16/14.

Round 2

Rich and Mollog’s Mob would be my 2nd opponent. I won the board roll so he placed the Soul Refractor while I placed the Molten Shardpit wide.

Things started tense until I just threw myself into Mollog, after Grawl ran into 2 different lethal hexes to score Calculated Risk and Martyred. Jagathra speared him early while Grundann charged in. His first blow gouged deep into the Troggoth, then I used Ready for Action and the Mighty Mollog was dead giving me 5 glory from revealed Oath of Murder and Worthy Kill. The rest of the game was spent mopping up via killing the creatures that remained leaving me with a 22/7 victory. Escalation, Superior Tactician and revealed Oath of Murder is the dream (9 glory baby).

Winning the board roll again Rich placed the Katophrane’s Reliquary so I placed the Animus Forge wide.

Grawl took the first swing like a champ scoring me Martyred. I was able to wound Mollog during action phase 1 but not kill him. Thankfully I scored Escalation and Shining Example. Winning priority, inspired Grundann charged Mollog. With a crit and a failed Rebound the Troggoth was somehow dead again. Once again I went back to critter cleansing and won 19/6.

Round 3

Mark and his Ylthari’s Guardians were next. Losing the board roll I placed the Arcane Nexus while Mark placed the Molten Shardpit at a slight diagonal configuration.

Action phase 1 involved slow engagements. I waited and Ylthari charged onto objective 3, missed but played Leech Power to inspire. Jagathra charged but was killed by Rebound although did score me Change of Tactics. I then gave Shond Nullstone Spear and reacted with Ready for Action. A crit and a smash did 2 damage then I drove Ylthari into a lethal hex and killed her. I then proceeded to kill Ahnslaine and Skhathael. Mark ditched Faneway Crystal at the end of 2 so I revealed Oath of Denial. Gallaghan had Sudden Growth so no longer had the moment to get into my territory so I won 15/8 thanks to double 3rd end phase power.

Winning the board roll this time Mark placed the Ruptured Seal while I set the Molten Shardpit wide.

The round started off with Skhtahael charging Shond but missing. Jagathra charged Skhathael from being on guard through a lethal hex. I missed too but scored Calculated Risk and Change of Tactics. Ahnslaine moved up. Grundann was given Prized Vendetta, marking Ylthari as my target. With Spectral Wings he zoomed towards her rolling a natural double smash. I took it and she rolled not crtis or dodges. She died! After that my Godsworn annihilated the Sylvaenth in phase 2 leaving me on a 22/3 victory.

Round 4

Side note, after round 2 I was ranked 2nd overall and after 3 I was now 1st! Bonkers! Anyway Andrew and his Eyes of the Nine were next. I won the board roll so he placed the Penitent’s Throne while I put the Molten Shardpit wide.

Phase 1 started slow as I killed Turosh for Precise Use of Force. Vortemis inspired at the bottom of 1 while Dark Destiny saved Grundann from inspired K’Charik. Phase 2 had Prized Vendetta Grundann charge Vortemis. Inspired attack boosted him to 3 smash and 4 daamge, 2 crits and a smash meant the wizard died scoring me Worthy Kill and revealed Oath of Murder (in the end phase). After that I spent action phases 2 and 3 wiping out the Tzeentchian warriors to win 21/14.

Winning the board roll again Andrew placed the Animus Forge while I set the Ruptured Seal wide.

Grawl began by valiantly killing himself to score Martyred. My crucial attacks vs Vortemis failed so I had inspired Grundann kill K’Charik to reduce threats. Vortemis quickly buffed-up via Sudden Growth, Spectral Armour, Eldritch Ward and -1 to hit spells. Phase 2 had me only kill Turosh. Threddra failed her charged against Vortemis as she was now 1 smash. The enemy wizard proceeded to kill everyone else apart from my leader.

Winning priority Threddra attacked with a single smash and missed. Vortemis failed to roll any successes so I played Upper Hand to do 3 damage thanks to Gloryseeker. Vortemis attacked but Last Chance saved Threddra. I attacked again rolling a single smash. Vortemis failed his 3 dodge to die! Theddra then went on guard, took a shot from Narvia and killed her on the charge while scoring Change of Tactics. We tied on glory 13/13 but I won via wipeout. Super close game that was probably the best set of Underworlds that I’ve ever played. Had so much fun playing against Andrew and his crazy Eyes of the Nine.

Round 5

Once again I was ranked 1st plus I was the only player with no game losses. This pretty much guaranteed me top 16. Funnily enough it would have been me and Freya from Steel City Underworlds in the final under old format but I much prefer this. Still Daniel and his Mollog were next. Losing boards he placed the Animus Forge while I set the Molten Shardpit wide.

Daniel was playing control Katophrane Tomes so it took me a while to get going. Although Grawl did kill himself to score Calculated Risk and Martyred. Annoyingly I had a glory stolen via Daylight Robbery. Luckily though I was able to kill Mollog eventually while tanking attacks thanks to Last Chance and Dark Destiny. Due to cheeky Denial and Superior Tactician I won 13/12.

Game 2 had me lose boards. Knowing a long board was coming I placed the Arcane Nexus while he set the Penitent’s Throne long.

Turn 1 spent moving up having Daylight Robbery stealing my glory again. Not much happened till the 3rd phase I spent time moving up while my opponent just drew cards. Phase 3 I made my attacks. Mollog was down to 1 wound. Threddra charged with 3 smash and failed to hit. Mollog ran into my board and I lost 7/17.

Game 3 had me lose boards again. I placed the Ruptured Seal while Daniel set the Molten Shardpit long.

Once again not much happened. Jagathra charged Bat Squig but missed although got me Change of Tactics. Mollog charged and killed her scoring me Martyred. This was stolen via Daylight Robbery. Grundann inspired charged Mollog but was killed by Rebound. The game was actually really close. I predicted Daniel would score Acolyte of the Katophranes, Great Gains and Alone in the Darkness. I used Ready for Action to move Ollo adjacent to Shond and the Stalasquig instead of attacking to try and score What Armour? He then played Distraction on Shond and Illusory Fighter on the Squig scoring all the objectives I named. Thus I lost 11/12.

Overall I finished 4th going into day 2. Still can’t believe I did it with Godsworn Hunt. Shoutouts to fellow Godsworn bros Gerard and Tom who also made top 16 with Tom ending day 1 in top position!

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Sunday

Pairings were following the same format but with a brand new tournament to determine top 16. I was not optimistic with day 2. There were a lot of hard control decks which my Godsworn struggled against. It would come down to me winning boards.

Round 6

Neil and the return of Mollog! Neil is a very strong player so I knew it was going to be hard. Losing boards I placed the Arcane Nexus expecting long boards and Neil set the Animus Forge…wide.

Grawl began by killing himself with lethal hexes to score Calculated Risk and Martyred. I made a few charges and managed to kill most of the little critters. I was unable to successfully damage Mollog and thus I lost 14/21 even with Denial and Superior Tactician.

Losing boards for game 2 I placed the Animus Forge while Neil set the Arcane Nexus wide.

Jagathra charged after going on guard to score Change of Tactics and Calculated Risk but the spear missed. Mollog was out of range. I finally drew into Faneway Crystal but then Mollog moved onto an objective. Threddra moved up but Neil skillfully assassinated her with help from Hidden Paths Stalasquig. Mollog finished off by charging into my lines and I lost 4/17. The dream was dead! Still it was a great set of games and I was happy to lose to an amazing player like Neil who went on to win the clash!

Round 7

The legendary Nick Bayton and his beautiful Cursebreakers were next. Winning boards he placed the Penitent’s Throne while I chose the Molten Shardpit and set it wide.

I got going early having Ammis die to Ollo after combined effort from the warband to score Worthy Kill. Phase 2 had Grundann attack Rastus with Gloryseeker and Potion of Rage, miss. I equipped Path to Glory and reacted with Ready for Action but missed on 3 dice. My warband was promptly annihilated in the power step and I lost 11/21 even with a cheeky Denial.

I won boards again but you know what they say about great minds. We both went with the Ruptured Seal!

For game 2 I had to kill Stormsire quickly. Grawl did this by killing himself to score Martyred. Theddra made a charge in my final activation with Fuelled by Fury and Gloryseeker. Stormsire rolled a crit and then Ammis charged, killing my leader. Winning priority, Grundann with Challenge Seeker and Heroslayer attacked Rastus and I rolled supports. Rastus then killed Grundann and my warband was wiped out. This time I only lost 4/16.

Round 8

Finally I would be playing against Mollog again, this time used by the mighty Ash from Ready4Action. I won boards so he placed the Shattered Refractor while I set the Molten Shardpit wide.

Mollog moved about a bit then Jagathra speared him. He was quickly killed by a thundering Grundann who brushed off a Rebound and killed the Troggoth via a 5 damage attack (Gloryseeker with Inspired Attack) which gave me 5 glory from revealed Oath of Murder and Worthy Kill. I revealed Oath of Denial so the Stalasquig used Hidden Paths to appear in my lines. Shond reduced it to 1 wound with Nullstone Spear so the game devolved into a duel between Grawl and the sentient rock. I gave Grawl Prized Vendetta against the Stalasquig (yes, don’t judge me) and eventually killed the rock after 3 turns off combat to score Precise Use of Force (Stalasquig read Tome of Vitality). I won 19/6.

Losing boards I placed the Arcane Nexus so Ash placed the Ruptured Seal long.

The game was another slow affair. Grawl sacrificed himself to score Martyred and Calculated Risk. After 2 turns of moving up Mollog moved onto objective 2 then used Tome of Glories. I moved Shond up. Ash used the book again. I gave Shond Gloryseeker and reacted with Ready for Action to move adjacent to Mollog who only had 4 wounds left. I attacked but failed. Mollog rolled a block but I had cleave. Reacting with Upper Hand Mollog took 3 damage from Shond then was pushed into the lethal hex and died. Ash only had 2 spare Tomes so I managed to win 15/14 thanks to Oath of Denial and Superior Tactician.

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Overall I came 13th out of 84. Pretty good when I thought I wouldn’t even make top 16. The deck performed really well. Double 3rd end phase objectives was more of a boon than a curse as i pulled them off most games. Also I like playing at 22 card as I’m comfortable with it. Sadly the Godsworn dream was dead after round 7 as seen here:

In the end I had lots of fun thanks to the amazing Warhammer Underworlds community. I loved the 2 day format and special thanks to the events team who ran an awesome event. I hope to see more people down in October for Warhammer World’s next Grand Clash which features a side trophy tournament for players who did not make the top 16 cut! So have a great summer and hope to see you all soon. With crits of course.