Snazzy Shadespire Action!
This Sunday past saw me head down to Basingstoke at the Gaming Den’s first Warhammer Underworlds tournament. It was run by veteran TOs Andy and Dave. Having won with all 16 current warbands I no longer have a desire to play at store tournaments but will always support local events, especially as Andy and Dave are great gents.
In regards to warband choice I went with Magore’s Fiends. This was due to a special reason. Recently I found out one of my regular reader’s young daughter had been playing with the Magore’s Fiends deck I used to win glass with. Thanks to that and my guide for it she went from bottom rankings to just off of top placements. Due to this Fiends felt like the only sensible choice so this one is dedicated to Lily, thanks for being an awesome player and reader.
Decklist
Playstyle: Aggro
I based the deck off of my Godsworn Hunt. I have your standard aggro objectives along with passive ones such as Shining Example and Master of War to help score while I’m not killing. Get Thee Hence was chosen because Zharkus comes with knockback! I went with Calculated Risk over Change of Tactics as the former only takes 1 activation and gels better with deck despite the lethal hex damage. Superior Tactician and Conquest are my double end phase scoring objectives as I should always be in my opponent’s face.
The power deck is all about mobility and durability for when deep in combat. Inspiration Strikes and Furious Inspiration help give me the inspiring boost needed. Upper Hand is key mention as all aggro decks need it. The card is too good and practically broken, allowing you to potentially guarantee attacks. Although I do miss Twist the Knife.
Upgrades follow a similar route. Blazing Soul helps give a 3rd needed inspiring card. Nullstone Arrows are in there for the range threat to help synergise with No Escape. Mutating Maul gives me another source of cleave and knockback. Everything else is all damage or mobility.
Combat Skull-Key:
Round 1
Dave and his librarian Mollog would be my first opponent. Losing boards I placed the Arcane Nexus while Dave set the Shattered Refractor long.
Things started off with Riptooth charging the Spiteshroom and missing. Mollog inspired with Inspiration Strikes and charged Riptooth killing him with a crit and a smash. I continued to move up while Mollog moved back through a lethal hex to score Calculated Risk and Burst of Speed. Phase 2 had me move up more. Magore inspired via Furious Inspiration and killed the Spiteshroom to score Strong Start, Show of Strength and What Armour? Zharkus charged the Bat Squig and killed it to score Khorne Sees Us. Phase 3 began with Zharkus killing the Stalasquig on the charge. Mollog then used the Faneway to charge Gharok but missed. The Troggoth was charged in return, 2 smashes doing 2 damage. Mollog swung and missed again but this time took a Rebound to the face. Magore charged the 1 wound Mollog and succeeded but Last Chance kept him alive. So then I drove him back into the lethal hex to kill Mollog with his 4 tomes and win 14/7.
Game 2 had me lose boards once again. I went with the Animus Forge and Dave set the Arcane Nexus in diagonal configuration.
Going first Riptooth charged and missed but then Ghartok killed the Spiteshroom with Zharkus charging the Stalasquig to score Khorne Sees Us and No Escape. My warband then advanced. Magore killed the Bat Squig in phase 2 for Show of Strength while Mollog moved into the top right corner. Going second I used Hidden Paths to place Zharkus adjacent to Mollog and charged with Riptooth who missed. Ghartok charged in doing 2 damage 2 Mollog. Mollog swung again but missed so Zharkus hit him with a Gorefist in the face. Zharkus then attacked again leaving Mollog on 1 wound. Mollog swung back but failed again and Zharkus killed him with another Gorefist attack putting me on a 16/5 win.
Round 2
Rob and his Cursebreakers were next. Winning boards Rob placed the Shattered Tower first. I set the Molten Shardpit wide. Upon placing objectives I realised I forgot to turn Rob’s board around but it was too late unfortunately.
Due to my error I drew a card first. Ammis moved onto objective 5 while Rastus went on 3 via Hidden Paths. Riptooth charged and rolled a single fury to Ammis’ block but I pushed her off the objective. I moved the rest of my fighters up while Riptooth was blown apart by Stormsire. Phase 2 saw more combat and I was able to kill Stormsire but lost Zharkus along the way. Phase 3 had Magore kill Stormsire but Ghartok needed to kill Rastus for me to win. Unfortunately Rastus’ innate Smash was too strong and Ghartok died meaning I lost 8/9.
Game 2 had me win boards again. Rob went with the Shyishian Stardial while I placed the Ruptured Seal wide.
Once again the lack of mobility and inspiration cards hit hard. I could only slowly move up while the Cursebreakers hcurned through their passive objectives. Phase 2 saw combat but my attacks failed to hit home. By phase 3 I had managed to only kill Rastus but at great investment. It had taken me too long to get going and so I lost 14/19.
Round 3
Pete and his Thorns of the Briar Queen would be my final opponent of the day. It was blood-soaked ghosts vs ghostly Blood warriors! Winning boards Pete went with the Ruptured Seal while I set the Mirror Well wide.
I started off by going for early charges but pretty much missed everything! Pete was playing hold objectives and a successful Rebound then Last Chance stopped my aggro. He quickly scored Supremacy, Our Only Way Out, Making a Statement and the Tactical Supremacies. My inability to land successful attacks (outside of using Upper Hand) meant he easily claimed the required objectives. The first game ended with a 8/23 loss for me.
Game 2 had me lose boards so I placed the Arcane Nexus while Pete set the Molten Shardpit wide.
This time things were a much closer affair. I took an early lead via kills but then Pete caught up with a canny set of objective plays. By the end of phase 2 he had put me on the back foot via superior positioning skills. However in phase 3 I went for turbo kill mode. Trophy Hunter allowed Magore to rack up extra glory while the rest of my warband managed to achieve several kills as well. In the end I managed to sneak out a 20/18 win.
Game 3 was the decider! Losing boards I placed the Ruptured Seal while Pete set the Shattered Refractor in diagonal configuration.
Pete started off by moving back leaving only Ghartok able to charge. My warband moved up but Pete starved me and himself from any potential glory. Phase 2 saw me jump ahead in glory via multiple successful charges but once again Pete pulled off some sneaky tricks to match my 8 glory gain with his own Making a Statement, Supremacy and Our Only Way Out. Phase 3 had Magore kill a Chainrasp and getting boosted glory thanks to Trophy Hunter. Zharkus killed a single wound Ever-Hanged with Nullstone Arrows and then charged Varclav to score Get Thee Hence. Riptooth killed the Queen. After this brutality I managed to win 19/13 although I ended with a net negative glory differential haha.
In the end I managed to finish 6th out of 16, not bad considering. For the deck I’d swap Upper Hand for Twist the Knife. I just missed the extra damage. I still liked Nullstone Arrows over Great Speed but you probably could swap it for Dark Darts. Blazing Soul was an amazing upgrade that helped out so much. Objective wise I’d probably drop Conquest for Combination Strike. Conquest is no Oath of Conquest unfortunately.
Overall I had a great time. Check out the Gaming Den for awesome tournaments and gaming events in Basingstoke. They’ve got a great bunch of staff and players, definitely worth the trip. As for me Fiends were fun but I’m kinda done with tournaments. I did, however, find it fun using a warband readers suggested. I may drop a poll again on my Twitter or bust out a crazy deck I’ve been working on for a few months now. Either way, stay hydrated and keep rolling crits!
Can You Roll A Crit? 