The venue was still Battlegrounds Game Center again and they did a great job adding extra tables to accommodate the expansion. It was a nice turnout for a team event, but there is no doubt if the trend continues that a new venue and plenty of terrain build days would be in order. Everyone was in good spirits as the day kicked off and there was plenty of friendly banter and getting to meet face to face with gamers I had been chatting with online for a few months now. Neil was on top of things and day's events ran very smoothly. Neil had nameplates for each team to help us know what table we were playing on just as he did at the previous event and it a very nice and personal touch.
As I mentioned earlier I teamed up with my buddy Matt for the day. We had played on a team at NOVA Open last year with Stormcast/Stormcast for a fun time and our team name was as you expect "Thunder Buddies". While we decided on taking Daughters of Khaine/Kharadron Overlords we figured we might as well get more use out of our shirts! Matt was taking care of the back line with his list while keeping the capability to grapple as he needed to capture distant objectives. After the last Rend 4 event, I decided I wasn't going to mess around and went with a very straightforward list of ninety Witch Aelves and Hag Queens to give them the much needed Witchbrew. Our plan was simple I would run ahead and shock the enemy with my weight of attacks while Matt sat back shooting as he could and supporting any weakness that formed on my wall of Witches.
The first game had Matt and I playing Stephen and Bill who were playing Maggotkin of Nurgle and Ironjaws in Total Conquest. They were a bit new to the game with only a handful of games under their belts, but they came to play. While new to Age of Sigmar they were both experienced wargamers and knew the capabilities of their armies. Matt and I out deployed them and took the first turn so I could ensure Witchbrew was passed out to my Witch Aelves. I ran everything forward and attempted to charge, but sadly failed them all. Thankfully Stephen and Bill were eager to get stuck in and came charging right at me with some of their units held back to hold their objectives. It was a bloody combat and while my left flank of Witches began to crumble after a few rounds against Ironjaws Matt was able to hold strong with some solid shooting.
While I was unable to do much against their Great Unclean One the rest of their army could stand up to the onslaught of KO shooting and Witches mass amounts of combat attacks. Having my Kraith Temple ability trigger in an early turn was enough to make them clench on each roll of my die. By the end, Matt and I came away with a Major Win and our secondary but failed on our tertiary. Stephen and Bill were fantastic gentlemen and with some more games to get them experience they will be a strong duo to have to face again.
While I was unable to do much against their Great Unclean One the rest of their army could stand up to the onslaught of KO shooting and Witches mass amounts of combat attacks. Having my Kraith Temple ability trigger in an early turn was enough to make them clench on each roll of my die. By the end, Matt and I came away with a Major Win and our secondary but failed on our tertiary. Stephen and Bill were fantastic gentlemen and with some more games to get them experience they will be a strong duo to have to face again.
Feeling good about a solid win Matt and I headed into round two with the scenario being Starstrike. Our opponents this round were Blain and Griffith who had an excellent combo of Stormcast Eternals and Beastclaw Raiders. Knowing that the Stormcast could drop anywhere we made a choice to go heavy on our left flank with hopes we get lucky on the comet rolls or be swift enough to move if we need. Once again Matt and I had out deployed and took the first turn so I could get my Witchbrew passed out. I pushed ahead hoping to capture the first comet that would land on the center line of the table, but some poor run rolls kept me back farther than I would have liked. The Stormcast stayed huddled around their Lord Celestant while some Mournfang charged into my Witch Aelves hoping to do mortal wounds back to me with my high number of attacks. They also went after our weak right flank with Frostlord on Stonehorn. My Witch Aelves survived the Mournfang and in turn wiped them out with only a few Mortal Wounds coming back at me.
While the Beastclaw melted away quickly the Stormcast was a brick wall that took most of the game to finally chew through, but our opponent managed to push too much outside of Staunch Defender range and we made them pay for the error. While the first objective landed in the center and one of my Witch Aelf units were quickly able to capture it the other two landed on our weak right flank. Thankfully they were out of position a bit as well and at the end of the game I was able to take their objective with four Witch Aelves who refused to fail their Battleshock despite their Witchbrew being gone for three turns and Matt grappled back to our objective with his remaining unit of Endrinriggers and take the last few wounds of the Stonehorn. We came away once again with a Major Win and our secondary, but again failing out tertiary. Blain and Griffith were great to play and we were all cheering each other on for every dice roll even when it meant who would win or lose. I look forward to playing them again in the future.
The final game of the day saw Matt and I in contention for winning the event and we had no plans of letting up on the gas as our opponents Rob and Matt walked up with their Maggotkin of Nurgle and Daughters of Khaine to face us. The final mission was Scorched Eart with the exception you couldn't burn an objective until the second battle round. For the first time, Matt and I were out deployed, but our opponents let us go first. While it was a smart move I couldn't help but smile as I passed around the Witchbrew once more. Once again I ran ahead with all my Witch Aelves hoping they would charge back and combat would begin quickly. As expected this is exactly what happened and thanks to my Kraith Temple ability working I managed to take the Plaguedrones much quicker than our opponents thought was possible. Matt held down the right flank from a unit of Warlocks and a small unit of Witch Aelves allowing my Horde to capture one of their objectives early. With Morathi very close I decided to burn it and sadly rolled a one.
Our center objective was held down with one of my units of Witch Aelves and even managed to convince their Great Unclean one to try and go for our weaker left flank. Morathi would transform and begin to do what she does best while one of Matt's Endrinrigger units killed off a unit of Plague Bearers he grappled toward earlier. Once again we decided to burn early being surrounded by some big threats and once more rolled a one. While Morathi mopped up my Witch Aelve son our right flank Matt's Duardin decided they were not going to die and held up our opponents remaining Witch Aelves on the right and their Great Unclean One on the left for more turns that seemed possible denying them any chance at taking our objectives easily. After a final push by Morathi toward the center objective it was over and we had taken our third Major Win. Rob and Matt were a blast to play and they decided that they also needed more Witch Aelves as soon as possible. Matt and I managed to score both our secondary and tertiary and waited for the results as it was going to come down to how the other teams on the top tables would play out.
The results were in and with a mighty effort Matt and I took second place in the rankings that day. Our missed tertiaries were what ultimately kept us out of first place, but we could not be more pleased. We came to play and managed to take three major wins against great opponents. Matt is one of my best friends and having a day of gaming with him is reward enough, but we both know we will tell the tales of our Kharadron Overlords and Daughters of Khaine alliance for years to come.
As you can see in our victory picture (left) Matt and I were enjoying our wins as everyone gathered for some post-event drinks. I want to give a big thanks to Neil (right) for hosting and running such a great event. He provided lunch, had great prize support, custom dice, and a mug with his clubs logo on it for each participant for our small entry fees. I keep telling him to take the event to a two-day Grand Tournament. He is seriously considering it and I look forward to when it becomes a reality.
All in all, it was a great day of Age of Sigmar and playing with some wonderful opponents. To make it even better everyone was hyped for the upcoming release of the new edition and talking about how our armies might change and how we planned adapt in the coming year. Thanks again to our opponents, my teammate Matt, and Neil for a fun day.
Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
Chuck Moore