Steel City Grand Tournament 2022 Event Recap

 Hey Everyone!  This past weekend I was able to attend a local Grand Tournament here in Pittsburgh, PA.  The Steel City GT 2022 was a great success in one of the best Hobby Shops/Venues in the area, The Fabricators Forge.  The Event was attended by 26 players who were both local and from cross the country to create an excellent weekend of Age of Sigmar.  Congrats to Bill Souza for The Event Win and Jake L'Ecuyer for taking Best Painted as well as all the winners!  I am thankful to be counted among them for earning 2nd Best Painted and Best Display Board at the event as well!  Check out my games below after the break and see how my Daughters of Khaine faired in the current meta!

My List: The Tayrathian Cult (Kraith)

Game 1: Daughters of Khaine vs. Fyreslayers in The Silksteel Nest

My first game was against Captain America himself, Bill Souza, and his Fyreslayer army.  I have played Bill a number of times as we are both local to the area and while I have yet to gain a victory over him (this game included) I am always thrilled to pair up with him for a game.  He is the greatest Warhammer Player I know and one of the nicest guys you can play on the table.  You have a blast and learn a lot from a game against Bill.  We deployed and Bill gave me top of Turn one.  I positioned to hold my objectives in my turn one and made a play in turn two to go on the offensive, but with a lot of my army being Galletian Veterans, it wasn't much effort for Bill's Bounty Hunters to counterpunch to great effect.  Going into turn three I saw I didn't have enough o stop Bill from likely maxing his points so I shifted my focus to maximizing my own points to minimize the damage to my event score.  

Result: Fyreslayers over DoK, 32-19

Game 2: Daughters of Khaine vs. Stormcast Eternals in The Nidus Paths

Game two saw me pair up against yet another member of Team America, Shaun Clarke, and his Stormcast Eternals.  While I knew it would be a tough game going in I was pleased that my Strength of Schedule would be sitting very nice after just two games.   I felt very confident going into the early turns, but not so much into the later turns as Shaun was able to quickly dismantle my army.  Despite the tabling, I very much enjoyed Shaun's take on Stormcast and the chance to finally play another Detroit lad.  We shared a beer while laughing and helping each other throughout the game to ensure we weren't missing any potential points in the game.  I do hope to one day have a chance to redeem myself on the table against him sooner rather than later!

                                                            Result: SCE over DoK, 28-12

Game 3: Daughters of Khaine vs.Ossiarch Bonereapers in Prize of Gallet

My third game put me up against a newcomer to the game of Age of Sigmar, Tyler Branter, and his lovely Ossiarch Bonereapers.  I know Tyler through our mutual friend Matt Hayward (of Big M's Power Hour), but I never had a chance to play him until this game.  I want to give kudos to Tyler for not only painting up his entire army in prep for his first GT but also pushing through all five games and giving it his all!  While Tyler's army proved to be immovable for my Daughters of Khaine my winning of the priority rolls, army speed, and my Flamespyre Phoenix holding up his Shooting and a few key heroes for a number of turns, most especially because it came back to life, allowed me to score easily even as my army slowly dwindled against his forces.

    
                                                            Result: DoK over OBR, 25-14

Game 4: Daughters of Khaine vs.Fyreslayers in The PResence of Idols

My fourth game of the weekend put me against the wonderful Chris Crane and his Magamadroth themed Fyreslayers!  I have played Chris before and he is an exceptional opponent and we pair up very nicely on skill level making the games exciting with an outcome always hanging in the balance!  Chris opted for the first turn after deployment and I felt comfortable with my positioning until he through his Runefather across the table into the juicy center of my line as I didn't deploy back nearly far enough.  A steller first turn and my own units hurting themselves in combat against the Magamdroth's burning blood saw a full third of my army wiped away before I moved a single model!  Despite the shattering turn-one charge by Chris I pushed back and kept the score close until the final round and gave him a game worth remembering.  It was not enough, but it was a hell of a game full of exciting memories for us both.

                                                           Result: FS over DoK, 26-18

Game 5: Daughters of Khaine on a BYE in Close to the Chest

The final match of the event saw me on the BYE due to a few drops between day one and two, but having had a great four games I enjoyed walking around and watching the games being played.  I would score the average on the winner's score, but it would put my record at 2-3 for the event.

                                                           Result: DoK BYE, 27

Wrap Up:

All in all, it was a great event and I got to catch up with a lot of friends during the weekend.  I landed in 12th place overall, but being the first actual GT I have played in this year that isn't too shabby in my book.  I am thrilled to have taken Best Display Board with my revamped DoK Board and the Runner Up Best Painted was a nice bonus surprise.  The owner of the venue Dom is even creating custom awards for all the winners to be sent out and I cannot wait to add them to my trophy case and, more importantly, return to this great event next year!

Stay Stormcast Strong and Happy Hobbying everyone!