Now that the dust has settled, the toys have gone back on the shelf, and the whirlwind of Masters weekend has been replaced by the monotony of the workweek, it’s time to reflect on my performance. It goes without saying that the event met or surpassed my expectations for merrymaking and friendship, but what about my expectations for the list? If you haven’t read the first installment in the series, you can do so by clicking here.
As promised, I took some pictures and notes on each of my games. I will not be presenting you with blow-by-blow battle reports, but I will provide you with a rough outline of each game and my analysis.
Round One – Kara Brown – Dominate
During the first round, I was matched up against Kara and her Trident Realms. The pairings were announced in advance, and I was super excited for this game as I had not previously had the pleasure of playing against Kara. The game did not disappoint. She had a well-painted army with great basing, and just the right balance between strategy and banter on the tabletop that I so enjoy. Here is her list:
Army: Trident Realm of Neritica
Ally: Salamanders
Points: 2300
Unit Count: 14
Unit Strength: 29
230, Naiad Ensnarer Horde
215, Gigas Horde
— Pipes of Terror
210, Gigas Horde
— Staying Stone
205, Depth Horror Horde
— Maccwar’s Potion of the Caterpillar
200, Depth Horror Horde
— Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding
190, Thuul Regiment
— Brew of Strength
150, Knucker
70, Tidal Swarm Regiment
70, Tidal Swarm Regiment
70, Tidal Swarm Regiment
100, Naiad Envoy
— Lute of Insatiable Darkness
— Bastion (2)
145, Siren
— Inspiring Talisman
— Weakness (2)
— Drain Life (6)
250, Rhinosaur Cavalry Horde
195, Kaisenor Lancer Regiment
Initial Thoughts and Strategy
I thought our lists were fairly balanced against one another, with the lack of Inspiring on her Allies and my ability to clear her chaff (Tidal Swarm Regiments) with my chaff (Hunters of the Wild Troops and Forest Shambler Regiments) perhaps being my key to victory. The scenario favored her advantage in Unit Strength (29 to my 22), and I was certainly not intending to be able to Rout the Naiad Ensnarer Horde (Unit Strength 4) unless she made a glaring error.
Brief Summary
I cleared her chaff quickly, with the Hunters of the Wild Troops each charging a Tidal Swarm Regiment and Fireball (10) from the Abyssal Fiend (thanks to some hot dice rolls) taking care of the third Regiment. We played chicken for a bit on my left flank, which enabled me to win the center rather convincingly. The Tree Herder was making a mess of things, Routing a unit in her line, then Reforming to open up some epic rear charges late game. Kara deployed both Depth Horror Hordes on my right flank and, despite getting to charge them first, my right flank couldn’t hold. By the time they made it to the center, however, the rest of the battle had gone my way and I was able to clean them up. I ended with a slight Unit Strength advantage in the Dominate circle (8 to 7) and had a modest advantage in Attrition, resulting in a 15 – 6 Win for me.
Things I Did Well
I feel like my deployment was spot on in this game, allowing me to get the matchups I wanted. The only real threat to my De 6 wall was the Gigas Hordes, and I made certain they never got to charge those units. I also made certain to leave charge lanes open, so that I could bring my hammers to bear at the right moments, whereas my chaff allowed me to delay Kara’s hammers for just long enough.
Mistakes
While I did a nice job being patient on the left flank, I pulled the trigger too early on the right flank and lost it as a result. I was eager to Rout the Knucker, and I did, after baiting him with the Seductress, but there was no reason to commit to the Depth Horror Hordes on the same turn.
Round Two – Mark Cox – Push
Hot off my minor victory against Kara I was rewarded with a game against the incomparable Mark Cox. He and I played during the second round of the 2018 Masters. We had a very tight game of Invade with his Ratkin barely edging out my Nightstalkers. The game ended with an epic flank charge on his Shock Troops Horde by my Void Lurker which would have won me the game had I Routed him. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Needless to say, I was happy to play against such a top-notch opponent and have my chance at revenge! Here is his list:
Army: Ratkin
Points: 2300
Unit Count: 13
Unit Strength: 25
195, Spear Warrior Horde
— Plague Pots
150, Hackpaw Regiment
235, Nightmare Horde
225, Tunnel Runner Regiment
— Sir Jesse’s Boots of Striding
260, Shock Troop Horde
— Plague Pots
— Heavy Halberds
115, Wretch Horde
65, Vermintide Regiment
120, Brood Mother
140, Night Terror
— Blade of Slashing
140, Night Terror
— Mace of Crushing
160, Tangle
345, Scudku-z’luk, Demonspawn of Diew
150, Warlock
— Shroud of the Saint
— Heal (4)
Initial Thoughts and Strategy
Push is a decent scenario for my list, as I can use Scout to prevent my opponent from getting too far across the table. I have the Salamander Primes Regiment to hold the Loot Tokens, and enough units to easily protect them unless my opponent has a lot of Ranged Attacks, which Mark did not. On the other hand, Ratkin can layer up and hide their Loot Tokens in the back. My goal was to grab the center Loot Token and bring the other ones across the line while keeping Mark’s tokens on his side of the board, even if I proved unable to steal them from him.
Brief Summary
I deployed the bulk of my army in the center and on the right flank, where a sizable hill could cover my advance. I deployed the Centaur Bray Striders Regiment and Naiad Wyrmrider Centurion on the left flank to delay/harass. Predictably, Mark gave all three Loot Tokens to the Tangle, which sat behind several hordes of rats. He misdeployed his Demon Spawn on my left flank, far from the Salamander Primes. He had to spend several turns flying him across the board, and by the time he got there, things had already swung heavily in my favor. I had been nervous about the Nightmares, but they combo-charged my Moloch Horde and I was able to grind them out. The Seductress proved key in this role, as her Ensnare can strip them of Nimble. The game looked to be a massive win for me until a fateful turn six. Mark had taken off a few pieces of my chaff, whereas I had removed almost his entire army. In fact, every remaining unit was engaged in a losing melee. However, I utterly flubbed the Nerve rolls on that turn, and all of these units survived (an ill-fated “snake eyes” was involved). One of these units was the Tangle, which still held all of his Loot Tokens. He was then able to Disengage and side-step, crossing into my half of the board. Meanwhile, the other four Loot Tokens were in my possession, but not fully on his half of the board. Somewhat stunned, we rolled for turn seven but did not get it. Ouch. If we had gone to turn seven I would have won the game 21 – 0. As it was, the game ended on turn six in an 8 – 13 Loss for me.
Things I Did Well
I executed my initial strategy very well. The Salamander Primes patiently waited until his fast threats (Demonspawn and Nightmares) were locked down, then sprinted for his half of the table. I grabbed the center Loot Token and protected it well. Everything in the game went my way until turn six. I was on the verge of tabling my opponent for the first time in ages. Mark seemed consigned to losing the game after about turn three. This was why we were both so shocked when I ended up losing!
Mistakes
It is possible, though unlikely, that I could have won the game on turn six had I not made a careless mistake. One of the final units protecting the Tangle was the Wretches Horde. I had the opportunity to combo-charge it on turn five with my Centaur Bray Strider Regiment and a Forest Shamblers Regiment. I did not take the charge, letting him charge the Forest Shamblers Regiment instead so that, if he failed to Rout me, I could hit him in the flank with the Centaur Bray Striders Regiment. I did this because I thought the Wretches Horde was in fact the Spear Warriors Horde and was worried about Phalanx. Gah! If I had punched through on turn five instead of turn six, I could have easily stolen the Loot Tokens from the Tangle. It wasn’t a guaranteed thing, though, so I can’t let it get me down.
Stay tuned for the next installment, which will cover the rest of Saturday (rounds three and four).
