Convic 2018 Aftermath - Part 3

This is a continuation of my report of the recent Kings of War tournament at Convic 2018. You can find the previous part here.

Game 3 (1750 points) - Take and Hold
Staks - Dwarves (Herneas' Hunting Party)

• Regiment of Herneas' Rangers with Brew of Keen-Eyeness
• Regiment of Herneas' Rangers with Heart-Seeking Chant
• Herneas the Hunter
• Regiment of Berserker Brock Riders with Brew of Haste
• Regiment of Berserker Brock Riders
• Ironbelcher Organ Gun
• Ironbelcher Organ Gun
• Troop of Sharpshooters
• Troop of Sharpshooters
• Berserker Lord on Brock
• Regiment of Elohi

We were up to the third round now, which meant it was time to switch to the middle-sized list. This meant I traded out one horde of Warriors for 2 of Siegebreakers, the Giant subbed out for another Warlord on a Chariot, my Shooters got upgraded to a horde, and I got an Army Standard Bearer with the Boomstick. 

I don't know what was in Staks' 1250 point list, but I can only assume it had less shooting than the list I found myself facing here. How exactly was I going to deal with this list? Getting the first turn might help. But no, I didn't get the first turn...

The scenario was one I hadn't played before, where you score by controlling the objectives each turn from turn 3 onward. I like that - it forces people to play differently. Or you know, forces them to hurry up and kill you faster.

That's Herneas and 2 regiments of Rangers, deployed in a forest. Could I shoot back at them? Sure, on 7+ to hit...

The Rangers had the left flank, and the Berserkers were shielding the Organ Guns and Sharpshooters on the right.

One of the Berserker units was represented by White Knight Dwarf knights. They're so cute. I need them. 

I had put my Chariot Warlords on the flanks. The one on the right had promise right up to the point when Berserkers with 1" more movement than him deployed opposite. Poop. I admit, I had no idea how to approach this game. My deployment was probably not ideal. General plan was to use what cover I could find to get close, but the threat of the charge range of the Berserkers was an issue.

Staks got the first turn and commenced bombarding my troops. Even with the Organ Guns out of range, the damage started mounting pretty quickly on my left flank thanks to the Rangers. The Warlord was immediately half-dead, and it was apparent he would never make it across the table. I had no good plans in response to this. Maybe the right flank would go better...

Right, so how is my Warlord getting flanked by Berserkers here? Honestly I had massive trouble trying to work out how to advance with the Siegebreakers without getting flanked. That was a complete no-no, as it was wasting the unit's best asset by negating their Big Shields. So the Warlord ended up volunteering for the job. The Warriors at the bottom of the screen were in range for a charge after the combat. I just had to hope the Warlord survived. That would be a bonus.

At the bottom of the picture you can see the Warlord who, having been shot half to death, elected to turn and bolt for cover behind my units. The Siegebreakers also started to take damage, whilst my lines tried to adjust to the Berserker Lord who was now fighting my Boomer Sergeant (this was Staks' second turn). I had given up on trying to cross no man's land to get to the Rangers, especially with the Organ Gun and Elohi waiting.

Right. So I believe the Berserkers killed my Warlord, worked out that if they backed up 3" they'd be out of range of the Warriors, and promptly did so. The Warriors shrugged and walked toward them, got charged, got over it, and charged them back. And did like... no damage.

Nearby, I actually got really close with my Siegebreakers whilst taking only modest damage. Then the Berserkers charged them and routed them, straight up. So close. To... something.

Honestly, I can't remember what was going on here. I think I might have charged the Berserker Lord with the Shooters, done nothing, then got counter-charged by him and flanked by the Elohi. If I somehow survived this, I would get a flank charge of the Elohi and maybe I would achieve something. But no, nothing good like that happened.

I was still getting shot to hell over on the flank. Units were starting to disappear. I was really feeling the lack of movement speed on the Siegebreakers. There just didn't feel like there was any point in moving. So I was milling about, controlling one of the tokens and trying to ensure it took Staks a while to shoot everything to death.

This is the end of my Boomer Sergeant. This is particularly sad, because he had just achieved my only victory in the game. Having been charged and thus unable to shoot, he elected to charge the Berserker Lord. Because you know, why not? Rather unexpectedly, he did a wound or two, and then rolled an 12 and an 11, which was what he needed to rout him! Hooray! I had killed something! And then my Boomer Sergeant became roadkill. :(

And then there was one. And shortly after there was none. I got wiped out.

By the end of the game I had a grand total of 3 points for controlling tokens. Staks was now racking up 3 a turn, but didn't have enough of a lead to get the maximum bonus in terms of the scenario. He needed a turn 7. I got to roll the dice, and the game ended on turn 6. So I guess 2 things went right in the end. My Boomer Sergeant the hero, and the turn 7 dice. My other hero.

Well, I think that was the most depressing game of Kings of War I've ever played. I set up and spent the entire game feeling like I had no answers. It was a procession.

Result: 2-19 loss

You can find the next part of the report here.