Cancon 2020 Aftermath - Part 6

This is the final part of my report of the recent Clash of Kings Australia tournament that was held as part of Cancon 2020. You can find the previous part of the report here, or go back to the first part here.

Game 6 - Control
Jeff Traish - Forces of the Abyss

• Horde of Abyssal Ghouls
• Regiment of Abyssal Ghouls
• Regiment of Abyssal Ghouls
• Horde of Molochs with Blade of Slashing
• Horde of Molochs with Mace of Crushing
• Abyssal Fiend
• Manifestation of Ba'el
• Abyssal Warlock
• Abyssal Warlock
• Abyssal Warlock
• Horde of Lesser Obsidian Golems (Abyssal Dwarf allies)
• Horde of Lesser Obsidian Golems (Abyssal Dwarf allies)
• Hexcaster with Weakness (Abyssal Dwarf allies)

Well, I had done it again. After my "correction" game dropped me back into the middle tables, I had won two more games and now I found myself on what was probably one of the top 3. I think I was in 5th place coming into the final round. Not really where I had intended to be. And now I was to play Jeff, a man who had actually played more than 2 games of 3rd edition before the tournament, and who clearly knew what he was doing. I resolved that I would try not to throw this game away. Try to focus and play tighter. Well, it was not a bad resolution...

One of the Lesser Obsidian Golem units went hard on the flank, with the Fiend lurking right behind them. I wasn't sure where to put the Halflings, so planted them in the corner where they could sit all game and hopefully contest or control that table segment. This was dumb, of course. I should have put them nearer the join of 2 segments, where they could shift about as needed. This occurred to me just after I declared they were sorted.

Cancon 2019 Aftermath - Part 5

This the continuation of my report of the Cancon 2019 tournament. You can find the previous part here.

Game 5 - Ransack
Darren Holmes - Forces of the Abyss

• Archfiend of the Abyss with Wings
• Ba'su'su
• Mau'ti-bu-su
• Succubi Regiment
• Succubi Regiment
• Regiment of Abyssal Horsemen
• Regiment of Abyssal Horsemen
• Horde of Twisted Victims
• Horde of Molochs
• Troop of Gargoyles
• Abyssal Harbinger on mount
• Abyssal Harbinger on mount (this second one might have been someone else)

That doesn't total anywhere near enough points. No doubt there was a Caterpillar Potion on one of the cavalry units and a variety of other items scattered around there.

There are a lot of objective markers in this scenario, worth varying amounts. They were scattered all over the shop, including 2 that Darren put in opposite corners of the field. I didn't think all that carefully about these rocks in front of me. They were Height 4 and impassable. So apart from the flyer, I was going to have real trouble crossing over those, and no way to see. I had rather carelessly isolated the Order of the Abyssal Hunt during deployment. It might not have been that big a deal, but Darren put a lot of flyers across the field from them.

Cancon 2019 Aftermath - Part 3

This is the third part of my tournament report from Cancon 2019. You can find the previous part here.

Game 3 - Dominate
Spoon - Forces of the Abyss
Fire Legion (Formation)

• Archfiend of the Abyss with Wings, Lightning
• Mau'ti-bu-su
• Horde of Abyssal Despoilers
• Horde of Tortured Souls
• Regiment of Abyssal Horsemen (probably with Potion of the Caterpillar)
• Abyssal Temptress (may have had Wings and Banechant)
• Regiment of Succubi
• Regiment of Succubi
• Troop of Succubi
• Troop of Succubi
• Troop of Gargoyles
• Efreet with Heart-Seeking Chant

Apologies for how much I'm struggling to get these lists accurate. The further out we get from the event, the harder it is to remember. Honestly this whole game is a bit of a haze for me. It was 40 degrees and the humidity was to the point where I felt like I was in danger of dripping sweat onto the table. Guzzling water will only get you so far. I was really struggling; I didn't really want to be trying to focus on a game at this point. But hey, I survived. So that's something, eh?

Well that's a blurry photo. Anyway, I set up with the intention of using that impassable terrain behind the forest as something of an anchor for my flank. The speed and threat range of the cavalry and Tortured Souls on that flank worried me, so I wanted to see if I could keep them out of the game for a while.

Cancon 2017 Aftermath - Part 3

This is a (rather late) conclusion of my report of my experiences of the Kings of War tournament at Cancon 2017. You can find the previous part here.

Game 6 - Control!

Kort T - Abyssals

• Regiment of Flamebearers
• Regiment of Flamebearers
• Regiment of Flamebearers
• Regiment of Lower Abyssals
• Horde of Lower Abyssals
• Horde of Tortured Souls
• Horde of Tortured Souls
• Troop of Hellhounds
• Troop of Hellhounds
• Troop of Hellhounds
• Efreet with Inspiring Talisman
• Archfiend of the Abyss
• Abyssal Harbinger with the Bangstick

This list above is not correct. It can't be, because it adds up to too many points. I'm probably getting something confused, but the things I've listed above do align OK with what things were doing to me during the game...

This game was another where I found myself being out-deployed because I didn't have enough units. The Tortured Souls were my main concern, but I didn't know where they would be until it was too late for my deployment. They wound up well to my left, where I would have trouble responding properly. The field also had a couple of large fields in the middle, which would slow my movement and hinder my charges. 

I was worried about being out-shot by the combined fire of the Flamebearers and the lightning from the characters, and this influenced my opening moves. I advanced fairly aggressively around the fields, whilst I shot at (and routed) one of the Flamebearer regiments. That was surprisingly easy. Unfortunately I was never going to be able to close the gap with the enemy without letting the Tortured Souls have a go at me, and they predictably caused me issues.

The one unit I left within range of the Tortured Souls but without immediate support was the horde of Warriors. I figured this was OK. They should not be in real danger from a frontal charge, so could counter-charge and would quickly be on the front foot. Unfortunately Kort rolled fairly well and then wavered them. So that pretty well stuffed that plan. I was never going to be able to rescue them in time now.

Cancon 2017 Aftermath - Part 1

Cancon is over for another year, and despite being a bit under the weather during the trip, I survived. As usual I will offer a bit of a summary of my experiences at the tournament. Rather than distract myself with a proper camera, I only took my phone with me this time. So the photos may not be that great, or that numerous. Maybe it will help me talk less this time...

My army was Ogres. I was unsure what to take, but a friend convinced me that Ogres would be compact to transport and move from game to game, so they were a practical choice for a road trip like this one. I decided to take an army with very few magic items (even ignoring obvious ones like +1 to hit on the Shooters) in order to keep things simple and stuff in as many Ogres as I could.

• Horde of Ogre Warriors
• Regiment of Ogre Warriors
• Horde of Siege Breakers
• Horde of Siege Breakers
• Regiment of Hunters
• Horde of Shooters
• Horde of Boomers
• Regiment of Chariots
• Warlord
• Army Standard with the Boomstick
• Warlock with Inspiring Talisman

Game 1 - Pillage!

Andrew Old - Basileans

• Horde of Crossbowmen with Brew of Keen-eyeness
• Regiment of Foot Guard
• Regiment of Foot Guard
• Regiment of Foot Guard
• Regiment of Foot Guard
• Horde of Elohi with Brew of Haste
• Horde of Elohi with Pipes of Terror
• High Paladin on Dragon with Medallion of Life
• Phoenix

Andrew's army was comprised of Stormcast Eternals, or Sigmarines, or whatever they are actually called. It was pretty cool. Lots of flyers, though...

Convic 2016 Aftermath - Part 2

This post is a continuation of my report of Convic. You can find the previous part here.

After a win and a loss with my 1000 point list, I was obviously in danger of getting comfortable with my army. So it was time to change things up a bit, and the next 2 games would be using the 1500 point list instead. More toys!

Game 3
1500 points, Dominate!
Rohan Keating, Empire of Dust

• Ahmunite Pharaoh with Boomstick
• Ahmunite Pharaoh with Wings of the Honeymaze
• Revenant Horde with Brew of Strength
• Mummy Troop
• Mummy Troop
• Enslaved Guardian Archer Horde
• Bone Giant
• Bone Dragon

Rowan had made the trip down from Sydney for the event and it was good to catch up. I preferred not to think about how he spanked me about up at Cancon, though. Time for revenge and stuff. Maybe.

On the bright side, my 1500 point list was not too dramatically different from my 1000 point one. I still had things like the Warlock and Berserker Braves, so I had at least some idea of what went where...

Nick came and visited the tournament in the afternoon, and ran off with my camera. Consequently I have a number of photos of people and models that have nothing to do with this game, but little in the way of the deployment on my own table.

I started by deploying my Shooter horde in a forest, because it seemed like the thing to do. It had a good view of the central objective, so it was not a bad place for a move-or-fire unit. Rowan then deployed giving them nothing whatsoever to shoot at. Kill-joy.