The effort of army selection

Like it or hate it, army selection is a major part of Warhammer. Some people consider this a fun part of the hobby, and fiddle endlessly with lists in their spare time. These people can produce a list at the drop of a hat, which makes preparing for a game easier. Others find the selection of an army an almost insurmountable hurdle; they don't really know what they want in the army, and making a list without even a vague direction in mind is an inefficient process, to say the least. The problem is made worse when the player is hoping for the list to be competitive, or knows that they're in for a tough game. I know a few people who are capable enough players, but who find the list selection step a real stumbling block.

A Swedish Comp

Convic is coming up on the 13-14 July, and looks like being the largest Warhammer tournament in Victoria again this year. I took a long time to decide whether I was going to enter, as I have been making a bit of a point of distancing myself from tournaments this year. In the end I decided to go because there will be a lot of people travelling from interstate for the event, and it will be a good chance to catch up with some familiar faces.

Having finally decided to enter, I then needed to sort out an army list. My original plan was to avoid fielding anything really competitive, however after fiddling with a lot of different concepts I hadn't come up with a single one that I actually found entertaining. I decided it was easiest just to give up and field whatever I felt like, ignoring its potential to win games. I have not yet submitted my list, but I think I have settled on what I am going to use.

One of the factors in choosing a list was that Convic is using Swedish Comp. It's been discussed a lot in the community, however this will be the first time that I've attended an event that actually uses it. I am generally a supporter of panel comp due to the flexibility that it offers, however I can see advantages to Swedish Comp, especially if you don't think you can get together a reliable panel of comp judges (which can be very difficult).

He may not be a member of the Swedish comp panel, but the Swedish Chef looks like he's about to come down pretty hard on that Demigryph... Err, I mean chicken.

For those not familiar with Swedish Comp, it's a long and elaborate document that looks at everything in the game and tries to score everything in a balanced manner. Obviously this is an incredibly difficult thing, especially when you consider that something rather weak can get very good when used in the right combination. The pack tries to identify and target these things as well, but obviously it's never going to be perfect. For the record, here is what I think of Swedish Comp:

Adding a little personality

It was several months ago now that I was preparing for Cancon. I had come up with the silly idea of entering an Empire list with as many special characters as I could jam into it. As it turned out, that was 4 - Kurt Helborg, Marius Leitdorf, Ludwig Schwartzhelm and Luthor Huss. It struck me as a funny plan, and the tournament didn't even go as badly as I had feared it might. However, in the rush to get things ready for the event, I didn't actually get around to properly finishing the characters. This was about as far as I got. Actually, I got slightly further than that, mostly finishing Luthor Huss and adding colour to the blade of Ludwig on the night before the tournament, up in our cramped accommodation in Canberra. Painting late on the night before the event is tradition, don't you know?

Anyway, that was in January. We're now well into June, but I finally got around to picking up the models again and finishing them off! Huzzah!

From the left: Luthor Huss, Marius Leitdorf, Ludwig Schwartzhelm and Kurt Helborg. You know you've made it in the Empire when your horse is different from the zillions of regular barded steeds in the army. 3 of these guys have entirely metal steeds, so they're clearly fancy men of some importance.

Another battle report that wasn't

It had been several weeks since I had made it down to the games club for long enough to actually play a game, and I decided I was ready to try to put together another battle report. Unfortunately I decided this the day beforehand, so I didn't exactly leave myself (or anyone else) a lot of time to get organised. This was my first mistake - I need to remember that these things take time if they are to be done correctly.

Despite the narrow time-frame, I did manage to throw together some scenario rules to make the game a bit more interesting. I have wanted to try a battle fought on the streets of a city for a while, and decided this was a good opportunity. I added a couple of objectives to try to give the game some focus, and I figured we were basically good to go. However, I made these decisions based on rough guesstimates of our terrain resources at the club, which was really a mistake when I was forming plans around such a terrain-intensive approach. We'll call that my second mistake.

And finally, I was laying out these plans with a rough idea of the armies being perhaps 4,000-5,000 points in size. It wasn't a firm number, and I let myself be talked up to 8,000 points on the Friday evening as we threw together some lists for the next day. I blame Benji - he preyed upon my weakness for larger games and the temptation overrode my better judgement (and I didn't really think through the potential consequences). This was my third mistake.

To be honest there was even more wrong with my approach than these 3 things, but 3 major mistakes seems like enough blame for one day. Suffice to say the game didn't quite work out the way I would have liked.

My opponent was to be Nick Cook, King of Proxies. Obviously an army of unpainted proxies was not exactly what we were after for a battle report, so I called on a couple of the guys who actually have painted Chaos armies to bring around some of their stuff. The generous providers of the Chaos hordes were Benji and Owen. This is how Benji got involved in the process and started whispering tricksy things in my ear about making the game a "proper" size. I should never have succumbed...

For my part, I originally planned to just use Empire stuff. But then it occurred to me that I liked the idea of a couple of units of matching Ogres stomping down the city streets and so I slipped a small allied force into the list (rather than using them as unit fillers as is their usual role). I didn't bother with a general for the contingent as I don't yet have a good themed model painted up for the job. But that was OK, the Ogres were really just a token inclusion anyway. I ended up using the vast majority of my Empire infantry, although plenty of cavalry got left behind due to a lack of command models (I generally have 2 command groups per mob of 40, as I don't tend to expect to need more than 2 units of a given type of Knight (White Wolf, Panther, Venator or Reiksguard)).

I called the scenario "The Trader and the Temple" after the two main objectives in the game. The general idea was that a simple trader had stumbled upon a powerful artefact that was actually something akin to a Soulstone from Diablo - a gem that contained the trapped essence of a Daemon Prince. And another Daemon Prince was leading an attack on the town in an attempt to free his brother. 

The Trader

Samawan ibn Anathar is a trader from Araby who has arrived in town looking to sell a magical talisman. Unfortunately it is not simply the lucky charm he took it for, and has attracted the covetous eyes of the Chaos powers.

Samawan is deployed in the Town Square at the beginning of the game, under the control of the Empire player. He can move around freely, however he may not enter any buildings as the occupants will refuse him entry.

Samawan has the statistics of an Empire Master Engineer. His talisman grants him a 4+ ward save. However, if he is slain in close combat the energy in the talisman will explode, causing a strength 4 hit to all models within 6”. Samawan will then be replaced by a Daemon Prince under the Chaos player’s control, in the same manner as if he had rolled a 12 on the Eye of the Gods chart. The summoned Daemon Prince is worth no victory points.

At the end of the game, the Empire player gains 1000 bonus victory points if Samawan is still alive. The Chaos player gains 1000 bonus victory points if Samawan became a Daemon Prince. Neither player gains any bonus points if he was slain out of combat (and hence did not transform).

The Temple

The Slaanesh temple had long been hidden within the bowels of the city trade hall, however its presence was revealed when the building above it was blown apart in a blast of magical energy as the cultists within unleashed their vile sorceries.

The Chaos player can deploy up to 3 Infantry units in base contact with the temple at the start of the game.

In addition, the cultists within the temple are continuing their rituals. Each turn the temple may cast a bound spell (power level 5). If successfully cast, D3 unengaged Chaos units anywhere on the table may be removed and placed in base contact with the temple, in the same formation and facing any direction. This is powerful and dangerous magic, however – if the spell is cast with Irresistible Force, after the unit is placed the temple is destroyed by the uncontrolled magicks. Replace it with a suitable set of ruins.

Chaos units within 6” of the temple gain the Armour Piercing special rule.

The temple is a building and follows the normal rules for buildings. If an Empire unit enters the building, it is immediately destroyed and replaced by a suitable set of ruins.

At the end of the game, the Empire player gains 1000 bonus victory points if the temple has been destroyed. The Chaos player gains 1000 bonus victory points if the temple still stands.

The Table

The game should be played on an 8’x6’ table. The Town Square is in the centre of the table, and should be a clear space approximately 24" across, potentially with a statue, fountain or other object of interest in the middle. The Town Square should have 4 streets running into it, and the rest of the table should consist of a layout of streets and buildings (either ruined or intact). The streets should all be around 6" wide (giving some room for 5" wide units to wheel), and units are permitted within 1" of the buildings on either side to make things simple. There should be a relatively direct route from the Temple to the Town Square.

All buildings (other than the Temple) are considered impassable terrain unless otherwise agreed by the players (signifcant buildings may be an exception). Units pursuing and fleeing will adjust their direction to go straight down streets (in the direction closest to their correct path. Roll a dice if the choice of direction is not obvious).

The rough layout of the table

The Turn

The Empire player gets the first turn. The game will go for 6 turns.

The Armies

The final lists were:

Warriors of Chaos

• Daemon Prince of Nurgle
       General, Magic Level 4 (Lore of Nurgle), Chaos Armour, Daemonic Flight
       Scaled Skin, Soul Feeder, Charmed Shield, Sword of Striking, Dragonbane Gem, Flaming Breath
• Chaos Lord of Tzeentch on Daemonic Mount
       Barding, Chaos Armour, Shield, Talisman of Preservation, Third Eye of Tzeentch, Ogre Blade
• Sorcerer Lord of Slaanesh
       Magic Level 4 (Lore of Slaanesh), Chaos Armour, Earthing Rod, Ironcurse Icon
• Exalted Hero of Tzeentch on Chaos Steed
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Barding, Battle Standard, Talisman of Endurance, Potion of Toughness
• Exalted Hero of Khorne on Daemonic Mount
       Halberd, Barding, Chaos Armour, Dawn Stone, Helm of Many Eyes
• Exalted Hero of Khorne
       Chaos Armour, Enchanted Shield, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Luckstone
• Chaos Sorcerer of Tzeentch
       Magic Level 2 (Lore of Tzeentch), Chaos Armour, Chaos Familiar, Talisman of Protection
• Chaos Sorcerer
       Magic Level 2 (Lore of Death), Chaos Armour, Channeling Staff, Chalice of Chaos
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Chaos Undivided
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Aspiring Champion
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Aspiring Champion
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Slaanesh
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Aspiring Champion
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Aspiring Champion
• 20 Chaos Warriors of Khorne
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Aspiring Champion
• 22 Chaos Marauders of Slaanesh
• 5 Chaos Warhounds
• 5 Forsaken of Slaanesh
• 5 Forsaken of Slaanesh
• Chaos Chariot of Tzeentch
• Chaos Chariot of Tzeentch
• Chaos Chariot of Tzeentch
• 8 Chaos Knights of Khorne
       Barding, Ensorcelled Weapons, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Doom Knight
• 9 Chaos Knights of Tzeentch
       Barding, Ensorcelled Weapons, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Doom Knight
• 9 Chaos Ogres of Slaanesh
       Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, Standard, Musician, Ogre Mutant
• 20 Chosen of Tzeentch
       Halberd, Chaos Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Chosen Champion
• 5 Dragon Ogres
       2nd Hand Weapon, Light Armour
• 5 Trolls
       2nd Hand Weapon
• Chaos Spawn of Tzeentch
• Gorebeast Chariot of Nurgle
• Hellcannon
• Chaos Warshrine of Tzeentch
• Chaos Warshrine of Nurgle

Empire (and Ogres)

• • Grand Master on Warhorse
         General, Barding, Full Plate Armor, Giant Blade, Dragonhelm, Dawn Stone
  • Wizard Lord of the Light Order
         Magic Level 4 (Lore of Light)
  • Wizard Lord of the Golden Order
         Magic Level 4 (Lore of Metal)
  • Arch Lector on War Altar
         Horn of Sigismund, Shield, Armour of Destiny, The Mace of Helstrum
  • Captain of the Empire on Warhorse
         Barding, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Battle Standard, Talisman of Endurance, Sword of Might
  • Master Engineer
  • Warrior Priest
         Great Weapon, Armour of Meteoric Iron
  • Warrior Priest
         Great Weapon, Armour of Silvered Steel
  • Warrior Priest
         Great Weapon, Glittering Scales
  • Witch Hunter
         Brace of Pistols, Light Armour
  • Witch Hunter
         Brace of Pistols, Light Armour
  • Captain of the Empire on Warhorse
         Barding, Great Weapon, Full Plate Armor
  • Captain of the Empireon Warhorse
         Barding, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Ogre Blade
  • Battle Wizard of the Amber Order
         Magic Level 2 (Lore of Beasts)
  • Battle Wizard of the Amethyst Order on Warhorse
         Magic Level 2 (Lore of Death)
  • 40 Halberdiers
         Halberd, Light Armour, Standard, Musician, Sergeant
  • 40 Halberdiers
         Halberd, Light Armour, Standard, Musician, Sergeant
  • 25 Swordsmen
         Light Armour, Shield, Standard, Musician, Duellist
  • 40 Spearmen
         Spear, Light Armour, Standard, Musician, Sergeant
  • 10 Knights of the Inner Circle (Panthers)
         Barding, Lance, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 10 Knightly Orders (White Wolves)
         Barding, Great Weapon, Full Plate Armor, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 10 Knightly Orders (White Wolves)
         Barding, Great Weapon, Full Plate Armor, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 10 Knightly Orders (Venators)
         Barding, Lance, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 10 Knightly Orders (Venators)
         Barding, Lance, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 16 Crossbowmen
         Crossbow, Standard, Musician
  • 16 Crossbowmen
         Crossbow, Standard, Musician
  • 16 Handgunners
  • 35 Greatswords
         Great Weapon, Full Plate Armor, Standard, Musician, Count's Champion, Razor Standard
  • 29 Flagellants
         Flail, Prophet of Doom
  • 6 Demigryph Knights
         Barding, Lance, Shield, Standard, Musician, Preceptor
  • 3 Demigryph Knights
         Barding, Lance, Shield
  • 8 Reiksguard Knights
         Barding, Lance, Full Plate Armor, Shield, Standard, Musician
  • 5 Outriders
         Repeater Handgun, Light Armour, Musician, Outrider
  • 5 Pistoliers
         Brace of Pistols, Light Armour, Musician, Outrider with Repeater Pistol
  • 5 Pistoliers
         Brace of Pistols, Light Armour, Musician, Outrider with Repeater Pistol
  • Great Cannon
  • Great Cannon
  • Helblaster Volley Gun
  • Helblaster Volley Gun
  • Celestial Hurricanum
  • 6 Ironguts
         Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, Standard
  • 3 Ogres
         Iron Fist, Light Armour
  • 3 Mournfang Cavalry
         Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, Standard