So it was the first time the Collateral damage WM/H tournament took place in Bern, Switzerland, one of two tournaments that act as a qualifier for the Swiss national team for the WTC in Belgium.
Due to my lack of practice I didn't expect a top place, but in comparison to other tournaments where I didn't practice at all I had at least four training games under my belt plus I am technically playing pGrim since last fall, so I hoped I wouldn't do too bad. I saw only very slim chances to make it to the national team, but one or two victories may at least get me a spot as a backup player.
I went into the tournament with my pGrim List (Bomber, Pyre Troll, Impaler, Nyss) and my pDoomshaper T4 list featuring the Mountain King.
However, before I do a rundown on my games I have to say first that the tournament was great as it was the first time we got to meet +Fabio Zeppetella and +marcello maulini. :-) They traveled all the way up from Geneva just for this tournament and it was great to finally meet face-to-face. :-)
Game 1 (Ammunition Run)
Game 1 was against +Gergely Gati, my WM/H Tutor and arch-nemesis (for the mere sake that I haven't won a single game against him yet ;-) ). Gergely played Menoth with his usual selection of either a Harbinger or eFeora list. I decided not to care about what list he may play as the scenario was Ammunition Run. I felt like I could get slightly more out of the mission objective with pGrim plus he had the infantry it took to pose a threat on a wide axis.
This is how we set up:
And this is how the game ended - the Judicator charged my pGrim:
Things that went wrong:
- I had no answer for the Zealots. Their minifeat made the left flank of my Fennblades pointless.
- The Judicator's rockets were really annoying for my Nyss. I had them run in the first turn instead of going slower so they could be zombified by the Witch Doctor. Once the Judicator opened fire it was too late.
- Grim attempted to shoot eFeora with Cross-Country on himself, but it wasn't until Gergely's protest that I realized Cross.Country allows to see through buildings and forrests, but not through enemy models. :-/
Game 2 (Close Quarters)
Game 2 was against Christoph's Trollbloods - this game was epic because we had two Mountain Kings facing each other. Christoph played an eDoomshaper monster brick that I knew from theory, but had never played against or played myself. I obviously picked my pDoomshaper Tier 4 list.
This is how we set up:
And this is how the game ended - the Mauler charged my pDoomshaper:
Things that went wrong:
- I allowed his Mulg to have a charge lane against my Mountain King. Mulg was all it took to kill it.
- pDoomshaper was afraid of his Mountain King's spray attack, so he escaped to the left. I felt save there because his Mauler was behind a wall, so I figured he can't charge me. Obviously I forgot he had an Axer on the table.
I managed to get three control points in this game because Christian forgot the Killbox and I played the scenario. This didn't prevent me from loosing, but at least got me something.
Game 3 (Fire Support)
This was the most fun game today against Pascal's Pigs/Minions. We seemed to have about the same playing skill and pretty much equally strong armies plus Pascal is a player with a great attitude, so this was fun. :-) I decided to go for my Mountain King list again as I felt I needed something to deal with his heavy pigs. Pascal had only one list with Midas as his Warlock.
This is how we set up:
I forgot to take a picture once it was over. pDoomshaper was in front of the house surrounded by pigs, the EBDT was on vacation to the left of the wood on the upper right flank after a failed fury check. pDoomshaper had left two wounds and was saved by Dice Down. One more turn and he would have been worked into pulp. The game was decided on the third tie breaker (army points).
Things that went wrong:
- After the game with Christoph he recommended to play Janissa more aggressively so I can place her wall better. I played her too aggressively in this game.
Game 4 (Incursion)
Game 4 was against +Philipp Mayer, our most recent player who also plays Trollbloods. Based on my recommendations he tried a pGrissel list with Long Riders and Fennblades - I knew from theory how good this list really is, but +Philipp Mayer made me experience it. I picked my pDoomshaper list again.
This is how we set up:
This is how the game ended - Philipp won with 5-0 control points:
As you can see, pDoomshaper is in a mess with Philipp's Fennblades, but he survived their initial wave due to bad rolling on Philipp's part quite well. The Mountain King was blocked by the Long Riders. Both armies hadn't taken that much damage yet, but he won 5-0 because I wasn't even close to any flag while he had both for two turns.
Things that went wrong:
- I picked the Mountain King list again as his Bomber was his only "heavy hitter", but in retrospect I should have taken the pGrim list for at least some more mobility.
- I played Janissa too risky again.
Conclusion
Lessons for the future based on these four games:
- Read cards before every tournament very carefully, even when there is virtually no time. Hopefully that stops me from having crazy ideas that violate the rules.
- Try to put the Axer back into more list. He is a very valuable light warbeasts plus having him myself may stop me from assuming my opponent doesn't have him either.
- Keep Janissa on the Mountain King's side (instead of his back), but not in the first line of battle.
- I shouldn't delay my the assembly of my own Long Riders. Serious playtesting needs to show whether I should play the pDoomshaper Tier 4 list or a pGrissel list along my pGrim list in a two list format tournament.
Anybody with input on pDoomshaper or pGrissel in a two lists format is welcome to provide it. In a three lists format I will definitely play these three warlocks.
