Hello, welcome back to my journey at the UK Masters 2021. This is Game 6 and this is the last game of the event! It’s been an epic tournie so far with giddying highs and soul crushing lows. I’ve had 2 wins, a draw and 2 losses, I’m currently sat on 40 points after 5 games so less than half points sadly. My losses have just been too big and my wins too small.

So for Game 6 I was drawn against Alistair Parren @Gingersmali and his Orcs & Goblins. After playing against Orcs already in this tournament and losing quite badly I am not looking forward to this game. Lets look at his list:

580 - Goblin King, Forest Goblin King, Gargantula, Great Weapon, Light Armour
470 - Orc Shaman, General, Feral Orc Shaman, Wizard Master, Thaumaturgy, Crown of
Autocracy
355 - Goblin King, Forest Goblin King, Huntsmen Spider, Shield (Dusk Forged), Heavy
Armour (Basalt Infusion), Hand Weapon (Hero's Heart)
220 - Orc Shaman, Common Orc Shaman, Boar Chariot, Wizard Apprentice, Shamanism,
Paired Weapons, Dragonfire Gem
305 - 30 Goblins, Cave Goblins, Shield, 2x Mad Gits, Musician
280 - 20 Orcs, Feral Orcs, Spear
270 - 20 Orcs, Feral Orcs, Paired Weapons, Champion
270 - 20 Orcs, Feral Orcs, Paired Weapons, Champion
569 - 8 Trolls, Cave Troll
145 - Orc Boar Chariot
125 - 5 Goblin Raiders, Common Goblin
90 - 3 Grotlings
450 - Great Green Idol, Battle Standard Bearer
370 - Great Green Idol
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Here is my list, if you haven’t already seen it enough with all these write ups:
705 - Minotaur Warlord, General, Light Armour (Destiny's Call), Paired Weapons (Blessed
Inscriptions), Obsidian Rock, Crown of Horns
570 - Soothsayer, Wizard Master, Shamanism, Light Armour (Trickster's Cunning), Hand
Weapon (Ancestral Carvings), Seed of the Dark Forest
475 - Minotaur Chieftain, Greater Totem Bearer, Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour
(Aaghor's Affliction), Great Weapon
325 - 3 Raiding Chariots
303 - 29 Wildhorn Herd, Shield, Standard Bearer (Legion Standard), Musician, Champion
(Totem Bearer (Gnarled Hide))
273 - 18 Wildhorn Herd, Paired Weapons and Throwing Weapons , Ambush, Musician
642 - 6 Minotaurs, Shield, Standard Bearer (Banner of Speed), Musician, Champion (Totem
Bearer (Black Wing))
240 - Razortusk Chariot
170 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd, Musician
160 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd
150 - 5 Gargoyles, Scout
140 - 5 Gargoyles
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
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So there’s 3 big monsters and a unit of trolls to contend with, I worry that that is too much for the Minotaurs and the characters to fight through. It should be an interesting fight between the Trolls and the Minotaurs, the Minos should win that fight but you never know when it comes to special saves. The Goblin King on the Gargantula could prove problematic, the Minotaur unit on its own should be able to kill it pretty quickly but if the Mino Lord is in the unit I would most likely have to decline a duel to allow them all to attack, it outs the Mino Lord at risk but I think he can take one round of attacks from the Gargantula, providing the Venomous Fangs attack doesn’t go through. In my Game 2 against Ed I had to fight a Great Green Idol and that proved a tough nut to crack, having to fight two might be a little too much for the Mino Lord on his own. I’m thinking I need to keep the Minotaur characters in the unit for this game, there’s too much nasty stuff out there that they can’t risk getting into a fight with.

The real thing that concerns me in the list is that Goblin King on Huntsman Spider, he’s packing a 1+ Rerollable Armour Save! He has the Heroes Heart so he has 5 attacks at S5 AP3 with Poison attacks too! That King is super quick and mobile and if he gets around the back of my army then I’m in trouble as he could easily kill my chariots one by one. I don’t think he can stand up to any of my characters though, the Minos will make short work of him and the Soothsayer should be able to handle him so I’ll win from static combat res and break him.

The Feral Orcs units are too small to really concern me, they are the only real target for my chariots as the I can’t see the chariots doing any real damage to the monsters or trolls. The Minotaurs will go right through small units of 20 and the Wildhorn should be able to beat them in a one on one combat. The Shaman general is a real weakness in the Orc list I think, he is very susceptible to the being frenzy baited and he has no real defence besides his 5++ Aegis, I think a cheeky Totemic Summon could do a number on him if I’m lucky. With the Crown of Autocracy he’s a big point sink and is also the main caster, so killing him quickly would be a real plus.

The Scenario for this game is King of the Hill and the deployment is Encircle. With 4 scoring units in the Orc army it may prove difficult to stop all them from getting on their objective. I plan on just launching the Minotaurs straight at my objective as well as an ambusher or two.

Deployment

We roll for sides and Ali wins… [Read More]

Hello

Welcome back to my journey at UK Masters 2021. After a super embarrassing round 4 it’s time to pick myself up and crack on with round 5. This time I was drawn against the Infernal Dwarves being pushed about by Jake Corteen from Team England. This will be my third game against Jake’s ID in the last 6 months, we always seem to end up drawn against each other and in our two previous games he has beaten me both times (16-4 and 17-3). I’m out for revenge this time though, I have actually learnt a lot from our previous games and even though I think ID is a real bad match up for me I don’t think I will lose this one by as big a margin as last time.

So this is Jake’s list:
835 - Prophet, General, Prophet of Shamut, Great Bull of Shamut, Wizard Master,
Occultism, Infernal Weapon, Obsidian Rock
385 - Prophet, Prophet of Ashuruk, Wizard Adept, Alchemy, Pyromancy, Binding Scroll,
Essence of a Free Mind
330 - Vizier, Shield (Willow's Ward), Battle Standard Bearer (Aether Icon), Alchemist's Alloy,
Spear, Breath of the Brass Bull, Unflame
501 - 24 Infernal Warriors, Ziggurat Regulars, Blunderbuss , Musician, Champion
190 - 20 Vassal Levies, Paired Weapons, Standard Bearer (Banner of the Relentless
Company)
190 - 20 Vassal Levies, Paired Weapons, Standard Bearer (Banner of the Relentless
Company)
125 - 20 Shackled Slaves, Paired Weapons
125 - 20 Shackled Slaves, Paired Weapons
574 - 23 Immortals, Spear, Standard Bearer (Blessed Icon of Zalaman Tekash), Musician,
Champion
442 - 5 Kadim Incarnates, Champion
315 - 3 Taurukh Anointed, Great Weapon, Musician, Champion
485 - Infernal Engine, Naphtha Thrower (Steel Juggernaut, Kadim Blessed)
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Here’s my list for those that haven’t seen it:
705 - Minotaur Warlord, General, Light Armour (Destiny's Call), Paired Weapons (Blessed
Inscriptions), Obsidian Rock, Crown of Horns
570 - Soothsayer, Wizard Master, Shamanism, Light Armour (Trickster's Cunning), Hand
Weapon (Ancestral Carvings), Seed of the Dark Forest
475 - Minotaur Chieftain, Greater Totem Bearer, Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour
(Aaghor's Affliction), Great Weapon
325 - 3 Raiding Chariots
303 - 29 Wildhorn Herd, Shield, Standard Bearer (Legion Standard), Musician, Champion
(Totem Bearer (Gnarled Hide))
273 - 18 Wildhorn Herd, Paired Weapons and Throwing Weapons , Ambush, Musician
642 - 6 Minotaurs, Shield, Standard Bearer (Banner of Speed), Musician, Champion (Totem
Bearer (Black Wing))
240 - Razortusk Chariot
170 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd, Musician
160 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd
150 - 5 Gargoyles, Scout
140 - 5 Gargoyles
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
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So this Infernal Dwarf list is quite different from what Jake has been using all year and I think this is the weakest list he has taken so far. I am not overly scared of the Prophet on the Great Bull as he is on Occultism and as the spell range is so short he will have to get close with him to do any real damage. So I need to make sure that the Great Bull can’t get around me by zoning it with Chariots and the Minotaurs.

The Infernal Engine is always a headache for the Beast Herds I find, the only answer I have to it is the Minotaurs. The Minotaur Warlord can solo it and should kill it in two rounds of combat but only if he’s given a chance to charge it. In the last game we fought Jake had two Infernal Engines, one with the Naptha Thrower and the other with the Titan Mortar, the Mino Warlord managed to kill the Titan Mortar but the Naptha Thrower was still going at the end of the game, so this is a continuation from our last game in my eyes with the Mino Warlord out for revenge against the horrid defeat I suffered last time.

Also in our last battle Jake had a unit of Immortals with the Vizier BSB in but with an Overlord. I a moment of madness I forgot about the Unflame on the BSB and ended up charging them with the Minotaurs and I got absolutely slaughtered as I was striking last due to the agility penalty from Unflame. I probably don’t want to repeat that this game but now that the unit doesn’t have the Overlord in with the Onyx Core the Minotaurs might stand a good chance of murdering the unit.

The Taurukh Anointed will be a tough nut to crack with their Res 5, I think that my Raiding Chariots will just bounce off them and as they have Great Weapons they’ll just murder a chariot in return. The Kadim Incarnates are also very dangerous for my army, none of my infantry can go anywhere near them, they will eat their way through the Wildhorn or any of my ambushers, even chariots will struggle against them. The Minotaurs can easily take down both the Kadim Incarnates and the Taurukh Anointed but, they can’t fight everything in the ID army.

The Slaves are there mostly to give flaming attacks to the Infernal Warriors and the Immortals, plus soak up some Dangerous Terrain checks. Although Jake doesn’t have the usual methods of giving out flammable markers like Vassal Levies with bows or the Vassal… [Read More]

Hello!

Welcome back to another thrilling battle report from my adventures at the UK Masters 2021. We are now over halfway there, Games 1,2 and 3 are done with and it’s time for Game 4. Round 4 is the army swap round, a round I was very much looking forward too as there were some cool armies out there I would happily use, Warriors, KoE, Infernal Dwarves, I would even been happy using some poncy elves. However, fate has a wicked sense of humour and decided to give me the one army out of the 15 that I really didn’t want to use, the bloody Vampire Covenant! I was drawn against Mikey Newman of England ETC fame, so he’ll be using my BH and I’ll be pushing nudging zombies about.
I have very little experience using the VCs, I once borrowed a friends army and took them to an 8th edition tournament, just so I could use Heinrich Kemmler and Krell because they are so cool but it turned out they were not actually that good on the table top and I lost every game and came bottom. So maybe VC aren’t the army for me. Who knows though, maybe I’ll be given a decent list with some Shrieking Horrors and some killy Vampire characters and a big bus of Knights, let’s have a look shall we?

490 - Necromancer, General (The Dead Arise), Wizard Master, Alchemy, 2x Binding Scroll
405 - Necromancer, Wizard Master, Evocation, Magical Heirloom
170 - Fell Wraith, Hand Weapon (Hero's Heart)
155 - Banshee
155 - Banshee
567 - 37 Ghouls, Champion
253 - 22 Skeletons, Spear, Standard Bearer (Flaming Standard), Musician, Champion
135 - 20 Zombies, Musician
645 - 8 Ghasts, Champion
310 - 4 Phantom Hosts
680 - 4 Winged Reapers, Halberd
535 - 6 Vampire Knights, Standard Bearer, Musician, Champion
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WTF is that!?

When I did the army list reviews I initially didn’t think much of this list but there is some nice synergies in it with the Alchemy Master. The Winged Reapers are not to be sniffed at, they can pack a punch when they hit, as do Vampire Knights. I’ve watched a few games with Mikey using it and he’s uses it very well, each unit supports each other on it’s incredibly slow, inexorable push towards the enemy/objective. In the right hands this army is lethal and can easily draw or even get a small win! In my hands however I will be lucky to get a point out of this game. I just can’t play the game the way Mikey does, I need to get into combat as that's the best part of the entire game and I just think the combat potential of this list is minimal. If I can get some flank charges won the Minotaur block with one of the big units then I stand a chance, but how do you get a flank charge when everything has to be the 12” General Bubble? How do I keep the Necromancers alive when there’s going to be Totemic Beasts and Ambushers coming on behind my lines?
Where’s the bloody chaff in the list? The Banshees and Fell Wraith can be used as chaff but I’m most likely going to need them to cover my rear from Longhorns trying to kill my General. I don’t understand why you would take a Fell Wraith for chaff when you have Great Bats available to you?

Oh yeah, I should probably talk about the list that Mikey has been blessed with.

705 - Minotaur Warlord, General, Light Armour (Destiny's Call), Paired Weapons (Blessed
Inscriptions), Obsidian Rock, Crown of Horns
570 - Soothsayer, Wizard Master, Shamanism, Light Armour (Trickster's Cunning), Hand
Weapon (Ancestral Carvings), Seed of the Dark Forest
475 - Minotaur Chieftain, Greater Totem Bearer, Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour
(Aaghor's Affliction), Great Weapon
325 - 3 Raiding Chariots
303 - 29 Wildhorn Herd, Shield, Standard Bearer (Legion Standard), Musician, Champion
(Totem Bearer (Gnarled Hide))
273 - 18 Wildhorn Herd, Paired Weapons and Throwing Weapons , Ambush, Musician
642 - 6 Minotaurs, Shield, Standard Bearer (Banner of Speed), Musician, Champion (Totem
Bearer (Black Wing))
240 - Razortusk Chariot
170 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd, Musician
160 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd
150 - 5 Gargoyles, Scout
140 - 5 Gargoyles
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
115 - Raiding Chariots
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Now that’s a proper list! One mighty combat block, two of the greatest character builds of all time that just want to smash face, ambushing shenanigans for some hot sandwich action, plus some chaff for taste.

I am so dead in this match up. If I was decent player or had a couple of months to play with VC then maybe I would stand a chance but as it is I am essentially going into this cold. The more I look at the list the more synergies and plays I see in it but I think that even experienced VC players would struggle to get the most out of a VC List with no Vampire characters in.

As the VC list I have to use doesn’t have an awful lot of chaff I don’t see how I can stop the Mino block. I can use the banshees and the Fell Wraith to hold them up for a while but whilst they are being used for chaffing duty how do I stop the ambushers? It is real a tough call and a choice that I know that Mikey has the… [Read More]