The lads are back with long-time pod-bro Johnny Crass (aka Henry Greig) to discuss their 5 top things that they would change if they ruled the ninth age world. It's probably for the best that they don't but, hey, anyone can dream eh?

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Welcome back to the third and final part of my adventures at TEC.

I left off last time with me getting a big 20 win early into round 4, this left me on 73 points going into Round 5.The downside of finishing Game 4 so early is that I then had about 2 and half hours until Game 5. So I dithered about, set up my army for best painted watched some of @MatyPs game, had some lunch, watched some of the other top table to see how things were playing out there.

All 4 games below me were going o right until the end, which I thought was promising, mans they must be close games at least. I was hoping they’d all get 10 10s and I’d have a big lead gig into Round 5. However, the bloody Vermin Swarm somehow managed to batter some Infernal Dwarves with a Pyro master20 – 0 (I still have no idea how that happens). That meant that for round 5 I would be playing against the Vermin Swarm with a 4 point lead, 73 v 69.

Now before this game, I have never actually played against the new VS army book. None of my local opponents play the army and I’ve always managed to avoid them at previous tournies. I was happy that I finally got to play against them but why did it have to be the last game of a tournament when I was pulling off the rare feat of being in first place (A situation I have never been in before).

Let me tell you, this is no normal Vermin Swarm list being pushed about by some noob, this is Ciaran Dunne of Ireland ETC fame, a two time winner of TEC previously, so I’m up against it here (and his list is utter filth!)

555 - Swarm Priest, Sacred Platform (Whispering Bell), Wizard Adept, Thaumaturgy, Book of Arcane Mastery, Holy Triumvirate, Caelysian Pantheon

295 - Swarm Priest, Wizard Adept, Witchcraft, Crystal Ball, Obsidian Rock, Holy Triumvirate, Caelysian Pantheon

210 - Vermin Senator, General, Crown of the Wizard King, Cowl of the Apostate

125 - Duskblade Assassin

125 - Duskblade Assassin

125 - Duskblade Assassin

436 - 56 Vermin Legionaries, Shield and Spear, Standard Bearer with Eagle Standard (Rending Banner)

405 - 50 Vermin Legionaries, Shield and Spear, Musician, Standard Bearer with Eagle Standard (Bell of the Deep Roads)

436 - 56 Vermin Legionaries, Shield and Spear, Standard Bearer with Eagle Standard (Rending Banner)

280 - 25 Blackfur Veterans, Bloodfur Praetorians, Champion, Standard Bearer with Eagle Standard (Banner of Discipline)

229 - 15 Ignifier Grenadiers

229 - 15 Ignifier Grenadiers

229 - 15 Ignifier Grenadiers

185 - 3 Experimental Weapon Teams, Deepfire Thrower

185 - 3 Experimental Weapon Teams, Deepfire Thrower

160 - 4 Experimental Weapon Teams, Jezail and Shield

290 - Stygian Earthbreaker

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Ugh, just copying and pasting that list has made me feel sick all over again!

So when I saw the draw had gone up I had about 10 minutes to read the VS book and try and get my head around all that it does. The fact that there was 3 units of 15 Ignifiers immediately rang alarm bells, no one takes that many of a single unit unless it is very broken, and after looking at their stats and their shooting weapons I can confirm that they are indeed broken! Each unit has 30 S6 AP2 flaming shots that they can throw into combat, only an 8” range but it doesn’t really matter about that because whatever they are throwing them grenades at is going to be dead! They also March and shoot so they have a theoretical threat range of 18”!

The magic setup is immense too! Wizard adept with the book of +2, on Thaumaturgy and he gets to pick any of the spells! So you better believe he picked Wrath of God! Also, the bell lets him have an additional spell. Then another adept on Witchcraft this time, who also gets to pick 1 – 6 spells. Then the Senator with the Crown of the Wizard King and Cowl of the Apostate gets a random lore but from that lore he can pick spells 1 – 4. I really hope that’s just an oversight that will be corrected because that is some straight up &*!!%^*$ there!

Other than that nonsense we have 3 big units of Legionaries, one of which can ambush on through tunnel markers. The Blackfur Veterans are where the Bell, Adept and Senator sat. Then we have the 3 assassins which could appear anywhere and if they are in a fight with the Minotaurs I do not fancy Mr Minos chances of living long enough to kill them in return. Then 2 units of Deepfire Throwers, which aren’t great against me as I don’t have a lot of ranks and I’m res 4, so I should be safe enough. The Jezails are always a concern as they can just sit back and pick off my Soothsayer or the Giants. Lastly there’s the Stygian Earthbreaker with its 1+ Armour Save, making it an annoyingly tough nut for me to crack.

The deployment for this game was Dawn Assault and the objective was Hold the Ground. With a lead going into the game I basically decided to try and play defensively (well, as defensively as I can, which is to say not very because I don’t know how to). I wold march the Minotaurs onto the centre and start claiming the objective from turn… [Read More]

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Hey Everyone!

Please check out all the videos we put out in the second half of May! A couple of Battle Reports and a tournament announcement.

North American Team Championships 2022 Announcement:



Battle Reports:




Next update coming next month. Thanks! [Read More]

Hello again!

I’m back for part 2 of my time at TEC 22 with the Beast Herds. As I covered in part 1 I had 2 very fortunate games, amassing big wins in both, and had accumulated 36 points from the 2 games, this left me 3^rd position and for round 3 I was paired against the KoE! I have only played against the new book once before so I was looking forward to playing against the new KoE again.

As some of you know I am a long time KoE player, going all the way back to 8^th edition, so I know how the army plays and I know all their weaknesses all too well (well, the weaknesses of the old book). They like to charge and they don’t like being charged. Even with a 2+ Armour Save they will roll 1s constantly (if you ever have to make two 2+ armour saves, one of the dice will always be a 1!). They consistently disappoint you but every now and then you will pull off an epic combo charge that it is so glorious it makes you feel like the Rohirrim and keeps you going for another 20 games!

Anyway, my opponents list for this game is:

Damsel, Destrier, Wizard Master, Divination, Binding Scroll - 490

Folk Hero, General, Pegasus Charger, Shield, Heavy Armour (Prayer-Etched), Bastard Sword (Tristan's Resolve), Potion of Swiftness, Sainted, Castellan, Excellence - 435

Folk Hero, Destrier, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer (Castellan's Crest), Heavy Armour (Alchemist's Alloy), Crown of the Wizard King, Potion of Strength, Cleric, Bannerman - 370

Folk Hero, Heraldic Steed, Light Armour, Castellan, Generosity - 180

15 Feudal Knights, Champion (Knight Banneret (Castellan's Crest)), Musician, Standard Bearer (Banner of Elan) - 635

12 Feudal Knights, Champion, Musician, Standard Bearer (Relic Shroud) - 510

10 Knights of the Quest, Champion, Musician, Standard Bearer (Rending Banner) - 685

5 Pegasus Knights, Champion, Standard Bearer (Castellan's Crest) - 560

The Lady's Courtier, Courtier of the Dusk (Witchcraft) - 450

8 Naiads - 185

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I hadn’t really looked at the lists much before hand so I had to do a quick scan of the KoE book to work out what it all did.

So there’s a Divination master, which is a pretty good lore against the my list, the missiles are lethal to the big monsters and Know Thine Enemy is always a pain against my low Agility army. The general build is an interesting one that I had never seen before, basically a peasant duke with 5 S5 attacks and a 1+ Armour Save. The Tristan’s Resolve is a nice weapon and it’s good to finally see it get some use after years in the cupboard of every KoE Duke. The fact it can destroy my magic weapon enchantments has Mr Mino a little worried as well as the Soothsayer, both of which really need their weapons to be effective.

There’s a Folk Hero who’s essentially a mobile chaff piece and a BSB cleric who is good for being able to get bodies back and casting the Orisons.

Then there’s 3 knight blocks, a big Peg Knight unit that the General could go into if needed. A unit of Naiads who are mostly a nice chaff unit as there’s no champ in there to make them spell casters. Lastly there’s the Lady’s Courtier, who I’ve never seen before on the tabletop, so was interested see what she can do.

Deployment for this game was Battle Line and objective was Capture the Flags, not a great scenario for me as my ambushers may struggle to stay away from the very mobile Knight units and if the KoE don’t want to fight the Minotaurs then I’m really going to struggle to get any scoring units. My Giants in this game are just going to have to be expensive chaff pieces mostly as their AP0 trees aren’t going to do a great deal against the 2+ Armour of the knights.

I won the roll for sides and picked the side with a big forest in the middle of the deployment, basically so that the Minotaurs could stay in there and if the Knights want to charge them they will have to take some DTs for the woods.

My opponent dropped for first and put all 3 knight blocks in the centre, from left to right it was 12 Feudals, 15 Feudals + Wizard (4x4) and then Questing Knights + BSB. The Peg Knights were off to the right and the Naiads on the left. General and Folk Hero were off to the right of the 3 Blocks and Courtier to the left of the blocks.

I did my now bog standard deployment; 2 giants on the right, 1 Giant and Jabber on the left, Minos centre left in a wood facing the 3 blocks, Soothsayer to their right and Chariots to his right. Mongrels were to the left of the Minos and Gargoyles were hiding behind the Minotaurs.

One giant on the left vanguarded after the Naiads, the only thing in the list my Giants could fight. The other left hand Giant stayed behind my lines in case I needed some emergency chaff. The Right hand giant vanguarded around the Peg Knights arc to threaten them if they pushed. Meanwhile the Folk Hero on the Heraldric Steed bombed it forward.

The only spell of note was that the Damsel took Portent of Doom! A spell so rare that I had to look up what it actually did and it is actually pretty good… [Read More]

Another year and another TEC (The English Championships) is done and dusted. Some have soared higher than an eagle and others sunk lower than whale poo. I'll let you guess who did which... Ten weeks to ETC!

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Hello one and all

I'm back, if only for a bit, to report on my latest adventures at The English Championships that I attended this weekend gone. As some of you know I have gone all in on the mightiest of armies, the amazing Beast Herds (Well, I really like them at least). For this event my list is as follows:

645 - Minotaur Warlord, General, Light Armour (Destiny's Call), Paired Weapons (Blessed Inscriptions)
550 - Soothsayer, Raiding Chariot, Wizard Master, Shamanism, Light Armour (Trickster's Cunning), Hand Weapon (Ancestral Carvings)
385 - Minotaur Chieftain, Battle Standard Bearer, Light Armour (Aaghor's Affliction), Great Weapon
315 - 3 Raiding Chariots
272 - 18 Wildhorn Herd, Paired Weapons and Throwing Weapons, Ambush, Standard Bearer (Banner of Discipline), Musician, Champion
235 - 15 Wildhorn Herd, Paired Weapons and Throwing Weapons, Ambush, Standard Bearer (Banner of Discipline), Musician
90 - 10 Mongrel Raiders
611 - 6 Minotaurs, Shield, Standard Bearer (Banner of Speed), Musician, Champion
165 - 10 Longhorn Herd, Ambush, Halberd, Musician
135 - 5 Gargoyles
280 - Jabberwock
270 - Beast Giant, Uprooted Tree
270 - Beast Giant, Uprooted Tree
270 - Beast Giant, Uprooted Tree

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Here's a pic of my army for the event. I never get to paint big beasties very often so getting to paint up 3 giants and a Jabberwock was something I really enjoyed.



I'm particularly happy with the three giants although I still want to add more freehand to the big bad boy!



As for the list itself, the heart of the army hasn't really changed too much from what I took to the UK Masters. A big block of Minos with the Mino Lord and Mino Chieftain (Hereby known as Mr and Mrs Mino). I did drop the Greater Totem Bearer from the BSB as I just needed the points to squeeze in the rest but I was very apprehensive about not taking any totems, as I always take some. The Shamanism Master isn't as kitted out as I'd like, I would like a Talisman of Shielding but I just can't find the points, he's still really good as he is I think.

I've then gone for triple Giants with trees as I absolutely love those auto hits and against some armies they are amazing (DL, VC, Elves) but against others they are terrible (WDG, KoE spring to mind). The vanguard on the giants is super strong I think and having three of them gives opponents some pretty tough decisions to make when it comes to deployment, they're also cheap enough to be used as emergency chaff. I went sober with the giants every game for the vanguard. I also love me a Jabberwock to make 4 Gigantic Monsters ready to stomp all over infantry lists and to try some terror bombs hopefully.

Then we have 3 scoring ambushing units to play the objectives with and it's another problem my opponent has to worry about too. The obligatory 3 Chariots made the list as they're great and then just one unit of Gargoyles for chaffing duties and some Mongrel raiders for much slower chaff (and to fill out core).

Going into the event I didn't really have much of an expectation having just returned from Espana the day before, so I was quite rusty. If I could finish top half I would be very happy but I think it's very match up dependent.

Game 1

So for game 1 I was drawn against Dread Elves and an opponent I had played Round 1 at my last tournament in Bristol. That time he beat me 20 - 0 thanks to Gorgons killing Mr Mino and Black Cloaks killing the Soothsayer turn 1! This time it would be different!

His list:
585 - Beastmaster, General, Manticore (Extraordinary Specimen), Shield, Basalt Infusion, Lance (Transcendence),Talisman of Shielding, Lucky Charm
350 - Temple Exarch, Divination, Battle Standard Bearer (Aether Icon, Aether Icon), Seal of the Republic, Paired Weapons (Shield Breaker)
290 - Warlock Outcast, Wizard Adept, Evocation, Binding Scroll
495 - 30 Silexian Spears, Standard Bearer (Executioner's Icon), Musician, Champion
270 - 15 Silexian Auxiliaries, Musician
190 - 10 Raiding Party, Beast Breaker, Champion
180 - 5 Shadow Riders
614 - 24 Obsidian Guard, Champion, Musician, Standard Bearer (Banner of Speed)
325 - 5 Warlock Acolytes, Champion
190 - Raptor Chariot, Halberd
190 - Raptor Chariot, Halberd
200 - Repeater Battery
200 - Repeater Battery
415 - Hydra

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So no Gorgons this time thankfully! I really hate those girls! Nice big blocks of infantry to stomp over as long as the giants can survive. BH v DE is a very tough match IMHO, the extra +1 to wound is absolutely horrible for us and makes everything they have that little bit stronger i combat against our weakly armoured troops. Still if I could double team some giants into the infantry blocks then I stand a chance.

Objective was Spoils of War and deployment was Encircle. DE picked sides and went big flanks leaving me with big centre and I then dropped everything to go first. I had 2 giants on the left flank and a giant and Jabber on the right, Minos centre left and Chariots centre right. My opponent put most of his stuff on the left,… [Read More]

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