The Big Final Tournament of 2014

MLK Classic – 8 team double elimination tournament.

How were the armies selected?
We used the random number generator in Excel to randomly select one unit from each of the 6 generals except for Utgar/Valkrill, who got three selections. We then built armies that totaled between 580-590 points each around that selected unit. We decided to lean heavily on synergy with the selected unit and bypass units that had more synergy with other units. We also decided that higher ranked units would be paired with lower ranked units and vice-a-versa if no synergy was apparent. We decided to allow fractional common squads to make the army building easier. As much as possible, if a unit was already selected for an army in our New Year Tournament, they would be excluded from being drafted in this tournament.

How was the 1st round of battles selected?
We used the 20-sider to match-up the 4 “good” generals with the 4 “bad” generals in the first round. We put Vydar in the bad general category.

Who got which army?
20-sider for the first pick . . . Dad won and picked the Ashra army. Jacob then selected the Dreadguls and the Anubians. Dad finished by selecting the Gladiatron army. The other four armies were assigned to the opponent in the first round battles.

How are the maps determined?
We have four prebuilt maps. In the first round, the army that was selected second got to pick the map. In subsequent rounds, the army with the lower record (W-L, points) will get to select the map. An army can only play on a map two times during the entire tournament.

What are the maps for this tournament?
Silence and Solitude (close to being voted into BoV – RotV, TJ)
Draguar (close to being voted into BoV – BftU, TTx2)
Steaming Bridge Revisited (Derek’s very balanced map – RotV, VW, RttFF x2)
Invasion (BoV map – SotM, FotA, TJ)

What is the glyph pool?
For maps that call for glyphs, we are selecting one power glyph and one treasure glyph at random. The pool of glyphs consists of one of every thing. In our first tournament, we didn’t pull a glyph that was too crazy . . . we will see about this tournament.

Round 1 Match-ups

Battle 1 @ Steaming Bridge
Omnicron (Jacob): Omegacron, Gammacron, Omnicron Snipers x2, Omnicron Repulsers x3 = 580
Gladiatrons (Damon): Gladiatrons x3, Blastatrons x3, Hoplitron x2, Major X17 = 590

Battle 2 @ Silence and Solitude
Anubians (Jacob): Anubian Wolves x4, Anubian Alpha x3, Khosumet, Marcu Esenwein = 590
Granites (Damon): Granite Guardians x3, Torver, Stenvar, Warden 816 = 590

Battle 3 @ Steaming Bridge
Ashra (Damon): Warriors of Ashra x3, Sonlen, Kyrllin, Myrddin, Theracus = 580
Brutes (Jacob): Horn Skulled Brutes x 3 2/3, Goblin Cutters x3, Shurrak = 585

Battle 4 @ ?
Dreadguls (Jacob): Dreadgul Raiders x 3 1/3, Jotun, Valguard, Guilty McCreech = 582
Hounds (Damon): Marrden Hounds x3, Marrden Nagrubs, Su-Bak-Na, Kee-Mo-Shi = 590

The first three battles are in the books – I’ll update with reports later.

Omnicron, Ashra, Anubians, and Hounds for the victory. Sounds fun. Should be some close games.

Battle 1 @ Steaming Bridge
Omnicron (Jacob): Omegacron, Gammacron, Omnicron Snipers x2, Omnicron Repulsers x3 = 580
Gladiatrons (Damon): Gladiatrons x3, Blastatrons x3, Hoplitron x2, Major X17 = 590

Battle 2 @ Silence and Solitude
Anubians (Jacob): Anubian Wolves x4, Anubian Alpha x3, Khosumet, Marcu Esenwein = 590
Granites (Damon): Granite Guardians x3, Torver, Stenvar, Warden 816 = 590

Battle 3 @ Steaming Bridge
Ashra (Damon): Warriors of Ashra x3, Sonlen, Kyrllin, Myrddin, Theracus = 580
Brutes (Jacob): Horn Skulled Brutes x 3 2/3, Goblin Cutters x3, Shurrak = 585

Battle 4 @ ?
Dreadguls (Jacob): Dreadgul Raiders x 3 1/3, Jotun, Valguard, Guilty McCreech = 582
Hounds (Damon): Marrden Hounds x3, Marrden Nagrubs, Su-Bak-Na, Kee-Mo-Shi = 590

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You have some interesting matches set up!

My $$ is on:

1. Gladiatrons for the first battle (unless Jacob gets hot on the d20 for Repulsors .. oh wait, this is Jacob ...)
2. If anything can get through the Rock-Gods army it is the Unleashed Fury of the Wolves! Go Puppies!
3. Defensive Agility is going to rule here, especially since HS-Brutes can't sacrifice Goblins to Special Powers (Swoop/Lightning)
4. This is the very interesting match up. If the d20 is hot for Plague, could be good for the hounds. I think this one comes down to a Su-Bak-Na on height ambush against Jotun. I'll go with the Marro.

Round 1 Match-ups

Battle 1 @ Steaming Bridge
Omnicron (Jacob): Omegacron, Gammacron, Omnicron Snipers x2, Omnicron Repulsers x3 = 580
Gladiatrons (Damon): Gladiatrons x3, Blastatrons x3, Hoplitron x2, Major X17 = 590

Jacob got to choose the map and sent out Repulsors with his first few OMs. Dad did the Blast-Glad thing and gained the glyph of Thorian in the water on the right side of the map. Phew! With those nasty EMP-Circuitry overloaded Repulsors, this is just what Dad needed. Over the first three rounds, Dad was content picking off Repulsors when possible. Sure, Jacob got a few Glads and Blasts with the 20-sider, but things we looking up for Vydar. The bridge and the right side were populated with silver soulborgs and only a few stray Repulsors. And then . . .

A Repulsor defended a Blastatron attack and removed two OMs! Jacob had three turns in a row. With some very good 20-sider rolls, Repulsors were able to skirt the right side of the map and take over the Thorian glyph. Game over. Vydar could only attack hand-to-hand. It took another 6 or 7 rounds, but Vydar could never retake the glyph. Snipers ended up cleaning up the last couple of Blastatrons hiding behind trees and ruins near Dad’s start zone. The Repulsors and their 20-sider were amazing against the Glad-Blast army. Omegacron was pretty useful acting as a general in the middle of the game and the Snipers didn’t do a whole lot until clean-up.

Final Score: Omnicron wins with 467 points left. Ouch! But I kind of figured it would go this way with a perfect match-up for the Repulsors.

Customs Note: Gammacron never moved.

Battle 2 @ Silence and Solitude
Anubians (Jacob): Anubian Wolves x4, Anubian Alpha x3, Khosumet, Marcu Esenwein = 590
Granites (Damon): Granite Guardians x3, Torver, Stenvar, Warden 816 = 590

Dad got to pick the map for this battle and he went with the perfect one. Silence and Solitude has three hills and the Granites trounced the Gnoll army the previous day in a play test. It only took two OMs and the Granites and Torver gained high ground on the left and center hills. The first 4 20-sider rolls were terrible for Unleashed Fury. Dad easily killed 4 wolves before taking a wound.

Jacob started throwing his 20-sider across the living room in frustration, so Dad went to the garage to get the large bag with the other 20-siders. Oops. Jacob started rolling a whole lot better. A wolf snuck to the left side a put a wound on Stenvar. On the next turn, Stenvar received four wounds and death from an 8-attack Alpha. The wolves engaged the center hill and rolling +4 attacks with Fury became commonplace. Sure, the Granites defended some and even killed a few wolves and an Alpha, but the wolves kept pounding with attacks of 4-4-7 dice to pummel all of the Granites on the center hill.

A couple of Wolves got to even ground with Torver on the center plateau and were finally able to take him out after 3 turns of Anubian attacks with 4-4-7 dice. There were three Granites left perched on the left-side hill and Warden sitting in the start zone . . . and the last Alpha finally had to make his show on the map.

Jacob won initiative and put a wound on Warden, who fought back but failed. A couple of wolves and the last Alpha took out the rest of the Granites and Warden with ease on the next OM.

Final Score: The Alphas win with 271 points left.

Custom Notes: Stenvar bonus helped on one Torver 20-roll, but he died before doing anything else. Torver was a tough nut to take down and throwing Granites to height was fun – plus he was able to take out a couple wolves with his throws of Granites. The Anubian Alphas were amazing once again. Mid and late game, Jacob was getting attacks of 7 with height from them fairly often, but never to get an attack of 11. The Alphas rolled once again – this time on a map that was perfect for the Granites.

Battle 3 @ Steaming Bridge
Ashra (Damon): Warriors of Ashra x3, Sonlen, Kyrllin, Myrddin, Theracus = 580
Brutes (Jacob): Horn Skulled Brutes x 3 2/3, Goblin Cutters x3, Shurrak = 585

Jacob picked the map. Goblins surged in round 1. For Dad, on OM1, Theracus plops on glyph of Lodin, carrying Kyrllin. Kyrllin then set up on a raised road tile to act as a screen. The Warriors of Ashra backed up Kyrllin and tied down progress on the other side of the map. Jacob kept trying to pound away at Kyrllin with Brutes but made little head way. But the Cutters were able to nearly surround him and get a couple of wounds on Kyrllin because he had to roll two less dice in defense. Myrddin made his way to the bridge and did his Call of Lightning targeting Kyrllin. The Aquilla Wizard rolled 2/3 skulls to take out 4 Cutters and place one wound on Kyrllin – that was fun. It seemed like the Brutes attacked Kyrllin 50 times and the Cutters another 20. They eventually got Kyrllin up to 4 wounds but Sonlen came in to heal him back down to 2 while picking off more Cutters and Brutes.

Sonlen got into trouble on the bridge and were taken out by those pesky Cutters after the Sonlen/Kyrllin combo decimated the remaining Brutes. The Cutters were finally cleared by the Warriors of Ashra, who hadn’t seen an OM since the second round.

Enter Shurrak! The big guy headed across the map toward the bridge and Lodin glyph and used his sweeping special attack to take out Myrddin and two Ashra. He then earned the last wound on Kyrllin and things were getting very interesting. Next, Shurrak moved over to attack Theracus who was still on Lodin but only earned one wound with his 6 dice attack. A couple of Warriors hit Shurrak from lava field height but didn’t make a dent. Shurrak decided to leave engagement from Theracus taking his first wound to get even ground with the Ashra. Dad sent in all 5 of his remaining Ashra, hitting Shurrak with 2/3 skulls on 4 out of 7 attacks and got him down to only one life left. But Shurrak easily dispatched the Ashra with his special attack.

It was down to 1-life Shurrak v. 2-life Theracus and Dad still had his OM#3 left. Dad decided to go for it instead of flee. Theracus engaged Shurrak, who defended the attack. Theracus rolled a shield for lava field damage. Jacob won initiative and rolled 2/5 skulls for Shurrak, but Theracus defends with 2/3 shields. Theracus attacks back with 2/3 skulls. Shurrak could only muster 1/4 shields and dies. All-Hail-Gryphillin!!! There was much laughter and merriment from both participants as this battle will be one that won’t be forgotten.

Final Score: Team Ashra won with 26 points remaining.

Customs Note: Kyrllin was an awesome screen and super fun to play with. He didn’t kill his points, but he certainly held the Brutes and Cutters down, especially since Jacob spent so many OMs and attacks trying to defeat him. Sonlen healed him 4-5 times, which made his staying power even greater.

Thanks for the reports! Entertained by and envious of all your games. Let's see if I can get to 4-0 in the 1st round.
No info for Gammacron, Alphas maybe too powerful?, Kyrllin annoying to kill- did he seem costed about right or a little on the low side?

Battle 4 @ Dragaur
Dreadguls (Jacob): Dreadgul Raiders x 3 1/3, Jotun, Valguard, Guilty McCreech = 582
Hounds (Damon): Marrden Hounds x3, Marrden Nagrubs, Su-Bak-Na, Kee-Mo-Shi = 590

Dad’s first three rolls for Hound Movement was pathetic, barely getting them out of the start zone. Valguard and Dreadguls strolled across the map, gained the Common Attack +1 glyph (which Jacob would hold for the entire battle), and started putting a hurt on the big Marddens. Sub-Bak-Na and the Hounds fought valiantly. On the last round, Dad had a chance to take out the last two Dreadguls and force Jacob to lose all of his OMs – which could have turned the battle, but he had to leave an engagement with a hound to pull it off. A skull was rolled and Dad was down to one and he lost his remaining OMs when the Dreadguls finished the last one off. Jotun finished off Su-Bak-Na to end the battle.

Final Score: Dreadguls win with 245 points left – a once injured Jotun, Guilty, and a Dreadgul.

The next round is set:

Loser’s Bracket: Lose and Done
Battle 5 @ Invasion
Brutes (Jacob): Horn Skulled Brutes x 3 2/3, Goblin Cutters x3, Shurrak = 585
Gladiatrons (Damon): Gladiatrons x3, Blastatrons x3, Hoplitron x2, Major X17 = 590

Battle 6 @ Invasion
Hounds (Jacob taking Damon’s army): Marrden Hounds x3, Marrden Nagrubs, Su-Bak-Na, Kee-Mo-Shi = 590
Granites (Damon): Granite Guardians x3, Torver, Stenvar, Warden 816 = 590

Winner’s Bracket
Battle 7 @ Draguar
Ashra (Damon): Warriors of Ashra x3, Sonlen, Kyrllin, Myrddin, Theracus = 580
Omnicron (Jacob): Omegacron, Gammacron, Omnicron Snipers x2, Omnicron Repulsers x3 = 580

Battle 8 @ Steaming Bridge
Anubians (Damon taking Jacob's team): Anubian Wolves x4, Anubian Alpha x3, Khosumet, Marcu Esenwein = 590
Dreadguls (Jacob): Dreadgul Raiders x 3 1/3, Jotun, Valguard, Guilty McCreech = 582

3-1 heading to the 2nd round. I'll go with Gladiatrons, Granites, Omnicron, and Anubians.

In the Loser’s Bracket:

Battle 5 @ Invasion
Brutes (Jacob): Horn Skulled Brutes x 3 2/3, Goblin Cutters x3, Shurrak = 585
Gladiatrons (Damon): Gladiatrons x3, Blastatrons x3, Hoplitron x2, Major X17 = 590

Dad put all of his order markers the Hoplitrons for the first three rounds to see what they and Mr. X17 could do. The do good! X-17 planted at the edge of the road a little in front of the Brutes start zone, killing a few Goblins and Brutes along the way. X-17 would remain there for the rest of the battle tying down the foe despite being attacked scores and scores of times. The Hoplitrons controlled the other side of the road, killing a few Goblins and Brutes along the way. Jacob was forced to send out Shurrak early. The big red head mashed the two Hoplitrons but eventually was taken out by nice Blastatron rolls and terrible defensive rolls. The rest of the match took a while – moving Glads, moving Blasts, attacks of 2, 3 and an occasional 4. But Jacob could never get his Brutes to challenge.

Final Score: Gladiatrons win with 325 points remaining with 1 life left on X-17 and numerous Glads and Blasts camping out here and there. X-17 is really awesome against an all melee opponent . . . The Brutes are done while the Gladiatrons will get another chance.

Battle 6 @ Invasion
Hounds (Jacob taking Damon’s army): Marrden Hounds x3, Marrden Nagrubs, Su-Bak-Na, Kee-Mo-Shi = 590
Granites (Damon): Granite Guardians x3, Torver, Stenvar, Warden 816 = 590

Jacob surprised Dad by sending out Su-Bak-Na and the Nagrubs at the outset. The big dragon managed to take out a full squad of Granites before he and his little snacks fell, not earning his points worth. Enter the Hounds. Marro Plague didn’t work all that well (a few times, Jacob missed the +1 bonus Su-Bak-Na would have provided) . . . except against Torver when they were a perfect 4/4 in plague attempts for 4 wounds. Oh, and Torver can’t throw the large Hounds. Kee-Mo-Shee followed in to attack Torver with a 20-roll to mind shackle the poor giant . . . but then Jacob had to roll for Toxic Skin. You guessed it. Another 20. Torver died without helping the Hounds. Stenvar was taken out with two Hound attacks of 2 skulls and 3 skulls, against which the poor giant whiffed both defenses. The Hounds defense of 5 dice and superb rolling by Jacob kept the Hounds in the battle, eventually taking out all of the Guardians. It came down to a full-life Warden against two Hounds. On the last OM of the round, Dad was able to climb up and Eviseraxe one Hound with a 5/5 skull roll. Dad won initiative on the next round and Eviseraxed the last Hound with a 4/5 skull roll. Go Warden!

Final Score: Granites win with 90 points left with only Warden 416 left on the battlefield. The Hounds were sent back to Utgar with their tails between their legs. Granites move on.

Custom’s Note: This was pretty close. After two battles in the tournament, I feel pretty good about leaving Torver’s powers where they are at. Stenvar hasn’t done much, but he has been unlikely. I’m leaning toward good-to-go as of now.

And in the Winner’s Bracket:

Battle 7 @ Draguar
Ashra (Damon): Warriors of Ashra x3, Sonlen, Kyrllin, Myrddin, Theracus = 580
Omnicron (Jacob): Omegacron, Gammacron, Omnicron Snipers x2, Omnicron Repulsers x3 = 580

Prior to the battle, Dad explained to Jacob that Gammacron could be moved with Omegacrons power. Mistake by Dad. Gammacron darted to the Teleportation belt glyph, moved up to engage Ashra and take out four of them with his Energy Expulsion power, he then used the glyph to get up close and personal with Theracus, Sonlen, and Kyrllin, all of which he managed another wound on. Plus, he provided a +1 attack for the Snipers for a few attacks before falling. Gammacron did well. Now, all this took place over many rounds but I won’t bore you with too many details to what else occurred. Myrddin did take out 2 Repulsors and a Sniper in one Call of Lightning attack. Jacob had to move Omegacron quite a bit to see targets hidden behind glacier and rock outcrops. Kyrllin last for some time, but the Snipers and three attack dice earning doubles for each skull was too much.

Final Score: Omnicron keep on rolling with 353 points remaining. Team Ashra drops to the loser’s bracket.

Customs Notes: Kyrllin was good but got overwhelmed by big Sniper attacks. Gammacron earned MVP with his efforts – he didn’t kill a ton, but he tied down the Ashra and he was perfect in taking them out by ignoring the 1-shield defense with his Expulsion power, and he boosted the Snipers to 3 dice on enough attacks to take out Sonlen and Theracus. Jacob and I agreed that G-cron is a great design.

Battle 8 @ Steaming Bridge
Anubians (Jacob): Anubian Wolves x4, Anubian Alpha x3, Khosumet, Marcu Esenwein = 590
Dreadguls (Jacob): Dreadgul Raiders x 3 1/3, Jotun, Valguard, Guilty McCreech = 582

Jacob sent out Jotun as his bonder with the Dreadguls, hoping to wild-swing the pack of wolves. Dad decided to aim his attacks at the Dreadguls in the hope to limit bonding later in the battle. He would try to slow down Jotun and peck away, but only unleash the Fury with a pack of massive attackers. Jotun did kill a bunch, including one full squad of Anubians in one wild swing of 3 skulls. But the wolves bid their time, wiped the Dreadguls from the map. And then, toward the end of the mid-game, with +8 Fury, an Alpha charged Valguard in his startzone and rolled 7/11 skulls! The 7-life Valguard whiffed and died in one clawed-embrace. It was now end-game. Dad then went after Guilty with the same Alpha. Guilty died and Jacob lost 2 OMs. That last Alpha high-tailed it back to the bridge and took out Jotun with a 4/11 skull roll to take the last wound and full life off of Jotun for victory.

Final Score: Wolves win with 185 points left in the form of 1 Alpha, 1 Anubian, Khosumet, and Marcu. The Anubians will take on Omnicron in the last of the unbeaten. The Dreadguls drop to the loser bracket.

Customs Note: The Alphas proved strong once again in the closest battle I’ve played with them yet, and they still won by 185 points. The Omnicron should prove to be a different foe.


The Next Round is set. We each have three armies left, but will have to cross-over for two of the battles.

Winner’s Bracket:
Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Jacob) @ Invasion . . . Jacob hasn’t decided which one he wants.

Loser’s Bracket:
Ashra (Dad) v. Dreadguls (Jacob) @ Silence and Solitude
Granites (Dad) v. Gladiatrons (Jacob taking Dad’s army) @ Draguar

7-1 so far, going with Anubians, Ashra, and Gladiatrons.

WOW, this will be a great battle!!! All Ranged versus All Melee!

Winner’s Bracket:
Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Jacob) @ Invasion . . . Jacob hasn’t decided which one he wants.

Battle 9: Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Kai) @ Invasion
In the battle of the only unbeaten armies, Kai volunteered to take Jacob’s Anubians against Jacob and his Omnicron. Kai had Jacob and Damon read the Army Cards of the Repulsors and Gammacron prior to the battle, thus informing us that the repulsors could not get the Energy Zaps after being moved by Omnicron. Yep – we played them wrong the first two battles of the tournament. The Gladiatrons would have lost either way, but Team Ashra filed an official protest for the previous battle. Tournament directors were quick to deny the protest, suggesting that it was the commander of Team Ashra was the one who supplied the misinformation in the first place. Mea Culpa.

On to the battle . . . Kai lead out with Alphas trying to keep the Snipers from getting height toward the middle of the map, but they all fell . . . I was busy making lunch so I missed the details.

Final Score: Omnicron had 207 points intact with a full-life Zetacron, 3 Snipers, and 2 Repulsors remaining. Jacob’s Omnicron has secured a spot in the MLK Classic Championship Battle. The Anubians drop to the loser bracket.

Customs Note: The Alphas lost their first. Kai employed a different strategy by using more than 1 Alpha on the board at a time. I didn’t hear how Gammacron performed.

Battle 10: Granites (Kai) v. Gladiatrons (Dad) @ Draguar
Kai took the Granites while Damon commanding the Gladiatrons. Kai was proficient in rolling 4/5 shields when attacking with Torver and from height with the Granites. He was even better on defense, often rolling 5/6 skulls when defending from height with the Granites. Honestly, the dice were so unfavorable for Kai that we just rolled our eyes and chuckled after a few rounds. The Blastatrons eventually took out all of the Granites and then were able to surround Torver, Stenver, and the Warden with Gladiatrons and then fire down with multiple Blastatron attacks of 5 dice to wipe-out the aforementioned heroes.

Final Score: Team Vydar had 435 points remaining in the form of a 1 life X-17, 2 Hoplitrons, and more Gladiatrons and Blastatrons than could be counted – all eager for more warfare. Torver and the Granites are eliminated from the MLK Classic with their second lose.

Customs Note: The dice were too terrible to report on the effectiveness of Torver and Stenvar.

Battle 11: Ashra (Dad) v. Dreadguls (Jacob) @ Silence and Solitude
With a few Berserker Charges, Jacob was able to get to the attack +1 glyph first and get Valguard and a contingent of Raiders threatening the Ashra startzone. Valguard pounced on Kyrllin with attack of 7 dice, but managed only one wound. That was all Valguard would do as he was eventually taken down by Warriors of Ashra. Jacob skipped bonding a few times to get an extra attack die with the Dreadguls and, coupled with the attack +1 glyph, was able to take out poor Sonlen in just two attacks. The Warriors held their ground, forced Jacob to come off the glyph, and eventually wore down the Dreadguls with attacks of their own. Guilty came sprinting across the map, fired multiple attacks on Kyrllin, and even scored a wound. Kyrllin finally took him out along with a few Dreadguls. When the smoke cleared just a bit, Dad had a one-wound Kyrllin, a full life Myrddin, and 3 Warriors left while Jacob had one Dreadgul and a full-life Jotun still sitting back in the startzone. The Dreadgul played it safe, while Jotun chugged across the board and started hurling figures left and right. Jacob/Jotun was 4 out of 4 in throw attempts and 2 out of 4 in earning wounds on the throws. Both Ashra died and Jotun was bearing down on Kyrllin when Jacob won iniative (Team Ashra would have had a chance had Damon gone first in the final round). Jotun tossed Kyrllin for a wound and then crushed him with 7/9 skulls. He then tossed Myrrdin and crushed him with a 6/8 skull roll. Game over.

Final Score: The Dreadguls had 215 points remaining with a once wounded Jotun and a solitary Dreadgul left on the map. Team Ashra has been eliminated, sadly. The Dreadguls will move on to face the Gladiatrons.

Customs Note: Kyrllin held on tough against multiple Dreadguls, but he didn’t kill many. Jotun pummeled the poor guy quickly with a toss and one massive attack.

Next Up:

Battle #12: Dreadguls (Jacob) v. Gladiatrons (Dad) @ Jacob picks the map
Battle #13: Winner of #12 v. Anubian Wolves (Jacob)
Championship: Winner of #13 v. Omnicron (Jacob), if Omnicron lose, the same two armies will battle a second time.

8-3, I'll take whoever gets the first attack on between Jotun and the Glads/blasts.  If Jotun can keep from getting multiple glads on him when the blasts attack by clearing them out first, I think The Dreadgul's will pull out the victory.

Glad to see Kyrllin can be taken out quickly. I still think he might be on the low end of points.

I think Kyrllin is pointed perfectly. He really doesn't kill that many points, but is an excellent screen. If you want to kill him, it is best to use larger attacks from heroes.

Battle #12: Dreadguls (Jacob) v. Gladiatrons (Dad) @ Draguar
Jotun chugged across the map, tossing Glads and Wild Swinging pods of Soulborgs. Broken bits of cyberclaws and blasters were strewn across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Raiders found the Common Attack +1 glyph. Dad sent in some Glads at Jotun, trying not to get them too close to each other for fear of the Wild Swing, but Blast attacks of 3 did no damage on Jotun. Jotun took out a Hoplitron and more Blasts and Glads while the Dreadguls took out the other Hoplitron and some Glads. Three rounds into the battle, half of Dad’s army was lined up off the map, while only a single Dreadgul was dead.

Jotun left engagement to set up another Wild Swing and took a wound (yeah!), but he managed to take out two more Blasts. Dad sent in X-17 to slow down the giant, but Jotun put 4 wounds on him with one mighty attack of 8 dice. The rest of Dad’s army started to flee Jotun's wrath and were finally able to take out the Raider on the glyph and a few more. Jotun failed in his next attack on X-17, while Jacob had to bring up more Dreadguls from his start zone. A Glad landed on the glyph and the tide began to turn. Firing consistent attacks of 4 on Dreadguls and Jotun, Dad was hot usually getting 3 skulls. Jotun slowly started piling up wounds and the Dreadguls were getting picked off until only one was left. Jotun finally died when Dad rolled 4/4 skulls. Dad killed the last Dreadgul, Jacob lost on OM. The remaining Glads crashed Jacob’s start zone and surrounded Guilty and Valguard while the Blastatrons started firing attacks of 6 dice . . . Valguard fell quickly and Jacob lost another OM. Guilty died in a single shot.

Final Score: The Gladiatron army had 180 points left in the form of a 1-life X-17, 6 Gladiatrons, and 4 Blastatrons. I thought that Team Vydar would get crushed after witnessing the carnage of the first few rounds, but superior numbers and getting that glyph finally turned the tide allowing the Dad’s army to roll the last few rounds with nary a wound. Dreadguls are done, but they were fun to play against in this tournament and I think Jacob really enjoyed playing with them.

Next Up:

Battle #13: Gladiatrons (Dad) v. Anubian Wolves (Jacob) @ Jacob picks the map
Championship: Winner of #13 v. Omnicron (Jacob), if Omnicron lose, the same two armies will battle a second time.

8-4. Glad's numbers and range take out the wolves.

Battle #13: Gladiatrons (Dad) v. Anubian Wolves (Jacob) @ Silence and Solitude

WARNING! LONG WINDED REPORT OF EPIC BATTLE FOLLOWS

Dad sent out full compliments of Glads and Blasts for the first three rounds trying to gain high ground and engage as many wolves as possible. Jacob sent in waves of wolves toward the center of the map. Jacob changed his strategy up in this one by deciding to go after Glads with his attacks even when he could have attacked Blasts. Mistake?

Glads started to fall in numbers while only a few wolves went down, but Jacob was very selective to replace fallen wolves with Alphas. After four rounds, Dad had high ground at the center of the map and on the right, but Jacob was able to sneak a wolf who became an Alpha to the left side, threatening Dad’s start zone.

Dad sent a Hoplitron to the left side and pushed the Alpha down from height, but couldn’t kill him. A nice +4 attack Fury roll enabled the Alpha to kill the Hoplitron while the wolves killed a couple Glads on height at the center of the map. Dad was down to 5 Glads left . . . and they were out of position to engage, leaving Blasts on the front line as snacks for wolves.

Dad snuck X-17 over to the left to get the Alpha but failed. The Alpha would take out X-17 after three attacks despite the soulborgs 7 dice defense. Meanwhile, a few Blasts died and a wolf or two, but now Jacob had an Alpha and a wolf on high ground at the center of the map. Dad kept engaging with what he had and kept firing from range with the Blasts . . . tension built.

Amazing but true, it seemed like every time one of us rolled 2 skulls, the other defended with 2 shields. Also true, Jacob won initiative the first 8 rounds of the battle. We laughed a nervous laugh together as the tension built.

Round after round of blocked attacks and an occasional death led to heavy soulborg casualties and wolf whimpers. Tension continued to build. A massive number of attacks from Blasts from range finally killed the Alpha on the left, Glads were totally decimated, the last two Alphas also died at the center of the map.

Enter the end game – tension was high, laughs were subdued, concentration and planning was demanding. Dad had one squad of Blasts left. Jacob had 1 Wolf, Khosument, and Marcu. Dad had to spend 3 OM’s to take out the last wolf, while that wolf killed two Blasts before dying. Game on. Two Blasts at height versus Khosument and Marcu. Khosument moved and moved and earned wounds but took out one of the Blasts before falling from a ranged attack from the other.

It was down to one Blast on height from the center of the map v. Marcu who hadn’t moved yet. Nervous giggles were heard. Jacob rolled the 20-sider, and Marcu betrayed . . . Dad moved him slightly closer to the Blast so that he was in range. On Dad’s turn, the Blast failed to wound Marcu with an attack of 2 dice. Jacob rolled the 20-sider again, but Marcu did not betray this time. He flew in and crushed the last Blastatron for the victory.

Final Score: The Anubians had 20 points left with a full life Marcu. The Glad army was disgusted with their defeat but congratulated the amazing Anubians and their victory.

Customs Note: Jacob rolled 20 for Unleashed Fury twice in the game, and one of them was on the very first OM, so it didn’t matter. The other occurred when Jacob was only able to attack two Glads. Unleashed Fury was not the deciding factor. The attack and defense dice rolls overall were pretty equal - this was not the deciding factor either. Neither were the Anubian Alphas . . . their total of 195 points killed a Hoplitron, X-17, and a few Glads and Blasts, maybe a little over 200 points worth. The deciding factors were Jacob’s decision to decimate Glads first, which made the Blasts vulnerable on the front line and lessoned their attacks. X-17 falling so fast even though he was rolling 7 dice in defense was telling (1/7 shields and 0/7 shields). The biggest strategy advantage that Jacob used to win the game was to be very selective on when he brought in the Alphas – only with height, only when Dad did have any more attacks on his turn, and only when they weren’t adjacent to a Glad so that they could move. Jacob was down to two wolves before he brought in his last Alpha, which Dad spent all of his attacks for 4 turns before taking him out. Probably the biggest advantage Jacob had was the 4 defense of the Wolves . . . 5 with jungle, 6 with jungle and tree. It just took too many attacks to take out a wolf. Great battle. Fun battle. Thanks for reading.

Next Up:

Championship: Anubian Wolves (Damon) v. Omnicron (Jacob) @ Invasion (Dad’s choice). This will be a rematch of the same two armies on the same map that Kai and Jacob played the previous Saturday.

If the Wolves win, Jacob and the Omnicron will get to select the map for the final showdown, if it comes to that.

WOW that *is* an EPIC battle report. Go PUPPIES!!!

See Jacob is totally better at playing the Wolves than me ; )

I remember that Omnicron versus Wolf Battle .. and I was totally owned by the 'Soulborgs. I think this one will come down to awesome tactics yet again.

8-5. I take the Wolves in game 1, Omnicron in game 2. Thank you for the reports and entertainment Damon and Jacob.

Battle #14: MLK Classic Championship

Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Dad) @ Invasion

Dad sent wolves to the road. Jacob used Omegacron to move Repulsors to the road. Dad sacrificed an attack almost every turn until the endgame to move one more wolf up to the road as back-up. Dad was content with leaving wolves on the high ground and next to trees while Snipers had attacks of 2 dice from below. Jacob rolled the occasional 2 skulls for 4 hits to kill a wolf, but he also whiffed on attacks of one or two just as occasionally. Dad kept pressing, attacking and killing Repulsor after Repulsor. Jacob took out a few wolves, but Dad refused to replace with an Alpha if Jacob had attacks left on his turn. Dad would attack with only one wolf, and bring two up from the rear. By mid-game, Dad had killed most of the Repulsors and one Sniper, while having the remaining 6 wolves and the first Alpha to appear on road with height. Jacob took out the Alpha and a squad of wolves, only to see another Alpha appear with height and jungle as defense. Jacob was in full retreat . . . three Snipers trying to block the wolf-onslaught toward Omegacron, who was finally forced into battle with his double attack. The wolves and the Alpha took out the remaining Snipers, but they were down to only a single wolf. Dad got his first 20 on Unleashed Fury and surrounded poor Omegacron with the last wolf and an Alpha. The wolf inflicted one wound. The Alpha rolled 8 skulls out of 11 dice to kill the Jandar Soulborg general. All Hail Alphas!

Final Score: The Anubians had 207 points left with one Wolf, a once wounded Alpha, a full life Alpha, a full life Marcu, and a full life Marcu remaining. Khosumet and Marcu did not move, although they received numerous X OMs. The last Alpha was brought into the battle for decoration more than anything else.

Customs Note: Anubian Alphas are one of the most strategic figures ever created. Lord Kai, you did very well. Decision after decision on when to bring them in and how to use them make these figures along with the Anubian Wolves probably the most fun army ever. I’m not joking. The Alphas benefitted from superb strategy, timely placement, and the overwhelming orchestra of Anubian Wolves – a true pack of carnage. Dice rolls were not a factor in this game. The numbers and strategy were. And the Alphas bring a lot of strategy and favorable numbers to the table. Gammacron moved around, provided a screen for a bit, but fell in a few attacks from Wolves.

Next Up:

Battle #15: Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Dad) @ Steaming Bridge (Jacob chose the map). Winner is the MLK Classic champion!

DUDE! Another amazing battle!!!

See ... I knew the Wolves would do better is I wasn't playing them : )

So happy that the Alpha is working out well! It was a very 'creative' design so I wasn't sure if it would be too much .. but I am glad that it is getting the Puppies off the Shelf and into the Win column for a change!

Battle #15: MLK Classic Championship, game 2

Omnicron (Jacob) v. Anubian Wolves (Dad) @ Steaming Bridge

In the first round, Dad moved 8 Wolves to the road – left, center, and right. Jacob moved up Omegacron to get sight of most of the board, and positioned some Jandar Soulborgs. No attacks in the first round from the Wolves. The Repulsors sent out a couple of long range salvos to no affect.

In round 2, Dad killed a couple Repulsors and earned a wound on Gammacron. Jacob took out two Wolves with Snipers, but Dad elected not to replace with an Alpha because timing and position were not favorable.

In round 3, Dad started pecking away at more Repulsors and the Wolves took out Gammacron and a Sniper. Only one Wolf died, but he shape-shifted into an Alpha.

To start round 4, Dad hit a 20 on unleashed Fury. The Alpha left engagement and got a wound to move up to lava height to kill a Sniper. Two Wolves decimated two Repulsors. Jacob took out a Wolf on the near side of the bridge bringing in another Alpha. An Alpha and a Wolf managed to engage Omegacron for three wounds while another Wolf took out a Sniper. Anubians and Alphas were beginning to pressure Jacob’s pod and start zone. Snipers fired back with rolls of 6 hits (3 skulls) to kill one Alpha and 4 hits (2 skulls) to kill the other. Oh, oh. Dad only had three wolves left within striking distance, but Jacob was down to 2 Snipers, 3 Repulsors, and a 1-life Omegacron.

Round 5: Jacob won initiative but couldn’t kill a wolf. Dad rolled a 20 for Unleashed Fury . . . Wolves wiped out Omegacron, a Sniper, and a Repulsor. The Sniper failed in his attack. A Wolf took out a Repulsor with only 2 attack dice and surrounded the last Sniper and Repulsor at the edge of Jacob’s start zone. The Sniper killed a wolf . . . enter the last Alpha . . . a turn later the battle was over. Alphas proved they were the top dog in the tournament.

Final Score: The Anubians had 335 points left with seven Anubian Wolves, a full life Alpha, a full life Marcu, and a full life Marcu remaining. Four Wolves, Khosumet and Marcu did not move. The Anubian army advance to the big tournament along with the Eradicators from the first tournament.

Customs Note: Anubian Alphas crushed. I have played with the Anubians over a dozen times and have never lost with them. I love their powers right now but think they should cost 70-75 points. I’m fine with creating A+ figures, but I don’t want them to be so good that I never lose with them . . . or maybe it is just me   . Gammacron moved a couple of times, provided a screen and extra attack dice for the Snipers for a few rounds, but fell in a few attacks from Wolves.

GO WOLVES!!!

Wow, it is pretty sweet to have the Anubian Wolves off the shelf and tearing their way to a Championship!!  There only loss in the tourney was when I was playing them ... sounds like pilot error : P

If you want to release them at 70 or 75, I am cool with that.  They seem to play much stronger than originally written.  I'd be curious to know if Khosumet helped with the d20's .. but I think you'd throw the Egyptian Darklord in for a 600-point game.


Thank you Nomad and Huskies16 for sharing in these awesome battle reports.

Yes, I think they are much stronger than written. I had no idea how strong being able to replace a wolf with an Alpha would be. Being able to choose when and mostly where is huge. Bringing them in the right spot, which makes most use of them, they are guaranteed to have +1 attack, +1 defense, and you know that they are going to be taking the next turn . . . if not, you just don't bring one in.

Khosumet helped some . . . but the difference in attacks isn't really a deal breaker. Khosumet seemed to help out the wolves more than the Alphas. I'm still going to attack with an Alpha regardless of whether or not I get a plus 1 on the 20-sider for an Alpha. If I had to play them again, I think replacing Khosumet with an Alpha would be the way to go.

Valentine’s Day Massacre – 8 team double elimination tournament.

How were the armies selected?
We used the random number generator in Excel to randomly select one unit from each of the 6 generals except for Utgar/Valkrill, who got three selections. We then built armies that totaled between 580-590 points each around that selected unit. We decided to lean heavily on synergy with the selected unit and bypass units that had more synergy with other units. We also decided that higher ranked units would be paired with lower ranked units and vice-a-versa if no synergy was apparent. We decided to allow fractional common squads to make the army building easier. As much as possible, if a unit was already selected for an army in our New Year’s Tournament or MLK Classic, they would be excluded from being drafted in this tournament.

How was the 1st round of battles selected?
We used the 20-sider to match-up the 4 “good” generals with the 4 “bad” generals in the first round. We put Vydar in the bad general category.

Who got which army?
20-sider for the first pick . . . Jacob won and picked the Knights of Weston army. Dad then selected the Harpies and the Templars. Jacob finished by selecting the Resistance army. The other four armies were assigned to the opponent in the first round battles.

How are the maps determined?
We have four prebuilt maps. In the first round, the army that was selected second got to pick the map. In subsequent rounds, the army with the lower record (W-L, points) will get to select the map. An army can only play on a map two times during the entire tournament.

What are the maps for this tournament?
Dance of the Dryads (Currently being reviewed for BoV – BftU, VW, RttFF)
Fulcrum (BoV – RotV, TJ)
Swamp Thing (BoV – RotV, SotM, RttFF)
Mt. Thaelnik’s Saddle v2 (Damon’s custom map – RotV, TTx2)

What is the glyph pool?
For maps that call for glyphs, we are selecting one power glyph and one treasure glyph at random. The pool of glyphs consists of one of every thing. In our first tournament, we didn’t pull a glyph that was too crazy, but last tournament we pulled out a Thorian, Massive Curse, and Summoning.


Round 1 Match-ups

Battle 1 @ Swamp Thing
Zettians (Jacob): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.

Battle 2 @ Fulcrum
Venocs (Jacob): Venoc Vipers x3, Armoc Vipers x1 2/3, Venoc Warlord, Kyssandra, Elite Onyx Vipers = 583.
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Battle 3 @ Dance of the Dryads
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.

Battle 4 @ Swamp Thing
Vydar Command (Damon): Command Courier x4, Mika Connour, Seige, James Murpy, Sudema = 585.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

Ascalon, Harpies, Resistance, Knights of Weston for the win in round 1.

Excellent! Looking forward to more battle reports!!!

Battle 1 @ Swamp Thing
Zettians (Jacob): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.

Battle 2 @ Fulcrum
Venocs (Jacob): Venoc Vipers x3, Armoc Vipers x1 2/3, Venoc Warlord, Kyssandra, Elite Onyx Vipers = 583.
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Battle 3 @ Dance of the Dryads
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.

Battle 4 @ Swamp Thing
Vydar Command (Damon): Command Courier x4, Mika Connour, Seige, James Murpy, Sudema = 585.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.


I will be curious to see how the Command Courier plays!  I really didn't like the stats/design for that figure - so I am hoping to be convinced that he rocks for Vydar : P