The Big Final Tournament of 2014

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.

Saylind proved to be the difference in this one, rolling for summoning in 6 out of 7 tries. She enabled Baron, Concan, Thaddeus and a few Templars to get up to height early and often.

Jacob rolled like pooh the first 8 rounds or so, but he had a chance to turn the tide in the end game when DW7000 was surrounded by Baron, Saylind, and a Templar . . . but he only rolled a 1 for Self-Destruct. Jacob’s response? “Of course. That figures.”

The Zettian Infantry were pretty pathetic . . . not sure if it was the dice rolls or not. Concan took out DW8000 and acted as the clean-up figure in the end game, killing the last Zettian Guard for the win.

Final Score:
238 points left for Ascalon in the form of a full-life Baron Sebastion, Count Raymond had two wounds from failed Forced Marches, Concan had one wound, Jean de Ascalon was at full-life and didn’t move, and one Templar hiding behind wall ruin.

Customs Notes:
The Bishop ended up in Jacob’s start zone before dying. He used two gold markers for himself and shared a couple with Templars. He died with three gold markers left on him. I think he only killed a couple of Infantry.

Baron Sebastian was successful on only two out of four Forced Marches despite getting the +5 on each try. He killed a figure or two, but pretty much absorbed attacks while looking very pretty.

Jean didn’t do much . . . his 20-sided power didn’t even help at all – Saylind didn’t need the bonus on summoning while he was in Jean’s aura and the +1 didn’t make a difference in any of the initiative rolls.

The Templars did pretty well, but I would rather have had another squad of them than Count Raymond. The last couple of rounds, I only had one left and he just hid to keep the bonding going. The Templars of Ascalon are a very fun army, especially with Saylind and her summoning.


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.

Chela moved to the center of the board on OM #1 and didn’t move again until the last couple of rounds. Uvall and the Harpies put on a show. The Harpies earned three wounds on Bloodhunter Frenzy in five tries – after that they were either out of range or engaged. Uvall killed many Venoc Vipers, Was 1-for-1 with Demonic Exchange (most of the kills happened before any Harpies died), and he put 4 wounds on the Venoc Warlord. The Harpies did their thing early with frenzying into position and ended up killing the last not-so-elite Onyx Viper in their own start zone to end the battle. In the end-game, Chela used his pinchers to wipe out 5 snakes.

For the Venoc army . . . only one Frenzy out of about 15 rolls! Kyssandra was wiped out from a Bloodfrenzy wound and two Harpy attacks – yep, she whiffed on both defensive rolls after she failed to wound the Harpies in only her only attack. After Uvall finally fell, the Warlord and Venocs were able to put some hurting on a few Harpies, but this one was over early.

Final Score:
The Harpies had 289 points remaining in the form of a once wounded Chela, three Harpies, and the Chainfighter.

Customs Note:
Not much to add to what was described above. Uvall was awesome, but he went down quickly once the snakes could get to him. Harpies were fun and tough to kill with that defense of 4. Chela was bored most of the game. Kyssandra is still shell-shocked and dismayed that she didn’t get to lay any eggs.


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.

The Warhulk got all three OMs to start the game. Dad was hoping to charge across the board and wipe out a bunch of little fighters . . . but the M-43 picked away at him from height and took out all 8 lives before Dad could flip his 3rd OM. The Warhulk killed one Fighter. Nice start. Resistance Fighters and Corps were all over the map, on height, and on the Glyph of Dagmar.

Dad sent out the Frost Giant to the left side of the board hoping to draw some fire . . . and he did, for three wounds. The Resistance peppered Racheim from height for four wounds before Dad even thought about putting an OM on the Chmera. The big Iron Golem even moved to the center of the map to get set up for some massive attacks. Things were looking ugly. Dad was forced to put a bunch of OMs on the Tomb Skeletons, but feared they would do little to stem the tide.

Not only did the Tomb Skeletons stem the tide, they reversed it! I have only played with the Tombs once before and thought they were pretty pathetic . . . but wow, they are really, really good against low attack ranged figures with that extra defense die. Get two of them engaged to the same figure and their attack bumps to four, five with height. The Tombs pushed back the Resistance, killed the Iron Golem in just two attacks, gained the Initiative +8 glyph, took out two of the B-12s, wiped out most of the M-43s, and marched right into the Resistance start zone. Impressive!

Racheim special attacked a B-12 from range, the Frost Giant charged in and took out a couple more M-43s, Kira, and put a wound on Brandis. The Resistance fought back with the sole B-12, who was able to wipe out a bunch of skeletons with that bumped up attack. Brandis killed a few more after running for his life from the Giant.

Racheim took out the last B-12 with his special. While Brandis was finally hunted down by the last of the Tombs.


Final Score:
One of the biggest comebacks I’ve ever seen! The Tomb Skeletons had 125 points left with 3 out of 6 lives left on the Frost Giant, 1 out of 5 lives left on Racheim, and two Tomb Skeletons. Fun game . . . for me.


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.

Gilbert lead the charge, intercepting a Courier OM on the 2nd turn of the game. Sudema killed two KoWs with Stare of Stone but failed in her attempt on Gilbert before she died.

The Knights and Gilbert kept pushing through the center of the map, backed by Raelin, getting to height on the right side of the board. The Couriers were able to Fleet Foot out of death on the first three attacks, but never again. Siege was able to take out Gilbert and one KoW before falling despite being Cragged-up.

The Knights and Dendrick swarmed Mika in her start zone . . . she was able to last a very long time, killing 4 KoWs before dying to end the game. The Couriers never did attack. This army is pretty bad. Oh, and my man Murphy fell before he could do any damage.


Final Score:
357 points remaining for the victors in the form of 5 KoWs, a full-life Sir Dendrick, a full-life Raelin, and a full-life Sire Orrick, who didn’t move.


Round 2 Match-ups
Battle 5 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Battle 6 @ Fulcrum
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2 = 585.
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.

Battle 7 @ Dance of the Dryads
Zettians (Jacob): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.
Venocs (Jacob): Venoc Vipers x3, Armoc Vipers x1 2/3, Venoc Warlord, Kyssandra, Elite Onyx Vipers = 583.

Battle 8 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Vydar Command (Damon): Command Courier x4, Mika Connour, Seige, James Murpy, Sudema = 585.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.

3-1 after round 1. Harpies in a tight one, KoW with no range for a solid win, Zettians by a snake skin, M-43 convincingly. Thanks for the reports and pictures.

Battle 5 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Ascalon: Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.
Harpies: Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

A NWHC Wave 1 Showdown! A pseudo-Armageddon between the forces of devout/ valiant good and demonic evil.

Chela went to the center of the board in two swift moves. Ascalon went right after him with Saylind, Templars, and Concan while gaining the Defense +1 glyph.


Demons v. Knights, what could be better?


Uvall attacks the glyph holder while a scrum sets up on the frozen lake.

Uvall flies to the right side of the board and took out the glyph holder, but that is all the Lord of Demons could do. Templars pounded him into submission in a couple short turns with the Bishop getting in the final wound. as Chela quickly found himself surrounded on the iced over lake. After making no headway with his Venom Pincers, Chela was forced to use solitary attacks of 6 the rest of the way. It took the Demonlord 3 turns to fell Concan, while the Templars slowly whittled away at the Harpies on the fringe of the frozen pond.

The Bishop snuck back in from his attack on Uvall and earned a wound on Chela with his auto skull. One templar on height managed two consecutive rolls of 3/3 skulls on Chela, forcing the use of both Exoskeleton Markers to save 5 wounds (yes, Chela only rolled 1 shield in 10 dice).

Saylind summoned in Baron Sebastion for his attack numbers and to get +5 on initiative. Chela kept rolling 6 attack dice, putting a couple of wounds on the Bishop and killing a couple more Templars, but slowly, Ascalon whittled away at the Demonlord and finally killed the last of the Harpies.


Chela found himself having to do battle on his own.

Round after round of frantic dice rolling, one wound at a time, until Chela fell along with two OMs. Saylind flew down to take out the Chainfighter and the battle was over.

Amazing game. The +1 defense was a huge factor. Ascalon would hold the glyph except for one turn the entire battle. The Templars were able to roll 4 defense dice even within Chela’s Cloud. Getting a consistent four attacks per turn allowed Ascalon to peck away until victory was theirs.

Final Score:
Ascalon had 370 points left in four Templars, full-life Baron Sebastian, full-life Saylind, twice wounded Bishop Thaddeus, full-life Count Raymond, and 1-life Jean de Ascalon.

Customs Notes:
A match-up that Bishop dreams off . . . Demons. He put the final wound on Uvall and put one wound on Chela, but his threat of dishing out extra attack dice was a factor. He only took two wounds from Chela in three 6-dice attacks. Having to use OMs to get him into position worked out OK in this battle, but it was tough to call. He used or shared 4 extra attacks.

Baron put a couple of wounds on Chela, who was so distracted by others that he never took the chance to attack Baron. Forced March worked a couple of times early in the game, but after that it wasn’t really needed.

Jean de Ascalon took a wound from a failed forced march but didn’t move. Early in the game, he broke an 18-18 initiative roll at a very pivotal point, allowing the Templars to kill Uvall and regain the defense +1 glyph. If the Harpies had gone first, they would have got the glyph and who knows . . .

Uvall killed one figure and then died. The Harpies were not successful with any of the 5 attempts at Talon Frenzy. They lasted a while, but probably had their worst game that I’ve seen them play.

Chela killed all but two of the Ascalon figures that happened to die in the battle. So, he didn’t quite earn his points. He was hammered often, but lasted round after round before falling with a loud thud. His dual attacks of three didn’t really work for figures with four or five defense.

Battle 6 @ Fulcrum
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.

In the first round, Jacob sent out Gilbert followed by KoW, with Raelin making a move to cover the center of the map with her aura. Dad sent out the Racheim to height on the right side and the Warhulk to the center of the map to kill a Knight.

In round 2, Dad decided to split the KoW forces in two by sending the Warhulk at Raelin and blocking easy passage for KoW. Error in strategy! Gilbert and a couple of Knights had a whole round of attacks on Dad’s startzone. A few skeletons and the Frost Giant went down, but a 3 skull Dying Swipe killed two Knights and put a wound on Gilbert. Meanwhile, the Warhulk could only kill a couple of Knights and place 3 wounds on Raelin before he kicked the bucket.

To make a short battle into a short summary . . .  the Tomb Skeletons were no match for the Knights of Weston.

Final Score:
Jacob had 7 Knights of Weston, Sir Denrick, and Sir Orrick left for a total of 272 points remaining. The Tomb Skeletons will face off against fellow Valkrillites in their next battle v. the Harpies. It will be a battle of Knights in the last of the unbeaten to see who earns a birth into the championship.

Battle 7 @ Dance of the Dryads
Zettians (Jacob): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.
Venocs (Dad playing Jacob’s army): Venoc Vipers x3, Armoc Vipers x1 2/3, Venoc Warlord, Kyssandra, Elite Onyx Vipers = 583.

The Elite Onyx Vipers grabbed the Defense +2 glyph on OM#1, and the strategy of the game was set. Almost all fighting took place within a few hexes of the glyph, as Dad sent snake after to snake to protect it and Jacob sent soulborg after soulborg to take it.

And this went on round after round. Kyssandra was able to find her way into the Soulborg start zone and started slicing and dicing. The EOV held on for a very long time with their bonus against ranged attacks, but eventually DW9000 made his way through snakes to take out the glyph holder while a Zettian Infantryman jumped on the glyph.


DW9000 finally takes out the EOV on the glyph.

When the dust cleared and the glyph changed sides, there were 2 wounds on Kyssandra, 1 Armoc left, and a full-life Warlord for Dad. Jacob had DW9000, Zettian Guards, 2 Infantry, and 2 Rats. We both knew it would be a close one . . .

DW9000 and Infantry took out Kyssandra from range after she killed one of the Guards.

DW9000 was attacked a bunch of times throughout the contest . . . but he didn’t die until the Warlord came out. The Warlord also took out a Rat and the remaining Infantry before jumping on the defense +2 glyph, but he had to come out or lose to ranged attacks.

The fateful round . . . 1 Guard and 1 Rat v. 1-life Venoc Warlord and 1 Armoc Viper.


The last four figures on the board square up.

The last Zettian Guard gut shots the Warlord from close range.

The Armoc was able to engage both the guard and the last rat. The Rat died on a lava field skull roll. There were a few turns of exchanging attack and defense rolls . . . until the Zettian rolled two skulls and the Armoc could only manage one shield.

The Viper army played about as well as they could.

Final Score: With only the Zettian Guard left on the board, the Zettian army had 35 points remaining. It will be a battle of Star Wars figures in the next round for the Zettian army.

Custom Note:
Kyssandra laid only only one egg as she was too busy double attacking soulborgs. She took out a couple of rats, 5-6 Infantry, and DW7000 – definitely worth her points.


Battle 8 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Vydar Command (Damon): Command Courier x4, Mika Connour, Seige, James Murpy, Sudema = 585.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.

Couriers rolled for Fleet Footed 8 of the first 9 times, and defended on the other. Siege cragged often and withstood many a punishment. Ranged attacks eventually won out. Iron Golem was a pain to try to bring down. Mika led out early and didn’t get her points worth and she couldn’t get the second shadow tile down. Kira Jax helped defeat Seige and Couriers with a couple of kills.


The last three Couriers deal with the Golem while the Resistance prepare to clean-up.

I wouldn’t suggest building an army around Couriers. They are nothing more than more expensive Isamu, in my opinion. As a 35 point filler, I would take a Courier over Eldgrim, or Theracus or others in that range, depending on the army build.

Final Score:
Jacob had 2 Resistance Fighters, 3 Resistance Corps, full-life Kira Jax, full-life Brandis Skyhunter, and a twice-wounded Iron Golem were left for 313 points. After a stunning first round defeat, the Resistance will get to play a Star Wars battle against the Battle Droids in the next round. Vydar Command has been eliminated, thank goodness.


Next up:

Round 3 Match-ups

Winner’s Bracket

Battle 9 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

Loser’s Bracket

Battle 10 @ Fulcrum
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.
Zettians (Dad playing Jacob’s army): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.

Battle 11 @ Dance of the Dryads
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.
Harpies (Jacob playing Dad’s army): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Love the pictures!! That poor Elite Onyx : (

You guys are having some EPIC battles. I look forward to Knights versus Templars ... that's going to be interesting. I think my $$ is on the Knights of Weston though - that one extra attack per OM is going to be the difference.


Winner’s Bracket
Battle 9 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2 = 585.



The Resistance versus Deathwalker will be interesting .. and probably all come down to the DW9000 defense dice. Keep your Shields Up : ) I think the B-11 will make a difference once a few of them are eliminated.

Hoping that Chela and the Frost Giant go at it : ) I think that could be an interesting slug fest, though the War-Hulk has been waiting to do something. I'm going with the Tomb Skeletons with a surprise win!

6-2 so far. Ascalon, Deathwalkers, Harpies for the win.

Winner’s Bracket

Battle 9 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

On OM#2 in the first round, Saylind could have stepped down on the power glyph. Dad decided to bond with Concan instead. A KoW swooped in and grabbed the Negation glyph and choose to put the Baron out of business from using his special power mojo . . . then 2 KoW took out Saylind in two attacks. Bad start for the Templars.

Dad was able to do some heavy pounding with Concan and Templars – Gilbert dead, Dendrick dead before he could do a thing, KoWs falling left and right. The tide had turned quickly. Jacob couldn’t roll defense and Concan had Raelin engaged on the upper lava field.





Then the tide turned just as quickly. Dad would roll mostly shields on his attacks and couldn’t muster more than one shield on defense rolls the rest of the battle. Sir Orrick and a handful of Knights took out Concan the Bishop and the rest of the Templars.



It all came down to Raelin (with 3 wounds), Orrick and a squad of Knights against Jean, Baron, and Count. The Baron and Count could only take out one KoW at a time, but they managed to whittle through the Knights and got a wound on Orrick. Jean snuck in to put a wound on Raelin before he was finally finished off after a few attacks.



Final Score:
Knights of Weston win with 57 points left in a one-life Raelin and a 2-life Sir Orrick. The Knights advance to the championship match. The Templars fall to the loser bracket to take on whoever survives the remaining four teams

Customs Notes:
Templars: Love these guys. Concan and Saylind are so much fun with them. They have a stout defense and good attacks when adjacent to Concan or receiving gold tokens from the Bishop. I really needed a forth squad because I ran out of them long before I ran out of heroes that would bond with them.

Baron: Even though he was negated in the first, his 4x4 stats and decent life allowed him to get in the scrum and take out a couple of Knights before the number of attacks overwhelmed him.

Bishop: He tossed out 4 or 5 tokens before falling. Most of the tokens were used to take down Gilbert. Thad didn’t actually manage to kill anyone in his only attack.

Jean: Didn’t move until everyone else was dead . . . but he got his points worth by getting a wound on Raelin. He didn’t factor in any d-20 rolls.

Loser’s Bracket

Battle 10 @ Fulcrum
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.
Zettians (Dad playing Jacob’s army): Zettian Infantry x3, Deathreavers x2, Deathwalker 9000, Deathwalker 7000, Zettian Guards = 585.

Dad moved DW9000 and Infantry to height on the right side of the board and moved around Rats. Jacob played with his M-43s. Things looked perfect for Dad – all resistance forces within range were tied down by Rats . . . until we realized that those M-43s could shoot out of engagement.

The Soulbougs started pummeling the Resistance forces from range. An M-43 took out DW7000 from range (yep, 0/7 in defense). The Rats created havoc for the B-11 by tying them down, while DW9000 started picking them off. It looked like the Zettians would roll.



But, the last B-11 took down DW9000. Still, Brandis went down in two Zettian Guard attacks (0/8 in defense for Brandis). The Iron Golem finally fell from long range. And the B-11 went down to multiple Infantry attack.


Kira prepares for her rampage . . .

Jacob was down to an M-43 and Kira. Dad had 2 Rats, an Infantry, and 2 Guards. I’m not sure what happened. But Kira killed them all! It really was very surreal. Dice went south for Dad. Here is the actual roll of Jacob’s Kira attack and the first Guard’s defense. It was pretty much like that for the last couple of round.



I’m still not sure what really happened.

Final Score:
Resistance with a one-life Kira Jax for 10 points. Resistance will take on the winner of the Tombs and Harpies in the next round.

Battle 11 @ Swamp Thing
Tomb Skeletons (Damon): Tomb Skeletons x4, Racheim, Frost Giant of Morh, Ogre Warhulk = 590.
Harpies (Jacob playing Dad’s army): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Jacob had never played with Uvall and the Harpies. Dad planned to use that fact and the strategy to draw Uvall out and separate him from the Harpies. It worked. Uvall tried to bid his time by staying on height on the right side of the board while the Harpies made some attacks, but the temptation proved too great. Uvall came down, made a kill and then died quickly at the hand of the tomb skeletons and the Frost Giant.

Jacob strategy was to go all Uvall and Harpies until they were dead. And then use Chela to mop things up.

The Warhulk sucks for 150 points, by the way. He did nothing once again before the Harpies took him out.

Check this pic out. These are the last 4 Harpies. Demon v. Giant . . .



The Frost Giant killed two of the Harpies before earning his 6th wound. 3 Dice with Dying Swipe! Dad just needed two skulls and he still had most of his Skeletons and Racheim left to take on Chela. Dad rolled 3 shields.

The last two stinking Harpies decimated all but three of the Skeletons and even got 4 wounds on Racheim before falling. They were stout in defense and crushing in attacks.

Chela came out, dispatched the last two Skeletons and then danced around the board chasing down Racheim for a couple rounds. Rachiem managed to clear both of Chela’s Exo-Skeletons before he ran out of room and was obliterated.

Final Score:
Full-life Chela and the Chainfighter for a total of 225 points as the Harpies move on to face the Resistance. The winner of that battle will face Ascalon for the rights to take on the Knights of Weston in the championship.

Customs Notes:
Uvall: I’ve learned you have to really play this figure carefully or he falls fast. I think Jacob learned this as well.

Harpies: Dad almost had them gone . . . but then they rocked the Skeletons. They are still really, really good. But, if the Frost Giant had done his thing, they wouldn’t have been so good. What a fickle game this Heroscape is.

Chela: Demon Super-tanker personified. Mr. Valkrill’s stud-muffin-extraordinaire. I think I would have had a chance with a full life Racheim and 7 Skeletons . . . but the Harpies took care of that chance. Saving Chela for clean-up duty isn’t a bad strategy.

Next-Up

Battle 12 @ Fulcrum: Dad picked the map. Resistance has a greater point differential.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Battle 13 @ Map to be determined
Winner of Battle 12 v.
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.

Battle 14 (and maybe 15) @ Map to be determined
Winner of Battle 13 v.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

7-4 so far, going with Harpies to meet the Ascalon again. Thanks for the pics, reports, entertainment. Very Cool.

Battle 12 @ Fulcrum: Dad picked the map. Resistance has a greater point differential.
Resistance (Jacob): M-43 Resistance Fighters x4, B-11 Resistance Corps, Kira Jax, Brandis Skyhunter, Iron Golem = 590.
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.

Chela clogged middle of map on first two OMs and earned a couple of kills with Pinchers – but the Demonlord had to remove an exoskeleton or get two wounds. Jacob played M-43s exclusively for the first few rounds.

Jacob rolled 8 shields, 1 skull, and 3 blanks on his first 5 attacks . . . Dad was rolling at about a 75% clip on his attacks. This would last the first 4 rounds or so.

It was all Uvall and Harpies for the next 5 rounds, picking off M-43s. Dad was successful on only two Talon Frenzies and one demonic exchange the entire battle. The Iron Golem charged out of the start zone and landed a 5/6 skulls for 4 wounds on Uvall, who made it another round before dying.

Dad got careless with his placements as he went in for the kills, but the match was long decided. Brandis left 5 engagements cleanly before taking a wound. He put the final touch on Uvall and took out 4 Harpies with his Skywatcher power.

Final Score: Full life Chela, 1 Harpy and the Chainfighter for 258 points. Time for the Harpies to seek revenge against the Ascalon Templars. Winner of that battle will take on the Knights of Weston in the championship.

Sorry, no pics for this battle.

Next up:

Battle 13 @ Dance of the Dryads
Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.
Ascalon (Jacob, playing Dad's team): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.

8-4, Harpies to advance to the finals.

Battle 13 @ Dance of the Dryads
The Harpies selected the map because they were the underdog.

Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.
Ascalon (Damon): Templars of Ascalon x3, Baron Sebastian, Concan, Saylind, Bishop Thaddeus, Count Raymond, Jean de Ascalon = 590.

Neither army could manage a decent defensive roll in the first couple of rounds as Harpies and Templars were strewn face down on the battle field. Chela hung back, scared of the fate that met him in their first battle. Saylind summoned Count Raymond on to the Defense +1 glyph in the first round.

Uvall swooped in to kill the Count on the glyph with 5 skulls versus no shields, and then he promptly Demon Exchanged a Harpy onto the glyph. The tide had turned. Below, you can see the Count trembling in fear as Uvall prepares to turn him into a Demon.



After a few rounds of minor skirmishes, Chela entered the fray. Chela took out Concan, Baron, Bishop, Saylind, and Jean over three rounds for the win. The Bishop did manage two wounds on Chela. That Harpy on the glyph eventually fell.



Final Score:
The Harpies avenged their earlier defeat to the Templars in this close one. The Harpies had 158 points left with a four life Chela and the Chainfighter remaining. The Templars are sadly eliminated while the Harpies will move on to face the Knights of Weston in the Championship. The Harpies will need to win two in a row while the KoWs only have to win one.

Customs Notes:
I have previously commented on Chela, Uvall, Harpies, Templars (wish I had a fourth squad in this army build), Baron, and the Bishop. They are all fine and finished customs.

After getting in a total of 6 battles in this tournament and play testing Jean de Ascalon a few other times, I have come to the conclusion he has no real value bonding with the Templars. There are just too many other options. His +1 on the 20 sider is value enough, so, as I have already proposed, I’m thinking of changing his personality to Inspiring and his class to Knight. Feel free to discuss on his thread.

The quick and dirty end to the Valentine's Day Massacre Tournament . . .

Battle 14 @ Dance of the Dryads
Dad picked the map because the Harpies were the underdog.

Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

Things were pretty even with Knights and Demons matching kill for kill and defense for defense over the first 3 rounds. But in the forth round, Sir Gilbert landed a 3/3 skull roll on Uvall, who whiffed with five dice (height and Def. +1 glyph). Uvall died, and the Demons lost 3 OMs. Oh no!

Chela was forced into action. By the end of the 6th round, it was Chela (with both Exo markers gone), the Chainfighter, and 1 Harpy left against a once-wounded Gilbert, Raelin, 2 KoW, and Orrick. More hand to hand combat ensued.





After 7 rounds, it was a 2 wounded Chela and the Harpy against 1 Knight, Orrick, and Raelin. Chela wasn’t pulling any punches.

A round later, it came down to a full-life Raelin against a half-life Chela. They went toe-to-toe, face-to-face, and Chela came out on top.



Final Score: The Demons won with 100 points left. Now on to the final showdown. The KoWs select the map . . .



Battle 15 @ Mt. Thaelink’s Saddle v2
Jacob picked the map because the Knights had become the underdog based on record and total points. The Saddle map is the only other map the Harpies had lost on.

Harpies (Damon): Bloodhunter Harpies x4, Chela, Uvall, Drow Chainfighter = 590.
Knights of Weston (Jacob): Knights of Weston x3, Sir Denrick, Sir Gilbert, Sir Orrick, Raelin v2  = 585.

Rd 1: A knight sauntered over to a glyph . . . Negation! Chela’s powers are done for the final match. This does not look promising, but you got to love the magic in Valhalla. The Knight rolled 8-8 skulls and killed a Harpy and put two wounds on Uvall. 2 KoWs died in the round . . . things don’t look good for Dad.

Rd 2: Chela rolls 6/6 skulls to kill Gilbert in one massive right-claw clobber. Uvall and the Harpies swoop in to place 2 wounds on Raelin, 4 wounds on Dendrick . . . and Uvall rolls for 2 Demon Exchanges. Dad is on fire with the dice! But, the round ends by Jacob rolling 10/10 skulls with the KoWs to kill off three threatening Harpies.



Rd 3: Lots of dice rolling . . . only for 1 more wound on Raelin and the death of Dendrick. Dad and the Demons seem to have the advantage.

Rd 4: Jacob wins initiative and promptly kills Uvall. Dad loses two OMs. By the end of the round, a Harpy falls and there are three wounds on Chela as the Knights begin to surround the giant lobster. The Demons are in trouble.

Rd 5: Raelin gets pummeled by a Harpy and Chela finally takes out Sir Orrick after two attacks. But the remaining squad of KoWs manage to end Chela, a Harpy and a Drow. For the next round, it will be one squad of KoWs against a solitary Harpy.

Sorry about the bad picture here . . . my hands were trembling that I might lose!


Rd 6: The Harpy takes out a KoW before falling. The Knights of Weston prove victorious.

Final Score: A grand total of 53 points left for the Knights. They will join the Eradicators and the Anubians in the final tournament. The Harpies will still probably qualify as at-large-army due to their fine record of 5 wins, 2 loses, and 507 point differential.

And that concludes the Valentine’s Day Massacre Tournament. We took about a month long break in there, but we are off and running in our next tournament – St. Patty’s Hooligan Brawl.

Thanks for the updates.

St. Patty’s Day Hooligan Brawl – 8 team double elimination tournament.

I won't go into the details about the tournament set-up, you have seen that enough. This one is going to fly by . . . Dad is going to play a few solo games while Jacob is at track practice. In fact, Dad started it around St. Patty's day.

Maps

Relic - RotV, TJx2: http://www.heroscapers.com/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=4148
Ariadne v3 - BftU, FotA http://www.heroscapers.com/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=4123
Denali - RotV, TTx2, VW http://www.heroscapers.com/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=3531
Fossil (BoV) - SotM, RttFF http://www.heroscapers.com/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=1555

Round 1 Match-ups

Battle 1 @ Ariadne v3
Krug n' Arrows (Jacob, assigned): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
Hunters (Damon, 1st pick): Quasatch Hunters x3 1/3, Sylvan Animae x2 2/3, Master of the Hunt = 580.

Battle 2 @ Fossil
Steam Roller (Jacob, 3rd pick): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
Mezzodemons (Damon, assigned): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Battle 3 @ Ariadne v3
G.E.E.K.S (Damon, 4th pick): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
Cultists (Jacob, assigned): Nhah Scirh Cultists x3 2/3, Brimstone, Frost Giant of Morh = 583.

Battle 4 @ Fossil
Elementals (Damon, assigned): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
Wizards (Jacob, 2nd pick): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Krugnarrows, Steamroller, GEEKS, and Wizards in round 1.

Battle 1 @ Ariadne v3
Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
Hunters (Damon): Quasatch Hunters x3 1/3, Sylvan Animae x2 2/3, Master of the Hunt = 580.

Rd 1: Figures move into position, defense dice were the norm, and only one Sylvan dead.

Rd 2: The Quasatch sprinted up and decimated 2 Swogs and 3 Arrow Gruts, but the Arrows fired back and took out two of the Qs.

Rd 3: Quasatch continued their charge into the frey and kill 4 more Arrow Gruts, another Swog, and Nerak (3/4 skulls v a whiff on defense). Krug was forced to enter the frey to stem the bigfoot charge and he killed two of the hairy creatures. With only 4 Arrows left, they retreated back to the start zone and the protection of the last Swog.

Rd 4: Ice Troll #1 moved up and only rolled 1/6 on a Q. The Q responds by putting 3 wounds on the IceT. The IceT only manages 1/6 on the same Q, but he heals a wound. The Arrow’s arrows were being easily deflected. The Q’s kill another Arrow and put a wound on Krug, but the IceT defended against two attacks. Krug double attacked a Q, who rolled 7/8 shields in defense, but a Grut picks him off with one skull. Ice Troll#1 finally dies. Dice and position are certainly in the Hunter’s favor, but there are only three Quasatch left . . .

Rd 5: Quasatch place two wounds on Ice Troll#2, but Krug defends two attacks. A stray Arrow picks off the Quasatch threatening the start zone. Krug took out a Q to end the round . . . only one left.

Rd 6: Krug hammered the last Quasatch. A Sylvan Animae wounds the IceT, and the Master of the Hunt moves out to the road. Enter the end game: Krug (1 wound), Ice T (1 wound), 2 Gruts, and 1 Swog v. Master of the Hunt and 6 Slyvan Animae.

Rd 7: The entire round consisted of the IceT and the Master exchanging blows. On the 3rd OM, the IceT fell, but at a very high cost of 5 wounds on the Master.

Rd 8: The Hunters won initiative . . . The Master Hurls his javelin at Krug and rolls 4/5 skulls. Krug whiffed in defense for 4 wounds. The Master has 4 dice to inflict 3 more wounds to kill Krug. This is the game right here . . . the Master could only roll 1 more skull – Krug angry! Krug went on a rampage killing the Master and 3 Animae to close out the round. A Sylvan did manage to sneak in another wound to bring Krug down to 1 remaining.

Rd 9: 1 life Krug, a Swog, and 2 Arrows against 3 Sylvan Animae. The Hunters won initiative and took out Krug! The Arrows took out a Sylvan. The Sylvan moved toward the Arrows and Swog. The two arrows each rolled perfect 2/2 attacks on the Sylvan, who flopped in defense rolling 1 shield out of 5 and 1 out of 4. Game over.


The final contestants face-off

Final Score:
A very exciting game that could have gone either way numerous times. Krug n’ Arrows advance in the winner’s bracket with a grand total of 52 points remaining.

Customs Notes:
The Sylvan Animae did provide huge move bonuses to the Quasatch and the Master. They didn’t kill their points worth, but that is not their job. Even though they were always rolling defenses of 4 or 5 dice, they didn’t have the staying power the Hunters needed to close in on the Arrows at the end. A nice 40 point squad.


Battle 2 @ Fossil
Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Rd 1: Morgoloth moved out to the road . . . on this map, the Capuans and Crixus were able to engage on OM#2 and proceed to put 4 wounds on the big demon during the round. The Caps even gained the Warnock glyph while only one died at the hands of the Mezzodemons.

Rd 2: Morgoloth hung tough with one life remaining after defending against attacks that totaled 12 skulls. Four more Capuans dead, Crixus was wounded three times, and 3 exoskeleton markers were removed from the Mezzos. Poison Cloud was having an impact.

Rd 3: Massive warfare in close quarters on the road in front of the Mezzos start zone. Morgoloth fell, a Skull Demon fell to a 4/4 attack (and lost OM), and all of the Exo-markers were gone. But, only two Capuan Gladiators remain on the battlefield.

Rd 4: The Mezzos hit hard, killing the remaining two Capuans (who lost 2 Oms). 2 Mezzos died as well.

Rd 5: Crixus hammers a Skull Demon with 4/6 skulls. The Demon fell along with an OM. Retarius pulled off a net trip and only rolled 1/6 skulls, but it was enough to kill the Mezzo on the wound glyph. Crixus fell to the Mezzos.

Rd 6: Retarius net tripped again, rolled 1/6 skulls again, and still managed to kill another Mezzo. It was down to 3 Mezzos, the Dumutef, and a Skull Demon against a half-life Retarius and Spartacus. Sparty takes out the last Skull Demon in one attack. Retarius takes out one of the Mezzos. The Mezzos could make no head way.

Rd 7: Retarius took out the last two Mezzos before falling before falling to the road-boosted Dumutef.

Rd 8: Spartacus wrapped it up by taking out the Dumutef on the first OM.

Final Score:
Steamroller wins with the 200-pt Spartacus at full life. For a while, it looked like the Mezzos might have some success, but the Gladiator heroes carried a big hammer. The error in strategy of moving Morgoloth out early to die early could have made the difference in the battle.


Battle 3 @ Fossil
G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
Cultists (Jacob): Nhah Scirh Cultists x3 2/3, Brimstone, Frost Giant of Morh = 583.

Rd 1: Dad send out GIE#1, who killed a Cultist, and then Ellesar, who killed another on the Unique Attack +1 glyph. Jacob sent out Cultists and then the Frost Giant, who earned one wound on the GIE. That Unique Attack glyph looks pretty appealing to Dad’s all unique army.

Rd 2: The Frost Giant and GIE#1 went head to head for a couple of turns. Frosty took 4 wounds while Icey took some wounds as well, but healed down to 1 wound. On OM#3, the second GIE snuck into the middle of the map and took out another Cultist.

Rd 3: Many missed attacks in this round . . . one Cultist died along with the Frost Giant by the hands of Eltahale. Frosty put a wound on Ellessar and Eltahale with his Dying Swipe. Both of the GIEs are healed up to full strength.

Rd 4: Brimstone and GIE #2 went head to head for most of this round . . . all defended except for a mighty right ice claw to put 4 wounds on Brimstone.

Rd 5: Brimstone lands two wounds on GIE#2. More defensive rolls. Damon, sensing a shutout, flies Kelda in and heals the GIE and moves her closer to healing others.

Rd 6: Eltahale takes out a Cultist, the GIE kills Brimstone, but the Cultists surrounded poor Eltahale and took her out quickly, causing the GEEKS to lose on OM.

Rd 7: Cults go on a rampage, killing GIE#1, Ellesar, and placing wounds on GIE#2, Kelda, and GIE#2. All the GEEKs could do was kill one Cultist and lose another OM. Things were suddenly getting much closer.

Rd 8: To start the round, it was 5 Cultists v. Stenvar, 1-wound GIE, and 1-wound Kelda. Lots of nice defensive rolls this round. Kelda took a couple more wounds, Stenvar took a wound, and the GIE killed a Cultist.

Rd 9: All melee action in the middle of the map. All markers on Cults and Stenvar. The GIE earned three wounds, Kelda 1, while Stenvar took out three Cultists.

Rd 10: The GIE blasts the last Cultists with a 5/6 skull roll. Game over.

Final Score:
GEEKS win! But with only 93 points left. After 5 rounds, it looked like the GEEKs would pitch a shutout, but the Cults fought back admirably. Brimstone is a dud. Cultists aren’t all that good either. GEEKs won because they had an easy first round foe.

Customs Note:
Stenvar hung back until he got one GIE on his card. It was nice having him reserve and he did some pounding for a round. I was trying to get both GIEs on his card before he came out, but couldn’t risk waiting. I think Stenvar is ready to go, but we’ll play through the tournament to see if anything jumps out that needs addressing.


Battle 4 @ Ariadne v3
Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Rd 1: Emiroon did some summoning to pull up his friends, with Arkmer in the lead. Kurrock sent forward the elementals. Arkmer took out a Fire. The rest of the Fires choose not to risk an Engagement Strike. Emiroon found the +1 Def. glyph to close the round.

Rd 2: By the way, OM management was easy in this battle. All Kurrock and Ulginesh with some Haduc mixed in for the whole battle, until round 5. At the end of the round, another Fire was extinguished while Arkmer and Chardris each earned a wound from a Water.

Rd 3: Crazy imagery in this battle with fireballs, water streams, windy cyclones, and shaking earth. Haduc rolls 3 skulls to sop up a Water. Kurrock moves out to line of sight, but fails to summon any of elementals. Chardris took out an Earth and then Johrdawn followed with her special to take out another Earth and an Air. An Air flew in, rolled 4 skulls, and put 3 wounds on Johrdawn while a Water killed Arkmer from range. The elves decide to go after Kurrock – Chardris and Haduc each put 2 wounds on him for a total of 4. With one life left, Kurrock retreated and then summoned a Fire.

Rd 4: A Fire engaged to sear Johrdawn and then place 3 wounds on Haduc with an attack. Haduc kills the Air sitting on height. Another Fire engages Haduc and Ulginesh, who are each seared for a wound and then the Fire takes out Haduc with its attack. Ulginesh leaves engagement to flee safely. The elementals attacks fail on OM#3, while Chardris takes out a Fire.

Rd 5: Ulginesh went for broke, flew in, and put Kurrock in his grave. The Elementals went with OMs on the Fires this round. A Fire fails. Ulginesh retreats from the fray. A Fire hits Ulginesh for two wounds and Emiroon earned a searing wound. The Elves fail in attacks. The Fires fail to sear and the attack is defended.

Rd 6: Chardris takes out a Fire. Searing intensity fails on four figures and the Fire whiffs his attack on Ulginesh. Johrdawn and Chardris combine to kill a Fire and a Water. The Fire puts 2 wounds on Emiroon and then kills him on the next turn. The def. +1 glyph is open.

Rd 7: A Fire grabs the def. +1 glyph, while another sears Kwyntela for a wound. Elves fail. An Earth hits Ulginesh for a wound and then Ulg decimates the Earth with a 4/4 attack. Ulg is down to one life. An Earth hits Johrdawn for a wound. Ulginesh retreats and fires down to kill the Fire on the glyph.

Rd 8: To start the fateful round, the Wizards had 1-life left for Ugl, Johr, and Kwyn and 5 left on Chardris. The Elementals were down to a Water, an Air, and an Earth. OM #1 – Kwyn takes the def. +1 glyph and Chardris kills the Earth (lost OM for Elem). OM #2 – Johrdawn takes out the Water and Chardis calms the Air. Game over.


Johrdawn and Chardris prepare to end the battle.

Final Score:
Pretty fun battle. The Wizards win and advance with a total of 122 points remaining. A tough map for the Elementals – Kurrok had to move to see the field and stay in range, which enabled the Wizards to inflict damage and later take him out early. All the games in the first round were pretty close.


Round 2 Match-ups (reseeding is done after each round based on point differential).

Winner’s Bracket

Battle 5 @ Denali (chosen by Arrows)
#4 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.

Battle 6 @ Relic (chosen by GEEKS)
#3 G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
#2 Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Loser’s Bracket

Battle 7 @ Denali (chosen by Mezzos)
#5 Hunters (Damon): Quasatch Hunters x3 1/3, Sylvan Animae x2 2/3, Master of the Hunt = 580.
#8 Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Battle 8 @ Relic (chosen by Cults)
#6 Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
#7 Cultists (Jacob): Nhah Scirh Cultists x3 2/3, Brimstone, Frost Giant of Morh = 583.

Nice picks, Derek (4-0)!

3-1 in my predictions, I thought the Hunters would win round 1. Steamroller, Geeks, Mezzodemons, and Cultilts in round 2. Nice reports. Thank you.

In your post, you picked Krug 'n Arrows, so you are still 4-0 officially.

Thanks for taking a few moments to glance through the reports. Jacob and I are having a blast playing them!

Battle 5 @ Denali (chosen by Arrows)
#4 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.

The Arrows were intrigued by this map. With superior speed to get to height, they were hoping to rain arrows down on the Gladiators. Plus, with two Ice Trolls on a snow map, they figured they might get some production from those two boys.

Rd 1: The round was spent moving units from the start zone up the mountain. IceT#1 killed a Glad on the left side of the map who found the Lucky 20-sider glyph. The IceT then took a wound from the lava field.

Rd 2: Retarius net trips a grut and then rolls 1/7 skulls, but enough for the kill, the Caps followed by killing a swog and a grut on the right side of the map. The IceT moved 10 spaces all the way down the mountain using his charge into the Steamroller start zone to hit Spartacus for a wound. Pretty sneaky tactics! And then an Arrow shot dead a Cap. Hmm. Spartacus hits the IceT for 3 wounds, a Cap takes him out, and then another takes out the last Arrow on the right side of the map. Feeling the right side was about to be over run, Krug plods off to the base of the mountain to stop the flow of Caps, ready for some wounds.


The Ice Troll beserkered his way down the mountain to threaten Spartacus in the start zone.

Rd 3: Arrows on height with Swog back up take out a Cap and wound Retarius. Retarius goes toe-to-toe with Krug and fails to wound despite rolling 7 dice while a Cap takes out another Grut. Crix gets a wound on the left side of the map. Three more Gruts fall as Crix and the Caps start their steamroll. IceT #2 charges up the hill to stop the tide, but whiffs with 5 attack dice, and then three Arrows fail as well. Steamroller in high gear as Crix and the Caps take out the IceT, a swog, and a grut.

Here are a couple of before and after pics:


Retarius and Krug go toe to toe . . .


Retarius and Krug are still daring each other to throw a punch while you can see the success of steamroller in the background.

Rd 4: It’s 3 gruts, Nerak, Krug, and a swog against 6 Capuans and 3 Gladiator heroes, all with one wound each. Retarius leads off with two wounds on Krug, 2 gruts die. Krug then kills off poor-dice-rolling Retarius and the last grut takes out a Capuan. Crixus and the Capuans put wounds 3-5 on Krug. Krug can only manage to kill one Cap while the last grut hides in terror. Crixus hammers Krug to put him out of his misery, while the Caps take out the last swog and put 2 wounds on Nerak.


Crixus and the Capuans prepare to dispatch poor Krug.

Rd 5: Nerak kills a Cap. Crixus slays Nerak while the Capuans finish off the grut.

Final Score
Steamroller had 302 points remaining with one wound on Crixus, one on Spartacus, and a full squad of Capuans left. Steamroller should steamroll to the title in this tournament.


Battle 6 @ Relic (chosen by GEEKS)
#3 G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
#2 Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Rd 1: Nothing exciting. Emiroon did some summoning, Chardris picked up the Defense +1 treasure, and the Greater Ices and Ellesar moved out and up.

Rd 2: The Wizards defended some attacks and Arkmer and Haduc took out the yellow GIE, resulting in a lost OM for the GEEKS.

Rd 3: The white GIE landed on the Summoning glyph, summoned Ulginesh, and promptly wounded the Wizard general. Haduc wounded the GIE. Emiroon summons Ulginesh and Haduc out of danger and then he disposes of the white GIE, resulting in another lost OM for the GEEKS. Chardris landed on the Revive glyph but no 20’s were rolled for the GIEs. Haduc and Arkmer then slapped Eltahale with two wounds from range.

Rd 4: Haduc put a couple more wounds on Eltahale, who then failed in her Thunder Assault and even earned another wound from Arkmer’s Engagement Strike. Eltahale was down to one life. Chardris took her out and the GEEKS lost yet another OM. This was getting ugly! Arkmer hit Kelda for two wounds, who was sitting in the start zone minding her own business. And then Chardris climbed the hill to the right and took out Ellesar, who did nothing in limited opportunities. Kelda put a wound on Chardris to round up the round.

Rd 5: Can Stenvar pull off a miracle. He snags the Revenant’s Tomb but fails in his attack on Chardris. Next turn he rolls 5/7 skulls for four wounds on Chardris, who was summoned out of danger by Emiroon. The Wizards failed on all of their attacks this round.


Stenvar and Kelda prepare for their last stand against the pod of Wizards. Johrdawn practices her flame throwing.

Rd 6: Stenvar and Haduc exchanged wounds. The GIE put a wound on Ulginesh using the Revenant’s Tomb power while only rolling 1/6 skulls (this could have been a game changer with a big attack). Then Stenvar hits Ulginesh with a 5/7 roll but the lucky Elf rolled 4 shields for only one wound . . . UNFAIR! Johrdawn rolled a perfect 4/4 skulls with her Special Attack, Kelda rolled 1/5 in defense and died and then Stenvar rolled 0/5 in defense and died. The game ended abruptly.

Final Score
The Wizards rolled with 392 points left and moved on in the winner’s bracket to face Steamroller in the battle of unbeatens. The GEEKS will drop down to the loser’s bracket.

Customs Notes
Ellesar got off a couple of Special Attacks but couldn’t get two skulls either time. Both of his attacks were defended. He was nice to have as a ranged threat but did nothing. Stenvar had the potential to inflict some damage with two huge Elementals on his card, but poor dice rolling ended any hopes. Stenvar could be very fun in the end-game with the boosts. I really like him.


Battle 7 @ Denali (chosen by Mezzos)
#5 Hunters (Damon): Quasatch Hunters x3 1/3, Sylvan Animae x2 2/3, Master of the Hunt = 580.
#8 Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Rd 1: Two Mezzos climed to the center mountain and killed a couple of Quasatch, but had to burn an Exo-marker.

Rd 2: The same two Mezzos took out 3 more Quasatch and a Sylvan. The Master charged the hill, caused the Mezzos to remove another Exo-marker, but failed on his Javelin throw on Morgoloth.

Rd 3: Quasatch rolled 5/6 skulls in attacking the two Mezzos, but they rolled 6/8 shields in defense. The Master could only earn one wound on Morgoloth in two attacks, rolling only one skull with 10 dice. And to further the disparity in dice rolls, the two Mezzos slayed the last three Quasatch, who rolled 0/13 in defense.

Rd 4: This round was all Morgoloth and Master of the Hunt. Margo took wound leaving engagement to get height on the Master. Morgo rolled 6/10 skulls with his double attack, but the Master took only one wound. Master’s attack was defended. Margo put two more wounds on Master, who then took another wound leaving engagement. The Master then killed a Skull Demon, earning an extra skull with his special power. Morgoloth chased down the Master to put him out of his misery. It was down to 6 Sylvan left for the Hunters.

Rd 5: The two Mezzos took out 4 of the Sylvan, who couldn’t dent the two Mezzos in seven attacks.

Rd 6: The Mezzos had to burn 3 more Exo-markers before taking out the last two Sylvan to end this farce of a battle.


Those same two Mezzodemons take out the last of the Animae.

Final Score:
Morgoloth killed the Master. The same two Mezzos, who were the only ones to receive action, killed the rest of the Hunter Army. The Mezzos had an astounding 476 points left with only one dead Skull Demon and 2 wounds on Morgoloth. The Hunters were quickly eliminated from the tournament while the Mezzos move on to battle the GEEKS in the next round.

Customs Notes:
The Sylvans provided a move boost to the Hunters, sending them out to die faster. They did have some staying power, but weren’t able to inflict much damage. They were worth maybe 40 points per squad.


Battle 8 @ Relic (chosen by Cults)
#6 Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
#7 Cultists (Jacob): Nhah Scirh Cultists x3 2/3, Brimstone, Frost Giant of Morh = 583.

Rd 1: A Cultist land on the Massive Curse glyph. Jacob developed a strained elbow rolling the 20-sider 32 times, once for each figure. He hit the Curse only once, killing the poor Frost Giant right out of the gate.

Rd 2: Fire and Water teamed up to slaughter 7 Cultists. 1 Fire and 1 Earth were destroyed. Kurrock had to move to keep up with the troops, picking up the Defense +1 treasure glyph.

Rd 3: Seven more Cultists bit the dust while a few Elementals expired. This was turning into a blow-out!

Rd 4: Only an Air died this round, while the last of the Cultists were eliminated and Brimstone was down to one life.

Rd 5: Brimstone died.

Final Score
Kurrock, 2 Fires, 2 Waters, 2 Earths, and 1 Air remained on the battle field for a total of 350 points remaining, even though the Fires were only 1 for 9 with Searing Intensity. The Cultists were pretty bad in the two games and Brimstone was just plain terrible. Of course, they rolled dice terribly as well. The Elementals get to face Krug ‘n Arrows in the next round.


Next up:

Winner’s Bracket

Battle 9 @ Ariadne v3 (chosen by Wizards)
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
#2 - Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Loser’s Bracket

Battle 10 @ Fossil (chosen by GEEKS)
#6 - G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
#3 - Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Battle 11 @ Denali (chosen by Krug)
#4 - Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
#5 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.


Derek, you went 2-2 on the battles for a 6-2 prediction rate.

Wow, those are some EPIC battles .. and blow outs!  The Ice/Lava maps looks pretty cool to play on.

I can see the Ice Elementals falling to the Wizards.  Too many ranged attacks from the Elves to pepper the low-defense, low-life of the GIE's.  Kelda might have helped but you'd have to keep everyone super-close together .. and 4 life can go down pretty fast.  Eltahale seems very hit-and-miss .. sometimes she rocks and other times just fizzles out.

Steamroller destroying the Orcs sounds about right unless you get some lucky ranged shots off or Krug doesn't get overwhelmed by 4+ attack Gladiators.  I can see the rebellious fighters taking this tourney.

Sounds like the Quasatach are still just horrible, even with mobile trees.  Did you get a screen of Sylvans up first to provide some tree defense bonus?  It is amazing that 2 Mezzo's can do that much damage with enough Exo's to back them up.  No special attacks makes them pretty tough.

Losing the Frost Giant was probably the game changer.  I think the last time I played against Derek I lost my Frost Giant to the same massive curse


Looking forward to the next report! My choices in bold below.



Battle 9 @ Ariadne v3 (chosen by Wizards)
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
#2 - Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.

Loser’s Bracket

Battle 10 @ Fossil (chosen by GEEKS)
#6 - G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
#3 - Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Battle 11 @ Denali (chosen by Krug)
#4 - Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
#5 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.

following Kai's picks with steamroller, geeks, and krugnboys. Nice format on delivering the posts, Thanks Damon.

Battle 9 @ Ariadne v3 (chosen by Ulginesh)
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
#2 - Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc = 590.

The battle of the undefeated! Winner moves onto the championship.

Rd 1: Emiroon summoned 6 elves in 2 turns to set up a nice pod on the right side of the map. The Capuans grabbed the Defense +1 glyph on the left side of the map. Retarius pushed into the pod to put a wound on Haduc. Johrdawn killed 2 Capuans with her Special despite the Caps rolling 5 and 6 dice in defense. That Wizard pod looked pretty tough to overcome.


The Elven Wizard pod is set.

Rd 2: How quickly things change. Retarius net-tripped Haduc for 3 wounds. Haduc wounded Retarius. Retarius then took out Haduc and the steamroller was in motion as the Caps put a wound on Emiroon and Johrdawn. Chardris and Arkmer each killed a Capuan. But Retarius climbed into the middle of the pod and dispatched Kwyntela easily. The Caps managed to place wounds on Chardris and Johrdawn.


Retarius goes on a rampage.

Rd 3: Retarius continued his rampage with a wound on Ulginesh while the Caps dished out 3 wounds to Johrdawn and 2 to Chardris. Johrdawn fought back with two wounds on Retarius while Chardris took out a Capuan. Retarius essentially ended the game with a 5/7 skull roll to kill Ulginesh and 2 OMs. Johrdawn fell. Emiroon fell. A Capuan died at the hands of Arkmer’s Engagement Strike.

Rd 4: The Capuans took out Chardris while Crixus finished off Arkmer in two attacks to end the game.

Final Score
Spartacus, a squad of Gladiators, a 3-wound Retarius, and a 1-wound Crixus were left standing for an astounding 365 points. Steamroller steamrolled into the championship, while the Wizards will get to play again. Retarius was named MVG (Most Valuable Gladiator).


Battle 10 @ Fossil (chosen by GEEKS)
#6 - G.E.E.K.S (Damon): Greater Ice Elemental x2, Eltahale, Ellesar, Kelda the Kyrie Warrior, Stenvar = 590.
#3 - Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

I’m not going to bore you all with a detailed description of this battle. The Mezzos earned the Defense +2 glyph in the first round. The Mezzos received all OMs the entire battle, all nine rounds – Skull Demons and Morgoloth didn’t even sniff a dice roll. When the dust settled and the blood stopped flowing, the Mezzos had to burn through all of their Exo-markers, mostly at the hands of Stenvar, but they didn’t lose a single point. I’ve never experienced a shut out battle like this before.


Eltahale and Stenvar prepare to meet their doom.

Final Score: 590 points to 0. Mezzos will move on to face the winner of the Elemental/Arrow match-up. The GEEKS couldn’t overcome limited attacks, lost OMs, and the Defense +2 glyph. I will never seriously play an all-hero army again.

Customs Notes
Nothing new to add. Stenvar had potential but died in one turn from 7/8 skulls from two Mezzos while only managing 2/10 shields in defense. Ellesar rolled 0/2 in his one attack before falling to the Mezzo onslaught in the 8th round.


Battle 11 @ Denali (chosen by Krug)
#4 - Elementals (Damon): Kurrak the Elementalist, Earth Elemental x4, Water Elemental x3, Fire Elemental x4, Air Elemental x3 = 580.
#5 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.

Rd 1: The white IceT rolled three consecutive Berserker Charges to threaten the Elemental start zone. The Gruts took out one Earth, Water, and Fire and captured the Common Attack +1 glyph. The IceT was up to three wounds, but healed back down to one. A solitary Arrow fell.

Rd 2: Jacob took out two Earths that had tunneled up to height while continuing to bring up the orc horde. A Fire was able to sear the Arrow on the glyph, the IceT went down at the hands of an Earth and Water. Kurrak was able to summons a previously expired Fire and then moved to hide behind an outcrop. Two Arrows survived camping out on the lava field at the end of the round.

Rd 3: Kurrak sent out his Fires with some success. Four Arrows, the other IceT, and a Swog all were burnt up. A Fire gained control of the Common Attack glyph. Were things starting to look up for the Elementals? The Arrows picked off a Fire, Air, and Earth, one in each turn, but the Elementals had stemmed the overflow of gruts on the center of the map.

Rd 4: Jacob sent forward his Swogs and remaining Arrows. Dad tried to summon twice and failed. At the end of the round a Water splashed an Arrow dead.

Rd 5: Kurrak continued his attempt to bring in reinforcements, but failed all three times. The Swog-backed Arrows fired at range to eliminate a couple of Waters and an Air.


Kurrak and a couple of Fire Elementals are about all that are left.

Rd 6: Kurrak finally summoned a dead Fire, and then he took out a Swog with his own hands. The Fire seared a Swog and then killed an Arrow on the left side of the map, but the Arrows picked off the last two Fires on OM#3. Kurrak took out a Swog but earned a wound from the lava field to close the round.

Kurrak v. 3 Arrows, Nerak, and Krug.

Rd 7: On three consecutive turns, Kurrak failed to summon any help but he did kill an Arrow each turn. The Arrows were firing blanks, but Krug was marching his way up the Mountain. Kurrak was down to his last life . . . then Dad rolled a skull for lava damage to end the round and the battle.

Final Score
Krug n’ Arrows win with 170 points left in the two full life figures. Kurrak and friends are eliminated. Kurrak was successful summoning 2 out of 11 times. Those Arrows can be tough shooting from height and backed by Swogs. We have developed a new appreciation of the Ice Trolls, especially on a snow map. Krug ‘n Arrows will move on to face the Mezzodemons in another loser-out contest.

Next up:

Battle 12 @ Ariadne v3 (chosen by Krug)
#4 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
#3 - Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

Battle 13 @ map to be determined
Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc = 590.
Winner of Battle 12.

Battle 14 and maybe 15 @ map to be determined
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
Winner of Battle 13.

You both went 2-1 that round, but that 1 lose really hurt. Derek, you have picked 8-3 for the tournament.

Battle 12 @ Ariadne v3 (chosen by Krug)
#4 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.
#3 - Mezzodemons (Damon): Mezzodemon Warmongers x 3 ½, Skull Demon x3, Morgoloth, Dumutef Guard = 588.

The Mezzos were licking the chops to get this battle going after their wipeout of the GEEKS and with their +1 attack on common Arrows and Swogs.

Rd 1: The Mezzos landed on the +4 Range glyph (the first time it appeared in any tournament). Fearing that the Arrows with range of 10 would be tough to beat, Dad was determined to hold the glyph as long as possible. The Mezzos took out a Swog and put 2 wounds on Nerak, but the glyph Mezzo lost 3 Exo-markers.


Jacob reaches for his next move while Dad takes a pic of the orc horde coming his way . . .

Rd 2: Three more Exos were removed, but the Mezzos killed Nerak and a Grut on turn one. Dad rolled 9/9 skulls on turn 2 to kill 2 Swogs. And then rolled 7/9 skulls to take out an Arrow and the last Swog. The Mezzos appeared to be on fire!

Rd 3: Turn 1 – Mezzos kill two Arrows, an IceT hit the glyph Mezzo hard to burn the last Exo-marker. Turn 2 – A wound on the IceT and an Arrow dead then the IceT healed after killing the Mezzo on the glyph for Dad’s first casualty. Turn 3 – The Mezzos kill the Arrow who had scampered onto the glyph while the Arrows followed with two 1 skull rolls to kill 2 more Mezzos, who whiffed on both defensive rolls.

Rd 4: The IceT and an Arrow took out two more Mezzos, who couldn’t roll defense at all. The last two Mezzos managed to kill an Arrow (only 4 left). The IceT finished the round by placed 2 wounds on Morgoloth.

Rd 5: Morgoloth double-attacked the IceT to death, but the Arrows kill the Dumutef from range (Dad lost on OM). The second IceT sprinted across the road and landed a 4/5 skull attack on a poor Skull Demon, who died without giving a fight. To make matters worse, Jacob rolled 2/2 skulls to kill another Mezzo. Morgoloth retreated from height back to near the start zone but was only able to put 3 wounds on the IceT. The IceT healed 1 and put 1 wound on Morgoloth while the Arrows picked up a wound on another Skull Demon.


The IceT prepares to go berserk as the orcs invade Dad's start zone . . .

Rd 6: The IceT went berserk – killing Morgoloth and killing a Skull Demon while defending attacks and healing. The Arrows took out the last Mezzo. Only the last Skull Demon could take out a solitary Arrow this round . . .  Jacob was very pleased with the developments of the round.

Rd 7: It came down to the last Skull Demon against 3 Arrows, Krug, and the IceT. The Demon was able to defend some attacks and wound the IceT, but he healed back to 1 wound before crushing after ending the game.

Final Score
Krug n’ Arrows finished with 223 points remaining. It was a very bad strategy on Dad’s part to burn all of his Exos on the glyph Mezzo. It was amazing how the Arrows did so much damage due to ineffectual defense rolls by Dad. Dad’s last team in the tournament was done. Krug n’ Arrows will move on to face the Wizards.

Next Up

Battle 13 @ Ariadne (chosen by Ulginesh)
#3 - Wizards (Jacob): Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.
#2 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.

krug'n'arrows will win again only to lose to the steamrollers in game 1 of the championship.

Battle 13 @ Ariadne (chosen by Ulginesh)
#3 - Wizards (Jacob): Emirroon, Arkmer, Kyntela Gwyn, Chardris, Jorhdawn, Ulginesh, Haduc  = 590.
#2 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.

Can the Orcs break the mighty Wizard pod?

Rd 1: Emiroon summoned 5 elves in the first two OMs to the slight hill on the left side of the map. Haduc jumped on the +2 Defense glyph. IceT #1 charged Haduc for 2 wounds. Johrdawn’s amazing special attack took out 3 Arrows in one roll of the dice. Dad must remember not to bunch them up. The trajectory of the battle was clearly drawn. We would fight over the glyph. Orcs as pursuers, Elves as defenders.


Johrdawn Rains Flame and takes out 3 Arrows in one roll of the dice.

Rd 2: Haduc and the IceT exchanged blow after blow and the IceT, who had height, came out on top, killing the Elf on the 3rd OM. Johrdawn closed the round by killing a couple more Arrows.

Rd 3: Ulginesh took command of the Wizards . . . Arkmer took out the Grut who had scampered onto the glyph and then Chardris jumped onto the glyph and pummeled the IceT for 2 wounds. The big Chard rolled 5/5 shields to block the IceT’s blow but took a wound from a whimpy arrow. Johrdawn rained flames on two more Gruts and Chard hit the IceT for a wound. The IceT then hit poor Chard with a 5/6 skull roll for 2 wounds and the last 3 remaining Arrow Gruts scattered away Johrdawn’s flames. Chard keep pounding the IceT for 3 more wounds, but Arkmer couldn’t put the troll away. The IceT heals.

Rd 4: Turn 1: both armies defend attacks. Turn 2: The IceT smashes Chard to oblivion with a 5/6 skull roll and then heals all the way back to full life, while the Arrows rolled all skulls to put a wound on Kwyneta and two on Ulginesh. Arkmer was only able to earn 1 wound on that seemingly immortal IceT while Johrdawn sprinted to the +2 Def. glyph. Turn 3: Another 5/6 smash from the IceT promptly put 4 wounds on Johrdawn and heals while an Arrow killed Kwyntela . . . The Elves were starting to fall! Arkmer feebly puts another 2 wounds on the IceT.

Rd 5: Wizards win initiative and Arkmer was finally able to kill the IceT!!! Emiroon summons Ulginesh to height. On OM#2, Arkmer killed a Swog and then a Grut on OM#3. All Swog, Arrow, and IceT#2 attacks this round were defended. Arkmer was even rolling 7 defense dice on a few. Boy, Jacob and the Elves sure needed a round like this one.

Rd 6: Things continued to go the Elves way . . . Arkmer rolled 4/5 to kill the second IceT in one shot and Emiroon took out a Grut. Krug moved, the last Grut hid. Going on the offensive, Ulginesh leaves his companions, flies to the middle of the map, and kills the last Grut . . . and two OMs! Ulginesh put two wounds on Nerak to close the round. Things were starting to look promising for Jacob and the Elves.


Krug inches his way into the battle, but will he be enough to bring the orcs back from the jaws of defeat?

Rd 7: A swog sprinted up from the start zone and put Johrdawn down with a 3/4 skull attack. Ulginesh killed a swog and Krug, finally getting into the battle, put 2 wounds on Emiroon.

Rd 8: The swog jumped on the glyph. Ulginesh killed that last swog. Nerak sprinted up to put 2 more wounds on Emiroon. Arkmer killed Nerak and Emiroon put a wound on Krug. Krug took another wound to leave engagement but he hammered Ulginesh for 2 wounds.

Rd 9: Here is how the fateful round started: twice wounded Krug was up against Arkmer, a one-life Ulginesh, and a one-life Emiroon. Who will win initiative?


Three puny elves against one big Krug. We will win?

Dad and Krug win initiative. Krug slays Ulginesh – Elves lose OM#1
Krug saunters over to Emiroon and Arkmer, kills Emiroon and wounds Arkmer, who responds by hitting Krug with two wounds, which only made him angrier.
Krug kill Arkmer.

Final Score
Krug ‘n Arrows came out on top in this close battle with 60 points remaining. Had the Wizards won initiative in the last round who knows what would have happened? A fun game. Krug ‘n Arrows move on to face Steamroller in the championship, but they’ll have to win two in a row.

Next up

Battle 14 @ Fossil (chosen by Krug)
#1 - Steamroller (Jacob): Crixus, Capuan Gladiators x3, Spartacus, Retiarus = 590.
#2 - Krug n’ Arrows (Jacob): Krug, Arrow Gruts x3 2/3, Ice Troll Berserker x2, Swog Rider x4, Nerak The Glacian Swog Rider = 587.

The Steamrollers rolled all over the Arrows in their previous battle. Can Krug get revenge? Can the Spartacus and friends become the first army to go undefeated in a tournament?

Wow, sounds like a fantastic battle!! I was thinking that Johrdawn was going to be effective against clustered Gruts and Swogs : P

But go KRUG! I've been waiting for him to rock it and sounds like he gets the MVP (though that insane Ice Troll sounds like he swung the tide early on).

I'm thinking that the Gladiators will come out on top - but it might take both games.