smyrin
08-23-05, 10:14 PM
First of all I would like to thank all the GenCon staff that made the DDM events run smoothly and most of all, fun. Special thanks to the great new friends we made as well, including those French-Canadians, we loved your beer! Last, I would like to congratulate Jason Lioi (Fenris) for an outstanding job (Cheers!).
I did not take as extensive notes as some of the other players in the tournament (namely Derry) so I hope he will be able to report some of his games as well. My apologies to those I played if I cannot recall the exact details with perfect clarity. Feel free to correct any of my mistaken references.
For the record, I went into the tournament undecided what to play. I was thinking about the strong Orog/Chrall x3 band but I had no experience playing it (only against it). I was also considering a version of the Couatl/Justice Archon x4 band but I simply could not make up my mind. Derry said I should run the LSD and I have had quite a number of winning games with it under my belt so I decided Friday night to play it.
I played a 10 activation LG warband:
Couatl
Cleric of Yondalla
Large Silver Dragon
Lidda, Halfing Rogue (Go Lidda!)
Men-at-Arms x6
After the Vista qualifier in which I got spanked and with the help of Tried, I realized the need for the second commander instead of an AC buff. Since then, the warband, when played correctly, has done very well. It still has its weaknesses and tough match-ups, but with a little luck and good play, it becomes a tier 1 contender.
Round 1:
CG 10 activations (Jason Bulmahn)
Inspiring Marshal
Frenzied Berserker
Goliath Barbarian
Celestial Pegasus
Elf Pyromancer
Gray Cloak Ranger
Wolf
Xeph x3
I think he won initiative and chose side B to set up in. I prepared for a fireball by spacing out my fodder and divided them between the two side A start areas. I won the 1st initiative and was able to move the LSD/Couatl last. I pushed down the left (east) side with both units as far as possible. I was hoping to win the next init and catch the commander and pyromancer in a breath weapon. He wins second round initiative and uses the grant move action to flank the LSD with the FB and the Pegasus. He then gets the Goliath Barbarian on the Couatl. His second action was to attack the Couatl with the GB and I thinks hits it. On my action, I run the LSD to within range of the commander and used the cold breath. The LSD was damaged by the FB in the AoO. The IM saves and takes only 15 damage (on 1st turn the FB got the cold immunity spell from Pyromancer). The Elf Pyromancer and Gray Cloak Ranger are not so lucky and are eliminated. Since the commander is the key to my victory, I use the Couatl to double move and base it so I can get a AoO if it moves later on. The rest of the round, the FB gets another attack on the LSD for another 30 damage. The Pegasus and GB were out of command and unable to do much. On round three I win init again and paralyze the FB and IM. The Couatl finishes the IM. After that, the game was pretty much over. I stayed away from the remaining out of command units for as long as possible while earning victory points. In the end, I had 20 victory points from map scoring areas to his 30. We had 5-6 rounds of play.
Round 2:
LG 10 activations (Mark Liberman)
Cleric of Dol Arrah
Couatl
Justice Archon x3
Azer
Man-at-Arms x4
I was on side B this time and assumed a stong presence with the LSD which is not so afraid of the JA’s. However, I greatly feared the CoDA and its dismissal spell which would be a 50/50 shot at 42 points! I played defensively with my Couatl and always kept one activation or more away from the CoDA’s threat range. Early on in the game, he offered me a JA sacrifice which I accepted and used the cold breath weapon on it. It was out of command and out of protection range from his Couatl. It missed its save and started routing and just missed the exit point. By the next round, he brought in another JA (the last was killing off my fodder units) and rallied the routing JA. I used paralysis on the new JA and the enemy Couatl and paralyzed them both. At that point I moved up my own Couatl for some spell action on the weakened JA. By round three I killed one JA and an another was gravely wounded. Points were still close since he was killing off my fodder and had a 10 victory point advantage. I tried to get his Couatl and then the wounded JA but he easily kept winning initiatives and moved them out of threat range (he also unparalyzed them). Eventually I based the wounded pair but the CoDA healed his Couatl to near full. By the last round, I was forced to move my Couatl to give my LSD a free attack, which put the wounded JA one hit from death. Instead of healing the JA and moving away, which would have won him the game, he moved the CoDA into spell range and tried to dismiss my Couatl. I made the save and then killed a second JA securing my point advantage. Final victory points from map areas were 50 for me, and 60 for him. We played 7 rounds.
Round 3:
CE 12 activations (Francis Delisle)
Tiefling Captain
Red Samurai x2
Ogre Ravager x2
Abyssal Maw
Orc Warrior x6
I had side A this game and we started in opposite corners. In the opening moves, Francis played very defensively securing a nice hole for his Tiefling and making sure that a large figure could not base him. He hid in the 3x2 alcove facing the spider altar in the map. I was able to pick off an Orc Warrior with Lidda with a well placed shot. His hitters were very close by so he moved up a red sam to prevent me from doing that again. I moved the LSD and Couatl with all speed to prepare for an attack. By round two I moved the LSD into the small victory area of side A while a pair of MaA’s headed for the room. He dispatched a red sam to deal with the two MaA’s and since he still had activation control, moved an ogre close within a single move’s worth of my Couatl. I win the key round 3 initiative and use the Couatl to pick off a single orc thereby allowing my LSD to fit snugly in its space. The LSD used the cold breath weapon and killed a few orcs but the Tiefling saves! He returns the favor with some damage on the LSD. Again I win the next round initiative and proceed to paralyze an orc, the Tiefling, a red sam and one of the the ogres. My Couatl moves up and gives the dragon a free attack on the paralyzed sam. He returns the favor by getting a critical hit on the Couatl and killing it (ouch). However, over the next 5 or so rounds, he cannot unparalyze the Tiefling leaving him out of command. I tie up the other red sam with MaA’s and finish off the paralyzed one. He gets some more damage on the LSD and gets the other ogre unparalyzed. By then I have some more MaA’s coming up the right side and getting victory area points. I retreat the LSD after finishing off a red sam and wait out the other slowly moving heavy hitters. Eventually the Tiefling does make a successful save but it is too late. Time is called and I win on victory points. Overall I had 80 victory area points to his 50. We played 10 rounds.
On a side note, Francis was one of the many players from Montreal we made friends with. Francis, thanks for the fun games and great attitude. I look forward to seeing you again.
Round 4:
CE 11 activations (Sebastian Poupart)
Tiefling Captain
Eye of Gruumsh
Ogre Ravager
Orc Champion x2
Orc Warrior x6
I have side B in this game that looks like a tough fight for me. He starts his force split with half his units in each area. The eye and ogre are in the left area (statues) and the two Orc Champions in the right. I chose the right side of the map in area B to set up in after he does. I do this to keep his slower ogre from reaching me any quicker than he already will. On round one I push down the east side of the map (assuming side B is north side) looking to kill the Tiefling easily. He advances and spreads out his units very well. I cannot get a breath weapon on more that one of the champions. I probably should have delayed the attack at this point until he moved closer but since Lidda got me activation control with a quick kill of an orc warrior, I choose to attack. I move in and enage at the end of round two with the LSD and a cold breath weapon. I only get one champ but he fails his save. The Couatl moves into the victory area and gives the LSD a free attack and the champ routs off the map. I pay for this action the next round when he moves in the other champ and the eye with the ogre just a round behind. I think he missed the initial attack with the eye but does hit twice with the champ including a critical! Next I use paralysis and catch the eye and the Tiefling. I have two MaA’s in the area so they immediately work on the eye. The Couatl helps. I suffer some more damage on the LSD but only from the champ, the ogre cannot hit. We fight a round or two more and the eye is dead and the champ is seriously wounded (it made its morale check). He wins a key initiative for me and kills the LSD. Looks like its gonna be a loss for me. In the last round, he moves his champ away so I cannot kill it and the ogre moves in. The Tiefling is also wounded from MaA hits and nearby. I decide to continue gaining victory area points and fly the Couatl into the magic circle. Time is called and we add up the points. I have a good advantage there. Sebastian was able to get an orc into scoring position in round 2 but I killed it off with MaA’s. After that, his entire force was used to attack the LSD and he scored no points from then on. In the end I had 50 victory area points to his 10. The 40 point difference was as if I had killed that last champ. I win by 12 points or so, about 152 to 140. We played 7 rounds. If Sebastian had kept better track of point totals, he would likely have won. He played well in any regard. It was a tough fight and good game.
Round 5:
LE 12 activations (Shiu-Yik Au)
Urthok
Snig
Chrall
Efreet x2
Dark Moon Monk
Blue
Goblin Skirmishers x4
Warrior Skeleton
This was another tough game and another good player. I went into the match thinking I would do fine again the efreet’s but things were tougher than they first appeared. Shiu-Yik had side A and split his efreet’s between the two areas. I knew I just had to get one of them in a breath weapon. He knew that it was gonna happen, so it best happen where he wanted. I committed the LSD and Couatl as much as possible on the 1st round and by round two was able to get that breath weapon off on one Efreet. It saved on the breath weapon so I had to move up the Couatl to launch a spell at it causing it make a moral check, which it failed and then promptly routed. My plan was to retreat at this point but he swarmed the LSD with EVERYTHING! It was a mad dash to kill the beast and it was working! He won the next round and dropped the LSD to below half! I was beginning to get very afraid. My one advantage was that Shiu was playing a little too slowly. I was not fast by any means either since there was so much going on in that fight, but if he played faster things may have gone his way. I think the LSD stuck out one more round killing Snig before bailing. I may have won the next init and would have retreated much farther but Shiu resigned seeing the inevitable conclusion. It was a bad match-up for him but he certainly played it well. I had 20 victory area points to his 30 in the end. We played 4-5 rounds.
Round 6:
LE 14 activations (Robert Hatch – Dagni)
Orog Warlord
Chrall x3
Orc Raider
Orc Warrior
Warrior Skeleton x8
This was by far the best game of the event and the whole convention. Robert is an excellent player and this was a bad match-up for me. A Chrall takes forever to kill and he has enough activations that he can protect the commander, easily kill my fodder, and get victory area points. I am feeling I have little chance to pull out a victory this time. We momentarily considered a draw in order to better our chances in getting to the final 8 but decided against it. I won the first init and started in area B.
The first round went as expected. I advanced the LSD and Couatl as far as possible after giving the LSD magic weapon and based a single Chrall. My remaining units spread out as much as they could so as not to give him too much in a breath weapon. I was able to kill off a skeleton with Lidda, which he forgot I could do (my one opening bonus). He advanced all three Chralls and set up his skeletons to protect his commander and limit the movement reach of my LSD. He curiously did not advance the Orc Raider probably so I would not get an easy kill out of it. On round two, I win initiative again and dig into the Chrall with my LSD. I think I hit three times and the Couatl does another 15 damage causing a rout check. The Chrall fails and narrowly missed the exit point. We both continue to advance units. He gains victory points this turn with a Chrall while mine continue to spread out and slowly plod forward. He rallies the routing Chrall. My plan is to kill the wounded Chrall for points but it still seems hopeless since he will easily be able to kill off my fodder and already has a victory point advantage. On round three he kills my Cleric of Yondalla and a MaA but moves off victory points to do so. His other units are too far off to gain points and I have turned my attention to his commander as I killed a few skeletons. On round four I am working on killing that wounded Chrall again since his commander continues to stay out of harms way. His out of command Chrall cannot get back to Victory area points but I do as I look to kill his Orc Raider. He retreats the raider so I cannot kill it but the Couatl bites him and he gets poisoned. Meanwhile, the LSD has could not kill the wounded Chrall which escapes so I position the LSD to kill the an Orc Warrior and the Orc Raider in the magic circle. Time is running out and I am urging Robert to complete the round. We start round 5 with 10-15 seconds to spare. He wins the initiative and moves a Chrall around the back side of the room with victory area A and kills a MaA. Another Chrall moves up to kill a MaA on the other side of the map but he misses. On my action, I review the point totals. He has 34 points in kills/victory area and I have 19. I can see that Robert can only, at best, kill another MaA and score 10 more victory area points bringing him to 47 at the end of the round. My LSD is in base to base contact with an orc and a skeleton while the Orc Raider is just out of reach but within breath weapon range. That was 19 points staring at me with another 10 from the victory area. Those points would exactly reach 47! What to do? If the LSD breathes, the Skeleton is immune. I knew the Orc Raider would have to made a rout check when it activated (poisoned) but Robert could move the Orog within range to give it a decent chance of making. I had to insure the raider would die. The LSD was within range of the Couatl so I cast snake’s swiftness and the LSD killed the skeleton. Then the Couatl moved to cover the two center squares of the map to prevent the nearby Orog from getting there. The Couatl was just within range too! The LSD then breathes and kills the two remaining orcs. Robert finishes up with another killed MaA and moves a skeleton into a victory area. We end the round at 47-47 points. I win the tiebreaker thanks to my Couatl covering the center!
What a game that was. Robert played well as usual. I was able to win only because I killed those initial skeletons in the early rounds that I was able to match his points. He also lost points when he moved the Chrall off the victory area in round three to kill Yondalla. If he had moved the Orc Raider sooner, things would have ended up differently. He also missed a critical attack on a MaA with a Chrall. I really lucked out in this game.
Round 7:
LE 12 activations (Jason Lioi - Fenris)
Human Blackguard
Chrall x3
Green Dragon
Warrior Skeleton x7
Coming into this round, I was all smiles. I knew I would make top eight at this point so I relaxed quite a bit. Jason is a friend of mine and a darn good player. He was playing the Chrall hate band also and I was looking at another loss. We could not take a draw since that would not guarantee Jason in the top 8 so we played it out. In the opening round, I had side B. Near the beginning, Jason flew the green dragon into the northeast victory area where two of my MaA’s had jumped into. I rashly decided to go and try to kill it. I moved the LSD into base to base contact with it and moved the Couatl close behind. I win the next init and wail on the dragon but it makes its rout check. It then breathes killing two MaA’s (and Yondalla?) then flies off with only 5 hit points left after the AoO. I eventually kill it with another MaA but the damage is done. He keeps the victory point advantage while I try desperately to kill off the commander. I know the game hinges on the commander so I even risk three AoO’s from three Chralls on the Couatl to kill the blackguard. The Couatl does not survive and now I am out of command. I still come very close to getting the blackguard however, but Jason protected him well. The last chance I have to kill him requires winning an init roll. He wins with his +6 advantage and the game is over. We played 6 rounds in which I scored no victory area points and he scored 60! I am sure Jason will be better able to elaborate this game (I’m getting tired of all this reporting).
Round 8 (Quarter finals):
LE 14 activations (Dwayne Stupack - Tried)
Orog Warlord
Chrall x3
Orc Savage
Orc Berserker
Warrior Skeleton x7
Goblin Skirmisher
Virtually the same band as Roberts and Jason’s, I fear another loss. I knew coming into the tournament that I might be able to get my LSD band into the finals but once there I would probably lose. Dwayne is another SoCal friend of mine and we were unfortunately paired. I had side A and things opened up as usual. Dwayne moved up his Chralls but kept them spaced out and blocking pathways. I advanced as far as I could and prepared an attack on a Chrall. I was able to wound one pretty good and with the Couatl cause a rout check but it made the save. It continued on towards my fodder units to tried to kill Yondalla but missed its first attack. I was forced to continue the attack on the wounded Chrall with the LSD while my Couatl put herself in harms way gaining victory points. In the following rounds, the Chrall breathes on Yondalla and she survives and does not rout. This gives me more time to work on the wounded Chrall which is about one hit away from death. Meanwhile the Couatl is slowly taking damage from the skeletons and Chrall in the area. The Orog is also getting ready to attack her. I finally kill the Chrall and an orc berserker and am doing well on points. I have moved the Couatl into the northeast victory area room but am continually being harassed by a Chrall and Orog. In the fourth round, I was forced to vacate the room and was going to lose victory points so I risked an AoO on a MaA from a goblin skirmisher, which put him in another victory area. Then I killed the goblin. I moved the Couatl out of the northeast room and ran it as far away as possible. The Couatl was around 40 damage and had made its rout check. Unfortunately, I lost the last round’s initiative and the Orog was able to charge and hit followed by the Chrall which kept chasing me. Once the Couatl was dead, I was out of command and the game was lost. If I won the initiative, I think I win the game since I will be able to move of the LSD to protect the Couatl while it heals itself. It was a good and game and I had a chance to win so I feel I did well. Dwayne is a good friend and good player, I am glad to have reach the final 8 and glad to see Dwayne move on.
All in all it was a fun tournament and a great experience for the whole SoCal crew. Dwayne remarked a little after I lost the game that I should be proud to have brought Lidda, Halfing Rogue all the way to the finals! Go Lidda!
I did not take as extensive notes as some of the other players in the tournament (namely Derry) so I hope he will be able to report some of his games as well. My apologies to those I played if I cannot recall the exact details with perfect clarity. Feel free to correct any of my mistaken references.
For the record, I went into the tournament undecided what to play. I was thinking about the strong Orog/Chrall x3 band but I had no experience playing it (only against it). I was also considering a version of the Couatl/Justice Archon x4 band but I simply could not make up my mind. Derry said I should run the LSD and I have had quite a number of winning games with it under my belt so I decided Friday night to play it.
I played a 10 activation LG warband:
Couatl
Cleric of Yondalla
Large Silver Dragon
Lidda, Halfing Rogue (Go Lidda!)
Men-at-Arms x6
After the Vista qualifier in which I got spanked and with the help of Tried, I realized the need for the second commander instead of an AC buff. Since then, the warband, when played correctly, has done very well. It still has its weaknesses and tough match-ups, but with a little luck and good play, it becomes a tier 1 contender.
Round 1:
CG 10 activations (Jason Bulmahn)
Inspiring Marshal
Frenzied Berserker
Goliath Barbarian
Celestial Pegasus
Elf Pyromancer
Gray Cloak Ranger
Wolf
Xeph x3
I think he won initiative and chose side B to set up in. I prepared for a fireball by spacing out my fodder and divided them between the two side A start areas. I won the 1st initiative and was able to move the LSD/Couatl last. I pushed down the left (east) side with both units as far as possible. I was hoping to win the next init and catch the commander and pyromancer in a breath weapon. He wins second round initiative and uses the grant move action to flank the LSD with the FB and the Pegasus. He then gets the Goliath Barbarian on the Couatl. His second action was to attack the Couatl with the GB and I thinks hits it. On my action, I run the LSD to within range of the commander and used the cold breath. The LSD was damaged by the FB in the AoO. The IM saves and takes only 15 damage (on 1st turn the FB got the cold immunity spell from Pyromancer). The Elf Pyromancer and Gray Cloak Ranger are not so lucky and are eliminated. Since the commander is the key to my victory, I use the Couatl to double move and base it so I can get a AoO if it moves later on. The rest of the round, the FB gets another attack on the LSD for another 30 damage. The Pegasus and GB were out of command and unable to do much. On round three I win init again and paralyze the FB and IM. The Couatl finishes the IM. After that, the game was pretty much over. I stayed away from the remaining out of command units for as long as possible while earning victory points. In the end, I had 20 victory points from map scoring areas to his 30. We had 5-6 rounds of play.
Round 2:
LG 10 activations (Mark Liberman)
Cleric of Dol Arrah
Couatl
Justice Archon x3
Azer
Man-at-Arms x4
I was on side B this time and assumed a stong presence with the LSD which is not so afraid of the JA’s. However, I greatly feared the CoDA and its dismissal spell which would be a 50/50 shot at 42 points! I played defensively with my Couatl and always kept one activation or more away from the CoDA’s threat range. Early on in the game, he offered me a JA sacrifice which I accepted and used the cold breath weapon on it. It was out of command and out of protection range from his Couatl. It missed its save and started routing and just missed the exit point. By the next round, he brought in another JA (the last was killing off my fodder units) and rallied the routing JA. I used paralysis on the new JA and the enemy Couatl and paralyzed them both. At that point I moved up my own Couatl for some spell action on the weakened JA. By round three I killed one JA and an another was gravely wounded. Points were still close since he was killing off my fodder and had a 10 victory point advantage. I tried to get his Couatl and then the wounded JA but he easily kept winning initiatives and moved them out of threat range (he also unparalyzed them). Eventually I based the wounded pair but the CoDA healed his Couatl to near full. By the last round, I was forced to move my Couatl to give my LSD a free attack, which put the wounded JA one hit from death. Instead of healing the JA and moving away, which would have won him the game, he moved the CoDA into spell range and tried to dismiss my Couatl. I made the save and then killed a second JA securing my point advantage. Final victory points from map areas were 50 for me, and 60 for him. We played 7 rounds.
Round 3:
CE 12 activations (Francis Delisle)
Tiefling Captain
Red Samurai x2
Ogre Ravager x2
Abyssal Maw
Orc Warrior x6
I had side A this game and we started in opposite corners. In the opening moves, Francis played very defensively securing a nice hole for his Tiefling and making sure that a large figure could not base him. He hid in the 3x2 alcove facing the spider altar in the map. I was able to pick off an Orc Warrior with Lidda with a well placed shot. His hitters were very close by so he moved up a red sam to prevent me from doing that again. I moved the LSD and Couatl with all speed to prepare for an attack. By round two I moved the LSD into the small victory area of side A while a pair of MaA’s headed for the room. He dispatched a red sam to deal with the two MaA’s and since he still had activation control, moved an ogre close within a single move’s worth of my Couatl. I win the key round 3 initiative and use the Couatl to pick off a single orc thereby allowing my LSD to fit snugly in its space. The LSD used the cold breath weapon and killed a few orcs but the Tiefling saves! He returns the favor with some damage on the LSD. Again I win the next round initiative and proceed to paralyze an orc, the Tiefling, a red sam and one of the the ogres. My Couatl moves up and gives the dragon a free attack on the paralyzed sam. He returns the favor by getting a critical hit on the Couatl and killing it (ouch). However, over the next 5 or so rounds, he cannot unparalyze the Tiefling leaving him out of command. I tie up the other red sam with MaA’s and finish off the paralyzed one. He gets some more damage on the LSD and gets the other ogre unparalyzed. By then I have some more MaA’s coming up the right side and getting victory area points. I retreat the LSD after finishing off a red sam and wait out the other slowly moving heavy hitters. Eventually the Tiefling does make a successful save but it is too late. Time is called and I win on victory points. Overall I had 80 victory area points to his 50. We played 10 rounds.
On a side note, Francis was one of the many players from Montreal we made friends with. Francis, thanks for the fun games and great attitude. I look forward to seeing you again.
Round 4:
CE 11 activations (Sebastian Poupart)
Tiefling Captain
Eye of Gruumsh
Ogre Ravager
Orc Champion x2
Orc Warrior x6
I have side B in this game that looks like a tough fight for me. He starts his force split with half his units in each area. The eye and ogre are in the left area (statues) and the two Orc Champions in the right. I chose the right side of the map in area B to set up in after he does. I do this to keep his slower ogre from reaching me any quicker than he already will. On round one I push down the east side of the map (assuming side B is north side) looking to kill the Tiefling easily. He advances and spreads out his units very well. I cannot get a breath weapon on more that one of the champions. I probably should have delayed the attack at this point until he moved closer but since Lidda got me activation control with a quick kill of an orc warrior, I choose to attack. I move in and enage at the end of round two with the LSD and a cold breath weapon. I only get one champ but he fails his save. The Couatl moves into the victory area and gives the LSD a free attack and the champ routs off the map. I pay for this action the next round when he moves in the other champ and the eye with the ogre just a round behind. I think he missed the initial attack with the eye but does hit twice with the champ including a critical! Next I use paralysis and catch the eye and the Tiefling. I have two MaA’s in the area so they immediately work on the eye. The Couatl helps. I suffer some more damage on the LSD but only from the champ, the ogre cannot hit. We fight a round or two more and the eye is dead and the champ is seriously wounded (it made its morale check). He wins a key initiative for me and kills the LSD. Looks like its gonna be a loss for me. In the last round, he moves his champ away so I cannot kill it and the ogre moves in. The Tiefling is also wounded from MaA hits and nearby. I decide to continue gaining victory area points and fly the Couatl into the magic circle. Time is called and we add up the points. I have a good advantage there. Sebastian was able to get an orc into scoring position in round 2 but I killed it off with MaA’s. After that, his entire force was used to attack the LSD and he scored no points from then on. In the end I had 50 victory area points to his 10. The 40 point difference was as if I had killed that last champ. I win by 12 points or so, about 152 to 140. We played 7 rounds. If Sebastian had kept better track of point totals, he would likely have won. He played well in any regard. It was a tough fight and good game.
Round 5:
LE 12 activations (Shiu-Yik Au)
Urthok
Snig
Chrall
Efreet x2
Dark Moon Monk
Blue
Goblin Skirmishers x4
Warrior Skeleton
This was another tough game and another good player. I went into the match thinking I would do fine again the efreet’s but things were tougher than they first appeared. Shiu-Yik had side A and split his efreet’s between the two areas. I knew I just had to get one of them in a breath weapon. He knew that it was gonna happen, so it best happen where he wanted. I committed the LSD and Couatl as much as possible on the 1st round and by round two was able to get that breath weapon off on one Efreet. It saved on the breath weapon so I had to move up the Couatl to launch a spell at it causing it make a moral check, which it failed and then promptly routed. My plan was to retreat at this point but he swarmed the LSD with EVERYTHING! It was a mad dash to kill the beast and it was working! He won the next round and dropped the LSD to below half! I was beginning to get very afraid. My one advantage was that Shiu was playing a little too slowly. I was not fast by any means either since there was so much going on in that fight, but if he played faster things may have gone his way. I think the LSD stuck out one more round killing Snig before bailing. I may have won the next init and would have retreated much farther but Shiu resigned seeing the inevitable conclusion. It was a bad match-up for him but he certainly played it well. I had 20 victory area points to his 30 in the end. We played 4-5 rounds.
Round 6:
LE 14 activations (Robert Hatch – Dagni)
Orog Warlord
Chrall x3
Orc Raider
Orc Warrior
Warrior Skeleton x8
This was by far the best game of the event and the whole convention. Robert is an excellent player and this was a bad match-up for me. A Chrall takes forever to kill and he has enough activations that he can protect the commander, easily kill my fodder, and get victory area points. I am feeling I have little chance to pull out a victory this time. We momentarily considered a draw in order to better our chances in getting to the final 8 but decided against it. I won the first init and started in area B.
The first round went as expected. I advanced the LSD and Couatl as far as possible after giving the LSD magic weapon and based a single Chrall. My remaining units spread out as much as they could so as not to give him too much in a breath weapon. I was able to kill off a skeleton with Lidda, which he forgot I could do (my one opening bonus). He advanced all three Chralls and set up his skeletons to protect his commander and limit the movement reach of my LSD. He curiously did not advance the Orc Raider probably so I would not get an easy kill out of it. On round two, I win initiative again and dig into the Chrall with my LSD. I think I hit three times and the Couatl does another 15 damage causing a rout check. The Chrall fails and narrowly missed the exit point. We both continue to advance units. He gains victory points this turn with a Chrall while mine continue to spread out and slowly plod forward. He rallies the routing Chrall. My plan is to kill the wounded Chrall for points but it still seems hopeless since he will easily be able to kill off my fodder and already has a victory point advantage. On round three he kills my Cleric of Yondalla and a MaA but moves off victory points to do so. His other units are too far off to gain points and I have turned my attention to his commander as I killed a few skeletons. On round four I am working on killing that wounded Chrall again since his commander continues to stay out of harms way. His out of command Chrall cannot get back to Victory area points but I do as I look to kill his Orc Raider. He retreats the raider so I cannot kill it but the Couatl bites him and he gets poisoned. Meanwhile, the LSD has could not kill the wounded Chrall which escapes so I position the LSD to kill the an Orc Warrior and the Orc Raider in the magic circle. Time is running out and I am urging Robert to complete the round. We start round 5 with 10-15 seconds to spare. He wins the initiative and moves a Chrall around the back side of the room with victory area A and kills a MaA. Another Chrall moves up to kill a MaA on the other side of the map but he misses. On my action, I review the point totals. He has 34 points in kills/victory area and I have 19. I can see that Robert can only, at best, kill another MaA and score 10 more victory area points bringing him to 47 at the end of the round. My LSD is in base to base contact with an orc and a skeleton while the Orc Raider is just out of reach but within breath weapon range. That was 19 points staring at me with another 10 from the victory area. Those points would exactly reach 47! What to do? If the LSD breathes, the Skeleton is immune. I knew the Orc Raider would have to made a rout check when it activated (poisoned) but Robert could move the Orog within range to give it a decent chance of making. I had to insure the raider would die. The LSD was within range of the Couatl so I cast snake’s swiftness and the LSD killed the skeleton. Then the Couatl moved to cover the two center squares of the map to prevent the nearby Orog from getting there. The Couatl was just within range too! The LSD then breathes and kills the two remaining orcs. Robert finishes up with another killed MaA and moves a skeleton into a victory area. We end the round at 47-47 points. I win the tiebreaker thanks to my Couatl covering the center!
What a game that was. Robert played well as usual. I was able to win only because I killed those initial skeletons in the early rounds that I was able to match his points. He also lost points when he moved the Chrall off the victory area in round three to kill Yondalla. If he had moved the Orc Raider sooner, things would have ended up differently. He also missed a critical attack on a MaA with a Chrall. I really lucked out in this game.
Round 7:
LE 12 activations (Jason Lioi - Fenris)
Human Blackguard
Chrall x3
Green Dragon
Warrior Skeleton x7
Coming into this round, I was all smiles. I knew I would make top eight at this point so I relaxed quite a bit. Jason is a friend of mine and a darn good player. He was playing the Chrall hate band also and I was looking at another loss. We could not take a draw since that would not guarantee Jason in the top 8 so we played it out. In the opening round, I had side B. Near the beginning, Jason flew the green dragon into the northeast victory area where two of my MaA’s had jumped into. I rashly decided to go and try to kill it. I moved the LSD into base to base contact with it and moved the Couatl close behind. I win the next init and wail on the dragon but it makes its rout check. It then breathes killing two MaA’s (and Yondalla?) then flies off with only 5 hit points left after the AoO. I eventually kill it with another MaA but the damage is done. He keeps the victory point advantage while I try desperately to kill off the commander. I know the game hinges on the commander so I even risk three AoO’s from three Chralls on the Couatl to kill the blackguard. The Couatl does not survive and now I am out of command. I still come very close to getting the blackguard however, but Jason protected him well. The last chance I have to kill him requires winning an init roll. He wins with his +6 advantage and the game is over. We played 6 rounds in which I scored no victory area points and he scored 60! I am sure Jason will be better able to elaborate this game (I’m getting tired of all this reporting).
Round 8 (Quarter finals):
LE 14 activations (Dwayne Stupack - Tried)
Orog Warlord
Chrall x3
Orc Savage
Orc Berserker
Warrior Skeleton x7
Goblin Skirmisher
Virtually the same band as Roberts and Jason’s, I fear another loss. I knew coming into the tournament that I might be able to get my LSD band into the finals but once there I would probably lose. Dwayne is another SoCal friend of mine and we were unfortunately paired. I had side A and things opened up as usual. Dwayne moved up his Chralls but kept them spaced out and blocking pathways. I advanced as far as I could and prepared an attack on a Chrall. I was able to wound one pretty good and with the Couatl cause a rout check but it made the save. It continued on towards my fodder units to tried to kill Yondalla but missed its first attack. I was forced to continue the attack on the wounded Chrall with the LSD while my Couatl put herself in harms way gaining victory points. In the following rounds, the Chrall breathes on Yondalla and she survives and does not rout. This gives me more time to work on the wounded Chrall which is about one hit away from death. Meanwhile the Couatl is slowly taking damage from the skeletons and Chrall in the area. The Orog is also getting ready to attack her. I finally kill the Chrall and an orc berserker and am doing well on points. I have moved the Couatl into the northeast victory area room but am continually being harassed by a Chrall and Orog. In the fourth round, I was forced to vacate the room and was going to lose victory points so I risked an AoO on a MaA from a goblin skirmisher, which put him in another victory area. Then I killed the goblin. I moved the Couatl out of the northeast room and ran it as far away as possible. The Couatl was around 40 damage and had made its rout check. Unfortunately, I lost the last round’s initiative and the Orog was able to charge and hit followed by the Chrall which kept chasing me. Once the Couatl was dead, I was out of command and the game was lost. If I won the initiative, I think I win the game since I will be able to move of the LSD to protect the Couatl while it heals itself. It was a good and game and I had a chance to win so I feel I did well. Dwayne is a good friend and good player, I am glad to have reach the final 8 and glad to see Dwayne move on.
All in all it was a fun tournament and a great experience for the whole SoCal crew. Dwayne remarked a little after I lost the game that I should be proud to have brought Lidda, Halfing Rogue all the way to the finals! Go Lidda!