Final Preparations for the Black Sheep Brawl IV and Display Board Fail

Hey everyone,

So Black Sheep Brawl is tomorrow and as a true wargamer I'm up late the night before putting the finishing touches on my army.

I started this week by making movement trays that were ...too big (sigh).
Here are the WIP's:

Once they were flocked I moved on to the display board:
Before:

After:

So after that FAIL, we go to old faithful!
Now to decide which staging to use?

1.

2.

3.

So with this decision pending, I will go to bed!

Tomorrow we engage in THE BLACK SHEEP BRAWL IV!

I will be drinking from my Black Sheep Brawl I mug all day.

Let's see if I can't get a matching 2015 one!

Black Sheep Brawl IV List

It's t-minus 2 weeks until the 4th annual Black Sheep Brawl and I can't wait.  I'll be bringing Wood Elves once again and if we go by Swedish Comp score its a measly 16!

Going to focus on eliminating specific units and characters per turn and take advantage of the close combat options that my army provides.  We'll see how the anti-meta spars off against the current meta.

2400 Pts - Wood Elves Roster

Glade Lord (1#, 248 pts)

1 Glade Lord, 248 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Asrai Longbow; Shield; Arcane Bodkins; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; The Arrow of Kurnous; Volley Fire)

1 Giant Blade

1 Armour of Fortune

Spellweaver (1#, 270 pts)

1 Spellweaver, 270 pts (Level 4 Wizard; Hand Weapon; Always Strikes First; Blessings of the Ancients; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider)

1 Talisman of Endurance

1 The Lore of Shadow

1 Elven Steed (Fast Cavalry; Swiftstride; Vanguard)

Glade Captain (1#, 158 pts)

1 Glade Captain, 158 pts (Battle Standard Bearer; Hand Weapon; Asrai Longbow; Great Weapon; Starfire Shafts; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; The Arrow of Kurnous; Always Strikes Last; Armour Piercing; Flaming Attacks; Volley Fire)

1 Armour of Destiny

Waystalker (1#, 110 pts)

1 Waystalker, 110 pts (Two Hand Weapons; Asrai Longbow; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Hawk-eyed Archer; Scouts; Sniper)

1 The Bow of Loren (Armour Piercing; Multiple Shots (A+1); Volley Fire)

Eternal Guard (19#, 258 pts)

18 Eternal Guard, 258 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Asrai Spear; Light Armour; Shield; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Stubborn; Armour Piercing; Fight in Extra Ranks)

1 Eternal Warden (Hand Weapon; Asrai Spear; Light Armour; Shield; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Stubborn; Armour Piercing; Fight in Extra Ranks)

Glade Guard (12#, 200 pts)

12 Glade Guard, 200 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Asrai Longbow; Trueflight Arrows; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Armour Piercing; Volley Fire)

Glade Guard (12#, 200 pts)

12 Glade Guard, 200 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Asrai Longbow; Trueflight Arrows; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Armour Piercing; Volley Fire)

Sisters of the Thorn (5#, 140 pts)

5 Sisters of the Thorn, 140 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Level 2 Wizard; Hand Weapon; Blackbriar Javelin; Always Strikes First; Daughters of Eternity; Deepwood Coven; Fast Cavalry; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Poisoned Attacks; Swiftstride; Vanguard; Armour Piercing; Poisoned Attacks)

5 Steed of Isha

Wildwood Rangers (20#, 260 pts)

19 Wildwood Rangers, 260 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Light Armour; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Guardians of the Wildwood; Immune to Psychology; Always Strikes Last)

1 Wildwood Warden (Great Weapon; Light Armour; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Guardians of the Wildwood; Immune to Psychology; Always Strikes Last)

1 Banner of Eternal Flame (Flaming Attacks)

Wild Riders (6#, 178 pts)

6 Wild Riders, 178 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Asrai Spear; Light Armour; Shield; Always Strikes First; Devastating Charge; Extra Attack; Fast Cavalry; Fear; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Frenzy; Immune to Psychology; Swiftstride; Talismanic Tattoos; Vanguard; Armour Piercing)

6 Steed of Kurnous (Extra Attack; Frenzy; Immune to Psychology)

Wild Riders (6#, 178 pts)

6 Wild Riders, 178 pts (Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Asrai Spear; Light Armour; Shield; Always Strikes First; Devastating Charge; Extra Attack; Fast Cavalry; Fear; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Frenzy; Immune to Psychology; Swiftstride; Talismanic Tattoos; Vanguard; Armour Piercing)

6 Steed of Kurnous (Extra Attack; Frenzy; Immune to Psychology)

Waywatchers (10#, 200 pts)

10 Waywatchers, 200 pts (Two Hand Weapons; Asrai Longbow; Always Strikes First; Forest Stalker; Forest Strider; Hawk-eyed Archer; Scouts; Skirmishers; Armour Piercing; Extra Attack; Volley Fire)

Validation Report:

Edition: 8th Edition; Game Type: Normal Game; Special Rules: Allow Warhammer Forge; File Version: 2.88; Army Subtype: Wood Elves Army

There are multiple instances of Trueflight Arrows in your army. Since this is subject of debate, be sure to check that your opponent is fine with it.

Composition Report:

Points of Lords: 518 (0 - 1200)

Points of Heroes: 268 (0 - 1200)

Points of Core: 658 (600 - Unlimited)

Points of Special: 756 (0 - 1200)

Points of Rare: 200 (0 - 600)

Total Roster Cost: 2400

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

Black Sheep Brawl 2013 - Registration Open

The Order of the Black Sheep have opened registration for their 2nd Annual Black Sheep Brawl for Warhammer Fantasy.  Last year was the first year for the event where yours truly walked away with Best Overall with the Wood Elves.  I fully recommend everyone taking part in this event but act fast because there are only 42 slots available for this event.

The Order of the Black Sheep will also make an appearance on Episode 27 of The Deployment Zone podcast to promote their event and talk about the success of last year's tournament. 

The plan is to partake in the event this year with the Bretonnians or Beastmen at 2400 points but we'll see how things work out after my twin daughters are born on Dec. 18th. 

Therefore if I am able to compete in the event this year, I will welcome a challenge for the title.  After all, people don't want to crown my Grand Champion two years in a row, I would be insufferable!

So ask your wives and set aside time off to make it to the Red Lion in Salem, Oregon on January 19-20 of 2013!

Black Sheep Brawl - Tournament Results!

This weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the first annual Black Sheep Brawl at Borderlands Games in Salem, OR.  Chris Bailey and Paul Wilworth of the Order of the Black Sheep gaming club organized and ran this 2400 point Warhammer Fantasy tournament.  The event was filled to capacity with 32 players and had a fairly diverse assembly of armies.  The Brawl was a three round tournament that used the standard basic rule book scenarios with a few modifications.  My cohosts from The Deployment Zone Podcast and I as well as a large number of the Ordo Fanaticus gaming club were in attendance at the event.  We will be putting out a special 6.5 episode which covers the Brawl.

I chose to bring my Wood Elves since there was going to be a painting portion in the overall judging and also because it's my favorite army.  As I mentioned earlier, there was a fairly diverse group of armies that showed up to the event and oddly enough there were seven dwarf armies present (ungh).  I believe every army was present with the exception of Beastmen and Dark Elves.  The tournament was  roaring success and the energy and attitude was both very, very good.  Everyone at the event had a good time and Chris managed to garner a rather large amount of prize support for the event.  There were several prizes and awards given out at the end of the tournament and I personally look forward to the next Brawl.
My list for the Black Sheep Brawl:
Highborn, extra hand weapon, Bow of Loren, Arcane Bodkins, Scout Kindred
10 Waywatchers
14 Glade Guard w/ Standard Bearer and Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame
14 Glade Guard w/ Standard Bearer and Musician
10 Dryads w/ Branch Nymph
6 Wild Riderds w/ full command
6 Treekin
1 Great Eagle
1 Great Eagle
Level 4 Spellweaver, Rageth's Blades, Rhymer's Harp, Lore of Life
Noble, BSB, Asendyl's Bane, Dragon Helm, Light Armor, Hail of Doom Arrow
18 Eternal Guard w/ full command

My first opponent was Tim (TJP on the Ordo forums) and his Warriors of Chaos army.
His army was composed of the following:
Level 4 Sorcerer Lord - Nurgle
Level 2 Sorcerer
20 Marauders, full command
Hellcannon
Warshrine
18 Warriors w/ Mark of Khorne and Extra hand weapons
18 Warriors w/ Mark of Tzeentch and Halberds and a BSB Hero
2 x5 Marauder Horsemen
3 Trolls
5 Warhounds

The first scenario was the Battle of the Pass that had an additional scenario rule that the Donkey Keg Cart worth 500 vps at the end of the game if you have possession of it at the end of the game.  The deployment for the Warriors of Chaos was primarily centralized near the center.  I think Tim's strategy was to control the center and surround the cart.  I deployed heavily to in the center so that I could easily swing to the right and own the flank.  Tim got first turn and at first the game was swinging his way until the bottom of round 2 when he lost both units of Marauder Horsemen, his Warhounds, and his Level 4 on the disc.  Over the course of 4 more rounds Tim had everything except his Warshrine and his Battle Standard Bearer slain and I scored a victory with 2532 vps to 713.  Tim was a great opponent who also pointed out a rule that I had been incorrectly playing which was that flying units may charge over others.  That adds a whole new level of annoyance to my strategies!

The second game I played against John and his Warriors of Chaos.  He had a substantially different list than Tim and this game was played on the second table.  John had the following units in his army:
1 Level 4 Sorcerer Lord on a Disc
1 Level 2 Sorcerer Lord on a Disc
30 Warriors of Chaos with halberds, Blasted Standard and Mark of Tzeentch
30 Chosen of Chaos with halberds, Banner of Rage and Mark of Tzeentch
1 BSB Exalted Hero
2 Warshrines

The second scenario was the first battle mission - Battle Line with all terrain being mysterious.  A river bisected the table and successfully split the board.  John deployed his Chosen on one side of the table and his 2 sorcerers, warshrines and his Warriors on the other.  I set up almost my entire army in the center and left side of my deployment zone.  My goal was to avoid his Chosen and pick apart his army and deal with the Chosen last.  The double war shrine was pretty tough since he was able to augment his Chosen twice a turn and give them some serious punch.  In the first turn I managed to slay his General on the disc then I Dwellers Below'd his unit of Warriors reducing them by 17.  The Chaos Sorcerer on a disc and Warshrine paniced and ran through the unit of Chaos Warriors causing them to flee.  The next turn my Great Eagles ran off 2 units off the board while the Chosen continued to march toward their targets - my archers.  In the end I managed to destroy everything in his army except the Chosen who I fed a unit of Glade Guard and 2 Eagles and my Wild Riders to keep them from running through the army.  I ended up scoring a victory with 1600 vps to 713.  Thank you for the fun game John!

The third game was played on the second table again and this time instead of Warriors of Chaos I got to fight John's brother Chad and his Chaos Dwarves.  This was a seriously fun game and I got to see just how strong the new Chaos Dwarf army was.  The scenario was the Blood and Glory mission with the addition of three to four smoke elementals that provided cover modifiers to shooting and when charging or fleeing you rolled an additional dice and discarded the highest if you charged through it.  The smoke elementals drifted 1d6 per turn.
Chad decided to bring the following:
Level 3 Sorcerer Prophet on Bale Taurus
2 Level 2 Daemonsmiths
2 Dreadquake Mortars
12 Infernal Guard w/ Fireglaives
30 Internal Guard w/ Great Weapons
Castellan BSB
8 Bull Centaurs

Once again I did not get first turn and got to see first hand how powerful the Dreadquake Mortars are as they shelled and caused my Treekin, Glade Guard and Waywatchers to stay put for the first turn.  The Dreadquake Mortar causing all of my affected units to take Dangerous Terrain tests whenever I moved is crippling to the Wood Elf army since mobility and movement is one of their strengths.  On my turn I managed to charge his Bull Centaurs in the flank with my Wild Riders and hit his General on the Taurus with my Eternal Guard.  My Spellweaver Dwellered half of his Infernal Guard with the BSB in it reducing them by 13 models, and I caused his Bull Centaurs and General to flee combat costing Chad one of his standards.  Turn 2 reduced my Treekin down to three models and he managed to reduce one of my Glade Guard units by 4.  The bottom of turn 2 resulted in the General being charged, challenged and caught as he fled combat which provided me with a 720 to 0 victory over the Chaos Dwarves.

The tournament results were listed here.  I went 3-0 through the entire tournament and ended up winning Best Overall and was crowned Grand Champion of the Black Sheep Brawl 2012!
This was the Trophy I received:

The results:
Winners:
Overall: John Kersey - Lord of Awesome
Brush Master: Moses Jones
Exalted General: Maurice Maynard
Most Excellent Opponent: Ellie


I would like to thank Chris and Paul and all the others for running an excellent tournament and I had an absolute blast.  I am also pleased that the Wood Elves made a killer showing and winning the entire tournament was an excellent way to start the new year!

The next day my Alabama Crimson Tide won the National Championship over LSU!  ROLL TIDE!!!

Holiday Havoc - 3k Tournament for Toys for Tots

This past Saturday I participated in the Holiday Havoc Toys for Tots tournament at Dice Age Games in Vancouver, WA.  It was a small tournament only having ten players, I would have liked to have seen more but I think due to scheduling and the holiday season that we could only get what we could.  The tournament was based off the holidays and so each scenario was designed with a holiday theme associated with it.  The tournament organizer Jim, did an excellent job of setting up the tables and pre-labeling the Mysterious Terrain.

The tournament had the following qualifications/restrictions/features:
1. Closed list - I rarely play against someone and not exchange lists before hand so this was a tad bit weird for me.  It didn't matter however since all my opponents and I exchanged lists anyway out of habit.
2.  Pre-determined mysterious terrain.  Each table had the terrain already established and a key was placed on each table.
3.  3000 points, no Grand Army Rules.  (Perhaps my favorite feature of the entire tournament)
4.  Everyone needed to bring a Christmas themed model to be their Santa's Helper.  I had a Snoopy wearing a Santa hat for mine. He was righteous.
5.  Everyone had to pay $20 in the form of a toy for Toys for Tots or you could buy one of the predetermined Toys at the store as well.

The other big thing I wanted to establish was that this was termed a "Friendly tournament" where we are grading Sportsmanship as an important factor. The prize support was entirely based off raffle tickets rather than "so and so won all his games so he gets the prize".  It really helped create a more friendly atmosphere for the tournament in general.

Since the tournament was a "Closed List" tournament, I was not able to obtain my opponent's lists.  That makes it hard when I'm attempting to recreate the lists in Battle Chronicler so I'll have to do a shoddy summary for all three games.  If my opponents send me their lists via the Ordo website then I'll do another report where I  show some battle scenes.  I realize it would be 1000x easier to do this if I took pictures but my god damn SD card got fried on my phone and SanDisk is slower than hell getting me a replacement. grrr.....

All three scenarios can be seen here since Raindog managed to obtain 3 copies of the scenarios and posted them on the Ordo.  They can be found here along with some pictures taken.

Game 1: Wood Elves vs. Lizardmen

This scenario was "Battle for the Pass".
The Special Rules: Each player had a Santa Statue in their deployment zone.  You needed to capture your opponents while still maintaining control of yours.

Lizardmen are a tough army against opponents with high strength.  They are exceptionally difficult for Wood Elves to defeat when they have big blocks of models and lots of monsters.  My opponent Mike and I had a great time, it was a really close game til the last turn where he managed to turn the tide with his general.

This game I set up with all my flying units and fast cavalry on the left flank and the rest of my army near the right center. When it became my turn I shifted all my army to the right side and decided to overpower and dominate his flank.  This tactic was working out very well and I was confident of a victory until my opponent got Throne of Vines off and then Flesh to Stone at +4 Toughness two turns in a row on a unit of Saurus Warriors.  My plan had been to blow through that unit, reform and hit his Temple Guard in the rear with Treekin/Eagles and hopefully wipe out the left and center flank.  Sadly, my Treekin were not able to break the unit until the last turn.   My Eternal Guard, Treeman and Dryads were grinding against one of his Ancient Stegadons and his general on a carnosaur.  Mike secured victory in the last turn by killing the last Eternal Guard at the top of turn 6 and his General using the Blade of Realities slaying my toughness 10 Treeman by scoring a single wound.

I lost this game because of 3 major factors:
1.  I did not want to annihilate my sportsmanship score by shooting his General off his carnosaur turn 1.  I should have done this because the Blade of Realities was perhaps the most deciding factor of our game.  Oh well =).
2.  I wasn't able to prevent Throne of Vines and Flesh to Stone from being cast 2 consecutive times in a row which was absolutely brutal.  I can't complain much because this is the same tactic I use on my Treekin to make them Toughness 9.  Huge, huge help to my opponent getting those spells off.
3.  I should have maneuvered my Wild Riders into a better position because I threw a 296 point unit into a block of Temple Guard unsupported due to overrun.

Overall, it was a few errors in judgement but a great game nonetheless.

Wood Elves lost 16-5 by a 400 point victory margin.

Game 2: Wood Elves vs. Orcs and Goblins

The scenario was "Watchtower".
The Special Rules:  The watchtower was Santa's sleigh and if you controlled it you were able to have it attack for you.  Those reindeer don't mess around.  The sleigh functions as both the Watchtower and an Oathstone.

I have a love/hate relationship with Orcs and Goblins.  I either completely annihilate them or I get thrashed.  I played against Matt who brought a rather impressively balanced Orcs and Goblins army.  He brought 2 Giants and 2 units of Black Orcs in it.

I once again set up on the left side and had the intention of dominating a flank and getting behind my opponent's lines.  This game I was playing rather aggressively but I made so many errors in judgement and had some pretty monumentally bad rolls that cost my the utilization of 1/4th my army for most of the game.  I started out pretty well on his left side, killing one unit and causing panic for a few others and having them run off the board.  I unfortunately didn't read the table rules about the special terrain and ended up losing half my unit of Waywatchers to a Sinister statue, that was a huge issue.  That was my first of three big mistakes in the first turn which haunted my the rest of the game.  The second came when I flew my Spellweaver over and she attempted to Dwellers Below his unit of Night Goblins.  I failed the casting attempt and ended up taking 2 wounds from a Spear Chukka and she died the next round from a Doom Diver.  The third and final error was misunderstanding where the Flaming Banner was and charging the unit with his general and 20 black orcs with flaming attacks with my Treekin.    Matt was able to get a lot of good charges off and his Night Goblins were dynamite at holding up my Wild Riders for 4 turns.
I also learned a new rule - you get +1 combat ress for holding the higher ground!
My archers also decided to almost all run off the table in the same turn, was rather sad =(.

I was doing very well in the beginning and it was beginning to look like I might break his army along one of the flanks until a few major errors in judgement happened.  In the end I lost, he still had his unit of 50 boys, an orc chariot, a unit of Night Goblins and other unit of Black Orcs on the board while I only had my Treeman, 2 eagles, 14 Glade Guard and my Wood elf hero on an eagle on the table.  Substantial victory to Matt and I had a great game.  Matt displayed a LOT of great sportsmanship and received my favored opponent choice.

I lost this game due to these factors:
1. I am always preaching about "Never single charge a unit, always combo charge, know what you are charging into, etc..".  Well... you have to practice what you preach.  Charging my Treekin unsupported into that unit of Flaming bannered Black Orcs was very ill advised.  It cost my a 390 point unit at the bottom of the second round and I was backpedaling in the center after that the entire game.
2.  I did not read the table terrain rules, I really regret doing that since I would have played a bit better on the flank and probably had more success on his flank than I did.
3.  I failed 3 crucial LD10 tests in a row.  This cost me 2 units of Glade Guard and my Waywatchers/General.  I was able to salvage one Glade Guard unit at the end but losing my ability to shoot for 3 turns crippled my army.
4.  I was too aggressive on the right flank and center.  I should have held off another turn before making my decision to control the center of the board.  Had I been able to slink around the back and get the appropriate placement I wanted I would have done a lot better.

Wood Elves lost again 18 to 7.

Game 3: Wood Elves vs. Empire.

The scenario was: "Blood and Glory".
Special Rules:  None

I played against my friend Roy's Empire army.  Roy had bunkered himself in behind a couple of fences and had spread out his army pretty well.  I decided to attack his flank when he began to Mortar the hell out of my army.  Three turns of him not rolling anything but "HIT" on the scatter die was a bit frustrating.  It was looking like I might lose the game before I even hit his line because he had reduced 4 units, 3 of which contained 6 Fortitude points down below 25%.  I was actually fleeing with my General.  The game was looking to be in Roy's favor and the Wood Elves were looking to go 0 and 3 for the first time ever in a tournament, (Hell me going 0 and 2 was a first!) until the top of turn 3 when I performed the following actions that turned the tide.
1. I discovered the Wyrding Well and began to replenish my depleted units.
2. My general rallied on a 2.
3.  I charged his 50 man block with his general and a banner with my Treeman.  He rolled 10, 10, 12 for his two leadership tests and his distance and runs off the table.
4. Treekin/Eagles/Eternal Guard defeat 2 units and cause Roy to fall below his fortitude and I win.

Wood Elves win 19-5.

Roy, Mike and I ended up winning the Raffle at the end of the tournament and I picked up this bad boy:

The tournament was an awesome and fun time, I bend my cap to Jim for running it.  I also wanted to thank Dice Age Games for hosting the tournament.  They had quite a selection and an excellent gaming space.

It was also a great mental check for me.  It was good to see that even with some really big mistakes that I shouldn't have made but I did, my army is still able to hold up pretty well even when things are not going my way.  Now I can say "I made this mistake and that mistake" etc... but that should in no way diminish my opponent's win.  They did well and I can't complain that I didn't have a good time.  I did not play my army the way I normally do and because of it I lost 2 games and almost lost a 3rd.

I'll be hopefully providing Battle Chronicler reports when my opponents send me their lists and I can show you the highlights.

I'll be going over all of these again on our podcast The Deployment Zone and thanks for reading!

Warhammer 40k Ard Boyz 2011 - Ulthwe` Eldar List

Ah, tournament day.
The feeling of sleep deprivation cause you had to get that one unit finished last night.
The gritty sensation in your eyes because you just can't wake up.
The constant yawning...
The coldness of the shower because you were so tired when your girlfriend woke you up that you didn't turn on the hot.
The bone-jarring sensation of being hit with ice cold water!
The praying that your dice don't suck.
Finally, the mad scramble to figure out where the hell you left your army last night.

TOURNAMENT DAY!!!

Anyway - I'm super tired and feel like an idiot for staying up til 3 when I had to be at the gamestore at 9 for Ard Boyz.  Here's my list for today - if I'm awake I'll try my best to do some battle reports.

Eldrad
Yriel
8 Warlocks (1 enhance, 1 embolden, 2 destructor, 4 normal)
Wave Serpent w/ Star Engines and TL Shuriken Cannons

10 Storm Guardians w/ 2 Flamers
Warlock w/ Enhance and Singing Spear
Wave Serpent w/ Star Engines and TL Shuriken Cannons


10 Storm Guardians w/ 2 Flamers
Warlock w/ Enhance and Singing Spear
Wave Serpent w/ Star Engines and TL Shuriken Cannons

5 Pathfinders

10 Wraithguard
Spiritseer w/ enhance and singing spear

10 Harlequins w/ 2 kiss, 1 fusion blaster
Troupe Master
Death Jester
Shadowseer

3 Warwalker w/ 2 Scatter Lasers

5 Dark Reapers
Exarch w/ EML and Fast Shot

2 D-Cannon support platforms


Army is divided up into 2 major wings, we'll see how it rolls out today.

Rolls out....ha!

OFCC 2011 Tournament Report

!  This year's OFCC (Ordo Fanaticus Club Challenge) has come and gone.  I have to say, it was an utter and complete blast!  This was my first time attending the event and not knowing what to really expect you can probably guess I was filled with a bit of trepidation.  Were people going to consider my playstyle douchey?  Were my dice going to completely fail me? (They did twice)  And most importantly - was I going to have fun?
Fortunately my playstyle wasn't douchey and most importantly - I had a complete blast.

I will post some battle chronicler images next post when I have time this weekend but for now I'll do a brief synopsis of my 5 games this weekend.  I like how I bring a camera with me and take pictures pre-game and then  completely forget about my camera the entire game until it's over.  Next year I'm going to just video tape the entire game and edit out 5 min synopsis of each fight.

Anyway here we go:
First off here is my army pre-game in presentation mode (next year I'm bringing a display board)

I really appreciated the remarks people made on my army.  It was very flattering to receive all the compliments and remarks of "that's awesome" or "oh man I want to play Wood Elves now!".  Thank you Ordo!

Game 1 Battle Line:  Carl's "Stupid and Frenzied Orcs & Goblins" vs. The Great Hunt
The first scenario was your classic Battle Line mission where you deploy within 12" of the table edge.  All the scenarios in this year's OFCC used that type of mission which I was not really a fan of but the games were still fun regardless.

Carl's list:
1 Savage Orc Warboss - Boar, Armor of Silvered Steel, Dawnstone, Two hand weapons
1 Savage Orc Big Boss - BSB, Boar, Dragonhelm, Fencer's Blades
1 Savage Orc Shaman - Level 2, Boar, Lucky Shrunken Head
18 Savage Orcs, Full Command, Extra hand weapon
18 Savage Orcs, Full Command, Extra hand weapon
18 Savage Orcs, Full Command, Extra hand weapon
12 Savage Orc Boar Boys - Big Uns, Extra hand weapon, full Command, Spears, Shields
6 Trolls
6 Trolls
1 Pump Wagon


I liked this list because it was similar to the Orcs & Goblins list I had made up.  Carl had first turn and moved his units into position while I did the same on mine.  I managed to kill 5 Boar Boys and had positioned myself too close hoping to score a panic test from shooting.  Sadly, John forgot that Frenzied means Immune to Psychology *sigh*.  He ended up rolling my Dryads, Glade Guard and Waywatchers in 2 turns due to my horrid 1st turn positioning.  We also laughed at how badly I was rolling.  Consistently rolling over 6 1's when I  roll more than 10 dice was just horrid.  That however didn't make up for the just over all bad decisions I made.  At the end of the game on turn 6 I had a Level 0 Spellweaver left vs. his 1 unit of Savage Orcs (under 7 models), his BSB left, and 2 units of Trolls (one with his General in it).  A solid defeat for the Wood Elves.
Mistakes made that game?
1. Forgetting about Frenzy and Immune to Psychology
2. Moving and positioning myself way too close - my opponent Carl did a wonderful job of seeing this and taking advantage of it.
3. Attacking characters instead of the unit to get combat resolution.
4. Not pursuing units that lost in combat which ended up rallying and biting me in the ass later.
5. F that textured game board - I'd roll horrible on it and awesome off it.  You would think I would remember that every turn ....but no. =D

end result: Orcs and Goblins - victory!
I'm really pleased Carl was a nice guy which made the game actually fun regardless of the circumstances.  Solid playing Carl, good win!
Game 1 Pictures!

Game 2 King of the Hill: Shane's Orcs and Goblins vs. The Great Hunt.

This was my second game of the day and my second game against O&G.  This scenario had a Scree Slope in the center of the board and the victory conditions were - the game ended on a variable roll after Turn 5 and the army with the most units in the center got 500 victory points at the end.  I decided to pull my head out of my ass this game and not make mistakes.  Shane had a really fun O&G list.  There were definitely some "oh hell" factors to it and I had to seriously move my units around to capitalize on my army's strengths.

Shane's List:

Black Orc Warboss, Sword of Strife, Talisman of Preservation
Orc Great Shaman, Dispel Scroll, Potion of Speed, Level 4
Black Orc Big Boss - BSB, Armor of Destiny

Orc Boyz x25, shields, full command
Orc Big Uns x24, full command, extra hand weapons
Goblin Wolf Riders x5, Spear, Shield, Musician
Goblin Wolf Riders x5, Spear, Shield, Musician
Black Orcs x22, Standard Bearer, Musician, Shield, Banner of Eternal Flame (dammit!!!)
Orc Boar Chariot
Orc Boar Chariot
Orc Boar Boyz x5, Full Command, Shield, Spear, banner of swiftness
Mangler Squig
Mangler Squig

This game was looking to be pretty damn rough.  I deployed almost everything on my right side and decided to flank his army.  He counter-deployed by placing his Wolf Riders, Boar Boyz, Chariot and 2 Mangler Squigs across from my army and put his big units near the center to get close to the hill.  I got lucky in my turn and killed both his squigs while he moved everything forward and got his Black Orcs to the edge of the hill.  The next few turns were spent coming up on his flank and shooting/killing a unit a turn until he had his Black Orcs left and I had 6 units in the center.  The game ended at the bottom of Turn 6 with most of his army removed and most of my units being full strength and in control of the hill.  I got really lucky this game because he suffered animosity at  critical times and I was able to kill key units right off the bat.  Shane was also a great opponent cause we are both Wood Elf army owners and he could appreciate how the army should have worked.  Thank you for the awesome game Shane!

End Result: Wood Elves - Victory!

Game 2 Pictures!

Game 3 Battle Line: Deke's Warriors of Chaos vs. The Great Hunt.

This mission was your standard Battle Mission game.  This was seriously the best game of the day.  My opponent Deke was utterly amazing.  We were laughing the entire game and he made for an extremely memorable experience at OFCC.  I'm totally rematching against him next year.  Deke had a really fun Warriors of Chaos army.  His mission - to have a friggin blast.  Alcohol also helped!  He and I both had had a drink or two before our game which made it even better!!!

Deke's Army!

Sorcerer of Tzeentch - Disc of Tzeentch, Golden Eye of Tzeentch, Book of Secrets, Level 2
Sorcerer, Lore of Death, Level 2 Upgrade
Exalted Hero, BSB, Luckstone, Chaos Steed

Chaos Marauders x50, Full Command, Mark of Tzeentch, Light armor, Shield
Chaos Hounds x5
Chaos Hounds x5
Chaos Warriors x12, Mark of Nurgle, Full Command, Halberds
Chaos Knights x5, full command, Mark of Nurgle, Banner of Rage
Chaos Trolls x3
Chaos Chariot
Chaos Giant, Mark of Slaanesh (yikes)

This game was a crazy experience.  Beginning of the game my general and waywatchers are fleeing due to a panic test and Deke comes barreling across the board towards me.  I kill a unit of chaos hounds and inflict a wound on his Sorceress on disc as well as kill a troll.  Next turn he charges into my Wild Riders with his Marauders and slams his trolls into my Glade Guard.  I'm thinking "oh hell I'm about to get rolled".  Glade Guard beat the trolls in combat and chase them down and the Wild Riders flee but he runs into my Treekin on his pursuit roll.  Next turn I charge his Marauder block with my Dryads and a Great Eagle and manage to just rampage through his WS1 (thank you twin fails on fear test!) Marauders.  The unit breaks and I pursue and then the rest of the game was spend killing the other units while we laughed the entire time.  The most epic part of the entire game was my Spellweaver turning into a Great Fire Dragon and fighting his lone Chaos Knight Champion of Nurgle in single combat.  That made for an EPIC ending to an awesome game!

Thank you so much for the truly fantastic game Deke!

Pics of Deke's awesomely painted army:

Game 4 Five Coins - Dave's Ogre Kingdoms vs. The Great Hunt.

This game had us set up 5 treasure coins that you had to collect by charging them and they were 100 vps each.  You could obviously lose a coin if you broke from combat or failed a panic test (but not from fleeing a charge).  This Ogre Kingdoms army was pretty standard - it was fast, mean and was filled with army fat men that wanted Wood Elf Kabobs!  David was an excellent opponent who made the entire game very enjoyable and I have to say this is the biggest come from behind victory I think I've ever managed to score.

Dave's Ogre Kingdoms:
Tyrant, Trickster's Helm, Mawseeker, Potion of Speed, Sword of Striking
Bruiser - BSB, Golden Sigil Sword, Great Skull
Butcher - Halfling Cookbook, Sword of Swift Slaying

5 Ogre Bulls, full command, Look out Gnoblar, Iron Fists
10 Gnoblar Trappers
Scraplauncha
4 Leadbelchers
Slave Giant
7 Iron Guts - full command, Look out Gnoblar

The first turn he comes barreling across the table and I'm like "oh hell there goes 1 round of shooting" and his Scraplauncher kills one of my eagles.  This causes a panic test in one of my units of Glade Guard and they go booking for the edge.  My turn ends up with me causing his Lead Belchers to flee after losing 50% of their number.  I also do 4 Wounds to his Slave Giant.  His turn he charges my Dryads with his BSB unit (kills them) and beats my treekin and causes them to flee after a round of combat. He rolls a 3 to pursue and my Treekin rally next turn.  His Slave giants takes 1 more wound before smashing all my Glade Guard to death.  My waywatchers eat Scraplauncher debris and lose half their number while Wild Riders sit there going "hey bro sup?".  So at this point I have my big unit of Treekin fleeing (before I made their rally check), my Wild Riders at 75%, my Spellweaver, 2 waywatchers and my general and 1 eagle.  He hasn't lost a unit yet.  I charge my Wild Riders into his big block of Iron Guts and then my Spellweaver by herself into his flank.  I cast Transformation of Kadon and turn into a Great Fire Dragon and score 2 S10 hits on his unit from the miscast!  My general kills his Slave Giant with shooting.  The eagle rallies along with the Treekin and my Spellweaver scores 12 hits with her breathweapon dealing 10 wounds.  She then proceeds to visit 8 more wounds on the unit of Ironguts and my Wild Riders chase them down and remove them from play.  His turn he misfires with his Scraplauncher and his Lead Belchers lose to my Wild Riders.  At this point we call the game and shake hands.  It was one hell of a comeback - up til that turn I was pretty sure I was about to get rolled badly.  Fantastic game!

Victor: Wood Elves!
Pictures of the Battle!:

Game 5 Battle Line - Josh's Clan Iraf vs. The Great Hunt

This was my best and hardest game of the entire tournament.  I played my buddy Josh and his accursed Skaven.  This game originally started out pretty bad.  Dice were saying "hey bro we are tired so ..have some 1's".  Josh in the spirit of true sportsmanship relaxed his oncoming assault and let me get my bearings back.  The first turn resulted in my losing an Eagle, half my Dryads, and a unit of Glade Guard fleeing.  I then return the favor with 2 power dice and just pretty much sucking on my turn.  Next turn he scores the DOOMROCKET and I lose 2 Wild Riders and 3 Waywatchers.  His Warplighting cannon scores nothing - thank god.  I manage to Amber Spear the hell out of his Doomwheel and inflict some strong casualties on his clanrats.  I foolishly allowed my Dryads to get charged and wiped out via spells by his plague priest.  I have new respect for Skaven after this game.  The rest of the game was just hilarious as we mashed our units in the center and just killed off 95% of our armies.  Josh got all sneaky and challenged my Spellweaver turned Great Fire Dragon to a challenge with his 2+ ward save vs. fire =) - Skaven players are SNEAKY.
At the end of six turns I had 14 Glade Guard,  and 2 Wild Riders.  Josh had his general and a Warp Lightning Cannon.  We ended on a Draw and a perfect end to an awesome tournament.

I gave Josh my best general pin as he did me.  Thanks for the absolutely awesome game Josh!
Josh's army was showcased in my previous post but his list is here (and pictures of our set up)

Clan Iraf
Warlord - Bonebreaker, Sword of Anti-heroes, Charmed Shield, Dragonbane Gem (sneaky git), Ironcurse Icon.
Warlord - Bonebreaker, Biting Blade, Warpstone Armor, Dawnstone
Chieftain - BSB
Plague Priest - Level 2, Dispel Scroll
Warlock Engineer - Level 2, Doomrocket, Warp-energy Condenser
Clanrats x34, full command, shields
Poisoned Mortar Weapon Team
Clanrats x34, full command, shields
Warpfire Thrower
Clanrats x34, full command, shields
Ratling Gatling Gun
Rat Ogres x6, 4 Packmasters
Warp lighting cannon
Doomwheel.

 For the life of me I can not stack pictures this post. Oh well.


Anyway - in closing I had an absolute wonderful time and our team did very, very well.

We came in 2nd overall for Best Generals and Best Painted.  I am looking very forward to next year's event and hope that there is an even bigger turn out than this year.  I fully plan on making next year a full out Nerd Safari!

You can find more information about Ordo Fanaticus here.

I'll be posting some more pictures of everyone's armies in the next few posts - I just have to wait for Josh to copy over his pictures for me.

Warhammer Ard Boyz 2011 Semi-Finals, May 21st 2011

Today I had the opportunity to play in the Semi-finals for the Warhammer Ard Boyz tournament with my Wood Elves.  Now I know all over the net people have ranked Wood Elves at the bottom of the barrel in terms of power but honestly it really boils down to the player.  The Semi-finals took place at Borderlands in Salem, OR and we had a pretty decent turn out.  There were thirteen contestants from the various gaming stores that could make it from all over Oregon, Southern Washington and Northern California.  There were three rather interesting  scenarios that I think were a bit tamer than the first rounds missions.  I'm not going to go into too much detail about the missions since all three were available on Games Workshop's website.

My original tweet was incorrect about what armies had shown up, apparently some folks who were just there to play brought their fantasy armies not realizing it was Ard Boyz.  Nonetheless we had some pretty beastly lists brought to the table.

Armies Present:
3 Dwarf armies (2 Thorek lists, 1 pure gunline)
2 Skaven
3 Lizardmen
1 Empire
1 Dark Elves
1 Tomb Kings
1 Orcs and Goblins
1 Wood Elf (hi!)

What surprised me the most was that there were no Daemons, Warriors of Chaos or Teclis High Elf lists.  Nor were there any Vampire Counts.  From what I understand from talking with the other contestants, the Daemon and Warriors of Chaos armies were crushed by Skaven and Dwarf gun line armies in the first round.  I was rather surprised since the power levels of Chaos are ridiculous.  Anyway...

I normally would post a full battle report but instead I'm going to lay out the list I played and a brief summary of the battle.  I'll also throw some pictures (ones that were not blurry  - sigh) of the armies present, many in their unpainted splendor.

The list I brought to Ard Boyz is The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren .  I personally did not like this list since it caused me to put a lot of eggs in one basket and made me spend a lot of points in augmenting a single unit of Eternal Guard (my least favorite unit in the entire book).

Game 1 - The Changer of Ways:  The Great Hunt vs. Dwarven Gunline


My first game was extremely difficult for me.  While my opponent Phil was a super nice guy, the list he brought made me almost concede the game after the third turn.  I'm all about playing hard armies and testing myself but being absolutely helpless the entire first half of the game was enough to make me say fuck it and leave.  I'll go into more detail after I post his list.

Dwarven Gunline List:

Master Engineer, Rune of Stone, Handgun, Shield
Master Engineer, Rune of Stone, Handgun, Shield
Master Engineer, Rune of Stone, Handgun, Shield

Rune Smith, Shield, x3 Rune of Spell Breaking

Thunderers x10, Mus. Std Bearer
Thunderers x10, Mus. Std Bearer
Thunderers x10, Mus. Std Bearer
Quarrellers x10, Mus, Std Bearer
Quarrellers x10, Mus, Std Bearer
Quarrellers x10, Mus, Std Bearer

Cannon
Cannon
Cannon
Cannon
Cannon
Cannon, Rune of Burning

Bolt Thrower, Rune of Penetration, Rune of Burning
Bolt Thrower, Master Rune of Immolation
Bolt Thrower

Grudge Thrower, x2 Rune of Penetration, Rune of Accuracy
Grudge Thrower, Rune of Penetration, Rune of Accuracy, Rune of Burning
Grudge Thrower, Rune of Penetrating, Rune of Accuracy
Grudge Thrower, Rune of Burning, Rune of Accuracy

Organ Gun
Organ Gun
Organ Gun
Organ Gun


I did not enjoy this game at all, I finally hit his line on turn four with 10 models left in the army after being shot and templated over and over and over again.  Granted I killed a third of his army in 1 turn but I literally could do nothing as I failed 3 charges in the 3rd turn which would have guaranteed victory and I was not aware that Organ Guns do not need to roll to hit - which is bullshit.  GW needs to FAQ/Errata that immediately.  That and he only had 1 Misfire the entire game.  Anyway - to sum up the game. I managed to kill enough things in the last three turns to score a Minor Loss against the Dwarves.  I think the turning point is when I asked my opponent to let me step outside after turn 3 to have a smoke and relax a moment.  He joined me and we were able to just hang out and talk for the five minutes which really changed the entire complexion of our game.  It became more friendly and we had fun towards the end.

Game Two - The Crazed Fanatic:  The Great Hunt vs. Armies of the Witch King (Dark Elves)


After my brutal defeat at the hands of the Dwarves I took on a Dark Elf player named Mike.  He had a really beefy list that when I looked at it I thought to myself - there is no way I can survive these massive blocks without support.  My dice apparently were seeking my forgiveness for their abyssmal showing in game 1 and came back full force.


The Dark Elf Army:
Malekith the Witch King
Noble BSB w/ Banner of Hag Graef
Hag Queen w/ Cauldron of Blood
Repeater Crossbowmen x14
Repeater Crossbowmen x14
Corsairs x40 w/ full command
War Hydra w/ Beastmaster's Scourge
Executioners x40, full command, Lichebone Pennant
Witch Elves x40, full command, Banner of Murder
Assassin w/ Touch of Death

My opponent set up first however I rolled a 6 and stole the first turn from him.  The fanatic was charged by the Dryads and obtained (only to be lost the next turn).  I immediately shifted my entire army to the right while moving forward with the Treekin.  My opponent suffered casualties to his Corsairs and Repeater Crossbowmen and attempted to wipe out my units with his Dark Magic.

I managed to pass almost every single characteristic test every turn with like 1-2 casualties.  I could tell my opponent was getting frustrated.  The second turn rolled in and that resulted in his Hydra getting crushed by my Treekin and Dryads while his Corsairs again suffered massive casualties.  It boiled down to his entire unit of Corsairs were wiped out by my Eternal Guard.  His Witch Elves never made contact with anyone and died to a man (woman) including the hidden assassin.  One of his Crossbow units were slain by eagles.  His Cauldron got crunched by Treekin while all his executioners were killed by the Eternal Guard except Malekith and his BSB.

Game 2 resulted in a Major Victory but I did not get the 5 extra points for the fanatic since I did not hold on to him until the end of the game - that cost me second place overall.  Oh well.

Game 3 - We uz something in Orc - The Great Hunt vs. Ard Boyz of Gorbad!


This was my definite favorite game of the evening.  I played against Dennis and his absolutely awesome Orcs and Goblins army.  My dice were again very, very hot but this game was so much fun.  We both agreed to let the river bisecting the map be mysterious (big mistake since it became a Boiling Flood) and essentially just smashed into each other right off the bat.

Here is the Ard Boyz of Gorbad!

Gorbad Ironclaw on Gnarla
Savage Orc Great Shaman w/ Lucky Shrunken Head and Obsidian Lodestone
Night Goblin Warboss w/ Relic Sword, Enchanted Shield and Ironcurse Icon
Black Orc Big Boss w/ Potion of Strength
Goblin Big Boss on Wolf Chariot w/ Terrifying Mask of Eee!
Savage Orcs x34 w/ full command and additional hand weapons
Night Goblin x69 w/ full command
Goblin Mob x37 w/ full command and 2 Nasty Skulkers
Wolf Riders x5 w/ Mus.
Savage Boar Boyz x12, Big Uns, Lichebone Pennant, Full Command
Trolls x10
Orc Boar Chariot
Goblin Wolf Chariot
Goblin Spear Chukka
Goblin Spear Chukka
Giant w/ Warpaint.

I had such a great time against this army.  Orcs are generally the bane of my existence so doing well against them is amazing in any regard.  The Highlight of this game was my Highborn challenging his Savage Orcs and Gorbad accepting.  Gorbad died which really turned the tide for me but it was such an epic fight.  I was really rolling well and my opponent was surprised that I moved my entire line sans archers up to charge range in the first turn.  I was fully ready to get into combat - that's right I had crazy eyes.  To make a long story short, my opponent conceded at the bottom of turn 4 because he had been reduced to 2 units really.  I scored max points for the Massacre victory and also reaching all the criteria for the mission.

In the end I placed 5th - which is not bad considering I got beaten in the first round.  I was really challenged this event and two of the guys above me declined to go to Sacramento for the Finals so it fell to me.  Sacramento HO!

In closing = I don't care who you talk to.  Wood Elves definitely don't suck!

Thanks!

April 17th Ard Boyz Fantasy Tournament at Ancient Wonders

This Sunday I took part in the 2011 1st Round Ard Boyz Fantasy Tournament at Ancient Wonders.  We had a pretty good turn out and had a lot of really strong armies playing.
We had:
2 Empire
2 Warriors of Chaos
2 Skaven
2 Vampire Counts
1 High Elves
1 Lizardmen
1 Wood Elves (me!)

The tournament went very smoothly, we had a lot of strong players who seriously brought their A game.  The 3 Scenarios were interesting.  The first scenario just annoyed the every living hell out of me.  The third scenario was just plain insane.  I did not have high expectations of doing well in this tournament just due to the fact that some armies function a lot better at higher point levels - Vampire Counts and Skaven are prime examples.  Even at 3000 points I still only had 113 models - a majority of them with T3 and S3.  I hate to admit it but I did end up caving to the pull of the Wood Elf Deathstar.  I fielded my 30 man unit of Eternal Guard w/ the Rhymer's harp, Spirit Sword, Razor Standard and Wraithstone.  I fully came to terms with the fact that I had indeed brought the douche.

I'm going to only show a few rounds of each game in order to prevent this post from being too insanely long.
Preliminary Scenario 1 - EYZ DON'T SEE SO GOOD!
This scenario pissed me off so much - I hate having my functionality restricted especially when I roll a 2 for visibility 2 turns out of 4.  I played Carl and his Empire this game, it was the Mission Engagement Deployment with 3 Battle Modifiers.

Empire Army List:  VON RUGER'S 'ARD BOYZ EMPIRE!
Arch Lector w/ Sword of Sigismund,  Van Horst Spec/ Charmed Shield
BSB - Armor of Meteoric Iron, Sword of Striking, Seed of Rebirth
Level 2 Wizard - Seal of Destruction, Iron Curse Icon
Master Engineer
Warrior Priest - Warhorse, Great Weapon, Shield
11 Knights of the White Wolf w/ mus/sb
11 Knights of the Blazing Sun w/ mus/sb
33 Halberdiers w/ full command
Detachment of 15 Halberds
Detachment of 12 handgunners
25 Swordsmen w/ full command
2 units of 5 Pistoleers
3 Mortars
1 Hellblaster volley gun
2 , yes 2 Steam Tanks

My list is in my previous post.

Empire took the first turn and started to lay into the Wood Elves.  Mortars flying, Steam tanks shooting, and general mayhem ensued.

Here are some pictures of our Deployment:

Alas you see the true devious mastermind behind the army, you think she's playing a DS but she's actually running extremely powerful algorithms to calculate the proper tactical decisions.  Unfair imho.
Anyway - the game was a friggin blast.  I had my Eternal Guard block charged by the Steam Tank and because I had Irresistible Force cast Savage Beast of Horos my characters were at +3 str and +3 attacks.
I suffered 15 impact hits from the Steam Tank, ward saving a ton of them and then just had the Highborn swing and literally one round the Steam Tank.  I did 13 wounds to it as a result of 7 attacks at S7 and the Spirit Sword getting 6 additional wounds.

The game was pretty long but I will attempt to summarize it briefly:
Turn 1
Empire unloads mortars into archers, steam tank shoots at the 2 Glade Guard units.  Waywatchers eat some hits from templates.
Wood Elves roll a 2 for visibility - sigh... and just spend the turn moving and buffing up.
Turn 2 - Steam tank charges Eternal guard and gets popped. More casualties to the archers as the Arch Lector charges the Glade Guard taking a few wounds but not dying.  Treekin and Eternal Guard charge the KotWW and get stuck in combat for 3 turns - sigh...
Turn 3 - Empire brings on reinforcements and manuevers appropriately to bunker down.
Eternal Guard and Treekin and Eagles kill off the Knights, the Warrior Priest, hellblaster volley gun, and charge the Swordsmen with the Dryads.
Turn 4 - Empire charges Dryads with KotBS and backs up BSB and his unit to prevent being flank charged.
Wood Elves roll another god damn 2 for visibility which prevents the incoming death from Wood elven fury to the Halberdiers.

Time was called soon after.
Result: Wood Elves - Minor Victory.  - I'll take it!

I absolutely had a blast playing against Carl and look forward to getting a few Sunday games in with him in both fantasy and 40k.

Preliminary Scenario 2 - DA BLOOD SOAKED CHOPPA!


This mission required you to give a single core unit a choppa that granted the unit +1 str and +1 attack.  Deployment was Pitched Battle.  This game also had 3 battle modifiers as well.

Nick's High Elven Army - 3000 POINT SAMURAI HIGH ELVES!


Teclis
BSB w/ Banner of Sorcery
20 Lothern Sea Guard w/ full command
20 Lothern Sea Guard w/ full command
20 Spearmen w/ full command
15 Archers w/ Hawkeye and Banner of Eternal Flame
10 Dragon Princes w/ full command and razor standard
20 White Lions of Chrace w/ full command
Korhil
Lion Chariot of Chrace
20 Swordmasters of Hoeth w/ full command and wailing banner
14 Archers w/ full command

This was a pretty solid list, there was a LOT of magic and dice generation in this army.  Good tactic really.

Pictures of our deployment.

To summarize the game:
Turn 1 - High elves kill all but 2 Waywatchers and General with Flames of the Phoenix.  John is quietly angered since that is his favorite unit.
Wood elves retaliate by shooting up 2 units and reducing them to half strength while advancing across the board.
Turn 2 - Teclis continues to attack the Waywatchers and fails to cast a spell ending his magic phase.
Turns 3-4 Wood Elves charge his line and the Eternal Guard and Treekin chew through several units.  The White Lions and Swordsmen are shot to pieces by Glade Guard with Stand and Shoot reactions.  Waywatcher general reduces Dragon Princes down from 10 to 5 with his arcane bodkins.  Teclis is slain at the bottom of Turn 3.
Turn 5 - Dragon Princes, Korhil and the Lion Chariot finally are slain.

Result - Wood Elves- Massacre victory.
After the game I talked with Nick about using his units differently and deploying better.  Giving his archers unrestricted line of sight was key.  Also using his 4 main melee units as a single offensive wing and multicharging would yield a LOT better results.  His next game against Skaven went spectacularly well.

Preliminary Scenario 3 - THE END TIMES!
The third and final scenario was pretty damn hard.  I had a massive error in timekeeping this game which cost me a huge massacre victory.  This mission required you to have a single piece of terrain serve as the chaos portal.  You must have a character in base contact with the portal in order to win otherwise when the game ends on it's random game length - it's a draw.  Not to mention there are also 6 different chaotic events that can happen during the round at the top of every game turn. Frenzy, D6 wounds that aren't saveable per unit, movement halved, auto-channeling for power/dispel dice, -1 to shoot or the gift of chaos boost to your general.
I played against Josh's Empire Gunline army which was comprised of the following:
Hanz Franz Shooter of the Goose (having to recall the army from memory since for some reason I can't find his list)
General w/ Stubborn crown and another item.
BSB
Level 4 Wizard
Level 2 Wizard
Arch Lector on Altar
50 swordsmen w/ full command and +1 LD banner
detatchment 20 halberdiers
detachment 20 handgunners
20 handgunners
detachment 10 handgunners
2 x 5 Empire Knights w/ full command
1 unit of pistoleers
1 hellblaster
2 great cannons
18 flaggellants
1 Steam Tank

Deployment was Meeting Engagement and unfortunately Josh ended up having half his army in reserves which left many of his units fair game for slaughter in the first turn.

Deployment:

Brief summary:
Turn 1 - Waywatchers kill his Level 4 Wizard, Glade Guard units kill his units of handgunners causing panic tests and making them flee. Level 2 Wizard also flees.  Pistoleers shoot up the Wild Riders because Sylvos forgot about them, Arch Lector gets killed while attempting to charge glade guard, several knights get eaten due to a stand and shoot reaction with the other Glade Guard.  Dryads hold against the Steam tank charging and inflict a wound.  Flagellents charge Waywatcher and General and get slaughtered before they can swing back.
Turn 2 - Great Eagles charge Hellblaster and slay it. Treekin barrel forward along with Eternal Guard.  Glade Guard flee from 2 charges.  Eternal Guard gets charged by 30 Swordsmen and their detachment of halberdiers and slaughter the Empire scum.  Halberdiers flee from the fight.
Turn 3 - Steam tank barrels forward and kills the newly rallied Dryads.  Glade Guard manage to kill the last of the Empire Knights.  Treekin charge a cannon after the cannon popped a great Eagle.  Eternal Guard charge the General's unit of Swordsmen and their detachment and deal an insane amount of wounds but the Empire holds.
Turn 4 - This is where I made a critical error, still thinking it was turn 3 I did not move my General onto the damn terrain.  Meanwhile the rest of my army is tied up all over the board chasing Empire around.  I fail to slay his general or the rest of the unit by the end of the 4th turn and I roll a 5 which ends the game.  Even though I had a full on Massacre victory... I got a draw.

Game 3 Result: Tie.

I managed to place 3rd over all and I would have placed higher if I hadn't severely screwed up in the last mission.  I had a great time against Josh, Nick and Carl and it looks like I'm going to the next round in Salem.
It's like 10:30 and I'm beat so I'm going to wrap up this terrible Tournament report and post some images of some of the other battles I snapped pictures of while playing my own.  I will be playing orcs again in 2 weeks and hopefully some Skaven as well.   Full battle reports w/ battle maps will be inc.

Tournament Pics:

 Skaven vs. Vampire Counts

 Back table: Lizardmen vs. Vampire Counts
 Near table: Empire vs. Skaven

 Warriors of Chaos vs. Warriors of Chaos

 Warriors of Chaos vs. Vampire Counts

 High Elves vs. Skaven

 Empire vs. Vampire Counts

Skaven vs. Lizardmen

Next tournament I'll actually get better pictures as well.
You can also look forward to me doing an Army Showcase once a week for one of my gaming groups armies.  I'll start out with using Neil's Orks.