And so here we are...
I've been thinking, over these past few days... The path to the OTC is becoming an interesting one. Having never done *any* competitive circuit, this has been an exciting experience. I've finally found myself hosting games at my own home, playing on average twice a week, and determining that one of the most powerful and popular lists in the meta right now is actually kind of easy for me, based on one of my lists (I do say that with a sense of reserved trepidation for obvious reasons. I've only played one person with the list, and while he seems to have a good handle on the strategy, I don't know how long he's been playing it for, but Bradigus has been known to the public since I think,July or August so really it could be anywhere between the two. I've been playing at least twice a week now (which is to say, I've been doing two nights a week, not two games a week ;)) so there's been a lot of experience gained in preparation of this event, and we six players seem to be getting pretty close to sorting our armies out. I've even been able to use this tournament as an opportunity to buy some new models, and try out some new strategies.
So I want to open by talking about my lists.
My first list, which is kind of obvious when playing Skorne is the Fist of Halaak, Prime Xerxis list, but mine is a little different than most
Xerxis
Bronzeback Titan
Archidon
Cataphract Cetrati min
Tyrant Vorkesh
Cataphract Cetrati Min
Cataphract Incindiarii Min
Cataphract Incindiarii Min
Tyrant Commander and Standard Bearer
Venator Catapult
Venator Catapult
Pain Giver Beast Handler Min
The oddity in this is the usage of catapults whereas the 6 points could've covered a bigger cataphract presence. The intent was to have an immediate answer to low armor infantry with a range 18 catapult with Advance Deploy under Xerxis' tier 3 benefit (All Venator light artillery gets advance deploy). Thats a threat range of 24 inches at deployment (21 if you go first).
The second list is a bit more mechanically odd. This was developed almost exclusively as an Assassination list designed with Circle's Bradigus Wold War tier in mind, but I realized later on in the game that i had missed an opportunity to make it really awesome by not adding 2 Extoller Soulwards to deny cocealment, Camoflage and blocking LOS benefits for Brad's usage of Manakins for popping forests. It's still a pretty good list, but the extollers would've really made it shine. However, in usage, it still proved to be pretty solid. It sucks for taking objectives becasue it has only a handful of models, but each model does something specific.
Makeda and the Exalted Court
Aptimus Marketh
Reptile hound
Cyclops Shaman
Bronzeback Titan
Molik Karn
Tyrant Zaadesh
Reptile Hound
Reptile Hound
Reptile Hound
Cataphract Arcuarii Max
PainGiver Beast handlers Max
In Hindsight, I think the Arcuarii could've been removed for something a little more versatile. Initially they were meant to be a grab and grind for the manakins or any other small or medium based model to get ripped apart by a bunch of pow 11 Weapon masters after being dragged into the maw of the beast. Problem is that they're really only effective on round 2 due to the short range of their Harpoons. I think that the points would've been more effective, say with Nihilators or Incindiarii... The idea of having continuous fire as a potential threat while holding an objective may not necessarily be a bad idea, and is a bit more flexible in dealing damage... Meanwhile, the concept behind this was the idea that three reptile hounds with Tyrant Zaadesh is a really scary thought. with Tag Team, and one of them having grievous wounds up and all of them within .5 inches of each other means that they are mat 7 and P+S 10 with 5 dice damage on the charge. Anyone who knows this knows that this combo in combat range is a guaranteed killer of almost anything, except maybe a colossal or gargantuan, and with Grievous wounds, Tough doesn't exist. so this serves as a strike force...except it doesn't. This is meant to draw fire and divert attention from the bigger threat which is the collection of the rest of the stuff coming along the warpath. It draws attention because it moves fast, so it buys a round of movement, and can likely take out something substantial. Why do I use it to divert attention instead of attaching it to the main force? Because I can't think of any other way to get them into combat to be honest. I figured that if I can't throw them at something, then I can at least bring them within range of an assault and try to leave a solid mark. To date they have killed one Bane Rider and one Troll Axer. Not much...but hey...
Before I forget, the Arcuarii Serve a second purpose... They can drag small and medium models with their harpoons. While this brings the models over to get slaughtered, they also remove obstructions to a charge lane for Molik Karn or Makeda. So far this has gotten both up close and personal with Bradigus, but has been just shy of taking his head in a manner most foul. Of course, Its a tricky list to play and I'm not comfortable with her yet, but I'm looking forward to getting the kinks out and showing what she can do.
Of course... I've focused on my Assassination list... Why Fist of Halaak for my other? Well to put it succinctly it works. If you look a the list of any Skorne player in the tournament list, you'll notice that all but one uses the Fist of Halaak tier with Xerxis. The tier gets shit done. the weapons deal out a lot of damage, and they are awesome at holding objectives and "the Line", especially on Xerxis' feat turn. This list, I don't think will get old for a while, as I'm curious as to how the different applications would apply. It's definetly not as interesting as its sister list, but it still does some cool stuff, and if you tweak it certain ways, it gets even more intriguing (Like with the Catapults). This is serving as my go to, acting as my security blanket if i need to cower behind an armor line at the tournament. Which is extremely likely to happen, being the twinky little runt in the tournament lol.
Of course, you'd have to ask, why am I doing this? Moreover, why am I making such a display of a simple tournament. Well, basically...
this is my very first tournament for any competitive game I have ever played. I've never been to a M:TG tournament, nor have I been to one for the old Star Wars CCG. I've never been to a 40K tournament either (A game that I never felt wholly comfortable with, but enjoyed for the short time I played it) so this is a bit of a big deal for me. I'm also hoping that some of the younger (or older) players who are just cutting their teeth on this game can get a taste of what to expect in the tournament scene. I think a part of me never having gone to one of these is due to me being nervous about not having the skill necessary to compete with better players... I've always played against people who had a much higher skill level and because of that, I've always been reserved about it. I'm hoping that through the "Road to War" Segments which will be in three parts (maybe more) will inspire players to consider the tournament scene to see what they can learn and what to do to prepare.
The other reason, Well, I'm also looking forward to reaching out and shaking the hands with other members of the gaming community. As I understand, a large number of the bgger names in the Ontario meta are coming out. Teams like "Combo Smite", "Syndicate of Gaming" and "Chain Attack" are going to be coming out, (the event is being hosted by the Party Foul guys) and so this will give us a chance to meet these guys and pick their brains a bit and hopefully make some new friends. For me, specifically, I've been a Press Ganger for 6 months now and am pumped at the opportunity to meet some of my fellow Press Gangers from all around Ontario and some from Buffalo on the stateside. Theres a hell of a network out there, and its about time we became a part of it.
In any event, thats it for me tonight. Part two will likely be about some of the practice that we're hoping to get in over the next few weeks and see how we are, and how sick we're going to be with our lists.
*A Note By the way...Yes this article is dated almost a week after the OTC, but the Road to War was composed in its real time. I just got wrapped up with a bunch of things and wanted to edit the entire series prior to publication. This article was originally written on February 21,2015.*
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