Brawler Bash VI Review

The weekend before last I attended my local GT located at Atomic Empire in Durham, NC.  This GT in the past was part of the Spring Fever Historical Convention, but has gotten so big it needed to break away.  This year BB6 had 68 players attending from as far away as Alberta, Canada and a bunch from the DC/MD area.  I was waiting on uploading pictures, but you all have to wait.

Before the GT I had three objectives for the GT (based on Lance Lagrue’s goals).

1)      Army Objective: I wanted to finish this army to a high standard.  I feel I almost did that.  I started with this army almost a year ago and even through a new army book I was able to get it to a playable level.  It took me up to noon on the Friday before the tournament to finish.  I still need to do some final yellow highlights on the Horrors and the Keeper needs its skin tone highlighted up to the Soul Grinder’s level, but overall I am very happy with how my Furies and Core troops came out.  Before next year I want to rebase them and get a proper display board made to highlight this army.

2)      Game play Objective – Since I had never played a game with daemons in over 10 years, I really just wanted to finish at 2-2-1 or better and not embarrass myself.  For the tournament I went 3-2, but this tournament used the Carnage System so all you did was calculate what you killed.  I came 12^th in Battle Points, 26^th in Painting, 2^nd in Sports, and 8^th Overall.  I got a nice plaque for coming 2^nd in Sports and a $100 gift card to Atomic Empire.  Very pleased!!!  The person I voted for Best Sportsman also beat me out in Sports.  I should learn to tank my fun opponents more J

3)      Personal Objectives – I wanted to just be able to stay calm and focused.  I tend to get nervous playing, and I just wanted to have a fun hobby weekend.  I did not want to get too excited, get caught up in the moment, and start playing stupid.  I felt I stuck to my game plan, stayed focus, but still forgot to use my “Lucky Day” card.  I also made a personal commitment to not groan about a certain army but see it as challenge.

Anyhow, here is the list I brought with thoughts on the unit:
Keeper of Secrets - Level 4 Shadow – Exalted and Lesser Gifts:  I took the Eternal Blade with the +d3 WS, S, & A.  It never disappointed and for 580 points truly was my MVP.
I am not going to change a thing about this Beauty!  The Eternal Blade is just WOW.  7-9 Strength 7-9 attacks hitting on 3’s (with ASF re-rolls most of the time) just shredded my opponents, lords, BSB’s, and large monsters.  He/She/It is unstoppable on the attack and can wipe entire elite units off the board before they even get to attack.  Yes, she is vulnerable to counterattack, but she hits like a ton of bricks.

HoS – BSB Level 1 Shadow, ASF Locus – Greater Gift

I think I am going to drop the BSB and maybe lower the gifts to one Lesser.  BSB re-roll was never used the whole tournament and mostly just gave 100 VP to my opponent.  My plan going into the GT with the Level 1 Shadow mages was to spam Miasma.  I think I would rather have more Daemonettes.  The ASF locus was great and I prayed my opponent would issue a challenge so I could hide her in the back. (+85 points)

HoS – Level 1 Shadow, ASF Locus – Greater Gift:
She had the same problems and benefits as above with the ASF Locus being great and needing to drop down to a Lesser Gift.  I need 1 more Wizard so she will keep the Level 1 Shadow. (+25 points)

HoS (The assassin) – Level 1 Slaanesh, Steed of Slaanesh, Exalted Locus – 2 Lesser Gifts:

When I rolled Multiple Wounds (2) or ASF she did quite well in half her games.  Best highlight was when she killed a Mounted Wight Lord BSB by doing one wound.  Which was multiplied into 2, then after a failed Initiative Test with the Witstealer Sword, took another wound.  I like the Lore of Slaanesh, but overall I think I will drop her and pick up 5 more Seekers to create more mayhem in the backfield. (+225 points)

Two units of 29 Daemonettes:
I had one unit with the +1 M banner and the other with the Flaming Banner.  I never once used the +1 M banner and the Flaming Banner was more of a liability with all the 2++ against Flaming attacks.  Halfway through the tournament I started running one unit 10 wide hoarded and it performed better.  I will drop both banners (+25 points).

10 Pink Horrors:  What a complete waste of point!  They did nothing the entire tournament but maybe divert a unit for a turn.  I could have done that with another unit of furies for 70 points less.  I am not one to complain about units, but their Lore is just horrible, and they just blow.  My original goal was for them to offer some fire support, but that Warpflame rule is so bad!!!!  The Blue Horror rule does absolutely nothing and they get wiped out by everything. (+130 points)

5 Seekers of Slaanesh with Standard – Gleaming Pendant:  They did their job as a delivering system for the Assassin, and a great job going after war machines.  M10 just gets there so quickly that unless you wipe them out right away, they are causing problems.  I am thinking about getting another unit here.  I never used the Pendent, but I see it being useful for 5 points.

2 units of 5 Furies: Did their job well.  I need to get that movement tray magnetized.  If I can scrape together another 60pts for another unit I will.

Hellflayer: What a waste of a great looking model!  I love this model, yet it did 1 wound the entire tournament.  I even charged a lone goblin Hero on a wolf, lost combat, and POPPED.  (+130 points)

3 Fiends of Slaanesh: They did alright.   I think a unit a 6 is ideal, as with 3 they just do not dish out enough attacks.  A unit of four ranked 2x2 should be a nice upgrade if I cannot find the points.  Now they just need to be released in plastic.

Soul Grinder of Slaanesh: No upgrades except for the Big Claw.  I love this guy.  He held up entire units for turns.  T7, 4+, 5++ is amazing.  The large base got in the way sometimes and that is when I wished I had a stone thrower to toss around.  My opponents underestimated how fast it is (M8).

Generalship: I am pleased with how I played this list.  My first game with Daemons on Friday nights against Collins nasty WoC army with a Nurgle DP, Unkillable MoT BSB, 2 Chimeras, you get the picture.  This tournament had 10 other WoC armies with similar builds. 

If I make the drops above to my list it will give me 490 points to play around with.  I am thinking bumping the fiends to 6, adding another Seeker Unit with the Flaming Banner, and adding another small Daemonette Unit or mobile Herald of Slaanesh.  For fun I want to paint up that Exalted Chariot, and I think it is better than people give it credit for.

Reign of Chaos:  For those following the opinions of the “interwebz”.  Do not listen to them.  As you will see in my Battle Reports (Coming Soon!), something “fun for me” was rolled every game.  From wiping out units of High Elves to summoning Bloodletters Turn 1 to harass my opponent from the rear right off the bat.  It was never OTT, and I think it is needed since Daemons suffer a bad case of “Core Tax” from their lists.

I loved how my entire army is so fast that people have to make choices Turn 1 on what to target.  Mostly they targeted the big stuff, but it was the Seekers and Daemonettes arriving Turn 2 that did the damage.  Even when I get into combat, the Daemonettes can hold up combats for quite some time.  Their S3 does not kill a lot, but the sheer number of attacks with ASF re-rolls made sure some wounds got through.  When Mindrazor goes off they just mow down enemy units with ease.  I picked and chose what battles to throw the Keeper into, and when she was committed she just slaughtered everyone.

I was able to summon a unit of Bloodletters Game 4, but how disappointing are they in this book.  Without a Herald, that one attack is nothing, and they become as bad as Horrors pretty quick.  I might go with PB’s if I ever get that roll again.

I have been to several GW GT’s, and a few other Indy GT’s but the Brawler Bash now is the best I have attended.  The live streaming of Table 1, the instance access to the score sheet via your Smartphone, the venue, and the sheer amount of table space make the bash quite an event.  The store is always well stocked and it is rare to find a store where you can just browse blister packs of all the different miniature lines.  The store is very clean and even with 100+ gamers; it never got that “Gamer funk”.  The VIP table 1 was in its own separate room where once the door was closed it was nice and quiet, almost like playing at home.  The terrain for the 40K was very impressive, while the Fantasy side was good.  The table rows were spaced far enough apart that you didn’t play “butt bongos” with the player behind you all game.  Ben and Tom did a fantastic job running the event, and it went very smoothly considering the size.

I always feel I luck out at the Brawler Bash.  In all 5 times previously, I think I have only had 1 or 2 bad opponents.  This year was no different.  I had 5 great opponents, and I did feel that it was hard to rank my opponents at the end.  Rob (HE’s), Chris (VC), Chris (WoC), Gene (O&G), and Jarad (Skaven) were all fun opponents and I would play any one of them again if given the chance.  I voted for Rob as my #1 game as it is always an epic matchup.  My 2-4 were so close I should have just diced them off.  I feel bad because they all should have been marked higher than their final tally.  The 5^th guy was a newer player, and I think because he spoke so softly it was hard to hear him a lot of the times, and his dice were very confusing to read.  At home in a quiet room I would have no problem with them, but the 6’s were in hexagonal shapes, the 5’s were in pentagonal shapes, and the 2’s were two dashes.  It gave me a headachelate in the day in Game 3.

The only negative I could find is I like having 2’ of space between tables.  It allows you space to place your army.  That is a very minor complaint, and didn’t take away from the experience at all.

I plan on getting my Battle Reports in the next post once I download some  photos.

 

Until then, adios!

 

 

 

Brawler Bash III

Last weekend I attended the Brawler Bash in Raleigh. It is my favorite GT to attend due to the players and army comp rules. It used the WPS comp system which really brought out a variety of armies with Tomb Kings winning best General.

I came in 21 out 38, but mostly due to soft scores. Overall I went 0-5. I showed up with my Daemon Prince list. It is pretty soft, but I wanted to see how I would do.

Game 1: I went against Lance Lagroue, he is very good local player with a lot of nice armies. I started the game with one heck of a turn one when my Hellcannon shot a blast that forced his general to run off the board. This game turned out to a very tactical match up with both of us trying to outmaneuver each other. It came down to a close charge in the rear of my knights followed with being charged in the front that took one of my flanking hammers out of the game. I hate blaming dice and I felt I played the game well, but the dice just were not my friend. A trend that continued all tournament.

Game 2: I played Brian Harper, a Dark Elf player with no magic! That's right, no magic and his Dark Riders were Med Cav so no fast cav. At first I was grinning down deep knowing I had this in the bag. Turn one my HC did well again, off target but that hit a Hydra for 4 wounds. That forced his Hydra in hiding for most of the game. I lost this game due to cockiness. I charged my Daemon Prince into his flank, tried to cast Sword of Rhun but that damn Ring of Hotek caused a miscast. I took out 5 Black Guard and wounded his general, but then the general attacked with the Executioner Axe and made mincemeat of my DP. That 600 pt swing was the game.

Game 3: I play Brad Wieman, a dwarf player from Ft. Bragg. Army consisted of 3 large infantry blocks, 2 bolt throwers, 1 organ gun, 1 unit of handgunners and a gyrocopter. He castled up into a corner, and I positioned to hit his flank as hard as I could with 2 knight units and a DP. I got his one unit to flee but I rolled low so I could catch him. My knights couldn't catch dwarves! Eventually his general came around and after a few rounds of combat he was able to break me. I controlled the other 3 table quarters, but it wasn't enough since all his points were in his infantry.

After day 1, I was 0-3, and picked Lance as my favorite player. It was hard since I had a good time with all 3 of my opponents, but from a warhammer game viewpoint that game 1 was really intense and a lot of fun.

Day 2 Game 4, I played the ringer Ogre army played by Richard (the TO). Again I thought to myself, I have an Ogre army this should be a cakewalk. I was wrong. He trounced me good, and my knights again failed me miserably.

Game 4, I played John Gressock, a Skaven player with large blocks of infantry, a grey seer, but no jezzails or abominations. It was a a nicely balanced list. Their were some classic events happening in this battle. He gets the 13th spell off with IF, and turns my Chosen into a new rat unit. I then miscast the next turn, and he gets to cast that spell again. This time at my Chaos warriors. They too turn into a rat unit. Then my HC blows up. It went so bad for me that my opponent actually stopped casting magic as he had the game won and didn't want to miscast himself.

Both Richard and John were fun players. I picked John as my favorite opponent since we both had a good laugh at my poor dice rolling and general bad luck.

I am off to buy a lottery ticket as no one's bad luck could get this bad.