Northern Invasion 2019

Hey everyone, now for one of the highlights of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar scene in Scotland, Northern Invasion 2019. Northern Invasion is the eponymous event of the Northern Invastion podcast, TO’d and organised by Stu West (the man with one of the longest commutes in the world for AoS events, all the way from the Orkneys). Every year Stu runs a great event combining hobby, narrative & strong competitive gaming.

For more from Northern Invasion, check out their podcast, Facebook page and Patreon. The guys do a massive amount for the Scottish AoS scene.

Talking of Scots, check out Dark Fantastic Mills for great 3D printed terrain perfect for wargaming. Its super versatile and light so worldwide shipping is inexpensive. Use the “aos shorts” discount code for a further 10% off the already decent prices.

Northern Invasion 2019 Players’ Pack

The Northern Invasion events are tied together with a narrative thread from event to event. For this year’s incarnation, Tzeentch’s success means that the battle has shifted from Ghyran to the Realm of Chaos.

The key points of the event pack were:

2,000 points – General’s Handbook 2019 (FAQ, but not FAQ points in play – the FAQ came out on the day lists were due)
Each player must select 6 Hidden Agendas and include them in their army list. One must be chosen each game and each may only be used once.
Hills will be counted as scenery and, as such, will be subject to a mysterious terrain roll at the onset of each game.
Battleplans and Realmscape rules determined after list submission.
The pre-drawn Realmscape rules must be used in each game to score victory points – these will be drawn after list submission. Only armies from a given realm may use the special Command Ability listed in the Core Rules when playing in the Realm.
Where a battleplan states that a minor victory will be achieved by the force that takes the most kill points, this will only apply if the difference in kill points exceeds 200pts. Where the margin is less than 200pts, the game is drawn.
Games of AOS should consist 5 Battle Rounds. If it is clear that you will not complete your full game in the allotted time, a measured and pragmatic discussion should take place and any key rolls should be made to determine who would most likely have been the winner if the full term had been played.

Scoring

Fully painted and coherently based army – 10 TPs
Voting in best-painted competitions and for naming favourite game – 10 TPs
Favourite Game Votes Received – 0-10 TPs (1 vote = 2 TPs, 2 votes = 5 TPs, 3+ votes = 10 TPs)
*Victory Points – 0-100 TPs (Major Victory = 18, Minor Victory = 12, Draw = 8, Minor Loss = 4, Major Loss = 0). Plus, each round, 1pt will be scored for achieving your chosen Hidden Agenda and 1pt will be scored for denying your opponent’s Hidden Agenda.
Each Warlord’s Narrative Award – 5TPs
Note: a 10 TP penalty will be applied for late list submissions or changes to lists.

In the event of a tie, the strength of schedule will be used as a first decider followed by Favourite Game votes. A final tie breaker will be net kill points.

The Battleplans and Realms

So after lists were submitted, the following Battleplans and Realms were selected.

Round 1 Aqshy Scorched Landscape Total Commitment 19
Round 2 Shyish Life Leaching Focal Points 19
Round 3 Chamon Metallic Hinterlands Better Part of Valour 19
Round 4 Ulgu Shadowed Mansions Relocation Orb 19
Round 5 Hysh Gleaming Vistas Places of Arcane Power 19

The Greatest Backstory

As part of the narrative flavour of the event, players submitted 50-500 word backstories for their forces.

These backstories were judged by none-other than Black Library author, Josh Reynolds.

The Warlord’s Narrative

Northern Invasion encourages a narrative style of play and seeks to recognise those Warlords that are the best at what they do. This year there were four ‘Warlord’s Narrative’ awards, each of which were worth 5TPs.

Only generals that are non-unique and are not behemoths were eligible for the ‘Warlord’s Narrative’.

The Beastkiller – Awarded to the Warlord that personally slays the most Behemoths during the course of the event by any means.
The Master Assassin – Awarded to the Warlord that personally inflicts the most wounds during the combat/shooting phases throughout the event.
Master of Magic – Awarded to the Warlord who successfully casts the most spells throughout the event.
Blessed by Ranald – Awarded to the Warlord who suffers the least wounds throughout the event (wounds healed back are still considered to be wounds taken).

The Badge of Shame

Each year, the event awards a badge of shame to the “filthiest” list submitted. The aim is not to identify the most competitive or finely honed list, but that list which encapsulates “filth”, the idea of pushing a concept or taking an advantage to its competitive extreme.

Now, I’ve had the pleasure of awarding this in the last two years. Last year was a four Ballista and Comet list, and this year was Nathan Watson’s 4 Verminlord Skaven Endless Spells list.

Not only did Nathan follow the Tom Mawdsley template, but he also took a large number of movement blocking Endless Spells, sure to cramp opponent’s play.

The Best Man

The counterpoint for the Badge of Shame is the Best Man. Judged by all-round nice bloke, Clint Mallet of Heralds of War and CanCon TO.

My pick is Iain Hunter because it’s clearly a load of bull.
I have to love an army of ambushing Bullgors and Doombulls. Nothing says surprise like a proper herd suddenly in your back lines.
I feel like he’s missing the battalion to give him some drop flexibility and an additional artefact. But he may have just opted for more bulls and that’s fine.

You can read the full pack for more information.

Results

So the results for Northern Invasion 2019 were:

Overall Tournament Champion (most TPs)
Best General in each Grand Alliance (VPs only)
Consumate Commander (highest net KPs)
- Andy Currie (with KO)
Lord of the Realm (most VPs of armies from each Realm)
Last Placed
- Iain Hunter (best man and last)
Best Army
- Adam Rawson
Best Painted Warlord
Finest Backstory
Beastkiller Award (Warlord’s Narrative – most behemoths slain)
- John Craig
Master Assassin (Warlord’s Narrative – most wounds inflicted during the shooting/combat phase)
- Sean McKechnie
Master of Magic (Warlord’s Narrative – most spells successfully cast)
- David Jack (Alexander)
Blessed by Ranald (Warlord’s Narrative – least wounds suffered)
- Shane Kingston
A God Amongst Men (receives 5 favourite game votes)