AoS Shorts: Your Essential Guide to Age of Sigmar

CanCon 2020 Lists

Hey all, this week is CanCon 2020! The largest Warhammer Age of Sigmar singles event in the world. 240 tickets sold, 228 lists submitted, the pride of Australia, and coming this weekend! The lists for the event have been released so I have a quick post with some initial comments. A full preview of the pack will come later this week.


CanCon 2020 Pack

Call to Glory 2020: The Jade Kingdoms (to give the event its proper name) is a six round, 2,000 points matched play event, held this year in Ghyran. The realm of life spells are in play. And the Disciples of Tzeentch and Kharadron Overlords books are in use.

I’ll be back later this week to expand on the pack and the challenges it sets for players.


CanCon 2020 Lists

And here is what you are after, the CanCon 2020 lists.

CanCon 2020 Faction Breakdown

Here is a quick faction and sub-faction breakdown.

For full analysis of the lists, popular spells, artefacts, battalions, list design and more you need to check out the great stream the AoS Coach did with Liam (@shadowhammer) and Clint, the CanCon TO. The guys breakdown everything.

Las Vegas Open 2020 – Age of Sigmar LVO Lists!

Hey all, the Las Vegas Open 2020 Age of Sigmar lists have now been released. The LVO is the first US major Age of Sigmar event for the year (and rounds out the previous year’s ITC season). Hosted in Bally’s Casino, Las Vegas, the LVO is a three day, eight round Age of Sigmar event with 130+ players, and a single-day Doubles tournament. You can read all my coverage of the unique event pack, or read on further for all the LVO lists from the event.

And, as always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

LVO 2020 Lists

The Las Vegas Open runs through the Best Coast Pairings app. The team at Best Coast Pairings have kindly agreed to share the list data with me as well as provide a full PDF of the lists. Follow along with the event over the weekend on Best Coast Pairings for live results and lists.

Best Coast Pairings

LVO 2020 Lists – Faction Breakdown

Here is a breakdown of which factions, artefacts and endless spells are being taken at LVO.

And with some additional sub-faction breakdowns.


LVO 2020 Lists – Who to Watch?

So what are the lists that last year’s top 8 are bringing? Do we think they will repeat their great performance from a year ago?

The LVO 2019 top 8 knockout competitors were:

  • Bill Souza (Team America ETC captain) – Flesh-eater Courts
  • Andrew Standiferd (defeated finalist) – Stormcast
  • Jeff Paynter – Stormcast
  • Matthew Pashby – Idoneth Deepkin
  • Joe Krier – Disciples of Tzeentch
  • Roger Barker – Grand Host of Nagash (Team America ETC coach)
  • Alan Bajramovic – Grand Host of Nagash
  • Olivier Gandouet – Idoneth Deepkin

So who is back and what are they running? It turns out only Bill, Joe and Roger are back to defend their spoils so the field is open.

Bill is back running Blisterkin Flesh-Eater Courts this year, Joe has his beloved Tzeentch and a massive pile of endless spells (but no new Tzeentch book in play) and Roger has switched to the crazy green lads with Kunnin Rukk Bonesplitterz.

Now let’s also have a look at some of the other Team America ETC players coming to LVO 2020. They are Greg Goede and Jeremy Veysserie. Greg is running Skaven and Jeremy is running Hermdar Fyreslayers.

Las Vegas Open 2020 Preview

Hey all, I’m back with my first post for 2020 diving into the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Championships at the Las Vegas Open 2020 (LVO), which is coming up next weekend (24 to 26 January). Scott and his team are again putting on a 8 round! 120+ player ITC event in the heart of Las Vegas at Bally’s Casino. The LVO is the showpiece event for Frontline Gaming and the ITC (Independent Tournament Circuit)

In today’s post, I cover the pack and all its unique features. Later this week, I’ll have all the lists. Make sure to follow along the event on the Best Coast Pairings app and with the live-streaming over the weekend on the Frontline Gaming Twitch channel!

If you are interested you can go back and check out my 2019 LVO coverage:

And, as always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

Las Vegas Open Pack

The Las Vegas Open 2019 is running a truly unique format for competitive Warhammer Age of Sigmar – eight rounds over three days, with the last three rounds only being contested by the top eight players! Read the full pack for more information, otherwise I’ll take you through the key points below.

  • 2,000 points matched play, General’s Handbook 2019
  • 5 rounds, with a subsequent 3 round shootout for the top 8 to crown the overall champion
  • Realm artifacts and realm spells in play
  • Limited Realms of Battle Rules (see below)
  • Rules cut-off three weeks before the event (so no new KO and Tzeentch), but FAQs in play up to 2 days before.
  • Pre-set terrain by the TOs
  • Bone-Tithe Nexus’ replace one of the large pieces of terrain on the table (more than 1″ from objectives and 6″ from edge of battlefield and cant be placed right in the very centre of the battlefield).

I’d also recommend you check out the Wide World of Wargaming podcast episode which covered the event pack and scoring.


Las Vegas Open Scoring

The event also has an interesting scoring and secondary objectives system.

  • Major Victory – 17 points
  • Minor Victory – 12 points
  • Draw – 8 points
  • Minor Loss – 5 points
  • Major Loss – 0 points

There are additional points for secondary objectives and painting. Favourite opponent votes are collected separately.

Battleplan secondaries

Each round has one secondary mission that is worth 2 points and can only be scored by one player. Some are scored when they are first achieved while others are scored at the end of the game.

  • CENTER GROUND: You complete this Secondary if you control the objective in the center of the battlefield at the end of the battle.  Count a hero as 10 models for controlling the center objective, only for the purpose of scoring this secondary.
  • SEIZE: You complete this Secondary if you control more the objectives at the end of the battle than your opponent.  Count a battleline unit as double for controlling the center objective, only for the purpose of scoring this secondary. (Note this will not stack with the Might Makes Right allegiance ability of Ogor Mawtribes.)
  • BLOODTHIRSTY: You complete this Secondary if you are the first player to destroy a unit.  If neither player destroys a unit by the end of the game then the one that killed the first model scores this secondary.  Barring that roll off.
  • FINAL WORD: You complete this Secondary if you are the last player to destroy a unit.  If neither player destroys a unit by the end of the game then the one that killed the last model scores this secondary.  Barring that roll off.
  • LINEBREAKER: You complete this Secondary if you destroy more battleline units than your opponent.  If you both destroyed the same number then the player that destroyed more points worth of battleline units scores this secondary.  If that is also equal roll off. For the purposes of this secondary a unit is considered destroyed by the opponent once the last model in that unit is slain for the first time (for any reason).

Army missions

Each army must also pick a mission at the time of list submission to achieve over the course of the entire event. Each round you receive 2 points if you achieve your mission and another 1 point if your opponent does not achieve theirs.

  • CONSERVE: You complete this Mission if at least one-third of the units from your starting army (rounding up) have not been destroyed and are on the battlefield at the end of the battle.
  • ATTRITION: You complete this Mission if at least two-thirds of the units from your opponent’s starting army (rounding up) have been destroyed and/or are not on the battlefield at the end of the battle.
  • INVADE: You complete this Mission if a friendly unit with 3 or more models is wholly within your opponent’s territory at the end of the battle.
  • DEFEND: You complete this Mission if there are no enemy units wholly within your territory at the end of the battle.
  • SLAY: You complete this Mission if the Hero with the highest points value from your opponent’s starting army has been slain at the end of the battle. If two or more Heroes are eligible, slay either of them.
  • OVERRUN:  You complete this Mission at the end of any battle round if you have at least one unit wholly within each of the four quarters of the battlefield, and your opponent does not.

Hidden Agendas

After both armies have been set up, each player picks a hidden agenda in secret. Again you get 2 points each round for achieving it and 1 point for depriving your opponent of theirs.

  • ANCIENT HEIRLOOMS: You complete this Hidden Agenda if any friendly Heroes with an artifact of power are on the battlefield at the end of the battle.
  • DOMINATE: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if you control two more objectives than your opponent.
  • OBLITERATE: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if you destroy 3 or more enemy units in the same turn.
  • ONSLAUGHT: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if a friendly unit that is more than 9” from any enemy units attempts to charge and the charge does not fail.
  • RETAKE: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if you gain control of an objective that was controlled by your opponent.
  • SACRIFICE: You complete this Hidden Agenda immediately if the Hero with the highest points value from your starting army, and that is not your general is slain by an attack made by an enemy Hero or Monster.
  • SECRET MISSION: You complete this Hidden Agenda in any battleshock phase if a friendly Hero is wholly within an enemy territory, within 1” of the edge of the battle field, and more than 12” from a friendly territory.  You can remove that hero from play to immediately complete this hidden agenda. 
  • SORCERER SUPREME: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if an enemy Hero is slain by mortal wounds inflicted by a friendly wizard.
  • TERRIFY: You immediately complete this Hidden Agenda if an enemy unit is destroyed as a result of failing a battleshock test.

Las Vegas Open 2020 Battleplans

The LVO is using the following battleplans for the first 5 rounds, with the following modifications (the changes are in square brackets):

  • R1: Focal Points 2018 in Ghyran
    • Victory: The player with the most victory points at the end of the fifth battle round (or when the amount of time allocated for the battle runs out), wins a [minor victory]. [If one player has at least 4 points more than their opponent that player scores a major victory instead. If victory points are tied the result is a draw.]
    • Battleplan Secondary – Center Ground: You complete Secondary if you control the objective closest to the center of the battlefield at the end of the battle.  Count Heroes as 10 models when determining control of an objective for this secondary.
    • Realmscape Feature – Lifesprings: Before the battle begins, each player picks a Hero from their army. Add 1 to the Wounds characteristic of the heroes that are picked.
  • R2: Duality of Death 2018 in Ghur
    • Victory: The player with the most victory points at the end of the fifth battle round (or when the amount of time allocated for the battle runs out) wins a [minor victory].  [If one player has at least 4 points more than their opponent that player scores a major victory instead. If victory points are tied the result is a draw.]
    • Battleplan Secondary – Bloodthirsty:  You complete this Secondary if you are the first player to destroy a unit.  If neither player destroys a unit by the end of the game then the one that killed the first model scores this secondary.  Barring that roll off.
    • Realmscape Feature – Reckless Aggression:  Any unit that is within 12″ of an enemy unit at the start of their charge phase suffers 1 mortal wound unless they finish that charge phase within 3″ of an enemy model. In addition, you can re-roll hit rolls of 1 for units that have made a charge move in the same turn.
  • R3: Blood and Glory in Aqshy
    • Victory: Starting from the third battle round, one player immediately wins a major victory if they have control of all four objectives [at the end of their turn]. If neither player has won by the end of the fifth battle round, or the amount of time allocated for the battle runs out, then the player that controls the most objectives wins a minor victory. If both players control the same number of objectives at the end the game is a draw.
    • Battleplan Secondary – Final word: You complete this Secondary if you are the last player to destroy a unit.  If neither player destroys a unit by the end of the game then the one that killed the last model scores this secondary.  Barring that roll off.
    • Realmscape FeatureClouds of Smoke and Steam: A model cannot see another model if a straight line drawn from the centre of its base to the centre of the other model’s base passes across a terrain feature other than open ground and/or hills.
  • R4: Battle for the Pass 2019 in Ulgu
    • Victory: The player with the most victory points at the end of the fifth battle round (or when the amount of time allocated for the battle runs out) wins a [minor victory].  [If one player has at least 3 points more than their opponent that player scores a major victory instead. If victory points are tied the result is a draw.]
    • Battleplan Secondary – Linebreaker: You complete this Secondary if you destroy more battleline units than your opponent.  If you both destroyed the same number then the player that destroyed more points worth of battleline units scores this secondary.  If that is also equal roll off. For the purposes of this secondary a unit is considered destroyed by the opponent once the last model in that unit is slain for the first time (for any reason).
    • Realmscape Feature – Shadow Realm: At the start of your hero phase, pick one friendly unit that has all of its models within 6″ of any edge of the battlefield. You can remove that unit from the battlefield, and then set it up more than 9″ from any enemy units, and with all models within 6″ of a different edge of the battlefield. Then roll a dice for each model you moved; on a 1 the model being rolled for becomes lost in the shadows and is slain. The unit may not move in the subsequent movement phase
  • R5: Starstrike 2019 in Hysh
    • Victory: The player with the most victory points at the end of the fifth battle round (or when the amount of time allocated for the battle runs out) wins a [minor victory].  [If one player has at least 5 points more than their opponent that player scores a major victory instead. If victory points are tied the result is a draw.]
    • Battleplan Secondary – Seize: You complete this Secondary if you control more the objectives at the end of the battle than your opponent. Count a battleline unit as double the number of models for controlling the center objective, only for the purpose of scoring this secondary. (Note this will not stack with the Might Makes Right allegiance ability of Ogor Mawtrimes.)
    • Realmscape Feature – Dazzling Glow: Subtract 1 from hit rolls made for attacks that target units that are in cover.

I’m really excited to see how this pack plays out over the weekend and can’t wait for the final 8 showdown on the Sunday.

As I said at the beginning, I’ll have further posts up this week with all the lists and some exciting news from Best Coast Pairings.

Sydney GT 2019

Hey all, the Sydney GT 2019 is coming on 12 and 13 October 2019! One of Sydney’s premier Warhammer Age of Sigmar events. This year, the Sydney GT is offering something different to the usual matched play Age of Sigmar tournament by setting the points level at 2,500 points. With 500 more points to play with, creative players can unlock whole new lists around little-used battalions or get a super-sized monster out onto the board that they would not usually.


Sydney GT 2019 Pack

The key points of the Sydney GT 2019 pack are:

  • 2,500 points
  • General’s Handbook 2019, Firestorm, Forbidden Power and Malign Sorcery
  • Choosing a realm for your army can grant you access to realm spells and realm artefacts. If your army doesn’t have an allegiance spell lore, you can use spells from your realm. If you do have an allegiance spell lore, you can choose either you allegiance lore or the realm lore.
  • Limited realm rules in play with Chamon for day one and Aqshy for day two
  • Secondary objectives: Before deployment, each player chooses a Hidden Agenda to achieve in secret. Hidden Agendas can only be picked once.
  • Tertiary objectives: The event is running unique tertiary objectives in each battleplan.

Battleplans

The event is using the following battleplans:

  • Starstrike 2019 in Chamon with Adapt or Die, Transmutation of Lead and Steel Rain
    • Tertiary objective: Score 1 point if you control the objective marker in your opponent’s territory at any point at the end of any of your turns. Score 2 points instead if your control the objective marker in your opponent’s territory at the end of the game with a unit with Battleline battlefield role.
  • Duality of Death 2019 in Chamon with Adapt or Die, Transmutation of Lead and Rust Plague
    • Score 1 point if you have a unit wholly within your enemy’s territory at the end of the game that did not start off the table or was removed from the table by any means during the course of the game. Score 2 points instead if the unit described above has the Battleline battlefield role.
  • The Relocation Orb 2019 in Chamon with Adapt or Die, Transmutation of Lead and Irresistible Force.
    • Score 1 point if you slay an enemy HERO by the end of the third battle round. Score 2 points instead if you slay 2 or more enemy HEROES by the end of the third battle round. If your opponent only has 1 HERO, score 2 points if you slay that model.
  • Focal Points 2019 in Aqshy with Firestarter, Fireball and Geysers of Boiling Blood
    • Score 1 point if you control at least 3 of the objectives markers at the end of any of your turns. Score 2 points instead if your control at least 3 of the objective markers at the end of the game & two of them are in your opponent’s territory.
  • Knife to the Heart 2019 in Aqshy with Firestarter, Fireball and Flaming Missiles
    • Score 1 point if you have a unit wholly within your enemy’s territory at the end of the game that did not start off the table or was removed from the table by any means during the course of the game. Score 2 points instead if the unit described above has the Battleline battlefield role.

Scoring

You can read the full player’s pack and check out all the battleplans.


Sydney GT 2019 Lists

The Australian Age of Sigmar community is the home of creative and off-the wall lists. You can find all the Sydney GT 2019 lists here.

The AoS Coach and Down Under Sigmar did a list review show running through the favourite lists from the event. So settle in for two hours with Liam, Hayden and Randy 🙂

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOPg5eccj6k&w=560&h=315]

Online Voting: Favourite Army

Sydney GT ’19 will be letting YOU, our online Age of Sigmar community, an opportunity to vote for your favourite army at the event.

Online Favourite Army: Judged by an online poll & awarded to the army used at the event with the highest number of votes within a 24 hour period including endless spells / summoned units / allegiance terrain. Display board may be used.

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Facehammer GT Report

Hey everyone, today I have my Facehammer GT 2019 report. The Facehammer GT is one of the premiere Warhammer Age of Sigmar events in the UK. Hosted by the Facehammer podcast, at Element Games (an amazing venue in Stockport), and covered by the Honest Wargamer, it was an epic weekend of wargaming for 81 players. Check out this post for the pack, results, top lists, pictures and coverage.

As always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

Facehammer GT Pack

The Facehammer GT has a top quality pack with something for all players and an innovative 20-0 scoring system. The aim being to challenge and differentiate between the top players in an 80 player field. You can read the full pack here but the highlights are:

  • 3 hour rounds
  • 2,000 points
  • General’s Handbook 2019
  • Battleplans randomly selected from the 18 matched play scenarios on the day
    • Round 1 – Shifting Objectives
    • Round 2 – Places of Arcane Power
    • Round 3 – Total Commitment
    • Round 4 – Focal Points
    • Round 5 – Total Conquest
  • Scenery pre-placed by the organisers – mysterious terrain used but you only roll once to determine the applicable terrain table and then all pieces are rolled from that table
  • Realm artefacts in use
  • No realmscape features, command abilities or realm spells

Scoring

Painting and army list scoring.

  • 15TPs – army painted to minimum standard
  • 5TPs – extra effort applied (above average bases, freehand, higher technical standard etc)
  • 10TPs – army is cohesive
  • 5TPs – army list submitted on registration
  • 5TPs – army list is legal and in correct format

Competitive play scoring.

  • Major Victory – 14
  • Minor – 10
  • Draw – 7
  • Minor – 4
  • Major Loss – 0
  • Destroying 1000pts of your opponent’s army – 1 TP
  • Losing less than 1000pts of your starting army – 1 TP

To calculate kill points you did the following:

  • The points value of all units destroyed
  • The points of any warscroll battalion in which all units have been destroyed
  • The points value of any endless spell or prayer model from your opponent’s army not on the table at end of the game.
  • If your opponent purchased a command point and you have destroyed their general, then you also score the 50pts spent on the command point.

Hidden agenda scoring:

  • Agenda Triumph rules are not in play
  • Players select two agendas per game after set-up is complete but before the first battle round
  • Once both players have picked, the agendas are revealed
  • You can only use each agenda once per event
  • 1 TP for each agenda completed
  • 1 TP for each mission your opponent did not complete.
  • Making a pool of 4 points available to both players. So if you achieve both missions and your opponent achieves both missions then you would score 2 points each, however if you score both missions and your opponent fails both their missions then you would score 4

The FHGT Champion is the player with the most “Tournament Points”, if two people are tied then these factors will be considered in this order until a winner is determined.

  • Kill points TP’s > Agenda points > Strength of Schedule > kill points

Sportsmanship scoring:

  • There are 15 TPS available
  • Receiving 1 Best Opponent Nomination +5 TPS
  • Receiving 2 or more Best Opponent nominations +5 TPS
  • Winning the Best Opponent award +5 TPS
  • Receiving 1 Complaints* – 10 TPS
  • Receiving 2 Complaints* – 50 TPS
  • Receiving 3 Complaints* – Disqualification

Players will nominate the two players they had the most fun playing against during the event and the player with the most votes will win the Facehammer GT Herald award. In the event of a tie it will go to the player who had the most tournament points.


Facehammer GT 2019 Results

  • Overall results
    • 1st: Luke Morton – Idoneth Deepkin
    • 2nd: Bryan Carmichael – Slaanesh
    • 3rd: Dan Bradshaw – Skaven
  • Best in alliance – Most Agenda Points
    • Death – Tom Mawdsley
    • Chaos – Dan Ford
    • Destruction – Ritchie
    • Order – Donal Taylor
  • Top 10 players
    • Luke Morton – Idoneth Deepkin
    • Bryan Carmichael – Hedonites of Slaanesh
    • Dan Bradshaw – Skaventide
    • Ben Curry – Daughters of Khaine
    • Laurie H-W – Sylvaneth
    • Mark Wildman – Blades of Khorne
    • JP Stevens – Hedonites of Slaanesh
    • James Tinsdale – Idoneth Deepkin
    • Tom Mawdsley – Legion of Grief
    • Ritchie Mcalley – Gloomspite Gitz
  • Top 10 tables per round.
  • Most sporting – Paul Haley (@loft_hammer)
  • Most bloodthirsty (most kill points) – Ben Curry (@BadDice_Podcast)
  • Best painted
    • 1st: PaintedByG
    • 2nd: Matt Oswald
    • 3rd: Ritchie
  • Coolest army = Luke Morton
  • Best painted competition
    • Best in show – PaintedByG
    • Unit – PaintedByG
    • Hero – Fluffhammer
    • Monster – @Markthebeastman
    • Open – PaintedByG
PaintedByG taking all the hardware.

Facehammer GT 2019 Lists

Lists for the event were submitted on the day. So I’m trying to compile them from the internet and the Honest Wargamer Twitch stream. I’ll update them as I have more information.


First – Luke Morton – Idoneth Deepkin

Enclave: Dhom-Hain

LEADERS
Vulturnos, High King of the Deep (280) General
Isharann Soulscryer (130) Artefact : Cloud of Midnight
Isharann Soulscryer (130)
Black Ark Fleetmaster (40)

Allies 5 x Khinerai Heartrenders (90)

UNITS
3 xAkhelian IshlaenGuard(140)
6 xAkhelianMorrsarGuard (340)
3 xAkhelianMorrsarrGuard (170)
3 xAkhelianMorrsarrGuard (170)
3 x AkhelianMorrsarrGuard (170)
3 x AkhelianMorrsarrGuard170)
3 x AkhelianMorrsarGuard170)
TOTAL: 2000/2000


Second – Bryan Carmichael – Slaanesh

TBC


Third – Dan Bradshaw – Skaventide


Fourth – Ben Curry – Daughters of Khaine

Daughters of Khaine
– Temple: Hagg Nar

Mortal Realm: Aqshy

Slaughter Queen on Cauldron of Blood (330)
– General
– Trait: Devoted Desciples
– Artefact: Ignax Scales
– Blessing of Khaine

Hag Queen (90)
– Catechism of Murder

Hag Queen (90)
– Blood Sigil – Sacrament of Blood
– Martyr’s Sacrifice

Morathi High Oracle of Khaine (480)
– Lore of Shadows: Mindrazor

30 x Sisters of Slaughter (300)
– Barbed Whips and Blade Bucklers

30 x Witch Aelves (300)
– Sacrificial Knives and Blade Bucklers

10 x Witch Aelves (120)
– Sacrificial Knives and Blade Bucklers

5 x Khinerai Lifetakers (80)

5 x Khinerai Lifetakers (80)

Cauldron Guard (120)

Total: 1990 / 2000

Ben has given a run-down on his tournament performance over on TGA.


Fifth – Laurie H-W – Sylvaneth


Painting Competition

The Facehammer GT is known for have both an amazing standard of painted armies, but also an excellent stand-alone painting competition.

There are lots of more great quality pictures on the Honest Wargamer’s Facebook page.

Best painted army nominations

PaintedByG’s excellent winning best painted army.

Other best painted army nominations and painting competition pictures.


Facehammer GT 2019 Coverage

There was full coverage across the weekend provided by the stream team at the Honest Wargamer. The crew for this event were Rob Symes,  Darren Watson, Benjamin Savva and roving reports from Owen Jackson.

All the games are available for free to watch back on the Honest Wargamer Twitch channel and on the Honest Wargamer Twitter account. I’ve also embedded the videos below.

Game 1 – Seraphon vs Nurgle


Game 2 – Gloomspite Gitz vs Stormcast Eternals


Game 3 – Beastclaw Raiders vs Bonesplitters


Game 4 – Idoneth Deepkin vs Slaanesh


Game 5 – Gloomspite Gitz vs Idoneth Deepkin


Facehammer GT 2019 Gallery

A gallery of pictures from across the weekend.

London GT 2019 Report

The London GT 2019 was run and done this weekend with a massive crowd of gamers for the Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Warhammer 40,000 and Blood Bowl events. All at a brand new venue in London, the Lee Valley Indoor Athletics Centre (still complete with an athletics track 😉 ). The esteemed Marc Wilson organised the Age of Sigmar event and he is a dab hand at running large events smoothly. Marc’s Bloodtithe international team tournament events have always had rave reviews.

In this post, I’ll cover the London GT 2019 pack, the results and awards, the faction breakdowns, top lists and all the coverage.

As always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

London GT 2019 Pack

So let’s check out the pack. The key details were:

  • 2hr 45min rounds (a necessity I feel in current Age of Sigmar)
  • 2,000 points
  • General’s Handbook 2019
  • Only Warscrolls in ‘Pitched Battle Profiles 2019’, Battletomes released between June 22 nd – September 7th 2019, ‘Season of War: Firestorm’ and ‘Forbidden Power’ are valid.
  • Realm artefacts are in play.
  • Realm spells can be used (see below).
  • Realms of battle are not used.
  • Mercenaries are in play.
  • Scenery pre-rolled and placed by the organizers.
  • 12 of the 18 Hidden Agendas will be used. Players must select 2 per game to use (and each can only be used once).

The battleplans and realms were announced on the day:

  • Round 1: Starstrike in Ghur (Amber Spear, Primal Hunter)
  • Round 2: Focal Points in Ulgu (Labyrinth, Aetheric Tenderls)
  • Round 3: Places of Arcane Power in Chamon (Curse of Rust, Rule of Burning Iron)
  • Round 4: Knife to the Heart in Hysh (Light of Battle, Vengeful Illumination)
  • Round 5: Total Conquest in Aqshy (Fiery Blast, Stoke Rage)

The London GT also hosted an Age of Sigmar Doubles Event on the Friday afternoon and event. A three round swiss event. The pack for that event is here. The event was taken out my Mr Donal Taylor and Mr Cunis.


London GT 2019 Results

So, the awards for the London GT 2019 were:

  • Best General – Piotr Kurkowski (Daughters)
  • Best General, 1st Runner Up – Darren Watson (DoT)
  • Best General, 2nd Runner Up – Philipp Kartaev (Fyreslayers)
  • Best Appearance – Jimbo (Stormcast)
  • Best Appearance, 1st Runner Up – Ming (Troggs!)
  • Best Appearance, 2nd Runner Up – Sam Saunders (Stormcast)
  • Most Sporting – Shared by Mitzy, Steve Curtis and Laurie HW
  • Best in Allegiance (too many to list)
  • Giant Killer (for anyone beating Darren Watson, last year’s champ) – Not awarded as Darren went undefeated!
  • The ‘Das Boot’ Submarine commander (player with the best Sunday score) – ???

The full results for the London GT 2019 are up on Tabletop.TO but here are the highlights. The top 25 saw an impressive spread of 13 different factions. For all the gnashing of teeth about some of the 2019 factions, there is a strong competitive balance at the top end of the field. Factions in the top 25 were:

  • Daughters of Khaine
  • Disciples of Tzeentch
  • Fyreslayers
  • Skaven
  • Flesh-Eater Courts
  • Grand Host of Nagash
  • Idoneth Deepkin
  • Blades of Khorne
  • Ironjawz
  • Slaanesh
  • Sylvaneth
  • Stormcast Eternals
  • Seraphon

London GT 2019 Lists

The full lists for the London GT 2019 are available on Tabletop TO. However, the top four are:

First: Piotr Kurkowski (DoK)

Piotr is a top Polish player that has been smashing face with Daughters, Deepkin and Sylvaneth over the last year or so. He’ll be looking to follow up this strong result with more trophies at the Age of Sigmar Grand Tournament Finals later this month.


Second: Darren Watson (Tzeentch)

Darren, Darren, Darren. Team England’s darling and frequent sharer of Age of Sigmar tactical knowledge, both with his Honest Wargamer list diaries and his tactica on the Hampshire Hammerers blog and this site. Darren took the newly reinvigorated Changehost – partying like it is 2017.


Third: Philipp Kartaev (Fyreslayers)

Philipp brought the angry hot dwarves from Russia. He played Darren in game four in Knife to the Heart.


Fourth: Jack Armstrong (Skaven)


London GT Best Appearance

The Best Appearance categories at the London GT were taken out by those hobby stalwarts, Jimbo and Ming from the Realms at War crew.

Jimbo took out first place with his beautiful NMM Stormcast army. This army has really been a labour of love for Jimbo as he looked to push his skills to the limits and learn new tricks.

Ming brought the Dankhold, his narrative and beautifully painted Troggoth force. There was also a bit of flair from a UV torch acting as the Bad Moon and bringing out hidden details on his army.

You can see other pictures of the armies nominated for best painted in the gallery below.


London GT 2019 Coverage

There was full coverage across the weekend provided by the stream team at the Honest Wargamer. The crew for this event were Rob Symes, James Powell of the Scribes of War club in Stratford upon Avon, Scrivo and Donal Taylor.

All the games are available for free to watch back on the Honest Wargamer Twitch channel and Loonboss Donal provided roaming coverage on the Honest Wargamer Twitter account. I’ve also embedded the videos below.

Game 1: Skaven vs Sylvaneth

Game 2: Fyreslayers vs Beasts of Chaos

Game 3: Skaven vs Stormcast Eternals

Game 4: FEC vs Daughters of Khaine

Game 5: Skaven vs Disciples of Tzeentch

Age of Sigmar LGT Review

ETC 2019 Team Lists

Hey all, the World Cup of Warhammer, the European Team Championships (or ETC 2019) is now less than a month away and the team lists are out! The ETC is a 6 player Age of Sigmar team event with teams from 12 countries from around the world. This year Serbia is playing host.

Today’s post is covering all the team lists from the event. For more coverage, check out the Team England and Team USA announcements on the site 🙂 I’ll also have a post later this week covering the pack and scenarios 🙂

As always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

What are the European Team Championships?

The European Team Championships is the World Cup of Warhammer with national teams from around the world competing in Warhammer Fantasy (before AoS) and Warhammer 40k, as well as The Ninth Age and Flames of War.  Age of Sigmar was run as a side-event in 2018 and is now growing to fully-fledged game system this year with 19 teams registered so far.

ETC 2019

Where and when is ETC 2019?

The ETC is held August 9-11 2019 in Novi Sad, Serbia.


What is the format?

Teams of 6 players face off in a series of individual games each round, with a combined score determining the results of each round.  The event will be over 6 rounds to decide the overall winner.

The event is using General’s Handbook 2018 and a mixture of core book and GHB2018 battleplans. I’ll cover the pack in detail later this week.


ETC 2019 Round 1 Draw

The draw for the first round has been done and there are some juicy early match-ups, in particular England vs USA.

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ETC 2019 Team Lists

And here are the lists! You can download the PDF or keep on scrolling. With thanks to Dave the Chin of the Hero Phase podcast/events/studios for the graphics.

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Czech Republic

England

France

Greece

Italy

Poland

Russia

Serbia

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

USA

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.

Age of Sigmar

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)

You can find the full Warscore standings here.


Northern Invasion Top Lists

Northern Invasion had 46 players, with 21 different allegiances and 0 Daughters of Khaine Players.

The most common Endless Spells were – Geminids (6), Maelstrom (6) and Palisade (5).

The 5 most selected Hidden Agendas were Invade, Slay, Ancient Heirlooms, Retake and Onslaught.

The 5 least taken were Sorcerer Supreme, Obliterate, Linebreaker, Overrun and Terrify.

You can check out the full Northern Invasion 2019 lists, or just the top lists below.

Leigh Martin – 1st – Slaanesh


John Craig – 2nd – Devoted of Sigmar!


John Bayliss – 3rd – Khorne


Northern Invasion Coverage

With thanks to the people of Twitter, here are some pictures from the event weekend.

American Team Championships 2019

Hey all, this last weekend saw the American Team Championships 2019 hosted at Camp Jordan, East Ridge, Tennessee, USA. Primarily a Warhammer 40k event (with over 400 players), the ATC is trying to grow the Warhammer Age of Sigmar event, with official support from Games Workshop. This year the event had six teams of four players, I’ll cover the pack, the results, and the top lists in this post.

Games Workshop also hosted a small preview event at the ATC. Ben Johnson, Product Developer for the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Studio, previewed the sixth Chaos warband for Warcry, the Cypher Lords, and gave further details about the new Warcry game. You can find all the details over on Warhammer Community.

As always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

ATC 2019 Players’ Pack

The American Team Championships are a four player team event. You can read the full pack, and check out the highlights below:

  • 2,000 point armies and General’s Handbook 2018
  • Four rounds, each 3.5 hours long (including pairings).
  • Each player brings an army from a different Grand Alliance
  • No Realmscape Features or Realm Spells
  • One Realm Artefact per team.
  • Hidden Agendas in play (two per team player each round, no duplicates, revealed to your opponent)
  • Pre-set terrain
  • Model Conversion Policy
  • Paint Competition Guidelines
  • Sportsmanship / Code of Conduct

Battleplans

The battleplans for the event were all selected from the Core Book and General’s Handbook 2018.

  • Round 1
    • (A) Three Places of Power (CB p315)
    • (A) Total Conquest (GHB 51)
    • (B) Gifts from the Heavens (CB p316)
    • (B) The Relocation Orb (GHB p61)
  • Round 2
    • (A) Duality of Death (GHB p52)
    • (A) Battle for the Pass (GHB p53)
    • (B) Starstrike (GHB P54)
    • (B) Focal Points (GHB p57)
  • Round 3
    • (A) Places of Arcane Power (GHB p 60)
    • (A) Total Commitment (GHB p56)
    • (B) Shifting Objectives (GHB p59)
    • (B) Escalation (CB p313)
  • Round 4
    • (A) Knife to the Heart (GHB p50)
    • (A) Scorched Earth (GHB p55)
    • (B) Border War (CB p314)
    • (B) The Better Part of Valour (GHB p58)

Scoring

The scoring was as follows:

  • Major win: 16 TP
  • Minor win: 12 TP
  • Draw: 8 TP
  • Minor loss: 4 TP
  • Major loss: 0 TP
  • Complete Hidden Agenda: 1 TP
  • Prevent Opponent’s Hidden Agenda: 1 TP

Each team adds up the points for their players and the team with most points will be declared the winner. Kill points are used as the first tiebreaker.

Team scores are capped between 20 and 60 tournament points a round. This prevents skewed results from the initial draw.

Pairing system

  • Captains have 20 minutes before each game to discuss with their team what the best strategy is for the round and to work out the pairings for the round.
  • Distribution of Hidden Agendas among team members will also have to be completed within this 20 minutes.
  • Step 1
    • For the first set of pairings, both teams select an army and place it face down on the table.
    • When both teams have selected their armies, they are then revealed simultaneously.
    • The teams then select two armies each to counter the revealed army of the opposing team, and place them face down on the table.
    • When all four armies have been placed, they are then revealed simultaneously.
    • Out of the two armies placed by their opponents, each team selects one to play against the army that they placed initially.
    • For the second set of pairings, the unselected army remaining at the end of the Step 1 process remains on the table and will automatically play against the opposing armies left at hand.
  • Step 2
    • Team Captains roll off (using an official ATC die).
    • The winner distributes the first two scenarios (A) on the scenario list for the current round to any two of the player matches that were determined in Step 1.
    • The opposing Team Captain then determines the tables that these matches will be played on.
    • Then the Captain that lost the roll off will distribute the last 2 scenarios (B) on the scenario list for the current round to the two remaining player matches that were determined in Step 1 and the opposing Team Captain then determines the tables that these matches will be played on.
  • Step 3
    • Proceed with the distribution of Hidden Agendas among team members.

ATC 2019 Results

The event was run via the Best Coast Pairings app – a great app for iOS and Android that I have previously covered on the site. You can check out all the results and pairings on the app.

The clear winners were Grain Alliance Alcohol, who got maximum 60 point scores in each of their rounds, and won 15 out of 16 individual match-ups. Comprehensively taking out the overall title and the top position in each of the Grand Alliances.

  • 1st: Grain Alliance Alcohol
    • Zach Caschetta (Stormcast)
    • Brendan Melnick (Flesh-Eater Courts)
    • Jacob Berry (Skaventide)
    • Carson Burns (Gloomspite)
  • 2nd: Back 2 Back ATC Champions
    • Brian Sayman (Disciples of Tzeentch)
    • Scooter Walters (Flesh-Eater Courts)
    • William Bankard (Ironjawz)
    • Lincoln Tidwell (GA Order)
  • 3rd: Sigmar and Chill
    • Rob Fortin (Gloomspite)
    • Philip Fortin (Nighthaunt)
    • Al Hasting (Khorne)
    • Daniel Sacdalan (Stormcast)

ATC 2019 Winning Lists

You can find all the lists on Best Coast Pairings, but the lists for Grain Alliance Alcohol were:

Zach Caschetta – Stormcast


Brendan Melnick – Flesh-Eater Courts


Jacob Berry – Skaventide


Carson Burns – Gloomspite


ATC 2019 Gallery

With thanks to on site reporter, Ben Johnson, here is a selection of photos from the event.

Rage of Sigmar 2019

Hey there, back into the swing of things with a tournament report from Rage of Sigmar 2019, the first two-day Age of Sigmar event run by the Bad Moon Cafe in London, UK. The Bad Moon Cafe is a great venue (check out my profile for it), and has an awesome local scene developing with some strong lists. It is really interesting seeing the early General’s Handbook 2019 meta developing. Here you’ll find the pack, lists and results.

As always, 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.

Age of Sigmar

Rage of Sigmar Players’ Pack

The event was played using General’s Handbook 2019 pitched battle rules and scenarios.


Results

Congratulations to all the players that took home awards:

  • First – Daniil Osudin – Changehost
  • Second – Benjamin Savva – Legion of Grief
  • Third – Sam Loving – Stormcast Eternals
  • Wax Wings (Max Points Day 1, Low Points Day 2) – Leo Rautonen (Ironjawz)
  • Puppy Smasher (Low Points Day 1, Max Points Day 2) – Ralph Hughes (Greywater Fastness)
  • Best Painted – Thomas Lemoine

The Wax Wings and Puppy Smasher awards were sponsored by the “non-litigious” Rage of Sigmar podcast from the US.

You can find the full results over on Tabletop.TO.


Rage of Sigmar Top Lists

You can find all the Rage of Sigmar lists here, and see the top lists below. There was quite a mix of factions, with a strong showing for Death.

Check out the full lists over at Tabletop.TO.


Daniil Osudin – 1st – Changehost


Benjamin Savva – 2nd – Legion of Grief


Sam L – 3rd – Stormcast Eternals

List not published.


Matthew G – 4th – Seraphon


Martijn Zuidema – 5th – SCE


Bad Moon Cafe Coverage

Hugh and everyone at the Bad Moon Cafe put together some great coverage over on their YouTube channel. You can find highlights, table-walks and short interviews with some of the players.


Gallery

With thanks to those at the event, here is a selection of photos from Rage of Sigmar 2019.


Upcoming events

The Bad Moon Cafe runs monthly one-day Age of Sigmar events called War in the Mortal Realms. So if you are in the area, pop down and check them out. Tickets are available here.