AoS Blog 3: 3rd Time's The Charm

Somehow it’s already the 3rd month of the HH AoS league and things are starting to get serious. We’ve had a Battlescroll update which has resulted in some lists needing to be changed (sad face Flesh Eater Courts players), and some which haven’t changed at all.

This month’s mission is Close to the Chest, which promises some tight games (you’ve heard that before from me) due to the low primary scoring which requires the non-active player to pick an objective worth 2 extra points.

Round 3 will allow plenty more grudges and new units to hate, so let’s take a look at this month’s match ups.

Dickie (Mutant rats) vs Tom (Dragons and that)

Tom wins 32-28

Unfortunately I was complacent in my predictions, thinking my own game was the only league game taking place on Tuesday, so I have let everyone down by having 2 games completed before my ‘finger in the air’ predictions came out.

Of course I expected Tom to win this one though.

This was an extremely close game, with what seems like a lot of battle tactics being missed or denied for both players. Dickie survived a rough T1 to stay in the game throughout, being very un-Skaven like and holding out to push Tom all the way.

Craig (FEC) vs Pete (Ginger psychos)

Craig wins 30-26

My inaugural win of the league came courtesy of my old mucker Pete. We had to talk out T5 due to time, but ultimately the win came down to my denial of a couple of Pete’s battle tactics which he had meticulously planned out.

Turns out yeeting Ushoran at infantry is a decent option, and also running away from Gotrek is a really effective strategy that I implore others to try.

The Terrorghiest ate well this night, murdering the best part of 20 dwarves, but Gotrek once again showed his prowess, charging 6 Morbheg knights and murdering them so horribly that it actually resulted in Pete being denied a super easy Slay the Entourage battle tactic in T5!

OK onto the games which actually have not been played yet:

Alden (pointy eared elitists) vs Matt (good honest warhammering)

2 of our top dogs come up against each other first up, with both players bringing some significant shooting, which I think may be the thing which concerns Alden most coming into this game.

I expect a close game here, with a lot of death by muskets and bows. We’re all waiting to see what can beat Alden’s auto casting manifestations and maybe, just maybe Matt will be the person to take the mantle.

Or maybe, just maybe, the salted cookie monster will claim another victim. Time will tell.

Prediction: Alden wins 36-32

Kyle (ratty wheelies) vs Billie (surf ‘n’ turf)

Turtles and eels, rats big and small come together in this match up which promises to be a fun game.

I haven’t seen the Screaming Bell in action yet, but having extra spells to get manifestations etc up should give Kyle magical superiority for his very lean list, but he needs to be aware of the Tides of Death and abilities Billie can give her units each battle round which can be extremely strong (insert drowned rat metaphor).

I think the battle tactic game is going to be strong in this game due to the mobility available through gnawholes and floating sea creatures, so the game could come down to a denied tactic here or there.

Prediction: Kyle’s extra spells help get the job done, Kyle to win 32-30

Lauren (phase shifting bark) vs Mike (dragon ruined chambers)

Mike won his game very strongly in round 2, and Lauren showed me exactly what she is made of as well, so both come into this game with some form.

Karazai is going to be a very scary threat to the beetle lady (Alarielle, not Lauren) and her friends, but as I discovered last time, you only need to whiff a couple of rolls and the trees can heal and/or teleport away to keep the scoreboard ticking.

I think this game will come down to whether Mike can contain the trees, because Lauren won’t stop being able to score throughout the game.

Prediction: Lauren wins 30-28

Chris (trees, but different trees) vs Joe (Nurgle’s finest)

A battle of attrition on the cards here, Joe’s disease mechanic won’t cause much damage, but will prevent some healing for Chris’s herohammer Sylvaneth.

Chris so far has been mulched by Alden and then had a no-show, whereas Joe has been pushing reps with his stinky boys. Again though, teleporting trees are an arse to try and stop, and Joe’s army is pretty slow, so there’s a chance Chris plays ‘not touching, can’t get mad’ and teleports rings around him.

Prediction: Joe wins 28-26

Leo (green tide) vs Aid (Karazai the 3rd)

Yet another Karazai takes to the field here with Aid’s balanced looking Stormcast list taking on Leo’s half ‘n’ half Orruks.

This one is anyone’s game I would suggest, with some scary melee units on both sides and I expect it to come down to a mid board melee, with whoever can get the extra battle tactic to swing it. I think it will be a low scoring affair though.

Prediction: Aid wins 26-24

Callum (healing potion guzzling trolls) vs Jake (chief abhorrent)

Both Callum and Jake have won all their matches so far so this should be a good contest.

So many big pieces on show in this game, and I know from personal experience that the FEC can struggle to punch through those trolls.

That said, Jake has added the Ghoul King on Terrogheist to his list which I’m rating highly at the moment and can absolutely slap in a fight. The addition of the Flayers and Infernal Courtier interests me, there could be some nice extra shooting, but the body count is low so they may be some quite efficient tactic scorers in this game.

Callum absolutely smothered Tom in the last round but with more objectives I think that is less likely here, though those trolls and their healing-after-doing-literally-anything is super hard to deal with.

Like many of my predictions this round, this will be a close game and will probably come down to an additional battle tactic scored or denied.

Prediction: I have to back my fellow FEC enjoyer, Jake wins 34-30