AoS Blog 4: Blogging a dead horse

We are halfway through the first ever Hobby Henchmen AoS league and it’s (sort of) all to play for, with 2 players on 3 wins out of 3, and another 4 with 2 wins each to put some pressure on.

The mission this month is the Jaws Of Gallett,  which is 5 objectives with Hold One, Hold Two, Hold More scoring. Then, each turn after the first an objective is removed which is decided by the underdog, so we could see some really interesting games with some tough decisions to be made for the underdog.

So, let’s see who is facing who, and what questionable prediction I raise for them!

Callum (Troll chain gang) vs Alden (Elven 241 discount spells store)

Here it is then, the battle of the 3 wins players, which everyone (except Callum) has been waiting for.

Callum and Alden have played each other a lot of times, so there won’t be any surprises expected from one another going into this game.

Alden has a well earned reputation for blowing people away but Callum’s trolls don’t tend to shift easily, so much will depend on what bounces off their leathery hides and how much misery Teclis causes.

Prediction: Alden wins 40-34

Kyle (skittering intensifies) vs Joe (Nurgle until STD are painted)

I think Kyle could literally run away on this one and potentially do well, Joe got stuck against Chris’ trees last time out and with Gnawholes that can even swallow a Screaming Bell, rings could be run around.

If Joe gets hold of the ratmen, some killing with ensue however, and Joe has added Bloab who is an insane pain in the ass to play against with his -1 to hit aura/rampage.

Joe’s hatred of his own army might go against him here, it’ll be close, maybe even a grudging draw.

Prediction: Genuinely think this could end up a draw, but I’m plumping for Kyle to scrape past 38-36

I’m going to bunch 2 match ups together here:

Aid (elusive Stormboys) vs Pete (Tarantino enthusiasts)

Me (cannibal connoisseurs) vs Leo (no army)

Aid can’t make any Tuesday nights until July which is going to hamper things especially as Pete can only do Tuesday nights.

Leo has actual rage quit AoS and has sold his green horde, so short of turning up on a club night with coarse language, has decided to drop from the league.

As such, Pete and I will play each other as a stand in game for the league scores, which will be an automatic 40 points each, but should either of us score more than this in the game (8-ball says, doubt it) we will get the full points scored.

Prediction for this game will be a narrow victory for the courts, just to try and get in Pete’s head ahead of time.

FEC win 42-38

Lauren (mistress of the trees) vs Dickie (ratty smorgasbord)

I think this one comes down to how much bark Dickie’s ratmen can gnaw through before Lauren gets teleporting hither and thither.

Removing objectives isn’t going to do much for Dickie if Lauren can just hop on over to pick the others up so killing will be the operative task.

For Lauren, if stuff gets left alive or if Alarielle is allowed to bring units back it could be a straightforward task to win this one.

Based on my experience with Lauren I’m concerned for Dickie. You leave a Treelord on ONE WOUND one time, and everything can fall apart quickly!

Prediction: Lauren wins 42-34

Chris (last march of the ents) vs Mike (dragon pals)

Similar situation here for Mike as with Dickie above, those Sylvaneth are a pain to shift and delight in bringing stuff back with simply a 50/50 dice roll.

Mike has lots of dudes with 3+ saves and some scary threats with Karazai and crossbows into Chris’ up and down (not uppy downy, but yeah that too) herohammer army.

Sylvaneth massively benefits from their mobility, and if able to hold Mike at something like arm’s length, can just run off scoring whatever they want, making it a big decision for Mike if he’s behind to start dropping objectives from the table.

Prediction: Chris wins 42-36

Tom (fiery gundam) vs Billie (finding Nemo)

It’s giant turtles vs dragons time!

This could be an interesting battle, Tom has few but BIG units, Billie has quite a bit of screening options with the Namarti.

Tom has been gummed up previously by Callum, with big bases having few options to move around, though I wouldn’t expect the sea elves to be quite as resilient as the trolls.

If Billie removes a few dragon threats early it’s possible the board control is hers, but equally Tom has quite a murder-y list with fire breath as well as scary claws and teeth.

This will be a tight game, with the tide effects having a potentially big impact for Billie, I think the big dragons might be a bit much to stop for the elves for Tom to scrape by though.

Predictions: Tom wins 36-32

Matt (the knights who say pew, pew) vs Jake (honourable ambassador of the courts)

I want to plump for my fellow embracer of the grand delusion, but I don’t think the FEC are going to like the amount of guns and armour pointing in their direction this week! Also Callis and Toll will be a genuine threat to the big Vampires (if they live long enough).

That said, Jake has a lot of knights of his own and some naughty shooting if his Infernal Courtier and Flayers pop off.

There is lots of mobility on show across both armies, so battle tactics are going to be scored aplenty, so I predict a close game.

Prediction: Matt wins 42-38