Mabrothrax on Trollblood Warlocks 2013

Some sort of popularity contest?

This post is more a bit of fun than an in depth statistical analysis, because to be frank, I find those dull. After seeing the (ongoing) post about trolls needing to be fixed based on some tournament result stats I noticed the ‘Trollblood Tournaments 2014’ post, and went and looked back at the 2013 edition.

http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?165564-Trollblood-Tournaments-2013

Over the course of a year people have posted their wins and losses with our faction’s Warlocks, some go into detail about their games, but not in any quantifiable way. What we end up with though, is an interesting snapshot of how the people who frequented the Trollblood forums in 2013 were doing, who they were playing with and winning with…

Here’s the final results with win/loss for each Warlock as reported:

Warlock	Games Won	Games Lost
pGrissel  -	30	12
eGrissel	12	6
pGrim	22	21
eGrim	30	32
pMadrak	39	18
eMadrak	53	25
pDoomshaper	100	35
eDoomshaper	44	24
Gunnbjorn	8	6
Borka	35	6
Calandra	21	9
Jarl	39	35

Representation: Which were the most played Trollblood Warlocks?

1.       pDoomshaper

2.       eMadrak

3.       Jarl

4.       eDoomshaper

5.       pMadrak

6.       eGrim

7.       pGrim

8.       pGrissel

9.       Borka

10.   Calandra

11.   eGrissel

12.   Gunnbjorn

No surprise that the most represented Warlock was pDoomshaper, and I’ll bet you a significant amount of those games were played with Runes of War. What is surprising, to me at least, is how high up Jarl is and how low on the list Borka is. Are people tiring of Family Reunion? Early last year you couldn’t move for all the Family Reunion lists!

I don’t see Jarl talked about that much that often, probably about the same as Calandra, however eGrissel, the marmite queen, comes up in conversation a lot. I guess it goes to show that what goes on on the boards isn’t a true reflection of what goes on on the tables (with one obvious exception).

At the bottom looking sad and lonely is the much maligned Gunnbjorn.

% Own Wins: Which Warlocks won most of their games played?

      Borka                  85%
pDoomshaper      74%
pGrissel  -            71%
Calandra              70%
eMadrak              68%
eGrissel                66.6%
eDoomshaper       65%
pMadrak              58%
Gunnbjorn            57%
Jarl                       53%
pGrim                   51%
eGrim                   48%

S    Strangely enough we see Jarl and Borka in opposite places, with Borka being the most successful warlock and Jarl just breaking even. eGrim’s less than stellar performance can be put down to him being new and the experimentation going on with him during 2013. Everyone else has a decent show of success, even Gunnbjorn!

The bottom three look like people struggling with ‘finesse’ or ‘control’ Warlocks, although that doesn’t account for Calandra’s strong position. I guess dice manipulation is a thing, who knew?

None of these stats really translate to anything other than some sort of popularity contest, and to a lesser extent giving us some glimpse into which casters (for whatever reason) are harder to win with. Personal experience will always contradict the general consensus. I’ve no doubt some of you play Gunnbjornn frequently, and sometimes win with him, or maybe eGrissel is your go-to girl who stomps your opponents, or maybe, just maybe, you’ve got it together to purchase a Runes of War list but just can’t get the success you read about.

The big switcheroo

If you are doing badly with a Warlock, what do you change? Is it the battlegroup or list as a whole that’s actually the problem and not your Warlock choice? Thinking back to the Hunters Grim challenge, it was clear that there was a lot of building to the feat and going for all the ranged pieces we have, but slowly a more combined arms approach was seen to be being adopted… with greater success.

Regarding the lists I’ve been playing and am continuing to play for the foreseeable future I’ve tried it both ways. With the Calandra theme force I found that I needed more angles, range and versatility and that the Warders were actually hampering me because I was convinced that they hold their own all the time (which to be fair they do, but that’s not always what you need).

Kind of the opposite happened with the pMadrak ARM 21 pseudo brick, where the list worked like a charm but was soooo sloooow. Not that pMadrak was a ‘problem’ but swapping for eGrissel has answered a problem I had whilst maintaining the lists functionality and offering a better ranged threat.

Try something new.

Most players will have their favourite Warlocks, and probably have their tournament lists more or less locked in for the next 6 months, but there’s always casual games – which are R&D for competitive play really, so how about you take one of those less popular/less successful (either by the stats above or better yet your local meta) Trollblood warlocks and give them a shot?

I got to be honest and say I’m comfortable with my current warlock selection, but if I get 10+ comments I’ll try someone different and document my experiences with whoever semi-regularly.

You decide out of these who I should go for:

·         Jarl

·         Hunters Grim

·         Gunnbjorn

·         pDoomshaper (NOT in RoW)

I’m done, enough rambling.

Keep rolling Tough, #PlayitPainted2014, and for the good of the interwebz #SpreadtheHatred

Mabrothrax

Never Surrender! For Kith and Kriel!

I like to believe I am decent at this game, not great, but I don't suck. However I do feel I have the bad habit of giving up before the battle is really over. Often I find that my games start with attrition in favour of my opponents. They alpha strike hard and remove pieces of my list I'd thought would be sticking around longer, which is silly, because this game is about trading models for either attrition, scenario, or position. It would be wrong to expect I wouldn't lose models.

My disdain for losing models can then put me in a salt induced nosedive where sometimes I give up prematurely. I don't stop playing, but my heart is obviously no longer put into the game. This is bad and is something I am working to identify and overcome. I am not the only player I have seen do this, and from experience a salty player can sometimes make the game less fun to play. I don't want to be that player, especially when I'm giving up before the game is even over. 

Trolls for all their weaknesses is not an easy faction to remove from the table. Even from a terrible scenario or attrition position a well played troll army can fight its way back. Trolls have a large number of models and effects that can work to bring on a come back. 

For one we have tough, and as much as I hate this rule it does aid trolls in attrition. Every time I roll that die its a gamble, and I hate that. I know that sounds weird coming from a guy playing a game driven by dice, but I don't feel the dice as much as I do when I'm rolling a tough check. The whole game can ride of a tough check on a simple 1 in 3 chance. I realise logically all games probably hinge on a similar fraction or statistic, but I don't find it nearly as transparent as when I'm rolling tough for Madrak or Grissel. Tough irritates me to no end, it can make and break the game, and I hate that the whole faction is balanced around it. I try to ignore it, but when its a core mechanic of your faction and you spend a large portion of the game rolling tough checks, it can be hard. 

In trolls we have some really great attrition feats, especially those belonging to p and eMadrak. Both have feats that can completely change the board state and both can do it with very little models. It always amazes me how much work so few models can do during these feats. pMadrak's feat should have been called Pacman, as that is pretty much how your models behave as they cut through your opponents army like Indiana Jones does through a jungle. pMadrak and Mulg alone can decimate a whole army during feat turn, and god forbid that the opponent leave a trail of breadcrumbs to their caster. I have yet to live that dream. 

I personally am a fan of eMadrak and am always amazed at the work he himself can get done. His feat is ball busting amazing, and combined with Rathrok's Awakening and Tide of Death Madrak can become Death incarnate. I love watching him eat an entire unit of Iron Fang Pikeman. It shocks me every time I pop his feat and watch the enemy army disappear. A few Fennblades here, a two warders there and maybe a little Blood Fury for seasoning and you have yourself a game changing feat. One of the reasons I love playing eMadrak is that whenever I start to feel tilted I just have to pop feat, and more often then not I feel a lot better.

One of my favourite things in this game are Warlocks and Warcasters that are hard to kill and I hate squishy casters that I have to worry about dying to stiff breeze, and man oh man is Trollbloods the right faction for me. Borka and the Madraks must be in the top 5 for Most Survivable Warcaster/Warlocks, and even warlocks like Doomie and Calandra are more durable then most, even with their old man stats. The krielstone alone provides more then most other factions do. Its a +2 ARM buff and can get rid of and prevent status effects, like continuous fire, which has a nasty habit of killing warlocks and warcasters. So when you take that with warlocks like the Madraks and Borka then your really having a party. Here take a look at how bullshit these guys really are:

Borka

• Stumbling Drunk - Borka's companion the Keg Carrier can give him the rule stumbling drunk, which prevents him from being knocked down, and if he is hit by an attack he stumbles away three inches in a direction determined by a deviation template.
• Unyielding - gains +2 ARM if engaged in combat
• Iron Flesh - +3 DEF, but -1 SPD, this isn't for early game, but for when you know he is going to be attacked, so he doesn't need to move far
• Wind Wall - Borka protects himself and any model completely within three inches of him from non-magical shooting, but protected models can also not shoot

Borka is incredibly hard to kill. With all these rule in effect and the in the Krielstone's aura Borka is ARM 21, DEF 17, may walk out of combat if you do mange to hit him, and can't be shot, except by magical guns. With all that he also has 3 fury to fall back on. This guy might be the harder model in the game to kill.

pMadrak

• Scroll of Grindar's Perserverence - once per game before the damage has been rolled Madrak can negate the roll's outcome
• Talisman of Subdual - beasts can not charge Madrak
• Sure Foot - a spell that provides +2 DEF and steady to models within 3" of the model who the spell is cast on

Not quite as hardy as Borka, but has some solid defensive abilities. A once per game damage negation is pretty handy, and immunity to beast charges is pretty nice, and sure foot is a spell so good it can be the focus of a list build. 

eMadrak

• Grim Salvation - if Madrak takes damage a friendly trollkin model within an inch of him is removed from play and Madrak suffers neither the damage or effects triggering on damage, however this rule is mandatory

In an eMadrak list each infantry model is an extra transfer and it may seem that using models as wounds may seem like a bad attrition choice, just remember all the work he alone can do and the effectiveness of his feat. eMadrak only needs a few choice warrior models and a few beasts to get work done. This rule can be extremely frustrating opponents to work around. Their is a rule people in my meta live by and that is "Don't try and kill Madrak".

With warlocks this hard to kill as this and with the ability to do work themselves really need to stop getting discouraged when attritition starts to go poorly. Even if most of my infantry is dead, my opponent still has to deal with my crazy hard to kill warlock, and hope they don't lose too many models trying. It isn't uncommon for them to commit their caster out of necessity, but fail to make the kill and then losing their own warlock/warcaster to a toughed Madrak or Borka.

I love models like Champions and Warders that are very hard to remove from the table and while they may seem out numbered, in a prolonged match, they can often out attrition most other infantry. Enemy models are like waves hitting ineffectually against the shore, except the shore has blunt instruments with which it beats the waves back into submission. This however can be slow and when I'm salty I sometimes don't realise that losing 3 Warders is acceptable, because his unit of 12 is going to break before my 5, its just going to take awhile. The trick is to remain calm, because what I am often told after a game is just how frustrating the same situation is for the opponent, and objectively they probably have more reason to be angry, since attrition will eventually favour me as a troll player. The trick is to be patient.

When I look at units like the Warders and Fennblades who actually receive benefits and buffs from being attacked, I start to see that this is how the faction is designed. This seems to indicate that trolls are designed to be on the receiving end of an alpha strike, rather then alpha striking ourselves. We are built to absorb the hit and strike back from a disadvantaged position. Thats why often during the early game when it looks like we are losing, however it is late game where we really shine. When both of us are on our last legs, troll models are just that much more durable and will probably outlast most opponents.

Trolls are the anvil upon which the hammer strikes, and that hammer will keep striking until it breaks. As trollblood players I think I have to learn to receive a lot of punishment before I can really see hope of victory. This means I have to be psychologically prepared to be on the losing end of attrition for most of the game. If I can manage to keep a cool head and an open mind, I will often start to see all the options left open to me and making moves towards that oh-so satisfying comeback. This isn't only true for trolls, if you do play another faction don't lose your head if your game is going bad, every faction is built with some way to come back from a few bad turns, you just need to stay cool and look for it. This is a problem I do struggle with sometimes, but I am working to fix that. For those of you out their who find they have the same trouble I hope this helps, but I feel the best way to overcome this is to accept it, and to just play through it. If we come up the other side we will all be stronger players for it.

If you guys have any questions, comments, or suggestions throw me an email here, drop a comment below or pm on the forums, otherwise have a good week and may all your dice roll tough.

Sid's Shenanigans! - 02/26/2012

I do apologize for the delay in posting, but much like Goris, Life sometimes take priority. So I want to do a little 'catch-up' with what I had in mind for painting posts.

   First, I want to mention that I loved reading the Vox Populi post on LHR, and seeing those theme forces painted. So, I wanted to get a theme force painted too, even though Vox Populi is over. I will be posting what I have been painting for Borka's Family Reunion theme force. I really love this theme force, and I played it a couple times, and I have loved playing it everytime. It is a blast to play!
  Second, I will still be posting commissioned painting pictures along with my theme force pictures. I will do some commentaries on them of course. These and the them force pictures will be posted every other week, and they will be listed as 'Sid's Shenanigans!'
  On the other weeks I want to do some posts about techniques I have learned, want to learn, and in the process of learning. For some of those who wonder how I paint things, I will post pictures and some step-by-step processes of my techniques; I will also dabble into other techniques and do some research. Then, I will post pictures of my attempts at these techniques.
  Now that I am back in the swing of things with painting posts! Let's begin with the Shenanigans!

Borka's Family Reunion

Preliminary Week

 

Read More

Goris' Borka VS TheGreatBlah's Gunnbjorn

Borka stared long and hard at the Captain sitting across the table from him.  He had never been fond of Cygnarrans especially those that were a part of the Cygnar military, but Calandra had sent word ahead and that had kept him from attacking the Captain outright.  Borka continued to size him up trying to decide if this so called 'ex' Trencher was worthy to be considered as kith or kriel.  Gunnbjorn was big for a Troll if a bit lanky, with a jaw chiseled right out of stone, that and his eyes showed intensity and intelligence he could only find among the leaders of Madrak's new united Kriel.  All that and the cannon he carried looked like it should be mounted as an artillery peice instead of being toted about like a Pyg Rifle.  As they drank Borka also had to aknowledge that he could hold his own having consumed nearly a whole keg of whelp ale and still not yet wavering.

Awesome Armies ~ Borka by Goris

To kick off our newest Series, Awesome Armies, Goris has given us a write up on Borka and the successes, strategies, strengths and weaknesses with the army he has chosen to go with it.  


Now, I am a huge fan of the eDoomy beast trifecta. However, that being such a popular list of late, I decided during nightfall to branch out and try our lower fury Melee centric casters. So I tailored a Borka list that has been working very well for me and provides a good number of troops, a few beasts and some great speed.

Points: 50
Borka Kegslayer (*5pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Earthborn Dire Troll (10pts)
Kriel Warriors (Leader and 5 Grunts) (4pts)
* 1 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower (1pts)
* Kriel Warrior Standard Bearer & Piper (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts) (8pts)
Trollkin Long Riders (Leader and 2 Grunts) (7pts)
Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter (2pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Horthol, Long Rider Champion (5pts)

Borka MKII Game Experience

This post was copied from Sevall at the PP forums HERE, his reference to posting should be done on the PP forums.

Post your thoughts based from in game experiences here. Lets make a nice repository of informed comments. There is a place for theorymachine, but with all the emotions we should really have a place dedicated to actual gaming knowledge.

Played two games with the following 50 point list.

Borka
Keggy
EBDT
Slag
10 Fennblades
10 Bushwhackers
5 Champs
6 Kriels + UA
Fellcaller
Chronicler

Sevwall's Fieldtest Thoughts - Warlocks

My thoughts on each model as it is now in MKII, with a list of potential Feedback possibilities if the model fails to live up to my expectations. I will try to evaluate all models as if it were the only rules they ever had, unless I am suggesting feedback, in which case I reserve the right to draw on old rules. I will revisit this later on.

Models I have not played with are left out.

Models rated 1 to 5.
1 = Total Junk
2 = Underpowered
3 = Balanced
4 = Overpowered
5 = Broken


Madrak - 3
Seems quite acceptable. Surefoot is a spectacular defensive spell, and as an upkeep it allows him to send people off under its effects without having to recast it every turn. Stonefall is a poor offensive spell, but really his axe is all he needs to affect things at range.

I am undecided if he needs any changes. I feel like he needs reach, but that may just be wishful thinking. I’m going to say he is probably fine as is.

pHoarluk - 2
Wow, he has really turned into a true denial caster. Purification is a nice ability, especially since it can remove animi now, and there are some nice defensive animi out there. Past that, he seems nice if a little underwhelming. He works well with beasts via Goad, but his offensive potential is very limited, and Death Sentence and Stranglehold are very short ranged for him. One major problem is that he needs to recast his upkeeps when he Purifys, and that he is often out of easy range to recast his spells. So range is a problem, and he is a tad underpowered…..

Possible feedback: Something as simple as a bond that turns a beast into a channeller seems reasonable. It lets him effect the battle without putting himself at too much personal risk. Since his repetoire of offensive spells is limited, this should not swing him over into the ‘too good’ range.

Borka – 2
Borka is a weird one. Obviously Mosh Pit is hugely powerful. He gets an extra fury each turn through the keg carrie. Yet he seems… lacking. Boring maybe. Bum Rush is very hard to pull off, since it is much, much more limited that Counter Charge in that you have to move in a straight line. Cooler may as well be blank for all you will cast it. Yet he isn’t really bad in any way. Just slightly lacking. He seems to be geared towards beasts, yet has such little capability to run them.

Possible Feedback. Forget the pseudo Fury 6 from Keggy, just make him a 6. It helps him run the beasts than his feat and his spell list want. Keggy would lose Top up, and gain nothing in return. This keeps it as a small buff. Keggy would then have a sigular, but important purpose.

eMadrak - 3
Played with him a few times. He seems alright, just fine really. He is one of the two casters who seem to make Mulg a bit over the top. But Warpath is otherwise cool, he threatens nicely in melee with his big axe and even a possible Vortex of Destruction. The feat still rocks.

Possible Feedback: He wouldn’t be broken with reach. If pMadrak gets it, eMadrak would too.

eHoarluk - 3
What can I say? He is fun now, he has a cool but not crazy spell list. Wild aggression is a huge buff, but Warmachine shows how balanced it is. Refuge is simply cool. The only real issue is the feat. If you do not have a turn where you can charge (as happens in games vs fast opponents or opponents with shutdown feats) you do not have a feat…..

Possible feedback: The feat should grant +3” of movement regardless of whether you charge or not. Aside from that it seems fine.

Calandra – 4
We run into a problem here. Calandra is fine. She really is. Not overpowered. But Befuddle is. It is the answer to every problem you can face on the field. Unit? Turn them around to give you backstrikes and prevent them from charging. Or just clump them and send an axer or a scattergunner to wipe them out in a single attack. A possible 20” threat on the spell (Rush + Bonegrinders.. its even further if you charge) is just a little too much for this crazy spell.

The rest of it is fine. Her new feat was a stroke of genius,

Posssible Feedback: Befuddle at RNG 10 is too much. Make it RNG 8 again.



That was the easy part. Tommorrow….. Warbeasts!

Borka vs Seige Battle Report

Not the first time Borka wished his Keg Carrier would stop bathing in their Kegs of Whelp Ale. He had to admit though that it seemed to be bringing him luck. Luck for Borka often meant warriors around him died, but those that fought along his side knew he would always go where the battle was thickest. He crushed another mug of ale and began tapping his mace on his knees... he needed action, this forest was getting boring.

"We have found some enemies," Seige's Gun Mage Captain reported, "a small group of Trolls have wandered too far into our territory sir." Seige didn't dislike the Trolls, in fact he had fought beside them on more than one occaision and found them to be more honorable than most humans. That and the punishment they could both take and dish out in hand to hand combat was downright legendary. His orders were clear however, all invaders to this part of Cygnarian territory were to be eliminated. There was too much secrecy in Cygnar right now. Trolls were nasty in hand to hand combat, which is why he planned to shoot them do death. He signaled his officers, whitout a word they sprang into action. Respect for the Trolls was one thing, but his duty to Cygnar came first.

My Army
Borka Kegslayer
Pyg Keg Carrier
Dire Troll Mauler
Krielstone Bearer and Stone Scribes
Trollkin Champions
Fell Caller
Fell Caller
Trollkin Hero
Trollkin Hero
Stone Scribe Elder

His Army (I think)
Major Markus 'Siege' Brisbane
Squire
Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team
Journeyman Warcaster
Stormguard 10/10?
Gun Mage Captain Adept
Defender
Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator

MAP
Our Map was full of terrain with a couple low diagonal walls in the middle with a blocking silo off the middle left. A couple of big forests close on each left side, with a small treeline running up the right side.

Cygnar won the roll and opted to go first.

Deployment
Cygnar - His Stormguard were right up the middle with his jack, caster and solos right behind them. The B13 lined up along my left flank.
Trolls - Everything in the middle of course. Though two Fel Callers and one Hero did line up accross from the B13.

Turn 1
Cygnar - The B13 headed straight into the forest running to get there. The Stormguard also run right up the middle. Seige shields the SG and moves up and to my right behind them.
Trolls - Champs run to the first low wall in the middle. Both Fel Callers and a Hero run towards the B13 falling a few inches short of melee. Mauler and the other Hero hang back putting the silo in between Cygnar and themselves. Borka casts mosh pit but forgets to hit the Hero in front of the B13 with Bum Rush.

"Hang back you Bone Headed, Sons of Brag." Borka gave his men a free hand, but if they didn't listen to him the few times he had orders for them then he would let them die of their own choices. Seeing the Fel Callers run out into the open to be shot by the Cygnarian Troops was foolish for Battle hardened warriors. Live or die, those three would not be sharing his Ale with him anytime in the near future.

Turn 2
Cygnar - Sure enough my mistake costs me the lives of a Hero and a Fel Caller to the B13. The SG move up just out of range for Champs to charge and stop. Not wanting to kill Kenny Ground Pounder hits the Champs doing little damage. The Gun Mage moves over to shoot at the other Hero behind the Silo and hits him for four damage. Seige leaves the SG shielded and his jack takes a shot at the Mauler but is out of range.
Trolls - Fel Caller stabs Rian to death and is pretty much done, alone with the remaining two B13 means he will probably die on his next turn. Champs run to engage the SG, Borka upkept Mosh pit and moves up hoping to bounce of bomb off the jack and into reinholdt but it misses and drifts intot he SG doing no damage. Borka casts Bum Rush on the Hero and then Kenny LQ's Borka and moves up and in front of him. Stone casts +2 Armor and stands right next to Kenny.

"That Troll looks to be almost the same size as the legendary Slaughterborn," the Journeyman commented to no one in particular. To wich Seige replyed, "I know him, stay back and shoot him if you want to live. His name is Borka, and his ability to smash up his enemies is almost as great as his ability to drink." Seige could see the battle unfolding and knew it to be a rout. Borka's front line was nearly collaspsed, his flanking warriors were destroyed and his beast looked pretty hurt. Accompanied by little losses on his side and it was a bad day for Borka... It looked as though Borka didn't care and was even drinking, and was that little Troll actually bathing in the keg?

Turn 3
Cygnar - The B13 Finish off the last Fel Caller. Gun Mage shoots at the Stone killing the sacrificial scribe behind him. Seige activates and feats but is reluctant to use Ground Pounder near Borka for fear of killing Kenny the Keg Carrier. The jack shoots the Mauler cutting its life in half and the SG kill three Champs one of them making tough, Mosh pit doesnt work as his SG are lined up in two rows.

Borka relized he would be taking matters into his own hands, his Mauler Dave had already suggested it crudely. The Mauler was acutally learning to speak a crude version of the common Troll tongue. "Kenny get out of that Keg and bring me the whole keg," Slaying the Keg he nodded to Dave and once again Borka got a flying lesson.

Trolls - Having lost too many warriors and not killed enough of his stuff I decide its time to go for it. The remaining three Champs kill a few stormguard on the end trying to open a lane for Borka. The Stone moves up as far as is and and Pops the +2 STR aura. Kenny activates and puts LQ on Borka. The Mauler goes next putting Rage on Borka and steps up behind him to throw, Borka nearly Str checks out of the throw but the drift of 2" directly toward the gobber puts him in pefect position. Borka then activates and proceeds to beat Seige's face in, @ POW20 it is dice -1 on damage. Borka boosts to hit on the first attack and does 15 damage on four dice, buys a second attack boosts to hit and damage dealing an additional 14 damage ending it for Seige.

The last thing seige remembered was seeing Borka flying directly towards him through the air, thrown by his Dire Troll. Borka hit the ground running and promptly bashed Siege in the head. Seige was dazed seeing spots before his eyes, he tried focusing on his warcaster ability to aid him but his mind was too fuzzy. As he looked up at Borka he saw the mace coming at him again unable to scramble out of the way everything went black. He awoke in a clearing with waht was left of his army, some Storm Guard and two Black 13 members. "The Gun Mage has left to get help," Lynch said, "They destroyed any who resisted along with our jacks and left us with a small keg of their brew." Seige chuckled and wondered why Borka had left him alive.

Synopsis - Running up the Fel Callers was supposed to be a distraction for the B13 so they could get killed allowing the hero to Bum Rush them. A good tactic IF you remember to cast bum rush. Mosh Pit was useless against a ranged army. I will miss the Borka Bomb in MKII.

Sparring Match: Borka vs rMadrak

"I'll bet you my latest keg of Whelp Ale, we can take ya down" Borka boasted over to Madrak... again.

Wednesday night game was against a newer Trollblood player.

My Army....His Army
Borka......Madrak
Kenny......Impaler
Mauler.....Impaler
Slag.......Axer
Impaler....Fel Caller
Gobbers....Gobbers

We played anything goes 350. The board had a low shrub wall right down the middle and two small hills also in the middle that were not rough terrain. My Borka Army rolled highest and I chose to first.

Turn 1 Borka - I run my full distance 10" bringing Borka and Gobbers up and drop some smoke and cast mosh pit.

Turn 1 Madrak - He does a 3/4 run, Surefoots, smokes and waits for me to come to him.

Turn 2 Borka - My Imapler runs to the hill on the right side Mauler runs right down the middle by the bush wall and Slag halfway between the two, Borka upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush and I take away the charge to Borka with gobber smoke.

Turn 2 Madrak - His first Impaler hurts my Mauler and his second one Crit Slams him taking the charge away from the Axer. He moves Madrak over Borka's direction behind his Imp and the Fel Caller gets up close to the Axer. He Gobber smokes in front of my army best he can.

"Go get em boy," Borka says to the Mauler, who promptly ran up to Madrak's Axer trying his best to look scary... "I knew we should have brought an older Mauler," Borka shook his head and grabbed a pint from the keg carrier.

Turn 3 Borka - I misjudge the charge distance on my Mauler and so end up 3" short (yeah I know it was a big misjudge) The Impaler throws at the Axer but misses on three dice. Borka Farstrikes himself and bounces the bomb off the Axer and into the Fel Caller killing him and the AOE takes out both gobbers as well. Mosh Pit and Bum rush are both still up and Gobber smoke in front of Borka again.

Turn 3 Madrak - His Axer charges my Mauler and hurts it good real good, then gets mosh pitted for a little damage. Mosh pit ends up killing the Mauler since he is no longer in melee with the Axer both Impalers unload on him finishing him off. Madrak throws at the Slag hurting it a little, nothing in range to ricochet.

"That's how we do it boys," Madrak said approvingly, "Let's see what he can do without his Mauler."

Turn 4 Borka - Borka feats, upkeeps mosh pit and casts bum rush then circles back around behind his army, kenny follows. Slag Troll charges the Axer hurting him a little and slamming him back to knock him down. Impaler throws at the other Impaler also crit slamming him and knocking him and his other Impaler down... yeap he forgot surefoot that turn.

Turn 4 Madrak - Madrak casts surefoot and moves back towards the corner, the Axer stands up and moves up into the slag and gets mosh pitted to death. His Impalers stand up and stick the Slag full of spears killing him.

Turn 5 Borka - Upkeep Mosh Pit, Kenny LQ's Borka. Borka Charges the closest Impaler killing it. My Impaler gets yet another crit on his Slamming it an inch knocking it down..

Turn 5 Madrak - He Charges Borka and comes up short by half an inch then gets Bum Rushed by Borka for it. Madrak does minimal damage on the next few attacks then gets Mosh Pitted for around ten more damage. His Impaler tries to hit Borka but misses.

Turn 6 Borka - Borka hits Madrak on the Head showing him why Trauma is named as such.

"Yeah, you owe me a mug Madrak," Borka said clapping him on the back, "But it was a close one wasn't it?". Madrak said nothing and walked with him to the makeshift Bar the Pygmies had setup. He would get him next time for sure, but more importantly some of their troops both got some needed practice in.

350 T&C Borka vs Saeryn

"I will feed you to my Angelius for your insolence Troll!" the witch said, her obvious disdain for Borka almost intimidated him... almost.

For all the marbles and my first chance at being a tourney victor was against Saeryn and Legion of Everblight. The map was a pretty straightforward map with a few small elevated hills and no rough terrain. My list

Faction: Trollblood
Points: 330
Model Count: 5
Victory Points: 12

Borka Kegslayer
> Pyg Keg Carrier
Slag Troll
Troll Impaler
Dire Troll Mauler

his list

Faction: Legion of Everblight
Points: 343
Model Count: 6
Victory Points: 13

Saeryn, Omen of Everblight
Shredder
Shredder
Shredder
Seraph
Angelius

Being an all medium or large-based army the Angelius has always posed a significant threat to me. I was reasonably certain I could deal with everything else and if his caster got too close I'd have been able to toast her.

Turn 1 Trolls - I run but not my full distance, trying to get off the first attack. Borka casts mosh pit and plans to Bum Rush himself for the rest of the fight.
Turn 1 Legion - He plays more conservative than I thought advancing in a similar manner to myself with his Angelius in front of his caster on one side his Seraph on the other and shredders spread out from the middle to each flank. Casting the resurrection spell on the Angelius

Turn 2 Trolls - Impaler moves up to try and Critslam the Angelius over Saeryn... missing horribly to bad as a KDed Saeryn would have been extremely vulnerable to a flying Borka. Slag has luck hitting but not enough damage to do much.
Turn 2 Legion - Seraph spam rolls a 5 and he proceeds to dish out minimal damage to my Slag. The Impaler takes a good hit though. He feats and moves up some shredders into good counter-charge positions. Not being able to melee attack him was just rude.

"Comon boys, if you can't hit sober then get some ale in ya," Borka's voice clearly rang in the night air. Saeryn just chuckled as Borka found that neither he or his army was able to advance.

Turn 3 Trolls - Not being able to hit I try my hand at some ranged attacks not doing much... again. In order to keep the Impaler alive I move the Slag up by the Angelius and a Ravager taking away their charges. Impaler is back further but also chargeable by some shredders but Borka and the Mauler are comfortably back from anything but a Seraph Spam attack. Upkeep mosh pit, and bum rush Borka.
Turn 3 Legion - He bites on the Slag Troll sending in the Ravager first. It hits but doesn't take out a spiral, then gets pushed back from mosh pit and gets promptly killed. Then the Angelius moves up on the Slag killing it in one hit. Realizing the Impaler has reach a Ravager charges it and nearly kills it leaving it with about six health, mosh pit does nothing. Searaph spams but is unable to finish off the Impaler only doing three more damage to it. Final shredder moves up for a counter-charge and gets Bum Rushed by Borka hurting it bad but not killing it.

Turn 4 Trolls - Not knowing what to do with an Angelius I can't kill I decided to try and get rid of the rest of his army. Kenny LQ's Borka and then he feats, Slamming the shredder over into his pal in front of the Impaler killing one and knocking down the other. He then turns on the Seraph who is in range and kills it in a few hits. Borka's high MAT is making him about the only thing in my army able to hit the danged Blighted crap heads. Impaler being able to throw because of the downed shredder finally hits on the Angelius pushing it back four inches and knocking it down as well. Mauler moves up to block LOS to Borka.
Turn 4 Legion - Having both his beasts KD he knows how sqishy his caster can be so he moves her back runs the shredder into melee with the mauler to prevent him from charging and uses the Angelius to blast the Mauler with a ranged attack. Impaler wiffs on the Freestrike and the shredder is in the Mauler's back arc so no mosh pit.

Turn 5 Trolls - Borka moves up and kills the Shredder, Mauler Rages and moves in on the Angelius and Weapon locks its tail with an excellent boosted to hit roll. Saeryn too far away to hit with the Impaler the Impaler tries to block LOS to Borka again.

Glaring at Borka Saeryn is taken aback at the intelligence posed by an otherwise stupid looking, albeit gigantic Troll. "Aye, see Gug, with enough ale even a Mauler can be smart," Borka chuckles.

Turn 5 Legion - A STR 10 Angelius has no chance at all to break a weapon lock against a raged Mauler so he shoots his Angelius with Blight or something, only hitting the Mauler for three.

Turn 6 Trolls - Mauler realeases the Lock and tries to kill the Angelius the first time hoping Borka or the Impaler can finish it off when it respawns. Boosting to hit each time he hits thrice and kills it outright. It respawns three inches away so the Impaler throws at it but only doing one damage. Borka moves in a uses cooler and not only hits but Crit-hits making it stationary, which is good because he did only one more damage to it.
Turn 6 Legion - He is pretty upset at my antics against his Angelius taking it out of the fight three turns in a row but is still out of position to kill anything with his caster. So he recasts the Respawn spell and moves back.

Turn 7 Trolls - you may ask why I didn't go for his caster at all. Its becuase at 16 Def I had a much better chance at just killing his beasts. Which I did with a charging Mauler and then a LQed Borka.

Seeing her last beast fall, Saeryn flees the battlefield leaving the same stone Borka was looking for on the ground behind her. Underestimating her opponent is not a mistake she will make a second time when she faces those ugly drinking beasts.
(storytelling in the battlereports is something I am bad at, but it looks so good over at Losthemisphere I had to try it.)

My first tournament win against a good Cryx and two good Legion players was very rewarding indeed. First prize = very discounted paint job on my newly aquired Mulg from the best painter in the shop (the shop owner's wife)

Borka's Bomb. (Trying my hand at storytelling a preview to tomorrow nights finals)

Borka had come to realize that Madrak must have duped him into going after the old stone, he would have to give old Ironhide more credit next time they got in a fight. He couldn't complain of course, it had been eventful to say the least. Borka had seen a handful of casters with small contingints of Warjacks or Beasts.

Madrak must have known Borka would get the action he so clearly craved...

"That pale skinned, cursed Troll is becoming as wiley as an elder shaman... I'll have to buy him a drink," Borka said to the Pyg next to him who was once again bathing in the beer he was supposed to be carrying. At least Borka got to bring his favorite Impaler Gug, but the Mauler and Slag Troll belonged to Madrak and it seemed they were two of the dumbest Trolls he had ever had the opportunity to drink with.

His opinion was fast changing of those two though. His first direct encounter was with a Warwitch from Cryx, and though Gug had a spectacular shot taking out the witch's Jack that she used to bounce spells at him, he had nearly paid for it with his life at the hands of one of those wretched mechanical worms. Borka's rage and greif at losing Gug was short lived though as the Slag Troll of his own initiative walked right up to the worm and broke it clean in half. Borka saw the Cryxian whore smile and wished he was close enough to smash her head in with Trauma. Briefly remembering something Madrak said about flying lessons must have gone accross his bond to the Mauler who promtly picked up Borka and sent him sailing in her direction. Laughing at his sudden turn of fortune Borka caved in her skull. He turned to see the Pyg handing some food to Gug nursing a beer, his bond to Borka reappaering, "Good idea Gug, I'll have one too."

No sooner had the Pyg sat back down to bathe in Borka's beer then they heard the growling of Ravagers. Drinking down the last few drops he used his link to tell his beasts to group up as the Seraph began hitting them with its Blight Strike. "Gug that Carnivean is too far away," Borka said, but Gug just looked down the shaft of his spear and bent it a little before sticking it Roman style into the Carni sending it flying back. The Mauler jumped in front of Borka without hesitation taking the first few hits from the Ravagers and prepared to catch the Canivean. Feeling the Rage of the Mauler seep through the bond and his courage bouyant from the aid of the Pyg, Borka looked over at the Slag Troll, it nodded and lifted Borka off the ground. Borka rolled to his feet and in one motion charged past a Ravager and bringing Trauma to bear against what looked to be Ogrun... or at least it used to be. Even dazed from bearing the brunt of the attack the twisted Ogrun nearly made Borka pay the price for not finishing him when he had the chance... but Troll Blood is tougher than others. One more swing put the ugly Ogrun down for good.

Celebrating not one, but two victories this day Borka drank to his good fortune and vowed once again that he owed Madrak a drink for getting him the fights he'd been looking for. "Get out of my beer you stinking Pyg and pour me another drink," Borka chuckled, this Keg Carrier was unique and had lived longer than most of his Keg Carriers of past battles. After a few hours of rest and heavy drinking a sharp warning came accross the bond from Gug, his excitement at the prospect of more Ravager meat for dinner was clear.

Borka's roar was barely distinguishable from that of the Mauler as he welcomed the sight of more Everblight fools, this time a competent looking female standing over the remains of a heavily armored Cynarian.

Tooth & Claw/Mangled Metal Tourney.

For this tourney I opted for the Borka Bomb instead of my usual Grim list. The list I brought was;
Faction: Trollblood
Points: 330
Model Count: 5
Victory Points: 12

Borka Kegslayer
> Pyg Keg Carrier
Slag Troll
Troll Impaler
Dire Troll Mauler

Our leagues is used to seeing Grim and rMadrak, most of them have heard of the Borka Bomb but never seen it. Figured it was time to give it the old college try.

ROUND 1 - CRYX
So first round I got paired against Tremshaun from Misc.BrainPurge. I think he Brought;
Faction: Cryx
Points: 350
Model Count: 4
Victory Points: 12

Warwitch Deneghra
> Cankerworm
> Defiler
> Deathjack

TURN 1 - This board was the forest board featuring three forests and some high grass. He moves up with the Cankerworm on one side in the forest the DJ on the other side and the Arcnode in the middle. My turn I advance up Farstrike and boost hitting the Arnode for 9 damage taking out the node.





TURN 2 - Cankerworm pretty much finishes the Impaler who was out front but his caster moved up to deliver the finishing blow. My turn LQ and Rage Borka, Mauler tosses him at the Arcnode, Borka then Charges his caster and kills it in one hit. So in a game this small the Borka Bomb was much easier to pull off than I thought, but with such a low model count there just wasn't enough to get in the way.

ROUND 2 - Legion of Everblight Championed by Jefferson.
He brought
Faction: Legion of Everblight
Points: 347
Model Count: 6
Victory Points: 13

Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
Shredder
Shredder
Shredder
Seraph
Carnivean

For me Legion is hard for all the same reasons. This game turned out to be a bit harder only because he is soo much quicker than me and hits just as hard. This game I got to go first this board had lots of blocking terrain.
Turn 1 - I run up to some blocking terrain and sit back. He moves up into excellent counter-charge range and stops.
Turn 2 - I stay pretty much where I was but throw with the Impaler Crit-Slamming the Carnivean back. His turn the Seraph moves up and shoots me alot but doing little damage past the initial hit to the Mauler. A Turkey runs to engage the Impaler.





Turn 3 - Mauler attacks Seraph and hurts it good but misses the chain attack. Slag hangs back with bum rush on and Imp stabs the turkey. His turn the Seraph flies over to try and shoot Borka but the Slag Bum Rushes him. Carni and Turkey attack Mauler nearly killing him Thagrash moves up a bit to keep his beasts in his control area.
Turn 4 - Mauler engaged by the Cani casts rage on Borka after the Keg carrier LQs him. Slag takes a free strike from the Seraph to Throw Borka. Borka charges Thagrosh hitting him twice, killing a turkey on the second hit and reducing Thagrosh to 1 wound... CRAP. Thagrash can't do spells and crap but he is good in melee and proceed to swing at Borka miss, miss, miss, boost to hit, boost to damage = dead Borka BUT Borka rolls his tough. He moves a Turkey back to have a transfer target but is out of Fury anyway.
Turn 5 - Borka finishes what he started and Thagrosh goes POOF.

So that puts Trolls and the other Legion army in the final Showdown. I have never played against the other Legion player, but he must be either pretty good or pretty lucky to Beat McCryx in Round 1 then CygnarBrian in Round 2. Those two don't lose very often. Final round next Wednesday, let us hope his premature boasting about how easy Trolls are to beat comes back to haunt him. Current Standings posted on the left sidebar near the top.