After a long nap I am finally recuperated from the weekend. Feast was a good time and I hope to see it continue to grow. They have hopes of becoming a Warmachine Weekend Qualifier and I would love to see it happen.
Before I get into my games and lists I wanted to point out some of the pluses for Feast.
First and foremost you could drink in the gaming hall and they were selling beers right outside the hall. I personally feel this is absolutely key to having a good convention. The hotel also had great prices, none of this $6 beer bull shit. The beer was $3.50 for a 12 oz cup. It seemed they just brought out random kegs because it was Coors Light at first then it switched to 1554 a personal favorite of mine.
There were some other good things too like a vendor area with lots of different gaming widgets, mekanika studio's trays, air brushes, hobby stuff, and some models for different games (I was able to pick up some things for Malifaux).
Showing posts with label Feast Of Blades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Feast Of Blades. Show all posts
15 October 2013
26 September 2013
Feast of Blades: Faction sure, Lists not so much
So I settled down on a faction but after some practice I wasn't really happy with my list choices. I have bumped Grissel to the 3rd list and Grim is back in the bag. And I have decided to bring Madrak 2 into the fold as my second list. I have also made a slight change to my runes of war list that I may or may not go with depending on my gut feeling day of.
The reason for Madrak 2 is I really felt I needed a more combined arms package for my off list and I needed a better answer to circle in particular. I attempted to change up Grissel to get some good shooting elements in the list, however it took too much away from her kill stroke which would be forcing me into too many death clock or dice down games. So let's look at Madrak 2's army.
Madrak 2
*Mauler
Fell Caller Hero
Gatorman Witch Doctor
Full KW's with UA & 3 Cabers
Full Nyss Hunters
Full Burrowers
War wagon
Min KSB w/ Elder
The reason for Madrak 2 is I really felt I needed a more combined arms package for my off list and I needed a better answer to circle in particular. I attempted to change up Grissel to get some good shooting elements in the list, however it took too much away from her kill stroke which would be forcing me into too many death clock or dice down games. So let's look at Madrak 2's army.
Madrak 2
*Mauler
Fell Caller Hero
Gatorman Witch Doctor
Full KW's with UA & 3 Cabers
Full Nyss Hunters
Full Burrowers
War wagon
Min KSB w/ Elder
12 September 2013
Feast of Blades: Overcoming my faction A.D.D.
About a month from now I will be attending feast of blades. My intention between Lock'N'Load and now was to refine a 2 and 3 list combination for this event. However, faction A.D.D. prevailed and I found myself playing a lot of Skorne and a few games with Khador, Legion, and Minions. With the event coming up fast it's time for me to pull myself together and focus on 3 lists. Inevitably I am turning back to trolls. My relationship with this faction is akin to Chris Brown and Rihanna (I have some busted models to prove it). So here are the 3 lists I will be playing.
Hoarluk 1, Runes of War
Mulg
Earthborn
Mauler
Axer
Janissa
Full Krielstone w/UA
4 Units of Runeshapers
Grissel 1
Pyre
Storm
Impaler
Horthol
Saxon
Full Longriders
Full Kriel Warriors w/UA and 3 Cabers
Full Krielstone w/UA
Min Champions
Grim 1
Earthborn
Bomber
Slag
Impaler
Full Boomhowlers
Full Bushwhackers
Sons of Bragg
Whelps
Runes of War needs no intro I will likely play it in hardcore and it will be my go to list in other events. The Queen of the Red Sea, she is a fantastic longrider caster and my mindset on Troll pairings is you need 1 beast brick and 1 longrider caster. Grim is hanging out in case I manage to snag a spot in masters. However, he may get swapped in for the 2 list event if I see an overwhelming number of certain factions.
Playing trolls competitively can be a challenge at times, this is largely due to trolls lacking an over-all focus. As a troll player you often find your options to be mediocre at best, to get the most out of trolls you have to position well, know your casters good/bad match-ups inside out, and be able to pass multiple mental command checks.
The challenge of playing the trolls well is what always brings me back. Positioning is an important part of this game, but when you are a medium base synergy faction it is even more important. We also suffer from poor defensive stats which means often times positioning is the only way we can reduce casualties outside of an absurd tough streak. My positioning is not the greatest, to combat this I have chosen lists that each have a denial element that helps cover my deficiencies and I don't have an outrageous amount of infantry.
List chicken and match-ups are a very entertaining portion of the game for me. I like to have balanced lists that can stand a chance even in a bad match-up. Trolls tend to have a hard time against hard denial or board control, this is why Hoarluk is my go to caster. He has the staying power to endure the punishment and eventually push back hard. However even Hoarluk has some terrible match-ups, primarily dude spam which both Grim and Grissel can cover well enough. There are also certain scenario's where trolls have a difficult time competing. Trolls do not enjoy dividing their forces due to their synergistic theme. Grissel has long threat ranges, her feat, and the hoof it fell call to make it very difficult for the enemy to determine where she is going to apply force. Grim brings enough guns that when backed by his feat the enemy has to accept that they will suffer heavy casualties if they want to remain relevant in scenario.
I feel mental command checks are a big portion of this game. We have all had situations where we lose a large portion of our army, or are completely tilted by a feat or ability. It is extremely easy to just give in and scoop. Trolls as a faction have a built in mental command check for both you and your opponent, tough. One thing to keep in mind when you are about to roll your command check, trolls can do a lot of work with a limited number of models, and if nothing else you can grab another scenario point or kill a few more models to help with those tie breakers!
I hope some of you find my ramblings on trolls in the competitive arena helpful in your own adventures. After feast of blades expect to see a Hindsight's 20/20 article where I talk about my failures and hopefully what I learned in the process.
Hoarluk 1, Runes of War
Mulg
Earthborn
Mauler
Axer
Janissa
Full Krielstone w/UA
4 Units of Runeshapers
Grissel 1
Pyre
Storm
Impaler
Horthol
Saxon
Full Longriders
Full Kriel Warriors w/UA and 3 Cabers
Full Krielstone w/UA
Min Champions
Grim 1
Earthborn
Bomber
Slag
Impaler
Full Boomhowlers
Full Bushwhackers
Sons of Bragg
Whelps
Runes of War needs no intro I will likely play it in hardcore and it will be my go to list in other events. The Queen of the Red Sea, she is a fantastic longrider caster and my mindset on Troll pairings is you need 1 beast brick and 1 longrider caster. Grim is hanging out in case I manage to snag a spot in masters. However, he may get swapped in for the 2 list event if I see an overwhelming number of certain factions.
Playing trolls competitively can be a challenge at times, this is largely due to trolls lacking an over-all focus. As a troll player you often find your options to be mediocre at best, to get the most out of trolls you have to position well, know your casters good/bad match-ups inside out, and be able to pass multiple mental command checks.
The challenge of playing the trolls well is what always brings me back. Positioning is an important part of this game, but when you are a medium base synergy faction it is even more important. We also suffer from poor defensive stats which means often times positioning is the only way we can reduce casualties outside of an absurd tough streak. My positioning is not the greatest, to combat this I have chosen lists that each have a denial element that helps cover my deficiencies and I don't have an outrageous amount of infantry.
List chicken and match-ups are a very entertaining portion of the game for me. I like to have balanced lists that can stand a chance even in a bad match-up. Trolls tend to have a hard time against hard denial or board control, this is why Hoarluk is my go to caster. He has the staying power to endure the punishment and eventually push back hard. However even Hoarluk has some terrible match-ups, primarily dude spam which both Grim and Grissel can cover well enough. There are also certain scenario's where trolls have a difficult time competing. Trolls do not enjoy dividing their forces due to their synergistic theme. Grissel has long threat ranges, her feat, and the hoof it fell call to make it very difficult for the enemy to determine where she is going to apply force. Grim brings enough guns that when backed by his feat the enemy has to accept that they will suffer heavy casualties if they want to remain relevant in scenario.
I feel mental command checks are a big portion of this game. We have all had situations where we lose a large portion of our army, or are completely tilted by a feat or ability. It is extremely easy to just give in and scoop. Trolls as a faction have a built in mental command check for both you and your opponent, tough. One thing to keep in mind when you are about to roll your command check, trolls can do a lot of work with a limited number of models, and if nothing else you can grab another scenario point or kill a few more models to help with those tie breakers!
I hope some of you find my ramblings on trolls in the competitive arena helpful in your own adventures. After feast of blades expect to see a Hindsight's 20/20 article where I talk about my failures and hopefully what I learned in the process.
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