Love Stinks Steamroller Tourney Report

  ~ By Goris

This tourney was something I had been waiting for quite some time as it would be the first time in a while that a PG would be running it and I was quite excited.  I brought out the big boys for it, but unfortunately my list needed a little tuning because of the untimely demise and slow resurrection of a Fennblade who fell victim to one of my dogs.

So to start, here were my chosen lists.

Show Me Yer Caber

When hand weapons just aren't good enough.  When the typical just won't do.  When the need to get the job done with style and originality presents itself our Caber Tossers stand up to the plate.   Women want him and men want to be him...

Now that I showed you mine, lets see yours.  Your Caber Tossers that is.  You can send them to trollbloodscrum@yahoo.com along with contact information and I will post them here.  If I can't contact the winner then someone else will win in your place.   Submissions will be accepted until the end of February, at the end of the month the Troll who has the best caber wins (note there may be multiple winners depending on my wallet size at the end of the month).   What do you win you might ask?  Not only do you get the glory and honor of being the coolest.  Not only do you get the adoration of many Troll women.  You get an unopened, unpainted Caber Tosser to add to your collection.  Because lets face it, where one Caber is good, nine are better.  On top of that spectacular prize, you get the scrutiny of the entire Troll community by being subject to many personal questions about you and your gaming experiences.  Winners will be announced and blogged about starting the first of next month and will be chosen by a panel of pretty awesome painters. 
Bring it on Troll Brothers.  Lets see your Caber.

RULES UPDATE:  One submission will be chosen as the winner listed above.  Two other lucky painters will be chosen at random just for showing yer stuff.  And last but not least, one fortuitous entrant will receive the best prize of all...  a single Whelp to love and cherish and feed to a Dire Troll.

01 MAR 2011 CONTEST UPDATE:  Contest Over, winners will be announced Friday 04 MAR 2011 as voting will take place Thursday Evening.  Thanks for all the submissions.

Grapeshot

Like most Trollkin warlocks, Grim was a bit leery around Dire Trolls.  When he first heard that wiley old Shaman Hoarluk Doomshaper had brought them forth he could only chuckle with apprehension.  That all changed for him the day he found Cannonball.  Grim was helping Doomshaper track a pair of Maulers that had run off into the woods after rampaging through a camp of Farrow Brigands they had hired on the day before.  It wasn't hard, the two Maulers were young and not particularly bright even by Dire Troll standards.  After a few hours Hoarluk motioned to Grim that he could feel Dire Trolls up ahead.  Grim belly crawled up a ridge to get a good view, as he focused in with his goggles he saw the two Maulers fighting over what looked to be one of the missing Farrow from the camp.  Hoarluk, almost arrogantly, walked up towards the Maulers with no fear whatsoever.  Grim had to give it to the crotchety old Troll, he had stones.   As Grim scanned some rocky outcroppings through his scope the unsettling feeling came across him that he was being watched.   Looking hard at the outcropping he understood what he was feeling at the same time his eyes adjusted on the Earthborn hidden cleverly between two boulders.  The Earthborn appeared to be staring right at him.  As unnerving as it is to be inspected by a Dire Troll it was uncommon to stare a Dire Troll in the eyes and see intelligence staring back at you... at least intelligence by Dire Troll standards.   Grim rubbed his eyes and replaced the goggles to make sure he was seeing what he though he was seeing but the Earthborn had moved out of sight. 

pMadrak Brick Beast Heavy List

Happy put this list up on the forums the other day and I wanted to include it here.  A surprisingly effective beast heavy list run by our least fury efficient caster.


by    The Happy Anarchist



I think some mention should be made of lists like this.
Army: pMadrak Beast 35
Type: Duel (1 caster, 35pts)
Points: 35
Chief Mardrak Ironhide (*6pts)
* Slag Troll (6pts)
* Troll Axer (6pts)
* Mulg the Ancient (12pts)
* Trollkin Runebearer (2pts)
Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes (3pts)
* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder (1pts)
Fell Caller Hero (3pts)
Janissa Stonetide (3pts)
Totem Hunter (3pts)
Troll Whelps (2pts)

Or similar lists. pMadrak actually plays a surprisingly effective beast heavy list at 25/35 tournaments. Front lines of Def 16/18 ARM 20+ beasts that counterattack with Mat 8+ infantry sweeping crusher attacks, or just getting Mulg to their caster.

It is a tough nut to crack, is much easier to position well and plays well with Janissa and with little support needed.

Tips for running. I put Madrak and Janissa and the beasts on the front line. I did first turn as casting Surefoot and dropping 2 fury on the stone, the charge some likely target. Then Janissa either runs forward or advances and drops a wall, depending on the ranged threat or whether I go first or second. Then the beasts run into position, making sure Mulg has room to advance and attack if anyone comes after Madrak. The the stone pops and runs.

Because it plays so tight you rarely need more than 2-3 fury on the stone, most times you should be able to save the 2pt you would normally save on the Runebearer. Though he would still come in handy for late game feat/Carnage moves to leave more fury on Madrak and keep him safer. 

Out of left field, a few surprises from the Trollkin Skinner

by Hatchet

Most of the things I've seen on the forums about the trollkin skinner are pretty negative. One of the reasons I think this is the case is the fact that he just doesn't fit in with most trollblood play styles. I'm posting this to hopefully show that while the skinner may not be the most trollish of trollbloods, he's still a very viable part of our faction.

Stats
Spd: same as Madrak, Str: low for trolls, Mat: good enough to hit average Def on average dice, Rat: not important, Def: average, which is better than a lot of trolls get, Arm: he probably gets made fun of by the other trolls, but his wounds make up for it.

Grissel Bloodsong, the Queen of Jams

by MrChomperz

Madrak’s second in command and defender of all things trollkin this buxom beauty a pure support warlock that rarely uses spells. Her fell calls are some ultimate model/unit support and will make the difference between a unit damaging a warbeast, boxing that warbeast, or getting away quietly. She is the trollblood infantry caster and will push a full unit to do marvelous things.

Her primary strength is giving one large unit the crushing power to take out anything and zoom into combat when not engaged. She will take a big unit, like full Kriel warriors or max long riders, jam a charge lane or boost their number and quality of attacks. It is some awesome power to see two caber tossers outright scrap a heavy jack.

Trollkin Long Riders and Horthol, Long Rider Hero – Your Guide to the Toughalow

By Goris

In this write I will try and detail the tactics, tricks and strategies used with the Long Riders that make them one of, if not the BEST Cavalry unit in the game. I have had a fondness for this exceedingly expensive unit ever since they stole sixty of my dollars from my wallet. Horthol took another forty five and I never looked back. I have no doubts that once you start fielding them you will enjoy every moment they are on the table and the sheer hate you will get from other factions.

Trollkin Long Riders
Trollkin Trollblood Cavalry Unit

“If the trembling earth sends fear into the lungs of the enemy to steal their very breath, know it is the long riders who come.”
- Benlor Saddleborn of the Jelkilar Kriel Long Riders
Forces of Hordes: Trollbloods MKII

This quote embodies so much of how the long riders are and play. They are an intensely powerful unit that is self sufficient and effective. However the nuances of fielding them are hard to get down. I’ll go over their strengths and weaknesses both in stats and tactics during this write up.

Clandra & Cryx

Calandra and Cryx
by Sevwall

There has been some discussions recently on how to handle Cryxian opponents. Cryx is arguably one of, if not the most threatening factions you can face, especially in a tournament environment. I personally find that Calandra is one of the best casters you can take to hamper cryx on a turn by turn basis. This article was written to convey the knowledge and strategies that I have learned to you. Hopefully it may help some of you, and if not, maybe it made you think a little. This whole article is based on months of tourney experiences. If you believe that this renders the article anecdotal or without merit, please feel free to read the article, but avoid making comments of that nature. Any helpful criticism or advice is fine. If you don’t feel that you understand Calandra very well, or want to know where I’m coming from with this advice, please feel free to read my article on Calandra to see where I’m coming from.

Christmas Painting Exchange II

Last year it was a big hit so we did another one.  Excuse the picture all we had at the time was a phone to take the photo with.  Yeap those are pink skinned Gobbers with a pink rimmed base.  Enjoy

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide

Crushing Crescendo: A Grissel Guide
by Saerko

When I first picked up my friend’s copy of Primal to see about this “Hordes” jive he was spewing, I was having a hard time deciding what faction to play. I hate elves, so Legion was out immediately, and Circle was never going to fit my aggressive, melee-oriented playstyle. So it came down to Skorne and Trollbloods, and I was on the verge of picking up a Skorne army when I leafed through the Trollblood section again and decided to take a look at Grissel Bloodsong a little bit closer.

There was no turning back.

“Why” you might ask, is Grissel that great? The answer is that Grissel can do everything. With melee ability only out-stripped by Borka and Madrak, support abilities equivalent to anything Calandra, Grim, or Doomshaper can bring to the table, a killer feat, a spell list to die for and denial usually reserved for Cryxian warcasters, there’s no list she can face that she doesn’t have an answer for. If some warcasters/warlocks can be thought of as Swiss Army Knives, she’s a fully loaded Leatherman. She has so much potential, I didn’t really feel up to the task of writing this guide, but I’m going for it anyway and hoping I can give you a glimpse at how I use her. This guide will by no means be exhaustive--it’s a starting point and you’ll have to take it from there.