Today’s article continues our Love Letters Series, in which readers of the page submit an ode to their favorite warband. The Love Letter Series was kicked off by this post encouraging people to play the warbands they love and tell others about the experience, inviting readers to contribute their passion to this website – if you have something to say, by all means let me know wherever you found this posted or by emailing me at SpentGlory@Gmail.com.
Andy/Hammersauce is a PNW local who has followed in the Vancouver tradition of terrorizing my Seattle scene by stealing our tickets and trophies, having knocked my boy Andrew out at the Tacoma Open to get his invite to Worlds. Not that I hold it against him – he’s a great guy and a great player to boot. Andy wanted to emphasize this as a love letter to the process, the journey, and the friends he’s made and met along the way. Settle in for a heck of a love letter – this one is long but worth it. The Emberwatch look like fun, and you’ll get lots of top-tier commentary on the Worlds meta while you’re at it!
THE JOURNEY THUS FAR:
This entire year has led to this tournament. In January, I set my 2024 hobby stretch goal of qualifying and competing in the World Championship of Warhammer in Atlanta. After attending 5 qualifier events since February and winning my Golden Ticket at the Tacoma US Open in July, I have arrived in Atlanta with Team Canada, excited to play! We had very little time to review, digest, and submit our deck lists due to the rapid launch of the 2nd edition. After a handful of games, I was really stuck on what to bring to Worlds. I tried Brethren of the Bolt, Cyreni’s Razors, Myari’s Purifiers, and Headsmen’s Curse. I had a feeling pure aggro Gorechosen of Dromm was going to be oppressive, but I personally prefer piloting something different to explore counter-meta strategies. In my opinion, Brethren and Cyreni can’t withstand enough hits to hold, and Myari and Headsmen’s were too dependent on one fighter. I was very lost on what to play! After chatting with my Canadian Teammates, David/Beardarm made an astute suggestion to look into The Emberwatch that I previously dismissed. They have 5 wounds each, are flexible with their ranged attacks, and have some neat movement tech that plays well into my “hold” playstyle preference – even though they only had 3 fighters. I made the decision to pair them with Emberstone Sentinels (ES) and Countdown to Cataclysm (CTC).
I really wanted to play with painted minis at this 4-day event. Thank you to Alain for giving me his Emberwatch sprues on launch day so I can paint them myself the weekend before WCW. I was very happy with how these turned out.
THE “PLAN”:
Here is my deck:
I was a little greedy and packed 12 objectives (17-18 glory ceiling), 11 power cards (1 card draw) and 11 upgrades (totaling 15 glory cost). Through my limited test games, I found I was going through many more power cards in 2nd edition. I packed By the Numbers to help go through my deck, and slotted in Desperate Rage as a wildcard piece that may come in handy when desperately trying to inflict more damage (to take down something chunky, like Gorehulk).
Going in against aggro elites like Gorechosen, the plan is to deploy as far back as possible to avoid being charged in 1st activation (when possible). Since I have Vanguard Dash and Hidden Paths, I want to deploy Treasure Tokens within 1 of edge hexes. To take advantage of the Alone I Stand ability (which was confirmed by WCW Judges to still work with only 1 fighter remaining), placing a Treasure Token 1 hex from edge hex in Neutral Territory provided the highest amount of flexibility to push my fighter onto a Treasure Token in the last power step.
I included as much movement tech as possible: Sidestep, Confusion, Hidden Paths, Violent Blast, Counter-charge, and the Emberwatch native Alone I Stand and Vanguard Dash abilities. Violent Blast and Alone I Stand ended up being MVP abilities in crucial moments of my matches.
Above is the ideal board set up, with the Emberwatch on the bottom. Lots of options to “Alone I Stand” push onto tokens on the last power step. Hidden Paths and Vanguard Dash also allows me to surprise the opponent and have threats coming in from both ways. Hidden Paths is the better of the two teleports, with the ability to use it in the opponent’s Power Step right before my turn to activate the teleported fighter.
Cards I want to see in my opening hand: Supremacy, Iron Grasp, all the movement ploys, and Great Speed. Things I will mulligan out are Spread Havoc and Utter Conviction as those become more useful later on.
Some cards that didn’t work so well: Sally Forth (don’t always want to charge), The Extra Mile (FAQ’d to not work as part of a charge), and Too Close for Comfort (my strategy wants me to play keep away).
This deck pairing wants the pilot to go second in order to have ‘the last push’. Knowing when to use each of the Warscroll abilities makes and breaks the game. I had a couple of misplays during the tournament that locked me out of scoring 2-3 glory end phases that were really punishing. More reps and match-up experience will obviously help – and I look forward to seeing what others do with this warband throughout the second edition of Underworlds.
(A good argument can be made that I should’ve paired CTC with Blazing Assault, Reckless Fury, or Wreck and Ruin for easier scoring/damage output. I agree with this, and think it goes to show the flexibility this warband has in their very useful warscroll and fighter profiles. Even after a big tournament, I look forward to testing out more builds with the Emberwatch).
My pre-tournament interview with Mike/Fishmode (link)
Editor’s Note – thanks for chatting with me, Andy!
THURSDAY:
Match 1: Pool-Play 1 vs Rafal of Poland (aka Benoslav) with Headsmen’s Curse
My first match was against Rafal of Poland. Going into the match I didn’t know Rafal also goes by the very recognizable Discord handle of Benoslav. Rafal was playing Headsmens’ Curse, which is the only printed warband with an inspired 4 damage attack profile that is very threatening towards elite warbands like The Emberwatch. They are also equipped with a very threatening Warscroll that gives them an ability to raise a slain fighter back to full health with zero bounty (hello 4 wound Bearer of the Block!), a Core Ability teleport, and an insane accuracy boost that succeeds on both Hammers and Swords on a Flanked attack.
Rafal came prepared to win and was meticulously precise in his game play. During one of our matches I admitted to some misplay on my part which Rafal immediately nodded and agreed. He knew it even before I realized. I felt like an open book and was under pressure the whole match. In the end, I could not hold Treasure Tokens enough for my big end phase scoring before my fighters were slain, and Rafal won this match, very proficiently, in 2 games.
It is worth noting that the miniatures Rafal brought are some of the most spectacular ones I have ever seen.
Game 1: 12-18 L
Game 2: 9-13 L
Total: 21-31 L
I caught up with Rafal throughout the rest of the tournament and thoroughly enjoyed learning about the very vibrant meta they have back home in Poland. Kudos to Rafal for continuing to organize 50+ player events back home while competing at Top Levels. I look forward to seeing more Polish players on the international scene over the coming years.
Me, Pawel, Rafal, and Filip of Poland enjoying a refreshment after 4 days of WHU.
Match 2: Pool-Play 2 vs Matt of Australia with The Emberwatch
I was not expecting a mirror-match this early in the tournament (or at all), but here we are. Matt is from Down Under(world) Melbourne and piloted The Emberwatch extremely well with P&P and CTC. It was interesting to pit our two warbands’ identical Warscrolls against each other. Figuring out when to use each ability (especially Vanguard Dash) was paramount in this match up. Going into this mirror match, I knew I must pay close attention to how many Treasure Tokens have been delved to prevent his big 3-glory end phase, Strip the Realm. I was able to do so while enjoying good card draws in Game 2 and 3, making a comeback to win this Match 2-1. I would later chat with Matt on how his games are going and share learnings and revelations on different matchups. Thank you Matt!
Game 1: 15-21 L
Game 2: 19-8 W
Game 3: 18-16 W
Total: 37-37 W
FRIDAY
Match 3: Pool-Play 3 vs Bobby of USA (aka BigSky) with Ephilim’s Pandemonium
I’ve never interacted with but knew of Bobby from the What-the-Hex/Wisconsin area, having watched him win his Golden Ticket at the WtH Madtown Throwdown Tournament Live Stream with Headkrakka against another very skilled player, Payvand, piloting Cyreni’s in that particular final. To my surprise and delight, Bobby brought Ephilim’s Pandemonium paired with ES and CTC. Ephilm’s Warscroll in the second edition is full of tricks. They have a built in card draw, a reliable and flexible inspire mechanic, and a “free” ability to Raise a slain Changer, as well as several pings to whittle down 4-6 wound fighters before coming in for the final blow.
Bobby started our Match by expressing his relief on not facing “yet another” Dromm. Bobby went 0-2 into two Dromms on Day 1 and was feeling a bit bruised from that experience. Kudos to Bobby for showing up on Day 2, ready to play.
This was my first ever time playing into 2nd edition Ephilim, and it was really neat to see the Warband “come to life” under Bobby’s control. Here is Bobby talking about his warband at the beginning of the tournament. Bobby drew Do or Die in his opening hand for both game 1 and 2, immediately inspiring a second changer to inspire Ephilim.
Memorable moments in this match-up include Bobby flying in a Raised (0-bounty) Apo’trax (avoiding stagger hexes) to charge (with Cleave!) onto a Cover token, and putting it on Guard with 2 dodges and 3 wounds. If I don’t have push-tech Ploys in my hand, my Emberwatch with ES has to spend precious activations attempting to kill Apo’trax on Guard with zero bounty, praying to roll a Crit in order to Overrun if I happen to kill Apo’trax. Losing Game 1 made me pivot my approach for Game 2.
Apo’trax was rich with tokens: Guard, stagger, and charged.
Game 2, I decided to play aggressively to slay Bobby’s Changers. I went full-aggro and surprised both Bobby and myself on how punchy The Emberwatch can be (see my note above about pairing Emberwatch with more aggressive decks). I gained bounty while scoring some of my 2-glory End Phases to inch my way to an 11-10 win for Game 2.
I tried the same aggressive approach for Game 3 but did not land as many attacks before Bobby could score his Objectives. Playing The Emberwatch aggressively while using the ES-CTC pairing put me significantly out of position to score my end phases. I wasn’t playing the way my deck was built! Bobby ended up outplaying me in Game 3 to take the Match in 3 games. It was refreshing for me to play into a 5-fighter warband. The match up was very interactive, with both players’ Warbands expressing their Warscrolls. Bobby went on to have an amazing Day 2 by winning all 3 of his matches that day. Way to go Bobby!
Game 1: 15-21 L
Game 2: 11-10 W
Game 3: 13-17 L
Total: 28-38 L
Match 4: Pool-Play 4 vs Benjamin (aka Verses) of Canada with Headsmen’s Curse
After my game against Bobby, I was tapped on the shoulder by Mike/Fishmode: “do you want to play your next game against Ben on stream?” Ben and I both gladly said yes and set ourselves up at the larger and comfy streaming table. This is a new experience for both of us and we were excited to play into each other LIVE, with some friends cheering us on from back home.
(Photo Credit: D-man)
Benjamin/Verses is my fellow Canadian teammate from Calgary, Alberta. Benjamin just started playing Underworlds in early 2024 and has made himself known in the Canadian meta as a talented player. On my journey to qualify for Worlds, Ben was a competitor at Rumble in the Rockies, Alberta Classics, and Games Con Canada. The most memorable match in these tournaments was Ben’s Parasite-GSP vs my BNS-Hexbane in Edmonton. I barely won against Benjamin in our match-up but he ended up winning the tournament and his Golden Ticket. I knew going into Match 4 against Benjamin at WCW is not going to be a walk in the park, especially with him piloting Headsmen’s Curse paired with BA&ES – having lost to Headsmen’s earlier against Rafal.
It was unfortunate that I had to play against a fellow Canadian (a net-zero-gain for Team Canada), but I can confidently say that this matchup was THE most fun I have ever had in a competitive match of Underworlds. There was so much back and forth during each game, with double Crits being rolled by both players at pivotal moments. We were both fighting for tokens, throwing back-to-back Confusion to get on and off tokens, and playing each other’s hand to anticipate and counter-play each other’s 3-glory Supremacy.
Headsmen’s Curse fighters all have 4-move with Flying, so they can outmaneuver my 3-move Stormcast Eternals. If I am not careful, with an initial ping by the Scripter and/or Grievous upgrade, an inspired Wielder can one-shot my fighters and significantly set me back. My plan against Headsmen’s was to lure out the Wielder’s 2 hammer 3 damage charge as early into the round as possible, while fishing hard for my Supremacy in round 1 in order to score it before my fighters are slain. This involves risking Farasa early with Vanguard Dash into enemy territory – hoping to get her on two shields and either put some early wounds on the Wielder or give Benjamin difficult decisions with enemy fighters on opposite ends of the board. I know Ben is using BA+ES pairing, so his deck would have ample pushes and teleports to help maneuver his Wielder around to continue to be threatening.
You can watch the recorded stream here:
My dice were quite hot in Game 1 and 3, helping me secure the win in this matchup. Extra shout out for Benjamin for the delightful match – I enjoyed cheering and high-fiving each other whenever one of us rolled double Crits – and it felt like we rolled a ton of them!
One of my brightest highlights of the WCW weekend was watching Davy and Mike commentate on the Live Stream. I can’t believe it was their first time doing this type of commentating – one would think that these guys are professionals and with years of experience under their belts. Having them cheering and laughing along with Benjamin and I will be a core WCW memory I treasure for ages to come.
Game 1: 15-8 W
Game 2: 15-19 L
Game 3: 16-14 W
Total: 31-33 W
Match 5: Pool-Play 5 vs Thomas (aka Saxthom) of USA with Gorechosen of Dromm
Here we go, Gorechosen of Dromm. Out of 46 WCW WHU competitors, 17 players brought Gorechosen of Dromm. 3 of the 5 Vancouverite players brought Gorechosen with BA&RF so I knew how powerful this combination was – and had some plans that were theorized but not fully tested.
Editor’s Note: BA/RF? BARF indeed. And that’s even true for you, Thomas – being my fearless Underworlds Underground leader doesn’t absolve you of grossness
I have met Thomas before at the Alberta Classic and sparred against him online from time to time. However, we have never played against each other in person before, so this was a new milestone! Thomas is often referred to as the original connoisseur of Domitan Stormcoven with BNS, so he is certainly a well-seasoned professional with the elite aggro playstyle. Playing against this current iteration of Dromm with its seemingly endless charges was very intimidating.
Playing as The Emberwatch into Gorechosen BA/RF presented some difficult choices: on the one hand, I want to be in enemy territory to inspire my fighters to 2 shields and prevent easy surges like Get Stuck In, Best Foot Forward, and Frenzied Rush, but being in Dromm’s territory also meant Thomas can easily use Illusory Fighter to teleport back and continue the onslaught. What should I do?
Here’s the plan: deploy as far back as possible to prevent initial charge, hug the edge hexes to prepare to Vanguard Dash or use Hidden Paths to get away/onto Treasure Tokens, and don’t throw worthless 1 damage attacks to fuel up his Blood Tithe counters, try and score Supremacy early, and once we get to 2 shields, counter punch with some 2 damage+grievous attacks to take out some fighters (only if necessary). Also, try as much as possible to NOT be charged out to prevent Unrelenting Massacre. Oh, and pray to the dice gods for missed attacks by Gorechosen fighters. Sounds totally do-able, right? Right???
This strategy worked quite well at the start, giving me early glory without throwing a single attack in round 1 for both game 1 and 2. Thomas’ dice were not playing nice and he was not landing any attacks in early activations, and because I wasn’t attacking/was out of range, it became quite challenging for Gorechosen to be starved of Blood Tithes. However, I couldn’t hide forever and my objective cards were not drawn optimally, losing me game 1. I thought this strategy worked quite well so I kept to it in game 2, allowing me to take a game off Thomas.
Game 3, however, Thomas was able to land that crucial first attack and his engine was then “online”. Since I sparred with Thomas before casually and often discussed strategies mid-game, during game 3 my “practice habits” got the better of me. I reminded Thomas, mid-game, that Gorechosen’s Enrage ability can not only be used on friendly fighters, but on enemy fighters as well, forcing them to charge (and get out of position/locked in by Fury of Aqshy). Oof! Andy!! Next time, give helpful advice AFTER winning the match, not during!! Almost immediately, I enjoyed the wrath of my own “wisdom” and couldn’t roll Saves to save my fighters (three shield save on guard and I rolled only Supports!), and it was over when 2 of my fighters were slain. Thomas piloted this powerful pairing very well – I just wished I gave him a bigger fight in game 3 of our match up. I ended up losing a gut- wrenching 9-22 in game 3 to end Day 3 at a 2W-3L record. I was Dromm’d!
Game 1: 14-17 L
Game 2: 17-13 W
Game 3: 9-22 L
Total: 31-39 L
SATURDAY
Match 6: Pool-Play 6 vs Jonas of Denmark with Gorechosen of Dromm
It is early on Day 3 of WCW and, as my teammate Damian/D-Man would say, “Top of the Dromm to ya”! My 6th match was into… more Gorechosen! (I consider myself lucky to only play two Dromm matches for the tournament). This time, I am up against Denmark’s Jonas.
I only know of Jonas from his Cinderella story of rocketing to the Finals at the Las Vegas Open, just barely making top-cut into the finals, finishing in 2nd place after Canada’s very own Derek/Captain Murder. Here is Jonas at the opening interview.
Overnight, I reflected on my match against Thomas, and decided that my strategy did a decent job and allowed me to play out my game plan (as opposed to pounding my head into those intimidating Khorne warriors). I am glad I stuck with my strategy and was able to barely inch my way to victory in game 3 at a nail biting 17-16. Jonas and I agreed that these games took quite some time as they were extremely grindy cat vs mouse games. Having 5-wound Stormcasts to take some punches and playing keep away by leveraging the Alone I Stand ability allowed me to score just enough to claim victory over the ominous Gorechosen.
Run away! Run away!
I was glad to be able to take a win against Dromm at this tournament, and want to say thank you to Jonas for his patience as we played Dromm-Tag. Jonas also went on to win Best-Painted for the tournament. Congratulations Jonas!
Game 1: 15-4 W
Game 2: 8-14 L
Game 3: 17-16 W
Total: 32-30 W
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This would finish my Pool-Play matches at a modest 3W-3L. A notable win for me is that I was able to learn from my losses (first Dromm and first Headsmen) and apply them to my second matches against the same Warbands and come out on top. Although many players in my pool finished 3-3, my Strength of Schedule wasn’t strong enough to bump me up into the Championship Bracket. This meant I was out of the running for World Champion, but will continue the rest of my WCW journey in the “Worlds Bracket”. In a good way, the Worlds Bracket had a higher variety of warbands (Championship Bracket of 16 players had 11? Dromm’s) and I looked forward to playing against different warbands.
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Match 7: Worlds Bracket 1 vs Gareth (aka Knight of Ni) of USA with Ironsoul Condemners
I thought being in the Worlds Bracket would take some pressure off and lead to less beat-down centric games. Man, was I wrong about that! My next matchup was against Gareth/Knight of Ni from Anaheim, California, piloting Ironsoul’s Condemners. What’s this? Another 3 fighter 3-move warband with base-3 damage, that’s paired with BA+RF? Oh my! These are Gorechosen in Stormcast form, but inspires into 2 shields! Yikes!!!
I will admit that Gareth outplayed me in both games and was in control the whole time. Yes, they don’t have the Enrage ability, but Brodus’ extended range, ability to shut down weapon abilities, and the ability to not be driven back was a very good counterplay to my Hold Objective plan. I was caught by surprise by Illusory Fighter (d’oh!) both games while running away/to Treasure Tokens and failed to roll any successes on another 3 shields save roll. Gareth won a decisive 2-0 match to bump me down to an overall record of 3W-4L.
Gareth won the SoCal Open in October, and got a surprise Golden Ticket to WCW there. I look forward to seeing what Gareth does next in future tournaments to come! Thank you Gareth!
Game 1: 11-12 L
Game 2: 15-18 L
Total: 26-30 L
Match 8: Worlds Bracket 2 vs Pawel (aka Muras) of Poland with Spiteclaw’s Swarm
Feeling a bit bruised from the beat down, I was glad to be facing Spiteclaw’s Swarm in my next match. I am paired against Pawel from Poland. Heading into my match, I believe Pawal was 2W-5L and looking a little beaten up too. I skimmed over Spiteclaw’s warscroll in the past but haven’t really digested it until this game. Pawel proceeded to show me the magic of this Skaven warband.
Spiteclaw’s Swarm is the fastest warband in the game at 5 moves each. They have a raise mechanic, and some repositioning tricks. Pawel paired them with ES and P&P, so I knew we were going to be fighting over treasure tokens.
Pawel won the roll off and went first, and immediately surprised me by activating Lurking Skaven adjacent to Krrk. He used Skitter to push Lurking Skaven one hex, and proceeded to move 5 hexes into a Treasure Token deep in my territory (essentially a 6 hex move!). Once he landed on the token, he played Settle In to put Lurking Skaven on guard, inspiring it. In the power step, Lurking Skaven delved to score Claim the Prize. Now one of my Treasure tokens is flipped, and I have a 2 dodge on guard enemy fighter to deal with in my territory, and I haven’t even played anything yet. Woah! I was in trouble!
Luckily for me, I had a great starting hand in game 1, with confusion, sidestep, hidden path, AND violent blast. Pawel missed many attacks, unable to drive me off tokens, and I was able to reposition my fighters effectively to score Supremacy and deny his Supremacy and Ruin the Realm – effectively winning me the first game.
My luck quickly ran out, however, in the second and third game. Pawel got many of his skavens inspired to 2 dodge, outmaneuvered my 3-move Stormcasts, and were almost impossible to hit. Pawel took the win confidently in game 2 and 3.
I congratulated Pawel coming back from behind, sticking to his game plan, and thanked him for what I thought was a master class in skaven operations. Similar to my game against Bobby, it was so refreshing and neat to see players ‘breathe life’ into warbands in the second edition. What else is out there that I haven’t explored?
Game 1: 15-13 W
Game 2: 10-18 L
Game 3: 9-16 L
Total: 25-34 L
SUNDAY
Match 9: Worlds Bracket 3 vs Aaron of England with Sepulchral Guard
It is the final stretch! I started the last day of this 4-day WCW tournament paired up against Aaron from England, piloting Sepulchral Guard with ES and P&P. After 3 days and 8 games into this tournament, Aaron barely had any voice left! Despite this, Aaron and I took a moment to catch up on each other’s experience thus far in the tournament, and discussed our thoughts on the new edition. Aaron likes his classic warbands and won his Golden Ticket to Worlds with Sepulchral Guard. Like the rest of us, with so little time to prepare, Aaron took the warband he knew and hoped for the best.
Photo credit: D-man
Aaron was very generous and took the time to explain his warband’s warscroll. The biggest thing that stood out as a threat to my warband was that the Champion, when raised and inspired, has a 2 hammer 2 damage attack with Cleave. The Warden also goes up to 3 damage inspired. With Great Strength equipped and pings in the warscroll, these two fighters would be dangerous to my Emberwatch.
Since it is difficult to out-maneuver the skellies (they can move 2 fighters at a time), my plan is to deprioritize scoring my hold objectives and strike hard at the Warden. Aaron was able to protect his Warden with Commanding Stride, Sidestep, and Hidden Paths. Aaron also ‘dangle-bro’d’ the Champion in an attempt to get it slain and inspired by placing him on a crucial objective in game 2.
Some quick thinking on my part got me to charge the Champion and used my ranged attack for 1 damage only despite standing adjacent – leaving it vulnerable instead of killing it, which would’ve further fueled the Warden’s inspire mechanic.
My 5 wound fighters and my flex build that did not rely on killing to score helped ‘mute’ the potency of the skellies – propelling me win this match up 2-0. I am off to my last game with a total record of 4W-5L. Can I claw back that last match to make it a 5W-5L result??
Game 1: 15-11 W
Game 2: 17-10 W
Total: 32-21 W
Match 10: Worlds Bracket 4 vs Zack (the Duke) Newcome of USA with Khagra’s Ravagers
I have never met Zack before or played against him online – but his name is so familiar, and Zack is so friendly that he felt like an instant old friend. Zack was running Khagra’s Ravagers with ES and P&P. I know Khagra’s is a favourite amongst 1st edition players on aesthetics alone, and knew that everyone was very excited about seeing the refreshed Ravagers in 2nd edition. Many players wanted to play as the Ravagers but felt like they were ‘meh’, so I dismissed them as not being optimal. However, I overheard throughout the tournament that Zack was able to get a fighter up to 3 shields with The Eye of the Gods and was able to defeat a few Headsmens along the way too! Sounds like Zack has unlocked something that others may have overlooked. You can hear Zack talk about his approach in the pre-game interview here.
This particular match-up was quite ‘grindy’. We both wanted to stand on tokens and got to the reliable 2 shields save stat. We knew we each had the 3-glory Supremacy we wanted to score. I personally think this is a misprint, but Razek starts out at 3 wounds 1 shield and inspires to 4 wounds 2 shields WITH CLEAVE. Razek immediately rises to the top of my priority target. Zack, knowing how vulnerable Razek is to my Raptor’s Strike, deployed him way back in game 1 to give himself some time to inspire him before bringing him forward. Lucky for me, I drew Hidden Path in my opening hand and sent in my trusty assassin, Farasa, in Zack’s power step – successfully neutralizing Razek as a threat with Raptors of Sigmar.
The dice in my match against Zack were quite dramatic. They were generally in my favour in game 1 (I won 18-9), in Zack’s favour in game 2 (Zack won 8-14), and game 3 came down to the very last Power Step:
I went first in round 3, and knew Zack would have the final activation (which is a real big advantage for a Hold deck). I forced Zack to use his Confusion earlier in the round, and Zack reverse-charged Zarshia onto Treasure Token #3 in his third activation. Cragan had a move token and was holding Treasure Token #1 in his zone, and my fighters were not holding any. For my final activation, I moved a charged out Yurik beside Zarshia. This puzzled Zack but since Zarshia was already charged out, he couldn’t activate her to attack. Instead, Zack Focused on his final activation. In the final power step, I was able to use Violent Blast to push Zarshia into the snare hex and Yurik onto Treasure Token #3, scoring me Iron Grasp. Zack and I both ended up with 13 glory each – and since Yurik was standing on Treasure Token #3 and Cragan on #1, I won by the nail biting tiebreaker of standing on a higher valued treasure token!
Zack and I both looked at each other in disbelief at how tight that match came to a close, and gave each other a big hug for a match well-played. Zack was a real gentleman and congratulated me on my win and proceeded to show me that he had “Hold Treasure Token 3 or 4” in his hand. My Violent Blast not only got me my Iron Grasp, but also denied Zack’s objective AND secure a win for me on tiebreaker. Talk about a dramatic finish!
Game 1: 18-9 W
Game 2: 8-14 L
Game 3: 13-13 tiebreaker win!
Total: 31-27 W
With that, I successfully clawed my way back to a 5W-5L record. I am very content with this result, given the talent in attendance and the 2nd Edition twists and turns leading to the event. Big congratulations to Matteo and Daniele for the All-Italian Final, my teammate Max for finishing 4th (in the World!!!), and to Team Canada in finishing second in Underworlds!
Team Canada, missing a critical Derek/Captain Murder. Special call outs to my amazing sparring partners Damian, Steven, Julian, and Josh!
For me, the journey here is an accumulation of 10 months of preparation and qualifying, so being able to even attend in and of itself is something worth celebrating. That said, this tournament has been a very memorable experience. I got to meet many people I’ve interacted with in online communities and put faces to names. It’s been a unique experience that I won’t soon forget. I am proud that I chose a warband that was interesting to me, played the style of Underworlds that I wanted to play, and improved and adapted my game plan along the way to better results. I am most proud of the way this group of players presented ourselves despite the turbulence leading up to the event. I was awarded the “Best in Faction” title for The Emberwatch. It wasn’t the most popular choice but I’m happy to have piloted them well enough to take home some hardware!
I leave this event with a deep appreciation for my family that supports me in this hobby, and the opportunity to make memories together with many friends, old and new. Surprisingly, after 4 days / 30 hours of play, I am still itching to play more Underworlds – so that’s a good sign of wonderful things to come.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. I want to give special shout outs to Mike/Fishmode, Davy, Brian, and Skylar for all the “extra-curricular” activities you did to elevate the WHU @ WCW experience. Your dedication, professionalism, and good-vibe-approach to growing the community is infectious. In my eyes, you all are truly World Champions.
That’s a wrap! Congratulations again to Andy for both qualifying for the World championships of Warhammer and performing so well there, and special thanks for such a thorough writeup that hopefully sheds some insight into several unexplored warbands and playstyles for those of you out there getting to grips with Embergard and the new edition.
While there are a few Love Letters in the works, there is always room for more. I’d love to hear your thoughts about an older or lesser or weird warband/pairing, what drove you to fall in love with it, and how you’ve piloted it to success – and especially piloting it to fun. If you have a warband you’d love to wax poetic about and serenade the wider community, let me know! I’m always accepting new submissions at SpentGlory@gmail.com. Until next time, grab the warband you love, a couple friends, and Spend some Glory!
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