This week started with a visit to Birmingham for my penultimate tournament of the year. The Bullrun was organised by the ever-lovely Steve Hildrew, and it was a hugely enjoyable day out. I took my Basileans, having settled on a list that I thought would be interesting to play, and be a little different to the Knights and Angels list I’ve had a measure of success with. My list included:
Sisterhood Scouts Regiments (3)
Gur Panther Troop
Sisterhood Chariot Regiment
Elohi Horde with Celestial Fury and The Wine of Elvenkind
Elohi Horde with The Brew of Strength
Dictator with Wings of the Honeymaize
Ur Elohi
Julius
Rather excitingly my first game was against Mark Cunningham’s Rat Slave list. I really like the Slave army and have been really excited to see two very good UK players leading them to victory after victory in tournaments. Having drafted in a load of shooting I thought this would be quite a good match up. Unfortunately, I managed to make a couple of mistakes before the game even really began and Mark quickly capitalised on them. Despite it being a loss it was great to play a list I’ve been really intrigued by.
Next up was Richard Luke with his filthy Basileans (I jest of course) … yes, he won! Despite the outcome it was a really enjoyable game. I really like Rich’s list because it’s a great mix of units, rather than the sort of Angel and (insert unit name) spam lists I tend to end up bringing to the table.
By the time the third game rolled around I was feeling a little tired and hoping that the final game would involve far less thinking than the first two had. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. My opponent had brought a really beautifully painted forces of nature army consisting of loads of defence 5 and 6 units. The terrain restricted my lines of sight for shooting, and to make matters worse (for me) the scenario definitely favoured his army. This would have been a major thinking game on my part, had my brain been up to the job. It was not. Suffice to say that Nature triumphed, and I watched my army get dismantled. It was over pretty quickly, which did leave time for a good chat over a cup of tea, which was a pretty decent end to the day.
Despite failing to make a dent in the score board I did win another flying doggy in the raffle, and beautifully hand-finished wooden spoon. Not to mention having three great games with three lovely people I haven’t played before.
All in all, it was a great day. Looking back on it all I’m actually quite happy with my list and I see loads of potential for it. However, the event reminded me that one of the things I love most about Kings of War is that every element of the game has its nuances and needs a little practice to really get your head around. In my case I was using a reasonable chunk of shooting with a really manoeuvrable, punchy, nimble, flying unit that I haven’t really got my head around – more practice is undoubtedly required.
So, the flushes of tournament day excitement have receded and I’m considering my next hobby moves. After a few months of dancing around the edges with my rats I’ve decided that the time has come to reconnect. I’m not sure how long it will last, but my plans are to go back to vermin for an event or two. In order to do that I think I need another Shock Troop regiment. So, I dug around in the magic cupboard and found some of my old GW stormvermin and given them a refresh, which I’ve decided counts towards the overall hobby number.
In addition, and inspired by having another winged Alverez, I have moved the needle forward on my halflings and managed to complete another 10 braves (bringing the total to 13). Not bad for a week’s work.
Hobby total – 67
Have a great week and see you soon.
The Wizard's Bookshelf 