Jason Davis

Recently, I started going to the local games store. The people are nice, and I'm loving Age of Sigmar. There is only one problem...I'm a graduate student and therefore my disposable income is essentially nonexistent. I dithered, I fussed, I tried to think of where I could scrounge up a few extra bucks, and every time I went back to the store I felt terrible leaving empty handed -- the place is, after all, a business, and I'm not exactly helping the bottom line. So I talked to my wife and she, as usual, worked out something of a solution. No, we can't afford models or paint or anything else involved in this very (very) expensive hobby -- but we do have a printer. And here we are, super budget wargaming. Stuff from around the house for terrain, paper bases cut to size. The folks at the store don't like it, but that's alright. We can play each other, and without the expensive hobby bits we can experiment a bit. With the help of the new Path to Glory (which a friend generously let us borrow for an afternoon...) we've put together a bit of a ladder for ourselves. Eight games, two armies, and every bit of randomness we can manage. SUPER-BUDGET WARGAMING STARTING WARBANDS Mine (Slaanesh) Herald of Slaanesh on Seeker Chariot (General) - Spiteful Destroyer - Daemon Weapon Herald of Slaanesh on Steed Herald of Slaanesh on Steed Hellflayer 10 x Daemonettes Hers (Flesh Eater Courts) Abhorrent Ghoul King (General) - Death Incarnate - Cursed Book 10 x Crypt Ghouls 10 x Crypt Ghouls 10 x Crypt Ghouls 10 x Crypt Ghouls ROUND 1 For our first battle, we are using the Ambush! Narrative battleplan from the new 40k rulebook, because we found it online and liked the look of it. From our narrative we played it as though my Slaaneshi warband wandered into the wrong village in the Realm of Beasts. That village happened to be full of ghouls. Setup wise, the attacker (me) gets to deploy within a 12" by 36" box on one side of the battlefield. The ambusher gets to deploy anywhere outside of 18" away, or within a 6" gap on the flanking board edges. The end goal is for my army to escape the far board edge -- 1/2 or more units is a major victory, 1/3 or more is a minor, and anything less is major defeat. We used the concealed deployment recommendation (tokens for FEC deployment, flipped over to reveal what is where once everything is on the table.) I won the roll to deploy first and knowing that the victory condition was escape rather than fighting I pushed everything as close to the far side as possible. This was a mistake, as it also clumped my units together and effectively neutered the mobility that is my real strength. The FEC deployed on the flanks, close as possible and set to close from both sides. Long story short (we did keep a detailed transcript of everything we did just to keep track of things, but didn't take pictures) the ghouls closed the gap before I could move things around, and the rest of the battle consisted of a single long scrum. I tried to maneuver, but ghouls are simply amazing tarpits, and my chariots are just too big to really move around. The real MVP was definitely the Cursed Book though -- I cannot say how annoying it is for all of my 6's to lose out on spawning additional attacks because of that stupid things -1 to hit! It was pretty easy game for the Flesh Eater Court really: none of the summoned crypt ghouls units from the Ghoul King's command ability even made it to the fight. Without the charge, the hellflayer couldn't utilize it's soul-scent ability, and my general just didn't have the same punch. That said, she did wipe an enitre unit of Ghouls in 1 round of attacks, which is nothing to sneeze at. On my end, I was happy with my use of the Daemonettes to screen my general -- I caught the Ghoul King on the initial charge with them and he never did make it through to hit my Herald on Seeker Chariot (even if he did knock 4 wounds off the Hellflayer). I definitely think the game was lost in deployment. If I had been more conservative and spaced my units better, Sally could not have caught everything on the opening charges and I could have either made a break for it and salvaged at least a minor victory or shifted the lines with a quick flank. That said, we both had a great time and can't wait for Round 2. ROUND 1 RESULTS FLESH EATER COURT MAJOR VICTORY Slaanesh Losses: 2 Heralds of Slaanesh on Steeds, 1 Hellflayer, 10 Daemonettes Flesh Eater Court Losses: 28 Crypt Ghouls Since it's just the two of us and we want things to be even, we are actually switching the rewards from Games Workshop's rulebook. Since I suffered a major defeat, I will roll three times for rewards, and since my wife landed a major victory she will roll once. If a follower reward is selected, that unit is also increased in size once (i..e. 10 Ghouls become 20, 1 Hellflayer becomes 2). Here's what the new warbands look like... SLAANESH Herald of Slaanesh on Seeker Chariot (General) - Spiteful Destroyer - Daemon Weapon - Aura of Acquiescence (-1 to hit against champion) Herald of Slaanesh on Steed Herald of Slaanesh on Steed Hellflayer 5 x Seekers 5 x Seekers 10 x Daemonettes FLESH EATER COURT Abhorrent Ghoul King (General) - Death Incarnate - Cursed Book 20 x Crypt Ghouls - Hunger for Flesh (+1 Attack once per battle) 10 x Crypt Ghouls 10 x Crypt Ghouls 10 x Crypt Ghouls * EDITED 10:45 8/3/2017 FOR FORMATTING

With the reopening of the Gates of Azyr, the scholars of the Collegiate Arcane have been granted an opportunity forbidden for centuries. Generations have passed since they had anything new to study, but now the God-King’s irresistible vengeance has opened the door to an infinite sea of discovery. As the people of Azyr march to reclaim their ancestral homes and settle the Mortal Realms once more in the name of peace and Order, scholars of every school and class are rushing to stake their claims, desperate to make names for themselves in this new Age of Knowledge. Druids of the Jade Orders collect plants for Azyrheim’s Grand Arboretum, and the Amber Orders send back reports of new beasts every day from Ghur. In Aqshy, initiates sift through exotic gemstones, while apprentices in Chamon work to refine mysterious ores. Never before has so much been learned so quickly. But opportunity is seldom unaccompanied by risk in the Mortal Realms, for every new revelation draws covetous eyes ... The Great University of Azyrheim Founded at the height of the Age of Myth, when the great Pantheon remained unbroken and peace reigned in the Mortal Realms, the Great University of Azyrheim was a monumental testament to cooperation at an unprecedented scale. Intended to transcend kingdoms and Realms, race and creed, the University took centuries to build. For an Age, it stood as a beacon to those who cared only for the pursuit of pure knowledge. But such things never last. The Pantheon fell apart, and one by one the kingdoms of the Mortal Realms were overwhelmed. Scholars became refugees, and in the hallowed halls where theory had once reigned, a grim practicality was now demanded. Terrible spells were developed, unspeakable war-machines built, pacts made and secrets better left unknown revealed. And all for naught -- the tide of Chaos would not be turned aside. The God-King sealed the Gates of Azyr. Trapped in the Celestial Realm, study began to stagnate. There was only so much knowledge to be gleaned from things already discovered and before long research delved into matters increasingly esoteric. Belief became truth, and the University, founded to encourage free thought, condemned those who questioned tradition. With this shift, the concept of general education was largely abandoned. Only initiates, not yet knowledgeable enough to specialize, bother with such amateur behavior, and for a more experienced Magister to dabble outside of their discipline is regarded with intense suspicion. Groups of like-minded experts drifted further and further apart, obsessed with the intricacies of their own research and entirely uninterested in the efforts of others. The jump from discussion group to insular academy was small, and so the first of the scholarly orders were born. At first, there were nearly as many Orders as there were opinions, but over time they gradually drifted together to form the eight Colleges of Magic. Order houses were built, enlarged, and eventually combined to form the Sky-Towers of Azyrheim, home to the Collegiate Arcane. The great University campus, home at one time to ten thousand scholars, now plays host only to those who have not yet found a more permanent home. Each College, and their synonymous Orders, is dedicated to the study of a single field of magic. The Jade Orders, for example, and the College of Agrology by extension, is focused on the druidic arts, while the College of Astrometeorology (and the Celestial Orders,) study the magic of the Heavens. With the opening of the Gates of Azyr, there has been a push among some of the younger members of the Collegiate Arcane to reform the Great University in more than name. The Orders, they say, should be relegated to simple social groups rather than active policy makers, and cooperation between them should be encouraged by a centralized administration dedicated to an egalitan distribution of resources between all eight Colleges. Needless to say, this viewpoint is neither popular nor widespread, but with the flood of initiates pouring in from across the Mortal Realms, the idea is beginning to gain traction.