Nico

Models do look Ace. I was close with my prediction of Female Soulblight on yesterday's Warhammer Weekly. Hoping for Krell to come back as a new Mortarch. #BringBackKrell Implications for timing of any AoS Death release are interesting.

Good to see you back! Great post and probably the right decision! I feel similar. The bias from Stormcast Eternal players is palpable (who simply cannot or don't want to deal with horde lists - they never want to have to take Decimators and struggle with Death lists). For SCGT at least, the narrative theme of the event and the logic of the Battleplans and agendas do justify the requirement to have a hero as the general . However, this does disfavours to several factions (Grots and Ironjawz and Death in particular) and encourages Age of Sniping. We'll see what happens. I certainly look forward to your account of the event!

Last year's event Firestorm Fours last year was a fantastic event. I was brought in as a mercenary by captain Rob (Rufio!) Symes. After nearly breaking WhatsApp in the lead up to the event, Rob, Nathan Prescott (#LongLiveTheHoodedVillain) and Rob Crouchley arrived for what turned out to be an epic event. The atmosphere and all 6 games were exceptional. I got kerbstomped hard by Terry Pike game one - nothing like drawing the Facehammer Team for the first round of an event - learned a lot from talking to him - chatted about the TeleThanquol combo - Double Deceiver plus Thanquol - they were awesome. I avenged our defeat in part by beating @Lez at The Warlords. In the final game, I had the pleasure of facing @Dan.Ford, the godfather of Tomb Kings and a truly formidable opponent. He opened my eyes to the possibilities of alpha strike lists, extreme movement and Tomb Kings in particular. He used a very effective strategy of sitting well back and lobbing in an expendable unit each turn that had been buffed up to the maximum. In this case, it was an obscenely fast unit of 3 Chariots, which would receive at least +2 to hit, +1 to wound and Righteous Smiting. The game was surprisingly close, Dan committed to killing my Verminlord Deceiver (who I had left on the backline by himself outside of my bunker, thinking that he was safe from rendless chariots). While it's fairly obvious (especially almost a year later), I believe I was the first person to use Vanhels Danse Macabre on top of Settra's buff and two Tomb King Buffs on a unit of Necropolis Knights at SCGT (as part of @Vincent Venturella's last March of the Tomb Kings. This made them even more brutal with the double pile-in. I put these to good effect, but was outplayed in some games along the way - nothing like seeing the Necrosphinx's 10 mortal wounds special bonus rule come off turn one - against your own Necrosphinx - sigh.... After SCGT, I was determined to build armies for the other two Grand Alliances - the results being Mostly Grots (how can you not run 5 Forgeworld Monsters and 23 Grots in one list); a mixed Order force, which continues to grow; and Mostly Grots II. The Tomb Kings lurked on my shelf for some time waiting for their chance to return to the fore! Overall - I cannot recommend team events highly enough - especially if you're a less experienced player - as your team mates can support you (or viciously blame you for dragging down their otherwise perfect scores - joking). Mo's scoring system works really well for team events and ensures that it's always worth fighting a losing battle just to pick up a point here or deny a point there. The setting - Cardiff - and the venue - Firestorm Games - are both superb! Firestorm Fours 2017 I had high expectations for how fun the event would be this year and was not disappointed. The South London Legion was out in force. I was leading a team of Ben Raven @Thanatos Ares, Tom Lambert and James Grant (all club mates), while @Tom Loyn was captaining Team Wales. We rocked up on the Friday and managed a practice game - which helped us to chill out and gel as a team. As a practical bit of advice if you can take a day, a few days or ideally a week off before a tournament, then do so, it makes such a huge difference to how your perform, your enjoyment of the games, your resilience when things go wrong or you have a draining 3 hour game at the end of the first day. We'd not had much preparation time for this one - due to real life commitments; and this was the first tournament of any kind for Ben. Our lists The lists were very unusual for those familiar with the GH as we were using Mo's Clash Comp. The salient points were that heroes and single models could never score, but there was also no hero cap. This has a huge effect on the game - last year the emphasis had been on remorselessly killing the scoring units while completely ignoring everything else. Riderless Monsters and Artillery (cf. units of Kurnoth Hunters) are generally garbage under this pack. DoT were not allowed at the event, although the book was out and one spectacularly drunk player had brought a Changehost (it's an old Battalion). @Thanatos Ares took his Flappies with a sideboard of Ghouls. James Grant took a combination of the Skyborne Slayers and the Hammerstrike Force (mixing it up compared to the usual Warrior Brotherhood ) with a Drakesworn Templar as a sideboard. Tom was taking his deceptively killy Dark Aelves - the Thrall Warhost, Witch Aelves, plus a Black Dragon as the sideboard (@Paul Buckler might be interested in this). The secret weapon was Volkmar the Broken Grim (100 points well spent - I suspect @Thomas Lyonswould agree). His army was the best painted of our team and had a really striking scheme. The Krell Bomb The Krell Bomb was something I've been pondering for a long time. I had the model already, but at some point it clicked in my mind that despite having only movement 4, Krell could be used as a devastating and cheap cannonball. Furthermore his small base size would allow him to get into spaces that 6 Necropolis Knights couldn't fit into. Finally, Krell is surprisingly durable, with a 3+ save and halving wounds mechanic. Krell starts off at 4 attacks 3+, 3+, -1, D3 damage. However, his special rules also mean that he gets +1 to hit vs Heroes and if he inflicts any wounds on an enemy model, then he can roll a dice and try to beat the number of wounds remaining for an autokill! The +1 to hit was huge as it synergised with Tomb Kings key synergy. Krell is also both a Skeleton and Deathrattle. As a result, by taking Settra, a Necbromancer, a Liche Priest, a Tomb King (or two), a Vampire Lord on Abyssal Terror, a Necrotect and Krell, I could unleash the following: Movement goes from 4 to 8 (Hellish Vigour only working on the movement statistic itself), then adding 3 to 11 and then doubled to 22. 4 Attacks, hitting on 2s, exploding on 3s against heroes, then 4s, then 5s, then 6s (under the SCGT partial nerf to exploding attacks), 2+ to wound, rerolling ones, -1 rend, D3 damage. If Krell survived the opponent's activation (3+ save, halving wounds taken), then he could move a further 3" (even if there was no enemy unit within 3" as he had charged this turn) and keep on chopping! I converted the VLoAT from a Gorebeast and a Daemon Prince with some greenstuff (it's my Twitter profile photo). it will soon be a Tzeentch Lord on Manticore. However, I never found an opportunity to unleash the Krell Bomb. His mysterious absence from the General's Handbook put an end to such plans - hopefully he's going to be an epic new model for a brand new Death faction. "Lord of despair rules the rime-frozen Helspoint, the lord is said to be far older than the age of myth." Another concern was the unreliability of relying on casting 3 spells to get a combo off the ground, one of which was vital. Even if the cast rolls were 5, 6, 6, this isn't trivial. Enter Arkhan

Good move! Some good points there.

This isn't ideal given that none of those Warscrolls are competitive in any way pending lore spells (Arkhan and Harbingers are only somewhat overcosted).

Is this overconfident prediction or are you aware of something specific. Logically, Death will get a big reinvention at some point.

The fact that there's a Black Ark Fleetmaster in the Hammerhal box also points this way.

I like them now!

Draw for Round 4. Please note that Marc Wilson and Leo Rautonen are swapped - so Leo on table 4 and Marc on table 7.

Three weeks to go! Exciting times.

Done.

By way of reminder/update, the SCGT pack and Battleplan pack were updated in March, so please bear this in mind and refer to the latest versions.

I came up with these FAQs for London's #Calling - a 2,000 point AoS tournament using 5 of the 6 SCGT Battleplans. All comments are welcome. FAQs for London's Calling 2017 We're going to apply the following FAQs at London's Calling 2017. These FAQs supplement and add to the official GW FAQs (the December ones with the Magenta amendments on them); and the House Rules of the SCGT pack. Most of these are clarifications of specific rules, particularly new rules from the latest Battletomes, rather than changes to core mechanics which would have broader effects. They have been developed independently from the SCGT pack to address issues that are frequently discussed on TGA. The TOs at the SCGT may decide the answers differently. We've done a fair number of practice games on the DoT side of things in particular (stretching back to my Fatesworn Warband of summer 2016) and a lot of theoryhammering. We would welcome any feedback on these FAQ answers (from attendees or otherwise) both before and after the event. We may make further tweaks to these prior to the event. Stormcast Eternals Q: Can I use pointed Battalions in the General's Handbook (e.g. Warrior Brotherhood, Skyborne Slayers, Wardens of the Realmgate) even though they are not on the Stormcast Eternals Battletome? A: Yes. Q: Is the Baleful Realmgate included within the cost of the Wardens of the Realmgate? A: Yes (please note that this was ruled the same way at The Warlords and Heat One). Q: Do Aetherwings have the option of using Watchful Guardians to make a charge? A: Yes. This rule allows for a move in the start of your opponent's charge phase. Interpreted purposively this can be a charge but doesn't needto be a charge (you can but need not end the move within 3" of an enemy model). For simplicity's sake, any buffs to charge moves (e.g. reroll charge rolls) will affect any move using Watchful Guardians. If your opponent has any ability that activates at the start of the charge phase (e.g. Fanatics), then the opponent can choose the order in which these "simultaneous" abilities take place, as it is necessarily the opponent's turn (see the Hints and Tips in each Battletome). Q: How does the Shockbolt Bow (D6 wound rolls on a hit) work with the Vanguard Wing battalion's Bearers of the Storm ability (6 or higher to hit "make two wound rolls rather than one"); and the prayer Bless Weapons (6 or more to hit generates another attack)? A: If you roll a 6+ to hit, then the initial attack will cause D6+1 wound rolls (so the abilities do synergise but by addition, rather than multiplication - so it's not 2D6 wound rolls). Furthermore, you will also get to roll an additional attack with the Shockbolt Bow (which would lead to another D6 wound rolls if it hits). It's worth noting that the Lord Celestant's Furious Retribution Command Ability only works in the combat phase. Sylvaneth Q: How does the Tanglethorn Thicket ability of Kurnoth Hunters work? A: Tanglethorn Thicket can be activated at the start of any charge phase and lasts until the end of that turn! This means that it never works during any shooting phase (as shooting phase precedes the charge phase). Furthermore, as it happens at the start of the charge phase - the Kurnoth Hunters can never charge after using Tanglethorn Thicket (as a charge is a type of move - see the FAQ for The Rules - the table of types of move in magenta text). Q: How does the core rule "re-rolls happen before modifiers to the roll (if any) are applied." interact with rerolling failed saves from Tanglethorn Thicket? A: The reroll can only happen before the modifier takes place - so you must decide whether to reroll the failed saves on the basis of theunmodified rolls. The difficulty is that you cannot say whether the save would be successful until after the modifier has been applied. This means that - irrespective of the rend, cover, mystic shield or other modifiers) - only natural rolls of 1, 2 or 3 can be "failed" saves (as a 4+ is a "successful" save). In practical terms: As the rule is discretionary (not mandatory), if the Kurnoth Hunters are in cover against rend "-", then you can choose not to reroll a natural roll of 3 (as you know that you will pass the save once the modifier (cover) is applied. The situation where the result differs from the oversimplified "3+ rerollable save" is against rend. If the Kurnoth Hunters are in cover but against -2 rend, then the modifier is -2+1= -1. Here, a natural roll of 4 cannot be rerolled (as it's not a "failed" save - see above). However, once the modifiers are applied, the 4 becomes a 3 and hence that save does indeed fail. This is a small nerf to Kurnoth Hunters as it makes them more susceptible to rend. However, it is also an application of the core rules. See below regarding the Paradoxical Shield. Moonclan Grots Q: Does each unit of Fanatics need to be deployed as a "drop"? What is the effect of the FAQ answer on including several independent units of Fanatics within one unit of Moonclan Grots? A: Yes - each unit has to be deployed as a drop. Our understanding is that the purpose of the FAQ answer was to stop players deploying a unit of (say) 6 Fanatics within one host unit of Moonclan Grots and then releasing the Fanatic models individually as ones or twos - in order to reduce the number of drops on the army and gain an unfair advantage of flexibility (as small units being to block charges in the opponent's turn or as large units for offence in the Moonclan player's turn). Hence, you can still deploy (say) a unit of 6 Fanatics and a unit of 2 Fanatics within one host unit of Moonclan Grots (which would be two drops - three if you include the host unit of Moonclan Grots) and choose to release one Fanatic unit but not the other at the start of any charge phase (or you could choose to release both). Disciples of Tzeentch Q: If a Warscroll is a Wizard and has Mortal and Daemon can I take a spell from both the Lore of Fate and the Lore of Change? A: No - you can choose one spell total from either the Lore of Fate or the Lore of Change (not both). Q: Is "Flamer"/"Flamers" a keyword both times that it appears in the text of The Exalted Conflagration (rather than a unit name, i.e. intended to refer to Flamers of Tzeentch - a unit name)? A: Yes. It is a keyword both times (despite not being in bold - this appears to be a typo). Q: How do Changehost swaps work? A: You can swap different pairs of units, so a given unit can be in two or more different pairs of unit (provided that the exact pair is not swapped twice or more). If you have sufficient units in the Battalion (9, 18 etc.) for multiple swaps in the hero phase, then each swap is an independent ability; and there is no requirement to do the swaps simultaneously or one after another. Q: Can I use Changehost swaps to swap a Lord of Change or other wizard with another Hero Wizard in the Changehost battalion which is on the upper platform of a Balewind Vortex? A: No. While very inventive, this is just going to provoke controversy. The same would apply to Skitterleap. Q: How can I deploy The Changeling? The wording as regards timing is ambiguous (it doesn't say "after set-up is complete" for example, which would be a defined point in the core rules). We've interpreted this as requiring that the Changeling deploy as a "drop" as normal along with your other units (rather than deploying after set-up is complete). The wording as regards location is also ambiguous. We've interpreted this as allowing The Changeling to deploy in the enemy territory (rather than only in the deployment zone as specified by the Battleplan). Please note that the first ruling is a nerf to The Changeling while the latter is a buff to The Changeling - the overall effect is broadly neutral. However, the opponent cannot simply bubble wrap the Changeling with chaff models during deployment as a trivial counter. The first sentence of Arch-Deceiver is optional ("you can set up"), so you can still deploy the Changeling in your own deployment zone as specified by the Battleplan instead (and the rest of the Arch Deceiver rule applies as normal, i.e. enemy units will still treat it as part of their army). Q: Are Mortal Wounds considered to be "damage" e.g. for the purposes of substituting a Destiny Dice for a "Damage roll" or for adding up the damage inflicted by a unit of Bloodletters attacking a Stonehorn in melee before halving? Yes. Q: Assuming that you have the available reinforcement points is it mandatory to use Split and Split Again? A: No. In general, the use of any rule that requires reinforcement points is at the discretion of the player (other examples include Neferata's Mortarch of Blood ability. Q: In Matched play, how do I deal with "undersized" units (e.g. when creating 6 Blue Horrors from using Split from 3 Pink Horrors or when I summon 2 D6 Dryads)? A: On the basis of "you get what you pay for" and to avoid excessive bookkeeping, when a new unit is created using such rules - you must decide how many reinforcement points you are subtracting from your pool. The points subtracted then determine the maximum size of the unit. You can top up the number of models to that maximum size even if the unit was summoned/set up initially below that size. For example, a Branchwraith can summon a unit of 8 Dryads after the player decides to subtract 120 points from the pool of reinforcement points. A Gnarlroot Wizard can then top up the unit by D3 models using Verdurous Harmony. However, if the result is that 3 models are added, then only 2 can be added as the player has only paid for 10 models (not 20 or 30). After 3 Pink Horrors die in the shooting phase, a player can subtract 50 points for a unit of 10 Blue Horrors, but only gets to deploy 6 models at the end of that phase. If 4 more Pink Horrors die in the Combat Phase, the player can top up the 6 Blues to 10 models (but not more) without paying reinforcement points (as normal); and optionally create another unit of 10 Blue Horrors (for a further 50 points), but only gets to deploy 4 models. If 8 Blue Horrors die on the combat phase, then the player can choose to spend 40, 80 or 120 points for a unit of 10, 20 or 30 Brimstone Horrors, but only gets to deploy 8 models at the end of that phase (in all 3 cases). These can then be topped up subsequently to the maximum size paid for (i.e. 10, 20 or 30). Q: Is a summoned Wizard a "Wizard in a Tzeentch Army" and hence entitled to choose a spell from the appropriate Lore? A: Yes. Q: Can I choose to deploy a unit of 10 Chaos Warriors as 9 models within the Fatesworn Warband even though the minimum unit size of the unit in the General's Handbook is 10 models? A: No. Q: How does the core rule "re-rolls happen before modifiers to the roll (if any) are applied." interact with rerolling successful saves from the Paradoxical Shield? A: The reroll can only happen before the modifier takes place - so you must (it's mandatory) reroll the successful saves on the basis of theunmodified rolls. The difficulty is that you cannot say whether the save would be successful until after the modifier has been applied. This means that for a 4+ save - irrespective of the +2 to save modifier from Paradoxical Shield, rend, cover, mystic shield or other modifiers) - only natural rolls of 4, 5 and 6 can be "successful" saves (as a 4+ is a "successful" save) - these must be rerolled. Meanwhile, natural rolls of 2 or 3 aren't "successful"saves and don't have to A few notes by way of explanation (bearing the name of the shield in mind): "If this was interpreted literally for a 4+ save, then it would lead to the absurdity (and literally a paradox) that rolls of 2 and 3 would be unsuccessful saves, so they wouldn't be saved, but then you would add 2, so they would then be successful (which is a paradox or a contradiction as the saves are both successful and not successful)." "On reflection, maybe that was what they intended. I'm starting to doubt myself - damn you Kairos - sowing doubts in frail mortal minds!" "the point here may be that it really is intended to cause a paradox/mess with your minds, as that's very Tzeentchy." Chaos Q: I have painted Slambo and want to include him in my army, what can I do? A: We of the South London Legion believe that one can never have too much Slambo. Slambo is so awesome that any Chaos army would welcome him with open axes. Accordingly Slambo can be included in any Chaos army (for his points cost) and can assume any allegiance - i.e. be taken without affecting/breaking allegiance (however, he does not gain any keywords during the game as a result). For example Slambo can be taken in a Tzeentch Allegiance army or a Moulder Allegiance army. Q: Can I wear a Slambo outfit? A: Yes. Reinforcement Points Q: Do I need to subtract reinforcement points from my pool in order to use Skarr Bloodwrath's The Slaughterborn, Vlad Von Carstein's Carstein Ring or the Flamespyre Phoenix? A: No. The FAQ answer regarding the Ring of Immortality (subtracting reinforcement points for this) was a specific nerf to that ability, when it could readily have been stated as a general principle. These abilities (which aren't automatic - especially the 4+ for the Flamespyre Phoenix) are baked into the costs of these Warscrolls. Q: If I dismiss a Balewind Vortex at the start of my hero phase using the Held Aloft ability, can I summon it back again later in the game (in a different position and optionally using a different Wizard casting the spell Summon Balewind Vortex) without subtracting an additional 100 reinforcement points from my pool? Yes. You've already paid for it. The words "until it is summoned again" suggest that you can bring it back after dismissing it. You still have to attempt to cast the Summon Balewind Vortex spell again when you summon it in the new position. You do not regain the reinforcement points when you dismiss the Balewind, so you cannot for example choose to dismiss the Balewind Vortex and then summon 10 Bloodletters instead using the same reinforcement points. The reinforcement points have been committed to the Balewind Vortex. If the Wizard on top of the upper platform is slain, then the Balewind Vortex is removed and your opponent is credited with kill points for killing the Balewind Vortex equal to the reinforcement points subtracted to summon it. Allegiance Q: How do I work out the Allegiance of my army? A: It's basically a two step process: List building: You write the list for the army on the basis of any Allegiance that you can satisfy. Choice of Allegiance pack: Then you pick the Allegiance pack based on any allegiance that you can satisfy. Significantly you don't then redo step 1 after doing step 2. The best example is Ironjawz, who have no inherent Battleline units and no allegiance pack of their own. They build a list using the fact that some of their units become Battleline if you satisfy Ironjawz Allegiance. Then they choose the Destruction Allegiance pack (invariably) - this doesn't stop their Brutes from being Battleline. Further important points: A unit within a Battalion can gain the Allegiance stamped on that Battalion. However, Battalions by themselves don't break allegiance, so "A Battalion can still be part of any allegiance that all its units have on their warscrolls." This is a new rule in the DoT book (page 95, point 4). A good example of point 2, is that 10 units (including at least one hero) with the Slaves to Darkness and Tzeentch keywords in the Everchosen Battalion the Fatesworn Warband satisfy the following 4 Allegiances: Chaos, Tzeentch, Slaves to Darkness and Everchosen. This means that you can take Knights and Marauder Cavalry as Battleline for list building purposes and still choose Tzeentch allegiance. Garrisoning Buildings Q: Can I garrison a building if there is an enemy unit within 3" of that building or within 3" of my unit at the start of the movement phase (which is the only time when you can garrison according to the Warscroll for the Skull Keep)? A: No to both questions. Miscellaneous Do First of the Mortarchs, the Balewind Vortex and the Astrolith Bearer affect all ranges of spells? Yes - they affect unit-to-unit ranges, all models/units within a range from a unit type ranges; and any other types of ranges within a spell. Slaying heroes/monsters with special weapons Q: How do weapons which have a special rule if they "kill" an enemy hero/monster work given that the opponent has the right to allocate damage from your unit when you attack with multiple weapons (e.g. Mortarch of Blood, Archaon's Triple Headed Monstrosity and Gordrakk's Strength from Victory). A: To avoid the opponent rigging this (choosing damage to another weapon as the final wound to allocate - assuming that this is even possible) or you having to roll attacks one at a time, if the weapon in question contributes any damage to the target hero/monster which then dies from the attacking unit's melee attacks (all in the course of the same pile in and attack), then the buff triggers. For Gordrakk, you can pick which of Smasha or Kunnin' gets the buff (not both weapons from a single slain hero).

Final thoughts I came 24th in the end - I chose to gamble for the Major Victory in game 5 instead of taking the safe Minor and that was the consequence. I was pleased with the list - it had worked well even against seriously strong lists. I killed and crippled this lot: 2 Stonelords in game two; a Husktusk and crippled a Stonelord in game 3; another Stonelord and Husktusk in game 5; a Thundertusk and crippled a Stonelord in game 6. More importantly (for it is He!), Gordrakk only managed to kill 300 points across 6 games: Gordrakk Cumulative Kill Index = 300 points A lot of this was down to the match ups, which forced me to use Gordrakk as a reserve or second wave. However, his inconvenient base size, inability to claim cover or hide behind anything that isn't the size of a Skull Keep and lack of magic all point towards a cost reduction in GH v2.0. While his damage output is phenomenal and he can obliterate Wizard Heroes, it's only marginally better than that of a Stonelord with Battlebrew (which is also a lot tougher, routinely makes a 24" effective charge; and is on a smaller base). If you take Gordrakk, you have to get full value out of the Command Ability, which doesn't seem possible in a pure Ironjawz Allegiance. On the train back, my massively overstimulated head (after 3 epic days of Hobby!) started spitting out list ideas, one of which would become #Casinostrike after a few weeks experimentation back at the lab in utmost secrecy. Epilogue Max was the only undefeated player at the event and beat Terry Pike in a fascinating game on the top table. He ultimately came third, but this was an awesome achievement! Well done Sir @grunnlock His list and the very same models went on to triumph at Heat One in Craig Namvar's capable hands. Blood & Glory was perhaps the high water mark for Destruction (Peak Destruction) - pending Grot Scuttlebags...? The December FAQ took out all of their older battalions in one fell swoop, including the Great Gitmob (and thus took out my list). #LongLiveTheHoodedVillain. Nasty Skulkers were nerfed (but at least the timing of their attacks was clarified in their favour). Fanatics were nerfed (but not as much as people think - see FAQs on page 4 here, which explains the point: DoT have brought Chaos back up to parity with Mixed Destruction, Mixed Order and Stormcast. Stormcast have received a massive shot in the arm too. I'd say it's too early to see what will be the strongest type of list at SCGT. I'm concerned that pew pew is (as I've long predicted) going to become dominant. Spamming Skyfires with 180 points of Battleline (taking over from Kurnoth Hunters plus Hurricanum Mixed Order) is going to become the meta (which is seriously dismal for a game that should be more about melee combat and magic). Personally I'm going for 9 Enlightened (with fewer Skyfires in case I need to use them in a Battalion). Stormcast have some Traits (Shielded by Faith; Staunch Defender; artefacts - Mirrorshield; the Lantern of the Tempest; and Prayers (Divine Light), which mitigate Skyfire spam, but I doubt that this will stop people spamming pew pew filth. Raptor spam is also another potentially dismal development. If I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that a Hallowed Knights Stormcast List with heavy amounts of Raptors and Judicators would take out the SCGT (no Raptors in the lab at the moment....), but maybe someone will surprise us all.

I'm sure you're all itching to know whether or not Gordrakk got his 700 points cost back over my 6 games at Blood & Glory. The first five battle reports are here: After five games, the list had proved its mettle against some rather tough lists (3 Mixed Destruction filth lists, Mourngul death list. My Nasty Skulkers had shredded 2 Stonelords in game one; a Husktusk and nearly killed a Stonelord in game 3; and a Stonelord and another Stonelord and Husktusk in game 5 - not bad going. The big man (Gordrakk) however, had only managed to kill 300 points in 5 games: Gordrakk Cumulative Kill Index = 300 points Game 5 against Darran Palmer had represented my last chance to turn it around and sneak up to the podium - I gambled on an initiative roll and didn't get it (rather than retreating for a guaranteed minor on Take and Hold). Gordrakk rather fittingly was killed by other Gitmob Grots. Day 2 - Game 6 - Gordrakk YOLO I was in a great mood though, as the game against Darran Palmer had been so awesome. I went across to the new table and burst out laughing when I saw that yet again I was up against a Mixed Destruction filth list commanded by Paul Haley. The list was quite similar to Paul Whitehead's list from game 2, something like: Stonelord Thundertusk (with riders) Thundertusk (with riders) 40 Arrers within Kunning Rukk Ominously, there were two pieces of Damned Terrain on one half of the table and Paul won the roll off for sides and naturally chose that side. I concluded that with the double Damned Buff plus Bellowing Shout, plus Destruction Move, anything in range (which is colossal) would be deleted by a single volley of pew pew. I decided that YOLO was the only answer. Deployment I knew I would be able to determine who went first. Paul thankfully put down his Battalion first, so I knew where the Arrer Boyz would be. He put the regular Boyz in front of them, but I reckoned that Gordrakk could probably get within range of the Arrers with a charge. I plonked him down in the centre. This time I put the Green Nasty Skulkers in the Wolf Riders, the Blues in the Greens and the Reds in the Blues so that I could snake behind Paul's lines and stab his Big Boss to death to take out the Kunning Rukk buff. The Wolves faced off directly against his Stonelord and Thundertusk, who were chilling behind some more regular Savage Orruks. Battleround 1 It was the usual drill. I fired off Gordrakk's Command Ability on the Battalion. I think I managed to cast Mystic Shield on Gordrakk, but failed Sneaky Stabbing on the Wolves. The Wolves sauntered up and fired some shots into the Stonelord, chipping away the first wound. The Grots advanced, determined to YOLO as did the Wolfboss who took on the right Thundertusk. Gordrakk didn't get very far with his Destruction Move and I was left with an 8" charge. Gordrakk failed the charge. Sad times. The stabbing went a bit better, the Thundertusk on the left went down, however I grossly overestimated how many Nasty Skulkers were needed to kill the Big Boss (only has a 6+ save apparently). He died 3 times over, while the Stonelord clung on with a few wounds left. Only one of the Grot Units and the Wolfboss made it into combat on the right and did some damage to the other Thundertusk. The Stonelord decimated the Green Skulkers in response. Then it was Paul's turn. Paul double Damned the Boyz (I believe that the Champion was the general and he added a further +1 to hit with Bellowing Shout for a cumulative +3 to hit and made them immune to Battleshock). There was no hero phase shooting with the big boss dead, but that didn't matter a jot with 40 Arrerboyz. With the extra rend vs Monsters, Gordrakk was decimated along with the Wolf Riders. It was complete carnage. I limped on, but it was all over from that point. Paul got the Major. We had a good chat afterwards! Paul Whitehead was on the adjacent table and they knew each other well. Word spread that club mate Max was winning against Terry Pike on the top table - which was awesome news (especially since this was his second AoS tournament). It was an ignominous finish for Gordrakk, but I was still pumped from the event. If I haven't said already, the atmosphere was buzzing.

A rare nerf to Stormcast.

Please don't ban these. There are other Battalions that would be affected which are fun as well. The Order book isn't even very old, so this will set a bad precedent.

We've covered some of these points in our FAQ's for London's #Calling 2017: For example, we've ruled that the costs of Skarr and the Phoenix (i.e. more than the Frosty) must have been taken to include the cost of the chance of bringing them back. The event is taking place this weekend and we'll consolidate the feedback for the purposes of the GH v 2.0.

Kairics are maybe a tad expensive. 6++ ward saves are easy to underestimate though. Pink Horrors are not expensive at all*. *If the Split rule is FAQed in a manner that makes Pink Horrors junk, then I would revisit my views on this.

#WheresSlambo

The Rumour Engine piece reminded me of Death (although that might be inner optimism). It could also be upside down.

Two days to go before London's #Calling. We had a great turn out at the South London Legion on Wednesday. Plenty of games of AoS. Some new players! Some praise for the sixth Battleplan in particular. Lot's of enthusiasm for Blades of Khorne and then apparently there are some new Duardin coming along too. We've added some clarifications to the FAQ about Garrisoning Buildings (prompted by something apparently mentioned on Facehammer in relation to the SCGT) - which is relevant to the Silver Tower Battleplan; and listbuilding/Allegiance. We're not planning to make any further changes. Age of Pew Pew? One more significant change that we floated and ultimately after some healthy debate decided against changing (especially just before the event) was an attempt to mitigate moves towards Age of Pew Pew (after seeing various lists involving spamming a long range shooting unit plus a handful of buffing units plus minimum sized Battleline). In extreme cases, these lists would win the game turn one by trivially killing the only counters to themselves in the enemy army. One would hope that a mixture of Battleplans and opponents would eventually cause problems for such a mono-dimensional list as 18 Skyfires, with 3 x 10 Marauders as Battleline, but signs aren't encouraging. The Battleplan where only Battleline units can score may help. What we proposed isn't a nerf, it's removing a random windfall (a massive buff to the amount of damage that such a list can put out turn one) which Age of Pew Pew lists sometimes (far too often) receive: Amend "Damned" in the Scenery Table as follows: "Damned: If any of your units are within 3" of this terrain feature in your hero phase, you can declare that one is making a sacrifice. If you do so, the unit suffers D3 mortal wounds, but you can add 1 to all hit rolls in the combat phase for the unit until your next hero phase." Here's an example of where Damned terrain made a game incredibly one-sided from the moment that the Kunning Rukk player had won the roll off for sides: Anyway, we'd love to hear your feedback about this suggested change for the future; and separately the FAQs. Be lucky.

From a unit that was already depleted you mean? Interesting. that could backfire as you need to allocate the shots before you roll any dice; so killing exactly one model isn't trivial; and you might roll a 1 on the D6 for the number that come back.

#Slambo

They might have to have an FAQ question as to whether you can attack your own models. It's an open question in the core rules (surprisingly).