Kirby

Reporting back on this. In a 1500pt game of Tectonic Interference vs Dominion SCE + an Arcanum on Dracoline, I was second. I was hit by Yndrasta, 3 Annihilators, and Arcanum on Dracoline with a mount trait for explosive deployment from reserve (much like the annihilators). Ynd and the Ann came in front and center. The Arcanum approached from a flank. Things went well initially, I mitigated the initial damage of the annihilators by shielding behind a hydra and a kharibdryss. The annihilators took some damage from Unleash Hell. So, i decided that i could probably take them out in my first turn using my gun-line. When it came to casting everything went off thanks to the reroll cast. 9 MW were successfully sent towards Yndrasta. Happy days! Unfortunately, Yndrasta rolled hot with her ward saves. Worse still the annihilators weathered the gunline thanks to the Arcanum's cycle of the storm. So, they started to knock lumps out of my bracketed behemoths too'. Finally the Arcanums flanking move took her out of range of my runelords curse... it took me too long to grind through the alpha strike and it was game over due poor decisions on my part. In future, I wouldn't use this against an opponent with a ward save. Its took risky. Also, I got greedy chasing Yndrasta for 9 MW when guaranteeing the removal of the annihilators should have been priority.

Right, i tend to use crimelord but considered dropping it for the casting reroll. Acidic bones makes my hydra worthwhile

Oh good catch, my bad. Combat phase only for Roar. Thats a spanner to my plan

Wow! This got me thinking. Rerolls would be great. This is what i've been thinking about: Darkshards in front to unleash hell and sacrifice for casting buff A Battlemage from Shyish to cast Pall of Doom (Bravery -2) Sorceress on Dragon with Master of Magic (Reroll Cast), Arcane Tome (2nd Cast), Fell Gaze (Bravery -2), Vitrolic Spray and Bladewind. My maths isnt good enough to know the exact odds of it all going off as planned. Hopefully they would achieve at least 9 MWs, a Monsterous Rampage Roar, and finally hit the opponent with a -4 bravery debuff. Of course, there are ways to counter the bravery debuff If that were the case. Id have a potential arcane bolt for d3 mw and stomp for d3 mw. And of course, 10 darkshards should be good for allocating a further 5 wounds against a (-) save.

Casting on an 8+ and then a 6+ means the odds of getting both off are only about 30%. So, it would be a stretch to achieve this normally. But with a darkling sacrifice for +2 to cast, things improve to about 66%. This could be a rather unreliable way for anvilgard to clearout pesky units of annihilators with 9 wounds

If I cast these two spells in sequence, am I guaranteed 9 MW? Anvilgard / Har Kuron - Vitriolic Spray: 'Until the start of your next hero phase, that unit has a Save characteristic of "-" ' Sorceress on Dragon - Bladewind: 'roll 9 dice. for each roll that is lower than the unit's save characteristic, that unit suffers 1 mortal wound.' I imagine there is probably a rule against this, but im not sure where?

Wow. Thanks for the exhaustive breakdown. You’ve certainly presented several options that hadnt occurred to me In a previous game vs FEC, i tried to combine warding brand on a block of 20 Corsairs with Curse from a Runelord. A further 20 Corsairs behind to unleash hell. The plan was that up to 100 attacks would allow me to fish for 17 mw + another 10 from the corsairs who would benefit from Rally and lifeswarm. In that case, however, i was confronted by multiple msu of Flayers. The dice gods abandoned me to fail both warding brand and curse. FEC then easily dispeled lifeswarm and slaughtered everyone in a double turn. Perhaps, i can revisit this in future. I feel that curse could be worthwhile with enough 3 attack corsairs. Id like an Lord Relictor to improve prayers, but ive no more space for coalition. This *could have been* very effective as graveguard rely on several CA. However, on closer inspection i discovered the relevant CAs are in fact auras. So graveguard neither issue nor recieve those CA I ran 6 long strike raptors on Saturday they were effective at taking out bloodknights, but i left it too late to target the graveguard. This one is definitely on me. Got to prioritize the graveguard. Bloodknights look more intimidating at first, but once buffs are applied the guard really out shine them. Rend -2 from Raptors is great. But i might try lists with judicator bows too. 12 4+ wounds for 480pts is kinda squishy. Turtle an Gotrex are great ideas too. However, im not sure whether those points would be better spent on improving battleline to Phoenix Guard. They should be more resilient and will hopefully last long enough to give me the numbers required to hold objectives. Again thanks for the indepth explaination. Much appreciated

Its never going to be a tournament winning city, but units of 10 Drakespawn Knights would be very effective in misthavn. Just drop them where they need to go. Now a question, Which units offers offer most MW output specifically in Hallowheart? My lists are being brutalised by ultra buffed Graveguard. Under ideal conditions they put out 10 attacks per model (2+/3+/r-1/D2). Also their save isn't too shabby (4+ with AOD, 6++ rr1) So far, Im thinking a Sorceress on Dragon casting Bladewind and Elemental Cyclone. Any other units or abilities come to mind?

Perhaps, another analogy is that: There is a road here. It was formally open to all traffic. (Free Warscrolls / Warscroll Builder) From now on only Man Utd motorcycles can use the road. (W+) There may be speed restrictions (App Quality) Public transport has also been with drawn. (Ebooks) However, you are welcome to walk (Paperbooks only, pen and paper lists). Tolls will now charged at each intersection regardless of your mode of transport . (Other army info will disappear as new codexes arrive) That said, i'm not against the concept of a paid app. If people want all the W+ extras it is a good deal. Personally, I'm only interested in the gaming aid. The argument I hear people making is that they feel the same. However, they feel the quality of the gaming aid is not yet sufficient. Regardless of price, some people may feel the new offering is not as yet as good as the previous offering regardless of price. A regular opponent of mine summed it up well for me "So much potential though ... the things they could do if the app got the love it deserved."

Honesty, i wasnt looking forward to this new app, and probably wasnt viewing in the best light, but my impression is “meh app is … fine.” Its nice that all the rules are accessible …for now, but organising by publication can be counter intuitive. I tried, for example, to find the rules for Misthavn in Broken Realms Morathi, but all the different faction rules are mixed up together. I understand that we will be expected to buy each book, but once ive bought the books why not organise the rules i have access to by faction / subfaction. i would have like stormforge to offer a link to warscrolls as i build, much like warscroll builder. I guess other niggles like units are not marked as conditional battleline before selection; and non responsive formatting of text on units with long names will be resolved during beta. So it will be fine. Technically, the app seems to do its job, but the interface and underlying structure of the app isnt to my taste. Maybe it will grow on me. For now, id rather stick with azyr and warscroll builder

AOS is one of my main interests outside of my family and work. However, i am self-employed with a very young family. So, im busy. My regular gaming partners, meanwhile, have beautifully several large, beautifully painted armies and play at least 4 times more often than I. They invest a lot of time and effort in their hobby and it shows. As some people have said already, i always try to improve my army between games, but these are not always significant changes. So, i sometimes feel sorry for my opponents. My army is still considerably unpainted. Likewise, im a little slower during games as i have to remind myself of rules. Thankfully, my opponents are good guys and have never actually mentioned any of this. But the concern does stick with me. There are an infinite number of factors that can influence hobby speed. We all hobby at different rates. Folks like me would love to invest more time, effort and cash, but its not always possible. So, when you encounter a half painted army or a slow player, please don’t be too dismissive. Sometimes armies cannot fully reflect their owners enthusiasm for the hobby.

Perfect! Thanks

They can’t, but thats not my question. my question is about whether they are considered “starting army” can they complete the tactic in later turns?

Battle tactics such as Ferocious Advance require units “from your starting army” to claim them. Logically, this disallows Summoned Units “a unit that is added to your army once the battle is underway” But what about Reserve Units? 3.1 suggests they are set up in a location other than the battlefield. Can i deploy units from reserve to claim Ferocious Advance? I understand that units have to be on the board before choosing the battle tactic. So, i know i would have to deploy from reserve in one turn and then claim the battle tactic in my next turn. thanks edit: feeling embarrassed … tldr: reread ghb not just cheatsheets Ghb 2021 p14: “Several grand strategies and battle tactics refer to a player’s ‘starting army’ A player’s starting army is made up of units that were set up before the first battleround, including any reserve units. Units that are added to a player’s army after the battle has begun are not included, and neither are units that have been destroyed and subsequently returned to play.”

Looks like a hard fought game. Respect for pointing out your slip in the final turn. You may have lost the game, but you will have gained some respect from your opponent.

Whats the feeling on unit sizes for the new units in Dominion. Do we think Praetors and Annihilators with continue as a 3 man unit, or will they come later in a box of 5? I realise the GHB says 3. But what are the chances that the battletome will change this?

Perspective is important. if you say, a handful of armies are OP, we can reframe this as the majority are in *roughly* the same position. Of course, some will be stronger than others, but thats GW for you. This is my first proper aos edition change. I think the last event to shake things up this much must have been the first ghb. 1st to 2nd edition was more about polishing the post ghb rules and introducing Endless spells. Correct me if im wrong. I imagine that those who worry about balance most see themselves as competitive players, i think that I understand some of their concerns. Their army tier may feel uncertain because 3.0 has some significant changes. Uncertainty, is unsettling. My perspective is that 3.0 is a fresh start. We all have an opportunity to work out how our armies can succeed against our enemies. New rules mean we cant fall back on our old go-to battalions or buff stacking tricks. Rather than “throwing the baby out with the bath water” im happy to experiment, let the dust settle, and then, once we as a community have some real life experience with the new game, we can start to reach a consensus on how the game stands. No doubt new deathstars, unbeatable list etc will be uncovered soon. Like always, some of us will rush to duplicate them, others will fear change. There will be winners and losers. Its the price we pay for a constant stream of new models and content. Personally, I feel excited about these changes, but its all about your perspective.

With the new edition dropping I’ve been considering pivoting from Anvilgard to Hallowheart. I play against magic-orientated LRL regularly. So, I want plenty of casting, but also durability, and battleshock protection. As noted above Starting out with two durable wizards, a Knight Incantor and Anointed with the new generic enhancement Arcane Tome, came up with this first attempt. The Stormcast general restricts battleline options, but I tried to make things work. The Plan Is based on 3 mini castles. Magic Castle Knight Incantor and Anointed (Wizard) surrounded by two horseshoes of Phoenix Guard. One unit of Phoenix Guard is Generals Retinue. Anointed (Wizard) is Adjutant. Cast Cogs in the center for additional spell. Cast Shackles in front to discourage charge. Run and cast until seize objective. If all goes to plan they will have 6 casts per turn, 3 dispels, and the Incantor’s auto dispel scroll. Battleline Block: Yndrasta provides battleshock protection, and hopefully discourages stomping monsters. Handgunners and Darkshards protect charges and Unleash Hell. Knight-Azyros and Hurricanum buff to Hit. Mage on Hurricanum heals and uses mystic shield or shackles. Backfield Castle Anointed (Regular) with 1 horseshoe of Phoenix Guard. I feel this list is a little hero heavy and may depend too much on the three wizards. But, I’m finding changes to the new edition a lot process at the moment. So, any feedback would be appreciated in terms of army composition or new rules that I may be overlooking. TIA

Oh Im super pumped to have the new rules in hand!!! 🥳 Question: Does flee = slain At first glance, there seems to be no clarification in section 14-15. Can the generic command ability Rally (7.2) be used to return models that flee due to battleshock, or only those that are slain?

Thanks for the feedback. There are so many faqs to keep track of these days. Its hard to keep track.

Im keen to experiment with Stormkeeps. While building some lists i came across a couple of questions. Can a Mortal Auxillaries hero become the General? Ghb 2020 says “the General must be a hero and not an ally” If the hero is a COS unit what happens to SCE artefacts etc? In my example it seems that the only downside is the general cant use the command ability. Any feedback about the army? Its intended to be very resilient to battleshock. It has four drops. I envisage two moving castles: Protectors Libs 1 Raptors Libs 2 One castle would also have the gyrocopters cogsmith and warden king. Am i better to drop the warden king for further buffs from a Lord Castellant? Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals - Stormhost: Anvils of the Heldenhammer (Stormkeep) Mortal Realm: Aqshy Leaders Warden King (100) - General - Pennant of the Stormbringer - Command Trait: Deathly Aura - Artefact: Soulthief Cogsmith (60) Knight-Vexillor (110) - Pennant of the Stormbringer - Treasured Standard (Artefact): Pennant of Sigmaron Battleline 5 x Liberators (90) - Warhammer & Shield 5 x Liberators (90) - Warhammer & Shield 5 x Liberators (90) - Warhammer & Shield 5 x Liberators (90) - Warhammer & Shield Units 3 x Gyrocopters (180) 5 x Protectors (170) 5 x Protectors (170) 6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Hurricane Crossbows (280) 6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Hurricane Crossbows (280) Battalions Stormtower Garrison (160) Total: 1980 / 2000 Extra Command Points: 1 Allies: 0 / 400 Wounds: 126 Thanks *Sorry for the poor formatting of this post. Copy and pasted my notes from another app

Sign me up for an impulse buy too. Maybe @Skreech Verminkingshould open a 2nd hand Doomwheel showroom for aspiring Warlords - “well maintain - one careful driver”

Can you imagine the FOMO on a Indomitus style box for AOS 3.0? Feels like any limited edition launch will disappear within minutes.

How much was the Indomitus 40k box set in £? I expect anything similar for aos will require a launch day purchase.

Oh, its certainly not a weakness. It would just throw a spanner in the works for coherency. in many cases you’d be able to charge back in no bother. At only 17% chance of occurring this is a rule that the Lumineth player should remember but not plan for. However, opponents would be wise to shore up any wholes in their back lines just in case