Ogres vs. Empire

Well, this is going to be a short one. Ogres versus Empire is a pretty straight-forward battle. Either the Ogre is able to reach the lines of the Empire in time to rip the humans in melee, or the Empire manages to outflank and shoot (add magic missiles for that purpose) the melee-oriented Maneaters. So the one or the other, it would be a tough and edgy play.

The Ogres

Tyrant, General, LA, Giantbreaker, Sword of Striking, Rock Eye – 255 Pts.
Tyrant, 2xHw, LA, Arabyan Carpet, Charmed Shield – 268 Pts.

Bruiser, GW, LA, BSB – 141 Pts.
Firebelly, GW, Scroll, Lore of Fire – 154 Pts.

9 Ironguts, M – 397 Pts.
9 Ironguts, M – 397 Pts.

1 Sabretusk – 21 Pts.
1 Sabretusk – 21 Pts.
4 Mournfang Cavalry, HA, Ironfist, M – 290 Pts.
1 Gorger – 90 Pts.
3 Maneaters, 1 x 2xHw, 2 x GW, Immune to Psychology, Stubborn, M – 184 Pts.

Ironblaster – 170 Pts.

Total: 2388

My list was a test for a tournament upcoming next sunday. The flying Tyrant sure was the “cheesiest” of choices, due to the small use of his shield when he was targeted by a fireball or arrow before the cannon would aim at him. But somehow I thought to be more clever than the artillerists of Nuln itself.

The other “new” choice was the Gorger, who would need a little bit of luck to survive one round of shooting before he could eat through the backside of the imperial lines.

The core units were pretty standard – with a limit of 400 points per unit (due to the restrictions for the next upcoming tournament), you can do nothing wrong with a block of nine Ironguts and a musician for those challenging quick reform tests. I didn’t have much trust in the Mournfangs, as they proofed to be very fragile – both in close combat and morale – in the last games. But at least they would give the opponent something to think about.

The Empire

Arch Lector, General, Altar – 250 Pts.
Wizard Lord, lvl4, Lore of Life – 200 Pts.

Captain of the Empire, BSB – 85 Pts.
Battle Wizard, Lore of Light – 65 Pts.
Battle Wizard, Lore of Light – 65 Pts.
Battle Wizard, Lore of Light – 65 Pts.

40 Halberdiers, M, S, C, 5 Archers, 5 Archers – 340 Pts.
15 Archers – 105 Pts.
5 Knights of the Order, Lances, Ritter d. Inneren Zirkels, M, S, C – 155 Pts.

5 Demigryph Knights, M, S, C – 320 Pts.
Great Cannon – 120 Pts.

Helblaster Volley Gun – 120 Pts.
Steam Tank – 250 Pts.
Celestial Hurricanum – 130 Pts.

Light spam all the way. The steam tank is still a nuisance with his ability to charge without sight. The Demifgriffons seem to be updated Mournfangs, and the small light wizards are all shooting platforms for themselves. And the Halberdiers with the Griffons and the Hurricanum formed a decent semi-Dark Elvish Cauldron-like passive-agressive trap. You can clearly seee that my self-confidence was overflowing at that moment. But as I wrote at the beginning of the text, the Ogres could still be a threat to the Humans with their speed and nasty tricks like tunneling Gorgers (reminds me of my beloved Dwarven Miners).

The Game

The game started well with all the Ogres moving forward in round one. Sadly, the Ironblaster misfired with its first shot and couldn’t shoot for the whole lasting game. Rats. Anyhow, I had no idea where to put the flying Tyrant (also, he didn’t really have an appealing target in sight), so he barely moved with the big Irongut units in the center.

My first mistake (beside rolling bad on the Ironblaster misfire table) was not to optimize the size of the Irongut unit against the imperial cannons – I let them in a square block while they should have reformed into a two-lined formation. So, the cannons could shoot way more Ironguts.

The first Fireball (biggest size, of course) from the Firebelly against the Archers was banned. The Maneaters made a surrounding movement on the far right flank (I didn’t have too much confidence in their melee power against a steam tank, but I would be satisfied if they could distract him from the real fighting). The Gorger arrived near the Volley Gun. So my first round was over really soon. The steam tank tried to generate four steam points, but also had problems and couldn’t move this turn. The whole imperial sector moved some steps backwards to avoid engagement with the nearing Ogres.

The Empire opened the shooting phase with a shot right at the left Irongut unit and killed four of them straight. Meh. The Volley Gun tried to kill the Gorger, but he survived with two of his four Wounds. Yeah. One other Irongut died from the Archers arrows.

The second turn started with the scratched Gorger charging the nasty Volley Gun. The rest of the horde moved forward or tried to outflank the Empire. The second attempted Fireball from the Firebelly was too complex to cast. I thougth that the Demigriffons had trapped themselves behind one of the Archer detachment, so I placed one Sabertooth before them (just to make sure that they really would be unable to move). The Ironblaster was degraded to his second task, and also moved forward as a Chariot.

The imperial Knights (the one on normal horses), surely frightened by the lonely Sabertooth before them, declared a charge and overrun. The steam tank decided that the crew of the Volley Gun would need help and charged backwards (these tanks really must have good cupolas for being able to look back). The Wizards threw several spells against the flying Tyrant and the Banning Scroll had to be used to prevent any Damage (which would have consumed the protecting Powers from his Shield untimely). A total banishment from the Arch Lectors Altar finished him up causing the loss of ten Wounds. A second banishment killed one of the cat riders, who paniced (despite General and Battle Standard were right beside them) and flew thirteen inches. The cannon killed one more Irongut, and the steam tank buried the Gorger under his weight. So one shooting and casting phase wiped out more than the half of the horde.

Third turn. The Ironblaster and Maneaters declared a charge against the knights, the Tyrant and his Ironguts rolled too low for reaching the Halberdiers. The cat riders composed themselves.. The rest of the battle was over soon. The Firebelly-Ironguts were able to reach the Halberdiers, supported by the Ironblaster who had overrun from the melee with the knights but didn’t cause any serious damage. The steam tank crushed into the Maneaters (and, not surprisingly, was too much for them). The two units of archers really were a pest who prevented several charges. At turn four, we shaked hands because the battle was over.

Lessons learned

The cannon should never have the opportunity to shoot that many Ogres. Against such war machines, I must make the lines thinner and less vulnerable to such threats.

The flying Tyrant served no purpose and so had no chance of doing something interesting. In fact, he was some sort of overpriced Gorger. But I’m not done with the idea of the fying Tyrant, because he clearly is something the enemy has to worry about.

Perhaps a unit of three Leadbelchers would have solved some problems with outlflanking Hunters. Perhaps in the next list. I still have problems to deal with such crap units.

For their purpose, the Maneaters were way too overpriced. Three Ironguts with a musician would have done the job as well (altough the Stubborness and Immunity to Psychology is a real nice advantage at the far side of the battlefield).

Again, I forgot to use the Rock Eye. Either I’ll have to write it on my hand or stop buying this – on the paper – nice and cheap item.

I’m thinking about a setup with a flying Tyrant, two Hunters (one riding a Yak, the other one as a Longstrider with four Sabertooths), another Yak, two Gorgers, and two units of Mournfangs. Should be really fast and fun to play with, but foreseeeable not really competitive. We’ll see.

Dwarves vs. Ogres, Chaos and Empire

It’s time for new battle reports.

Due to my lack of time in the last weeks, I wasn’t able to play as much Warhammer as I would have liked. But now, I’m looking forward to a nice time of gaming and writing about it.

Due to the humble and unfinished state of my Ogres, I fielded the ever-ready Dwarves. I didn’t want to lend miniatures, for I try to finish my Ogre army for a tournament in Munich in April – and perhaps, this could be a good motivation to get the Ogres ready.

The army list

Anyhow, the army list was pretty “standard” for me: three blocks of melee infantry, a king for the higher morale and fighting potential (well, not really – he is more for getting hurt and absorbing melee hits, but he is a great threat for every unit). As usual in the last year, I didn’t field Hammerers, for their Stubbornness is way overpriced in this Warhammer edition. The massive contribution of (organ) guns was granted by the actual army choice in my gaming club which allowed two of these nice babies. Of course, I was really looking forward for the rare opportunity of fielding four war machines which hit automatically. The Bolt Throwers should also be a threat not to be underestimated, as the Engineers granted them the important additional Ballistic Skill.

Dwarf Lord, General, GW, Shieldbearers, 1 x Rune of Resistance, 1 x Rune of Stone – 206 Pts.
Runelord, Anvil of Doom, 2 x Rune of Spellbreaking – 365 Pts.
Thane, GW, 1 x Master Rune of Gromril, 1 x Rune of Resistance, Battle Standard Bearer – 144 Pts.
28 Longbeards, GW, M, S, C – 389 Pts.
25 Longbeards, Ranger Upgrade, GW, M, S, C – 375 Pts.
34 Miners, M, S, C – 399 Pts.
6 Miners, M, C – 81 Pts.
Cannon – 90 Pts.
Cannon – 90 Pts.
Bolt Thrower, Engineer – 60 Pts.
Bolt Thrower, Engineer – 60 Pts.
Organ Gun – 120 Pts.
Organ Gun – 120 Pts.
Total: 2499

Ogres

The first opponent I would meet was a veteran Ogre player (also playing Wood Elves from time to time). While the unwashed hordes of multiple wounds which moved into my direction were a nice target for the cannons, I had a feeling that there were way too many possibilities where to shoot. Clearly, shooting here and there would be fruitless, so I had to concentrate the fire and hopefully would take advantage of the low Ogre morale.

The Ogre army contained a Tyrant, the unavoidable Ironblaster, a big Ogre carrier for protecting the Characters, two smaller units of Maneaters and Yhetees, a Thundertusk, a middle-sized unit of Ironguts, two Sabertooths and a Firebelly.

The Rangers were put in a wood at the flank of the Yhetees and the Thundertusk, mainly because I thought that their presence could cause a delay in the movement of this flank. Beside this, I felt that they would be of pretty small use when the Tyrant and his massive unit would hit my line.

The Yhetees managed to attack the Organ Gun on the most left position and eat through the artillery base henceforth. And the artillery fire had started so well with decimating the Maneater unit. Sadly, it wasn’t enough.

The Miners were of pretty small use in this battle – or even near to none. While the small Miners managed to enter the battlefield in turn three, the bigger unit was delayed one turn more and could only assist in the big melee which consumed both the Longbeards and the Miners. At least, the six Miners were able to deal with a lonely Sabertooth.

The reasons causing this defeat were various – a poor position for the artillery, which was way too exposed and could be attacked by a small, fast unit. I also felt pretty helpless against the massive amalgamation of Wounds in the big Ogre units carrying the Characters. It’s questionable whether a Catapult causing multiple wounds might have been of better use than the second Organ gun or not.

I think it’s questionable whether such a massive amount of artillery would be successful against the vast speed of Ogres. Surely, one unit can always be decimated while one other is slowed down by the Anvil. But it should be also said that the guns lacked a proper positioning from the beginning of the battle – if they had been directly behind the dwarven units, maybe they could have been of better use. But on the other hand, I feared that the melee units would lack manoeuvrability during the battle and hoped that the Ogres would not be able to overthrow them so fast.

Chaos

The second battle should be against the new Skullcrushers (as if the possibility of fielding entire units of Heroes mounted on these Khornite Daemons wouldn’t be ridiculous enough…). I fielded the same army from the first report and again hoped that the Anvil would obstruct one unit while the artillery dealed with the other unit of daemon-riding Chaos Knights.
The other unit I had to care of was a pretty massive melee unit of ten Chaos Knights carrying a Chaos Lord. Again, I tried my luck with positioning my artillery in one corner of the battlefield and protecting them with my melee units (after a nasty defeat by Wood Elves years ago, I never put my artillery on the edge of the battle line).

Having no better plan for the Rangers, I decided that they would be of best use at the side of the bigger Longbeard unit. Sadly, the battle plan proofed to be poor once again. The powers of Chaos granted my opponent the first turn, to protect their servants from an early bath in dwarven artillery fire. The one shooting phase I was granted was useless, as just one Skullcrusher went down. The next decision was born of simple curiosity what would happen if the small Longbeards would attack the Chaos Knights (well, I really should have been able to be at least this prophetical). The Knights defeated the Dwarves severely and overran into the Generals unit. From this onward, it was clear that the battle was lost and I conceded.

Against so much heavy cavalry, the best hope against these daemon riders will be the flank attack granted by the Anvil. Most armies lacking rerolls in melee or the proper spells will have to be very tricky against this new unit.

Empire

The last opponent fielded the Empire. It was a quite nicer list than I had expected (just one unit of Griffon riders, to begin with) and I was really optimistic about this meeting. First, I knew that I would outnumber him with the sheer amount of artillery in my list and second, I knew that he is a “fluffy” gamer who likes to play non-maximised armies. Well, but it still was an army with Griffon Riders, good artillery and a Steam Tank. So anyhow, it would be an interesting challenge.

We started with a pretty balanced field which didn’t give an advantage to both parties. His army contained three “Breakers” – the mentioned Griffon Riders and the Steam Tank and a team of ten knights of the Inner Circle carrying the General (obviously). For flanking and hunting war machines, there were five knights and a Pegasus-riding Captain. A second group of five knights protected the imperial wizards.

The battle was pretty straightforward: the men of the Empire moved with full speed, with one exception of the Steam Tank who accidentally produced too much steam and decided not to take part in this forward movement.
The participation of the tank wasn’t needed whatsoever. Underestimating the seer power of a cavalry attack, the frontal assault proofed to be enough for my Dwarves. The human General killed the Dwarf Lord with some strikes of his armour-neglecting sword while his comrades demonstrated how useful the strike-repeating powers of the Orcanium could be. Confronted with such a poor situation, it was just a drop in an ocean that the Miners wisely choose not to appear at the battlefield. Perhaps, it would have been better to lay fire on the Orcanium rather than trying to shoot my first Steam Tank (who was pretty crushed, but not defeated at the end of the battle). Additionally, the fire of the Organ Guns on the knights was near to useless due to their marvellous 1+ armour.

Deciding that the battle would end sooner than later with a crushing defeat, I surrendered. But I have to say that, beside the poor outcome in statistic terms, the battle nevertheless was a fun one with a relaxed opponent.

I also underestimated the Griffon Riders (which were not that cruel than their counterparts some battle reports ago) while the artillery fire from both armies wasn’t that terrifying, like the magic. The only real bloodshed was caused in hand-to-hand melee – in a battle between Dwarves and Empire, the two classic gun armies, who would have guessed?

Conclusions

Needless to say that the result of the battles speaks for itself – the decision of fielding the whole artillery range just because it was allowed in the army restrictions was pretty foolish. The dice-related war machines were too dependent on good luck and getting the first turn for an additional round. Sadly, war machine hunters found easy prey on my machinists and the Organ Guns seemed to have taken holiday.

Having no possibility for repeating the hitting dices in melee, close combat is also a very uneasy affair due to the heavy points every Dwarf costs. But I don’t want to paint the picture too black – the actual Dwarven army is a really tough stone that is not cracked too easily – if played by a cunning player. Perhaps the points spent in artillery would have been of better use in bigger and better equipped units – taking advantage of the 450 points limit per unit which is 50 points more than in normal Austrian army restrictions.

Next weekend, I will attend the Austrian Team Tournament (the ÖTT in German) in Carinthia with my Ogres. I don’t expect too much outcome for my Ogres but will enjoy the battles and report from the tournament site – and maybe, I can get a glimpse of the Austrian view on the ETC rule set and army restriction as the tournament uses the ETC restrictions. So it will be really interesting next time.

Dwarves vs. Empire

Again, I present to you a battle report from my local wargaming club, the WoW/Keepers. This time, I had to face an old battle-partner I also play Flames of War and Field of Glory with (although I have to admit that the last two systems had to endure a very thirsty time in the last months due to my lack of time for wargaming).

Anyhow, my partner Fels (german for “rock, stone”) wanted to test his new Empire units, meaning the Demigriffons and the Celestial Orcanium. We had played several times against each other, so I knew his well (and fully!) painted army quite good. I knew he had a favour for shooting, so there surely would be cannons, muskets, crossbows and a steam tank. As I had a nice time playing Dwarves at the Charity tournament, I decided to give the little lads another chance and fight cannons with cannons.

The choices for my army were quite obvious – sadly, due to the lack of a valid Army choice in our club at this moment, I had to hang on the outdated club-army-choice, which was a test to discuss army restrictions in public – which predictably failed. Due to the restriction of war machines, I had to leave the organ cannon at home. The Hammerers were also a choice I could not field, for there was a restriction for maximum 25 Hammerers per unit – a number way too short in times of the eight edition. But the Miners and the Rangers should give the Empire something to think about – I only had four units for the placement phase. With more than one hundred melee Dwarves and a good artillery, it should be a fair battle.

Dwarves

Dwarf Lord, General, GW, Shieldbearers, 1 x Rune of Shielding, 1 x Rune of Stone – 206 Pts.
Runelord, Anvil of Doom, 2 x Rune of Spellbreaking – 365 Pts.
Thane, 1 x Master Rune of Gromril, 1 x Rune of Shielding, BSB – 140 Pts.

29 Longbeards, GW, M, S – 392 Pts.
27 Longbeards, Ranger Upgrade, GW, M, S – 393 Pts.
28 Quarrellers, GW, M, S, C – 389 Pts.
25 Miners, M, S, C – 300 Pts.

Cannon, 1 x Rune of Reloading – 100 Pts.
Stone Thrower, 1 x Rune of Accuracy, 1 x Rune of Penetrating – 130 Pts.
Bolt Thrower, Engineer, 1 x Rune of Penetrating – 85 Pts.

Total: 2500

Empire

General of the Empire, General, Steed, Barding – 119 Pts.
Hauptmann, Steed, Barding, BSB – 101 Pts.
9 Knights of the Inner Circle, Lances, M, S, C – 255 Pts.

Warrior Priest, Van Horstman’s Speculum – 105 Pts.
40 Halberdiers, M, S, C – 270 Pts.

Warrior Priest, GW, Steed, Barding – 86 Pts.
3 Demigriffons, M, S, C, Steel Standard – 239 Pts.

Witch Hunter, 2xPistols, Arabyan Carpet – 105 Pts.

20 Crossbowmen, M – 190 Pts.
20 Musketeers, M – 190 Pts.
5 Outriders, M – 115 Pts.
5 Outriders, M – 115 Pts.

Great Cannon – 120 Pts.
Great Cannon – 120 Pts.
Celestial Orcanium – 130 Pts.

Total: 2260

The only real surprise was that Fels had left his steam tank behind – but perhaps be thought him to be too expensive for his possibilities. Another very interesting choice was he Witch Hunter on flying carpet. Some months ago, we had a game where my Ogre Tyrant and his Witch Hunter, both seated on flying carpets, hunted each other over the battlefield. He chose my Dwarf Lord as his victim, which meant that all attacks against my king would be “killing blows”. I didn’t give much attention to this hero, which I had to regret sooner or later.

The battle

With only four units to place on the battlefield (Quarrellers, Longbeards, war machines and heroes), it was sure that I couldn’t react on the Empire, but instead had to choose the best corner for my troops. I planned to start in one corner and outflank Fels with the better movement of my Dwarves (a weird thought, but I relied on the movement granted from the Anvil). The Miners, which caused Fels more worries than necessary, should come soon enough to cause him trouble – the better in round three than round two, for I hoped to catch one of his cannons with melee units and would therefore need the Anvil in the first and second round.

I was surprised that the Empire answered my “refused flank” with the same manoeuvre by them and we faced each other on opposite halves of the table. Fels even joked that we would just shoot for six rounds and then could shake hands. Happily, we both wanted to have a nice evening of gaming, and so no one hided in his corner (it would have been a boring game indeed).

Fels gained the first round and rushed forward with most of his army. Even the musketeers marched to my Dwarves, for they had to make way for the Demigriffons behind them. Both Outrider units used their additional movement and got into the right flank of the Dwarves. As I had only placed the Quarrellers there, they would have to deal with this threat.

The imperial artillery bombardment was far less horrifying as I had expected – one shot not far enough, while the other one was able to hit and wound my cannon, but only caused the loss of two Dwarves – thanks to the rune of reloading, it would be able to answer this shot in my turn.

With the Outriders in the right flank, I decided that the Quarrellers had to deal
with the problem and move in their direction – with “quick reform”, they proofed
to be fast enough that the light riders couldn’t reach the Bolt Thrower in their turn. Meanwhile, the Ranger-Longbeards moved far enough to be able to attack the cannon in round two (with the help of the Anvil, of course). The cannon shot and destroyed the last piece of imperial artillery.

Sadly, the Witch Hunter proofed his worth: he flew in the “dead angle” of the Longbeards with General and Battle Standard Bearer, where he could not be seen. In return, he was able to shoot at my Dwarf Lord and managed to kill him with his killing-blow pistols. With one shot, he gained over three hundred points. And I had thought that he is more of a fluffy choice…

Fels concentrated the missiles of his Crossbows at my Quarrellers, but couldn’t kill all of them – as I had moved the last five or four ones in a wood where the imperial missiles got a -1 to hit – penalty. At last, the Demigriffons and knights attacked, but it was too late to make much effort. The Demigriffons were attacked by the Longbeards – with Strength 6, they had a chance to stand against them (luckily, Fels only brought three of them with him).

The Witch Hunter charged into the Stone Thrower, but was killed by the last standing Dwarf after several rounds of close combat.

Afterthoughts

After all, both our troop deployments surely were not perfect – while Fels’ musketeers had to move for making room for the Demigriffons, the placement of the dwarven Quarrellers and the Longbeards surely could have been better – but with one Ranger, one Miner unit and the movement of the Anvil, I thought that I wouldn’t have to care too much about deployment.

At the end, we parted with 617 : 791 points, a difference of -174 points in favour of the Empire. So this battle was a well-fought draw. And so the long series of Fels’ victories against me were brought to an end. victory for Fels. Congratulations!

Battle for Katzelsdorf II

So, this will be my first tournament report in this Blog. I decided to field my actual army, the Ogres to the lovely city of Katzelsdorf (south to Vienna) and crush some heads (only literally, of course). It was a fine tournament, with a free sausage buffet, a motivated organization team and many many new faces which have never played a tournament before (it was thought to be more a fun than a competitive event). So the armies should be fun to play against and not the usual tournament lists.

I decided to bring my Ogres for two reasons: firstly, after the local tournament organisators had a very restrictive and banning attitude against Dwarves, my most beloved race, I wanted to try something else. And because I have played Ogres with the bad crappy old book, I wanted to give the old fatties another chance. As the tournament should be especially friendly for new tournament players (although I still do not understand why someone who likes Warhammer should not like to play tournaments), the army size was restricted to 1650 points. The Ogres should do well with this little size.

Tyrant, General, LA, Giantbreaker, Sword of Striking, Potion of Strength – 270 Pts.

Butcher, GW, Scroll, Lore of The Great Maw – 134 Pts.

8 Ironguts, M – 354 Pts.

8 Ironguts, M – 354 Pts.

6 Maneaters, 3 x 2xHw, 3 x GW, Immune to Psychology, Stubborn, M, S, Lookout Gnoblar – 364 Pts.

Ironblaster – 170 Pts.

Total: 1646

A tough little expedition with much punch in the core and elite section. The big cannon was meant for things like chariots and eagles, which can ruin the day of every tyrant. Additionally, I had to bring one Ironblaster because the scenario of the second game included a dragon which should be killed and gave massive game points to the player who slayed him. So, I needed a weapon which could could multiple damage.

The core units were easy choices. Thanks to Games Workshop, basic Ogres are no mandatory selection anymore and so we can use the much better Ironguts to fill the core ranks. The Butcher was taken simply because I wanted the Scroll, and the Maneaters were taken because I did not have the cat riders ready at this moment.

The Tyrant was an experiment. I tend to misroll the attack rolls when I need them most, so the Sword of Striking was an obvious choice. The Great Name is also an easy choice, for it provides the Tyrant with the really needed hitting power. But the Potion of Strength was primary meant against the dragon in scenario two, when I would need something against this Toughness-6 Monster. Looking back, perhaps I should have given the Butcher the Rock Eye and therefore cancel the Lookout Gnoblar.

First Game – Bernhard Horner (Ogres)

The very first competition and it should be a battle against another tribe! Well, it wouldn’t be too tough, would it?

My opponent played a slightly different list than me. Instead of the Maneaters, he fielded four Cat riders and used a Firebelly and a Sabertooth (OK, I have to blame myself for forgetting to take one with me) and a big unit of Thunderers instead of the big cannon. So he had no Tyrant, no big impact unit and no cannon. As long as I could hit his riders with the cannon, it should not be too hard to play. How pathetically wrong I was…

The game started with a poor decision. I wanted the Maneaters to come from the right side, so I placed them far too right where they could not be of much use. My opponent could easily dance me out with shooting some Ironguts with his Thunderers and blocking my important units with the Sabertooth and Gnoblars (again, never forget the Sabertooth. Perhaps I was a little scared to take him because he could cause panic tests so easily). Anyhow, I was blocked out and couldn’t do any harm against his riders. The only positive shoot from the cannon caused two dead Thunderers, failed their panic tests and run (not far enough, though, but it was very satisfying).

The rest of the game: he manages to eat my Butcher with his Ironguts, and can run over into the cannon (again, I have to remember to place it more properly). The Tyrant feels brave and counterattacks the Firebelly/Irongut unit, but he can’t save the cannon. The Maneaters storm into the Thunderers, and even manage not to be shot altogether, but then have to face the cat riders which they obviously don’t survive.

So, in the end, I am seriously beaten by my own race and have to rethink something playing Ogres. Congratulations to my opponent, he always used his tools to best effort and got a deserved victory (although I don’t remember the points exactly, I was happy not to be beaten up 0-20).

Second game – Jakob Husinsky (High Elves)

Ah, High Elves. Always striking first (and rerolling this!) and carrying Great weapons surely are the nightmare of every honest Tyrant who has no option to reroll his dice. Anyhow, maybe the scenario would help. We both would have to hunt a dragon, who gave additionally victory points to those who slayed him. Couldn’t be too tough for Ogres, eh?

The melee units of the elves were not too big, but my first target was the dragon – if I could kill him first, I would (at least) score four tournament points. So I added the tyrant to the Maneaters and tried to charge in round one. Sadly, I missed the score for just one inch. Anyhow, it was no catastrophe.

The elven mage blow himself up, so I didn’t have to care about magic any more. While the Phoenix Guard ate my Butcher/Irongut unit, the Tyrant and the Maneaters could charge the White Lions with an elven hero and kill them. But sadly, it wasn’t enough, for the Phoenix Guard showed up in the rear and ate the poor Tyrant.

The dragon survived the game (who could have guessed?) and neither one of us got the bonus points. I’m still not quite content with this scenario, for it is nearly impossible for any player to score 20 points, due to a very strict victory points calculation table.

Game three – Benjamin Wolf (Empire)

Well, Empire. With no steam tank, no griffon riders, and just one cannon. At last, an army that should be manageable. How wrong I was…

The game started pretty good, when my Ironblaster could blew up his cannon and therefore eliminate the biggest trouble for my Ogres. The scenario was a bit like the second, for we had to chase a running wizard. Again, I wanted a confrontation right in the middle of the board, so the units headed forward. The Maneaters (now on the left flank) tried to keep the Greatswords out of the game, while my Ironguts with the Tyrant should cope with the inner circle knights with priest in front of them. Well, it wasn’t quite as I expected. I managed to attack the knights, but their +1 save kept too many of them alive, so I couldn’t break them and was attacked in the flank by the smaller knight unit in return. When I saw that the two Irongut units plus the heroes were lost, I conceded (also due to the fact that I was very tired at the end of the third game).

At the end, it was a very fine tournament. Congratulations to all my partners, every one of them deserved his victory (although I am pretty happy that I managed not to lose the first two games with zero points). A big thank you to the organization team, who cared a lot and created a very fine tournament (and sausage buffet, and nicely cooled tournament rooms). Perhaps, some of the new faces I saw will attend in a tournament in Vienna.

And for the army: I enjoyed the straight-forward playing style of Ogres, although I didn’t play them well. I know that there will be a lot of practising ahead. But the ultimate goal of winning a tournament is still ahead.

Perhaps, I will try the Slaughtermaster with the Frog Roll and Lore of Death in future games. Although I know that I will prefer the more directly and offensive Tyrant, maybe I will understand why he is esteemed to be so effective.

Some armies participating in the tournament

As the tournament progresses, players struggle for keeping concentration

The trophies, the happy winner and the organization team and a random player from Vienna on the left (just to add a little sexappeal)