HOBBIT Throne of Skulls, Warhammer World 2014
A review by Steve Crowe.
Disclaimer.... My memory is bobbins!
First off Id just like to thank all the contestants and staff of whom I cant remember their names and its very possible I may miss some details out, as the Saturday night antics are still having an affect on me now!! lol
This was not my first visit to Warhammer World , but it was my first tournament. And what a tournament it was!
We started out on the Friday morning getting everyone picked up and on the road as soon as we could, there were myself, GBHL James, GBHL Jamie and Kieron Street all packed into the car and off we went on our Middle Earth adventure.
Its not the best drive in the world from Manchester to Nottingham over Snake Pass and past all the roadworks on the M1 but we got there and made our way into the hall where Throne of LOL's was already taking place (Damien O'byrnes mini fun pre tourney warm up!)
It was great to see some faces I kinda knew and some new faces as eveybody looked hyped up and in great spirits for the weekend ahead.
We greeted our pals and shared a few pre battle jibes
then decided to get some food whilst Throne of LOLs was going on. Over our food which was of decent quality from Bugmans Bar whilst ?James was using his celebrity status to talk people into painting his unfinished force (tut tut), me and Thomas Macklin decided to have a friendly game to test out our forces and have a chat and giggle mostly.
Id brought a Gondor force almost identical to Stockport but with obviously an extra 100 pts to play with.
So my force was
Warband 1
Faramir, Captain of Gondor with armoured horse; Heavy armour; Lance; Shield;
6 Knights of Minas Tirith with Shield;
Warband 2
Damrod, Ranger of Ithilien
9 Rangers with Spear;
Warband 3
Beregond with Horse
10 Fountain Court Guard with shields
Warband 4 5/12
Forlong the Fat mounted
8 Axeman of Lossarnach
4 Clansmen of Lamedon
I brought this force after speaking with James about possibilities of different things and he suggested the axemen having piercing strike and the possibility to support could be very effective.
I cant remember Toms full list but it consisted of Balin, Floi, a shieldbearer and a Captain along with Khazads, iron guard and warriors with shields which was a good sturdy force and needing 6's and 6/4's to wound was pretty intimidating.
We rolled for Scenario and got “Domination”.
5 objectives to fight over and I think suited my force a bit better than Toms with my superior force number and cavalry to manoeuvre the board a bit better than dwarves little legs, lol.
Toms a great opponent and gent to boot, this was the first time we'd played eachother and it turned out to be a cracking game. Gondor proved to be too strong for the Dwarves with their all round capabilities of high defence, F4, cavalry and Bow fire. I think the game ended due to Tom being 25%, correct me if am wrong buddy, heads still very fuzzy!!! lol.
After that me and James headed off to book into our hotel and dump our gear. We stayed at the Holiday Inn which Id recommend to anybody visiting WW. Comfy rooms, late bar, decent brews...... We done so and then made our way back to WW for Middle Earths deadliest Warband, but unfortunatly we arrived a little late so just missed the first round but it was cool, I took the opportunity to browse around, look at everyones warbands and say hi to people I hadnt already said hi to!
So MEDW came to an end and we all had a few drinks and a chat about the possibilities of certain matchups for the following day. From WW we headed back to the hotel where Damien O'Byrne, Tom Harrison, Callum and a few others were staying also so obviously we all set camp up at the hotel bar and had a few drinks, talked about the hobby and played weird card games no one understood until we all decided to call it a night and get some kip.
So it had arrived! Day 1 of Throne of Skulls! On arrival back at Warhammer world most of us decided to get some breakfast to keep the energy levels up for a day that would consist of the first four games of the tournament. These four scenarios would be decided by a dice roll just before each round and all four would be from the original army books.
ROUND 1
So round one and Im drawn against Rob Jacobs, A nice guy Id also played at Stockport.
He had an Elven force of two warbands, one was Rivendell knights with Elrond and the second was Legolas with Mirkwood elves.
The scenario would be High Ground, now High Ground is basically a seize the hill type game where the objective is the have control of a hill on the board and not let your opponent get any where near it to do the same.
I have to admit I was fairly confident for the simple reason of my army had far more models than Robs and there was quite a bit of terrain on our board which helped me avoid the elves bow fire a bit.
So we rolled off and started to place our warbands. Rob placed Leggy and his elves a fair distance from the hill to which I thought Id just go for and barring my Fiefdoms got everything pretty much on the hill which also had a ruins piece on the top where I could set my Fountain guard up in defensive positions. Rob had also places Elrond and Co almost at the bottom of the hill which straight off the bat split an already small force in two. I had to take advantage of this and set Forlongs band up as close as possible in cover to the Mirkwood possy!
I think Rob had two round of shooting which had an average success rate killing a few clansmen but I knew once Id reached the elves hed be in trouble, even with the special rule of Elves gaining a dice for every additional unit fighting him the Axemen were too strong and soon killed most of them off and tying up Leggy for most of the game.
On the hill itself Elrond was also playing a pretty defensive role sitting there and shooting so Id decided to charge my knights in just to upset that shooting turn and hopefully dismount a few elf knights. I also had my rangers in a position to ruturn some bowfire from the rivendell knights with limited success.
Rob managed to use natures wrath and get a few dismounts and could of almost killed or wounded my leader but for some heroic moves as Id used hardly any might, and won roll offs. So I was able to call victory on this one. And it felt good to win the first game.
I think this scenario suits my force very well and Rob was always up against it but fair play to him he battled on till the end.
ROUND 2
In round 2 I was drawn against a gent of a fella called David Alexander.
The scenario would be Lords of Battle and he took High Elves with Rumil, Gildor and I think the twins accompanied by high elves with two handed weapons, spears bows, you name it they had it, lol
And what a force it was.
David set up his battle lines and Gondor just really struggled here against the high defence of the high elves.
Its been a while so cant remember the intricacies of the battle but I think I just lined up to his lines and tried to go toe to toe with the elves which was pretty disastrous for me, lol.
Gondor one by one crumbled with the twins keeping a good third of my force busy whilst Rumil negated all my 6's!!! I just couldnt wound him, I won many fights but rolling to would was terrible!!!!
So this was a loss for my force but David was a lovely guy and it was a pleasure to have a game against him. ( planning my anti high elf force as we speak!)
ROUND 3
In round I drew Thomas Macklin and sods law for him it was Domination again! As per our friendly game, lol
This time the Dwarves were a little more stubborn and only for me contesting one of the markers Toms dwarves were holding with a couple of knights in the last turn the game coulda ended up completely different but it was another win for me, Woop (Soz Tom) lol
Mr Macklin is a great guy and if you get the chance and you havent played him already Id recommend squeezing a game in with him if possible! And am not just saying that cos I walloped him twice
only joking Tom!!!! Both my games were a really good laugh and he got my best opponent vote.
ROUND 4
Hold Ground Vs Mr. Robert Gibney and his Isengard list with Siege Ballista! He had Vrasku with a warband of Uruk Crossbows and Mauhur with some scouts and berserkers.
Rob again is a great guy and someone Iv never met before so it was an absolute pleasure to take him on.
Now at first glance with a warband Crossbows led by Vrasku and the Ballista looming dangerously on the board edge I was quite intimidated but once Id seen his whole force placed down it soon became obvious I had a massive numbers advantage.
As luck would have it Robert rolled badly on his Mahurs warband and I was able to choose the board edge he was to start from which I obviously split his already small force in two!
Even though Robert was at this huge disadvantage the game was played in a really fun and friendly manner and Robert at one point took three Fountain court guard out with one shot aimed at Beregond!!!! So kudos to you my friend.
Innevitably Iwas able to control the board and still be able to afford to let Robert stand and shoot with the uruk crossbows without it causing too much concern.
So the game ended and it was another win for Gondor Woop!
END OF DAY 1
So after a hard days gaming it was time for the pub quiz which even though I was looking forward to it I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would lol.
I was teamed with Tom Macklin, Mertaal, Tom Williams, Larry Miller, George Perkins and I think the lads name was James (please make yourself known I feel terrible for not remembereing but we had a right laugh, lol)
Anyway to cut a long story short we was robbed!!!!!! Pffft 7 men in a 6 man quiz!!!!! Abusing celebrity status methinks
So drinks ensued and we all chatted and joked about our games past and games to come, then myself, GBHL Jonny Bravo, Keiron Street, Damien O, Tom H, Callum and a few others headed back to our hotel and we had a few drinks more to the point where I 100% blame Callum because he went up to his room and came down looking like Travolta from Saturday night Fever!.... But a handfull of us braved the Nottingham nightlife!!!!!!
Now this part of the weekend will be saved for pub chatter and reminiscing over a campfire about days gone by but what I will say is... Friendships are forged in fire and man were we on fire that night!!!! LOL
DAY2
ROUND 5
Crispin Farbrother and I were drawn to have a very thematic Gondor Vs Mordor faceoff!!!
Now Crispin's force was quite intimidating... If I remember correctly he had Shagrat warleader with a warband of Uruks, A Beast of Gargoroth and a warband of Mordor Orcs led by a captain I think.
The Scenario was rescue and I had the choice of being attacker or Defender to which I decided to have my leader Faramir in the centre and let him try to catch him whilst I used all my other cannon fodder to slow him down and be a nuisance.
With Faramir being mounted it was fairly obvious he would never get caught and I continued to run to the furthest corner of the board. I deployed the rest of my force all on one edge on a slight hill and basically just waited for Mordor to hit this wall of warriors whilst Faramir fled.
Although it became fairly obvious my leader was not going to be caught, myself and Crispin still had a good old battle. He got one decent charge in with the beast which took down a handfull of Gondors finest but I was then able to surround and take down the beast which I have to admit felt awesome!!!!!
After that the fighting continued on the hill edge until eventually time was called and in the last turn I needed two more kills to break my enemy............. Sods law dire dice rolling failed to kill on 5 occasions where I looked certain to win fights with my mounted knights with lances against lowly orcs's and the game was a draw!
I was in no way bitter or dis appointed as Crispin is a great guy and it was a pleasure to fight such a themed and well presented force.
ROUND 6
So Blockade was the Scenario and Melvin was to be my opponent!
Now I do have to say Melvins force was beautifully painted and he'd done a conversion of a mounted Orc Captain using Gorbag and a Warg Chieftan which I am 100% going to rip off!!!! lol Sorry bud
So Melvin had in his force I think...... Black guard led by a captain, A troll drummer, a load of orcs with the captain I mentioned and one of the named wraiths but I cant for the life of me remember which??? Am sure if you read this Melvin youll let us know.
So we rolled off and it was my task to get Faramir off the opposite table edge.
Now this is where opponent knowledge naivety comes into play and has made me realise I need to brush up on models special rules not just of my force but of every force!!!!
I was unaware of the Troll drummers ability to beat on those drums every turn and call a “with me!” type rule to move at an advanced rate, which is an awesome rule in scenarios like this.
So basically with a couple of turns Melvin had wheeled his force on the side of the Troll around to block the centre of the table off which forced me to waste a few moves faffing around and changing my mind about my route, which became my downfall as the tock was ticking and it soon became apparent that I wouldn’t have time to get off the opposite table edge.
So once he'd cut the table in two he then proceeded to march toward me which I then decided to tie up as much as I could and try to sneak my leader past the chaos. This plan ended up working ok'ish, lol If we had more time I reckon I could of got him off, as I was half way up the side with his leader and his minions and also used Beregond to charge his leader using bodyguard to counter his terror! So I think my tactic was sound but time was against me and Melvin played the game very well, I could tell he was a seasoned player and thought a couple of moves ahead like transfixing my easy prey warriors and commanding them into charge range of his troll to which he could then hurl him aaaaaaarrrrgh, lol. So we will never know if we had another half hour what could have been maybe I was playing right into his hands I just dont know???
The game ended a draw and we shook hands unfulfilled and wanting more blood, lol.
I am really looking forward to playing Melvin again sometime hes a great guy and helped me a lot with unfamiliar rules plus we have unfinished business, lol
ROUND 7
Now going in to this small review of the 7th and final game I just wanna say how in this hobby every aspect of it and people Ive met through it, its been an absolute pleasure and I don’t want the following few sentences to put anyone off the hobby as I’m 100% sure this is an isolated case of one person who just doesn’t get it!
It was bitter sweet going into the last game as I was happy Id had a great weekend and met even more cool people with the hobbit as a hobby but at the same time a little bit gutted my first Throne of Skulls was coming to an end, but I knew I wanted to make the most of it and Seize the Prize is a scenario I like and was fairly confident of doing well in.
I was drawn against a guy called Alec Fowler, now throughout the course of the weekend Id heard a few rumours of this one guy who was being a complete douche and ruining the games for everyone for one reason or another but I didn’t realise it was this guy! Man was I in for a shock.........
So I introduced myself and got the pleasantries out of the way, asked about his army and how he’d fared etc. He continued to tell me he’d had 5 wins and 1 loss I think he said to which I thought “Jeez this guy must be a decent player!”
He was playing Easterlings with I think Amdur, Mounted Capt, Warpriest and various warriors including pikemen, kataphrakts etc......
Now this is where I learnt a valuable lesson. After hearing about his success my mind was already working out tactics and ways to beat this guy who seemed to be on a roll so when he was reeling off different things about his army I wasn’t really paying attention, neither did I have a fallen realms source book to confirm all he was saying! (not that I thought Id need to as you kind of expect everyone else to game in an honest manner)
So the first of a few things which turned out to be completely fabricated were that Easterling phalanxes are the best in the game as even when 3 deep they cant ever be trapped! Which he took advantage of at least 5 or 6 times throughout the game, Id never heard of this but Id call myself an amateur at the hobby and know my rules knowledge isn’t the best with my own force never mind someone else’s so I just accepted it!
The next thing that happened which I did pull him on, was the fact that we were gaming on realm of battle boards where the tiles are exactly 24 inches square, now we were allowed to deploy 12” from our own board edge and the prize was central between two boards which meant we were both still 12” from the prize itself! So first move, Alec moves a Kataphrakt into base contact to the prize!!!!!
I enquired how this was possible and he said he’d measured it exactly and he could just make it with his 10” move! To which I explained the mathematics of us being 12” away so no matter what way he measured it he was wrong!!!! He assured me he was right to which I assured him he was wrong and it was only when I said lets ask someone he conceded and said he must have measured wrong!
Now even after that blatant attempt at cheating I still gave him the benefit of the doubt and continued to plan my approach.
I moved my knights up 2” away from the prize but I won priority the next turn to which he called a heroic move with Amdur to which I countered and won the roll off! And this is where the single most blatant insult of a cheat was born and was used throughout the game. He said to me that Amdur has a special rule where when he uses a point of might he gets to roll a d6 and on a 5+ the might is free! Now some of you will now be saying “well that so obviously not true surely you pulled him up on it?” Here’s my answer...... As I said before my rules knowledge isn’t great and I didn’t have a copy of his sourcebook to check plus the thought that someone would do that just to win a tabletop game just never entered my head, I believed him. He rolled a 5+ and continued to do so Id guess 85% of the time he used Amdurs might which was pretty much every turn.
So anyway I was first to the prize and I had it but with Amdurs new found rule and using free might to win fights and wound etc it wasn’t long till he took it from me. Now the game itself I wont go too much into as to me it was null and void but the rule breaking carried on throughout. He rolled dice purposely into other piles of dice or behind scenery and just picked them up before I had time to register his results and claiming he’d won fights or scored enough to inflict wounds etc. He was also measuring his move distance in straight lines through obstacles and other models which sometimes would end up in almost double the move allowance. Hed move all his models then go back to the ones he moved first and move them again!!!!! It got the point where I got sick of pulling him up constantly and the game became really unpleasant for me. I fought on though and in the end he only won because time was called and I was broken. Even with all the cheating he didn’t get the prize away from the battle.
Now to summarize this game and I’m not the kind of guy to take things too seriously but Id spent money and given up my time to come to this tournament and for someone to blatantly cheat I took it as a personal insult. It was only after the game when I was telling Thomas Macklin and Mertaal about the cheats Id pulled him on they told me the Amdur thing and the cant trap rule were lies and Mertaal shown me the sourcebook to prove it, I was fuming and confronted him in front of his pals to which he mumbled quietly some apology grabbed his things and made a sharp exit.
He was deducted a load of points but for me and probably most of the other guys he played it left a really black mark on an otherwise amazing weekend. The fact that someone would stoop to such lows just to win at a game of toys beggars belief for me. Its a shame and really he should of been disqualified and all his games should of went as wins for the opponents affected in my eyes.
I could go on for another three pages having a pop at him but Ill leave you all to make your mind up yourselves. Just make a note of his name and beware of him at the next tourney!!!!
So that was it that was my first Throne of Skulls and I can say it wont be my last. Awesome venue, awesome people (barring one), and just an overall great experience.
Now I look forward to Mr. OByrnes review as my memory is terrible and Iv probably missed loads of things out and his reviews are a cracking read (tips cap). Id like to thank everyone who played a part in it for me I wont remember everyone but James(both of em), Jamie, Damien, Toms (loads of Toms), Mertaal, Callum, Alastair, George and everyone else..........
The End