Report by Sith Lord Sam
5th April 2004
So, here is what I went with for the Archfiend's pre-release in Wisconsin.
Hit or Miss
(199 Points)- Cleric of Gruumsh
- Drow Wizard
- Ogre Ravager (2)
- Githyanki Fighter (2)
- Orc Warrior
For the most part it went very well. I went 4-1 in the opening rounds losing only to a huge AC LG band consisting of:
- Cleric of Lathandar
- Purple Dragon Knight
- Gold Champion (2)
- Cleric of Moradin
- Dwarf Axefighter
Unfortunately, one of the deciding factors was luck, after several unsuccessful attacks against the PDK (Natural 1's just plain suck), and both the Gold Champs breath weapon which I failed all saves against, he was on top early. After a few more rounds it came together for me a little to late. We ended with his 2 Gold Champions (one with only 15 HP left) and I had one Gith Fighter and one Ogre Ravager, and him winning the init. You all can see where that went. My opponent played very well, and he was another that made it to the Single-elimination rounds.
The next few rounds went very well. Several games, I noticed came down to a key initiative roll (I noticed that it is almost to the point that in melee, the deciding factor is the init. roll. Average attack bonuses are soooooo much higher than average AC's that it depends on who goes first, but that is another post for another time) I fought 2 bands with the orc champion (very nice fig. I still prefer the Ravager with the reach, but that is again another post for another time.) There was a red Wizard bad, the githyanki paid for themselves for the entire tournament with that one.
So, in the single-elim I lost the first round to the tourney winner, boy I was dumb, which in no way should lessen the quality of my opponent or the quality of his warband.
Beginner's Luck
- Champion of Ellistrae
- Clay Golem
- Halfling Ranger (3)
- Halfling Wizard
- Jozan
- Lidda
So, it, of course is a ranged band. In the terrain placement I was a complete idiot, and somehow created a 2 square-wide gauntlet about 7 spaces long into a patch of rough terrain. So he, of course, spaced his rangers and Wizard around the rough terrain at the end of the gauntlet, with the Clay golem in the gap. So, I could only get one Ravager in place, and only after it took 20+ damage from arrows. The githyanki tried to Dim Door and flank the Champion, nullifying the Clay Golem, but with a couple of poor rolls and a lost initiative, they were defeated rather quickly. The Clay golem took care of the Ogre ravagers one at a time with no problem. And that was about it.
So, all in all it was a very good tournament, with a very good organizer. (Thanks, Chris).
I have a feeling I'm going to be tweaking the band I played, it showed a lot of potential with a lot of weapons. The Gith's Dim door ability is not to be take lightly. And with their 20 magic damage, blur, and magic Missle, it think they are very well worth the points. They are commander and spell caster killers, which often make up a good portion of the enemies points, and really screws up their tactics. I found the Drow Wizard very effective as well, giving Magic Weapon to the cleaving ( due to the Cleric of Gruumsh) Ogres if DR was present, the Snowball was really pretty effecdtive the entire tournament. All in all it seemed well blanced.
So, that was how it went for me, and some of my opinions.