8th Ed. The BEST close combat units in all of Warhammer.

This is the only way to get closest to an even match-up, i.e. 40 point difference is more unfair than an 18 point difference.

So (as gone over) I think it's the right choice.

 

I agree. Tough luck for the Demigryhs though.
Did it go the other way they would have won this fight.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

The show continues with the K'daai Destroyer versus Chaos Warriors

Key rules in play:

• K'daai Destroyer: Unstable, Unbreakable, Blazing Body, Bound Fire Daemon, Frenzy (D3 Attacks)
• Chaos Warriors: Mark of Nurgle

No surprises here, the Destroyer was always going to reign supreme in this matchup. The Chaos Warriors had nothing to offer the K'daai and as soon as they lost their Steadfast, it was all over.

The Destroyer becomes the first contestant to hit positive double digits on the score board (the Arachnarok had achieved the negative version in the previous round). The Chaos Warriors on the other hand, find themselves in the bottom 4!!




Looking at the Chaos Warriors' remaining fights, who do you think they can beat (if any)? In terms of the Destroyer, I think most of us have already declared it the unofficial winner.

I should note, this match marks the precise halfway point of the tournament.

 

The K'Daai is definitely number 1 as I said earlier, there isn't anything else on the board that will greatly challenge it and definitely no other unit who have any chance of catching up to it.

I'm interested in how the rest of it plays out (slots 1 and 2).

I have been greatly surprised by the WoC with MoN as I thought they would be sure contenders for the top. Even if you take out monsters and just have an infantry match-up, they would still not be top.

Bizarrely (at least to me), I believe that the Witch Elves will end up being the best scoring infantry unit.

@NIGHTBRINGER can you do a match-up between a unit of Witch Elves and a unit of Sword and Board Saurus of the same points value?

 

I think Saurus Sword and Board have a chance against the Black Guard, Witch elves and White Lions. Against everything else they lose.

 

I think they'd actually still do prety well against the executioners with their 1 attack. But otherwise, yes agreed.

(I have lots of experience of them losing to the MoN WoC for instance... Grrrr...)

 

I'll try to run those numbers for you later on today.

 

Match time! Arachnarok Spider vs. Savage Orc Big'uns

Key rules in play:

• Arachnarok: Natural Armour (4+), Poisoned Attacks (Spider only), Stubborn, Venom Surge
• Savage Orc Big'uns: Choppas, Frenzy, Warpaint

Seeing as the Arachnarok gives just about every unit 2 free points, it would only be proper if they did so for their fellow army mates. Same story as always for the Spider. It is a bit unfortunate that it lost by 1 (that opposing rank bonus + standard really did it in).

With the win the Savage Orcs find themselves in 7th place! The Spider is now down to -13 points.



So, can the Savage Orcs hang on to their 7th place position or at the very least, stay in the top 8? Or do you foresee them being overtaken?

 

I took a brief look at the troops they still need to fight and I'm afraid that they will drop down... They haven't had the K'Daai yet, or the Witch Elves or Black Guard... I foresee them doing poorly against the WoC with their -1 to hit as well

For all that, I'm rather fond of them and have a healthy respect for them in combat.

 

The K'daai is a 100% loss for them. I think the Witch Elves beat them too.

I do give them a chance against the Black Guard and Chaos Warriors though. I'm not saying they will win, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. They will have a significant numbers advantage against both.

 

As promised:

 

Next matchup! Skullcrushers of Khorne vs. Hammerers!


Key rules in play:

• Skullcrushers: Brass Behemoth, MoK (riders only)
• Hammerers: Stubborn

As expected, the Skullcrushers win the day, however, not before the Hammerers take a sizeable chunk out of them. Interestingly, the Skullcrushers only did marginally better against the Hammerers than the Mournfang Cavalry did. That's probably due to the of the Hammerer's ASL, which negates the Skullcrusher's Initiative advantage over the Mournfang.

With that the Skullcrushers move into a three way tie for third place, although the Executioners still have yet to fight this round. As for the Hammerers, they find themselves in the bottom 5, tied with the Chaos Warriors.



So, who will finish higher in the tournament, the Hammerers or the Chaos Warriors? Both are tied at the moment! As for the Skullcrushers, will they be able to hang onto 3rd place?

 

Seeing their upcoming match-ups I think they will, it is a bit of a mix of easy(Spider) and hard(destroyer) battles.
So they will probably be around 3th pleace depending on what the other current 3th place units will do.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

I like this one. Less of a bloodbath for the Lizards as I suspected.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

Second to last match in round 8. Black Guard of Naggarond vs. Chaos Trolls

Key rules in play:

• Black Guard: ASF, Murderous Prowess, Stubborn
• Chaos Trolls: Regeneration

After sustaining two straight massive losses and plummeting in the standings, the Chaos Trolls pull off a massive victory. Right from the start it became very obvious that this was going to be a good match for the Trolls. They do more wounds in the first round and have a greater pool of wounds. It was only a matter of time before the Black Guard were ground down.

The Trolls move back into the top 8 and bounce the Demigryph Knights into 9th place. The Black Guard are struggling and near the bottom of the pack alongside the Hammerers, Chaos Warriors and White Lions.



What do we think of the Trolls chances moving forward? Outside of their faceoff with the Destroyer, most of their remaining matches could very well swing in their favour.

 

I have always figured that the Trolls would finish upper middle tier, as even with their absolutely horrendous leadership, they're still a decent hand-to-hand unit.

Black guard just can't cut it against that 4++ regen save...

 

Agreed. They've been a fun unit to follow, as they usually either win big (due their hand-to-hand prowess) or lose big (due to that horrendous leadership).

If their opposition can't beat them via combat resolution, a grinding game nearly always favours the Trolls... and like you said, the Black Guard just couldn't deal with that regen!

 

Time to close out round 8. Hell Pit Abomination versus Har Ganeth Executioners

Key rules in play:

• HPA: Regeneration, Stubborn, Special Close Combat Attacks
• Executioners: Murderous Prowess, ASF and ASL cancel each other out

The HPA barely wins this one, but a win is a win. In truth, the Executioners were a bit unlucky. At the end of round 2, they had 3.2 models left, thus denying them the rank they needed to maintain steadfast. If they had passed their break test, they would have wiped out the Hell Pit Abomination in the next round before the HPA had a chance to strike.



What do we think of the Executioners falling behind the Witch Elves, Beasts of Nurgle and Skullcrushers in the standings? Does anyone think that the HPA can break into the top 5? (it currently resides just 1 point out of 5th place)

 

I think the Executioners dropping down is fair, with only one attack and no ASF advantage.

I don't think the HPA will break into the top five, but it is certainly doing better than I thought it would.

I definitely forsee it being K'Daai and then Skullcrusher/Dark Elves in the top three. I don't think the Beasts of Nurgle will quite make it unfortunately. (I actually quite like them after reading their lore, really friendly creatures! )