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

A little late to chip in but I agree with the chosen direction

Grrr, Imrahil

 

Time for the last matchup of round #10... no surprises here... Soul Grinder versus the Skullcrushers of Khorne!

Key rules in play:

• Soul Grinder: Daemonic, Daemon of Nurgle, Caught by the Claw, Natural Armor 4+, Daemonbone Claw
• Skullcrushers: Mark of Khorne (riders only), Brass Behemoth

As the Daemonbone Claw special attack proves to be more effective than the Soul Grinder's regular attacks, the Daemonbone Claw is used...




A much needed Massive Victory for the Skullcrushers! The Skullcrushers have tremendous difficulty getting past the Soul Grinder's T7 and the Soul Grinder doesn't have a great deal of offensive success against the Skullcrushers. The whole affair is somewhat of a pillow fight and it is ultimately the Skullcrusher's Standard Bearer and Musician that wins the day. The Soul Grinder loses most of its wounds due to its Daemonic Instability. While 3 models strong, the Skullcrushers win combat by one due to their Standard Bearer. Once the Skullcrushers are reduced to two models, the combat is drawn and only won by the Skullcrushers due to their Musician's effect.

For those wondering, without a musician, the Skullcrushers still win the affair, but are left with only 2.9 wounds (well shy of the mark needed for a massive victory).




That brings round #10 to a close. Bear in mind that the Soul Grinder vs. Demigryph matchup has to be redone to include a musician for the Demigryphs. As a consequence, the chart above might change. I will redo that matchup before summarizing the standings at the end of round 10 and moving to the next round.

What do you guys think about the Skullcrushers? That massive victory keeps them in the hunt for the bronze medal position as they stand just 2 points behind the current third place contestant, the Witch Elves. Which of the two has the easier schedule moving forward?

 

I have updated the original matchup between the Demigryph Knights and the Soul Grinder. As discussed, a musician was added to the Demigryph side. And what a difference it makes!! I have edited the original matchup post!

If you're interested in the updated matchup, you can easily use the hyperlinked index in the first post of this thread to find the updated post (as well as any other match in the tournament you may be interested in).

 

Round #10 is officially over. The tournament is now 2/3 of the way done. Each unit has fought 10 times and each unit has exactly 5 more matchups remaining!

The current standings are as follows (this includes the Demigryph update as discussed above):



There is some pretty fierce competition going on. The Witch Elves vs Chaos Trolls vs Skullcrushers battle in the standings is particularly interesting. The Mournfang have moved up a few places over the last few rounds, while the Black Guard, White Lions and Soul Grinder have been steadily sinking.

The Destroyer and the Arachnarok seem locked in and destined to hold onto their positions at the top and bottom of the standings. The Beasts of Nurgle will also be very difficult to shift from their current position.

A lot can change over the course of 5 rounds. Remember that within a single round, the relative positions between any two units can shift by as much as 4 points (one unit losing 2 points and the other gaining 2 points). It ain't over until it is over!!




The big question is, which units do you feel have a relatively easier remaining schedule and which ones have a more difficult one?

 

Skullcrushers have the K'daai Destroyer yet to face, so a deemed (massive) loss there.
On the other hand the Arachnarok Spider and Mournfang Cav will most likely end in massive victories.

I don't know how Chaos Warriors will fare against them. And the pointy ears are some trouble to face (I guess)

The Witch Elves on the other hand don't have a guarantied massive loss ahead so the may stay in the lead, just.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

The Beasts of Nurgle don't seem to be locked in for 2nd place, just yet.

very interesting to say the least
I enjoy this 'introduction' to the units of the 8th edition.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

I don't think that the matchup will end in a massive loss. I feel that one or the other will end up with a regular victory. It's my most anticipated match! The K'daai can undoubtedly hurt the Skullcrushers but the Skullcrushers can also hurt the K'daai. Don't forget that all of the Skullcrusher's attacks (both rider and Jugger) are magical. That is one of the weaknesses of the Destroyer.

It should be a great contest.

The Skullcrusher's Massive Loss will come at the hands of the White Lions. The Banner of the World Dragon will give them a 2+ ward save against all the Skullcrusher's attacks!

The toughest remaining match for the Witch Elves might be the Demigryph Knights, they will very likely lose that one, but it remains to be seen if the loss will be massive or not. Like you said, there are no guarantied massive losses for them, only potential ones. While the Skullcrushers have a massive loss waiting for them with certainty. They really need the Demigryphs to come through and decimate the Witch Elves.

Also, we can't forget about the Trolls... although they have a massive loss waiting for them at the hands of the K'daai Destroyer!

 

That's a solid point!

 

Round 11, Match #1 - The floundering Arachnarok Spider takes on the surging Chaos Trolls!

Key rules in play:

• Chaos Trolls: Regeneration
• Aracknarok Spider: Natural Armour (4+), Poisoned Attacks (Spider only), Stubborn, Venom Surge.

The first one to take a break test in this contest loses by virtue of their poor leadership... in this case that was the Arachnarok Spider. They scored nearly the same number of wounds caused, but the Trolls ended up winning via their rank bonus. Another unit pays the Troll Toll!

And remember kids, nobody can field Trolls like the Warriors of Chaos can!



A big win for the Trolls which boosts them up in the standings. They are currently tied for third place with the Witch Elves. As for the Arachnarok, I think everybody has given up on it by this point. It sits at an pathetic -16 points. Definitely the clear loser of our tourney.

Thoughts?

 

That was a close one... sad for the Spider to lose yet another round.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

It came down to that all important rank bonus! It would have been a travesty if somehow it would have been the Trolls who had broken from combat. In a protracted combat (assuming that the generals' leadership kept both in the fight) the trolls would wear down and kill the Arachnarok in fairly short order.

That's a lock at this point. Money in the bank. Good call.



By the way, what ever happened to @Lizards of Renown ? His participation in this thread has dwindled as of late.

 

As an arachnophile I'm sad to see the Arachnarok Spider lose so many times. Doesn't look like it will win any of it's remaining matches. I think the trolls might overtake the witch elves, but not the BoN. Definitely did not realize how strong of a unit they are.

 

You like those vile creatures?! You're a brave man.

We're complete opposites, the other day a bludgeoned a spider to death with a 2x2 piece of lumber. They freak me out.

Agreed. I see straight losses for the beastie. In fact, it has a pretty tough schedule in its final matches. Three of its last four opponents are top contenders in the tourney.

Trolls are extremely points efficient (you're paying just 11.7 points per wound) . You just have to mitigate their stupidity, poor leadership, and keep them away from flaming attacks. If a player can manage that, the trolls will absolutely shine. As the tournament has shown, they can beat a wide variety of opponents. When they have lost in the tournament, it is usually because of their poor leadership and breaking from combat.

 

Don't worry! I'm here!!!

The Arachnarok is situational. I don't think any general who sees one being placed in their opponents deployment area goes "oh, I don't need to worry about that one".

This contest of champions can give a slightly skewed view. They're still pretty dangerous, just can be easily countered if you know what you're getting into.

(I always have the thought in the back of my mind when facing O&Gs that my opponent may bring one of these, so I always have my Skink Skirmishers and more often than not I bring along my Chamo Skinks, both of them are easy counters for the Spider.)

I definitely think that the Beasts will hold out for second. I think the WE's will be close third.

 

Good . Your presence was missed.

Can't argue with that.

I agree on the Beasts, it would take a major turn of fortunes for them to fall out of second.

As for the Witch Elves, wouldn't it be fun if it all came down to their head-to-head matchup against the Trolls? We might have to save that match for the final round! Unless of course the Skullcrushers can somehow make a successful push for third place.

 

Don't worry, I won't leave a fellow Knight with no wingman!

I think the Trolls vs WEs match-up is going to be pretty tight.

The Witch Elves will be doing the whole massively ridiculous ASF, re-roll missed hits, poisoned attacks, re-roll 1's to wounds, thing.

BUT...

They will be wounding on 6's (S3 vs the Beasts T5) and then have 50% of them discounted due to the Regeneration.

I think my little Beasties will actually come out on top, since they will be hitting on 4's, wounding on 3's, WE's have no armour and then they'll be adding stomps to the mix.

WE SHALL SEE!

 

You switched midway from Trolls to Beasts of Nurgle. The Beasts of Nurgle have already faced and defeated the Witch Elves. I was talking about the Witch Elves vs. Chaos Trolls. That's the one that could potentially decide who finishes in third place.