AoS Two Lists for my first Grand Tournament

[Christopher]

Here are the two lists I’m taking to my first two-day tournament, Nashcon, the first weekend in June. The tournament pack requires each player to bring two lists, each of which must be played at least once over the five games. The armies must belong to the same Grand Alliance, but otherwise there are no restrictions beyond those found in the Generals Handbook 2017. Players review one another’s two options before each game, then do a simultaneous “reveal” of which army they’re playing that game.

These lists are heavily dependent on those models I already have built and painted, and those I believe I can have painted before I have to leave for Nashville. I will be playing the second, odder, list at a one-day three-game event at a local shop the Saturday before the tournament, so I’ll get a chance to feel it out a little. The first list, a combined “Kroaknado”/Shadowstrike list, I believe to be fairly standard fare. Hopefully, as I grow more experienced in list-building (and as we all learn the new edition), I will eventually get to the point that I can be simultaneously competitive and original.

The five tournament games will be played using these Pitched Battles Battleplans from the GHB17:

1. Knife to the Heart
2. Scorched Earth
3. Total Conquest
4. Starstrike
5. Duality of Death

House rules include base-to-base measurement and a special rule precluding the placement of Balewind Vortices within 7” of an Objective.

There’s also this very nifty thing called Schemes, which are essentially 25 secondary objectives ranging wildly from things like “get a unit within 1” of each of the four corners of the battlefield during play” to “ensure that a certain enemy Hero is not killed in the course of play” to all kinds of other things. At registration, each player will be issued a randomly chosen deck of seven of the 25, and in each individual game, players choose one of their issued seven to be their active Scheme for that game (discarding the Scheme after the game, so no repeats over the weekend).

Major and Minor Victories are as defined in the Battleplans, with Major Victories resulting in Major Losses for the loser and Minor Victories resulting in Minor Losses for the loser. Victories (and Minor Losses and Draws) yield Tournament Points, or “TP,” as do the successful completion of Schemes. There are a few TP awarded to the top three vote getters in the Best Painted Army voting as well. There’s also a separate Sports rating, which only figures in the points keeping in that in order to be eligible to win to the Overall, players must have scored at least 19 sportsmanship points (of the 25 available).

I am not going to this tournament under any illusions that I’ll be competitive in any category except possibly Sports. My goals are to score at least 20 Sports points and to achieve at least one Victory. More than that, I hope to meet some new friends, learn a lot about my army and competitive play in general, and to have a good time.

Here are the two lists. I can tinker with them in minor ways (Artefacts, choices of General and Command Abilities), but the tournament’s painting requirement means that these are almost certainly the models I’m taking. I’m interested in hearing thoughts on that tinkering for sure, but also I’m very interested in tactical advice, especially as it concerns the interactions between the lists and the Battleplans. Right now, I’m guessing I’ll be taking List #1 in most of the games (unless my opponent is fielding a heavy shooting army? maybe?), so I suppose if there’s an obvious Battleplan that List #2 would be better at, that would be good to know.

List #1

Play Type: Matched Play
Game Type: Battlehost (2000 points)
Grand Alliance: Order
Allegiance: Seraphon

Lord Kroak (450) [*]
--General
--Leader
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (160) [6]
--Leader
--Artefact: Incandescent Rectrices
Bastiladon (280) [8]
--Behemoth
10 Skinks (60) [10]
--Battleline
--Boltspitters and Star-bucklers
Razordon (40) [3]
--Artillery
3 Salamanders (120) [9]
--Artillery
Shadowstrike Starhost (170)
--Warscroll Battalion
Skink Starpriest (80) [4]
--Leader
--Artefact: Prism of Amyntok
40 Skinks (200) [40]
--Battleline
--Boltspitters and Star-bucklers
10 Skinks (60) [10]
--Meteoric Javelins and Star-bucklers
6 Ripperdactyl Riders (280) [18]
Reinforcement Points (100)
Balewind Vortex
--Scenery

Points: 2000
Wounds: 108 plus Lord Kroak’s “Dead for Innumerable Ages” ability
Models: 74 plus the Balewind Vortex
Leaders: 3 of 6
Battleline (3+): 3
Artillery: 2 of 4
Behemoths: 1 of 4

List #2

Play Type: Matched Play
Game Type: Battlehost (2000 points)
Grand Alliance: Order
Allegiance: Seraphon

Slann Starmaster (260) [7]
--General
--Leader
--Command Trait: Great Rememberer
Saurus Astrolith Bearer (160) [6]
--Leader
--Artefact: Incandescent Rectrices
Saurus Oldblood on Carnosaur (280) [12]
--Leader
--Behemoth
--Artefact: Blade of Realities
Bastiladon (280) [8]
--Behemoth
10 Skinks (60) [10]
--Battleline
--Boltspitters and Star-bucklers
3 Kroxigor (160) [12]
Shadowstrike Starhost (170)
--Warscroll Battalion
Skink Starpriest (80) [4]
--Leader
40 Skinks (200) [40]
--Battleline
--Boltspitters and Star-bucklers
10 Skinks (60) [10]
--Meteoric Javelins and Star-bucklers
6 Ripperdactyl Riders (280) [18]

Points: 1990
Wounds: 127
Models: 74
Leaders: 4 of 6
Battleline (3+): 3
Artillery: 0 of 4
Behemoths: 2 of 4

I’m very excited—and very nervous—about both the one-day event, where I’ll be playing with some new folks who don’t frequent my local GW shop, and about the weekend in Nashville. Honestly, I don’t think I’m technically “ready” for higher level competition, but I also don’t think I ever will be unless I start familiarizing myself with different play styles, armies, and environments. Wish me luck!

 

[Xasto]

Being a tournament player myself, I think both of your lists look solid and could very well achieve the victory you are looking for!

 

[Aginor]

I agree, solid lists.