Filthy's Carnage Reports - Updated 2012-08-21

[Filthy the Clown]

Carnage Report Index
HS Online Tournament
2011-11-05 - Mechanicon

• General Wars
• Main Event

2011-10-22 Florida Frenzy 5.0
2011-06-25 Florida Frenzy 4.5
2011-02-08 Wolves!!
2010-12-13 Priscus, Gladiator Hero
2010-11-04 Death Knight battle
2010-10-24: Florida Frenzy 4.0

River of Blood Dungeon Crawl

• 2010-08-24: Room 1 crawl
• 2010-08-25: Room 2 crawl
• 2010-08-29: Room 3 crawl
• 2010-09-02: Room 4 crawl

2010-05-24
2010-04-22
2010-01-11



----------------------------------------------------

Welcome to my first battle report!


Mrs Filthy and I have been waiting to try some of the new D1 figures in a match, and last night we were finally able to make the time. What follows is a description of that encounter.

First off, the teams:

Filthy:
Sir Dupuis
Phantom Knights X3
Raelin V1
Sonya Esenwein
Air Elemental
Total: 515 points, 14 spaces
Anticipated strategy: Move the PKs up fast, followed by Raelin and the Air E for support. Then, use Dupuis as a strategic missile to smash the opponents, bolstered by Knight's Courage.
Drafting notes: Looks like the Air Elemental is not going to do me much good this game.


Mrs. Filthy:
Torin
Hydra X2
Kelda
Zettian Guards
Total: 510 points, 9 spaces
Anticipated Strategy: Get the Zettians in a good position, then attack with everything else...Crush the enemy, see him driven before her, and hear the lamentation of the women (well, forget the last part).
Drafting notes: Mrs. Filthy loves the Zettians and almost always drafts them. Unfortunately for her, Torin's counterstike is not going to help them much, as I don't have any ranged units. All melee, baby!


The map:



The match:

Round 1:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Filthy wins initiative; moves up 3 PKs.
Mrs. Filthy moves up Hydra.
Turn 2: Filthy moves up Raelin to height.
Mrs. Filthy moves Torin up.
Turn 3: Filthy moves up Air Elemental.
Zettian Guards move up, shoot at a PK and miss.
Notes: Fairly uneventful round; moving into position and setting up some conflict.

Round 2:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Mrs F wins initiative; Torin moves up and engages a PK, sending him to death's doorstep for a second time.
Filthy moves Sir Dupuis up, setting up a charge with +3 from surrounding knights.
Turn 2: Mrs F senses something is up, moves up Hydra to engage Sir D, inflicting 3 wounds.
Filthy's PKs attack the hydra, inflicting 2 wounds; the hydra is down 2 heads.
Turn 3: Hydra attacks and kills Sir Dupuis, inflicting 3 wounds with 1 head. The remaining attack misses a PK.
Filthy laments the loss of Sir Dupuis...And the order marker that was on him. So much for using 7 attack die.
Notes: I had high hopes for Sir Dupuis, but I made a huge mistake by moving him up too fast, too soon...A mistake that Mrs. F quickly exploited. Live and learn.

Round 3:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Filthy wins initiative, the surrounding PKs finish off the hydra and inflict a wound on Torin.
Mrs Moves up her second hydra.
Turn 2: PKs put 3 wounds on Torin, attack second hydra but fail to inflict any damage.
Mrs: Zettian Guards fire at PKs but fail to kill any.
Turn 3:More PK attacks on hydra and Torin, but all fail. The dice gods laugh at me.
Mrs: Torin swats and kills a PK.
Notes: One hydra down...

Round 4:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1:Filthy wins initiative; PK's kill Torin, who goes down swinging his mighty ax.
Mrs's hydra kills a PK.
Turn 2: Pks move to high ground, surround Raelin, and wait for the hydra onslaught.
Mrs had OM on Torin, so loses turn.
Turn 3: Move another squad of PKs from start zone to high ground.
Mrs F uses Zettians to fire on a PK, but Insubstantial saves him from a second demise.
Notes: I deemed it a good time to move up the PK reinforcements and offer some protection to Raelin. Luckily, I have the high ground. Mrs F is not very happy with her Zettians, but they need height to stand any chance of inflicting anything meaningful.

Round 5:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Mrs wins initiative; moves up Kelda in a bold attack(???); claims height and kills a PK.
Filthy responds by surrounding Kelda with undead knights and inflicting 2 wounds on the blue gal.
Turn 2: Kelda attacks PK but fails to kill him.
Filthy envisions a Battle of the Cheerleaders; moves Raelin up, attacks Kelda with Raelin, but fails to wound her.
Turn 3: Hydra attacks a PK, who survives the onslaught of 4 heads with the help of height and nearby Raelin.
Filthy uses PKs to inflict 2 wounds on the stunned hydra.
Notes: Kelda had a tailer-made spot next to the Hydra, but Mrs. F decided on a 'no guts, no glory' strike. This is going to cost her in the ensuing rounds. My PK that survived 4 attacks of 4 is a lucky ghost, indeed.

Round 6:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Filthy wins initiative; PK's attack Hydra and Kelda, but fail to wound.
Mrs. inflicts one wound on Raelin with Kelda. The cat fight ensues.
Turn 2: PKs kill Kelda and inflict one more wound on the hydra...Which is down to 1 head, coiled with rage and shame.
Mrs. loses OM, as it was on Kelda
Turn 3: Pks attack hydra, but fail to kill it.
Mrs' hydra attacks a PK, but fails to kill it as well. It has the 1-head blues now...
Notes: The odds are quickly stacking up against Mrs F. If she can keep her 1-headed hydra alive, and get some good dice rolls with the Zettians, she still has a shot.

Round 7:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Mrs wins initiative, Zettian Guards inflict 2 wounds on the beseiged Raelin. It is moments like this that influence her drafting of the Zettians.
Filthy kills the hydra with the PKs. 2 lone guards are all that stand between me and victory.
Turn 2: Mrs loses OM on Hydra.
Filthy swarms the Guards with the PKs, finishing off one.
Turn 3: Lone zettian guard attacks a PK but produces nothing tangible.
Filthy fails to finish off the lone guard.
Notes: Fortunately, the hydra is dead! Unfortunately, I have nothing left with a stronger-than-3 attack, and it will be impossible to get height on the lone zettian without Mrs F moving him first. This would be a good time for Mrs F to throw the towel in, but I know that won't happen.

Round 8:

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Filthy wins initiative, continues the attack on the last zettian. The armor is not easily pried open.
Mrs fails to kill a PK.
Turn 2: Pks go on lunch break...
Mrs kills a PK with the Zettian: 2 skulls to 1 shield, and simple math prevails.
Turn 3: 3 Pks hammer away at the guard, but they cant bypass the strong defense
Mrs kills another PK! Is there hope for her??
Notes: I can't seem to roll more than 1 skull per attack, and Mrs F can't roll less than 4 shields.

Round 9:

Spoiler Alert!

Mrs wins initiative.
Summary: Filthy moves up Raelin, but fails to kill the last guard in all 3 turns.
Similarily, the lone guard fails to kill anything.
Notes:...

Round 10:
Filthy wins initiative, finally kills the last guard with an enraged PK. The battle is over!

Hindsight:

Spoiler Alert!

Mrs F: Moving Kelda up for an attack was brave...But foolish. Mrs should have kept Kelda next to the Hydra. Torin's counterstike was pretty much negated, as I had no ranged units. Healing the hydras would have changed the last few rounds...But probably not the battle. The PKs are just too maneuverable with stealth flying.

Filthy: The PKs are a strong force, and Raelin really gives them a boost in melee. They pretty much won the game (Sonya slept in the start zone, and the Air Elemental only moved once). Too bad Dupuis fell early, as I was really wanting to see how he would fare with an attack boost from nearby knights. I also lucked out, as Mrs F was somewhat distracted by Dancing with the Stars.

[MegaSilver]

Nice first report! The only thing I would suggest is to have more pics. They make these even more interesting.

Heh, Mrs. F may have won except for DWTS. =)

I hope you have some more come out! Do you know what map you will build next?

MegaSilver

[Filthy the Clown]

Originally Posted by MegaSilver

Nice first report! The only thing I would suggest is to have more pics. They make these even more interesting.

Heh, Mrs. F may have won except for DWTS. =)

I hope you have some more come out! Do you know what map you will build next?

MegaSilver

Hey, thanks, MegaSilver! One caveat to more pictures is that wives just Looooovveeeee when you say "waitaminute, dear...I need to take another picture before you move again." That being said, I am sure that I can sneak some more snapshots in the mix.

As for maps, Turret Rocks is becoming pretty popular in the Filthy household. I have some other MS1-MS3 creations that I will add as well.

Cheers!

[MegaSilver]

Originally Posted by Filthy the Clown

Hey, thanks, MegaSilver! One caveat to more pictures is that wives just Looooovveeeee when you say "waitaminute, dear...I need to take another picture before you move again." That being said, I am sure that I can sneak some more snapshots in the mix.

Perhaps the number of pics you took was fine?

So long you keep it up with these battle reports, it's okay with me!

MegaSilver

[Kaiser Cat]

Nice report!

[Krizo]

I love these picture reports!!!

[Takanuva]

Why did you have Sonya?

[Filthy the Clown]

Originally Posted by Takanuva

Why did you have Sonya?

Because she is 45 points of blood-sucking joy. In hindsight, I would have traded Sonya and the Air Elemental for another squad of PKs, or the Marro Warriors and a Chainfighter, or Zetacron.

And thanks, Kaiser. I would love to roll the Cat Tank with some PKs.

[Filthy the Clown]

Carnage Report - 2010-04-22

Filthy:
Torin
Guren-Oni
Stingers X2
Warden
Raelin V1
Chainfighter
535 points, 13 spaces

Anticipated Strategy: The plan is to have Stingers surround Torin and then go for height, With Gurei on the flank, as I anticipate WSG to attack up the middle. Hopefully, Evil Eye (and Raelin's aura) will keep the 10th from turning into a firing squad. Warden/Chain fighter in reserve.
Drafting Notes: We did a different version of the draft, where the winner of iniative got to choose 3 units at once. The Chainfighter was my last choice, as 1)he benefits from Guard Leadership, and 2)he might come in useful pulling 10th from height.

Doug:
Wo-So-Ga
Nagrubs X2
Theracus
Thorgrimm
10th x 3
540 points, 23 spaces

Anticipated Strategy: Get the 10th on height and try to pepper Filthy's crew with range, and hopefully not get bit by evil eye defense. Use WSG and grubs in reserve, but will probably need them to take out the cyclops and ogre.

Map: When the Levee Breaks


Round 1

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: Theracus carries Thorgrimm 7 spaces nearer to the enemy. The goal is to take a stab at Raelin.
Filthy: Torin has OM but stays put to protect Raelin (otherwise, there is a nice, juicy spot for Thorgrimm to be dropped.
OM2: Theracus carries Thorgrimm, kills one stinger from height. Thorgrimm is now engaged with Torin from height, in the start zone.
Filthy: OM on Raelin. Was planning on moving her up for a better position, but will have her stay put. Another rather wasted OM.
OM3: 10th regiment begins the climb up the nearby hill.
Filthy: Stingers fire away at Theracus and Thorgrimm; one wound dealt to Theracus.

Round 2

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: Theracus moves and attacks Stinger from height, but to no avail.
Filthy: Torin swats Thorgrimm for 2 wounds.
OM2: Thorgrimm attacks Torin, but no wounds dealt.
Filthy: Stingers move up to engage Theracus and Thorgrimm, rolls 5 for Stinger drain. 1 wound dealt to Theracus.
OM3: 10th move up to top of nearby hill.
Filthy: Stingers roll a 10 for drain. Polishes off Theracus, but fails to wound Thorgrimm, who has command of the high ground...For now.

Round 3

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
OM1: Torin kills Thorgrimm; his spirit drifts over to the sneaky snake.
Doug: OM on Thorgrimm, so no turn.
OM2: Stingers finally move up.
Doug: Moves another squad of 10th up.
OM3: Moves Gurei-0ni up on the closest hill.
Doug: Moves the 10th up, but nothing to shoot at...yet.

Round 4:

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: Moves 3rd squad of 10th. Mexican standoff ensues.
Filthy: Moves Raelin to a better vangate point.
OM2: 10th finally advance, kill 1 stinger.
Filthy: Moves Torin up.
OM3: 10th move up, put 1 wound on Raelin and 1 wound on Gurei.
Filthy: Stingers move up and fire; 3 dead redcoats.

Round 5:

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
OM1: Gurei moves up and kills a redcoat.
Doug: Redcoats make the mistake of firing on Gurei. In their defense, they utilize height and Wait Then Fire. Unfortunately, Evil Eye Defense claims 2 of them, with no wounds to Gurei.
OM2: Torin moves around the stingers, jockeying for a better position.
Doug: 10th move up and fire on a stinger, but fruitless.
OM3: Stingers kill a lone redcoat.
Doug: 10th put another wound on Gurei, and luck out with Evil Eye. 2 redcoats fire at a stinger, but fail.

Round 6

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: Redcoats Wait then fire; one falls to Evil Eye, but they manage to kill one stinger.
Filthy: Stingers move up last reinforcement; stingers from height kill 2 redcoats on the left flank.
OM2: WSG moves up with nagrub bonding.
Filthy: Warden moves from start zone, adjacent to Torin
OM3: WSG/Nagrubs move up, but still to far to engage.

Round 7

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: WSG rolls for 2 wounds on Gurei (4 skulls vs 2 shields), and rolls 18 for Coil Crush! Gurei is toast. Nagrubs move adjacent to WSG, and one moves up from start zone.
Filthy: Stingers roll 8 for drain, but attack WSG and grubs from height. Only 1 wound dealt (Thorgrimm's spirit helped WSG).
OM2: WSG sacrifices 1 grub, regains a life point; attacks Torin (6 skulls to 3 shields), and a 16 for coil crush! Scratch another hero.

Filthy: OM on Torin, no turn...
OM3: 10th fire at stingers;...But fail.
Filthy: Stingers roll 7 for drain, fail to inflict wounds on WSG.

Round 8

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
OM1: Stinger drain...4 rolled! Destroys a stinger.
Doug: WSG kills a stinger; Grub claims height and kills the last stinger, second grub fails to inflict wound on Warden.
OM2: OM on stingers, but they are finished. Up to Warden, Raelin and Chainfighter now...
Doug: WSG skips Raelin and hits Warden from height (5 skills to 1/8 shield)...No more Warden.
OM3: OM on Warden...
Doug: Redcoats move up.

Round 9

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
OM1: WSG passes on Raelin and invades start zone, killing the chainfighter. Nagrubs inflict 1 wound on Raelin.
Filthy: Raelin skewers 1 grub.
OM2: WSG cant reach Raelin on her perch...But grubs can; 2 more wounds on Raelin. She is down to 1 life.
Filthy: Raelin attacks another grub, but fails to wound.
OM3: WSG squeezes in next to Raelin, but her attack falters. Grubs fail, too.

Round 10:

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
OM1: Raelin attacks WSG; no skulls.
Doug: WSG crushes Raelin.

Game over; Doug victorious, with 2 redcoats, 4 grubs, and WSG left.

Hindsight:

Spoiler Alert!

I was racking up redcoat kills, but WSG simply destroyed me with lucky rolls and aggressive play. She seems to shine in a reserve, second attack wave capacity. I was hoping to drop her with stinger drain from height, but the dice were just not with me. I do like Evil Eye, though, as it took its toll on redcoats. Doug was happy with the win (hey, who isn't??).

[Kaiser Cat]

Originally Posted by Filthy the Clown

And thanks, Kaiser. I would love to roll the Cat Tank with some PKs.

Ah, but Cattank is indestructible. So you would not need any PKs. If he had a card it would involve a "Cattank cannot be damaged or destroyed" ability.

Edit: Someone else made a magic the gathering card of Cattank. If you google "Cattank" you should find it.


Anyway, I found Gurie-Oni as a stand alone figure for a cheap price, and that's fine since him and Sujoah are the only figures in that set I want.

[Filthy the Clown]

Carnage Report - 2010-05-24

Filthy:
Venoc Warlord
Brave Arrow
Raelin
Mohican River Tribe x2
Roman Legion x2
490 points, 17 spaces

Anticipated Strategy: The plan is to slow-roll the Romans forward, using the MRT on the flanks.
I want to send BA forward to grab a glyph, at least until the MRT/Romans can push forward to assist.


Doug:
Khosumet the Dark Lord
Anubian Wolves x2
Wolves of Badru x2
Me-Burq-Sa
Water Elemental x2
495 points, 17 spaces

Anticipated Strategy: Get the elementals in water, and then charge with the wolves.


Map: Riverbed Plateau


Map Download Link = http://www.heroscapers.com/community...o=file&id=2386
Disclaimer: I mistakenly placed the glyphs in the wrong locations.

Round 1

Spoiler Alert!

Round1
Initiative Doug
Doug: Moves up Water Elementals and MBS.

Filthy: Moves up Mittens, Romans, and Raelin.

Round 2

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug

Turn 1: Doug moves up MBS to height. Filthy moves BA towards the right-side glyph.
Turn 2: Doug moves WE into water to overlook glyph. Rising out of the river's depths, the WE waits for prey. Filthy moves MRT to waterline.

Turn 3: Doug moves Anubians to waterline. Filthy moves BA to height.

Round 3

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
Turn 1: BA takes glyph (Dagmar; Initiative +8 ); MBS grabs other glyph (Ivor, range+4), shoots at Raelin, rolls 12 for Paralyzing Stare, 1 skull to 2 shields, so no dice there.

Turn 2: MRT engage MBS, inflict 1 wound, third MRT shoots at Water Elemental.

BA activated, but stays on Glyph. Doug: Anubians roll 17 for Unleashed Fury, rush to engage BA on glyph, 1 wound inflicted on BA.
Turn 3: Filthy uses Warlord bonding to attack MBS, but MBS defends. Doug moves up Wolves of Badru and Khosumet.

Round 4:

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
Turn 1: MRT kills MBS and 1 Anubian, but lose BA bonding. Doug loses OM on MBS.

Turn 2: Mittens grabs range glyph, Romans move up. WE launches water baloon at BA, but misses.
Turn 3: MRT kill 1 Anubian with the assistance of the range glyph;

Anubians roll 19 for Unleashed Fury; 20 with Khosumet's bonus, so adding +8 to attack...BA devoured.

Round 5:

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
Turn 1: Doug launches another Anubian attack, killing 1 tribesman and claiming the coveted initiative glyph.

MRT respond by claiming height and killing wolf on the glyph.
Turn 2: Doug moves up Khosumet and wolves, taking temporary cover behind the protection of the wall. Raelin moves up to protect her front line charges.
Turn 3: Wolves strike back! Khosumet kills 1 MRT, and pounce claims another.

Mittens responds by killing Khosumet (3 skulls to 0 shields...).
Romans engage lone wolf, but the tough wolf-mother survives 4 attacks from determined romans.

Round 6

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
Turn 1: Mittens kills a wolf, lone wolf again survives roman onslaught!

Badru attack Mittens and Romans, but fail to kill or wound anyone.
Turn 2: Mittens kills one Badru, lone wolf finally succumbs to roman attacks. Anubians respond by attacking Mittens, but fail to kill. One Anubian grabs the initiative glyph.

Turn 3: MRT move up from start zone; Badru move up.

Round 7

Spoiler Alert!

Turn 1: Mittens kills an Anubian from height. Romans attack an Anubian, but fail, and another roman grabs the range glyph.

Doug responds with Anubians, and rolls a 20 for Unleashed Fury! Anubian on glyph risks engagement strike from roman (no hit), and rushes to attack mittens with 9 attack die.; Mittens takes 5 wounds, but manages to survive.

Turn 2: Mittens kills the offending Anubian, Romans grab initiative glyph and move up 2 legionnaires from the start zone.
Badru Wolves pounce on the smitten Mittens and remove his scaled hide from this world.

Turn 3: MRT kill 2 wolves from range. Last Badru wolf pounces on the hapless roman on the initiative glyph, killing him dead.

Round 8

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Doug
Turn 1: Anubian attacks lone Roman, but fails. Roman responds by attacking Badru, but fails; Romans bring up fresh reinforcements.
Turn 2: Last Badru kills engaged Roman. MRT respond by killing The Last of the Anubians.

Turn 3: Move WE onto water space and await the onslaught. MRT kill last wolf.

Round 9

Spoiler Alert!

Initiative Filthy
Turn 1: MRT use range glyph to snipe one Water elemental.

Final WE charges the MRT nest, but concealment saves a lucky brave (19 rolled; first time concealment has ever worked for my mohicans).
Turn 2: MRT kill the elemental, in a haze of musket smoke and war whoops.
Game over; victory laurels go to Filthy.

Hindsight:

Spoiler Alert!

Doug: That blasted river slowed my wolves down way to much. I should have kept MBS back and used his range, rather than rushing him forward to his doom.
I should have spent first rounds rushing wolves past the river, and then engaging the MRT quickly, as well as Raelin.

Filthy: The MRT and mittens performed admirably. Not sure if the romans were a wise choice on this map.
Mittens bonding was nice, but another squad of MRT, as well as Theracus, might have been a better investment.
Still, I can't complain about the outcome. I sweated out some of the Anubian rolls, but luckily there was usually only 1 near enough to attack anything.
Mittens fell, but he took a few with him (about 115 points of wolf-flesh); the scout movement bonus paid off as well.

[Filthy the Clown]

Florida Frenzy 4.5 Battle Report
Location: Orlando, FL

To recap, the tournament consisted of 470 points, with any ONE 100 point hero getting 1 extra defense die, Marvel allowed, and SoS hits for any ability used with bonding.

Army:
I have been wanting to use the Horned Skull Brutes/Goblin Cutters, so I set about play testing a variety different combinations. I also wanted to bring a ranged special attack along in the event of rats or opposing special attackers, so Heirloom fit the bill nicely at 90 points; plus, Force Orb special attack can target any figures that cluster around a cheerleader (such as Captain America, who was sure to make an appearance).

Total build:

Brutes x 3 225
Cutters x3 150
Heirloom 90
22 spaces, 465 points

Game 1
VS Dave (GGGgames)
Map Round the Outside by Killometer


Dave was running a Marvel hodge-podge with some firepower to boot: Captain America, Stingers x 2, Agent Carr (taking advantage of the +1 Defense boost), and Guilty. Of all the Marvel heroes, I feared the old Soldier the most, as his Shield Toss denies the Cutters' Scurry, and it can also punch through the defense of the Brutes. Unfortunately, there were at leaset 3 builds in the tourney featuring the Captain (more on that later). Dave and I squared off, with him leading off with Stingers and the Captain. I moved up Heirloom to grab a treasure glyph via Mage Hand (it was an attack glyph), and followed up with a Force Orb attack on a Captain cluster...Resulting in a couple of dead stingers. The Cutters moved out next, as Dave seemed to be intent on moving up his malicious Marro. I ended up trading 3 Cutters for 3 Stingers, moving up more Cutters in the process via Scurry.

I started moving up Brutes to mix it up with the Cutters, while Dave started dumping OMs on his Captain, taking out more Cutters and a Brute in the process. Heirloom finally dented the Captain with Force Orb, suffering a wound immediately afterwards. Counter Strike took its toll on my Brutes and Cutters, but I was finally able to finish off the Captain in Round 5. The Brutes were then able to weather some attacks from Carr, close and kill him, and then take out Guilty soon afterwards.

In the end, I was left with a squad of Cutters, 2 squads of Brutes, and a wounded Heirloom. As for the Captain, Counter Strike is TOUGH with any melee build. The Brutes have fair odds of avoiding Counter Strike with an unmodified attack; however, grabbing height is almost a necessity.

1-0


Game 2
VS Rennix
Map: Forgery by Game Bear


Rennix fielded a Special Attack-laden build: Q10, Cyprien, Sonya, and Kaemon Awa. Not a good army for the Brutes/Cutters duo, but the map featured plenty of road tiles and line of sight blockers which I used to advantage. Rennix won initiative (a recurring theme throughout the tourney; I think I won initiative maybe 5 times in all of my games) and moved up Cyprien to snatch a T glyph (disengage), while I moved out Heirloom and some Cutters to grab the remaining Glyph (Wind glyph--a great counter to Cyprien/Sonya, although Cyprien's new glyph helped to offset it a bit). I dumped OM 3 on Heirloom and managed to take out a lonely Sonya with a 3 skull Force Orb, definitely the start that I wanted!

I spent a few more OMs on the Cutters, taking advantage of their mobility to tie down Q10 and Cyprien as much as possible while I moved Heirloom and the Brutes; Cyprien got a few wounds from Cutters on height, but he quickly whittled down the damage with some tasty Goblin snack packs. Kaemon and Q10 punched some wounds into Heirloom, while I slowly moved up Brutes with Barge into Battle. The lava claimed my Goblin on the wind glyph, but luckily it also pushed a wound on the height-hunkered Q10. The big soulborg had a few more shots before falling, and I was able to lock Kaemon down with adjacent Cutters (and enticing Cyprien to stay put) until I could barge in with more Brutes.

On Round 7, I was able to take down Cyprien, and then take out Kaemon with a lucky Brute squad bashing. I lost all but 1 Cutter(they worked nicely as ugly rats, actually) a squad of Brutes, and Heirloom ended up with 3 wounds (he MIGHT have died this game; my notes are a bit hazy due to some friendly bantering and insult swapping), so Rennix extracted a pound of flesh and put up a fight over every hex of terrain (although, Kaemon flickered out like a chump ).

2-0

At this point, I was feeling good about the Brute/Cutter combo combined with Heirloom (who earned his points every game), as I faced two skilled opponents and managed to squeeze out victories against some tough builds.

Game 3
VS Mr Wookie
Map: Division by Kaiser Cat


MrWookie was sporting a husky build comprised of Venom, Zetacron, Stingers, Isamu, and an Iron Golem (adding +1 D to an already potent defense; in retrospect, I am a bit sketchy in regards to the points total of this build?). With a small map, there was sure to be carnage, so the plan was to move up Heirloom, snag a glyph and then attempt to bomb his start zone with explosive orbs. Unfortunately, Wookie must have been predicting this, because he loaded up OMs on Zetacron and sniped the warforged to dust within the first 2 turns.

I won initiative on Round 2, and moved up my Cutters, who were able to swarm Zeta and take him out with Mob Attack, leaving Wookie with no OMs for the remainder of the round (thanks, Wookie, for revealing your dead OMs ). I charged my goblins into his start zone, taking out 3 stingers in the process. Things were looking good for the Brute Squad! On the next round, Wookie tagged 2 cutters (Scurry denied him the opportunity to take out more than 1 a turn), while the cutter swarm landed 2 quick wounds on the stationary Golem...Things were looking even better, as I had Wookie's start zone flooded, allowing me some time to move up my Brutes for the kill.

At this stage in the game, lady luck left my side and swarmed to Wookie's waiting arms...In the form of a Marvel hero. Venom proceeded to dismantle my army, checking the Cutter tide, swinging in to crush lone Brutes (or web attack those that were adjacent to a Cutter), and avoiding death again and again. I was eventually able to land 4 wounds on the maniacal web slinger, but the 5th wound would just not come to fruition. My last Brute fell, and my final cutters, out of reach of Venom, made a desparate attempt to drop that final wound on the Golem in order to at least gain the kill points. However, Wookie's dice proved too resilient, and Venom swooped in to crush my last hope.

Nice win, Wookie, and way to keep your cool and rally for the victory.

2-1

Game 4
VS Randomskyfears
Map: Forgotten Highway by Retlaw


After saying a quick prayer to the dice gods, and taking a much needed margarita break, I squared off against Randomskyfears; both of us were 2 - 1, and a win was going to send one of us into the play-offs. Randomsky was sporting another nasty, Captain-backed build that had me mopping off sweat from my troubled brow: Captain America, Stingers x3, Marro Warriors (affectionately dubbed smurfs, due to their cool, blue paint job), and Marcu. Randomsky wasted no time in moving up captain-backed stingers, while I decided to take my chances with the Captain's shield and move up some cutters, losing 1 in the process. I started picking off some stingers with lone cutter charges, and then moved Brutes up, taking advantage of the jungle trees as much as possible. However, Randomsky was not having it, and he unleashed the Captain with a vengeance, easily killing 2 - 3 figures with each shield toss. The dice gods left the building, and my Brutes could not roll skulls (or shields) to save their lives. Luckily, Heirloom was able to force orb a couple of stingers and put some wounds on the captain before eventually succumbing to stinger blasts. When the dust cleared, the captain and 5 stingers lay dead...Along with the rest of my tattered army.

I would like to blame the loss on the dice, but great play on Random's part, mixed with some of my own mistakes, earned a telling victory for him. Afterwards, we discussed how leading off with Heirloom would have been a better move. Randomskyfears went on to win the tournament (and the $50 grand prize; see? The game does indeed pay! with a 5-1 record (if I am correct, the only loss involved losing Captain A to a dust-dealing Red Skull), using his Marro Warriors to pick away at Wookie's Golem and Marcu, Guevara-style, in an exciting final that had the crowd gasping and cheering.

Great game and tournament win, Randomsky!

2-2

Game 5
Pete (GGGames)
Map: Division by Kaiser Cat


Like myself, Pete was thirsty for a final win, and he definitely had the army and skill to do it: Thanos, Morsbane, and Isamu. Pete had wielded Morsbane to great effect in earlier games; luckily, my squad-heavy army did not fear his negation attempts (although he did end up negating Heirloom). As strong as Thanos is, the Brutes/Goblins offer some protection to his potent attacks: since he only wields a normal attack, slicing through cutters keeps a steady supply of their numbers moving up via Scurry; Brutes can also surround the marvel baddie, swapping out cutters for any damage received.

On to the game: Pete flew up Thanos to grab a healing potion, while Heirloom tripped the trap, taking a wound, and stood helplessly by while Thanos smacked him for 2 more wounds. I quickly swarmed the big T with cutters; Pete took 4 leaving engagements, resulting in 3 quick wounds. However, his healing potion was put to good use. I kept a steady supply of cutters engaged to Thanos and was then able to sneak a couple of the speedy goblins into his start zone to start picking away at Morsbane. As Thanos blasted away cutters one at a time, I started moving up Brutes via Barge, whittling away at Thanos while I also juggled OMs on his start zone.

With Thanos tied up, I was able to move up Hierloom via the road and start force orbing Morsbane, causing Isamu to vanish in the process. Pete responded by dumping some OMs on his other units. Luckily, Heirloom weathered an attack from the little red ninja, granting him the gift of death the next turn. The dice gods finally returned to my Brutes, and I was able to take out Thanos, leaving Pete with a 4 life Morsbane, who killed an adjacent cutter and negated Heirloom. I cornered the elf with Heirloom, and there were 3 breathless turns as Pete rolled for Rejected by Death (which he hit in earlier games) while my OM-laced Brutes scrambled to reach out and crush the elf. Fortunately, I was able to eradicate the elf before he could summon Thanos, and I readily claimed the win. Pete played a great game, destroying 8 cutters and a brute in the process (without expendable rabble, Pete would have given my brutes a woodshed beating).

Fun game, Pete!

3-2

I ended up in 5th place, winning a D3 booster (Heroes of Fallcrest); I won another booster for having the strongest SoS (Icewind Scourge...Hello MoTH and Ice Troll, yeah!), and I received a final booster for travelling the farthest distance(435 miles, and D2- Ogre and Goblins, finally grabbing a fourth squad of Cutters).

Aftermath:
What I learned about the Brutes/Cutters -

I am not going to lie: for me, playing this duo was mentally taxing over the course of 5 games, as one has to be constantly aware of Cutter/Brute placement. Mistakes are always harmful, but they seem to get amplified in a Brute/Cutter army. That being said, the Brute squad is definitely a powerful build; true, it fears multi-special attackers, but when coupled with a strong hero, it gets a nice insurance policy (although the captain will always give shivers, to be sure). As for the Cutter/Brute ratio, I condone the fielding of at least 3 squads of brutes, as their numbers will allow you to weather some bad rolls when Expendable Rabble cannot be used. Still, the 2-brute squad/4 cutter squad mix (coupled with someone like Kaemon or the hydra) would have given me much better chances of wounding beefy marvel heroes, negating the Captain's Counter Strike, and helping to level out the bad dice rolls in general.

Regardless, it was a fun day of gaming with an excellent group, and it was great seeing some seldom-used units in play (Pelloth/Drow, Roman Archers, Seige, and even the Red Skull).