On Saturday 1st April, Rhys, Will and first time competitor Hannah attended the second ever Element Legends Warhammer Underworlds tournament held at Element Games in Stockport. The Nemesis-format tournament was attended by a respectable 24 people, featuring players with many different warbands and levels of experience. The quality of painting was also exceptionally high, with Rhys’ Crimson Court facing off against a dozen other stunning collections in the Best Warband competition.
By the end of the five round tournament, Richard Wilkinson emerged as the champion with his exceptional Kunnin’ Krew/Illusory Might warband. The Gorechosen of Dromm by Jay won Best Warband with a highly detailed and visceral paintjob. Hannah, who was entering her first ever tournament, was awarded the Element Legends Most Valuable Player award for her excellent conduct and admirable enthusiasm, along with £20 in store vouchers.
Thanks go to Jamie Eden for hosting another smooth and enjoyable tournament, Element Games for providing the venue along with excellent staff service during games and generous prize pool, and to every player faced during the day for their enthusiastic and engaging conduct. This was not one to forget.
Starting with Rhys who, while was not able to improve on his win/loss record, did manage to grab a lot more glory points than the previous tournament and improve his ranking. Fielding his beautifully painted Crimson Court/Tooth and Claw warband, Rhys put up a good showing against some incredibly dangerous opponents, including two top 5 finishing warbands:
Game 1:
Win 17-10 vs. Gorechosen of Dromm. This beginning matchup shows how much Rhys has improved as a tactical player. By applying Move Counters to his opponent’s fighters so they cannot declare Charges, Rhys was able to dismantle their ability to do damage! A great opening bout.
Game 2:
Win 16-13 vs. Kainan’s Reapers. A deadly opponent who could one-shot any of Rhys’ fighters once Inspired, it came down to a single die roll. A lucky win.
Game 3:
Loss 9-15 vs. The Exiled Dead. The tournament showed that this warband is a serious contender for the meta pick, as two Exiled Dead fighters made it to 2nd and 3rd place overall! A good learning experience for Rhys.
Game 4:
Loss 13-13 vs. Myari’s Purifiers. This was apparently the most tense game of the tournament for Rhys, who just managed to tie on glory points but lost overall due to objective tokens held. Who knows how another game might go?
Game 5:
Loss 9-12 vs. The Gnarlspirit Pack, piloted by the champion of the previous tournament! So while it was a loss to end the day, there was lots to learn from a highly skilled player who valiantly represented their favourite warband even after it got nerfed. Kudos!
Overall rank: 14th
Moving on to Will, who had a real wake-up call in terms of deckbuilding and being cautious, brought his trusty Hrothgorn’s Mantrappers warband, this time (regrettably) paired with the new Beastbound Assault universal Rivals deck. This deck provides some very powerful cards to warbands who synergise with it, but bad draws and suboptimal play can leave you with little room for powerful strategies.
Game 1:
Win 12-8 vs. Rippa’s Snarlfangs, an excellent opponent who came 6th overall. The game started out looking bleak for the Mantrappers, but persevering to the end and some useful manoeuvring yielded the last few Glory required to win.
Game 2:
Loss 10-18 vs. The Exiled Dead. As stated above, this warband is extremely good now, and was piloted by the overall 2nd place competitor! They also happened to be a lovely person to talk to, and very informative about the ways to play against The Exiled Dead.
Game 3:
Loss 1-11 vs. The Wurmspat. This is where it all came crashing down. Bad luck with card draws, bad luck with dice rolls, and bad choices with attackers led to a thankfully swift massacre against a very friendly and sympathetic opponent.
Game 4:
Win 10-7 vs. Drepur’s Wraithcreepers, piloted by a very interesting man who has been playing since the game’s creation. A nice tactical and entertaining game, with plenty of music-themed banter afterwards.
Game 5:
Loss 6-12 vs. Kainan’s Reapers. By far the most fun game, including once turn where the opponent rolled 9 dice for an attack! In a game where you’re only provided with 5! Suffice to say, it was full of hilarious shenanigans, and an appropriately fun way to end the day.
Overall rank: 19th
And finally, we have Hannah. What can be said about Hannah that hasn’t bee said? She conducted herself amazingly, was friendly and approachable with everyone, and did herself proud with her Crimson Court Rivals deck. A true credit to the Dice & Bolter Tabletop Gaming Club, thank you Hannah for coming along to the tournament and for putting up with Rhys and Will’s relentless theory crafting on the way home.
Game 1:
Loss 6-6 vs. Drepur’s Wraithcreepers. While the game was lost on objectives, Hannah put a good effort into her first ever tournament game!
Game 2:
Loss 6-16 vs. The Exiled Dead, I’m sure no-one is surprised at this point how this game went. Credit to Hannah for putting up a good front against a highly competitive warband.
Game 3:
Win 14-14 vs. Gorechosen of Dromm. This is another game where perseverance and playing till the end really paid off, as Hannah won her first ever tournament game! The last round of glory points allowed her to tie and hold more objectives, leading to a well deserved victory.
Game 4:
Loss 4-11 vs. Gorechosen of Dromm, who Hannah would unfortunately face again in the final round! Can she take this experience and use it in the last round?
Game 5:
Loss 7-8 vs. Gorechosen of Dromm. Unfortunately, that single extra point led to a very close defeat, but now Hannah is primed to defeat any Gorechosen player she ever faces (looking at you Paul!)
Overall rank: 23rd
In conclusion, the day was filled with fantastic finishes, crushing defeats, and a constant stream of good times and friendly chuckles with the other players. Once again, thanks go to everyone at the tournament for a creating a great atmosphere.
On a closing remark, interest was expressed by many players we talked to about the concept of hosting a tournament in Kendal in the future (apparently they want to leave concrete jungle Stockport and come up to Lakes gateway Kendal for a weekend, not sure why…) While the logistics of this can be discussed with the D&B committee, it could only happen if we had enough enthusiasm from the players in the club. So please, if you’re reading this and you think that sounds like a good idea, bring your warbands to Thursday sessions and home your skills in the Underworlds!
Written by Will Thwaites. Photos from the Element Games Warhammer Underworlds Facebook page.
Dice and Bolter 