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Thursday 27 November 2014

Australian Masters 2014 List Analysis (p2)

This is a continuation of yesterdays post about the Australian Masters lists. If you haven't seen the run down of the first half of the lists you can check it out here.

So onto the second half:

Mick Ferraro – High Elves - 10.7
Prince, heavy armour, Giant Blade, Shield of Merwyrm 221
Archmage, Level 4, High Magic, Dispel Scroll, Khaines Ring of Fury, Talisman of Presveration, 315
Noble, shield, BSB, Armour of Destiny 147
20 Archers, Musician, Champion 220
13 Archers, Musician 140
5 Reavers, Bows 95
6 Silverhelms, shields, Musician 148
15 White Lions, Full Command, Banner of the World Dragon 275
23 Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Razor Standard 420
Bolt Thrower 70
Bolt Thrower 70
Eagle 50
Flamespyre Phoenix 225

Basically this is a fairly typical High Elf list. On paper it doesn't look ridiculously strong, but all the units work together pretty well, and it has a presence in all phases of the game. While not dominating any one phase, if played well this list will be pretty dangerous and chip away at people all game before mopping up in the latter phases. 

For me this list is what Marc Hurwitz wanted to write, he just didn't quite get there. His Pheonix Guard (and all three characters) are going to permanently have a 3+ ward, and the presence of the Giant Blade wielding Prince adds much needed damage output to the army.The High mage adds excellent flexibility of spells which will help in all match ups, and the resilience of the White Lions with the Banner of the World Dragon will mean they should get to combat with decent numbers despite their small starting size. 


Nathan Goodchild - Orcs and Goblins 11.7
Orc Shaman, level 4, earthing rod, Obsidian Lodestone 270
Nigh Goblin Big Boss, BSB 55
Goblin Shaman, Dispel Scroll 80
Night Goblin Boss, Great Weapon 34
Night Goblin Boss, Great Weapon 34
Night Goblin Boss, Great Weapon 34
38 Night Goblins, full command, Nets, Shortbows, 2 Fanatics 239
39 Night Goblins, Nets, 2 Fanatics, Shortbows, full command 242
5 Wolf Riders, Standard, Muso, Shields, Spears 80
5 Wolf Riders, Standard, Muso, Shields, Spears 80
18 Black Orcs, Standard, Muso, Banner of Discipline 251
Wolf Chariot 50
Wolf Chariot 50
Wolf Chariot 50
Boar Chariot 85
Boar Chariot 85
Boar Chariot 85
Spear Chukka 35
Spear Chukka 35
Rock Lobba 85
Doom Diver 80
Doom Diver 80
Mangler 65
Mangler 65
Pump Wagon, Spiky Roller, Giant Exploding Spores 75
Pump Wagon, Spiky Roller, Giant Exploding Spores 75

There is a lot going on in this list. 17 deployment drops worth of stuff even. This is a list of potential, at its best it will have high shooting and magic damage output, be able to chaff up opponents all game and finish things off by running them over with chariots. With a LD 8 general and 17 "small" units that can cause panic tests though things could get a bit interesting in the opponents shooting and magic phases. The good news is that the General and BSB can hang out in the immune to psychology black orcs, but that isn't going to help the rest of the army. Obsidion Lodestone is a good choice on the mage lord, but probably isn't going to be enough to stop the BSB getting sniped off, however the lack of death magic in the field will help considerably.

A pretty luck dependant army that still needs to be played well. If the good games occur while Nathan is using the list he could go far in the tournament, but you never know how it will go with a list like this.


Nick Gentile – High Elves - 8.1
Prince, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Dragonhelm, Dragon Armour, Barded Steed, Shield 285
Archmage, Lvl 4 Metal, Book of Ashur 290
Noble, Battle Standard, Ogre Blade, Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield, Luckstone, Barded Steed 172
12 Silver Helms, full command, Shileds 306
5 Ellyrion Reavers 80
21 Archers, musician, standard 230
21 White Lions, Full Command, Banner of the World Dragon353
6 Dragon Princes, Standard, Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame 204
Repeater Bolt Thrower 70
Repeater Bolt Thrower 70
Repeater Bolt Thrower 70
6 Sisters of Avelorn 84
6 Sisters of Avelorn 84
Eagle 50
Eagle 50

Unsurprisingly given its score of 8.1 this is one of the strongest lists in the tournament. The combat characters combine to make a pretty fearsome combat block, the White Lions offer more of the same, and the list backs these up with strong shooting and magic. What will determine the fate of this list is the way it's opponents elect to play the game. Given their boost of on average 362 victor points per game some players could elect to sit back, aim for a draw (roughly) and take their points to the bank. This is likely to help neither player, Nick has intelligently put in enough long range damage output to deter people from this strategy, as he would probably grind enough points back over 6 turns to stop his opponents winning if they employ this strategy.

Another army that will likely be strong late in the tournament, a strong sealed section from Nick could set him up for a competitive finish.

Nick Legrand - Dark Elves - 11.1
Hellebron (General), Witchbrew 310
Supreme Sorceress, Level 4, Lore of Dark Magic, Dispel Scroll, Talisman of Preservation 265
Death Hag, Battle Standard Bearer, Cauldron of Blood, Sword of Anti-Heroes, Cry of War, 345 
Master , Dark Steed, Sea Dragon Cloak, Heavy Armour, Shield, Lance, Cloak of Twilight 146
Master , Dark Steed, Sea Dragon Cloak, Heavy Armour, Charmed Shield, Lance, Dragonbane Gem 104
22 Witch Elves, Full command, Razor banner 317
9 Dark Riders, Reaper xbows, Shields, Full command 210
5 Dark Riders,Shields, 85
8 shades 128
5 harpys 75
18 Executioners, Full command 246
Reaper Bolt Thrower 70
Reaper Bolt Thrower 70

Despite a clear bias against forces of destruction in swedish comp (read the ridiculous comp on DE, Warriors and Daemons for example) Nick has written a pretty damn good list. Almost nothing in the tournament (if anything at all) will be able to take the Witch Elves with Hellbron and the Cauldron, and a lot of Nick's games will revolve around trying to get that unit into the right position. 

With a pretty low model count this list is going to be vulnerable to shooting. If Nick's opponents can take out the Bolt Throwers and shades early they'll potentially just be able to just take game control and spend the rest of the games shooting Witch Elves and executioners.

Rhys McGlinn – Warriors of Chaos -11.2
Chaos Lord, Disc of Tzeentch, Mark of Tzeentch, Ogre Blade, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation 340
Chaos Sorceror Lord, Charmed Shield, Mark of Nurgle Dragonbane Gem Lore of Death 255
Exalted Hero, BSB, Daemonic Mount (barded), Mark of Tzeentch, Great Weapon, Armour of Destiny, Scaled Skin 271
Exalted Hero, Daemonic Mount (barded), Mark of Tzeentch, Dragonhelm, Great Weapon, Talisman of Endurance 216
24 Warriors of Chaos, Mark of Nurgle (with halberds), Full Command, Halberds, Shields, Banner of Swiftness, 525
5 Chaos Warhounds, Vanguard 40
5 Chaos Warhounds, Vanguard 40
Chimera, Regenerating Flesh, 245
Chimera, Regenerating Flesh, 245
Dragon Ogre Shaggoth, Two Hand Weapons 220

Pretty similar to Chris Cousens' list with a couple of minor changes. Has opted for a bigger unit of WoC in core rather than a smaller unit and some marauders. Also elected for a shaggoth rather than a unit of skullcrushers. The biggest change is putting the lore of death on the sorcerer, which could completely change some match ups with snipes and purple sun. Has enough fast stuff to overwhelm some of the medium shooting armies, results will likely depend on how much of his army reaches the opponent intact.

Rowan Keating - Wood Elves - 12.5
Orion 600
Spellsinger, Level 2, Death, Elven Steed, Dispel Magic Scroll 150
Spellsinger, Level 2, Death, Elven Steed, Obsidian Amulet 155
Glade Captain, Battle Standard Bearer, Starfire Shafts, Elven Steed, Hail of Doom Arrow 144
10 Glade Guard, Standard Bearer, Musician, Trueflight Arrows 170
12 Glade Guard, Standard Bearer, Musician, Trueflight Arrows 200
5 Glade Riders, Musician, Hagbane Tips 120
5 Glade Riders, Musician, Hagbane Tips 120
3 Warhawk Riders 125
5 Wardancers 75
6 Sisters of the Thorn, Standard Bearer, Musician, Banner of Swiftness 191
6 Wild Riders, Standard Bearer, Musician, Shields 188
5 Waywatchers 100
Eagle 50

Orion at the national masters? I love it already. Couple of cheeky death snipers to go with it, noice! Rests of the list is pretty standard, it runs round, it shoots things, it doesn't get particularly involved in actually playing the game. This list could absolutely take apart a few of the other elf lists but quickly neutralizing shooting and then playing the avoidance game, but might struggle against some of the lists with artillery where Orion becomes a fairly obvious target. Lack of Wild Riders might stop this list breaking open games, but if Rowan can get some big scores in the sealed section this list will stand him in good stead on the second day.

Sam Morgan - Empire - 11.0
Karl Franz, Ghal Maraz, Barded warhorse 394
Captain of the Empire, BSB, Barded warhorse, White Cloak of Ulric, lance , full plate armour, shield 166
Battle Wizard, Level 2, Dispel Scroll, Lore of Death 125
Battle Wizard, Level 2, Lore of Death 100
Battle Wizard, Level 2, Lore of Death 100
12 Inner Circle Knights, champion, standard, musician, Ranger's Standard 380
13 Archers, musician, standard 111
13 Archers, musician, standard 111
4 Demigryph Knights 232
5 Reiksguard Knights, champion, musician 155
5 Reiksguard Knights, champion, musician 155
Great Cannon 120
Great Cannon 120
Celestial Hurricanum 130

A clever list with some interesting potential, I'm really not sure how this will go. Having played precisely 0 tournaments with Empire up until this point Sam won't be bringing a great deal of experience along with him, and the few times I've played empire they've been more difficult to use than I expected. The potential is there though, with up to 5 death snipes available to him per turn and a couple of cannons for Sam to pick up points from range fairly quickly.

My concern with this list is the singly Demigryph unit aside nothing here actually kills units. If some armies can avoid the Demigryph and get stuck into the Knights then Sam could find himself in a bit of trouble. Reiksguard congas will come in handy to help prevent this, and for Sam the games will be about keeping his Demigryphs in between the opponent and the rest of his army.

Yordan Petrovski - Warriors of Chaos - 10.5
Daemon Prince Mark of Slannesh Flight Chaos Armour 4 Magic Levels (Slannesh) Chaos Familiar Scaled Skin Soul Feeder Dragon bane Gem Sword of Striking Charmed Shield 520
Exalted Hero, Mark of Tez, Great Weapon,Deamonic mount, Barding, Tal of Endurance, BSB, Third Eye, Dragon Bane Helm, Iron Curse Icon 256
Exalted Hero, Mark of Slannesh, Talisman of Protection, Steed of Slannesh, Enchanted Shield, Alure of slannesh 205
24 Chaos Warriors, Mark of Tez, Shields, Muso & standard, Banner of Swiftness 443
5 Marauder Horseman, Mark of Slannesh, Throwing Axes 85
5 Marauder Horseman, Mark of Slannesh, Throwing Axes 85
8 Chaos Ogres, Great Weapons, Muso, Mark of Nurgle 370
5 Hell Striders, Hellscourges 100
4 Skull Crushers, Lances, Muso & Standard 328

Despite his perceived struggles with writing a list under Swedish comp Yordan has managed to field a pretty good list. He'll give up a few victory points each game from comp, but the character section of this list is packing serious heat. If Yordan puts on his YOLO hat and plays for an aggressive choir he could 20 any list in the field, and even if the spell fails there aren't that many units that really want to fight the DP. 

Will want to avoid the artillery lists for obvious reasons, and will have to play smart against bolt thrower lists, but if he do just that he's halfway to a good result.


So that's all the lists covered. In the next couple of days I'm probably going to look at the first round match ups and put my thoughts down on how I think they will play out. Overall I think my favorite list is Alex Trebles, although Sam Morgan and Mick Ferraro both have good all-round lists with the potential to do well.

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