So we decided to pair of the new power faction against the old, with my reborn Ironborn facing the Old guard of the Night's Watch...
Okay, so I'm being overly positive given Colin "Kolco" Deane is a master of the Watch and in Clash Of Kings scenario Cotter Pyke in Veterans has a few advantages over Asha in Reavers. Still, i tned to be lucky against Colin and although my list is a bit meh, it is numerous...
MY NINE ACTIVATION LIST
Ironborn Reavers with Asha Greyjoy - The Kraken's Daughter (C)
Ironborn Reavers with Warsworn
Ironborn Reavers
Drowned Men
Drowned Men
Ironborn Bowmen
Ironborn Trappers
NCU's
Aeron Greyjoy & Erik Ironmaker
COLINS SEVEN ACTIVATION LIST
Veterans of the Watch with Cotter Pyke - Eastwatch Commander (C)
Shadow Tower Spearmen Daario Naharis - Reckless Mercenary
Coldhands - Mysterious Ally
Sworn Brothers
NCU's
Qhorin Halfhand, Aemon & Lord Varys
Colin's list was hard hitting and but at least there were no Rangers. And Cotter Pyke was bound to take it easy against fellow Ironborn...
Colin doesn't like Drowned Men but seemed happy enough with his own sparse units...
Seem to have lost a picture, but terrain wise we had two corpse piles and two Weirwoods and I won roll off to choose side with a Weirwood in it..
Colin deployed left to right with Shadow Tower Spearmen, Cotters Sworn Bros, Coldhand, Sworn Bros
I had seven units on board to Colin's four, so deployed both Drowned Men at back centrally and right, watching the nights Watch spread out, while I deployed Trappers centrally with bowmen to their rear, then Asha Reavers, basic Reavers and Warsworn Reavers last on far right. Essentially, concentrating on middle and right objectives...
Aden was busy playing our newest Warden, Elliot. This would be his second game, using FreeFolk after Colin had a demo game with him last week where he tried Baratheons...
Before we began, I pointed to the Letters zone and explained to Colin how it works...
Colin looked at me quizzically for a second, and then said "Are you doing a Ste"? While playing Aden last week, we were both in stitches as Ste was doing the same at times during his game with Colin until Colin snapped ""STEEEE, I know the rules, you don't need to explain them to me!!! I've played the game longer than you and taught you how to play it!!!"
Honestly, Aden and I were killing ourselves at the pair of them as they henpecked one another all game, but I suppose that's how it is when you've know each other for 30 odd years...
TURN 1
Anyway, Colin chose first activation, taking the Letters with Varys and weakening my bowmen. I took the Horses with Erik, gave Asha my pillage token and then and moved Asha's unit up
Quorin took the crowns and zapped the morale 8 Bowmen with a further -1 from crown. It's now a standard occurrence for me to pass the first morale check of a game...
We both moved up, Colin moving fast up middle and my left, me doing same on right but Colin held back a bit there as I was first up in Turn 2. Trappers with Bowmen behind would take centre as my right hook swung round... Or would I rush Asha down his throat????
BOARD END OF TURN 1
TACTICS BOARD END OF TURN 1
TURN 2
Yeah, leaving Swords open and Asha exposed didn't seem like a good plan. Besides, I had a cunning plan so was gonna run with it. Damphair took the Horses, influencing the Trappers who moved up and took the centre objective...
Colin spent a Varys token and shifted his Shadow Tower spearmen up...
Hmmm, my Trappers flank was now viable and enticing!!! Problem I have with plans, they are not always well thought out. I took the right objective with the Warsworn Reavers
Colin charge Coldhands into the Trappers but rolled a 1 so no re-rolls. He scored 3 hits thanks to disrupt and killed 3 men
But I passed another panic check...
Allowing me to play Ironborn Mettle and heal 3 up as Asha was close by.
We also realised the charge was misaligned so address it. I took the swords and attacked back, doing a wound although Colin didnt use the Raven Flock order
Having been influenced by Quorin who had took letters or something, Daario and the Shadow Tower spearmen were auto in but Colin still managed to roll another 1. A lot of damage ensued, but I activated the Trappers and played Raiding Call, taking 4 models from the Warsworn Reavers and moving a pillage from Asha to them to help their morale. All before killing a spearmen with my attacks, whom I weakened as well.
Colin decided to use Cotters order, taking two wounds but guaranteeing a charge that would allow him to use his cards in hand. But he still crossed the corpse pile and I have disrupt too Mr Veteran!!!
Three Wounds from the toughest, grizzliest owd buggers on the Wall...
Who did heal by Fuelled by Slaughter
Oh, and I passed my panic check again!!!
Which incensed Colin, who had Varys take the crown but played Assault orders...
And this dropped my valiant little fishermen down to three men...
Still, the used they fishes to slap Colin firmly across the chops again with another morale pass!!!
So Colin then played Pyke Aggression to do five attacks. Nice and sneaky, proper Ironborn is Cotter!!!
Still, with Disrupt I suffered one wound. Class!!!No panic from that attack. Either that's true or Colin had given upon letting me pass every time. While Colin focussed on smacking my wee Net Weavers, I'd moved Drowned Man up.
So start of turn I healed the Trappers two men, so I wouldn't kill them when I shifted and shot the Shadow Tower spearmen in the flank. Colin had saved Raven Flock and used it to make me require 5+
Six shots, with re-rolls allowed me five successful hits
This dropped two spearmen
Yeah, kinda guessed the panic check pass was a foregone conclusion.
With no one else able to attack my Trappers, the Sworn Brothers charged Asha's Reavers, killing six from melee attacks. i passed the panic and did a wound on the Swornbrothers through her stubborn Tenacity. And I retaliated by charging in the Warsworn Reavers
Easily getting in, I swung at them with Sundering and with their vulnerable token...
it didn't go down well with Colin's dice rolls...
Err, please not the unused Vulnerable token for added salt in the many, many wounds!!! Oh, and Fuelled by Slaughter healed my unit up...
before I activated Asha's Reavers, and played Bless with Stone, Bless with Steel on the depleted Brothers, healing Ash'as unit by four models (2 for each destroyed rank of enemy targetted) and a further one for Damphair's influence on a unit performing an action. I also had Asha use her vicious card just in case
I scored five hits with Sundering...
And with the vulnerable, the Sworn brothers were dead!!!
Always the party pooper, Colin declared he was expending And Now his Watch has ended which kicked in on the Veterans to attack the Trappers for the fifth time? Coldhands, Spearmen, Veteran charge, Veterans of assault orders and then Pyke aggression. Sorry, 6th attempt in one turn!!!
Well, it's fair to say they were so impressive I'm gonna finally paint my second unit!!! Alas, Colin was first next turn, although he couldn't take the centre objective!!!
BOARD AT END OF TURN 2
TACTICS BOARD AT END OF TURN 2
END OF TURN 2
HOUSE GREYJOY 3 VP's (1 unit for 2, 1 objective)
NIGHTS WATCH 2 VP's (1 unit for 2)
TURN 3... What to do???
Unexpectedly, Coldhands charged the Bowmen and, err, rolled a one. With no re-rolls, only 3 wounds were suffered...
So that meant panic check and another chance to annoy Colin with some superb dice rolls...
Which allowed me to play Raider Bravery on them. I took the Swords with Erik and gave Asha a pillage to max the pillage tokens. Oh, and the bowmen attacked Coldhands in melee, doing two wounds.
Colin then took the Letters, so I took the horses with Damphair and influenced bowmen, who retreated away from the ghastly Elk fondler...
Daario and the Shadow Tower Spearmen flanked Asha's unit. And yes, with Watcher on the walls allowing re-rolls, Colin did roll a pair of ones...
It was a damaging attack, but I healed two up from Drowned men before rolling to retreat as my action. I got enough to get out of Cotter's charge arc. Colin was sceptical, so I let him do it and it was half an inch out. No charge this turn...
I lost a Bowman to a crown attack, failing a panic at last and also losing raider Bravery
Cotter and his Veteran moved up to flank Asha, though I was first activation next turn. I moved up Reavers off the right to support Asha as Warsworn Reavers dropped back to the objective. My Drowned Men repositioned too. The Spearmen when pivoting after Ashas retreat couldnt claim centre objective.
I activated the bowmen and shot the Spearmen in the flank. The Raven flock appeared obscuring the target
so we shot them feckers down before peppering the flank of the Spearmen again with rerolls needing 5+. Colin was genuinely impressed with my dice rolling. Honest!!! So much show he wanted to burn my dice and use me!!! Or was it use my dice and burn me???
Oh and the Spearmen failed their panic, but Colin rerolled with The Fire that Burns against the Cold.
BOARD AT END OF TURN 3
And then it dawned on me what Colin (or rather Quorin) was gonna do next turn!!!
TACTICS BOARD AT END OF TURN 3
NIGHTS WATCH 2 VP's (1 unit for 2pts)
HOUSE GREYJOY 4 VP's (1 unit for 2pts, 2 objectives)
TURN 4
Sure enough, Qhorin was Sacrificed for the Cause, meaning Asha's unit could take no actions nor activate.
and shot down more of the Shadow Tower Spearmen. A Varys token expenditure killed 3 of Asha's Reavers...
Colin used Varys on the Horses for an Assault Orders charge in to my twice healed by Drowned Men Reavers flank with the Veterans
I passed my Morale to cause a wound on the Veterans with Stubborn Tenacity
And with my boosted Morale I kept passing the panics. But with two models left, it was looking ominous!!!
Still, despite not being able to take any actions, after much discussion as I felt it was wrong but wanted to do it, so Aden the neutral who has never played Greyjoys said I could. And Colin agreed, given how many Watch cards us second line without the first... Essentially, Erik took the letters, swapped it for Asha to do an action but couldnt, but still healed 3 wounds due to Aemon on the bags. And I got a pillage token down too
So back up to five as the Veterans actually activated and attacked...
With some quality precision dice rolling, the Veterans
Cut the ranks down to just Asha, who failed both her saves. Still, What is Dead May Never Die was played by me, and needed to pass a morale check to stay alive. And what do you think happened given I'd passed so many so far???
YEAH BABY!!! Colin was well chuffed to see those wee KRAKENS roll!!!
I had a plan again, so charged in Drowned Men to the flank. Colin was perplexed but I was hoping to survive and pin them for next turn... I took three hits back, but only one wound. I also caused a wound
And Colin failed the panic check... Still, he had the Fire that Burns agaists the cold so rerolled
And failed again!!! I did laugh a little, I do admit it but at least the D3 was a 1 now so it wasn't all bad
So I traded a wound on the Drowned Men for two of these so called Veterans. Coldhands went mental and rear ended them, killing them with a failed panic!!!
I needed a wee cheer up as this was a hard turn, so the Bowmen with re-rolls shot into the Spearmen Aemon had healed and scored another five hits...
This killed a rank so they ran away (ok, so they charged the other Drowned Men doing a few wounds)
TACTICS BOARD AT END OF TURN 4
BOARD AT END OF TURN 4
With Colin going first, Asha was in a pretty pickle...
END OF TURN 4
NIGHTS WATCH 3 VP's (2 units, 1 worth 2)
GREYJOYS 5 VP's (1 unit worth 2, 3 objectives)
TURN 5
Taking the Swords, the veterans attacked and savaged the poor wee lass...
Still she is Ironborn so What is Dead May Never Die was nice again. The store echoed to Colin roaring THEY JUST WONT DIE!!! (guess he's not played Jon Snow for a while)
Oh yeah, forgot to mention she passed the panic again, played Ironborn mettle to heal 4 wounds, then I took the bags much to Colin's consternation!!!
And Erik got a token for taking the bags...
The Spearmen finished off the Drowned Men so I sent in my Reavers who'd spent five turns looking on into the Veterans flank. Coldhands flock of Doom appeared and with their own disrupt, the seven attacks needed 5+ to hit...
Aye, that's not a problem. I also have sundering and you are vulnerable and panicked due to War Cry I passed. (incidentally, my two missed attacks did drop two men)
Oh, a bad fail without the panic token re-roll??? I'll take that. And yeah, Colin was at the stage of burning my dice, his dice, me and pretty much everyone in the store!!!
Four dead to the attack...
Plus 3 dead to the panic check!!!
Well, credit to the veterans, they attacked Asha again with Cotter using Reckless Strike. Although my defence saves combined still didn't equal to all Colin charge rolls (six ones v my five).
And that was on top of two precision strikes. Only Asha left but she passed the panic (I'd gotten fed up taking pics of it now, it was just awesome). And she had survived again!!!
And caused a wound back because of Stubborn tenacity. Colin then played his second Pyke Aggression, to do another attack!!! Boo...
With FOUR precision rolls!!! I then pointed out he had to roll again as its lowest attack value... Still, he did for the Maiden Fair!!! Scoring 3 VP's in the process, and healing up six wounds as he had two lots of fuelled by slaughter.
With spearmen in the flank next turn, my Warsworn charged off the right objective and smashed Coldhands to the the ground, surging forth to threaten the Veterans flank. My Bowmen, who had moved off horses earlier, seized the left objective...
BOARD AT END OF TURN 5
Tactics Board End of Turn 5
END OF TURN 5
NIGHTS WATCH 7 VP's (4 units, 1 worth 2, 1 worth 3)
GREYJOYS 7 VP's (2 units, 1 worth 2, 4 objectives)
TURN 6
I took the swords and lashed out with Fingerdance played but only scored two hits with disrupt.
Colin took a wound but Shields of Realm of Men blocked the other...
And impressively, they failed another panic check.
I took a few wounds back due to counterstrike. Colin took the horses and retreated the Veterans across to the right objective as the Warsworn Reavers were looking eager. I moved them onto the centre objective as had no other options really, and turned to face the veterans
Colin activated Coldhands who had came on start of round behind my archers, charging them in the rear and using the Sword in the Darkness for an extra attack. He killed 8 in total with panic check failure. I then activated and moved off the objective
Having healed up with Aemon and with me moving my Reavers away from them, Colin looked to charge my unit on the centre objective with his Veterans... I waited with baited breathe but you don't have to, as you can see what he rolled in the dice tray. Another 1. I passed with my NCU as Varys had a token still...
The Spearmen took the right objective.
The bowmen faced their nemesis...
TABLE AT END OF TURN 6 (& GAME)
HOUSE GREYJOY 9 VP's
(6 objectives. 2 units, one worth 2)
NIGHTS WATCH 8 VP's
(1 objective, 4 units, one worth 2, one worth 3)
Well I have to say that was an incredible game. A relatively poor Greyjoy list led by a mediocre commander (I mean me) came out on top against the elite Watch commanded by the 7th ranked UK player (he's 9th now mind). That's him on the left, still cursing dice and his Turn 6 errors. Aden on the right concentrating on cranking up the handle on my old camera...
Turn 6: Colin didn't use a Pass action and should have delayed Coldhands charged to contest the objective, and he should have used Cotters order to auto roll a six to hit my Warsworn unit. Hindsight, but the game was one of sheer frustration as my healing was great and my dice even better.
I always talk about luck, and you can see why in the report above. I didn't deserve to win that game. The Watch and Colin are better than Greyjoys and me. But my panic checks were amazing and Colin failed three with his veterans. Seven rolls of 1's on charges for him. Not only can I roll well, my Jedi powers make my opponent roll badly. You will never find a more wretched example of luck and spawniness than watching me play that game tonight. (Aden loved it) And despite all that being said and done, I won by one point and really shouldn't have. Colin rarely makes mistakes, but it was a long day and well, my Trappers and Asha simply lasted far longer than they should have. Apart from picking up dice, he didnt make any that stand out until turn 6. And despite the dice, I could tell he really enjoyed the game too, which is what its all about. A classic match. And I'm really enjoying the new pillage mechanic and the Reavers sundering and furious charge is pretty darn good. Anyway, that's my luck spent up for the year...
Oh, and Elliott only went and splurged on Martells. Tune in next weekend for his first game with them against me with my Greyjoys.
OTHER UK EVENTS
Northampton
Dates as above
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023
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THE RECONQUEST OF SWIND - DORNE
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
ATOMC GAMES
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Factorum Warminster
Join us for 3 fun-filled games of A Song of Ice & Fire in one of our casual tournaments. If you are new to the game, or just wanna pop along and roll some dice, then this is the event for you.
Tickets are only £7.50
WARMINSTER
16th September
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Lords of War Team Tournament
Morton Park Way, Darlington, UK
Sat Nov 11 2023
MORE INFO
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COVENTRY GT
11/12th NOVEMBER
Centre AT7, Bell Green Road, Coventry UK
TICKET LINK
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ENTOYMENT GAMES
A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE TOURNAMENT
SUNDAY 10th SEPTEMBER in POOLE
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You can find a joint rules pack – including information on how to purchase a ticket - for the events here:
THE LONDON GRAND TOURNAMENT
Saturday 30th September & Sunday 1st October
Paul Winter has taken over running this event and its the biggest one!!!
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LEODIS GAMES
26th NOVEMBER
BATTLE IN THE CRIMSON SNOW
TICKET LINK TO FOLLOW
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RIBBLE RUMBLE
(SOLD OUT)
Reserve list in place if interested...
ELEMENT GAMES, STOCKPORT
DECEMBER 2nd/3rd 2023
3 Games Saturday, 2 Sunday 2.25hrs each game. Nice chilled lists appreciated, newcomers welcome.
THE WELSH GT 2024
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