Before you see the pairings, here is the modus again:

Every Warband is paired aginst one other. After one weak voting (end saturday the 24th) the winner warbands ared paired together as well as the looser ones! If you loose two games you're out. EVERY one can vote for himself (better then abstain) so no one knows, who the warband owner is (other then me). If you're voting for yourself I subtract your vote at the end.

The Pairing is grouped by numbers and letters. SO Pairing 1.) is A vs. B, pairing 2.) is C vs. D and so on.

So I wish every one good luck and the best one should win.

The Pairings:

1.)
A.)
Ulmo Lightbringer
Young Master
Githzerai Monk
Ember, Human Monk
Standardbearer
Sun Soul Initiate
Timber Wolf
Aasimar Fighter

Map: King's Road

Basically, it plays like a (much) more fragile version of the multi-gith monk band. You should try really, really hard to get Ulmo in base contact with a flanker vs. the opponent’s Category 1 piece, unless that piece is immune to sneak attacks and/or stuns. Ulmo with a flanker should be able to very easily kill most pieces in that point/hit point category.
He has evade damage for Mordenkainen and Red Wizard bands, which should also be helpful. Use the standardbearer to negate hostile commander effects and to help protect the young master if necessary.
For a map, I recommend king’s road, to take advantage of Ulmo’s high AC and attack bonuses.
Incidentally I think you have a problem in this format as archmage bands should easily, easily dominate it. I made my band without the archmage in it in the hopes that you would ban the AM, as otherwise the format is quite screwy.

vs.

B.)
Phoelarch
Bonded Fire summoner x2
Adventuring Wizard
Halfling Slinger
Devis

Map: Dragondown Grotto

Tactics: Basically to protect the soft core with a screen of elementals while hoping to prevent the opponent to mass its forces and clear the screen fast. Prevent the spellcasters from being based at all cost, even if it means occupying every adjacent square. The ranged attacks of the spellcasters should allow them to reach out and touch opponents stuck at clearing elementals away. Phoelarch, Bonded Fire Summoners and Adventuring Wizard together generates 65 pts. worth of autodamage a round as long as they are not based. Generally, the attacks of the elementals should be used for anything they can reasonably hit while the autodamage spells should primarily be reserved for what the elementals can not hit. Small fire elementals might be used for vp-grabbing while the Halfling Slinger might be used to take out enemy vp-grabbers. Bigby's should, if appropriate, be used while there are still elementals left alive to benefit and if their attacks could make a difference. Else might be better to save it for later when the Phoelarch might be forced into melee. Generally, what's summoned depends on the opposition but the main options would be small fire elementals, medium fire elementals or medium earth elemental for its burrow and cleave. As for map choice I really don't know. I have not had time to test this band and I am not very familiar with the maps. As I made the band primarily for fun I did not think it mattered that much either. I believe however I've heard Dragondown Grotto be suggested as appropriate for the Bonded Fire Summoners. And I figure it might be as good a choice as any other map at least.

Special move: (Yeah, "special move", right ; )) There will come a time when thou must leave the trenches and charge the enemy. You shall know the moment when it arrives. Then you shalt unleash the fiery ray of the Phoelarch and charge unto the evildoers, to put the fear of god into their midst. You shalt then have your wizard use his powerful magic to release the bonds with which the Phoelarch is bound to this world, thus releasing his fiery spirit to cleanse them evil wretches for good. Hopefully a sacrificial move with the Phoelarch could surprise an opponent. With empowered magic missile doing 15 damage, the Phoelarch must however both have made the moral save and be down to 15 or less HP for the trick to work, as well as having access to a juicy target, so its impact should be marginal at best. Actually it would have been preferrable, had it been possible, to use Bigby's at the Phoelarch. I mean, 60 points is expensive, however, the look on the face of the opponent when you declare the use of Bigby's on the Phoelarch surrounded by his units and he realizes that he's situation however elect not to use the AOO's provided by the Bigby's. Still, should the opponent not be aware of this, while one for some reason would think gaining an advantage due to such a lack of knowledge problematic, it might be worth a try : )

I decided I wanted to make a warband with the Phoelarch, this the most despised of figures, and then worked my way onwards. The "strengh" of this piece, if that's the right word for it, seemed to be it's unlimited scorching rays. To utilize this strength it needs time. Enter the Bonded Fire Summoner to hopefully buy this time with a screen of elementals. Since I for some reason presumed the death burst of the Phoelarch to have range 4, positioning the Phoelarch among friendlies suggested fire resistant or immune figures, to avoid having them blown away by their good buddy. The Bonded Fire Summoner seemed to fit this bill as well. With such a great focus on elemental damage, Devis seemed a reasonable choice, to cancel out any Couatl and more generally maybe cause the opponent to go to great lengths to eliminate a 6 pts piece. The Halfling slinger added some ranged reach and also filled the category 2 slot. Finally, the Adventuring Wizard was added. The cone of fire is to discourage the opposition from going all in to clear the screen as fast as possible, and to hopefully punish them if they do.


2.)
C.)
Archmage
Warforged Barbarian
Inspiring Marshal
Healer
2x Xeph Warrior
Gnome Recruit
Gnome Recruit  

Map: King's Road

Strategy: The archmage snipes at enemy units from a distance, and tries to put his Mordenkainen's sword spells on key enemy pieces (most likely category 1 and 2 minis, and/or enemy commanders). It makes use of the forest as cover, allowing it to slip away if engaged in melee without suffering attacks of opportunity. Because the warforged has DR, if you are deciding between two enemy fighting units, remember that an enemy that does magic damage is a slightly greater threat than one that does an equivalent amount of nonmagic damage.  

The warforged barbarian is the warband's primary hitter, and should be able to hold its own against most adversaries; his bloody rage coupled with the Mordenkainen's sword spells should help take down enemies even faster.  

The healer's main job is to keep the barbarian up to snuff, and the archmage as well if badly injured. Keeping her in cover in the forest also adds to her longevity.  

The xephs can be used as first turn tile grabbers, or as a fast-moving screen against powerful enemy ranged attackers like the arcane ballista or an enemy archmage. The slower gnome recruits are primarily there for activations, though they can also be used as blockers or to hold a victory area after the first turn.  

The inspiring marshal is included mainly for his grant move action ability, of course, to get the archmage and warforged into a good striking position, or to bail either out if they get overwhelmed. With the presence of the cover-providing forest, you will more likely be using him to help position the archmage to put the swords on the enemy you want, or to bring the warforged up to point blank range to take a full attack on a target. 

Do not sacrifice xephs or gnome recruits unless there is a good reason to do so; having an edge on activations helps the archmage move last, to position himself, get off a couple swords (with quick cast), then hopefully move the next turn before your enemy can respond.

When considering your adversary, keep these points in mind:  

1. Category 1 enemies are juicy targets, because they have relatively low hit points for their cost, and make good units to put Mord's swords on.  

I estimate the most dangerous category 1 units you may see are:  

Vampire aristocrat - beware his ability to slay an enemy outright if you fail a morale save in his presence. Consider double-swording him to take him out fast.  

Sword archon - this guy may be used with fearless units like sacred watchers, justice archons, and warforged bodyguards. He's also an excellent target for double swording because the bodyguards cannot absorb that damage, and with only 70 hit points he can die quickly.  

Archmage - a mirror match may be tough, and will depend on your piloting skills versus your opponent. The healer is important because she can keep a unit such as the Warforged alive a round or two longer with her healing spells. Your sword targets will depend on what your opponent is using as a category 2 beater. If your opponent has healers, they are also good targets to take out quickly if an opportunity presents itself.  

Other possible category 1 targets: ravenous vampire (should be easy to kill), phoelarch (also not too tough), medusa (very few hit points--an easy target), red wizard (beware his spells, engage and damage as quick as you can, as he is extremely fragile), Mordenkainen (may be an okay mini with screeners; base him in the open if you can, and maybe put a sword or two on him), Ulmo (annoying bugger; swords work good, as does picking off flankers to avoid the sneak attack), death knight (nasty attack; hit him with ranged spells to soften him up), Artemis (not too tough), mounted paladin (hit with swords and kill quick), Elminster (probably not much offensive fighters in this band; base and hack quickly), and the ghaele eladrin (good ranged attack and good heal; use swords and base quickly).   

2. Category 2 creatures - there are a lot of solid possibilities in this category. Your warforged barbarian should be as tough as any of them, however.  

3. Category 3 creatures - this is most likely tech like Aramil; most of it should be routable by an empowered magic missile, though it is likely you will want to focus on bigger targets if available. 

4. Category 4 creatures - fodder; generally not worth your time to pit your primary creatures against these guys. Use your xephs and gnome recruits to keep them busy. It may be worth picking off one of these guys in the first round with the archmage to give you an edge on activations, however.

vs.

D.)
Sword Archon
Couatl
Warforged Bodyguard
2x Sacred Watcher
TimberWolf
Man at Arms

No Map and Report were send.


3.)
E.)
Mounted Paladin
Couatl
Mephling Pyromancer
Sacred Watcher
Man-at-arms x2

Map: Drow Outpost

Tactics:
Pyro casts flight on Paladin. He then uses the rest of his spells to eliminate the opponents. Mounted Paladin uses flying Mounted Melee attack to attack, and fly back over pits if possible. Couatl cast Legions Undeniable Gravity to try and remove fliers, and sticks close to Paladin. If Paladin gets based, Couatl uses Snakes Swiftness give him attacks. Sacred Watcher goes and bothers opponents, and hopefully does a bit of damage. Men @ arms try to take out fodder, and generally get in the way.

vs.

F.)
Young master
githzerai monk
ulmo Lightbringer
aramil,adventurer 
dwarf artificer
Timber Wolf x2

Map dragon temple.

Tactics:get ulmo and the Githzerai monk flanking there major figure, finish that then move onto the next figure. If there warband is based on there commandeer, attack him first with your high speeds.


4.)
G.)
Sword Archon
Warforged Bodyguard x2
Sacred Watcher x2
Healer
Human Commoner x2

Map: Drow Outpost

(Note: Yes, this Brad Shugg's qualifier army)

Tactics: Move Sword Archon to central victory area and make sure the WFBs are basing it. Try to keep healer basing both WFBs as well. Use the SWs as harrassers and to remove key support units in opponents army. Use the Sword Archon as the main attacker and spread out all damage between the bodyguards and Archon to prevent deaths for as long as possible.

vs.

H.)
Mordenkainen
2xBlue Slaad
Orc Wardrummer
Hyena
Abyssal Maw
Orc Warrior

No report or Map were send.


5.)
I.)
Vampire Aristocrat
Orc Wardrummer
2x Red Samurai
Mounted Drow Patrol
Troglodyte
Hunting Hyena
Hyena

No report or Map were send.

vs.

J.)
Artemis Entreri
Zaky Rakshasa
Goblin Underboss
Snig the Axe
+ 3x Goblin Skirmisher
Kobold Miner
2x Goblin Blackblade

Map: Dragon Temple

vs.

L.)
Archmage
Bonded Fire Summoner
2 Small Fire Elementals (summoned)
2 Medium Fire Elementals (summoned)
Inspiring Marshal
2 Graycloak Ranger
2 Timber Wolves (minions)

Map = King’s Road

Strategy: Use Grant Move Action and Dimension Door to position the Archmage for dropping swords on the badguys. Once the swords are dropped, use Dimension Door to get out of range, then into the forest and hide, pelting whatever is visible with magic missile. Bonded Fire Summoner summons screeners/tile grabbers then hides in the forest and takes pot shots with scorching ray. Graycloaks hide in the forest and fire their bows at whatever they have Line Of Sight to. Fire Elementals and Timber Wolves crowd the shared Victory Area for Victory Points. They should be overwhelming enough to kill off any enemy fodder. If necessary, use the elementals to base Arcane Ballistas/screen the BFE/Archmage against ranged attacks/whatever else seems prudent.

Here's my take:

1. A
There are simply too many juicy targets in this band to evade the attentions of Ulmo and the Githzerai Monk.

2. C
The Sword Archon in particular is vulnerable to the swords, as is most of the rest of the band.

3. F
I've run Mounted Paladin vs. Ulmo before, to my sorrow. I agree with V above--the MP doesn't have enough hit points to contend with the pally. Even with flight, Ulmo & cohorts move fast enough to base the paladin or other key support and quickly take it down.

4. H
This is kind of a funny situation. The SA plus Warforged Bodyguards plus Sacred Watchers, etc. is actually a strong band, but it suffers when facing two bands, I think--the Archmage and this one, with multiple chaos hammers and other area spells that punish the Archon and Bodyguards for sticking close together.

5. I
The Vamp Aristocrat band will do poorly when facing any of the other fearless bands in this warband challenge, but against the Artemis band, with its indifferent commander rating, I think it'll be able to force a morale save/kill frequently enough to rake in some quick kills and win.

6. L
The only one I disagree with V on, it looks like. I agree with his points about the Bonded Fire Summoners, but I think the Archmage, if it swords a couple different enemies, can still pull ahead on points.