Hey there Everybody,

The Limited Qualifier in Lacey, WA was held yesterday at the great game store Olympic Cards and Comics. The field was a bit smaller than I expected, at only 12, but the players were all pretty competitive. Things got started at around noon and wrapped up by about 8:30.

Here were the contents of my two boosters...

My Warband:
Marilith
Vlaakith the Lich Queen
Dragonmark Heir of Deneith
Greenspawn Sneak
Greenspawn Sneak

The Leftover Bits:
Acheron Goblin
Harmonium Guard
Red Hand War Sorcerer
Free League Ranger
Blood of Vol Cultist
Blood of Vol Cultist
Soldier of Bytopia
Ethereal Marauder
Karsite Fighter
Shadowdancer
Elf Warmage

Suffice to say, I was thrilled with my pull. I was tempted to pull the Heir for both Blood of Vol cultists, just for the synergy, but the Heir is too valuable. I went with both sneaks just to have one to blow up (with Vlaakith's fireball) while the other still grabbed tile. I went with King's Road for my map for its good sight lines and AC boosting trees.

Round 1
My opponent for the first round was playing with a Horned Devil, Maug, Storm Silverhand and some filler. Leading with the Maug ended up being bad as it died in one round to the Marilith with an electricity orb from Vlaakith. The Horned Devil chewed up the Marilith a bit, but all the damage went to the Heir. This match was over pretty quick.
My Record: 1-0

Round 2
My opponent for this round had a Pit Fiend, Mezzoloth, Hammerer, Gnoll Barbarian, Greenspawn Sneak and a Harmonium Guard. I lost map init on this one and ended up playing on Keep of Fallen Kings. With our sneaks exchanging blows in the middle, I made Vlaakith immune to fire and moved in. I used the marilith as a fireball target to catch the majority of his warband, while the Pit Fiend was stalking the top edge to come in from behind. By the time he got there, it was too late, all the fodder was gone and the Pit Fiend failed his save versus disintigration.
My Record 2-0

Round 3
More Horned Devil fun. My opponent for this round had a Horned Devil, Dwarf Sniper, Gnome Trickster, Soldier of Bytopia, and a Red Hand War Sorcerer. We played on my map and I ended up pulling off a fireball using one of my sneaks on turn 2 (after he had cast invis sphere). While the fireball did not kill much (the soldier), it did put a dent in the softer figs. The Horned Devil once again tore into the Marilith but the damage went to the Heir. Unfortunately, the Marilith failed a few stun saves, making this match last quite a few rounds. However, Vlaakith got off a good disintigrate shot, and the marilith finished things off.
My Record 3-0

Round 4
Up to this point, I had played only undefeated foes, and now there was only me and one other. Not surprisingly, my opponent also had a Marilith, but also had a Hellcat, Maug, Greenspawn Sneak, Acheron Goblin, and a Harmonium Guard. We played on the Dragon Shrine map for this one. As we danced toward the middle, I saw an opening and was able to fire off my disintigrate at her Marilith. While she made the save, the damage proved vital later when we out Marilith's clashed. After her marilith went down, the hellcat went next easily due to my Marilith's blindsight. The maug was stuck on Vlaakith, but as I was at 190+ victory points, I was able to disengage for the win, grabbing the center victory area.
My Record 4-0

Round 5
Final round of swiss. My final opponent was 2-2 at this point and needed to beat me to have a chance at the top four. His warband was the Thundertusk Cavalry, Bluespawn Stormlizard, Hammerer, Elf Warmage, Orc Wizard, and a Greenspawn Sneak. This was played on the Magma Keep map. While my forces went around to enter, half his went up the middle, while the Thundertusk went up the side to take care of one of my tile grabbers. The center of the map got messy with a fireball, followed up by a disintigration on the stormlizard, who made a run for the exit but rallied just in time. Unfortunately, with a relatively healthy Marilith holding the middle, he was down to the Stormlizard but quick (the Thundertusk came in, and forced the death of the Heir, but then died to the hammering blows of the Marilith). In the end, the Stormlizard was just not enough.
My Record at the end of Swiss: 5-0

Cut to the final four was myself and my opponents from rounds 2, 3, and 4. Due to the seeding, I was pitted against my opponent from round 3 again for the first round of single elim. We played on my map again, and this match went much as the first one. A early fireball followed up by intense melee between the Marilith and the Horned Devil. After failing two Stun saves, the Horned Devil was clearly in control, but I managed to bring Vlaakith up to present another target. It did not help any that the first two times I managed to make all of the Marilith's attacks, I only hit twice (looks like cover can work both ways). At any rate, I managed to disintigrate my opponents commander, allowing me to win late inits, and finally get the marilith back on track. By the end, I had lost only a Sneak and the Heir, but it was much closer than it appeared. One more hit on the Marilith would have forced the MC and if she ran, I am not so sure that Vlaakith could have won the day for me alone.

In the other match, my opponent from round 2 managed to beat the other Marilith band, but since he did not plan to go to the Limited Championship even with the ticket, he conceded the final game and we split the boosters. It was a good tournament, with some really great players. I only hope my pull is this good in Virginia.

DDXP here I come.

Jason Bulmahn
Lacey Limited Qualifier Champ