DinoBen with Games of Berkeley, here. I traveled an hour and a half north to Sacramento to participate in the Adventures In Comics Unhallowed pre-release tournament. They put on a great tournament, however, their prize support did fall short of what was expected so they could charge less - only $25. I know because I went 4-0 to win, taking home four boosters / 2nd got two boosters and 3rd & 4th only got one booster each.
So, my warband -
- Blessed Hunter
- Large Black Dragon
- Shield Guardian
- Cleric of Sune
- Air Mephit
- Phalanx Soldier
- Wild Elf Warsinger = 7 activations
I ended up using both rare pulls: Shield Guardian and Large Black Dragon. Having these to 40ish point minis allowed me to put in another 40ish beater, the Blessed Hunter. I chose Cleric of Sune over Knight of the Chalice because of her Legion's Magic Weapon spell. I knew I'd have to navigate her carefully to avoid my opponent gaining a bonus from her Commander Effect, but I thought it was worth the risk. I also received either an extra Cure Serious Wounds OR Castigate with the Shield Guardian. The Phalanx Soldier also became quite useful next to the Cleric of Sune, attacking at +10 for 10 magic damage with Reach 2 - not too shabby. And the Wild Elf Warsinger - do I even have talk about her? All of that for under 10 points - Devis eat your heart out!!!
Believe it or not, the Blessed Hunter was my MVP, doing up to 60 damage on a successful charge against an evil mini - and attacking at +16 / +16 , that wasn't hard! I was able to use the Large Black Beatstick's breath early each game to gain activation control and the Mephit was there for his amazing maneauverability. I chose the Dungeon of Blood map for a number of reasons, but mostly because it is a great map to charge on - what difficult terrain there was, my Blessed Hunter could charge over and the LgBlDr could charge over the pit. I had also hoped to use the Air Mephit to blow some opponents into the Pit, but that little guy seemed to have a huge target swirling around inside it, because it was the one piece I lost EVERY game.
I don't remember the fine points of my four rounds, but the toughest minis from each round were the Bone Naga (The LgBlDr rolled an 8 on it's Stone to Flesh save!), the Werewolf Lord (who eviscerated my Elf WAY too early), a Nessian Warhound (who I had left out of my warband because he was just too expensive!), and a Stormrage Shambler that DID make it's Morale Check :-( Each time I was able to pull it out, but each time it was down to the wire - just as it should be!
I hope the other Sac-town participants will chime in with their reports, I'd love to hear them! -Ben |