Equinox Roundup - Battlereports

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first singles tournament of the year being Equinox. I took this as an opportunity to practice for the ETC later this year and entered a Chaos Dwarf army based on the Tamurkhan Books Legion of Azgorh. After running them at the NZTC earlier this year I was looking to get a variety of games in against a host of the other slave races, and not just Daemons.

The event was an interesting one in that we had 4 games on the first day, followed by a break on Sunday morning and 2 games in the afternoon. Something to do with a booking cock up from the Auckland Council.
The draw for the first round was published a few days before the event and we went in almost blind with none of the lists readily available pre tournament.

So the first settlement I came across was James Brown and his Ogres. James had been playing the good game all week with the "pre tournament smack" and had even gone as far as starting what can only be a new additional sideline competition going forward. The Battle of the blogs was on an New Zealands top Warhammer Celebrity would be decided this weekend. 

Lining up opposite me was all the usual suspects except this build had a tonne of fire wards. James, where you expecting my company? Being a crafty little Jafa, James lined up his little fatties all in a row as to minimise any magmacannon pain coming his way. James then lucked up and grabbed first turn, getting off a 2D6 fireball and taking out my Magmacannon first turn, followed up by laser guided cannonball taking out a Death Shrieker Rocket. To add to my misery a hobgoblin unit decided to leg it after failing an animosity test. I got my own back with the other Death shrieker rocket taking out the Ironblaster. The game was them spent with each of us out-maneuvering each other with me avoiding the Gutstar with the Bowser the K'Daai and James avoiding the K'daai with the Mournfang. Henery Khan managed to run around all game picking up heroic 1v1's with Sabre Tusks. The little (hob)goblin that could...This resulted in 10 slaves captured and 10 getting away. A draw in anyones books

Game two was against Russell and his VC. Normally not a very good matchup for the Dawi Zharr but in this case I wasnt to realise till after "what could have been". Russell had a Terrorgiest, or what I like to call it, no.1 top priority to kill. He also had a Black Knight Bus loaded up with leaches, and some skittles and what not to match. After taking out the no.1 target, my artillery spent the game working on dropping the numbers of skittles. Some timely casting of ash storm stopped them coming back. I fed the Bus with Henry first, followed by the Bull Centaurs whilst I ran around the back of the bus with Bowser and the Prophet after it survive a "going down the hole" roll. Meanwhile, my hobgoblins decided it was time to leg it again, and fled from the oncoming Ghouls. Early in the game Russell miscast and feedback caused wounds on a bunch of his characters allowing me the ability to snipe his BSB with curse of Hashut. This resulted in me picking up 12 slaves to his 8. After the game Russell pointed out that he had the flaming banner on his Bus, and only mundane weapons on the characters in the bus, and wondered why I didn't change in with Bowser. I had no answer except top bash my head against the table...

After kicking myself some more it was time for me top face Mike Stewart, a future (and past) team mate of the upcoming ETC. We had a mission this time, King of the Hill!. Mike had Empire with only one chicken Knights, however there was 2 cannons... Knowing my armies worst enemy was on the board in the form of cannons, I decided I would try just running at him. Yeah I want to be an Ogre deep down and push everything forward. A rolled up first turn and after hiding behind a hill I flew up the prophet and zapped a cannon with a 2D6 flaming wrath, but only picked up 2 wounds. I then finished it off with a Death Shrieker. Henry ran up the right flank into a grap shot from the other cannon. Meanwhile Bowser steamrolled right into the Halberdiers bunker with the L4 caster in tit and spent the next few turns grinding it to dust. I left the Great Swords alone whilst leading around the chickens until the Prophet could come over and deal with them. I sat some hobgoblins on the hill after chasing of some archers and collected myself 19 new slaves for the trouble, letting one get away. Damn it I still can't believe I didn't pick up on the flaming banner in the Black Knight Bus...

Game 4. Game on. Lining up opposite me was Rob's Chaos Warriors made up of many classic miniatures from GW's hay days. Looking good Rob. I started out by landing a perfect magmacannon shot on the trolls, removing 4 out of 5. The last one then spent the game hiding behind a hill whilst the cork come out the magmacannon and it blew itself up. The Hellcannon was dropped first turn to a combined Death Shrieker attack and I started pushing a refused flank in the hole I had made. I loose anothe Death Shrieker to a msifire and the Prophet survives another "down the hole" miscast  after zapping the Tzeentch Sorcerer Bowser then makes contact with 18 Warriors and a L2 sorcerer and cleans them up. Robs Tzeentch lord then ties him down for the rest of the game and I throw Henry under the skullcrushers to save them contacting Bowser. I pick up 13 slaves for my efforts.

Game 5 and a new venue. Tom is next up and another Ogre matchup to contend with. I start by giving Tom, a former ETC player and stuntie player a lesson on what it feels like to line up agaisnt a classic Dwarf deployment... Yeah I turtle up in the corner. Fist turn and another perfect Magmacannon shot. Bye bye Ironguts. I take 4 wounds off the Ironblaster but don't finish it off. In return Tom uses it to take out the Magmacanon. Tom tries to entrap my K'daai but I manage to get it in behind his lines. My Prophet takes out Toms "Bruiser who thinks he's an Arabian Prince" and overruns into 2 mournfang. A timely ashstorm stops the 4 mournfang in their tracks. I try make an Ogre sammich (between Bowser and the Prophet) but Tom bails all his chars into the Bulls before Bowser gets in to finish the ironguts. Tom lets me have a hardcast Burning wrath which I then roll up 12 hits on the remaining 4 strong Mournfang, killing 2. This however allows Tom the ability to charge my warmachines as Henry is no longer redirecting them. The Mournfang clean up a Death shrieker before overruning into the other one, which in turn allows me to charge the fangs in the flank with my Infernal Guard breaking them. I pick up 16 slaves for my troubles this game.

Last game and I am matched against the undefeated Ross and his Warriors of Chaos. He has a nasty list, including Skullcrushers, chariots, and the unkillable Tzeentch disc lord, not to mention that Nurgle Daemon Prince build we all love... Split deployment sees my Prophet and Bowser lined up opposite Ross's Helcannon and Daemon Prince. I get first turn and push up the flank with them. The DP and HC are out of range of the Death Shriekers so with the help of the Magma cannon they take of the Chimera instead. I zapp the DP with Curse of Hashut and take a wound off. In my second turn Bowser charges into the Hellcannon whilst the Prophet flies in behind the DP and zapps it again. Ross throw 6 dice at it to dispel, and rolls a 1,1,1,1,2 and 3... yeah. I cause 5 wounds in which he saves one. Bye bye DP. I fireball off some chaff and shoot some dogs. Poor puppies. Meanwhile, both Hobgoblin units feel that things are going so well that they are not needed, so leg it... again... and the magmacannon kills 4 or 5 Warriors each turn before the Tzeentch lord takes it off. The warriors flee the field. At this point Ross is felling extremely under the weather and asks to call the game. The game is called and we work out I have captured another 16 slaves all up. 

So that ends my first outing with the Dawi Zharr in a singles event, and with well over 40 attending I pick up 1st place over all, after the tie breaker with Ross. Not a bad way to start the year. I am happy at how the Chaos Dwarves are preforming so far and got some good practice in for the ETC later this year. The tournament was very tight at the top, with Dan Butler (WOC) out scoring me on battlepoints but with an unpainted army, and 13 points splitting the top 22 players!  I bagged 84 slaves out of a possible 120 so I hope the tower masters will be pleased.