Well, if you didn’t know the Wisconsin Warhammer Fantasy Battles League has a regular play-offs 3 times a year. What happens is that for 3 months, players are encouraged to go to play games with other players who are registered as part of the club and then go to the website and enter the game. Using a ruleset, each game is scored a certain number of points for things like the size of the game, winning, losing, and if the army was painted. At the end of the three months the top four players who can manage to make it out to play-offs are invited to an event.

For the Winter/Spring term of 2015 we had 24 players score their games, so there was a lot of interest in league play. With the top four players then were invited to a traditional, single elimination two round event that was hosted at Pegasus Games on April 25, 2015. Our qualifying players were:

  • Fred – High Elves
  • Miel – Daemons of Chaos
  • Gordon – Dwarfs
  • Trevor – Skaven

In the first round the top seed plays the bottom seed and the middle seeds play each other. Thus it was Fred’s high elves vs Trevor’s skaven while Miel’s daemons battled Gordon’s dwarfs. Games were 2000 points, no end times units/choices/other selections. 50% lords/heroes was in effect though.

Round 1 Scenario
Using a bead, coin, or other similar object, mark the center point. Place two further markers on the center line, 18 inches from the center point. Inside each player’s half of the table, from the left and right centerline marker place an additional marker 18 inches from that.

game1Set up: Follow all of the rules to set up the game as used for Battleline in the BRB.

Controlling objective markers: Any unit with fortitude that is in direct contact with an objective marker controls it. If two units are touching it, (2 enemy units for example) then neither controls it.

Victory conditions: Standard Victory points will be used. In addition, each objective marker in your board half that you control is worth 100 VPs. Objective markers on the center line controlled are worth 200 VPs. Objective markers in your opponent’s deployment zone are worth 300 VPs. There are no draws.

The big game to watch this round seemed to be the high elf/skaven match up. The skavenstar as we have started to call it, a unit with 100 clanrats, a screaming bell and a pile of characters has been giving the local folks a bit of a problem proved no different in this game. The high elves, led by Teclis tried to throw a dwellers at it, but could not muster the winds of magic enough to blast past the skaven defenses. The grey seer’s whisker’s twitched as he gobbled another chunk of warpstone and dug deep to cast the dreaded thirteenth on Teclis’s unit. The elves cried out in agony as their bodies warped into skaven and their cravings for cheese tripled. As the gray seer completed the spell, a great rent appeared in time and space and a portal to the chaos realms opened. In a blink, several clan rats and the seer himself were whisked to the realms of chaos. In the end, skaven hold out and we called the game at the end of 5 turns.

In the dwarfs vs daemons, Miel picked off all of the dwarfen shooting early with well placed skullcannon shots. Playing with slaaneshi magic, Miel was able to control some charges late, but a remarkable charge from a depleted ironbreaker unit took down the daemon prince and a unit of horrors before it was overwhelmed and every dwarf was slain. It was a battle that I am sure Gordon’s dwarfs will swear an oath for vengeance in their book of grudges.

Scenario 2
Set up: Follow the rules for deployment, the same as battleline in the BRB

Victory conditions: Standard victory points will be used. In addition, each enemy hero level character that is slain at the end of the game is worth an additional 50 points. Each enemy lord level that is slain at the end of the game is worth an additional 150 points.

Fred and Gordon, being father and son decided not to play a loser’s bracket game and took off. Trevor and Miel though lined up, skaven vs daemons, to see who truly had the favor of their dark gods. In a fashion similar to Miel’s approach against the dwarfs, his first focus was to pick off all of the outlying units and shooting taking out both warp lightening cannons early as well as the abomination. Leaving the skaven with the bell and the big unit left, the gray seer dug into his bag of tricks and tried to find magic to fight the things of chaos. Unfortunately, it was little too late and the daemon army converged on the skavenstar. In the end, the game was a good one but the Dreaded One, Miel V., has continued his 2015 tear of pretty much not losing and is the 2015 WWHFB Term 1 league champion!

Congradulations to Miel and thank you to everyone that came out and to Pegasus Games for hosting the event. The new league term starts May 1st, so if your in Wisconsin, get ready to play those games because in August their will be an invitational tournament!