Last Friday my brother and I made the long journey south to take part in Weight of Fire's first Vanguard event, Cry Havoc: The Winter Vanguard. It took place on Saturday 12th Jan at The Forge in Manchester, a great venue with oodles of space for the 28 players in attendance. It was the first Vanguard 'tournament' to be run in the UK (and the world?), and was without doubt a huge success, as far as we're concerned.
Four games were played throughout the day, with a modified version of the campaign rules running between them - injuries were accrued, experience was gained, bonus gold awarded for killing certain units, and varying amounts of treasure were found (or lost) through an exploration table. This last part in particular gave luck a huge role in the final standings, which helped foster a less competitive atmosphere for the event, a good idea for a new system that many players still weren't fully familiar with.
I had four great games against four great opponents, each playing a faction I'd not faced previously. Let's take a quick look at the games!
Game 1: Supply Grab vs. Gergo's Northern Alliance
There were many great boards at the event, but Richard Heath's city and dungeon boards took the cake (blog), rightly winning a spot prize at the event.
The Supply Grab scenario was a great start for the event as it's very straight forward and familiar across a range of games, letting players get into the swing of things. I won the roll to choose sides and set up my Forces of Nature in three broad groups: my salamander grunts holding the near objective on the left, my shooting and tank (shambler) in the centre, and my fast units (centaur and dog) moving up the right. Gergo spread his (very lovely) Northern Alliance along the centre, giving him options to fan out.
The elevated position proved less useful than I'd hoped, with Gergo's ice elf scouts forcing me to pull my druid back. My centaur chieftain was able to take out one of them, while the dog proved to be very useful at disrupting the right flank, as his good speed and pathfinder allowed him to dance around the slower dwarf clansmen and huscarls.
Eventually the dog was able to weave its way to shutting down the remaining ice elf, while the shambler blocked off the snow troll from getting to my druid. My salamanders held the left objective, and the dwarf clansmen held the right - the centre was uncontested. Rather than throwing his huscarl into the fight against my centaur, Gergo made a break for it. Two of my salamaders moved to stop him, but were held up by a half-elf berserker. In the end a run of good luck allowed one of my naiad's to knock down the huscarl with shooting and, after finally finishing off the berserker, one of my salamanders was freed up to walk onto the objective.
Summary: Win, no injuries, no bonus gold, "Thieves in the Night" -2 gold, upgraded my centaur chieftain to +1 red power die
Game 2: The Power Stones vs. Rene's Salamanders
The second game was played on a suitably verdant board. I again won the choice of table sides, and again went for maximum elevation. The scenario is similar to Supply Grab, only you score at the end of each round and certain models get bonuses for being near the stones.
Rene's list was combat heavy, and he took my forest shambler down to one wound at least twice. However, my tank held its ground, supported by the occasional heal from the druid.
The elevated position was very, very high, and we mistook how range should be measured, making the shooting much less effective. Haranak the gladewalker druid was able to fire off a couple of lightning bolts and tanglefoots, however, only killing one grunt if memory serves but continually disrupting other units. My initial speed in scoring on the stones allowed me to keep myself in the lead by the end of the game, although I think if it had gone on longer the salamanders would have quickly ground my forest-folk into kindling.
Summary: Win, no injuries, no bonus gold, "Hermit's Hovel" +1 gold, upgrade wild companion with 'stealthy'.
Game 3: Recover the Plans vs. Martin's Nightstalkers
Martin's nightstalkers were, among many excellent warbands, stunning, as I hope can be seen in this picture I snapped over lunch.
For game 3 it was all about speed, who could get to the plans first (wherever they ended up) and then keep them away from the enemy. My dog was able to immediately search the dead spy, and then I launched my force towards the board corner where the plans were discovered.
Martin sent a reaper after the plans, and then focused on surrounding my warband with his masses of spooky gribblies.
The fight was bloody, with my shambler finally succumbing after taking a beating from the banshee, who I took out in return with one of my salamanders.
My two druids proved pivotal, blasting lightning every which way, with a
boosted area-of-effect shot single handedly clearing three models and
wounding a fourth. In the end, however, the reaper that Martin sent for the plans, with support from the Mind-Screech, was able to lock down my dog and centaur, leaving neither of us with the plans.
Summary: Draw, suppurating wound on Shambler (-1 Ar), +1 bonus gold, "Village" +3 gold, +1 wound on the centaur (not actually legal since already upgraded his power die, my bad!)
Game 4: Secure the Portal vs. Iain's Basileans
Only one picture for this one, but in game four it was all I could do to remember the rules! Iain's Basileans were gorgeous, painted with a really interesting scheme, and to top it off I was playing on the fantastic city table again. I won the roll for side (think I won it in each game, maybe not in 3) and so chose the side I hadn't played on, even though the elevated side would probably have been the more advantageous choice. Like with the power stones, the portal gave you points at the end of each round, but with the added risk that your models could be sucked into the cold void.
Iain made great use of his sisterhood scouts and his abbess's ability to quickly dominate the centre of the board, and while my chieftain put up a valiant effort, he, along with two salamanders, was sucked into the portal for his effort! A very fun game and a great way to round out the tournament.
Summary: Loss, +1 bonus gold, "Silver Mine" +7 gold
Event Summary
With two wins, a draw and a loss, I think I've got the gist both of the game and how to use my warband. I'm guessing my gold from exploration was below average, meaning I ended 19th out of 28, but I also didn't do a great job going after the bonus gold for killing commanders etc.. But this way of scoring gave the event a really relaxed feel, which was invaluable I think for the first tournament for a new system.
It's possible that as time goes on players will hope to see the randomness lessened as the game's depths are explored, but I for one hope that some element will remain, and that vanguard will manage to foster a less 'hardcore' attitude to its events than, say, Kings of War (not a criticism, I love KoW and its scene).
Four games in one day may well prove fine as players become faster at the game, but I believe it was common on the day not to manage all 5 rounds. 3 of my 4 games ended after 4 rounds, I recall. Perhaps only 3 games with the possibility of a 6th round returning would be better, but it's early days.
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| My brother's warband - Melkahvyr's Raiders |
My brother also had a great time leading his band of Abyssal Dwarfs. While most of the factions at the event were from the 'kickstarter four' (Abyss, Nightstalker, Northern Alliance and Basileans), there was a good number of other factions on the field, and it was orcs who won 1st place. All bodes well, methinks, for the future of Vanguard.
And so to the prizes! There were numerous awards up for grabs, including spot prizes for most injured model and most models sucked through the portal! Every award came with a heap of great stuff, even for 'Lower than a Goblin Slave' last place! Prize support was simply amazing, with goodies contributed by Mantic, GAMEMAT.eu and Deep Cut Studio. Everyone got three mercenary cards (two unique to the event), with another included in a set of, er, 'generic' red white and blue dice that could be purchased. I was fortunate enough to win two awards, the first for my warband background (all the entries were really interesting and are worth a read, my brother's 'Loyalty and the Lash' among them, check them out), and the second for best painted mercenary, for my rendering of Haranak the Elder. There were some amazing mercenaries out there on the field, so it was a pleasant surprise to win (although who can resist the allure of the greenfro?)
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| The haul |
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| Mugs in pride of place |
A fantastic event. Congratulations to the top three, bravo to everyone else, and a huge thanks to Andrew Sharp of Weight of Fire, to my four opponents, and to Mr. Ross Diggle for our lift in and out of Manchester. The inside scoop says Cry Havoc could be returning at a similar time next year, and with such a laid back atmosphere, superb venue and fantastic prizes, I would highly recommend any fan of good times and Vanguard attend. I know I will :)
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