the WTC has come and gone. What I focused all my warmachine-ing on for approximately 18 months has passed and I'm not too surprisingly feeling a little burnt out. The first 12 months I played Legion of Everblight for 8-9 of them, and then Cygnar 3-4. Those were the months I had to continuously place well and farm ranking points to get drafted for the team (I also had to hope we would wind up getting a third team, otherwise I had no shot), and then 6 months of preparation.
Getting chosen to represent Sweden, even though on the least significant third team, was at the time definitely my biggest accomplishment in Warmachine. I had won a couple of small tournaments, placed top 5 on bigger ones and then, finally, this. Following the decision, with me getting in as the lowest ranked member of the teams, I was anxious to prove my worth. I feel like I did that in the following months, both at tournaments and WTC practice weekends. Going into the WTC I felt good about my chances, but I did wish my team had coordinated our lists a little better. Some teams really had ball-breaking set ups - we just had 5 solid list pairs.
This is an example of what Bofors, the company we're named after, makes. I think. I just googled.
Anyway, I'll type my lists again. They're unchanged for a long time now.
Haley2
- Stormwall
- Thorn
- Ironclad
- Squire
Min Storm Lances
Ragman
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Journeyman Warcaster
- Firefly
Haley3
- Thorn
- Grenadier
- Grenadier
- Ironclad
Max Trenchers
Max Storm Lances
Ragman
Rhupert
Journeyman Warcaster
- Charger
I spend a lot of time chatting about Cygnar and warmachine with 1) the Swedish teams and 2) a group of Cygnar players containing Jarle Svendsrud and Olov Winroth (and more). I mention those two in particular because the three of us settled for identical list pairs.
The rest of my team was Torbjörn with Legion (Vayl2/Absylonia2), Ola with Retribution (Issyria/Vyros2), Niklas with Trollbloods (Madrak2/Borka1), and Gustav with Protectorate (Kreoss3/Harbinger). Torbjörn had the most experience from WTC and took care of our matching process, even though he wasn't formally the captain. Torbjörn did an AMAZING job with our pairings and most often got us the best possible pairings.
Off I went to Amsterdam (after briefly celebrating my girlfriend's birthday the Friday I left) and on to the venue. Arriving there I was honestly rather disappointed: no wifi, no towels, the huts the players got weren't close to one another. I went on being disappointed, with bad food (especially lunch), expensive beer and too densely packed gaming area. I've been able to gather from more experienced WTC-goers that as far as organisation and venue went, this was far from the best one.
Nevertheless, I was hyped as FUCK to get playing. I decide to take no pictures during the event, I want to focus solely on playing. I'll try to get some other pictures in here just to break the monotony of text.
ROUND 1
We get Wales Dant as our first round, which we honestly were quite relieved by. No offense meant to Wales, but I think they would agree they're not one of the favourites for the tournament. They did however give us really good looking dice! Black with gold pips, and a Welsh Dragon for the 6. Really cool!
Torbjörn fixed the pairings, and I got to play versus Terry Slade, captain and Legion player. He had Vayl2 and something else, so we played Haley3 vs Vayl2.
Vayl2
- Typhon
- Ravagore
- Seraph
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
2 Strider Deathstalkers
2 Shepherds
Wrong Eye & Snapjaw
Hellmouth
Swamp Gobbers
This is a picture of my own Vayl2, from back when I was a wee dragonspawn.
The scenario was incursion. The only thing important in this game is keeping Prime Haley safely tucked away behind Storm Lances and terrain, and then grind from there. As long as you don't die, there's no way you can lose the attrition (unless maybe if he gets both echoes one turn, then he might have a shot I guess). I remember Wrongeye failed killing a storm lance or something (which did have flux so shit happens) and dying in return.
In the end, Terry clocked out after failing an assassination run (which honestly wasn't that bad a chance, like 30-35 % I think, I should've played more defensively). I can't remember the scenario score, but I believe we were around 3-3 or something at the time.
The rest of the team win as well, so we start the tournament off 5-0 and feeling great. Sweden Nobel actually won 5-0 versus Wales Crafanc too so Sweden is 10-0 versus Wales after round 1.
ROUND 2
Round 1 did give us some delicious upsets! TWO USA teams are knocked out already! And the last one just barely won 3-2 versus Norway's second team. Us europeans are probably a bit too full of glee here; USA gets an undeserved amount of people cheering for their opponents. Anyway, upsets are fun I guess.
Round 2 we get paired up against one of the teams which knocked a USA team out: Denmark Jotunheim. Jotunheim means Giant's Home, pointing towards a Viking past. The Norwegians and Swedes generally find it amusing when Danes try to be Vikings, generally viewing our cousins to the South as soft weaklings. And the name has got nothing on BOFORS anyway.
I think it was Norwegian Vikings who discovered America. It might've been Danish ones, but I'd deny that vehemently.
Torbjörn again does his magic and I get paired versus Protectorate of Menoth, piloted by Simon Sörenssen (I can't make the magic happen, he gets a Swedish Ö rather than a Danish). We play Haley2 versus Severius2.
Severius2
- Blessing of Vengeance
- Reckoner
- Vanquisher
- Repenter
- Devout
Vassal of Menoth
Wrack
Rhupert
Max Temple Flameguard with UA
Max Choir of Menoth
Rhoven & C:o.
Haley2 isn't my comfort caster, but she's very good into Protectorate so I feel I should be fine anyway. The scenario is Recon. I get to go first and my plan is to advance as far as I can turn 1, turn 2 I'll feat and get something done, and then I'll win over the next couple of turns. He has to sing Passage every turn so I can get shooting. In theory at least. I practice, I do more damage swinging my mighty fists.
This is pretty much what happens as well. Simon's Flameguard are surprisingly resilient, binding up my storm lances as well as the Ironclad for a significant part of the game. I try scoring turn 3 but I believe I fail to clear the last two Flameguard, and do not score until turn 4 instead. What happens meanwhile though is pure beauty.
Turn 2 I get Thorn going very far, and he disrupts Blessing of Vengeance and the Reckoner, while staying in melee afterwards. Protected by feat, all he gets damaged in return is the Reckoner whacking him once (rolling high, sadly). Turn 2 the Stormwall has only advanced and tried shooting his Flameguard and warjacks a bit, but turn 3 he crashes into the Vanquisher, Repenter and Devout, killing the heavy and half a light with the help of Ragman. Thorn fucks up Blessing and the Reckoner again.
Overpowered little fucker, this one.
Turn 4 is when I score 1 point, and I believe Thorn finally dies. By now attrition is solidly mine though. I fuck up once here, almost losing me the game, by getting a bit greedy. Until now, I've played Haley behind the smoke provided by my Fuel Cache. Now, I decide I want TA on the Ironclad before it goes in and kills the Reckoner, so I advance into the cloud. The ironclad kills the Reckoner with 2 attacks to spare (TWO). All Simon has left are some shit models and Severius, and his arc node. He get's two Hexblasts into me. First one hits and does FUCKING 16 damage before focus camp. Luckily I camp 2, so I drop that down to 11. Simon then needs a boosted 10 for the game, but doesn't get it, after which I kill the damn priest.
So that's a nice lesson in how to almost give away a game. Team wins 4-1 I think, so we're onto round 3 undefeated.
ROUND 3
In round 3, we're starting to get down the very few teams left which you consider good draws. We get the worst possible, Australia Echidna.
I get paired versus Tom Guan of Internet Fame, playing Wurmwood. Olov Winroth has played Haley3 into the Tree a couple of times with good results, so I was going to try to repeat his success.
Wurmwood
- Cassius
- Pureblood
- Megalith
Wolf Lord Morraig
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Hutchuck, Ogrun Bounty Hunter
2 Shifting Stones
2 Sentry Stones
2 Max Wolves of Orboros with UA
Swamp Gobbers
Sadly, the scenario being Outlast isn't great for me, neither is Tom being a much stronger player than I am.
As you probably can tell from my defeataist attitude, I lost this round. I get to go first but get too scared of Cassius running into my cloudwall and arcing Hellmouths before getting ported back so I advance far too cowardly turn 2. Tom answers by clearing a zone and dominating while feating. With my entire list covered by a fucking forest, I get next to nothing done in my turn, and contest the zones best I can while maintaining a defensive position for Prime Haley. It's not enough, and since I underestimated how far he could get Morraig I not only have Tom dominate one zone, he controls the other one for an easy 5-0 scenario win.
Losing versus a great player (in the winning team; Australia Echidna went on to take the entire tournament) isn't shameful in itself, I am however disappointed in HOW I lost. I played badly and didn't do myself or my team justice.
Apparently, this is an echidna.
Making matters worse, we lose the round 4-1. Australia Echidna has knocked out Sweden Dynamite and Sweden Bofors in two consecutive rounds, establishing themselves as Swede Slayers par excellence. I got the feeling that parts of the team were annoyed with Dylan for losing his game, haha. 14-1 after day 1 is apparently not good enough for Australia!
Still, 2-1 and losing to the eventual winners is an okay record for day 1.
The evening was spent hanging out with mostly the other Swedes, sadly, but I did get to talk to a couple of Americans and others as well.
ROUND 4
In round 4 we got paired up versus Belgium Victorious Secret. They had somehow gotten unlucky enough to be missing their television from their bungalow, with no idea how that had happened. Apparently it wasn't a drunken thing either, so who knows. For 10 minutes they were missing their 5th player as well, so we joked that he probably had taken off with the TV.
I got matched up versus Benoit van Lee (henceforth to be known as BVL), and we played Haley2 versus Magnus2. The scenario was Extraction.
Magnus2
- Sylys
- 2 Manglers
- Renegade
- Gallant
Kell Bailoch
Harlan Versh
Alten Ashley
Max Idrians with UA
Lady Aiyana & Master Holt
Extraction is a funny scenario, in that the flags are controlled and dominated for 1. As it turned out, Benoit wasn't aware of this fact, which would become apparent.
My game plan for this game was pretty simple - in the end Haley2 plays a similar game to Magnus2, but better, and with better stuff. His only edge is his ability to pump damage all the way up. Considering I shoot better than him I decided I could work for a turn or two to soften him up before going in for the kill, while controlling his warjacks meanwhile. Benoit has apparently faced Haley2 before so he shoots away his Renegade's super rocket shot turn 1 so I can't do fun Domination things with it.
I fucked up big time turn 2 though. I dared a shot at a Bullet Dodger Gallant, which wasn't the fuck up since I hit and did some damage, but I looked at the table and decided that my stormwall was fine where she was - she was within threat range of Gallant BUT I was sure an obstruction blocked Gallant's charge lane so he couldn't get there anyway.
Come BVL:s turn, he said "I think I have a charge lane here". I tilt my head and lean to the side, and yeah he definitely has one. HUGE fucking mistake. So Gallant goes into the Stormwall doing roughly half its boxes since Kiss of Lyliss was out of range. SHIT.
After that I had to turn on my A game, which I luckily did. I boxed in Gallant with a couple of Storm Lances, and punched him down. Bad trade for a Stormwall, since HARLAN VERSH shot the other side down the turn after with some spell help, but you take what you can get. Eventually Benoit shifts to the flag on my right and starts scoring, but here's where the dominating for 1 comes in and it takes longer than he thought. Even though I gave away the stormwall I sort of take attrition here with the Ironclad and Thorn doing major work. We're at 3-3 or 4-3 or something and Benoit has a Mangler, Kell and Magnus left.
The Mangler downs my objective, and Magnus needs to kill the journeyman warcaster who's the only model contesting. Having set up for this contest the turn before I had actually moved AS to junior herself, so even though he clocked out Junior would've lived through Kell and Magnus' spray attack anyway.
Haley: Just run up there and tank through all they've got. You can even Arcane Shield yourself!
June(ior): ... I'm not sure about this, Major.
So even though I almost gave away my Stormwall completely unnecessarily, the match up was enough in my favour (and with good play on my part) that I could win it in the end anyway.
ROUND 5
Round 5 we get USA White. Until round 4 they were the last undefeated USA team, but they had to play Sweden Nobel, our best team, so they were now obviously 3-1 like we were.
I get matched versus Michael Ireland with Retribution. We wind up playing Haley3 versus Helynna. Normally I'm not happy about Retribution, but Michael runs Helynna (who I think isn't that great) and Ossyan WITHOUT strike force commander. Smoke wall is great, then.
Magister Helynna
- Sylys
- Chimera
- Discordia
- 3 Manticore
2 Arcanists
Lys Healer
Lanyssa Ryssyl
Max Sentinels with UA and 1 Soulless.
I'll not go into much detail for this game. I get a good match up, Haley3 into Helynna, and even though his covering fires fuck with my cloudwall a fair bit, I get to kill all his sentinels turn 3 and all I need to do here is not give him an easy assassination and I will win this game eventually. There's no way his 4 heavies can grind through the Temporal Flux-enhanced monstrosity that is my list. I even killbox myself on accident, and I still feel like the game was mine to lose at that point.
So what I do is form a fucking incomplete fucking cloudwall where the big hole is DIRECTLY in front of Prime Haley. He throws a god damn Discordia onto Prime, and shoots her to death.
I'm fucking pissed at myself for such an idiotic mistake. I get a good match up, I'm allowed to take his Sentinels since he doesn't feat turn 3, and I'm on a course towards winning in 5-6 more safe turns. I'm still upset thinking about this fucking game.
If by chance Michael winds up reading this, I probably acted like a douchebag after this game and I'm very sorry for being a less than ideal opponent.
My sorry story aside, the team saves my ass. We take down USA White 3-2 and I can be a little less upset. At this point we're 4-1 and have reached the goal we set for ourselves, a 4-2 record or better. Honestly we might've gotten TOO content here.
ROUND 6
Luckily that might not have mattered much. We get paired versus Canada Goose, which is the last team we want to face in this bracket. Our match ups are simply TERRIBLE versus their lists.
I get into Legion piloted by Chris Orr. He's got Lylyth3 and Kallus, so I know it's going to be Lylyth3. Lylyth3 wins versus Cygnar by killing the caster I've found, and I think I've got a better shot at keeping Haley3 safe than Haley2. In hindsight, after discussing this game with Jarle and Olov, I think I picked the wrong list, but such is life.
Lylyth3
- Succubus
- Naga Nightlurker
- Typhon
- Nephilim Bolt Thrower
- Carnivean
- Seraph
3 Shepherds
2 Forsaken
Striders with UA
Chris had tooled his list a little extra versus Cygnar with the Strider Scouts, but even then the long game is in my favour. This game can really only end one way, Lylyth is going to try to kill Prime Haley and I have to make it as hard as possible to pull off. Sadly I cannot just stay far back, because I need the Temporal Flux bubble up covering my army, and my army has to get far up because I can only get work done in melee. I've played this match up, though not versus this very list, a couple of times in preparation for the WTC and I'm sure it can be done.
This time though, I don't win. I get the fort built, but since I misplace Past Haley I can only put one Storm Lance and the Ironclad blocking LoS to Prime. Getting another Storm Lance in there probably wouldn't have saved me though, since Typhon was what cleared the one horse there. After a 35 minute long turn with tons of proxy bases, Chris (with my help measuring and placing stuff) decides on a course of action. He gets Past Haley and the Storm Lance dead with Typhon, and then Lylyth goes. He needs a boosted 10 to hit, going for more boosts rather than Wraithbane. Sadly, he gets it at the first shot and feat makes me stationary. Nevertheless, with 2 camp I almost survive. His last attack, a carnivean spray, brings me down to the box. I have actually toughed the Haley unit, but even that fails me.
Essentially, getting the boosted 10 on the first try gets him the game. Had that missed I live and I win the game considering he's given up Typhon, his feat and a turn of attrition to get here. As I said, the game comes down to him trying to kill me, I build a subpar Fort Haley and it's still around a coinflip who wins the game. I'm not saying this to take anything away from Chris - he played very well, he got the assassination mapped out where I think most people wouldn't have, and he did what he had to do in the match up.
A Canadian coin.
In the end, I'm closest to winning my game and we get 0-5:d by the Canadians. They end up on 3rd place, meaning we lost to the 1st and 3rd placing teams. With 4-2 we get 11th out of 64 teams, which is good. We were hoping for a top 10, but it was not to be. Even at 11th we placed third out of the Swedish teams, which was another thing we were hoping to avoid, haha! But by placing 4th, 9th and 11th, Sweden proved we have a very wide base of great players.
Overall
The WTC was a great experience. The Sunday evening was amazing, I got to spend it with the winning Australians, some Americans and Brits, Norbert, some Swedes and other loose people. Hanging out with people who're really passionate about the same thing you are is the best feeling. I'm not sure if I'll get the opportunity to go again next year, both on a private basis and a "professional" basis. If Sweden only gets 2 teams next year I think it would be tough for me to win a spot, considering how good the competition is.
All opponents I got to play were great guys, from first round to last. Pleasant to chat with, good knowledge of the rules, precise players. Very enjoyable experience.
Wow, this post really is a wall of text. If anyone made it to the end, a big thanks to you. I'll probably get a post up later this week about what I've learned about my own playing and the game after this intense period of gaming between the team selection and the WTC.
Thanks for reading!
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