I thought folks might be interested in the lists used in the tournament last Saturday. I’ll give a deeper discussion on my list, but here’s the three Chicago lists...

Road Kill:

Terrain: 2 x Rocky Outcrop, 2 x Bone Pit

Latari List (No Name):

So, for my list, I was looking to try something different but competitive. At it’s core, my force needed mobility to scoop up tokens in Hunter’s Quarry and have a credible threat for Encircling Maneuvers. I also needed the threat of mobility for Conquest, so a bunker list was not going to be a good choice.

I’ve been toying around with Scouts in a variety of forms and I feel that the smaller units just don’t carry much weight. The don’t hit very well and I feel like I’m throwing away my points other than when they’re token scooping. The 3x2 unit can actually punch when outfitted with Moment of Inspiration and a Champion. Kari was the lowest cost option increased the efficiency of surge results and increased the survivability of the unit. I actually won a game because I had a single figure left in a tray giving me 23 points for the upgrades!

I’ve tried Seasoned Pathfinder with the Scouts but that’s really a high-risk, high-reward play with a 3x2. The Scouts free move is a real advantage in Hunter’s Quarry and (in theory) can be highly threatening in the Forward Scouts deployment.

With 66 points in this unit, I needed some ranged efficiency and fortunately, Daqan have the 3x1 Crossbowmen. I tuned them for damage, not maneuverability which was frustrating at times, but rewarding in the end when you deliver 18 points of damage in one turn!

To threaten flanks and provide a credible threat in Encircling Maneuvers, I took a 2x2 cavalry which gives me a re-roll meaning I can use their training for Moment. Tempered Steel and Raven Tabards are natural builds for this unit- I feel like none of the other upgrade cards come close in points or purpose- just my opinion.

Finally, with Tempered Steel and Moment, I had to put in a 2x1 Spearmen with Rallying Cornicen. This is undervalued on paper by some but after you play it, you won’t leave home without it. I was able to hit Church’s Death Knights in the flank 3 turns in a row with Moment being reloaded each time. That was a lot of damage...

Believe it or not, I had only played this force once before the tournament as I made it for one of our other players to use on the chance they were able to make it. In the single demo game, I loved how it performed and so I abandoned by planned force and took this instead. After 3 games with it, I may tweak it a bit, but the larger issue was my understanding of how to play it.

Finally, the biggest downside of this force is that it has no bid. Depending upon the terrain and opposing force, you can start in a real hole. I’m sure some of the veteran players would take advantage of this. I can’t see an area to cut out points but am open to suggestions.

Regardless, it’s a fun list with lots of deployment options to confuse your opponent. When coupled with the terrain selections, there’s a lot of variety here...

The Madison lists:

@picotheguyyo

@Jukey

@Church14

I can only speak for my list.

Ankaur was chosen because I was snarky and put it up to the community to decide a hero. That being said, I might have taken him anyway. He attacks late, but his 8-12 damage is enough to neuter basically every other ranged unit in the game that isn’t 6 trays.

6 trays of Death Knights because I like having that sort of HP pool in a formation that opponents can’t ignore. I would normally have Shield if Margath but I was strapped for points.

The wraiths were also also a community chosen unit. I wanted to go to 3x1 but the points didn’t work out effectively. A 2x1 is an effective unit for the objectives chosen though. Being able to pass through units makes a 17 point unit score 15 easy on Conquest. Free reform helps on Hunter’s Quarry. Finally, an extra unit to block large sections of map on Encircling Maneuvers was extremely helpful.

Ventala as the Ankaur unit is interesting. White rally gets those blight off easily. Shift+Shoot at I6 means they can sit directly in front of Ankaur as a meat shield, then move only just before Ankaur wants to fire. I used it to great effect in test games and in one game during the tournament.

LordV was actually the last addition. I needed Entrancing Gaze to counter movement shenanigans that my opponents might have and to bring units into range of Ankaur Maro. Once Gaze is on, Obcasium’s Gauntlet is a great artifact. His ability to warp jump onto a hero means he can essentially assassinate nearly any hero in the game.

More to come on performance of said units in the madlands thread