At last the LVO event has come back around again. Many thrilled hobbyists gather to test their mettle against one another and obtain many titles and prizes. In the land of Westeros, the control of the Iron Throne was decided at the ASOIAF LVO Tournament and every player walked away with almost 3 prizes each!
Guest Writer: Carly
Thank you to the original TOs (Richard and Andrew) and the interim TOs, especially Karl – who has provided insight into the event for this article. Karl spoke very kindly about the TO Richard who had a beautiful speech written out to the players about bribing them with prizes and filling them with drinks. Truly running an event is a lot of work and everyone involved did a stellar job in creating a fun day for all.
Thank you also to Michael and Carlo at ASOIAF-Stats who have provided the full statistics of each player and game from the event, allowing us to take a peek behind the curtain and discuss the biggest winners in the game of thrones. You can check out the stats for the event along with others at https://asoiaf-stats.com/
Thank you to CMON for providing prize support at the event with all the official ASOIAF products. It is really endearing when developers support the community, especially when they send kickstarter exclusive items on top of that.
As you can see there are a lot more prizes there not from CMON which we have Richard to thank for. Due to this support no one goes home empty handed which is a perfect reason to participate in any ASOIAF tournament; everyone’s a winner.
Kudos to whoever found or made the trophies, I love the idea of the three eggs representing the podium. Just have to figure out which one is which dragon.
The Dothraki Horde!
List 1
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Drogo’s Bloodriders (8)
-Khal Drogo (0)
Dothraki Screamers (6)
Dothraki Screamers (6)
Dothraki Outriders (6)
Dothraki Hrakkars (5)
Illyrio Mopatis (4)
Barristan Selmy (5)
List 2
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House Bolton Blackguards (6)
-Daenerys, Mother of Dragons (0)
Drogon (7)
Rhaegal (7)
Viserion (7)
Illyrio Mopatis (4)
Tycho Nestoris (4)
Barristan Selmy (5)
Khal Drogo has won the LVO ASOIAF event. At the Always Winter tournament Carlo came close to victory with the Great Khal but Craig from Small Council Radio did not encounter the crossbow bolts of the Wall to reduce the Khalasar in size. Craig seemingly steamrolled through the event with his Dothraki horde with the final game looking to be the true struggle for him. Low and behold, the final game was a draw with none other than the GOAT Othell Yarwyck. I tell you, this man should have been defending the Wall in the show. The difference between this Othell list and the one that won the Always Winter tournament was the trade for crossbows to scorpion crew. With very few units destroyed and a draw, this game must have been either a game of chicken to see who would extend themselves first or perhaps the dice Gods were favourable with the armour saves. Drogo seems to be an unstoppable force in recent events, I wonder if he will just ride ahead of a rework in the 2022 update.
I would like to congratulate Craig on bringing a very themed list however, I don’t feel it is often we see a pure Dothraki force played on the table, it must have been such a sight to behold. Especially all the heads that were collected looking at the points destroyed. Either way if you want to take down the Khal, shoot Drogo’s Achilles heel with any Night’s Watch weapon, that’ll do the trick.
The Next Great Ranging
List 1
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Ranger Hunters (7)
-Jon Snow (0)
Ghost (3)
Conscripts (4)
-Watch Recruiter (1)
Ranger Hunters (7)
-Benjen Stark (1)
Conscripts (4)
Jeor Mormont (4)
Othell Yarwyck (5)
Tycho Nestoris (4)
List 2
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Ranger Hunters (7)
-Jon Snow (0)
Ghost (3)
Conscripts (4)
Ranger Hunters (7)
-Vargo Hoat (2)
Conscripts (4)
Jeor Mormont (4)
Othell Yarwyck (5)
Tycho Nestoris (4)
We could not have a tournament discussion without mentioning Night’s Watch in some form. Second place was achieved by a Ranger themed list. There is some interesting correlation within high performing Night’s Watch lists which must be addressed in the 2022 update for the game. Boosting up the Builder Crossbows or Ranger Hunters seems to be the way to go to make sure the Wall does not fall. Just like the winning list from Always Winter, we see the repeat of multiple ways to gain extra attacks all in s short space of activation with Quickfire Order on the unit itself, and the Sentinel Order on Benjen Stark. Jon Snow brings the familiar Boldness and Courage ability to ensure the unit is fighting at a better quality of dice and his Tactics Cards; For the Watch! And It Shall Not End Until My Death! Allows additional attacks. Add in Supply Aid from the Conscripts and the ever-present Tycho to make sure the main units don’t die. Follow this formula when making a Night’s Watch list and you have the top performing army in the game.
Throughout the day Stephen’s Rangers didn’t seem to struggle with facing any list, however he did come face to face with the Dothraki horde and lost to the overwhelming hooves of the cavalry. Looking into the points destroyed category it looks like the Rangers couldn’t take down the horde with only one cavalry unit being destroyed. Perhaps the difference between the Rangers and Crossbows is that the Rangers need to perform in combat right next to danger whereas the Crossbows want to keep their distance.
Congratulations to Stephen from securing 2nd place and good luck to his ranging North, hopefully Benjen’s hands stay warm.
Defiant Giant in the West
List 1
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Stark Sworn Swords (5)
-Great Jon Umber (0)
House Umber Berserkers (6)
-Mormont Veteran (1)
House Umber Berserkers (6)
-Mormont Veteran (1)
House Mormont She-Bears (6)
-Rickon Stark (1)
-Osha (0)
Eddard stark (5)
Jaqen H’ghar (5)
Catelyn Stark (4)
List 2
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House Umber Greataxes (7)
-Roose Bolton (0)
House Bolton Flayed Men (8)
House Mormont She-Bears (6)
House Bolton Blackguard (6)
Eddard Stark (5)
Catelyn Stark (4)
Petyr Baelish (4)
Starks coming 3rd is unheard of, but coming third with the Great Jon? Just how?
Starks can be very defensive in this version of the game. Everyone knows of the potential that Eddard and Tully Sworn Shields bring, but sneaking into most list is the Mormont Veteran; practically an auto take for Stark players to make sure when they are on their final rank (where they are the most deadliest) it is tough to break through the auto blocks of the Veteran. Mix her with the Berserkers that are at max power on last rank then you have a strong unit. Karl’s list design was based on activations, not wanting to bring the terrible Stark Sworn Swords or the free unit destroyed points for the Wolves, he settled on seven activations. He found the Umbers mixed with Mormonts to be the most fun he has had with the Starks.
He spoke of two combos he used throughout the day that provided him with wins. Catelyn is an auto take especially with Umbers, allowing them to get that sweet nine dice early on in the game, Jaqen H’ghar used his ability to copy this allowing for two Catelyns to be used every turn. This increased the efficiency of his army and added consistency to the force. He also spoke of the Precision being particularly useful resulting in the combos he could make to be quite lethal, perhaps it’s time we all started using Jaqen?
Karl also told me of a combo he did with the Greataxes and Roose. If he got everything lined up, Karl could potentially do an eight wound panic bomb, followed by an eight wound heal. However this combo was not the highlight of his day. In the final round Karl’s biggest highlight was beating the odds. Karl and his opponent were over time, his last unit of swords with Great Jon was charged by Flayed Men who wiped them all but Lord Umber. He takes the panic test in which he needs to roll an eight or more and passes, the opponent then activates the panicked token and Umber passes again. Karl then takes the Maneuver zone in order to block it, then uses it to retreat in a way to prevent further charges, winning him the game. Nothing left but the Great Jon standing there, holding his huge sword, laughing maniacally, what a super close game.
It sounds like there were plenty of clutch moments for the offensive but defensive army throughout the day. Perhaps the Starks are actually better than what we give them credit for?
Painting Competition
There were painting awards handed out for best army and best mode. These two awards were judged by a double Golden Demon winner. John Hurley won with the best army with his primarily Bolton Starks. I have to say that this army does look stunning, a stand out are the activation banners, George R. R. Martin always said he imagined seeing all the different banners marching and thanks to the creativity of John we get to see that with the Stark. Connor won with his single character, Gregor Clegane, unfortunately we couldn’t get an image of this model to show you, however congratulations to both winners for fantastic models!
Thanks again to all who attended the event and organised it. I am more than sure we will have an even larger tournament at the next LVO.
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
