Hello! I have another tournament review today, reviewing a very large Underworlds event that happened over the weekend of May 27. A giant team event with around 45 players hosted by Frederick from Team Germany was occurring in Herford, and I was playing for Team Austria. Here is how it went!

^{Some final test games between me and Stefan}

THE TEAM

Tristan (far right in the photo) – The team captain, he played Hedkrakka’s Madmob and was our dedicated Hexbane counter. He was running a flex deck, being able to score glory while at the back of the board but preferring to run in and kill enemies in a ‘dice fest’.

Daniel (middle of the table) – Our Drepur’s Wraithcreepers player, playing a counterattack/hold objective play style with cards like Siegebreakers, Conquered Domain, and Unworthy Souls. He played better against aggro than Hold Objective (when the dice were on his side).

Stefan (second from the left, also below) – Our Xandire’s Truthseekers player and the only one in the tournament running this warband! He got sacrificed to Domitan multiple times this weekend since his deck was really invasion-based. According to him, Taros (the bird) was the MVP of most matches.

Marcel (first on the table) – Our Hexbane’s Hunter’s player, he was using a Fearsome Fortress deck, enabling him to play both passive and aggressive games. As usual for a Hexbane player, he had the potential to score 7 glory in an end phase with everyone dead, so he was our counter for everything but ended up always being paired against an enemy last.

Michael (4th on the table) – I was the GSP player subbing in for someone else (Julian) after he had to leave right before the tournament. This deck is Julian’s, but I had a lot of fun playing it since it fits my playstyle of rush and kill everyone. This was also my first time playing GSP.

THE GAMES

GAME 1 – VS CZECH TEAM

Our first game was against Czech Team. This event had a really weird pairing system, so I will go over that first. Basically, both teams set one player ( the ‘set’ or the ‘sacrifice’). After that, each time provided the sacrifice with 2 options of warbands to play against. The set player chose one of those, and then the other one went back into the mix. This happened one more time, at which point the players from each team who were still unchosen played each other.

In this game, the matchups were the following:

Tristan (Madmob) vs. Vojtěch (Hexbane)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Daniel (Drepur)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Honza (The Dread Pageant)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Stefan (Zarbag)
Michael (GSP) vs. Zdeněk (Kainan)

Tristan’s game went pretty well, since he got paired in the matchup he really wanted. The final Victory Point (some tournament point measuring system, I still don’t get how it works) score was 18-2 (the max is 20-0, where you need to win 2-0 and have a +26 or more glory difference), with Tristan winning 2-0.

Daniel lost the ultimate mirror match with a score of 2-18, also 2-0 game-wise. When I looked over sometime during Game 2, all of his fighters were dead, so I don’t think the dice behaved well.

Stefan lost, but lost well. The VP score was 9-11, but the game score was 2-1. In Game 2, Stefan won, with some overwhelming glory difference. He killed everyone and then scored some more (the bird got the final killing blow on Hadzu hiding in a corner).

Marcel won as well, with a VP score of 17-3 and a game score of 2-0. Based on how Hexbane can do a consistent 2 damage at Range 3 I kind of guess at what happened here.

I won with a VP score of 19-1, and a game score of 2-0. The score was 22-3 in Game 1 and 18-13 in Game 2. In game 1, everyone died because apparently skeletons don’t like 2-3 damage, especially at Range 3. Kainan also was next to Gorl who was dealing 3-5 damage per hit, so that didn’t go to well either. In Game 2, the board was much more oppressive for me (the one with 3 blocked hexes in a triangle) but I could still have Lupan do 2 damage at Range 3, and my leader could fly through the blocked hexes in beast mode to one-shot a vulnerable Kainan, weakened by Gorl and Kheira.

Overall, our team did really well. Here are the rankings at the end of the match:

We were first in the team rankings, tied with Netherlands who didn’t play this game (since there were only 9 teams). 65-35 points is the maximum points a game can have and we got exactly that, not one glory point too much.

Individual rankings (out of a 45 player tournament) were as follows:
Michael – 2nd
Tristan – 7th
Marcel -11th
Stefan – 21st
Daniel – 32nd

GAME 2 – VS POLAND 1

Poland had 2 teams, and we were up against team 1. The pairings were:

Michael (GSP) vs. Andrzej (Domitan)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Jaroslaw (Ephilim)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Maksymilian (Blackpowder)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Krzysztof (Rippa)
Tristan (Madmob) vs. Wojciech (Hexbane)

In my game, I learned to despise Domitan. I initially thought that killing 3 fighters would be easy. Apparently not when they can soak damage with spells and wounds, randomly gain 2 defense, and deal 6 damage with pings. In Game 1, I lost 19-8, and Game 2 I lost 15-8. In Game 1 I only killed Domitan and that’s it, and in Game 2 I managed to kill 2 fighters (probably Sarpon and Leona but I can’t remember). The VP score was 19-1.

Marcel also lost 19-1 VP and 2-0 games. Hexbane and 5 pings don’t mix well together and Marcel couldn’t do the ‘sit back and Hold Objectives’ strategy cause Ephilim does it better.

Daniel also lost 19-1 VP and 2-0 games. Either Blackpowder did really receive a lot of buffs, or the dice were not helpful again. Either way, Drepur didn’t really like that.

Stefan also lost, but he lost 18-2. I am not sure entirely what happened, but sometime after the game someone said that Diablerist (the Rippa player) chose to sit in a corner and longboard, and just score passively, since Dhoraz (and Taros) are an actual threat to Rippa. Xandire and her 3 move didn’t like that.

Tristan lost, but lost the best of us. He lost 15-5 VP, with a 2-1 game (I think), even in his optimal matchup. Since Tristan’s key against Hexbane is Thick Hide and some other damage reducing things which Hexbane doesn’t enjoy, I am guessing that either Hexbane got more damage or he just did not draw that.

The team rankings after all this were as follows:

We dropped down quite a bit, but Poland 1 didn’t go up so high, despite winning 65-35 (the maximum score). We still had a chance if the dice went our way!

Our individual rankings were:

Tristan – 13th
Michael – 19th
Marcel – 23rd
Stefan – 32nd
Daniel – 42nd

GAME 3 – VS. ITALY

Game 3 was against Italy. The pairings were:

Michael (GSP) vs. Alejandro (Hexbane)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Mirko (Ephilim)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Daniele (Soulraid)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Kemmlah (Domitan)
Tristan (Madmob) vs. Matteo (Gorechosen)

This was one of my first times playing AGAINST Hexbane, so I didn’t do so well. Hexbane’s ability to score 7 glory in an end phase with everyone dead is unparalleled. The VP score was 19-1, and I lost 2-0 (first game was 20-9 and the second was 18-11).

Marcel also lost 2-0. I don’t know how his game went but judging by Ephilim’s ability to blast two-thirds of his fighters to bits at Range 4, I don’t think it went well. The VP score was 20-0.

Daniel lost his second match against someone with a similar name, with a VP score of 19-1. I don’t think his dice were that good in the game, and it didn’t help that the Soulraid player was EXTREMELY aggro and Daniel needed his territory empty of enemies..

Stefan lost as well, with a VP score of 17-3. He was ‘sacrificed’ this game to draw Domitan away from everyone else, though.

Finally, Tristan lost as well but he lost the best of us, with a VP score of 12-8. I saw the third round in the final game and the Gorechosen player made some really good plays, forcing Hedkrakka to charge him knowing Dromm can’t die with his ability, which denied Tristan some crucial glory.

The team rankings after that were this:

Yeah, we weren’t doing so well. Italy went up to third place from 4th and we went down one from 7th.

The individual rankings were:
Tristan – 18th
Michael – 31st
Marcel – 34th
Stefan – 36th
Daniel – 45th

GAME 4 – VS. GERMANY

This was the start of Day 2, and we were up against Germany who were currently 2nd.

The pairings were:

Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Jan (Ephilim)
Michael (GSP) vs. Jörg (Rippa)
Tristan (Madmob) vs. Sven (Madmob)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Frederick (Domitan)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Niels (Hexbane)

Marcel lost, 15-5. Once again, Ephilim was not the greatest matchup for Hexbane, even though this game didn’t go nearly as bad as the previous one against Italy.

I was not exited to play against Rippa, but my plan was to kill Stabbit and Mean-Eye first and then go for Rippa so he does not inspire them. Well, in Game 1, Jörg put Rippa up front and the other 2 guys FAR back. And apparently the other guys run VERY fast once I hit Rippa and miss, because I had no other target. In Game 1 I lost 20-4. In Game 2, the dice and the boards were on my side and I managed to kill both Rippa and one of the other guys in Round 2, and then killed the last one with a charge from Gorl in Round 3, winning 15-5. In game 3, my luck streak had ended and I once again had to face 2 Inspired and angry Gitz, causing me to lose 19-9 (not as bad as Game 1, though!). The VP score was 16-4.

Tristan played a mirror match and managed to win with a VP score of 19-1. I saw the game and his opponent was outnumbered by 3-1, which didn’t go well. The game score was 2-0.

Stefen played Domitan AGAIN. I don’t remember so well but I believe he was sacrificed again. He lost, with a score of 17-3.

Daniel also lost, with a VP score of 18-2. I didn’t really see the game, but judging by the image below I think Hexbane pulled a 7 glory while all dead stunt.

The team rankings after this game were:

Germany was still second, and we were still 8th, so nothing changed that much for us.

Individual rankings were:

Tristan – 9th
Michael – 34th
Marcel – 36th
Stefan – 38th
Daniel – 45th

GAME 5 – VS. NETHERLANDS

Game 5 was against the Netherlands, who we hoped we stood a better chance against than Germany. The parings were:

Tristan (Madmob) vs. Jeppe (Madmob)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Simon (Domitan)
Michael (GSP) vs. Quint (Looncourt)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Jan-Willem (Dread Pageant)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Valentin (Ephilim)

Tristan won with a VP score of 19-1, continuing his winning streak against Hedkrakkas by outscoring his opponent with some passive glory.

Daniel also won, however I didn’t really see this game. He had a VP score of 14-6.

I lost against the Looncourt with a VP score of 14-6. In Game 1 I had nice rolls, but I couldn’t deny most of his objectives (like Claim the Prize and a 2 glory Conquered Domain in Round 1!), and it ended with a score of 15-15 however he was on 2 objectives and I was on 1 or 0. In Game 2, I went on a killing spree and deleted almost every Loonknight, ending the game with a score of 15-5. In the last game, I had some great rolls in general but the 2 clutch ones I needed most I missed, resulting in me losing both Hurricane Force and Gorl. The game ended with a score of 19-9.

Marcel also lost with a VP of 19-1 and I think (but I’m not sure) that Jan-Willem managed to score Beautiful Deaths, the 6 Glory end phase, so obviously that wasn’t too great.

Stefan lost as well, with a VP of 19-1. I don’t think Xandire really likes the Wyrdhollow warbands.

The rankings after this were:

The Netherlands actually dropped down 2 places, and we went up 1. This is probably because the other teams did really well and overpowered each other while we had pretty close games.

The individual rankings were:

Tristan – 7th
Michael – 32nd
Marcel – 37th
Daniel – 39th
Stefan – 40th

GAME 6 – VS RUSSIA

Our next game was against Russia, who were currently 3rd. The pairings were:

Tristan (Madmob) vs. Ivan (Madmob)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Alexandr (Ephilim)
Michael (GSP) vs. Michail (Domitan)
Daniel (Drepur) vs. Timur (Hexbane)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Wencong (GSP)

Tristan’s winning against Madmob streak of 2 ended this game, as he lost 19-1. I saw that most of his fighters were dead, which made things hard to score.

Marcel also lost, with a score of 19-1. Ephilim is not a good matchup for Hexbane as previously stated, he can blast everyone to bits from Range 4.

I managed to win against Domitan (who I was scared of since I got sacrificed and put against him). In Game 1, I tried rushing into his territory and killed 2 of them, but then I missed 3 crucial attacks into Domitan (one with Lupan, rolling a crit into a crit, which I was not happy about). Then Domitan killed most of my remaining guys, ending with 15-5. In Game 2, I did the same but succeeded in killing the last guy, ending with 18-6. In Game 3, I realized that I couldn’t rush them and win so I had to play dirty: once Michail set the boards up offset 4, and put his fighters at the back, I did so as well. Then I just walked in circles the whole game and score 5 glory while Michail score 0 passive glory. It didn’t help that I didn’t tell Michail that I spoke Russian, and he was discussing his battle plans with a teammate, meaning I could understand everything they were saying. The VP score was 15-5.

Daniel lost against Hexbane with a VP of 18-2, since this was an invading Hexbane which counted Daniel’s deck.

Stefan won against Xandire with a VP of 18-2. He told me that in Game 1, Gorl charged Dhoraz and got him really low, and then Dhoraz charged and killed Lupan as revenge, then everyone got inspired when Dhoraz died. In Game 2, Dhoraz got a charge into Gorl and then followed up with Dark Command, killing him!

The rankings after this were:

Russia stayed in 3rd and we stayed in 7th. Not much change happened for us.

The individual rankings were:

Tristan – 12th
Michael – 28th
Stefan – 33rd
Marcel – 40th
Daniel – 41st

GAME 7: VS. POLAND 2

The last game of Day 2 we had against the second-place team. The pairings were:

Daniel (Drepur) vs. Myszkin (Drepur)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Jarosław (Hexbane)
Michael (GSP) vs. Matt (Kainan)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. Hasher (Domitan)
Tristan (Madmob) vs. Benoslav (Rippa)

Daniel lost his mirror match, ending with a VP score of 18-2. I didn’t really see this game.

Stefan also lost against Hexbane and his guns with a VP of 19-1, since Hexbane counters Range 1 guys since they have guns. Only 1 of the Truthseekers has Range 4, and she only does one damage, so that was Jarosław’s primary target.

I won against Kainan, in Round 1 I drew Mighty Swing first hand and first charged Lupan to kill the archer (and missed) but I played Self-Command to inspire myself. In the second activation I charged Kheira into 3 SKELETONS and managed to kill only 1 (but it was the one I wanted, the archer). After that I started picking off the other skellies and managed to kill Kainan (who tried to attack Kheira 4 times but only hit on the 4th one with Hatred of the Living) with Gorl, ending with a score of 23-12. In Game 2 I drew Mighty Swing again, and this time Kheira killed 2 skeletons (including the archer). Kainan killed Kheira in only 2 attacks this time and by the end of Round 2 I had 3 fighters while Matt only had Kainan and Kenta. My leader and Lupan both unsuccessfully charged Kainan and died, and Gorl charged Kenta with around 3 or 4 dice and managed to one shot him, and I had like 3 or 4 Block while in a cover hex and a re-roll (and then I went on Guard…). The game ended with a score of 17-12 and a VP of 19-1.

Marcel lost against Domitan with a VP of 19-1. I didn’t really see what happened, but judging by how Hasher was at the top of the individual leaderboard for the first 3 games, I think he was a really good player.

Tristan lost as well with a VP of 18-2. I saw someone get Savagely Mauled with 4 or 5 dice and the same amount of damage. Point is, Rippa is really good.

The team rankings after this were:

Poland 2 stayed at 2nd, and we dropped one down, however our last game the next day was against Switzerland…

The individual rankings were:

Tristan – 18th
Michael – 22nd
Stefan – 38th
Marcel – 40th
Daniel – 42nd

GAME 8: VS. SWITZERLAND

Our final game was against Switzerland who just overtook us, so we had to win this one. The pairings were:

Daniel (Drepur) vs. Affe (Madmob)
Tristan (Madmob) vs. Psrizzo (Rippa)
Marcel (Hexbane) vs. SirKraus (Despoilers)
Michael (GSP) vs. Sabrina (Skittershank)
Stefan (Xandire) vs. Kris (Soulraid)

Daniel lost, 19-1 VP. I didn’t really see this game (Daniel is a very fast player and finished most games before everyone else).

Tristan managed to win against Rippa, with a VP of 19-1. He won the ‘dice fest’ happening near the middle and managed to keep Stabbit and Mean-Eye uninspired for a good chunk of the game!

Marcel also won with a VP of 19-1. Grashrak didn’t like Hexbane’s guns that much, as Grashrak is Range 1 while Hexbane is Range 3 with 2 damage. In Game 1 or 2, all the Despoilers were dead.

I won against Skittershank with a VP of 19-1. I got paired against them because I played Skittershank a lot, and knew how to counter them, so upon winning boards I placed the board with 3 blocked hexes, then long boarded, and then hid my leader in the back with the blocked hexes. None of the Clawpack came within charging range in Round 1, and in Round 2 I killed 2 or 3 of them, and almost killed Skittershank with Gorl but Sabrina played Redirected Attack and sacrificed a minion in place. At the start of Round 3 Gorl killed Skittershank. The score was 15-3. In Game 2, I placed the board with 3 blocked hexes in a triangle and hid my leader there. Then Sabrina charged and almost killed both Gorl and Lupan in Round 1. I then gave Lupan a +1 damage upgrade and with his Silent Knife he managed to kill both Skittershank and Slynk. In Round 3, I walked into enemy territory (after killing Skulk hiding there) and scored Hurricane Force as well as the objective which needs 3 of my savage fighters in enemy territory, ending the game with a glory total of 16-3.

Stefan lost against Soulraid. He was really unlucky with the dice and missed Mighty Swing with Xandire 3 times, which was really unfortunate. The VP was 19-1.

AWARDS CEREMONY

The rankings at the end of the tournament were:

Germany finished first, followed by Italy and Poland 2! We managed to come in 7th place, which was really good!

German Team

Italy

Poland 2

The individual rankings for our team were:
Tristan – 18th
Michael – 23rd
Marcel – 35th
Stefan – 39th
Daniel – 43rd

Overall, this was a really fun tournament. Thanks to Frederick and the guys at WTC for organizing this!

And that’s it! Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me on Discord (VintroV2#0001) or Twitter, and I hope to see you again soon!