Hello! Michael here. Today I will be going over my recent tournament the Warhammer World in Nottingham, where I played Thanatek’s Tithe with Pillage & Plunder/Countdown to Cataclysm.
Here is the deck, before we begin:
I won’t be doing a deck guide for this deck just yet, as I plan to take it to another tournament happening later in March. After that, expect a deck guide for sure!
Alright, now that this is all out of the way I can finally begin:
Game 1: Vs. Thomas – Grinkrak’s Looncourt Deadly/Nexus
My first game was against Looncourt, who I have some experience playing, so I wasn’t very worried. Obviously cadaver generation may be an issue but kills are easy to come by.
Round 1 started with a pretty aggressive charge from me onto a token in order to try and stab Moonface Nagz. I missed, but I did take control of a crucial token by Wary Delving with Medeb-Akh. I also managed to take control of the middle token, reinforcing it with some backline fire from Thanatek. Lost in the Depths was scored but I don’t think it was a very crucial round yet. Also at some point during the round Grinkrak got assassinated by Tukhar, in combo with Trapped Cache.
In round 2 I turned the kill pressure up. I was trying to deny Thomas being covetous so I just delved everything on the board. Grib got the ‘ping treatment’ where he took 1 damage 3 times to die, scoring me Hounds of War. Tukhar also managed to continue his Mortis Reaper career by killing Snark, which removed all two damage threats off the board. I was in a very good position here, made even better by scoring Broken Prospects allowing me to keep all tokens perma delved down and not allowing covetousness.
Round 3 was a sweep up of unfinished business. Medeb-Akh took some fire but got away relatively unscathed, and I managed to deny both a third united attack AND a third covetous attack by spreading out my remaining fighters. In the end we also scored Torn Landscape and I’m pretty sure Strip the Realm? I forgot 🙂
The game ended with a final score of 22-10. Thanks to Thomas for the amazing game and the very unexpected matchup! Always love to see some Grinkrak action!
Game 2: Vs. Paul – Zarbag’s Gitz PnP/Edge of the Knife
Continuing the streak of goblins and swarms, I was a little worried facing Gitz but I had a plan and I could deny Trial of the Tempered fairly easily.
Round 1 began VERY badly with me giving up any and all map control, but I managed to brink it back with a couple of well aimed Retainer strikes. I made a very small mistake here, where I elected to keep Savage Blow for a future activation instead of sending it early to get more cadaver. I whiffed a very simple attack by rolling 3 DOUBLES, which added salt to the pain. Then the 1-Health Prog teleported away, and sat on a treasure for the entire game. Luckily, Sekhmor managed to get a kill with Savage Blow anyway securing me and Paul Torn Landscape in Round 1.
Going into Round 2, we were kind of even. This ‘evenness’ did not last very long as I tactically lost 3/5 fighters, which was quite unlucky as all of them had either Elusive Mirages or 2 Shields. I was down about 6 glory by the end of the second round, as I hadn’t actually traded out any of the kills myself. Still, Thantek was safe and I scored Agains the Odds for some nice pad glory. I almost gave Strip the Realm to my opponent because Medeb-Akh was standing on a relatively safe token WHILE on Guard, only to get sniped by Drizgit rolling 3 hits into a Fake Out. Luckily, Paul didn’t have it in hand.
Round 3 was very intense. Drizgit started by charging and connecting into Thanatek, meaning only Zarbag was untempered. I was worried about Trial, so I knew I couldn’t kill the leader. I got Drizigt and focused on scoring my stuff. Unfortunately Broken Prospects was no longer possible, but I knew I could almost force Strip the Realm by using a smart Total Collapse and Improvised Attack. After a couple activations Paul ran out of stuff to do, and I spent a full 3 minutes calculating his objectives and came other the conclusion that I COULD make up the lost 5 glory if I charged, killed a 1 Dodge Squig, then Total Collapsed the fellow on the other end of the map, and Improvised Attack Snirk off a token (optional). My plans instantly failed by whiffing my 3 Hammers supported with a reroll attack into the squig, which was quite unfortunate but not a major setback due to Improv Attack. Improv Attack DID connect, giving me one of the two glory necessary to win. Then a 3 dice Total Collapse to secure a win and… it misses. Sure 3 Dice isn’t the most accurate on the planet, but what made this sadder is that the guy I was using it was the same one I didn’t use Savage Blow on in Round 1, causing my one mistake in R1 to lose me the game. This mistake was something I tried to avoid the whole tournament for the rest of the day haha.
The game ended on a 15-15 tiebreaker towards Paul.
Still, the game was great fun and intense on top of solidifying my belief in that Thanatek is one of the most OP warbands in the game right now. There were about 4 moments where one little dice or one card draw would have won me the game, but fate had it otherwise. Many thanks to Paul for the game – it was one of my most intense of the day 🙂
Game 3: vs Ferdinand and Sofia – Skittershank’s Clawpack Blazing/Synergy
This was one of my worst yet most fun games of the day, owed massively to the way Sofia and Ferdinand played. Sofia was Ferdinaned’s daughter and they worked as a team, deciding what to do and also using a Skaven Deathmaster to bless their dice before rolling. Despite losing hard it was great fun and they showed a lot of sport 🙂
Anyways now that I’ve spoiled the result of the game, we can get in more detail. The board choice from the pair was extremely solid, leaving me no room to hide Thanatek. This did lead to his Round 1 assassination from a combination of Kinwhisper’s barbs and Snyp’s 4 Sword attack with Grievous connecting. Which was a slight detriment to my plan. I also managed to hit an attack in Krowch’t, but he got healing potioned. Luckily, I did manage to secure Broken Prospects but Ferdinand managed to deny my Strip the Realm by a very patient move onto a token – massive props for this.
Round 2 somehow was worse. I dropped my attacks hit from 1 to 0. In fairness, I was attacking with 3 swords and reroll into 2 Dodge and Flanked. Not the most accurate attack! Medeb-Akh managed to hold a token down for a solid 3 activations against every single Skaven assassin, which was nice but not enough. In the last activation, I ran away and played Violent Blast to secure Strip the Realm – only to realize that I had forgotten about the little skaven on a token who delved and denied me.
Round 3 started with Sekhmor getting charged and murdered in cold blood. This left just Xar-Tamok on the board, who still had a chance. I started by trying to kill Sekhmor’s killer, Krowch’t, praying for a crit Grievous proc, and it did! Unfortunately Krowch’t did dodge the attack, but worth a try. Next, I was charged by Kinwhisper. This left only two chargers on the board – Snyp and Skittershank. I equipped myself with Desperate Rage and Gloryseeker, charged into a waystone, a prayed to Nagash. After a nice crit-hit, I managed to one shot Skittershank! Things were looking very good as I Sunder the Realm-ed Skulck for a kill while also Canny Sappering out of range of Snyp. That’s when Wings of War came into play and a quick charge from Snyp ended my hopes and dreams of winning this game. Oh well.
The game ended with a score of 17-12. I personally consider this a win, considering I missed 10/12 attacks (Improv Attack included) BUT still only lost by 5 glory! Ferdinand and Sofia were both very sporting about it and wished me luck on my next game. We joked about how the bar for a worse game was lower than my glory total, and with that I carried onto my next game.
Thanks a lot again to Ferdinand and Sofia! You played extremely well and were very sporting about the game 🙂 I had a lot of fun despite getting absolutely owned, and hope to play again soon! P.S: the skaven deatmaster you brought along was the MVP!
Game 4: vs. Robin – Grymwatch Countdown/Edge
Robin and I sat next to each other and both saw one another get brutally thrashed the previous game, so both of us had a good bit of luck saved going into this one. Cata/Edge is my favorite double plot pairing and this was going to be my first game into it, so I was double-hyped.
Round 1 had me draw into Torn Landscape and Strip the Realm, but also Share the Load. Seeing I was playing against Grymwatch I elected to keep the hand, being delusional. I did have Violent Blast so hopes were high I could force Strip the Realm. The Herald instantly charged me and missed, and I counterattacked and also missed. Great start! Then things got a little out of control and the next thing I know is I am down Tukhar and Medeb-Akh. This was due to a combination of pings, Lady Valreek, and Desperate Rage. In the final activation, I had to make a last ditch effort to score my stuff. I gave Hurled Weapon to Sekhmor and charged next to the vulnerable Butcher but aimed for the Night’s Herald, who held the only token. Due to Savage Blow, my 1 Crit 1 Flanked attack connected (albeit with no damage) and a drive back let me get even score from Strip and Torn despite losing 2/5 fighters.
I don’t know if you’ve ever played into GWatch but they inspire in Round 2 and it’s very scary. The Desperate Raging butcher got killed in a bit of a Total Collapse, removing a crucial threat, but Gristlewel was still alive. I tried to score Careful Survey and made a very questionable move with Sekhmor into the middle token, going on Guard, but then Gristlewel got Sharpened Point and I got very scared. Luckily, Sekhmor wasn’t charged into, and it was only Medeb-akh. After countercharging, Robin skillfully whiffed the attack and I sidestepped to score Careful Survey. An interdimensional space necromancy dagger coming from Thanatek managed to connect, giving me a Cadaver, which I would use to deny Trial of the Tempered by raising Tukhar. By some miracle I managed to not lose a single fighter this round, while killing several. I gave an epic monologue to Robin about denying Set Explosives and Calm Before the Storm, but my Medeb-Akh charge missed and it was quite awkward for him to gain 4 glory from those two cards. I wasn’t too far behind though.
Round 3 began with Medeb-Akh sacrificing himself to score Broken Prospects, by Swift Step and Tightening Grasp AND Raging Tremors to roll 1 success and kill Lady Valreek. He died shortly after but this put me 1 glory ahead. Sekhmor was in a bad spot, in enemy territory but also in a Stagger hex. He got killed due to a Parting Shot (triggered by Thanatek) + Sunder the Realm combo, but I managed to trade with Shocking Assault. In my penultimate activation, I raised Tukhar, aiming to deny Trial, but then I realized that Gristlwel could genuinely kill Thanatek himself. This was bad. Thankfully, Gristlwel did roll a 4 Sword Attack, getting the average 1 success, while Thanatek defended with 2 shields (he had Utter Conviction on Cata 4). If that attack had gone through I would have lost, losing 3 glory to Thanatek and 3 to Strip the Realm. I almost sold by focusing away a scorable card for Spread Havoc only to realize I scored it already upon picking up the Perfect Cut. Thankfully, I won the game here!
The final score was 20-17, very close, and quite impressive considering I lost 4/5 fighters. This was also my only successful Raise the entire tournament. Which is funny. Anyways, thanks a lot to Robin for the fun game! It was great fun seeing CataEdge and Grymwatch in action 🙂
Game 5: vs. Craig – Jaws of Itzl Blazing/Pillage
I was a little worried about Jaws considering Dan Davies, the only other Thanatek player (massive props btw), just got thrashed by them.
Round 1 began with a VERY cowardly deployment from me, relying on my 2 Shield Retainers to take hits. They did, and I even managed to strike back once, yielding a Cadaver but costing me Medeb-Akh. I then proceeded to take some positions to score my 1 glory stuff. Thanatek was in a bit of danger, but the snakes ran into him for some reason (Craig later claimed this mistake cost him an early advantage) and I was able to use Visions of Ruin to not only get away but get value from shooting at the snakes and killing them with raw necromantic power.
Round 2 was fun! For me, at least. It started with Kro-Jax charging into Tukhar, but Tukhar used Elusive Mirages to stand fast. I then stabbed back, putting 2 damage on the big guy, but was Lure of Battled into him and then So-kar ate Tukhar. It’s worth mentioning that my first power step here was a 3-Man Sunder the Realm into the entire Jaws. I played Raging Tremors, gave Desperate Rage to Sekhmor, and had him charge and kill So-kar to equalize kill bounty. Shortly after, Sekhmor died. At this point it was a 2 on 2, but I was a little surrounded. I tried to run away with Thantek to score some stuff but then I got ILLUSORY FIGHTER + CANNY SAPPER COMBOED ON which was very uncalled for. Luckily I blocked the attack, also scoring Shocking Assault – a pivotal moment. Oh, and Strip the Realm.
Round 3 had Xar-Tamok die despite being 3 Guard, as he got eaten by a Keen Eye Hidden Aid Kro-Jax. Somewhere along the road Ro-Tak also charged, leading to the Dinos being charged out and Thantek solo on the board. I considered running away but Craig already burned all mobility cards so there was no need. Instead, I zapped Kro-Jax with a ranged attack and Improv Attack 3 times for a total of 2 damage, killing the big Dino but also moving to deny Strip. Thus, the game ended with an assertive victory for the Tithe.
The final score was 20-8. We played this game in 28 minutes btw. Craig is a very fast player. I have to admit he got quite unlucky, not inspiring a single dino, but even then kept a very good sport about it – which I endorse! Thanks a lot to Craig for the game 🙂
Game 6: Vs Ben – Exiled Dead WnR/PnP
I forgot completely how to play ED here, in combination with my slight sickness I was very mentally unprepared for this. Still, I tried my best. Also this Ben is completely unrelated to the Staggerers Ben, but both of them are very cool people.
Round 1 began with a giant zombie wall closing in on me. I tried to fight back with Medeb-Akh, who survived, but the wall moved past me and into my assassins and Xar-Tamok. I missed a HUGE Sunder the Realm onto 3 zombies cause I tried to push a 4th zombie into the blast radius, only to forget to play the card. The Arcwalkers very efficiently disassembled both Xar-Tamok and Sekhmor in 1 Dance, which was very unhelpful. Still, I managed to score Strip the Realm and Torn Landscape both – which was quite lucky, as I forgot to delve to deny Ben’s Strip the Realm, but he didn’t have it.
Round 2, I lost Medeb-Akh quite early on to a Puppeteer, blocking the first attack but dying to the second. This left Thanatek and Sekhmor on the board, with no cadaver. They were both surrounded, but I escaped with a Canny Sapper on Thanatek into a charge away with Sekhmor using Hurled Weapon, getting me a kill. Sekhmor was surrounded by zombies the next turn. After Sekhmor died things were looking bad. Then DEINTALOS charged me and I was getting very disrespected due to my lack of board control. I scored something this round for sure, pretty sure it was Broken Prospects due to Sekhmor’s sacrifice (why do I keep sacrificing people for this card)
Round 3 began with a 4 Shield Thanatek getting slapped by a 3 Dice Coyl, but luckily Thanatek was well-trained and blocked with 3 Successes. I then gave him Visions of Ruin and got out of dodge, managing to wound Regulus on the way. This would be crucial, as I knew I had Total Collapse still in my deck and to score Hounds of War I needed to kill a vulnerable guy. Ione, the only non-raised Vulnerable zombie, had Unstoppable. As Marcov and Regulus puppeteered away, I focused into Total Collapse. With 4 dice I was confident in it. After Ben’s last turn surrounding my leader, I was worried of several things. 1) Total Collapse missing. This was solved by praising Nagash very loudly (sorry people next to me) and then rolling 2 hits. 2) What objectives did Ben have left??? I assumed it was Torn Landscape or Broken Prospects and Strip the Realm, as neither came out, but one surge was still missing (which I assumed was a PnP Restricted surge). I counted up and guessed that my win con was to deny Torn Landscape and Strip the Realm and pray I wasn’t wrong (I was). In the end phase, I scored Spread Havoc and Hounds of War off the Regi kill but Ben scored the Aqua Ghyranis and Out of the Frying Pan, which I forgot existed despite claiming of it’s OP power level in Exiled Dead to the Staggerers Ben just days before.
After tallying up the points, I won by a 1 glory margin – 17-16! Thanks a lot to Ben for the game. Easily one of my most intense games of the day. Another defining feature of this game for me was winning without using a single warscroll ability, not even Elusive Mirages, but also not generating a single cadaver. As stated already, Ben is very annoying with his zombies (take this as a compliment 🙂 ) I would love a rematch where both of us are in better mental shape one day. Thanks for the game!
With that, the tourney was over. I managed to go 4-2, which was very good especially considering how close my two losses were. I was very proud of having crushed some people’s expectations of what Thanatek would do (ahem Czech team ahem). I placed 32/94 overall, being the lowest ranked player going 4-2 due to SoS rating. It’s a little annoying that one Total Collapse stood between 32nd place and 10th Place but that’s just life – and it really goes to show just how overpowered Thanatek is 🙂
As stated already I won’t do a deck guide for my deck just yet, mainly cause I am planning to take this fine warband to another very cool tournament later this month. Stay tuned for that!
With that, thanks a lot for reading! Hopefully this convinced you as to how OP Thanatek really is and you give them a try as well 🙂 As stated before, stay tuned for the next Thanatek tournament at the end of the month. If you have any questions about the warband or just want to chat, as always, feel free to join the Staggerers Discord server. With that, I hope to see you again soon!
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