Serbian WM/H Masters Final - December 5th 2015

[Rick]

Rules pack available here

Can all entrants including the reserves please read the rules pack and fill in their lists and get them back to me on time.

It has been a year since the plan came about and the difference between the first event and the 4th event spoke volumes in terms of the lists used and the level of play. Congratulations to the 8 qualifiers and all the players that took part.
It would be great to see as many people down at the Zmaj on the 5th as possible to support the 8 players and see some high quality competitive games.

[TheSerbianRaven]

Any chance of someone filming at least the final match?

[Dzon Vejn]

I don't see army point limit anywhere. Document for master tournaments only says 35/50/75. I guess it's 50 points, but let's make it clear?

[Rick]

I tried so hard not to miss anything out as well.
Yes - two 50 pt lists with 10 points worth of specialists - vanguard bonus for casters on ADR.

[arborsomniorum]

Imam kameru i stalak za istu. Ako bilo ko ide za BG do petog, pa da odbaci da imaju da snime, dacu za koriscenje.

[Histericni Istoricar]

Ima u klubu stalak. Nabavite kameru samo.

[Rick]

Ok,
So at the moment everything stands as is. There are one or two players expressing concerns over their ability to attend on the 5th and so I would advise the reserves to get practising their lists just in case but as things stand I would like to do a quick review of the runner and riders. Please note that these are just my opinion and I am not privy to any special information. These could be completely wrong and I am not trying to offend or influence anyone.

The top half of the draw

Nikica with Cryx is the probably the tournament favourite as he has a tried and tested formula that has seen him win or place well in every event he has attended. pDenny and all the nasties can handle armour skews and always has a strong assassination potential and Nikica is a canny enough player to know when to switch over to scenario pressure. I'm going to predict the pDenny/Terminus combo that has favoured him so well in the qualifiers.

His first round opponent is Shunka and I predict that he will go with Mercs rather than switching to Khador. The Earthbreaker is a strong piece with any of the dwarf casters and I think we will see at least one list with that it. It can obviously be coupled with Ashlynn, Magnus or Damiano and Highborn to produce a very interesting pairing. Given that it is likely that we will see Nikica and a dead dude spam I think Shunka may go Durgen or Ossrum into that match up and hope for an attritional advantage from shooting and blast damage.

Prediction: pDenny vs Durgen. Odds: 2-1 Cryx win.

The second match is going to be quite a tough one to call. Luka is almost certain to bring Butcher 3 as his primary list and so the question is what is his other list going to be. If he wants to save his 'big gun' for later rounds and given that he will almost certainly be playing into a Troll brick he may choose a dedicated brick breaker just for round one. pButcher, eSorscha and eVlad as well as either Irusk can do this. I am a long time believer that eVlad is a very good combined arms drop and good into Cryx and so I think this caster maybe picked for the versatility of giving Luka a choice later one.

Miroslav is a fan of Troll control casters such as pGrim and Jarl Skuld but he also knows that the Madraks and the Grissels have yielded the most success. Champions, Warders, a Krielstone and Janissa are surely going to make an appearance. Given that Miroslav hasn't played for a few months and that he will see each round as his cup-final I suspect that he will load up one list with all the nasties and play that in the first two rounds under the expectation that a third round (final) will be a unlikely bonus. This kamikaze approach actually may be his best tactic.

Prediction: eVlad vs pGrissel. Odds 5-4 Khador win.

The bottom half of the draw

The Dule/Nemanja match up is intriguing. Dule has the option to switch to Menoth and eFeora can be a tough match up on both Cryx and Khador and Skorne is notoriously bad into Cryx and so he might have his eye on that. Given that he stays with Skorne I predict a Fist list for round 2 and a more combined arms list for rounds 1 and 3. The value and manoeuvrability of Molik Karn suggests a Makeda list and he will also want to have volume of attacks for her feat will be the complimenting force.

With Skorne and potentially Trolls as round 1 and 2 opponents Nemanja will need a brick breaker and will likely drop his eSkarre Satyxis spam for Bane Thralls and a damage multiplier caster. pDenny is a favourite and given all the errata is probably the nastiest caster in the game at the moment but given that he is potentially facing two Hordes armies I am going to predict Gaspy3. I am going to stick my neck out and say his pairing will be there to cover off against Menoth, retribution and a potential Khador/Cryx final and will be any of the Goreshades. pGoreshade is a strong counter to several feat casters and can lead to an entire stealth army which can be a nasty match up and Goreshade 3 with his feat and spell list can also cause problems for Menoth and Cryx/Khador.

Prediction: eMakeda vs Gaspy3. Odds 4-3 Skorne win.

With Ota and Djordje both playing Retribution I think they will subconsciously choose the faction that their opponent doesn't know that well and so we will see a Troll vs Orboros match up. I think we would all love to see a Doomy 3 vs Bradigus slugfest but can all the models be got in time is the question. Like others, whatever Ota chooses to play, it will have to have armour cracking in it. I think Bradigus and Kromac are strong choices offering control, volume of attacks and plenty of denial.
If Doomy 3 doesn't make it to Serbia and given no Runes or Elemental Evolution I think Djordje might follow a similar path to Miroslav. He favours eGrissel over p and maybe eMadrak again to crack armour but to be honest this is the match up I really know least about.

Prediction eMadrak vs Bradigus. Odds 3-2 Trollbloods wins.

Overall odds

Nikica 3-2
Dule 4-1
Djordje/Nemanja 5-1
Ota/Luka 6-1
Miroslav/Shunka 8-1

What do you guys think?

[RatGod]

As far as first match goes Nikica vs Shunka i dont agree that its so simple, if Shunka goes with dwarf colossal and then decides not to go for caster kill but straight scenario play we could see this match more even then you think. Especially if Shunka puts loads of man on table to be tarpit.
And Nikica didnt play for some time ( or maybe im wrong ).
So something about 60-40% for Nikica only couse his experience but I still think Shunka can make it.

Miroslav vs Me, well i never played Trolls, and Miroslav seems to be busy to play before tourny so im going semi blind. Never played nor saw Miroslav play, and will have 1 game vs Trolls till tournament so i will have to play my game. Even though B3 can deal some dmg to Trolls as Rick said i got to save it for later on to try to be as good on top as possible. Also i still cant find good answer to so high armor and dmg. So here i would favor Miroslav and go 70 -30% for Miroslav.

Dule K vs Nemanja, very strong match and one that is very close. I hope Dule goes for Skorne as he entered this part of tourny with them and they are just mean i dont get how they do so bad on international scene but he leads them all the way. Nemanja well what to say about this guy he is certainly one of top players but thing i see as something that divides this guys is passion to win Dule has bigger and he doesnt forgets things, and Nemanja had couple of mistakes, minor but still thats only thing i see as difference so i would go 54-46% in favor of Dule.

Ota vs Bjelajac, Ota has huge experience on tournys in different games and almost always is at top of game. On top of that all he is playing WM/H in USA almost every year and its always only Circle. Bjelajac has knowledge of many factions as he had many and knows how many tricks work. So here i think Ota s unorthodox approach will be the thing for a win in this game. So i would go 80-20% in Ota favor.

And as far as winner goes i would bet on Ota and Dule K to be on first two places ( possibly in this row ).

As Rick said : These could be completely wrong and I am not trying to offend or influence anyone.. Also you see i didnt consider what armies goes well vs what since i dont have enough knowledge about this game to see all those combos.

[Pendargon]

I suck at odds, but i can give my point of view :-)

Pair 1 : Nikica vs Shunka. While cryx is always favored to win the Merc matchup, mercs do have all the tools to make undead weep, it is just the matter if they manage to cram them all in. For Earthbreaker driver, i'd in this instance go with good old Gorten, as he is nearly unkillable by cryx through magic, shooting or melle (and that is coming from old cryx player), and his feat bullies cryx greatly in scenario play, from where they possibly cannot recover. Also , gunbunnies spray infantry like there is no tomorrow, and Gorten is a strong drop later on in the tournament. I also think second caster option should be Galleon with either Bart od MacBain!. Bart brings boring , but efficient game with batten down the hatches galleon and strong scenario presence in feat, while macbain also makes Galleon function till the last screw drops off, and if you do not have answer to tough, you are in a pickle on his feat turn. Alternate drop against cryx here might be Shae, as he will hit undead first, and will hit them hard with high volume of accurate attacks, weather shooting or melle. But that might be a bit of a stretch in later tournament. AS for Nikica, he is a man of habit, he will probably roll with Denny/Termie, but he is now old and retired and married :-P. And pushing pixels on vassal is not the same as pushing little lead minis around on table. And forgetting how 8 inches look in comparison to 10 inches makes dead casters in warmachine.
Pair 2 : Miroslav vs Luka - Khador and Trolls always goes as a fun game, where facesmash happens. Vastly depends on casters and lists deployed, but if Trolls go for MMM, Khador needs to step up with Butcher1 or EVlad. Though ESorsha can put a lot of hurt on her feat turn. Since miroslav is not in gaming form, maybe you are right in your prediction, however, it all depends on one crucial question - How long can you throw 5+ on tough roll? :-D
Pair 3 : I will be going with Skorne, tho Menoth would indeed be more favorable choice considering first two legs. But Skorne brought me to the tournament, so i think i owe it to the faction. Cryx is definitely a problem drop for skorne, but less so since incendarii came out. Still torn on what to play, i am considering EMakeda, Fist, Mordikaar or Zaal1. Mordikaar would solve my Cryx woes, but i am not so certain in other matchups with him.
As for cryx, denny is always a favorite, as well as trio of leaches Gaspy 1/2/3. Gaspy 3 is strong drop against any hordes faction. I do not think any goreshade plays well into Skorne, as well as either Skarre. Mortenebra might be an interesting choice also.
Pair 4 : Don't think we'll be seeing bradigus from Ota. I feel he will surprise us with something wild and unexpected, alongside pairing with goatwanna. And i am pretty sure Djordje will roll out his standard Doomy2/eGrissel combo, one fast mulg-in-your-face beat and one strong fat slowmoving brick
we'll see

[Dzon Vejn]

Moje procene: da li ste kupili dovoljno zelene boje?

Oto - ako ti za listu fali nesto od stvari sto ja imam (kao duplikat, posto verujem da imas od svega po 1) javni da ti doturim.

[Rick]

Just a friendly reminder for everyone to get their lists to me by Monday night.

Two 50 lists, with objectives and 10 points of specialists in each.

Thanks,
Richard

[Rick]

OK, all the lists are in and I will get them printed today. It is a really good mix and I think the event will be wide open.

Nikica & Nenad have pulled out and so Boris Djurovic comes in as the next reserve. He will go straight into Nikica's place and play off against Shunka in the first round and it is great to have a Novi Sad representative in the finals.

Best of luck to everyone!!!!

[RatGod]

Will we see lists put here?

[Pendargon]

Da ne trosim vreme objasnjavajuci na turniru kako radi megablender :
http://privateerpressforums.com/showthr ... eda-timing

[Rick]

No listed posted here. That was a thing introduced to help out newer players learn what their opponents lists are so they are not significantly disadvantaged. It really has no place in a masters.

[Dzon Vejn]

Rezultati?

[Telion]

Koliko ja znam:
1. Dule Kosanovic
2. Luka Dragacevic
3. Miljan Otovic

Ostale stvarno nisam zapamtio, ali mi se cini da su, svima omiljeni, Shunak i Djole Bjelajac 5. i 6.

P.S. Oficijalne rezultate bi valjda Cpt Rubinstajn trebao da okaci, juce je nosio neki papir kuci.

[Histericni Istoricar]

Rick bi trebao da to uradi. Prosledio sam mu podatke. Kao i slike.
P.S. Djole je 7.

[Rick]

First of all Congratulations to Dule Kosanovic for winning the 2015 Serbian Masters
Big shout outs to Luka Dragacevic and Milan Otic for 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

The full results are;

1st - Dule Kosanovic (Skorne)
2nd- Luka Dragacevic (Khador)
3rd - Milan Otic (Circle)
4th - Boris Djurovic (Khador)
5th - Shunka (Mercs)
6th - Nemanja Jovanovic (Cryx)
7th - Djordje Bjelajac (Trollbloods)
8th - Miroslav Lazovic (Trollbloods)

Shunka won the best painted caster for his Damiano and Dule got the fastest caster kill in round 1 against Nemanja's pDenny.

An especially big thank you to Histericni for stepping into the breach to cover the event - I am really sad that I couldn't make it, but it was left in great hands. I hope everyone had a good time and was inspired.

[Shunka]

Rick, thank you once again for organizing the whole thing, too bad you weren't here to see it to the end! Fortunately, there will be more!

[Rick]

Da ne trosim vreme objasnjavajuci na turniru kako radi megablender :
http://privateerpressforums.com/showthr ... eda-timing

They're calling this "mak & cheese" on the PP forum - I love it!!