Outriders Bring News: Double Trouble

All too often we bemoan an unfortunate roll of the dice costing us a game. Perhaps it was a 1 in 216 chance of that 6 coming up a few times in a row. Or perhaps it’s the only roll off in a tournament final which needed to go your way but, after flashing a 6, settled on a demoralising 1. Such is the way of dice and games of SBG in general. This weekend was no exception after two Great British Hobbit League events saw luck rise and fall like the empires of old. The vagaries of fate were tested at The Power of the Rings in Worcester, and The Bear and Bard in Kennilworth this weekend gone.

In Worcester, misfortunes included a trebuchet team tied to their warmachine pick up an Heirloom and find themselves unable to go anywhere with it… My spies tell me poor Ben seemed to be unable to do much right at the event. He left with a wooden spoon and a great story to tell though. Elsewhere friendships were frayed - and made - at doubles event Bear and Bard, where arguments were had over who got to roll the allegedly hot running Angmar Dice, but lets stay in Worcester for the moment.

The Event saw 30 players take to the field with 700pts apiece, the winner would take home bragging rights and 80points for the GBHL.

Rumour is the trebuchet MAY have hit its target at least once...

First, we return to Ben Bailey whose antics with heirlooms must have warmed him to his opponents as he took away not just the wooden spoon, but also the Most Sporting award at the tournament.

We’ll return to hobbying awards in a second but first to the podium.

It was a hotly contested final round of the tourney with both Scott Warren and Alastair King duking it out for pole position. Ali had a Theodred’s Guard force, not unlike the ones seen in his series of articles on the GBHL blog (https://thegbhl.wixsite.com/website/post/road-to-the-grand-tournament-part-one-forces-of-good), Scott meanwhile was leading an Angmar force with the Witchking, Gulavhar, a Mounted Orc Captain and Barry White. The Tense final round saw the two to and fro before settling on a draw. That Left Scott Warren in third Place, Alastair King taking home his second prize of the season and Lee Robbins Catapulting himself to victory with his Army of Thror.

Thror took home two trophies...

Lee’s force, which naturally includes Thror himself also has some amazing conversions for his main troopers. Combine those conversions with a striking, luminous paint job and you have a force which not only topped the tables but also the tallies for the Best Painted in the tournament. It’s not hard to see why, perhaps his opponents were so dazzled by the glorious hobbying they forgot to roll 6s… Or maybe he’s just an excellent all round hobbyist - either way bravo to Lee. This win puts him well and truly with a shot at Best Newcomer for the league.

Now to Kenilworth and to a doubles tourney taking place at a huge cricketing hall filled to the gunnels with hobbyists partnering up for a day of friendly battle.

Paired events can be a bit of a double edged sword, sharing responsibility for decisions and mistakes, and also for poor dice rolls… So those who make it to the podium have showcased their ability to work as a team as well as their gamesmanship, and knowledge of the Doubles Scenarios (which definitely favour certain types of armies better than others). In third place were Eliott Shillinglaw and Archie Cable whose Moria and Azog alliance really capitalised on the Doubles Scenariosa tendency to divide armies in half, with a durable character, goblins and Spiders in one half, and…well, Azog in the other half, they cruised their way to a Bronze trophy. Shagrat, Guritz, and the Witchking of Angmar accompanied by a block of Morannon Orcs took Second Place piloted by Rowan Williams and Ryan Gregory (who narrowly missed out being Best Newcomer in the GBHL last season). But in top place was Callum Edens and brother in arms James Paterson. Their Riders of Theoden Legendary Legion (The King Himself, Gamling with his magical banner, and Dernhelm accompanied by 16 Riders and 11 royal guard, all but one with throwing spears) stormed to the top of the tables. The format of the event meant pairs were seeded based on their performance in the last GBHL season, but the winners were the teams which scored the most VPs so the playing field meant anyone was in for a chance of winning. But the Gold trophy (and cool wooden replica swords) for The Bear and the Bard went to Callum and James (you decide which is which!), who scored an impressive 26Vps across three games and conceded only 8.

That's it for now, but we'll return with news of another weekend of tournaments in London, if you're interested in bagging a last minute ticket, check out the calendar for links to the tournament pages.

And of course, the results for this weekend should soon be live on the League's Ranking Page - check out where you slot into the ranking here.

Until next time don't forget, this hobby is a source of light when all other lights go out... Burarum!