Last week I attended MordheimMMXIX, an event organized in Helsinki by Alexander Winberg of Echoes of Imperium, celebrating twenty years since the game's release in 1999. There were around 20 of us there from different parts of the world, with other people contributing models and/or scenery. There was so much to see, and I strongly encourage you to have a look at #mordheim2019, and Echoes of Imperium blog, where you can find a ton of full colour images and links to other contributors and participants. I didn't take many photos myself, so the pics in this post are courtesy of @nicolasgrillet (thanks a bunch, mate!). I had a great time hanging out with these folks, they're not just passionate hobbyists but also seriously pleasant people. An amazing experience, really.
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| The Mordheim city gate board by @koltti. |
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| Detail from @hrosshvalur_lunde's Tuonela board. |
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| Detail from the Mordheim bridge board by @msterrainlab. |
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| John Blanche's wraith galloping through the woods. |
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I used the Possessed warband for my games. The list I started with consisted of the Magister, two Possessed and four Brethren (two of which were armed for melee, and two with projectile weapons). I packed my Possessed with as many mutations and upgrades as I could (we started with 500 GC for the models + 100 GC for equipment + 3 injuries, 3 stat increases and 3 skills to distribute within our warbands). This turned them into absolute beasts on the battlefield, and they ended up really working in line with their backstory.
GAME I.: The Amphitheater
We got our opponents at random, by drawing table cards John had made. My first encounter was against Lassi (@accipiternidum), who brought his fantastic Cannibal Knight and retinue. The table we got was the Amphitheater, built by our host Alexander Winberg (@echoesofimperium). It had a fighting pit, occupied by mighty champion Khorgoroth Skorn - who is also the guardian of the Moon Child. The Child is sought by the Shadowlord, and its capture was my faction's ultimate goal. It was fortunate that fate brought me to the right table right away.
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| Hannibal the Cannibal and his warband. |
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| The Possessed. |
I started aggressively, my Possessed immediately hurling themselves into the fighting pit to face the champion. He was quickly subdued by the hulking demoniacs and torn limb from limb, which made the Moon Child emerge from its hiding place. It wasn't alone, though. The Preyton, a terrifying monster, followed as its guardian. The Cannibal commanded his warband towards the beast and its protegee, while his crossbowman lightly harassed my cultists with bolts. Some of the Cannibal's men attacked the Preyton, distracting her. The others proceeded to chase the unguarded Child. My Magister led his Brethen in an attempt to cut off the Child's escape. He successfully cast a spell that teleported him right next to the kid, but he failed the test to take custody of it and was forced to flee.
Meanwhile, the Cannibal's ogre and mercenaries maneged to severely wound the Preyton. But then the Possessed joined in to steal their kill, and then start hacking at them. One of the Possessed finally got taken out, but the other side also suffered casualties.
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| Moon Child by @simonsen.1974 |
The Child eventually fled the scene and was never seen again. Seeing that, the Cannibal decided to cut his losses and retreat from the battle, leaving the Possessed victorious.
My only casualty, a Possessed, rolled well on the injury chart, and got „Sold to the Pits“ (another fitting coincidence), where he prevailed over one more Pit Fighter and made me some extra cash. My warriors got a bunch of experience and learned new skills, plus I had enough gold to hire a couple Beastmen for the next fight.
GAME II.: The Garden of Morr
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| Chaos Dwarfs by @northofsleet |
In the second encounter I faced two opponents: Mikko @northofsleet's Chaos Dwarfs and my own Witch Hunters played by Greg of @btwnbolterandme. We played on a dark graveyard board, also built by Alexander (@echoesofimperium). Our objective was to break through to an opponent's deployment zone, but since the Witch Hunters were there I was overcome by bloodlust and charged heedlessly at the hooded fanatics. The Chaos Dwarfs kept shooting at my cultists from afar, taking out several eventually. My Possessed just tore through the Witch Hunters with merciless ferocity...
It ended in the hunters suffering heavy casualties and routing, even permanently losing their Captain. Mikko's Chaos Dwarfs, who were actually focused on accomplishing their mission rather than mindless slaughter, ended up winning this game.
We weren't just gaming, we got a presentation about the making of Mordheim by Tuomas Pirinen, and we got a chance to see some of John Blanche's original artwork he made for the rulebook two decades ago. That, and lots of good food, drinks and conversations with friends old and new. Looking forward to future meet-ups of this sort!
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