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.
 |
The Mordheim city gate board by @koltti.
|
 |
|
John Blanche's wraith galloping through the woods.
|
*
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.
 |
| 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.
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
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!
