The Road to Chios and Conquest World Championships have wrapped up for another year! Sixteen players duked it out over four rounds for the world championship title, with Sorcerer Kings, Nords and Yoroni claiming the three podium places. With the event now wrapped up, Goonhammer reached out to all three of these players to ask them about the event, and they were kind enough to provide responses below.
If you’re interested in the context around Chios, you can also find Goonhammer’s meta snapshot explaining where the various factions are positioned ahead of the event here or article author Rob’s YouTube video breaking down all the lists in detail here. We’ve also included the player lists for the event below.
Without further ado: our podium players!
1st Place – Mateusz Podwysocki – Sorcerer Kings
Dont shoot! Let them Burn!!! [2000/2000]
Sorcerer Kings
== Raj [150]: Prijm Khanjar, Court of Fire, Bound to the Elements
- Efreet Sword Dancers (4) [220]:
- Efreet Flamecasters (3) [170]:
== (Warlord) Maharajah [140]: Jadoo Kavach, Court of Fire, Court of Air
- Ghols (3) [110]: Court of Fire
- Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
- Efreet Flamecasters (5) [270]:
- Efreet Flamecasters (5) [270]:
== Sorcerer [110]: Dancing Scimitar, Court of Air
- Ghols (3) [110]: Court of Fire
- Ghols (3) [110]: Court of Fire
- Efreet Sword Dancers (3) [170]:
How did you prepare for the event? What was the plan and thought process behind your list, and how did it play out in practice?
This year I was much less prepared than last year. I was very demotivated by the current meta dominated by Sorcerer Kings and Yoroni and the fact that if I wanted to win, I felt that I couldn’t play either of my armies (City States and Wadrhun). My fellow Polish player and friend Sanex (Kamil) offered me their Sorcerer Kings, which I played about fifteen games with before Chios.
The list changed a lot during that time, with changes being made due to my difficulty playing against Yoroni. The first versions of the list were based on two Dhanur Disciple units, before moving to spamming minimum-sized unit Efreet Flamecaster (an archetype that appeared in the other Sorcerer Kings list at Chios). Finally, a week before the event, I came up with the idea that the best solution to Yoroni would be two large units of five Efreet Flamecasters each. The larger unit sizes made reliably casting Homing Winds more challenging, which meant taking Jadoo Kavach to re-roll 6s to cast to have a much better chance of successfully casting the scaling spell.
The large units and the changes to accommodate them was worthwhile, though; I expected a large number of Yoroni at the tournament, and with their durable regiments with lots of access to the tenacious rule, the three large Efreet units should be able to handle well. Since I ended up playing three of the four Yoroni at the tournament itself, the plan and assumptions worked out.
How was your experience at the event? How was the atmosphere, how were the participants and company representatives attending, what were the highlights?
The atmosphere at Chios was wonderful, just like last year. I play a lot of different game systems, including international tournaments, and this is the only event of its kind. I think everyone had a great time and will want to come back next year. There were a lot of interesting conversations and laughter, even at the round table (where we discussed the need for changes in the game with the game developers).
How were your games? What would you say was your toughest game, and did any of the games surprise you?
My first game was against Nicklas from Germany, who played Yoroni. He played a bit too passively, which allowed me to set up my rituals and pick off one of his units almost every turn.
The second game was against Brandon from England with Wadhrun. He played really well, but the difference in power between our armies was just too big for him to overcome. Using the Fiery Dominion ritual, I healed over 30 wounds that game, which made it very one-sided.
In the third match, I faced Saxon from Australia, also with Yoroni. He came out very aggressively from the start, but the key moment was when he left one flank open – a single monster there would have stalled me. Because of that, my large unit of Efreet could swing into the center and decide the game.
The last match was against my friend Kamil. I honestly didn’t want to play this one – friendly fire is never fun. We’ve played this matchup many times, so we both knew what to expect. Sanex went for a very aggressive push, and I failed nearly all my early reinforcement rolls, so I thought the game might be over quickly. I had to take a big risk at the end of one round, banking on winning the supremacy roll the next round (although I had the +1 bonus), which paid off. The game otherwise came down to a failed spell roll from a Mahotsu leaving him without +1 Defense for a round, and me winning a few crucial roll-offs. I think my risky play really caught Kamil off guard.
All games were played in a great atmosphere and at a very high level – it was an amazing experience overall.
2nd Place – Massimo Patrelli – Nords
| Massimo is well known for his Conquest Battle reports, tournament recaps and podcast episodes on youtube. Mass already has a video up containing interviews with the contestants at Chios and the event intro by Leo!
Find his channel at: BonkTable – YouTube |
Swiggity Swooty I’m coming for that Hog Oofy [1995/2000]
Nords
== Blooded [135]: Ty Jokull, the Rimeheart
- Trolls (3) [180]:
- Stalkers (3) [130]:
- Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:
- Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:
== Blooded [140]: Rjóða, the Red Bringer
- Trolls (3) [180]:
- Stalkers (3) [130]:
- Fenr Beastpack (3) [140]:
- Goltr Beastpack (3) [160]:
== (Warlord) Shaman [100]: Figurehead of the Naglfar
- Raiders (3) [140]: Captain
- Sea Jotnar (1) [240]:
How did you prepare for the event? What was the plan and thought process behind your list, and how did it play out in practice?
I got some practice games in with the Competent Conquest crew and my locals, playing against what we thought would be meta lists for the scary factions that would be appearing at Chios – Yoroni, Sorcerer Kings, and Hundred Kingdoms. I also went to the Golden Rhino Grand Tournament to get a bunch of games in a tournament setting.
In terms of the thought process behind the list, my initial plan was that I bought four boxes of Goltr, so I’m going to use four boxes of Goltr! But then I received stern advice to drop one of the units for some Fenr and switch my warlord from blooded to shaman, since my reinforcement curve was still good and the shaman supremacy for Evasion 2 on everything was going to be worth more than the extra automatic reinforcement choices.
I tried a bunch of Nords lists before settling on the current one as a variant of my original four Goltr list. My issue with the other lists is that I didn’t have the time after Chios announcement to Chios tournament date to practice up with other lists and feel comfortable with them to do well, and at the end of the day my decision to play what I know paid off – being familiar with the list allowed me to focus on my games, scenario, and opponent and not trying to double check and not forget anything or waste time.
How was your experience at the event? How was the atmosphere, how were the participants and company representatives attending, what were the highlights?
Amazing; I would go again, I want to go again. The people I met, the drinks I had, the beautiful beach and island and the weather was all amazing.
After the first day, everyone was chatting, hanging out, being super friendly and enjoying one another’s company. There’s an amazing photo of all of us together and I would hang out with any of them at other unrelated events. The games with new opponents and friends was awesome as people are trying to play their best as well as being happy and enjoyable.
The Parabellum staff are also fantastic. They took care of us and took us on tours. They told great stories, talked about the lore and heard us out on our discussions of the current state of the game, and what players want from it. They’re also super nice and fun to hang out with and have a couple beers with.
The highlight of the event for me was bringing my signed lore book and making everyone at the event sign it during a round table discussion as something to take home back with me. It’s beautiful:
How were your games? What would you say was your toughest game, and did any of the games surprise you?
Two of my four games were super tight. The first one was into Kamil (who placed 4th overall) and his beautifully painted Yoroni. His list saw a very last minute change with permission of the tourney organisers due to a ruling not in his favour that his list relied on (Trial of Hakari-Ishi only works with the Kami leader supremacy if you start the game with the Kami as your leader, not if you switch to them using the Sui ideal card) which didn’t allow him to play to his A-game, as he had to take more time to think of each interaction and we ended on a draw.
The final round game into Andrew playing Hundred Kingdoms was such a huge grind that it ended with a 1-point lead securing me the victory and second place at Chios.This was the toughest game at the event, as I was tired, having barely slept having dreams of day two at Chios after staying up late.I just had no energy left after round 3 and I got to play Andrew for the first time who’s a really strong player and a good friend. I was so exhausted that I didn’t want to do the post game interview and just sit down but I rallied and Andrew and I hugged it out on camera.
The most surprising game was definitely the game against Kamil’s Yoroni and that game ended in a draw. We didn’t play until round 10, as time was called at turn 7. I would have liked to see what happens with 3 more rounds as at the time he had 3 regiments left to my 6, but we diced down and scored out. I would love to play him again at his A-game as he’s super nice and a great player who has few equals in all of conquest.
3rd Place – Karl Swanson – Yoroni
Oni Ni Kanabo [2000/2000]
Yoroni
== Oyabun [135]: Trial of hakari-ishi
- Modular Regiment (5) [380]: Kami Ayakashi (L), Oni Ayakashi, Kami Ayakashi (2), Origami Warriors
- Modular Regiment (2) [160]: Tengu Ayakashi (L), Tengu Ayakashi
- Modular Regiment (2) [160]: Tengu Ayakashi (L), Tengu Ayakashi
== (Warlord) Kitsune Bakasu [110]:
- Modular Regiment (5) [315]: Origami Warriors (L), Kappa Bushi, Origami Warriors (3)
- Modular Regiment (2) [150]: Tengu Bushi (L), Tengu Bushi
- Modular Regiment (2) [150]: Tengu Bushi (L), Tengu Bushi
- Domaru-damashi (3) [140]:
== Jorogumo Mahotsu [300]:
How did you prepare for the event? What was the plan and thought process behind your list, and how did it play out in practice?
The U.S. team ran some pretty tight testing, and I was glad to see everyone on the team going 2-2 or better. My preparation mainly consisted of hammering out games with Bryan (the only Dweghom player at the event). I feel like this practice helped a ton, there weren’t any matchups I felt unprepared for.
My list was built to be a stat check, and it did its job in that respect. The quality of units makes playing against an experience where you just can’t have things go wrong and survive. This bore out in my games; something always goes wrong at some point in conquest, whether it’s failing too many lethal demise saves against the Origami, having bad reinforcement rolls or a spike of bad defence rolls. Against the quality of Yoroni regiments and monsters, you just can’t afford that and they run you over if (when) things go wrong at all.
How was your experience at the event? How was the atmosphere, how were the participants and company representatives attending, what were the highlights?
The atmosphere is why you go to Chios without a doubt, participants are all fantastic and it’s really hard to pick standouts.Saxon (the Australian qualifier at the event, playing Yoroni) and Emmanuel (the Italian qualifier at the event, playing Sorcerer Kings) were amazing to get to know and I couldn’t think of a more humble or fitting champion than Mateusz.
How were your games? What would you say was your toughest game, and did any of the games surprise you?
All four games were fantastic; the toughest I think was against Kamil in round 3. We both played the game correctly and it really just came down to dice, supremacy rolls and lists. He was a fantastic opponent and would love to play him again
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