SPRING 2016 - RECAP & REPORT

With victory in her grasp, Packmaster Kith was prepared to reclaim the Traxis Sector once again for the Dark Eldar. Eldorath Starbane, however, had different plans. With the help of Tau allies, the mighty Eldar Psyker beat back the Dark Eldar armies in a narrow victory during the final battle for Sacaellum!

Another Black Crusade season down – and this one was our best yet! Congratulations to Greenpeace for winning this season with Eldorath, defeating Dlord’s Kith in a 7 round Championship battle!

Eldar: Speaking of Eldorath - Old One Hand made quite the comeback this season! He logged the most games by a mile – 99 total games played (beating out Mavros who came in 2^nd with 82). Eldorath has been on the rise in the meta lately with these vehicle decks becoming real contenders. Drone defense System alone has helped him handle swarms better and it showed. He logged a 55% win rate (54-45, though, granted, Greenpeace did his fair share to elevate that number). Baharroth did respectable, winning 46% of his 39 games. Fharenal was late to the party and won 2 of her 4 games.

Dark Eldar: Our runner-up warlord, Kith, is no stranger. After a relatively disappointing Winter 2016 season (for Kith standards anyways) she had a very nice showing this season. Last season she logged 51 games and 55%-win rate. This season that climbed to 61 games and a much improved 69%-win rate. She had the best overall win rate of any warlord. Urien had a jump in popularity and 2015 Conquest World Champ runner-up IUDeth took him all the way to the quarterfinals. Urien also had the 5th best win rate among all Warlords (54%). Morn saw a huge jump in popularity as her card pool grew leaps and bounds over last season. She won 49% of her 53 games.

Space Marines: The most popular faction by far. There were an incredible 220 games logged as SM (82 for Mavros, 81 for Cato and 57 for Ragnar). Mavros and Cato both did well but Ragnar dropped like a rock. He only managed a 40%-win rate and only finished ahead of Straken, Subject Omega, Old One Eye and Ba’ar Zul. It'll be interesting to see how Vezuel does next season.

Astra Militarum: Worr did as well as you'd basically expect but not near as well as last year. He got as far as the semifinals but lost there to Eldorath. He won 57% of his 72 games (ranking 4th in win rate and appearances). Last season he won the whole thing, had the highest win rate and had the most games played. Coteaz did surprisingly well, thanks in no small part to Steinerp, snagging the 2nd best win rate (albeit on only 17 games). Straken did better than he has in past BCL seasons, but still nothing to write home about overall. One guy piloted him to a spot in the Top Cut but then promptly dumped him come time to put up or shut up and played Worr instead :(

Chaos: Somewhat of a tough go. Zarathur had the 3^nd highest win rate of any warlord at 61% but no Top Cut showing. He also showed a massive dip in popularity. Despite the bigger field his games played dropped from 67 last season to 31 this season. Ku’gath did get into the Top Cut with one player piloting him and Ba’ar Zul…well, he didn’t do so great.

Tyranids: 2 of our 3 Tyranid Warlords did reach the Top Cut. Overall, however, it was a rough go for that faction: They logged the least games played (62) and the worst win rate by far (35% - the next worse was Orks who came in a full 11 percentage points better at 46%). Subject Omega was the most popular (36 games) but he didn’t do so well (36%-win rate).

Tau: One Aun’Shi made Top Cut. A bit of a surprise was Commander Starblaze. He only logged 13 games but ended up with a respectable 46%-win rate.

Orks: Despite being second-worst in overall win rate did get 1 each of all three Warlords into the Top Cut which was nice to see.

The “Pledge your Loyalty” system seemed to work out well. I’m glad you guys liked the custom initiative token prizes – we’ll do this again next season (for Necrons too). A fair few players did jump ship but overall loyalty rates remained pretty high. 69% of pledged players remained loyal. The Warlords that didn’t lose any pledges throughout the season: Subject Omega, Baharroth, Urien, Packmaster Kith, Commander Starblaze, Old Zogwort and Old One Eye. Of the 32 Top Cut players, 23 of them stuck with their pledge all season. Also of note: All 3 Kith pledges got into the Top Cut. Here’s what we started with, ended with, and how the Top Cut looked for loyalty pledges.

STARTING			ENDING			TOP CUT of 32
Chaplain Mavros	18		Chaplain Mavros	10		Chaplain Mavros	4
Eldorath Starbane	15		Eldorath Starbane	11		Eldorath Starbane	1
Archon Salaine Morn	13		Archon Salaine Morn	8		Archon Salaine Morn	2
Captain Cato Sicarius	13		Captain Cato Sicarius	8		Captain Cato Sicarius	1
Ragnar Blackmane	12		Ragnar Blackmane	9		Ragnar Blackmane
Broderick Worr	9		Broderick Worr	7		Broderick Worr	3
Commander Shadowsun	8		Commander Shadowsun	4		Commander Shadowsun
Colonel Straken	7		Colonel Straken	4		Colonel Straken
Kugath Plaguefather	7		Kugath Plaguefather	4		Kugath Plaguefather	1
Gorzod	7		Gorzod	3		Gorzod	1
Zarathur High Sorcerer	6		Zarathur High Sorcerer	4		Zarathur High Sorcerer
Aunshi	6		Aunshi	5		Aunshi	1
Subject Omega X62113	6		Subject Omega X62113	6		Subject Omega X62113	1
Torquemada Coteaz	5		Torquemada Coteaz	3		Torquemada Coteaz	1
Baharroth	5		Baharroth	5		Baharroth
Nazdreg	5		Nazdreg	4		Nazdreg	1
Baar Zul the Hate-Bound	4		Baar Zul the Hate-Bound	2		Baar Zul the Hate-Bound
Urien Rakarath	4		Urien Rakarath	4		Urien Rakarath	1
Packmaster Kith	3		Packmaster Kith	3		Packmaster Kith	3
Commander Starblaze	3		Commander Starblaze	3		Commander Starblaze
Swarmlord	3		Swarmlord	1		Swarmlord	1
Old Zogwart	2		Old Zogwart	2		Old Zogwart	1
Old One Eye	2		Old One Eye	2		Old One Eye
							23
TOTALS:			TOTALS:
SM	43		SM	27
AM	21		AM	14
ELDAR	20		ELDAR	16
DE	20		DE	15
TAU	17		TAU	12
CHAOS	17		CHAOS	10
ORK	14		ORK	9
NIDS	11		NIDS	9
	163			112

Preemptive Barrage and Khymera Den tied for the number 1 spot of listed MVPs – each with 11. A new card – Wildrider Viper – came in third with 10 mentions. Blood Angel Vets (in no small part thanks to all the Mavros being played) was up next with 9 MVP votes. Archon’s Palace was next with 7. Drone Defense system, Gift of Isha and Gun Drones all tied with 6 votes.

That’s about as much detail as I’ll get into since you can check out all the stats for yourself at DNapolitano’s webpage HERE.

As always the comments section was full of some venting and chuckle-inducing-comments. I’ve listed them below for your enjoyment.

Also below you will find a breakdown of the Top Cut of 32. Interesting info there.

So, in closing – THANK YOU to all who participated. An extra THANK YOU if you donated prizes or money to support The Black Crusade League. Lastly, an EXTRA BIG THANK YOU to my Mournival: Paul, Mitch and Dan. Your help was immeasurable.

I hope to see all of you (and more of your friends) next season! Registration opens August 7^th, 2016. See you then.

*Your prizes should go out in the mail sometime later this week. Be looking for them to arrive soon (or not so soon if you're international). 

TOP CUT OF 32 BREAKDOWN:

Every faction (even Necrons – piloted by brave soul Killaszit) did get at least one showing in the Top Cut so that was nice to see.

Chaplain Mavros	5
Broderick Worr	5
Packmaster Kith	5
Eldorath Starbane	3
Archon Salaine Morn	2
Captain Cato Sicarius	2
Kugath Plaguefather	1
Gorzod	1
Aunshi	1
Subject Omega X62113	1
Torquemada Coteaz	1
Nazdreg	1
Urien Rakarath	1
Swarmlord	1
Old Zogwart	1
Nahumekh	1

Winning Warlord	Losing Warlord	Winning Allies	Losing Allies	Victory Condition	Round
Broderick Worr	Packmaster Kith	Orks	Chaos	Planets	4
Chaplain Mavros	Chaplain Mavros	Tau	None	Planets	4
Captain Cato Sicarius	Packmaster Kith	Tau	Chaos	Planets	3
Captain Cato Sicarius	Swarmlord	Tau	Stalking Lictor	Concession (in game)	5
Packmaster Kith	Eldorath Starbane	Chaos	Tau	Planets	4
Packmaster Kith	Subject Omega X62113	Eldar	Stalking Lictor	Planets	5
Eldorath Starbane	Nazdreg	Tau	None	Assassination	6
Kugath Plaguefather	Aunshi	Orks	Space Marines	Planets	5
Broderick Worr	Broderick Worr	Orks	Orks	Concession (in game)	4
Urien Rakarath	Torquemada Coteaz	Eldar	Orks	Assassination	3
Gorzod	Archon Salaine Morn	AM/SM	Chaos	Planets	4
Broderick Worr	Broderick Worr	Orks	Orks	Planets	5
Old Zogwart	Nahumekh	Astra Militarum	Tau/Orks	Planets	4
Chaplain Mavros	Chaplain Mavros	Tau	Tau	Concession (in game)	3
Packmaster Kith	Archon Salaine Morn	Eldar	None	Assassination	6
Chaplain Mavros	Eldorath Starbane	Tau	Dark Eldar	Assassination	4
Broderick Worr	Packmaster Kith	Orks	Chaos	Planets	5
Packmaster Kith	Gorzod	Eldar	AM/SM	Concession (in game)	4
Chaplain Mavros	Kugath Plaguefather	Astra Militarum	Dark Eldar	Planets	4
Eldorath Starbane	Chaplain Mavros	Tau	Tau	Planets	6
Urien Rakarath	Chaplain Mavros	Eldar	Tau	Planets	3
Captain Cato Sicarius	Broderick Worr	Tau	None	Planets	6
Captain Cato Sicarius	Broderick Worr	Tau	Orks	Concession (in game)	6
Old Zogwart	Kugath Plaguefather	Astra Militarum	None	Planets	5
Broderick Worr	Urien Rakarath	Orks	Eldar	Planets	5
Captain Cato Sicarius	Chaplain Mavros	Tau	Tau	Concession (in game)	5
Packmaster Kith	Captain Cato Sicarius	Eldar	Tau	Planets	4
Eldorath Starbane	Old Zogwart	Tau	Astra Militarum	Concession (in game)	6
Packmaster Kith	Captain Cato Sicarius	Eldar	Tau	Assassination	5
Eldorath Starbane	Broderick Worr	Tau	Orks	Assassination	4
Eldorath Starbane	Broderick Worr	Tau	Orks	Assassination	7

COMMENTS:

*	Eldorath Starbane is the MVP Card in this game
*	#DreadnoughtMavrosTurn1
*	I won with 0 units on starting hand
*	Mustered for 7.
*	Great organisation of this guys!
*	Real Mvp was Huge Chain-choppa but it was not listed
*	Command strangled turn 1, archons palace turn 1. Hail Satan.
*	"Armorbane is a thing."
*	AOE 3 is pretty good against decks
*	Marksmen Gun Drones > Aun'Shi Sanctum > For the Tau'va AE 6 Armorbane
*	Your mom is so fat, you have to pay 9 extra ressources when deploying away from a Slaanesh's Temptation.
*	SM combat tricks almost make up for their lack of command game
*	#Kith4Life
*	"Vow of Honor" should be mvp, but its not a choice.
*	Baharroths Hawks OP please restrict
*	both opening plays were Archon's palace
*	Ashen Sky Banner worked well for my opponent. A tough, fun game against a gentleman.
*	Double Hunt stole the game!
*	That was a great game, thx mate
*	#WorrOPRestrict
*	Orkz iz best!!!!
*	Mavros is totally OP
*	Fear my modified wins!
*	shuriken catapult... nuff said
*	Katurian is a nice guy!
*	EldritchStormshouldhavebeennamedSoulCrush
*	#strakenisbroken #strakenOP
*	Urien proves that torture can be a true art form! -D HFX
*	Opponent didn't draw any good combat units the whole game
*	Who knew the tyranids were so graceful in defeat?
*	#IbelieveinBaharroth
*	Glaiveguy is awesome!
*	It's sunday 11:19pm. We're both too tired to conquest
*	A super close match. Spore chimney also close mvp
*	Swarmlord keeps on rolling. Also wiley/sruman was an awesome guy. I didn't get his allied faction but didn't see any evidence of one. Worr doesn't usually ally.
*	You mom is so fat,she... OMG THE BABY'S COMING!!!
*	All 6 greens, with planet 5 being the only non green. Poor bastard
*	Visions of Agony gives so much card knowledge it's great, another great and challenging match Urien is the Torture King! -HFX Sector
*	Fantastic game. Epic battle at p5 (tri-con, Guy's win condition). Played two Rok Bombardments and narrowly won (only Gorzod left).
*	Kudos to all Shadowsun players :-)
*	nice opponenent. thx for the game
*	Sword Brethen Dreadnaught + Black Sword is sick
*	Fast rush game
*	Ragnar Hunts!
*	Clutch battle on p1 on turn 3
*	Turn 3 bloody, turn 5 kill. 2x Kauyon Strike.
*	Hypex wins.
*	A very narrow rush victory
*	Corrupted teleportarium is dangerous. Valis is a legend.
*	Ragnar is the man
*	gauntlet seizure, wraithguard/vyper. thats called bargain shopping!
*	bloodied turn one my heart was racing!
*	Klaviex Warleader played with no target. Just did it to get in an extra attack.
*	First time against Worr, sorry chap.
*	Vow of Honor can be a wicked card when playable
*	For the Greater Good!
*	Mulliganed into 3 promotions, 2 spore sacs and a genestealer brood. Tense start.
*	Lucky flop for Worr, planets 2,3,4,5 had green
*	#Kith4Life
*	Terror and Klavex wins games
*	only one DPA used and it was for a shield. #whoneedsthem
*	Keltik is a role model of sportsmanship.
*	Smasha hates Unstoppable
*	Massively out commanding a new player led me to get all the cards I need to have the combo of a fire Warrior elite with repulsor impact field protecting the army which also had a chimera to aid the elite
*	Baharoth is squishy vs. Ragnar
*	2x Promise of Glory on turn 1 = OP
*	#WorrOPRestrict
*	#thembones
*	Sword Bretheren Dred. + Black Sward was the winning combo will little aid from Tense Negotiation and Healing battle ability
*	very tough matchup
*	Eldar may one day be competitive...
*	Starblaze deployed Valkyrie to p2 to pull it to p1 but exterminatus happened. Lucky draw for me indeed
*	abused Planum
*	5 greens
*	GG/WP Kyu
*	#Kith4Life
*	here come dat boi
*	Earth Caste Technician burried the important cards and he never recovered.
*	Winning command on 5 planets is fun
*	the new ork supports crazy strong
*	Yay Zaraswarm.
*	#giveorkslove
*	Imperial Fists Devastators... ARGGGGHHH
*	Although it was Kauyon Strike that won it for me.
*	#iloveworr
*	Such a great close game
*	weenie-command spam turns out to be good. opponent didn't draw into many units which make Eldorath especially effective on the board.
*	snots for days
*	#strakenisbackbroken
*	Klaviex rules
*	Worr runs over.
*	player conceded after a fortunate drop pod assault on ragnars side - can provide screen shot if in question. losing player wanted to keep playing for fun after confirming concession....
*	Devastators had sophie's choice between archon's palace and khymera den. Picked khymera den.
*	Wish I could have played this round too
*	should have not tryied to play my dreadnought turn 1
*	#strakenisbroken
*	#OmegaStoleMyGenes
*	My opponent was strong and a cool guy.
*	Ambush is so fun! :D
*	guns 'n' snots!
*	Your mom is so fat, she has to exhaust to commit to a planet.
*	Nothing more infuriating than indomitables.
*	Actually emperor's warrant to have 1 honored slug another one even more mvp but not on list.
*	Won command and danced around Ragnar. Superior card draw prevails!
*	#Kith4Life
*	Another close and damn fun match.
*	Starcannon OP
*	3 PoG, a Bloodthrister, Corrupted Teleportarium, and Fallback by Round 2 :)
*	Yes, Black Guardians
*	Planets laid out to provide for a lot of manipulation for Mavros via SBD and TN
*	Worr is OP
*	Too much movement, jet bikes, mobile, etc.
*	always be wary of Tellyporta Pad...
*	yo dawg, i heard you like genestealers, so i ambushed a genestealer in your genestealer
*	Won the command game, won the game.
*	Moving a suffering turn 1 made my game
*	Worr is preeeeeeeeeeetty goooooooooooooood
*	Double Sheilders are good
*	I chose Elysian Assault Team as MVP since it is the surprise combo with The Emperor Protects but lots of AM and Ork cards combo heavily with Torquemada
*	Wu Tang Clan ain't nothin' to fuck with
*	#strakenstillbroken #plznrf
*	Slick moves Mr. WarFather
*	Kugath > Zarathur
*	Smasha Gun Battery is an awesome card
*	OCTGN not working during scheduled game :(
*	whew.... won with a 1 HP left plaguebearer on winning planet
*	Ambush to bloody, and ambush to kill Warlord
*	You know why I'm so fat? Cause every time I do your mom she gives me a cookie!
*	mew
*	Aunshi v Aunshi. My brain hurts.
*	#OOEUnvictorious2016
*	#Kith4Life
*	Super lucky Drop pod into librarian
*	Opponent bravely played Straken while travelling Laos. Respect.
*	Resource choke kills marines dead
*	Turn one obliette is tough.
*	Didn't have enough after those two warpstorms? Here's a 12 point Firestorm for ya ;)
*	dark eldar can be over powered.
*	#strakenstillbroken #plznrf #getwithitffg
*	"Tax for the Tax God, sales revenue for the sales revenue throne"
*	sometimes you play a 7 cost dude
*	I am become Hypex, destroyer of games.
*	bonesinger. vyper. power. isha. power. t1 ftw
*	Lucky Barlus trigger took my opponent's second Fetid Haze, without that I might have been in trouble.
*	Amazingly close, Omega and Morn both ambushing and warlord hunting like crazy. Final battle at Planet 6 had about 10 cards on each side, Omega ambushed 6 at start of battle, Morn used 2 Klaivex and a Rapid Assault. Morn only made it by keeping one Kabalite Strike Force til 2nd combat round.
*	Command sweeps are brutal.
*	Icredible luck won me the game
*	So few greens .... doesn't matter got Executions
*	Really tough match, learnt Caius Wroth is even better than I thought.
*	Gleeful Plaguebeast + Zarathur's flamers + Mark of Chaos + Nurgling Bomb + ork cannon before anyone could even swing on last battle. There was no one left to swing!
*	Dead Space Marines, yum yum
*	Slaver + Portal + Palace = Dominance
*	#Kith4Life
*	yo blackmane with turn 1 frostfang and warcamp! Can't touch this! -Zara
*	Hypex is death.
*	Gun Drones x2 on Kais'vre finished the game.
*	I can't remember the last time I reported a win!
*	Yay for tokens
*	mew
*	Season ends not with a bang but a whimper
*	TeddyBillionz is a great sportsman!
*	Sowing Chaos HURTS
*	Mistakes were made.
*	Poor guy had to go to work for the weekend.
*	Monoliths are terrifying.
*	6 game season - 2 no shows and a OCTGN outage resulted in only 3 games played....SO FRUSTRATING!!
*	3 modified wins
*	Tyranids hate Artox Prime and Tarrus
*	I'd rather be lucky than good
*	Devestators destroy archon's palace.
*	RIP Aunshi
*	It's always Hypex.
*	My opponent resign from game after I played 2 dreds + Black Sword and triggered Carnath+Tarrus 6x ;)
*	Hypex is life.