“Warpstone Open 2014 Qualifier III: Final Round

"No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise."
-Rorschach

From the outset it was clear that this matchup had the makings of an epic slugfest... and the fans who were hoping for blood did not leave disappointed. The Watchmen chose to receive on the opening kickoff and were promptly rewarded with a blitz. Craven Ray ran straight at Nite Owl and drove him to the turf. The crowd was stunned and the apothecary called to the scene, but there was no denying it. Nite Owl was dead, gone to join the ranks of the Nuffleboppers.

Winning the war of attrition was the key to success for both teams, and Watchmen Philosophy slowly began to gain an edge as the Gravecity Nuffleboppers continuously failed go-for-it rolls, whittling away at their slim number of rerolls. By the end of turn three, Mothman had avenged Nite Owl and sent Craven Ray permanently to his grave.

As the half wore on the number of players left on the pitch continued to dwindle, eventually leaving four from Gravecity and seven from the Watchmen to finish the half. Silk Spectre was brought in range to back up Ozymandias, but no wizard was used. Ozymandias crossed the goal line in turn eight as the Gravecity players refused to stand up from the turf.

Watchmen Philosophy 1, Gravecity Nuffleboppers 0.

The halftime whistle blew right as Mortisorris badly hurt Silk Spectre on the line. This critical hit reduced Watchmen Philosophy to only ten players as the second half began.

When the players came out of the locker room, Hack Enslash took the pitch wielding his deadly chainsaw. In turn two of the second half, he decided it was time to put it to use. He charged at Rorschach and laid into the chaos warrior with the whirling blade... only to have it kick back and badly hurt him instead.

On turn three a gap opened up in the Nuffleboppers' defense and Hollis Mason charged the seam in an attempt to pop the ball free from Lydia. Two tries at the block were unsuccessful and Lydia sidestepped to safety beside Mortisorris. Watchmen Philosophy held a slim player advantage at this point - nine to eight - and they played cautiously to continue to exploit it.

The very next turn nearly spelled disaster for the Watchmen. Mothman managed to take out a strength 4 zombie, but Sally Jupiter rolled double skulls twice in a row, failing to put a tackle zone on Lydia the ballcarrier. Gravecity followed up by closing ranks around their unearthly mummies and making it tough for the Watchmen to get another shot at Lydia.

Mothman was the only one who stood a chance and their coach reasoned that even if the undead were able to score, they still stood a chance in overtime. Luck smiled upon Mothman as he leapt to his feet and dodged free from Mortisorris, dodged a second time past Annabelle and used two go-for-its to finally knock out Lydia from the game. The ball lay in Annabelle's tackle zone, but the blessings of Nuffle held true as Ozymandias managed to dodge in and throw the ball further from the reach of Annabelle and Mortisorris. With Lydia and Craven Ray gone, those two remained as the only two viable ballcarriers on the team.

Gravecity came back the following turn with a vengeance. Ozymandias was knocked out. Rorschach was injured to the point where he would miss the following game. And to top it off, Mortisorris picked up the ball cleanly as Gravecity surveyed their first player advantage of the half.

With Annabelle in scoring position and Mortisorris holding the ball, a decision had to be made as to which player the Watchmen should blitz. They chose to blitz Annabelle to eliminate the scoring threat. Though a reroll was needed, Mothman continued his heroics and Annabelle was also knocked off the pitch.

Turn seven arrived and with only five players left on the pitch times were getting tense for both coaches. If it went to overtime, it seemed certain that Gravecity would hold a huge numbers advantage. There were simply not enough players or time for an adequate cage, however. Sgt. Remington tried to blitz Sally Jupiter away from Mortisorris but she stood firm.

Mortisorris scampered up the sidelines and the wizard was called into play in an attempt to knock out Mothman, who lay in wait. The lightning from the sky did not have the intended effect, however, as Mothman jumped up from the ground and blitzed the ball from from the wight.

Sally Jupiter managed to dodge away from the clutches of Sgt. Remington and get into scoring range as Dollar Bill scooped up the ball and passed it into her waiting arms. The final whistle sounded as she crossed the goal line and hurled herself into the stands and the arms of the adoring Watchmen fans.

Final score: Watchmen Philosophy 2, Gravecity Nuffleboppers 0.

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This match was exceptionally fun to play because JP made it such a good time. We both had a good laugh and I'm hoping that we'll cross paths again. Here's to theme music and turn 16 fouls. All the best, mate.








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