The Kaisers Are Marching South!
Once again, the Kaisers of Conquest packed their armies, dice, measuring tapes and probably far too many miniatures into their cars and headed south from Graz. Our destination this time: Medvode, Slovenia, where the Amulet D20 Grand Tournament 2026 awaited us on October 3rd and 4th.
And this time we weren’t sending just two or three players. Oh no. We were coming in force!
With Bharion, Frazni, extune, artvokat, hannes.franz, hausimeister, eliking, martin.ragnath.florian and gernot hk, we had nine players representing our community. Quite a respectable little invasion force from Graz!
For some of us it was another opportunity to test our tournament skills against the international Conquest community, while for others the weekend was more about gaining experience, meeting fellow players and enjoying some good games. But I think we all shared the same motivation: rolling dice, pushing toy soldiers around and having a great weekend with the guys.
And maybe, just maybe, bringing some trophies back to Austria.
Preparation – The Bootcamp
Of course, you don’t simply march into a Grand Tournament completely unprepared. Well, technically you can, and we’ve definitely done that before, but this time we actually made an effort!
In the weeks leading up to the event, we organized a bootcamp at our club in Graz, giving everyone the opportunity to test their lists, discuss matchups, experiment with deployment and prepare for what we expected to encounter in Medvode.
One thing we were particularly concerned about was the expected shooting-heavy meta.
With ranged damage being such an important factor in the current game, we anticipated plenty of armies capable of putting serious pressure on their opponents before the first meaningful melee engagement. This naturally influenced our discussions about army composition, terrain, threat ranges and how to approach certain matchups.
After all, bringing an expensive regiment to the table only to have it removed before it gets to do anything isn’t exactly the most enjoyable experience.
So we spent our preparation discussing possible counters, refining our lists and trying to identify weaknesses before our opponents could exploit them.
Whether our predictions about the meta would prove correct was, of course, another question entirely.
Arrival in Medvode – Great Venue, Great People!
After our preparations were finished, it was finally time to pack everything and make our way from Graz to Medvode.
And I have to say, the weekend started off really well.
(front left to right: Lukas aka Frazni, Alex aka Bharion;
back left to right: Daniel aka Extune, Hannes aka Hannes, David aka Artvokat)
The tournament took place at the Sports Hall in Medvode, which turned out to be a great location for an event of this size. Plenty of Conquest players, armies from all kinds of factions, beautifully painted miniatures and, most importantly, people sharing the same enthusiasm for the game.
What more could you ask for?
The atmosphere throughout the weekend was fantastic. We already knew some of the Slovenian players from previous tournaments, so it was great to meet familiar faces again, but also to get to know plenty of new opponents.
One thing I really appreciate about the Conquest community in Slovenia is how welcoming and relaxed everyone is. Sure, people come to compete, and nobody wants to lose, but at the end of the day we are all there because we enjoy the game.
And that’s exactly how a tabletop tournament should feel.
A huge shoutout to the organizers and judges, Ulverbite, Perko and BrillyOneEye, and everyone involved in making this event happen. Organizing a tournament with more than sixty players is certainly no small task!
The Kaisers’ Armies
With nine players participating, we naturally brought quite a variety of armies and approaches to the tournament.
Some of us were looking to squeeze every last bit of competitive potential out of our lists, while others preferred playing familiar armies or trying something slightly different.
And that’s one of the things I enjoy about attending tournaments with a larger group: you get to see how different players approach the same meta, the same missions and similar matchups.
My Army – Bharion
For my own tournament preparation, I decided to bring:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Dinosaurs? Where are the fu**ing dinosaurs?! [2000/2000]
The W'adrh?n
== Warlord Scion of Conquest [140]: Vision
* Chosen of Conquest 4 [260]:
* Chosen of War 3 [200]:
== Matriarch Queen [105]: War, History
* Warbred 3 [180]:
* Braves 5 [195]:
* Chosen of War 3 [200]:
* Warbred 3 [180]:
== Predator [90]: Death
* Hunters 3 [150]:
* Hunters 3 [150]:
* Slingers 3 [150]:I thought the new terrain layouts generally disfavour impact cavalry so i decided not to play Speakers this time. Instead of the Slingers a 3rd regiment of Hunters would have been prefered but I do not possess one. The three lights, including the Predator, should give me some early activations, tempo and shooting that usually should be very strong in ranged duels with innate loose formation and sureshot and AP (1) and deadly shots and a very nice melee-stat-profile (they will get nerfed – I am pretty sure about). The SoC with his CoC should work as a precision knife with a huge threat range and some interference support and the double CoW MSUs are bringing much needed power and resilience for the later stages of the game. Warbred are great units in general and the innate Cleave (2) – possibly being pushed to Cleave (3) with a warchant – and ignorance of hindering terrain is just bonkers. My list – like all WD lists – benefits from chants but is not as chant-hungry as other configurations. Warbred want you to have 2 markers ready bevore their activation and so do the CoC. The other chants are all nice to have but not really mandatory. Hunters chanting conquest are great roadblocks but are also not mandatory needed. And well, I wanted to play with at least 12 activations which resulted in the list above.
Retrospectively the list would have been much stronger with a MQ as Warlord, the Predator going War and fielding a second regiment CoW while the MQ exchanges their CoW for one MSU of Hunters. However I was really satisfied with this list, ranking 13th although the games I lost could have been also wins if I played better. 🙂
Wadrhun are a strong faction – and I really like my tribe – still, but I think to win a tournament it needs a bit of luck as there are factions, that, in my oppinion, are just way stronger in the current meta, when played by players with the same skill level.
For the other players lists feel free to have a look at https://conquest.longshanks.org/event/31439/
Maybe we will add short thoughts of them later.
Tournament Day 1 – Time to Roll Some Dice!
With our armies unpacked and the first pairings announced, it was finally time to put all that preparation to the test.
And as always, no matter how much theorycrafting, listbuilding or practice you do beforehand, the tabletop tends to have its own ideas about how things should work.
Round 1 vs. Daevala | Grind them down
We met earlier this year at the Conquest-Retreat, organised also by AmuletD20, and had some nice conversations and shared some laughs when assembling/painting our minis there. She is a very nice and warm person and the atmosphere during the game was great. Usually everyone – at least I am – a little bit nervous at the tournament start so having a nice person to play against [together] the first game is great.
Her army was fully painted which added to the atmosphere of the game!
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Fangorn forest [2000/2000]
Weaver Courts
== Warlord Seanchas Sidhe [120]: Winter's Bite, Court of Winter
* Wyrd Knights 3 [180]:
* Gemred Knights 5 [360]:
== Rhun Sidhe [125]: Bond of Falcons, Cloud Seeding
* Will-O-Wisps 3 [100]:
* Gallowglass Wardens 3 [210]:
* Will-O-Wisps 3 [100]:
* Gallowglass Wardens 3 [210]:
== Mhor Sidhe [115]: Chitinous Metamorphosis
* Wyrd Knights 3 [180]:
* Crann Guardians 5 [300]:The Battle
I practiced and theorycrafted a lot vs. Weaver Courts. I knew what to do whilst my opponent seemed a bit “clueless” vs. that type of Wadrhun list. There are many WD players in Slovenia but I don’t think anyone plays non-speaker lists.
In the end CoW and Warbred did a lot of work while my shooty-light units gave me tempo advantage.
Result: 66 – 10 for the mighty Wadrhun Cults
Round 2 vs. Balagan | Flames of Conquest
The next game was against a polish Wadrhun player. I did not know him before and while the first 3 quarters of the game were nice and enjoyable we finished with a very emotional argument. When counting through, after turn 5, where i nearly tabled him, i was absoultely sure that I’ll outscore him. We could’nt come to an agreement and the judge counted for us. I won’t talk too much about the situation there, that evolved at his side of the table, but the judges verdict is respectable and to be followed. (nothing against the judging from my side but more about the influencing and discussions…)
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Zimna wojna zasi?gowa [2000/2000]
The W'adrh?n
== Warlord Matriarch Queen [130]: Conquest, Roar of the Awe'khwge
* Hunters 3 [150]:
* Hunters 3 [150]:
* Warbred 3 [180]:
* Chosen of Conquest 4 [260]:
== Scion of Conquest [150]: Beads of Death, Vision
* Chosen of Conquest 3 [200]:
* Blooded 3 [130]:
== Winglord Predator [220]: Death
* Hunting Pack 3 [120]:
* Hunting Pack 3 [120]:
* Apex Predator 1 [190]:The Battle
With double CoC – coming in for 16″ at turn 2 – and double HP he had an enormous tempo-advantage. He played well and very offensively and managed to score-burn some zones. I knew that i had more gas left in the tank with my double CoW so I tried to play for positions and catch-up.
After turn 5 it was like 27-10 for him. But during the 6th round, where we interrupted to count because of dice down, he only had one regiment CoC, one MSU Hunters, the half dead Winglord and the Apex left while i had lost only my Slingers and my CoC with the Scion. In the end the early aggression won him the game. He played really well and had great positioning before his MQ supremacy. I managed to catch up and I am pretty sure – if we played 1 or 2 more rounds – I’d have won this game.
Result: 36 – 40, lost to a fellow WD tribe.
My thoughts: Very intense game! If we played a bit faster we probably would have avoided the argument. But it was the 2nd game of the tournament so we both didn’t play our fastest game of Conquest. I wanted to “play-for-the-win-of-the-tournament” as long as possible and after the 2nd game this opportunity was lost. My list worked very well and my slow pace is to blame for the loss – no one else. 🙂
Round 3 vs. Grzegorz H | Head-to-Head
Oh what a great guy! Another polish dude coming the long way from Wroclaw (if I remember correctly) to compete with his Fallen Divinity. The last game of the day. We both were tired after the long day but nevertheless wanted to finish the day with a win. After exchanging list information and some small talk we started the game.
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Grzegorz H [2000/2000]
The Old Dominion
== Warlord Fallen Divinity [300]:
* Buccephaloi 3 [220]:
* Buccephaloi 3 [220]:
== Archimandrite [110]:
* Legionnaires 3 [110]:
* Unhallowed Sepulcher 1 [240]:
== Hierodeacon [110]: Sanctified Labaron
* Cultists 3 [90]:
* Kanephors 3 [200]:
* Kanephors 3 [200]:
* Karyatids 3 [200]:The Battle
He held back until turn 3 to field his Fallen Divinity and brought her on the left – hist right – flank with two units of Buccephaloi. On the other flank I was rushing and battling his Kanephors, Legios, Sepulcher and Karyatids with support from his Hierodeacon. I played very aggressively with my double Hunters and managed to kill his Archimandrite with Legios as well as his Hiero in Turn 3 and 4. His revenge came in the form of his Sepulcher but with 4 activations gone I felt pretty good about this game. I charged his Fallen Divinity with my CoC and shot it with my Slingers – supported by some rushing Warbred. In turn 5, just before he could reach power level III, I managed to fell the Divinity. I think he made a small mistake playing his Buccephaloi to defensively but I charged the Divinity end of Turn 3 which he really did not expect. I would not do this again as her death just came on point but in this game it payed off. Tbh i think even if I did not kill her, my lead would have been too much for him to catch up. One unit of CoW was fielded as guardians for my friendly zone.
Result: 52 – 17 as the Cults don’t allow heresy to spread!
My thoughts: My list just crushed him. After this game I realised how powerful it is. Reinforcement curve, early aggression and quality for the late game with the double CoW. I also realised that the Scion Supremacy was hardly needed and for the future I need to rework it to make the MQ the warlord.
Tournament Day 2 – The Final Push!
After the first day of battling, discussing matchups, analyzing questionable decisions and probably blaming a few dice rolls (i really had 2 charges on 2 with banner/unstoppable and managed to roll double 1es – but tbh these happened when I already hat superior tempo/positioning), it was time to return for day two.
By now, everyone had a better idea of how their lists performed against the field. Some initial concerns about the meta might have been confirmed, while others hopefully turned out to be less problematic than expected.
But with three more games ahead, there was still plenty of opportunity to improve our standings – or spectacularly ruin an otherwise promising tournament run.
Round 4 vs. MrWhale | Breakout
Another great opponent. A Slovenian veteran bringing his Spires to the battlefield. Luckily I played against a similar list – commanded by my brother Daniel – a few weeks before. I knew what to expect and how hard these husks are able to hit! Let me start with what a pleasure it was to play with him. The table state and intentions where always clearly communicated and while – we both – were able to hit some surprise moves it never felt somewhat like a “gotcha! -play”. In the end I managed to score 3 zones in T3 while delaying the scoring on his flank for 2 more turns. He also made some minor positioning mistakes which cost him dearly when his Avatara Block was caught in a bad spot. It was a great game until – at least this is what I think – I made some good and unexpected moves that caught him in bad spots.
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Where am I? Who am I? Do I even know myself? [2000/2000]
The Spires
The Sovereign Lineage
== Lineage Prideborne [120]:
* Leonine Avatara 3 [170]:
* Leonine Avatara 3 [170]:
* Centaur Avatara 4 [250]:
== Warlord Lineage Highborne [190]: Preservation Protocols, Ferro-Ossified Carapace
* Avatara 5 [285]:
* Avatara 3 [175]:
== High Clone Executor [100]: Infiltration Optimization Strain
* Force-Grown Drones 3 [90]:
* Vanguard Clone Infiltrators 3 [180]: Ward Preceptor
* Force-Grown Drones 3 [90]:
* Pteraphon Surveyor 1 [180]:The Battle
It was a close game which the scoring doesn’t reflect. Until turn 4 we both could have won that match. The SoC supremacy did a lot of work during that game! It really helped me with the difficult placed terrain and impassable objects during this scenario. As during the other games I really did not miss my thunder riders.
Result: 27 – 9 and a big revenge for the former slaves!
My thoughts: The first game where the SoC supremacy really helped me!
Round 5 vs. Hicksmix | Wheel of War
Chios alarm for me! I was really looking forward playing against Nick. He, as well as some other Germans, took a stop at Ljubljana to attend the GT on their way back home from Greece to Germany. Before we started our game we had a nice chat about Chios, our lists and some general smalltalk – oh and it was kinda relieving for the brain to have a game played talking german – in our native language. His Weavers looked gorgeous and fully deserved the “Best Painter” award at Chios.
In the end his Weaver Courts beat me although the game was close until I missed my go-turn and played way to defensively. Turn 4 he scored 3 zones which was impossible to catch up.
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees
Litter again, I'll break your fucking knees [2000/2000]
Weaver Courts
== Warlord Seanchas Sidhe [130]: Sun Crown, Chitinous Metamorphosis, Court of Summer
* Kern Skirmishers 3 [120]:
* Kern Skirmishers 3 [120]:
* Crann Guardians 3 [180]:
* Will-O-Wisps 3 [100]:
== Mhor Sidhe [115]: Forest's Embrace, Cloud Seeding
* Wyrd Knights 3 [180]:
* Wyrd Knights 3 [180]:
* Gallowglass Warriors 3 [220]:
== Rhun Sidhe [115]: Bond of Falcons
* Kern Skirmishers 3 [120]:
* Kern Skirmishers 3 [120]:
* Sciathan Riders 3 [150]:
* Sciathan Riders 3 [150]:The Battle
It was a very close and tactical demanding game. With his shooting heavy list and 14 activations I wanted to bring myself in a decent position to strike. My plan was to not loose a single activation but maybe get 1-2 activations – with my double hunters – on my right flank killed. My plan didn’t work as I played way too defensively. He out-activated me in the crucial turns and dodged my threats to position himself for superior trades.
Result: 34 – 50 for these slimy insects.
My thoughts: In general my list worked well. I think the MQ being played as warlord would have been superior as I could have evoked a cruel go-turn, where I possibly could have traded in 2 activations prior to his redemption strikes. The Scion didn’t do much and in general I should have played more aggressively -> especially if fielding the MQ as warlord the next time that I play this list. 14 activations are really hard to play against – especially vs. a skilled player playing Weaver Courts – having superior threatranges through movement and terrain ignorance.
(me analysing Nick’s onslaught)
Round 6 vs. Xelcor | Melee
Peter was my last opponent. We have met several times before but actually never played against eachother. He fielded his beloved 100k and I saw 3 big blocks in a killpoint scenario… I knew this would be a very close game. Peter is a very nice guy and prior to our match we shared a lot of small talk and our tournament experience over the past 5 games. As the speakers announced the start of the last round our final game for this tournament began – and oh boy it was a bloody mess!
I knew he only had 11 activations + art of war so my goal was to somehow kill stuff before our clashes so I get superiorty on activations.
My opponent’s list:
=== The Last Argument of Kings ===
Getting the Band back together [2000/2000]
The Hundred Kingdoms
== Warlord Crusading Noble Lord [120]: To Restore the Faith, To Banish the Darkness, To Cast Out the Daemon, Get in Position
* Crusaders 8 [175]:
* Longbowmen 5 [210]:
== Errant of the Order of the Shield [125]: Dynastic Ally, Art of War
* Penitents of St Lazarus 6 [275]:
* Martyrs of St Lazarus 4 [195]:
== Theist Priest [90]:
* Sicarii 8 [360]:
* Archangel 1 [240]: Aspect of the Redeemer Shield & Spear
== Chapter Mage [100]: School of Water, Talented, School of Air
* Men at Arms 3 [110]:The Battle
Well to sum it up: His blocks occupied crucial zones and the terrain – 2 big impassable rocks – didn’t favor my MSU beatdown. I had a very hard time as he chose to completely negate one flank. With spaces being very tight I could hardly double-team his blocks with my MSUs. In the end I managed to outscore him on zones while he got more killpoints. He couldn’t kill my warlord before I decided to flee to the other side of the map and this were probably the deciding killpoints, he missed out on, that made the difference.
Result: 61- 56 for my Cult.
My thoughts: This scenario is usually really hard for lists that don’t field blocks as killpoints are such a massive factor. With the terrain – in my oppinion – favoring blocks as well this was the hardest and closest game of the tournament. Small differences decided the game. I was still very happy with my list.
How Did the Kaisers Perform?
Nine players, six rounds, and quite a few dice rolled over the weekend!
Lukas missed the podium but went 5-1 and positioned 4th.
(Lukas being thoughtful vs. Rational Lawmaker – his only loss)
I went 4-2 and claimed 13th place.
Elias and Martin both went also 4-2 but had a worse SoS and claimed 17th/18th place. Elias was super unlucky as he was paired against guys from our group for the first 3 rounds.
(Elias vs. Fabi gotten paired on round 1)
Daniel – after a superior first day standing 3-0 – finished 3-3 at place 24 with a strong SoS of 1.33 loosing to some elite players only on the 2nd day.
(Daniel playing vs. Siccoro on the streaming-table)
Hannes, who attended his first tournament ever, finished with a very strong 3-3 as 34th.
Fabi, who also attended his first tournament with a very themeful CS-list, finished 2-4 as 53rd.
(Fabi mourning about the loss of his Companion Cavalry)
David who fielded his Old Dominion for the first time scored a solid 1-5. With OD having a tough spot in the current meta he still can be very proud of his effort!
(David playing with more agility and precision than any combined OD units)
Finally Gernot finished 58th at a 1-5 record with his undead legion. It should be said that he was inactive/semiactive for long but in his eyes some conquest-fires seemed to be re-invigorated after this tournament.
Of course, tournament results are always interesting, particularly when you travel as a group and everyone is keeping an eye on how the others are doing.
But there is also something really enjoyable about finishing your own game, walking over to another table and seeing one of your clubmates completely dominate a matchup – or desperately trying to keep their last remaining regiment alive.
And let’s not forget the post-game discussions. Somehow, every failed charge was statistically improbable, every opponent’s successful Resolve roll was outrageous, and every loss could probably have been avoided with just one different activation. At least that’s what we like to tell ourselves!
Conclusion: More Than Just a Tournament
What a weekend!
Travelling to Medvode with 9 players from our community was already something special. Having the opportunity to spend an entire weekend surrounded by people who share our enthusiasm for Conquest made it even better.
The venue was great, the atmosphere was fantastic, and the Slovenian community once again showed why we always enjoy coming down to play tournaments.
Looking back, I also think our bootcamp was a great idea. Even beyond the actual tournament preparation, having everyone together to discuss armies, test strategies and improve as a group is exactly what makes a tabletop community worthwhile.
But regardless of individual results, I think weekends like this are exactly what our hobby is about. A great group of friends, some competitive games, interesting opponents, plenty of discussions and memories that last considerably longer than any tournament ranking.
A massive thank you to the organizers, all our opponents, the Slovenian Conquest community and, of course, everyone from the Kaisers who made the trip!
We will definitely be back.
Until next time – the Kaisers march on!