Great surprise - got to listen while painting with my kids today. Thanks for the gift guys!

Happy holidays to everyone in the Unexpected Podcast Team and the community

Merry Christmas one and all

Evan hit the nail on the head around the 45-minute mark. Even though your army is good at one tactic, there are sometimes better strategies in timed play you will need to play. It's easier to hold an objective than remove an opponent from the objective. Throw in random game-end scenarios. Being in the lead before the end condition could be met is equally important. Another classic mistake many players make (even good ones) is overstretching for a big win before securing the victory first. Sometimes you have to accept that you may only win a game 3-2 but make sure you do; then, when your position is unassailable, you can move to score the extra victory points. Sometimes you won't, however, be able to take an early lead. In this situation, experience and understanding of what you can achieve in the time allotted is key. If you are going to have to break your opponent, maybe just using your might to bump up wound rolls is worth it. Not going to be able to move models off the board in recon in time? make sure you stop the opponent can't get anyone off and target the leader.

Loved this segment guys. I’m starting to play in tournaments a bit more and these are great tips. One that has helped me a ton is Scenario by Scenario game plan. Domination - What is my list doing for this? Seize the Prize - What is my strategy for this?

My local area is doing an escalation "tournament" this month with play periods of 400/600/800. The stipulation is that 300 points from the 400-point list must be included in the 600-point list and 400 points from the 600-point list must be included in the 800-point list. I am planning on running Isengard to get some models painted up that I have been neglecting. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my ideas. 400 points: Warband 1- Lurtz leading 10 warriors with shield, 1 warrior with banner and shield, and 3 berserkers Warband 2- Mauhur leading 7 marauders with bow (23 models) 600 points: Warband 1- Lurtz leading 5 warriors with shield, 5 warriors with pike, 1 with banner and shield, and 4 berserkers Warband 2- Mauhur leading 7 marauders with bow Warband 3- Ugluk leading 6 warriors with shield and 6 warriors with pike (37 models) 800 points: Warband 1- Lurtz leading 5 warriors with shield, 5 warriors with pike, 1 with banner and shield, and 3 berserkers Warband 2- Mauhur leading 8 marauders with bow Warband 3- Ugluk leading 6 warriors with shield and 6 warriors with pike Warband 4- Saruman on horse Warband 5- Grima (39 models) I'll most likely tweak the final list so Saruman has some warriors with him, but this is the general idea. Let me know what you think and what you changes you would make. Thanks!