2023 World Championships AOS Player Profile: Fred Schmidt

The World Championships of Warhammer are next week and we’re prepping by talking to some of the key competitors at this year’s event – many of whom are also competing for top honors in the ITC. We sat down with to talk to them about their plans and expectations for the event itself. 

Competitor Profile

Player Name: Fred Schmidt (Georgia Warband)
Age: 31
Country of Origin: US
Where you won your ticket: Kansas City Open (Kansas City, MS in June)

Let’s start with the basics. What army are you bringing to the World Championships, and why did you choose them?

Sylvaneth. They are far and away my favorite army, my “Forever Army” as it were. I want to be able to represent the army well at the championships and compete for best in faction both at the event and in the ITC season. But mainly, I just really love the trees. They are a treat to play, bring a smile to my face, and have an immense amount of list diversity due to the flexible book.

I also would be remiss to not mention my very blue paint scheme, which is based off of my favorite Marble League team the Thunderbolts! GO BOLTS!

Fred's List - Click to Expand

Run us through your list a little bit. What made you choose this list, and why do you enjoy playing it?

So the list is built around Sylvaneth’s mobility and making sure I’m reliant on our spells as little as possible. Sylvaneth’s spell lore primarily casts on 7s for the important spells, and we have very few bonuses to cast. So it is important in list construction to make sure your list functions fine without them as there will be times nothing happens. Harvestboon’s pre game move of 12” allows for a lot of potential alpha strike shenanigans and repositioning of key pieces in my army after I have seen my opponent deploy. It is an insanely strong tool for a one drop army to have.

The list wants to use its mobility to score Battle Tactics (Sylvaneth have a solid BT game in the current GHB), as well as dictate fights on my terms and maintain distance as I choose. Additionally, it has a lot of recursion so that if the opponent doesn’t fully kill a unit, it is able to come back fairly effectively. The last part of this list is the redundancy of my options. I have multiple ways of bringing models back (spell/revenant seekers) or to get rend on my swords (treesong/hoarfrost), etc.

What does the list do well against? What match-ups are you hoping to avoid? 

The list does well into shooting for the most part due to its ability to rush down, as well as slower armies on spread out missions such as Fountains of Frost. Armies I hope to avoid are ones that can keep up with our mobility and still lift units (such as Ironjawz) or armies that utilize MSU as Sylvaneth usually wants to devote its fighting resources to larger threats (though that is dependent on the list you are running).

Personally, I feel that my list is capable of keeping any game close due to its mobility and ability to score tactics. That way when an angle presents itself, maybe from a key miscast or similar, I am able to use my speed and hitting power to capitalize on the opening to change the pace of the game. I often find myself winning by a few points due to this, but that is also not unusual for Sylvaneth.

Are there any battleplans that you’re hoping to avoid? Why?

I really want to avoid plans with 3 or less objectives against armies that can control those points with lots of bodies. My list wants to play the edges more and spread out the opponent to make key strikes at weak points in their line.

The World Championships of Warhammer isn’t the largest event ever, but it’s certainly the first of its kind. What was your road getting to the event like? Was it something you were aiming for?

I was able to get to the event by winning the Kansas City Open singles event playing a mixed arms KO list. It was a smaller event but had some strong players there, and a Banger of a final game against a super unique and cool Lumineth list (shout outs to Carson). I definitely was aiming for a ticket, as I did not want to miss out on this experience.

How does it feel to be going to the event? Are you nervous? Excited? How does it compare to LVO?

I feel super fortunate and grateful to be able to play at this event. I would not have made it if it weren’t for my team (GAW) and my local scene helping me improve as a player to be able to qualify. I owe my success to them.

I am incredibly excited to get to play against the best of the best from throughout the world. I have not been playing for super long so I cannot compare it to LVO. However, it is a similar excitement if not more than what I had for NOVA (which was amazing).

How do you feel about the event’s unique country-based scoring? Does it add excitement to later rounds for you?

It seems super cool and unique. I’m all about new and interesting formats!

How do you expect the competition to be different from other events? Is there anything you’re doing differently to prepare?

The competition is going to be insane. Everyone there is a “shark” as it were. We all have earned our place at this event and I expect every game to be a chess match. Which rules to be honest! As for what I am doing differently, not too much. The last thing I want to do is get into my own head about the event and just want to make sure I enjoy it and play the best the I can!

How do you expect you’ll do at the event? What’s a “good event” look like for you, record-wise?

I am going in without any expectations about my performance in the tournament. It’s an insanely stacked event and anything can happen. A “good event,” though, is one where I get to have as many amazing games as possible, learning a ton, meeting awesome people and making friends. Regardless of record, that is what an amazing world championship would be for me.

How do you feel about competitive play in this GHB season? How does the meta feel to you right now?

I personally believe competitive play at the moment is heavily influenced by the Battle Tactic and Grand Strategy situation of this GHB, with the universal tactics being difficult for a lot of armies to accomplish. Most if not all of the strongest armies are capable of easily scoring 5 or more Battle Tactics a game, many without any interaction needed with the opponent. If you are not constantly thinking about your Battle Tactic path or the path of your opponent you can suddenly find yourself falling behind in a game. This is why I think Sylvaneth are in a solid spot this GHB as primal dice help us get our spells off a bit more often, we are good on spread out missions, and we can score 5 Battle Tactics a game pretty consistently.

You’re currently still in the hunt for the ITC crown this year, and this event could replace one of your scores. How does that factor into your plans?

I am not too worried about the overall ITC crown. However, I am really hoping to be able to get the number one Sylvaneth spot this year. There is tough competition from amazing players in the Sylvaneth field and it would be quite the honor if I am able to pull off the number one spot for the season. So I guess it does factor into my plans as it means I need to keep getting games and events in with my trees. Which, I am definitely not complaining about. I LOVE playing them!

Thanks again for taking the time to answer our questions. Good luck at the event!

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