Dark Elves vs Orcs and Goblins 1250 points

Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report summary:-

A decisive, well planned victory (excellent battle report, full of character & nice narrative)

source : druchii.net

credit : The Griefbringer

12-Jan-2009

Khadriel Greifbringer stood in his chariot overlooking his newest recruits. The orcs his corsairs had recently captured had fetched a surprisingly good price at market, and one of the more prestigious arena-managers had paid an advance for even more of the beasts for the fighting pits of Karond Kar. With the extra coin, he had taken the liberty of hiring an errant Dread Knight and his attendant standard bearer. As of that moment, this Dread Knight was attempting to get his Cold One to wheel with little success. The beast was doing its best to curl its head back to snap off the knight's leg, and in the process the monster and its rider were spinning in circles. Khadriel did his best not to sigh.

"No wonder he was cheap." The voice came from beside him, and Khadriel looked down to see the sorceress, Ithis Duskwalker, leaning non-chalantly against the wheel of his chariot. Her enchanted cloak blurred her outlines so that it wasn't clear where she ended and the long shadows of the late afternoon began. The only thing clearly visible was her sardonic smile and gleaming emerald eyes.

"He is a novice, true. If he lives through a few battles, he will be worth it." Khadriel growled.

Ithis snorted. "I wonder why they call you the Griefbringer sometimes."

"Eh?"

"Is it because you bring grief to others, or to yourself?"

Khadriel scowled. "I've no time for your jibes, sorceress. There are orks approaching--rejoin the scouts and follow through with the plan."

Ithis made a great show of curtseying. "Oh I shall, your eminence, I shall. But first, take this." She flicked a small talisman to him. He caught it and looked it over. Noting his confusion, she added, "The Seal of Ghrond, for their shamans."

Khadriel frowned. "They have shamans?" When he looked up, though, she was gone. Shrugging, he pocketed the trinket, hoping it would do whatever it was supposed to without his attention.

Dark Elf Army

Khadriel's Corsair Party
General: Khadriel Griefbringer, Dark Elf Noble w/ Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Lance, Seal of Ghrond
mounted in Cold One Chariot w/Spears (Light Purple Chariot)

-Ithis Duskwalker, Lv2 Dark Elf Sorceress (Death Lore) w/Darkstar Cloak, Cloak of Dark Souls (With Shades)
-15 Corsairs, Full Command (Purple)
-15 Corsairs, Full Command (Dark Purple)
-5 Dark Riders, Musician and RxBs (Black)
-6 Shades (Black Skirmishers)
-6 Cold One Knights w/Champion, Standard (Purple Cavalry)
-Reaper Bolt Thrower (Light Purple Warmachine)

Orc and Goblin Army

Big Toof's Boyz
General: Big Toof, Ork Big Boss w/Light Armor, Enchanted Shield, Extra Choppa, Kickin' Boots (in Big'uns)

-Zitnit, Lv2 Goblin Shaman w/Staff of Sneaky Stealin (in blue goblins)
-Frink, Lv1 Goblin Shaman w/Dispel Scrolls x2 (in red goblins)
-10 Black Orks, Full Command, Shields (Dark Green)
-19 Big'uns w/Extra Choppa, shields, Full Command (Green)
-19 Night Goblins, Full Command, Netters, Spears, 1x Fanatic (Blue)
-19 Night Goblins, Full Command, Netters, Spears, 2x Fanatic (Red)
-5 Boar Boyz

Terrain and Deployment
My opponent, Kurt, began deployment by placing a forest at the edge of the 'no man's land' square at board center. I mirrored this by placing a forest at the other end, figuring that doing so might bracket his larger units into a narrow space, limiting their ability to maneuver (this would later prove very true). Along the north edge there was a hill just above the western forest, and in the south there was a hill at the center of the deployment zone. To round it out, there was a third hill north of the east forest, but it would play no role in the game.

Kurt placed his Big'uns and Black Orks to hold the center, with the Night Goblins on each flank, and the Boar Boyz in the far west to come up my flank. I responded by placing my Corsair blocks in the center in front of the RBT, which went on the hill (of course), and flanked them by the Chariot in the west and the Knights in the east. The shades occupied the western wood, and the Dark Riders were left to tangle with the Boar Boyz. When we finished deployment, the board looked like this:



Turn 1
Kurt had fewer units, and so got the +1 to go first (strange how this keeps happening against the orcs for me--aren't they supposed to be cheap?). Kurt won the roll handily and took advantage of it. Animosity saw his warboss's unit surge forward 6", but in their reguar movement they only moved another 2" to keep pace with the Black Orcs, who marched ahead. The goblins followed suit, but moved more slowly, knowing that they wouldn't totally fit between the forests. The board boyz also surged foward, but not their full move, hoping to avoid a Dark Rider charge. Magic was shut down entirely by my Sorceress, who dispelled a Foot of Gork aimed to squash my Reaper. This was to begin a theme for Kurt's wizards--they were either dispelled by me, or failed to meet their casting number. They never got off a spell all game.

Top of Turn 1:


Khadriel watched as the orcs surged forward into the narrow clearing between the woods. As usual, he was surprised at their lack of imagination--surely they saw the trap they were walking into? Snorting, he discarded the thought--of course they didn't. He doubted the greenskin beasts thought at all. He turned and nodded to the Reaper crew, who immediately let fly a hail of screaming, barbed steel at the small group of heavily armored orks charging their direction. Not many fell, depite the bolts lodged in their armor and shields, but no matter. They were weakened, and that was what counted. Just then, crossbow bolts erupted from the forest on his left flank, harrying the goblin regiments, of all things. "What the hell are you playing at, Duskwalker?"

"Milord?" His driver asked.

Khadriel shook his head. "Nothing. Tend to your work."

It was then that he felt the Seal of Ghrond grow cold against his chest, and he understood. "Shamans," he nodded, "Of course."

In my half of the turn, I began with what would become a pattern for me: Stupid Cold Ones. My chariot went stupid and blundered forward. This, fortunately enough, was just fine with me, since I only planned to scoot my regiments up a tiny bit anyway. The corsairs walked a couple inches up, while the Knights wheeled themselves into flanking position. Meanwhile, the Dark Riders galloped ahead to bait the Boarboyz away from my main units, peppering them with ineffective crossbow fire. The Shades moved forward, too, and fired at the blue goblins, killing one or two (I think). They also teased out the units lone fanatic, who promptly charged into a tree and died. In the magic phase, the sorceress cast Steal Soul on Shaman Zitnit and squeaked by their 4 dispel dice, taking one of his wounds away. Finally, the Reaper threw a volley of bolts into the Black Orks, killing 1.

Bottom of Turn 1 (I forgot to reduce casualties from the goblins/orcs in this map):



Turn 2
In the top of 2, Kurt fell for the bait by charging my Dark Riders with his boars, who promptly fled out of their range. This, however, put the boar boyz in an awkward position for future turns. Animosity gave Kurt a break this turn (at which point I commented, prophetically enough, that he never seemed to have much trouble with that major ork weakness), so his units moved forward in formation, preparing for the next turn charge. The goblin regiments had to wheel to prevent going into the forest, so they were effectively eliminated as potential flankers in future turns. With no shooting, Kurt again attempted to use his magic to stomp the bolt thrower, and he was again dispelled. His other casting attempts failed.

Top of Turn 2:


"Milord, the Orcs are almost upon us!" Khadriel's driver sang, bloodlust thick in his voice.

"Have you reigned in the beasts?" He asked, eyeing the reptilian monsters yoked to his chariot who had, until recently, been trying their best to break free of their bonds.

"I have. They await the command."

Khadriel lowered his lance and braced himself. "Charge!"

In my half of the turn, I sprung stage 1 of my trap. Khadriel and his chariot slammed into the black ork regiment, killing 6 instantly. The cold ones tore apart another, while Khadriel, in a challenge to the Black Ork boss, skewered him in one clean hit. The small regiment of orcs, outnumbered and pummeled, broke before the chariot's terrifying assault and was summarily run down. Elsewhere, the Dark Riders rallied and rode to the flank of the boars, felling an ork with crossbow fire, while the shades continued to whittle goblins out of Zitnit's unit. The Cold One Knights went stupid (that's 2 failed tests on Ld 9 in 4 attempts!), which was very dangerous, given the pack of Big'uns staring at them. The western corsairs wheeled to present a threat to a big'un flank, while the center corsairs retreated a few spare inches to limit the chances of being successfully charged. The sorceress' second attempt to steal Zitnit's soul was thwarted by a dispel scroll, and her second spell (Dark Hand of Death) somehow managed to get through, though it failed to kill any boars.

Bottom of Turn 2:


Turn 3
In turn 3, Animosity finally came to bite Kurt by squabbling the red goblins. The boars reformed to face the dark riders while the blue goblins stayed put (and Zitnit's magic was, again, shut down). Then Kurt had to decide what to do with his big'uns and general. He had a choice of the Cold Ones, who would almost certainly flee and expose him to a combo flank/rear charge of corsairs, the west corsairs, which would expose him to a flank/rear charge of corsairs and cold ones, or the center group, who would only expose him to a pair of flank charges and, with any luck, he might be able to overrun into the Reaper. He chose the center option and went for it. He came up short by 3" or so, which left his expensive, valuable unit surrounded on three sides by bloodthirsty Druchii. Uh-oh in Orc town...

Top of Turn 3:


In my half of the turn, I let the wolves of my army have their head, and triple charged the big'un with two blocks of corsairs and the knights. The carnage was incredible. The orcs were so close that, even though my Cold Ones went stupid (again! Sheesh!), they still blundered into the orc flank and got their charge. I felled 11 Big'uns and wounded Big Toof who, in turn, killed a Reaver in a challenge. Beyond that, only one other corsair died, and I won combat by a monumental 17 to 4. Big Toof and his boys broke and fled into the waiting arms of their captors, the Knights (I realize now that we played this a bit wrong--the big'uns should have fled through the cold ones at first, but there could be little doubt I would have run him down regardless). Elsewhere, the Dark Riders continued to harry the Boar Boyz, killing another 2 (go Druchii accuracy!), while the combined firepower of the Reaper and the Shades finally panicked the blue goblins, who ran for the hills (literally). Magic was uneventful, with my sorceress shut down again. Finally, Khadriel's chariot turned around to face the blue goblins, though their fleeing later in the turn would foul up the next turn's charge.

Bottom of Turn 3:


Big Toof's Last Stand

Turn 4
Reeling from the blow to his army last turn, Kurt's luck did not improve. The Red Goblins squabbled again (probably debating whether it would be worth it to get any closer to the bloodbath they were watching), and the blue goblins failed to rally, running out of sight behind the northern hill. About the only thing that happened was the two remaining boar boyz charged the shades and sorceress in the woods. I know Kurt wanted me to stand and take the charge so his boyz would kill something, but I told him that I would flee. Not only would holding risk my expensive sorceress, my whole magic phase, and my useful shades, but it also was in keeping with the character of the druchii to be a bastard and run for the hills. So, they did, and the Boars didn't have sufficient movement to make it through the woods and catch them. Yes, yes, I feel dirty.

Top of Turn 4:


Ithis smelled the ork cavalry coming before she heard it. She turned to the shades around her--her blood relatives from the cold mountains of Naggaroth. "Come cousins, let us flee. Leave the ork to tangle himself in brambles."

The hardened druchii responded immediately, and in the blink of an eye there was no trace of their ever being there.

In the bottom of turn 4, the chariot went stupid (ugh...), relinquishing any chance it would have to make itself useful in the rest of the battle. The shades also didn't rally, and fled back towards the board edge. The Dark Riders positioned behind the boars, trapping them between the forest and their spears (heh, heh...) and the Reaper trimmed a couple goblins out of the red unit. Before any charging would happen, though, I had to wheel and position my Knights and corsairs to attack the gobbos. Also, I needed to tease out the fanatics. I moved my undamaged corsairs within 8" (yay, M5!) and sent the pair of them loose. Kurt opted to send them towards my chariot (gulp...) but they both rolled a little short of actual interception. There was no magic since my sorceress was running away like, well, like a little girl.

Bottom of Turn 4:


Eep! Fanatics! Step on it, Bob!

Turn 5
The Boar boyz, realizing their mistake, argued with each other about what to do this turn, sealing their fate. Zitnit and his blue buddies rallied, but his Foot of Gork was, again, dispelled. The red goblins stayed put, resigned to their fate, while the fanatics whirled out of control, just missing the chariot and everything else, for that matter.

"You imbecile!" Khadriel bellowed at his driver, who was hopelessly whipping the cold ones to little effect.

The Druchii general backhanded the fool to the floor and then, hefting his lance, thrust it deep into the backside of one of the beasts. "Run, you miserable lizards! RUN!"

The chariot bucked forward, and Khadriel turned to see the insane, whirling goblins being left behind. He didn't notice that his driver had fallen out until some time later.

In my half of the turn, the chariot regained its senses and trundled away from the pursuing fanatic. The dark riders charged the remaining boars, killing 1 to no losses in return and sending the last one fleeing for the hills. The knights and corsairs declared a charge on the red goblins, who fled in response. With no real targets, the Reaper remained silent, its crew taking a break to do their nails.

Bottom of Turn 5:


Turn 6
The red goblins didn't rally, and just kept running. The blue goblins got atop the hill but, again, Zitnit's spells did nothing. One fanatic dropped dead, while the other ran in an irrelevant direction. The boar, of course, kept running.

Top of Turn 6:


In a final act of stupidity, my Cold Ones blundered into my corsairs, eliminating any chance of catching the fleeing red goblins (and potentially robbing me of 18 some-odd slaves. Grrrrr...). The shades rallied, and the Sorceress managed to get off a Dark Hand of Death on the lone fanatic, frying him. The Reaper and Dark Riders shot the Blue goblins again into a rout, and the game came to a close.

Bottom of Turn 6:


Final Score (Victory Points)
Dark Elves: 1850 (2 banners, 3 quarters, a general)
Orcs: 0 (yes, 0)

Khadriel drove his chariot back to the lines to witness his corsairs celebrating the victory. He wound his way through the crowd until his found the Dread Knight, Hargan, drinking from a horn. Khadriel snatched it away from him and slapped him in the face. The druchii fell silent, watching. Khadriel leaned down and, looking Hargan in the face, poured the wine into the dirt. "Until you learn to control your beast," he hissed, "You drink nothing but seawater."

Hargan wiped the blood from his lips, his face a mask. "Your will is mine, milord."

Khadriel threw the horn into the mud and strode away. "And somebody find me a new driver! I seem to have lost mine!"

Post Mortem
Wow, what a victory. Kurt was routed straight off the field. I attribute my success to a couple things: First, Kurts disastrous failed charge in turn 3 sealed his fate. Were it not for that blunder, I would have likely lost many other elves. Second, he put too many points into 'expensive' stuff in an army that really ought to bring numbers to bear first, quality later. 10 Black Orks are less than half as good as 20 regular boyz, methinks, and goblin units ought to have either fanatics or netters, not both. Finally, Kurt's complete lack of shooting allowed the fast yet fragile elements of my army to do as they pleased (namely the dark riders). The movement phase was mine to exploit, and without any fast cav or shooting of his own to contest it, he didn't have a chance.

Still, we both had fun despite the rout, and it was a good game. I feel as though I'm getting the hang of these O&G lists, though. I'm raring for a chance to test myself against another army. Thanks to my opponent, and thanks for reading!