Warriors of Chaos vs Dark Elves 2000 pts

warhammer tournament fantasy battle report :-

"The general’s bloodcurdling roar causes one black guard to collapse to the ground, blood oozing from his helmet."

(Great atmospheric, bloodthirsty but humourous narrative)

source : warhammer.org.uk

credit : Silas7

24-Feb-2009

The Conflict GT is a brand new event in Nanuet, NY. It’s within 4 hours of Boston, so naturally I had to attend it. Five other members of the Lost Legion traveled down to attend, along with a few other local players. The drive was uneventful until the last fifteen minutes, where we got well and truly lost for about two hours. Only after I “turned off my computer” and used the Force, was I able to get us to the hotel, where we checked in and walked over to the hall.

Toy Wiz had a huge side room with tables and terrain set up, players already making jokes and rolling dice. Ragnar (Mannahnin on the boards) lined up a test game, while Matt (Zombie on the boards) and I walked next door for sushi. Yes, there was a sushi restaurant in walking distance of the tournament, and a delicious one to boot! Already my tournament was off to a great start.

Monday morning we were greeted by glaring sun and bitter cold. We hustled over to the hall, where we left our armies overnight. As promised, I brought the Suicide Elves out to play in what would be a very strong field.

Dark Elf Army list

Dreadlord Kieron: sea dragon cloak, armor of eternal servitude, soulrender, ring of darkness
Death Hag Sinestra: army standard, banner of Hag Gref, manbane, rune of Khaine
Death Hag Cruella: cauldron of blood

2x20 spears: full command (the hydra legion and the skull legion)
2x10 crossbows: shields, one has musician (the harvesters and the reapers)
2x5 harpies (carrion don’t deserve a signature name!)
20 executioners, full command
20 witch elves, full command, witchbrew, banner of murder
18 black guard: full command, ring of Hotek
7 shades: great weapons

Several other players stopped by to wish me luck, then it was off to my first game against… my old nemesis Mychael Kistler! This time Myke left his beautiful wood elves at home, and was using an equally beautiful Warriors of Chaos army.

Warriors of Chaos Army list

Exalted Champion: Slaanesh, shield, daemonic steed, aethersword, demonic roar, general
Exalted Champion: Tzeentch, shield, daemonic steed, collar of Khorne, sword of might, battle standard
Sorcerer: 2 dispel scrolls, chaos steed

2x5 chaos warhouds
2x5 Slaanesh marauder horsemen: musician, light armor, (one has spears, shields instead)
10 Khorne chaos warriors: full command, great weapons
8 Khorne chosen warriors: full command, great weapons, favor of the gods, rapturous standard (they got the 4+ ward and stubborn gift!)
5 Slaanesh chaos knights: full command, war banner
6 chaos knights: musician, banner of rage
4 Slaanesh chaos ogres: chaos armor, great weapons, bellower
1 chaos spawn


Show your True Colors

Pitched Battle, but unit gets +1 Ld if they capture an enemy banner, loses 1 Ld if they lose their banner (can only get bonus once). Bonus points for controlling more banners, holding more table quarters, and killing the enemy general.

Here are the two armies, ready for battle!



My army pivots around the witch elves, the entire left flank curving to the right, while my left flank stays put. The bulk of Mike’s army is here, and will be on me soon enough! From the top of their hill, the reapers dish out two wounds to the Slaaneshi ogres. My shades account for three hounds in front of them, the harvesters bring down one hound in a separate unit. The shades sneer and mock their brethren.

Myke moves his entire army forward boldly, and baits my witches with the unit of hounds my harvesters failed to dispatch. His sorcerer hurls a fireball that kills three shades. This is bad, because I’m counting on my shooters to deal with his fast moving diverters and flankers. The harvesters find it pretty amusing, though.

I grant a bloodshield to the witches, since they are about to get involved in some messy combat. The witches charge after the hounds, which flee at their master’s call.

I send one unit of harpies charging into his marauder horsemen in a risky maneuver.

An ogre falls under a hail of bolts, while the chaos knights disdainfully scrape the score of bolts stuck to their shields from the harvesters and shades.



The harpies manage to tear four of the marauders from their saddle, and the last survivor flees away, the harpies staying to feast on the remains. I can’t for the life of me tell you why I didn’t bother pursuing them. I think I forgot that I could pursue over the warriors.

Myke launches a great offensive, six different charges are underway. Harpies flee from marauder horse, and then flee again as a spawn shambles after them. My other unit of harpies flees the Khorne warriors and impale themselves on branches in the forest. The knights of rage smash into the witch elves killing thirteen of them, giving them a fresh “shield of blood.” The ladies panic in a screaming sprint (12”), and the knights follow up into the cauldron of blood! This is what we call “bad.” It’s not all doom and gloom though. My shades butcher his hounds as they charge, taking no casualties for my troubles. The ogre’s charge is weakened by killing one on the way in, and the reapers resist their amorous advances and drive them off! A ball of fire arches out from the chosen warrior unit from the pesky sorcerer, frying five of the crossbows.



I switch the blessing to the Cauldron crew and grant them the strength of Khaine. The witches continue their shameful flight, and flee off the table (12” to flee off the table. Nice stems on those witches!) My skull spears charge after the fleeing ogres, while the reapers shoot down three marauder horse. The executioners charge the spawn and somehow fail to kill it. Three of them pay the ultimate price for their failure. The harvesters and shades open fire on the Chosen, and to my surprise two Chosen die!

The harpies rally in front of the black guard, and my shades move up to divert the Exalter Standard bearer and his knights. Kieron reforms the black guard to face the knights of rage, hoping that the hag can defend her cauldron for another round. The attendants are cut to pieces, but their blood splatters over Cruella, forming into red crystalline armor that deflects the knights attack! (thank you ward save!) Her attacks are turned away by the thick armor, but she holds her ground.

Myke’s general charges my harpies, who take one look at the Slaanesh characters “weapon” and flee for their lives. The marauder horses try a long charge at the rear of my black guard, hoping to draw me away from the knights of rage. They are just out of range though (and right in front of the reavers). The shades are trampled by the hooves of the knights, but they buy me some precious time. His ogres rally. The sorcerer tries for another fireball and miscasts due to the ring of Hotek. Other than a minor case of acne, the sorcerer is fine. Cruella decapitates one of the knights and resists all further attacks, while the executioners finish off the wounded spawn.

Now it’s the Dark Elves turn for a massive attack: His ogres flee from my spears, his marauder horse from the reavers, and his general flees from the executioners (wouldn’t you?) The harvesters kill another chosen! The black guard hit the flank of the knights of rage: three knights fall to Kieron’s blade and we break them. My Hag places a bloody kiss on Kieron’s lips. But the forces of Chaos aren’t finished yet…



The general, marauders, and ogres all rally. The general’s bloodcurdling roar causes one black guard to collapse to the ground, blood oozing from his helmet. The chosen warriors charge into the executioners, whose blades flash like they did in the days before the Sundering. The champion of the chosen and the sorcerer are decapitated, but two executioners fall to the ground cleaved in half.

I move the cauldron blessing to my execution’s giving them Khaine’s fury. I then try a little experiment and send the serpent spears into the front of the Khorne warriors. The results are… predictable: Eight spears die, no warriors fall, and the spears are run down. I make a mental note to include these bad boys in my Warriors of Chaos list. The harvesters move to try to divert the knights, and amazingly slay two of them with bolts!

Two more executioners and chosen fall, and the battle rages on.

The Knights crush the harvesters on the charge, and over run into the black guard, who had just been charged by both exalted champions (the Slaaneshi general and Tzeentch standard bearer.) Four black guard fall to the general and knights as Kieron and the Tzeentch champion square off, each dealing a wound to the other. His marauder horse and ogres charge into my skull spears. Two elves die, but we bring down a marauder in return. The last marauder flees the field, but the ogres stay and fight. The executioners finish off the chosen. The end is almost here.

I give the black guard the strength of Khaine, hoping for some killing blow action. My executioners try to charge in, but don’t have the range and move to secure the quarter, and get a front row seat for the challenges to come:



The Tzeentch exalted strikes again and again and again, chopping Kieron into a pile of bits and pieces. The champion leans over to pick up Kieron’s blade… and is instead impaled by it! As the light leaves his eyes, he sees Kieron’s body knit back together, almost as good as new (five wounds, five regenerations!) The ogres lose their battle against the spears and are cut down as they turn. Kieron and the general now square off, and Kieron suffers another wound before cutting the Slaaneshi exalted to pieces. The knights flee in shame, and the Druchii rejoice.

Third time’s the charm, and I finally defeated my nemesis. Myke’s army was well put together and hit like a freight train. I was fortunate to have very resilient infantry, and manage to whittle him down to manageable numbers. I could have used the harpies better to bait his Khorne guys, but it worked out in the end.