Ogres vs High Elves 2250 point battle report

"Swordmaster playtesting" for warhammer fantasy battle tournament :-

"And here come the charges. Of course, because this is a game where I am trying to test the hardiness of Swordmasters, they failed their Terror check and proceeded to flee and get eaten by a Bull Rhinox. Lovely. "

(I really like Xtapl's battle reports, plenty of personality, opinion and great maps)

source : warhammer.org.uk

credit : Xtapl

28-Mar-2009

High Elf Army list 2250 pts

Archmage (360)
Level 4, Folaraith's Robe, Talisman of Saphery, Dispel Scroll

Noble (149)
Dragon Armor, Shield, Battle Standard, Barded Steed
Sword of Might, Talisman of Protection

10 Archers (110)
11 Archers (121)

6 Dragon Princes (255)
Full Command
Lion Standard

10 Swordmasters (156)
Musician

10 Swordmasters (156)
Musician

Lion Chariot (140)
Lion Chariot (140)

18 White Lions (350)
Banner of Sorcery

Great Eagle (50)
Great Eagle (50)

Repeating Bolt Thrower [RBT] (100)
Repeating Bolt Thrower [RBT] (100)

Total: 2247


I rolled up Shield, Courage, Flames of the Phoenx, and Vaul's Unmaking for my Archmage. No magic missile. Boo.

I always like to start playing a new list against Ogres, because if I can't beat Ogres, I need to start all over [Ouch ! Ed.] Renaissance Homer was kind enough to oblige, and took a fairly standard Ogres list.

Deployment looked like this:



I was hoping to rush the left flank, using the house to shield my right side from the Ogres, while holding the middle for a little while with the threat of Swordmastery death. The archers got deployed wide right as deployment bait, and kind of did their job in that respect, as RH spread his stuff out more than I expected he would.

I won the roll for first turn, and away we went...


HIGH ELVES TURN ONE

Move out!

Started off the magic phase with Flames of the Phoenix on the bulls/butcher. Got it off IF, but caused no wounds. Vaul's couldn't muster enough juice. Drain Magic got dispelled.

The left side RBT put two wounds on the Bull Rhinox, but the other RBT missed. Note to self: Archers can't wound Bull Rhinoxes. They can, however, kill a Leadbelcher and wound the next.



OGRES TURN ONE

Stuff starts getting closer. We hates that, we does.

Surprisingly, with 4 dice and +1 to cast, you can dispel quite a few spells. It also helps when lots of one die spells come up 1. That lets you also dispel the Bangstick.
In other news, the Tyrant shot a Swordmaster dead. Bet he wishes he had a Lion Cloak.



HIGH ELVES TURN TWO

Hm. To charge the Lion Chariots at the Gnoblars or not? If they flee, I get flanked and that's no good. If they hold, I blow through them into the Bulls and maybe do enough damage that even a flank charge doesn't outweigh the wounds caused.

Bleh. Better safe than sorry. I just moved around.

My super-sweet Archmage totally miscasted Courage on the first spell, took a wound, and ended the magic phase. Thanks, dude.

Highly deadly yet much maligned High Elf S3 shooting killed another Leadbelcher. Take -THAT-, T4!



OGRES TURN TWO

And here come the charges. Of course, because this is a game where I am trying to test the hardiness of Swordmasters, they failed their Terror check and proceeded to flee and get eaten by a Bull Rhinox. Lovely.

Just to the east of that wonderful happening, the Eagle sacrificed itself and fled into house, dying but holding up the Tyrant as he charged into the impassable house and just stood there like a goon. The other Eagle bucked up its courage and held on the charge from the Butcher.

Despite my double-dice dispel attempt, the Butcher managed to cast+1T/Stubborn on himself. Jerk. The other Butcher cast his magic missile on my right archers for 8 hits and 2 wounds. Bleh.

Fortunately, as expected, the Leadbelcher misfired on himself. Because that's what they do. 3 hits and 1 wound later, we were both laughing about it.
Of course, this brought bad karma for me, as Gnoblar sharp stuff wounded my right Lion Chariot. Stupid.

With all that newfound toughness, the Butcher wounded my Eagle and won. This left it in a relatively bad situation, and it had really no choice but to pursue. So pursue it did, although my Eagle got away.

Against the Bruiser, my Swordmasters rolled up 7 hits on 8 swings. Woo! Then, guess what? 1-1-1-2-2-2-2. Not even making that up. Two of them die in return, but they still hold.

Operation Swordmaster isn't going all that well...



HIGH ELVES TURN THREE

No Terror for the White Lions. They barely even registered the giant stinking Rhinox next to them.

RAWR! Apparently, Ironguts don't want to face a double Lion Chariot charge, because they fled. Chickens. Especially since the Gnoblars held the EITW, and passed two Fear tests to boot. Ironguts are wussies.

The Dragon Princes, of course, charged the Butcher. I knew he was going to just challenge me, but I thought I'd sacrifice the Champion and then beat him on CR. This was moments before I realized the stupid Butcher was still Stubborn. Annoying.
The Eagle rallied.

Vaul's got scrolled, Drain Magic was cast and allowed, and I failed to dispel the Stubborn. On three dice. Because that's the kind of night I was having.

To make up for it, the two RBTs killed the Bull Rhinox. 2+/3+ doesn't leave much room for survival for a large target... Continuing their rain of death, the Archers killed a Bull.

Swordmasters decided maybe they'd take their thumbs out of their butts and get to work. They fired off 2 wounds on the Bruiser, but took 2 dead back. The Bruiser held, but was beginning to realize Swordmasters can take his solo charge pretty easily.
The Lion Chariot charge resulted in 10 Gnoblars dead. Nom nom nom! The Lions were so busy mauling Gnoblars that they didn't notice the buggers fulling themselves with Insane Courage...

The Dragon Prince champion speared one wound onto the Butcher in the inevitable challenge, but was wily enough to take none back. That's when the Butcher held. Stupid stubborn.



OGRES TURN THREE

This should get interesting. Bulls charged the Dragon Princes to help out the Butcher, while the other Bulls charged the White Lions, trying to pick off my Archmage. Little did they know.... Meanwhile, the Ironguts rallied.

Had to make sure +1S on the Bulls charging the Dragon Princes was dispelled. This let the other Butcher get another magic missile off and kill four Archers; the Bangstick finished it off. Fortunately for me, the Butcher in combat tried to Heal himself, miscast and the spell was wiped from the game forever.

In combat, the Lion Chariots continued to eat Gnoblars. Lots. The remaining handful fled, and both chariots pursued. Not far enough to get into combat, unfortunately, but that would change shortly.

The Bulls killed a Dragon Prince on impact. The Butcher took another wound, then killed the Dragon Prince champion. The rest of the Dragon Princes did one wound to the incoming Bulls, then saved all the returning wounds, because DP are surprisingly tough. The Butcher hung in, but the Bulls broke and fled.

The Bulls up against the White Lions found out the hard way that ASF+S6+WS5=OUCH. Immediately, they took 5 wounds, dodged the incoming feeble attacks of the remaining Bull, and broke him soundly.

For their own part, the Swordmasters finally kicked it into gear, and the Bruiser got mauled.



HIGH ELVES TURN FOUR

It was time to break the back of the Ogres once and for all. Both chariots charged the Bulls. The Eagle charged the fleeing Bull, while the White Lions charged the Gnoblars. The Eagle caught the poor Bull; the Gnoblars quickly and wisely fled.

Meanwhile, the Archers wheeled big; and the RBT got pushed up onto the hill.
Nothing happened in the magic phase except the Butcher's Stubborn finally got dispelled. This led my Noble to believe it was okay to challenge the Butcher. Then, of course, he totally whiffed. The Butcher wounded him, but it was too little too late. He turned to flee and was run down. This caused the Bulls to have to reflee.

On the other side of the field, the Lion Chariots mauled the Bulls. Just barely close enough to have to test, the Ironguts unfortunately failed and fled off the table in panic. One chariot overran off the table, while the other went not quite as far.



OGRES TURN FOUR

Renaissance Homer was rapidly running out of Ogres. The Butcher tried a magic missile, but I scrolled. His attempt at Regen was dispelled, and so was his Bangstick.



HIGH ELVES TURN FIVE

Both the Dragon Princes and the White Lions charged the Gnoblars, who fled. The Bulls failed to rally and fled off the table.

With much less resistance now, the Archmage was able to Vaul's the Tyrant's Thundermace. That should change his plans significantly. An attempt at Shield failed, and Flames went off on the Tyrant, but he barely cared.

He cared a LOT more when the RBT on the hill put two wounds on him. The other RBT, charged with nothing but shooting a Leadbelcher in the face at basically point-blank range, of course did only one wound and would probably die next turn.



OGRES TURN FIVE

The poor harried Gnoblars fled off the table. Meanwhile, the Leadbelcher, as expected, charged the RBT. The stalwart crew immediately failed its Fear test and fled. Without his Thundermace, the Tyrant seemed pretty loathe to charge the White Lions now. Instead, he pulled out his handgun and killed a Dragon Prince. The Maneater used his own handgun to kill a Swordmaster.



HIGH ELVES TURN SIX

Not much left to do. The Swordmasters charged the Leadbelcher, who ran away. The RBT crew rallied.

In the magic phase, there was not enough juice for Vaul's, but enough to cast Shield on the White Lions.

Shooting did nothing, unfortunately.



OGRES TURN SIX

As I expected, the Maneaters charged the Swordmasters in the flank. The Leadbelcher rallied.

The Butcher cast a spell to try to panic the Lion Chariot, but the LD test was passed.

As expected, the Swordmasters were wiped out.



So, at the end of the game, with a quarter to each of us and RH unfortunately capturing his BSB's standard back, the final score stood at 1577-710 - an 867 point difference for a Solid Victory to the High Elves!

Good, fun game for me on the one hand. On the other hand, it was only Ogres [another ouch ! Ed.] Now, to see if the list can stand up to stouter foes...

Bretonnia vs High Elves 2000 pts battle report

warhammer fantasy battle report :-

"The errantry knights charge the dragon princes, who wisely retreat. The grail knights thunder into the flashing blades of the white lions." (blurry pics but nice friendly writing style)

source : warhammer.org.uk

credit : Silas7

27-Mar-2009

2000 points High Elf Army list

Elendriel – Archmage, lvl 4, annulian crystal, dispel scroll, ring of fury
Farendil – Mage, lvl 2, jewel of the dusk
Mithrandel – Noble, army standard bearer, dragon armor, shield, barded steed, helm of fortune, sword of might

10 archers
20 spearmen: full command, lion standard
15 phoenix guard: full command, war banner
14 white lions: full command, standard of balance
6 dragon princes: champion, musician, amulet of light
Lion chariot
2 phoenix claw bolt throwers
2 eagles

2000 pt Bretonnians Army list

Lord: wyrmlance, tress of isoulde, mantel of damsel Elena, virtue of discipline, on royal pegasus
Paladin: army standard bearer
Damsel, 2 scrolls; warhorse
2 x 20 men-at-arms,: full command
10 archers
10 skirmishing archers
2 x 6 knights errant: champion
2 x 6 knights of the realm: champion, standard
5 mounted squires: shields, musician
2 x 3 pegasus knights: champion
7 grail knights:
trebuchet


Pitched Battle

Objectives: kill the enemy general, hold more banners than your opponent, wipe out your opponent’s biggest point unit.

Brettonians are a tough army for High Elves to fight, and I was very nervous about his flying cavalry. After looking at the terrain and my spell selection (rule of burning iron, molten silver, transmutation of lead, spirit of the forge; shield of Saphery and courage of anaerion) I thought I had a good chance.


quick, move up while they’re kneeling…

I deployed all my infantry around the “rocky” forest in the center which would limit the angles the knights could charge at me. My princes and chariot would help protect me from the longer range threats. The shooting was deployed away from my main army, so if the knights went after it, it would give me more time to react to their attack.

Turn 1: While the knights await their blessing, I fly my eagles far forward, while my infantry advances. The dragon princes crest a small hill, surveying the land. The only enemies in range are the archers, so four of them get bathed with molten silver, and the archers slay two more of them. This will cause the peasants to flee, never to return. The knights are silently glad they have fewer mouths to feed on the way home.


are those griffon riders?

The realm and errantry knights canter forward. The pegasus knights land near the eagles, while the yeomen gallop to their right. The peasants move forward at a march, while the grail knights are more cautious. The right flank sees a lot of tactical maneuvering; the errantry knights position themselves in front of the realm knights, with pegasus knights to the flank of my dragon princes. The skirmishing archers rush into the house. The trebuchet flings a rock at the phoenix guard, but it scatters to their left.


it’s like we want them to charge us

The phoenix guard and dragon princes present a common face to the pegasus and errantry knights. The white lions move up to pin the grail knights in place. All of them are within sight of Mithrandel’s army standard. One eagle diverts the errantry knights; the other moves to march block the peasants. Elendriel and Farendil move into the rocky woods and try to launch a magical offense, but the damsel burns all her parchment to stifle them.

Arrows and bolts fill the air, but only manage to do a single wound to a pegasus knight.


those are the most intimidating pegasi I’ve ever seen!

The pegasus knights fold their winds and dive at the bolt thrower, wiping out the crew. The errantry knights chase away the interfering eagle. More action occurs on the right flank.


for Bretonnian and the Lady!

The errantry knights charge the dragon princes, who wisely retreat. The grail knights thunder into the flashing blades of the white lions. The pegasus knights fly past the fleeing princes to land behind the spears. A huge rock sails wide over the phoenix guard, one of the takes a moment to follow it’s progress and gets shot by an arrow from the house. Six lions die in the charge, and not a single knight dies, but the lions stand firm.

Turn 3: One eagle rallies, the other charges the trebuchet crew. The phoenix guard charge the errantry knights, who almost flee the field.


. . . . (the phoenix guard battle cry

Meanwhile the lion chariot causes the realm knights to flee as well.


the lion’s roar is much more impressive

The dragon princes rally to face the pegasus knights. Magic does nothing of consequence (amazingly) and the archers shoot down two yeomen. The last bolt thrower again can’t hurt the pegasus knights. Elendriel bites her lip in frustration. Another white lion falls, his death unanswered, and they hold. The eagle rends a peasant, but they stand fast.

The “griffon” knights charge and overwhelm the second bolt thrower. The errantry knights charge the chariot, their realm companions rally. The errantry knights on the far side of the field rally as well.


Farendil, look out!

The other pegasus knights want to charge Farendil. I measure the distance and the hapless mage is exactly 2” from the edge, so visible to the pegasus knights. I sigh and take the charge. The archers in the house kill two more phoenix guard, and the eagle is seriously wounded by the trebuchet crew. The great melee continues, with a lion and a grail knight falling this round. Farendil tries his best, but is no match for the pegasus knights. Rather than kill him, they sling his protesting form over their saddle as they gallop forward out of the forest.

Turn 4: The archers try a desperate charge into the flank of the errantry knights. The lion chariot rallies. Elendriel runs through to the far side of the woods as the dragon princes race to support the phoenix guard.


this is for Farendil…

Elendriel’s wrath fuels her magic, and the errantry knights in front of her scream as their armor glows white hot. All of them fall from the saddle. The eagle kills two more peasants but the last one crushes its head with a rock. Two more white lions fall, as does another grail knight. The archers can’t penetrate the heavy armor of the knights, and lose one of their own for their troubles. They flee and are cut down, but do pull the errantry knights away from my army.

The “griffon” knights fly behind my spears, while the pegasus knights charge the rear of my white lions. The last peasant tried to load the machine, but he turns the crank to hard and it snaps. The Bretonnian duke, who spent most of the game hiding behind some trees, flies out now to the flank of the spears and unleashes the dragon’s flame from his lance. Four elves die, but refuse to panic. All of the white lion perish except for the standard bearer, the knights are untouched.



things are falling apart, will the center hold?

Turn 5: Elendriel is wracked with indecision. Pegasus knights are flying all around, the peasants and knights are getting closer, and her army is slowly unraveling. She joins the spears and orders them to face the pegasus knights, as they will be easier to hurt than the realm knights. The phoenix guard turns to face the grail knights and the dragon princes brazenly march into the face of the realm knights. Elendriel uses her ring, the rule of burning iron, and the spirit of the forge, and still only kills one pegasus knight. The damsel in the grail knights begs the white lion to surrender his banner. Faced with overwhelming numbers, the elf swallows his pride and hands over his standard.

The Duke sounds his horn, and the Bretonnians leap to the attack again. Realm knights charging dragon princes, pegasus knights and more realm knights charging the spears. The peasants abandon their house and move to block the phoenix guard. A flurry of spear attacks glace off armored hide and shield, and Elendriel too is captures by the pegasus knights. Her spears are scattered to the four winds. The dragon princes lose two of their number on the charge as well, without doing a single wound to the knights. They too are broken and scattered, ignoring Mithrandel’s orders to stand fast.

Turn 6: The phoenix guard charges the peasants, who naturally flee before them. They ready their halberds for the oncoming charge from the grail knights, but the paladin raises his hand, and forbids the charge. “Enough blood has been shed today, noble Asur. Clearly, the field is ours.”

1 pt loss to the High Elves.

It’s pretty safe to say that I could have played this game better, but I don’t want to take anything away from Steve. He had a good army, and he knew how to use it. I was unable to remove his pegasus knights, which were the biggest thorn in my side. Protecting Farendil better would have been very useful in several cases. In the end it wasn’t important. I have a winning record at a GT for the first time in about three years. I was extremely happy overall.

Dark Elves vs Ogre Kingdoms 1500pts battle report

warhammer fantasy battle report :-

"The Cold One Knights declare a charge on the Bulls (Banner) unit which holds. They reach it thanks to the Banner of Murder."

(a brief, concise, factual report)

source : druchii.net

credit : Alkatchoff

19-Mar-2009

Please note that my Dark Elf list included everything I owned at the time. It is by no means competitive or as strong as I'd like. It didn't even reach 1500pts!

Dark Elves 1500 points [Ed. almost !] army list

Noble, Seal of Ghrond, Cold One, heavy armor, sea dragon cloak, Sword of Might (111)

Noble, heavy armor, sea dragon cloak, Black Amulet, great weapon (134)

5 Dark Riders, musician, repeater crossbows (127)
19 Warriors, shields, standard and musician (167)
10 Warriors, repeater crossbows (110)
5 Cold One Knights, Full Command, Banner of Murder (235)
18 Witch Elves, Full Command, Manbane, War Banner (314)
Cauldron of Blood, Manbane (230)

Points: 1468
Models: 63

Ogre Kingdoms 1500points army list

The Ogre army had (to the best of my recollection) :-
A Bruiser with Wyrdstone Necklace and great weapon
A Butcher
3 Bulls, Banner
3 Bulls, Banner
3 Bulls
5 Ironguts (the bruiser joined this unit)
1 Scrap Launcher
2 Leadbelchers
2 Leadbelchers
1 Maneater with Cathayan Longsword


Deployment

From Left to right, I had the Witch Elves, Cauldron, Spear Warriors, Cold Ones, Crossbow Warriors and Dark Riders.

The Ogres had 3 Bulls, Butcher, 3 Bulls (Banner), 5 Ironguts+Bruiser, 3 Bulls (Banner), the Maneater, the Scraplauncher, 2 Leadbelchers, 2 Leadbelchers.


Turn 1

DE - I marched the Witch Elves forward, advanced slowly with everything else. The Dark Riders went (too far) on the right flank, to threaten the Leadbelchers. Shooting does nothing.

Ogres - The Army ran forward. The Scraplauncher misses, but the Leabelchers on the far right kill 3 Dark Riders, panicking the unit (I didn't know they could move and shoot!) despite one misfiring and taking 2 wounds. The other Leadbelchers unload on the Cold One Knights and kill 2!


Turn 2

DE - The Cold One Knights declare a charge on the Bulls (Banner) unit which holds. They reach it thanks to the Banner of Murder. The Dark Riders flee off the board (sigh). Everything else moves forward slowly. Shooting does nothing, but in combat, the Knights kill two Ogres, break the unit and overrun into the Maneater! The Cauldron re-rolls really payed off!

Ogres - The unit of 3 Bulls charges the Witch Elves (I thought they'd be out of range). The Ironguts fail their charge on the Spear Warriors. A couple of Spear Warriors die to magic missiles. In the shooting phase, the Scraplauncher misfires and destroys itself. The Leadbelchers reload. In combat, the Bulls slaughter the Witch Elves (6 or 7 die from impact hits + attacks), break them but fail to catch them. The Cold One Knights kill the Maneater.


Turn 3

DE - The Spear Warriors charge the Ironguts (better than taking impact hits), The Cold One Knights hit the other Bull (Banner) unit in the flank and the Witch Elves fail to rally. In shooting the crossbow warriors wipe out the unwounded Leadbelchers (amazing 'to hit' rolls!). The Cold One Knights break the Bulls, run them down and overrun into the Butcher! My Noble with the Spear Elves challenges, and the Bruiser accepts. The Noble deals 2 wounds, takes 2 from the Bruiser and the Black Amulet rebounds 1! The spearmen do nothing, I lose several of them and lose combat by 1. Outnumbered by Fear-causing enemes, I need Insane Courage... and roll Double 1's! Stand and fight!

Ogres - The Bulls run down the fleeing Witch Elves. The Leabelchers advance on the crossbow warriors. They kill 4 of them with cannon fire, but the Warriors hold. In combat, the Cold One Knights whiff and only deal 3 wounds. The butcher kills the 2 remaining Knights and wounds the Noble, but the Noble passes his break test. The Noble with the Warriors fails to finish off the Bruiser and is killed. The Ironguts break the Warriors and run them down.


Turn 4

DE - No movement. The crossbow warriors kill the wounded Leadbelcher. His fellow Ogre passes his panic test. In combat, the Noble kills the Butcher.

Ogres - The Bulls reform to charge the cauldron next turn. The Ironguts charge the crossbow warriors, who flee.


Turn 5

DE - The Cold One Noble rushes to the Cauldron. If the guardians survive the Bull Charge, he'll be able to help in the final turn. The crossbow warriors fail to rally and run off the board.

Ogres - The Bulls charge the Cauldron, the Ironguts take a table quarter. In combat, the Bulls only kill 1 guardian, while the Hag deals 2 wounds.


Turn 6

DE - The Noble charges the flank of the Bulls. In combat, the kills off a Bull, the Hag kills another, but the last one kills the Hag and the last Guardian. The last Bull passes his break test.

Ogres - Straight to combat. The Noble whiffs and the Bull finishes him off.


Final Results

The Ogres have 1 table quarter, 2 Banners and killed my General. They have 1 Leadbelcher, 1 Bull, a Bruiser on 1 wounds and 5 Ironguts left. The DE are wiped out. Major Victory to the Ogres.

This really was a fun game, and quite a learning experience for me. I'd never fought Leadbelchers before, so their move-and-shoot ability really surprised me and cost me the Dark Riders. I should have deployed them on the other flank, but I had fewer units than my opponent, so he could have still countered them. Letting the Witch Elves get charged was a disaster - especially as they couldn't flee! The Cold One Knights really did me proud and really salvaged the game for me. The Cauldron re-rolls really helped them too. I was a little dissapointed that I couldn't finish off the Bruiser, but to be fair I had no business surviving the 1st round of that battle. In the end, I'm fairly pleased with the result (putting aside the total annihilation of my forces).

Tomb Kings vs Orcs & Goblins 2250pt battle report

warhammer tournament preparation battle report :-

"Everywhere the Orcs held in melee! I was shocked, but the General and Battle Standard Bearer's leadership kept even the Night Goblins from running."

(it goes to show how unpredictable animosity rules make O&Gs)

source : warhammer.org.uk

credit : Atchman

17-Mar-2009

My ole pal Tomb Kraig has risen from the sands again! This time he was testing an army list for a tourney next month. I just finished writing up a Horde Orc tactica for Da Warpath and wanted to try out my ideas.

Normally Horde armies have weak leadership out on the flank. Instead of more Orcs, I took 19 Savage Orcs and screened them with Snotlings and Wolf Riders. It was an interesting experiment.

Orc and Goblin 2250 point army list

Black Orc General, Boar, Heavy Armor, Enchanted Shield, Martogs', Big Eds Kickin Boots
Black Orc BSB, Boar, Heavy Armor, Dispel Banner
Savage Orc Boss, with Great Weapon and Collar of Zorga
Orc Shaman. 2 x dispel scrolls, boar

2 x 24 Orc Boyz, Full Command
1 x 20 Orc Boyz, Full Command
19 Savage Orcs, Extra Hand Weapon Full Command
4 x 20 NG Archers
1 x 5 Wolfriders
1 x 10 Wolfriders full command
2 x 2 snotlings

2 x bolthrowers
Rock Lobber
Boar Chariot
Goblin Wolf Chariot

Tomb Kings 2250pt army list

Tomb King
Light Armour, Crook and Flail of Radiance, Collar of Shapesh, Vambraces of the Sun

21 Tomb Guard - Icon of Rakaph, Champion

Tomb Prince
Biting Blade, Scorpion Armor

20 Skeleton Warriors - Banner of the Undying Legion, Champion

Liche Priest - Hierophant
Skeletal Steed, Dispel Scroll, Hieratic Jar

Liche Priest
Skeletal Steed, 2 Dispel Scroll

3 Chariots
3 Chariots
10 Skeleton Light Horsemen
Tomb Swarm
Tomb Scorpion
Tomb Scorpion
4 Ushabti
Screaming Skull Catapult w/ Skulls of the Foe


Figure 1 The Orc Deployment

Figure 2 The Tomb King deployment Sorry for the blurry picture





A spattering of animosity broke out among the lads, thankfully none of the Orc units failed only night goblins. Animosity had a huge affect on the game as it really kept me from closing with Tomb Kraig out on the right flank and gaining any real points.

I had no magic really so it was on to shooting. My Rock Lobber scattered but landed right in the center of his Tomb Guard taking out about 9 models! The Spear Chukkas took down a Ushabti and wounded another one! I was pretty happy with my artillery on turn one.



You can see the depleted Tomb Guard and the wounded Ushabti

Tomb Kraig shuffled forward during his turn and was content to fire his catapult and make some moves. He was probably cramped a bit by his own deployment.



The Orcs would have NONE of this shuffling stuff and went on an all out attack on turn2! Animosity helped this turn as it propelled the Savage Orcs into a Tomb Scorpion that was a little too close. I charged both of my chariots into his, but the Orc Chariot was a coward (DRAT!). Shooting really didn’t do anything on turn two.

There was powder all over the place as the Gobbo Chariot took out two of his counterparts. The Scorpion got chopped up by the Savage Orcs, which continued on into the chariots. This was going pretty well; that was until the Tomb King decided to come out to play…



The Ushabti and the Scorpion charged the chariot destroying it. In the middle the skeleton archers had to reform to keep from getting flanked by the wolf riders. I wish I had went straight for them instead of skirting the terrain so much.

Three more chariots went POP! However now I had to deal with the Tomb Kraig himself!



The Savages think they can take on the Tomb Kraig! Animosity messed me up this turn as I had perfect flank charge on the Ushabti but the unit stood still. However the Spear Chukkas reduced them down to a single model, which was almost as good-almost.

My Savages didn’t run at least killing a couple of Tomb Guard for a loss of a few of their own.

A closer view of the middle. The yellow dice is the unit that failed to move.

Tomb Kraig was not content to sit back! The remaining chariot and the remaining Tomb Scorpion charged a unit of Night Goblins. Not wanting to get shot again, the Ushabti charged the Snotlings. Seeing the Orcs coming a little fast, the two Liche Priests abandoned their unit.

Everywhere the Orcs held in melee! I was shocked, but the General and BSB’s leadership kept even the Night Goblins from running.



Finally after losing the Savage Orc hero, the Savage Orcs headed for home getting ran down by the Tomb Kraig’s unit. On the good side, the Snotlings reduced the Ushabti to a single model again, but with my magic defense waning it was going to be hard to stop them from coming back. Looking at the picture, they may have been out of range, but I didn’t think to have Tomb Kraig measure.

This was the turn I declared the WAAAGH allowing my General’s unit to destroy the Skeleton Light Horse. Right when I need the Night Goblins to move, they stood still of course! I moved some units to take advantage when the Night Goblins in melee broke fighting the chariot and the Tomb Scorpion.

I tried to take out a Liche Priest with shooting and lost my Wolf Riders to the Tomb Kraig. I thought it was worth a risk but instead it cost me more points later in the game as I could have diverted his unit.



The Ushabti took one for the team getting a choppa charge in the front from a unit of unpainted Ocs and the Black Orc General into the rear of their unit. The General hacked four wounds from the unit and the Orcs did but a single wound. Three Orcs fell and the Ushabti were crumbled.

Finally the Night Goblins broke from melee, but the Tomb Scorpion and the Chariot were destroyed by the very effective Orc artillery park! I was happy with the artillery this game.



This was it. I lost the unpainted Orcs to a Tomb Kraig charge and the Wolf Riders to the Tomb Prince. Both of these were my own mistakes that cost me a possible win. However, I was pretty happy to be in the game anyway since I had nothing to take out the Tomb Kraig’s Tomb Guard and his other Skeleton bunker unit. Pretty much I just destroyed all of his support units save the Catapult and land grabbed on the final turn.

Result: DRAW


Battle Summary:

This was a really fun game. I just couldn’t bring the weight of my troops to bear since Tomb Kraig hid in the corner of the table. If I had to change my plans, I would have just massed the hard hitting Orcs together and went straight for him in the corner. My other mistake was that I should have bailed the BSB out of his unit and sent it around the other side of the large set of trees in the middle of the table. That way I could have pressured his Tomb Prince’s unit.

I also didn’t use either unit of Wolf Riders well. I know they are fragile, but I was too tentative not pressuring the Tomb Prince’s unit. The other unit would have probably won me the game if I hadn’t let them get too close to the Tomb King. I think I could have diverted the Tomb King’s unit and possibly held that table quarter. We’ll never know!

This isn’t the army that I’m taking to the tournament it was just one I wanted to try out. I think my other army would have done better since I would have had some no-LoS magic to deal with those silly priests and even better magic defense. Having four units of Wolf Riders instead of two would have helped as well to make the Tomb Prince’s unit have to commit to a single formation.

Dogs of War (ish) vs Lizardmen (kind of !) Warhammer battle report

A unique Fantasy Battle Report with a Lizardmen / Pigmy army facing off against an Empire / Dogs of War army.

"...the Pygmies’ Salamanders moved up on the far left flank, sulphurous fumes already curling from their throats and through their jagged teeth..."

the Padre returns with another one of his legendary reports with great photos, narrative and with Gorillagors (!) and pygmies on terradons !

source :battlereporter.freeforums.org

credit : Padre

14-Mar-2009

Conrad was not unused to the heat – he had sailed along tropical coasts for many a year in search of prey and loot – but this was new. It was so damp, the air so still, like nothing he had ever had to endure aboard a ship. He was as sodden as every man in his force, and he knew full well that if they were to linger overlong in this swampland half of them would be dead of fever within two months.

But such concerns, he now reckoned, were behind him, for he had found what he was after.



It was a temple, obviously ancient and surely built by the lizardmen, and it looked undisturbed. If so, if no robbers had been there before him, then there must be riches inside, gold a plenty and worked artefacts covered in precious stones. These temples were renowned always to hold such things. It had been long known that the ancient Lizardmen used gold as men of the Empire would use pewter or brass; used diamonds, rubies and emeralds as a Bretonnian brat might play with clay marbles.

Of course his men had yet to break their way into the temple, but with powder and skill, that would be easy enough. He had ordered several of his gunners to fashion up fireworks, while the rest of his force busied themselves with cleaning their weapons, scouring the rust of their blades and greasing and oiling their handguns. On the journey the army’s matchcord had been kept dry in glass bottles, their locks rust free with tallow. Now the match was being distributed and the tallow wax removed, for Conrad was certain that the jungle would reveal some sort of defence force. He had heard enough sailors’ tales to known that although the settlements of the Lizardman might appear abandoned, jungle monsters always appeared when the looting began.

Let them come, he thought. Let them face a firestorm of lead.

His confidence was not unfounded. He had four companies of handgunners – Estalians, Pirates and Corsairs. He had crossbowmen and pistol wielding duellists. He even had two light cannons that had somehow been dragged through the steaming tangle of the jungle from the boats. On top of all this, Long Drong’s Slayers were apparently festooned with more firearms than the rest of his army put together, which was saying something.

And this was not all. He had three fighting regiments, two of seamen regimented under pirate colours and one of the best Corsair Swordsmen Sartosa had to offer. And if all this proved insufficient, if the jungle hurled magical assaults at him, he had two wizards to divert and disperse its fury.

Yes he was ready for monsters and jungle beasts. What he didn’t expect was what his scouts came to tell him.

“Captain General, enemies approach from the south.”

“I knew they would come. What are they?” asked Conrad.

“They look like, well, halflings,” explained the scout. When he saw Conrad’s surprise, he went on, “But they have monstrous creatures with them – huge hairy brutes like giant cousins of the Sartosan apes, and massive lizards, that both crawl and fly. And a huge horned brute, with a platform upon it’s back.”

“Well, the beasts I expected, but halflings – I never thought … Still, send word to my commanders. We shall array upon the hill, facing the foe. Use the slopes and the steps of the temple to bring more guns to bear. They might be harder to hit if they are so small, both they will fall all the easier if they are hit. Concentrate the fire upon the monsters, once they are dispatched it shouldn’t be difficult to see off the halflings.

The field of battle would be the large clear area before the temple, swampy but at least clear of trees and the tallest of jungle plants.



Conrad’s army was quick to form up. Every man knew he would get a share of the treasure, and what with that reward being so close, all were keen to see off any who thought to deny them their prize. The handgunners and artillery positioned themselves obediently upon the hill and the temple, while the foot regiments took up positions upon the flank. On the far left the Corsair crossbowmen stood in an extended line, their colourful garb and copper adornments bright in the midday sun. Conrad joined the Black Swordsmen, his Sartosan elites, whilst shouting orders at all those around him telling them to load every weapon they had with extra powder and extra ball. Two or three balls went down every handgun, and swan shot besides.

---

The great Skink Priest, Tehenhauin, had known now for three days that the men were getting closer to the temple. He and his two followers, the last of the Skinks to dwell in this almost forgotten corner of the land, had thus had time to prepare.

Tehenhauin (left) and his two priests (centre and right):



All three of the local pygmy tribes, each of which considered him a living god, were ordered to muster. The northernmost brought their Terradons, which were the first to arrive. They were dispatched immediately to report on the enemy’s progress through the jungle. The other two tribes brought Salamanders, Gorillagors and a mighty Stegadon – the only one of it’s kind to dwell in this land for decades now. The Pygmies themselves came in large numbers, bringing either javelins and shields or blowpipes. Those with the former arrayed themselves in ranks and files around the giant gorillas. Those with deadly, poison tipped blow pipes made up two companies of skirmishers. The boar riding warriors, the strongest of all the pygmies, joined in one huge body, with the skull topped standards of all three tribes held aloft.



The army moved as one forwards, with the three Skink chiefs amongst them (two with the skirmishes and Tehenhauin with the massed ranks of Pygmy shield warriors. Out to the far left of the line the four Terradons flew low through the jungle trees, each mounted pygmy clutching a woven net of vines filled with rocks.



By means of a shrill cry, Tehenhauin gave the signal to his army to advance. This they did, answering his cry with strange warbling wails of their own, accompanied by the growling of the Salamanders and the rumbling roar of the Stegadon.



The rightmost skirmishers moved into the little swamp ahead of them, thinking to benefit momentarily from the concealment it afforded; while the leftmost band moved as far as they could. Both harboured the skink priests, Tehenhauin’s lieutenants, who prepared to cast their spells as best they could. Much of what they brought into being, however, was dismissed by the enemy’s counter magic, but the lightning bolts conjured by the Rod of the Storm tore down successfully to slay four of the Handgunners massed on the temple. Perhaps the ancient gods were angered by the sacrilege of the Pirates’ mere presence in such a holy place.

One of the Pygmy’s sibling gods, Brobok, was indeed there in spirit, and watched with interest as his followers advanced to battle …



… though some say there is a power behind the pygmy gods, an even greater being who truly rules the world of pygmies and (wargaming) men. She is the earth mother, and her will must be obeyed, though her commands are softly spoken.

Conrad was not dismayed by the manifestation of magic – to be honest he had feared much worse might be summoned into being. His Estalian Handgunners now moved down the hill so that the Maroon Hangunners behind them would have a clear line of sight.

(Note: Both players reckoned that as the two Handgunner lines were different units, the ‘fire in two ranks’ from a hill rule didn’t apply, as they weren’t actually ranked together. The pirate player didn’t argue because he had in fact positioned the front unit one inch beyond their deployment line and as such shouldn’t really have been able to fit them on the hill anyway!)

The Dwarfen Slayers moved as best they could forwards, while Conrad and the Black Swordsmen kept in line with their flank. The Duellists advanced towards the skirmishers, as yet unable to work out what exactly the enemy was armed with, and as such not exactly confident of their prospects.



The lesser of the two wizards moved down to join the Maroon Handgunners, realising that should the lightning strike again it could be the end of both Conrad’s magic users. As this cautious move was made, the wizard was suddenly deafened by two thunderous blasts, one upon either side of him. Both cannons had misfired disastrously, both exploding into pieces, the sound of their demise doubled in strength by rebounding off the stone walls of the temple behind them. As the smoke rolled outwards and the sound died, every man upon the hill discovered his ears were ringing from the blast. Though compared to the mangled remains of the cannon crews, they thought they had got off light!

Conrad winced when he realised what had happened. After all his precautions to make sure that his gunpowder weapons would be ready for battle, to have both his artillery pieces break apart upon their first firing seemed more than bad luck. The hill must indeed be cursed by the jungle gods!

On the far left of the Pirates’ line the Corsair Crossbowmen managed to wound the Stegadon with a veritable hail of bolts, while the Handgunners upon the temple killed only one Pygmy. The shock of the exploding cannons right nest to them seemed to have seriously distracted the wizards, for neither could bring their magic into being.

A palpable unease was coursing through the Pirates’ lines. Ahead of them the jungle army came on. The huge body of Pygmy Warriors and Gorillagors, joined at their side by the Stegadon, charged at the Estalians who had foolishly moved into range by advancing down the hill. Entirely uncertain of themselves, the Estalians elected to flee from the sudden onslaught – maybe they thought to draw the enemy into range of the dwarfs. But their flight proved disastrous, for as they ran through the Marooners they broke them too, and both companies poured around and over the temple to began their descent upon the rear side of the hill!



As this collapse in the centre of the Pirates’ line occurred, the Pygmies’ Salamanders moved up on the far left flank, sulphurous fumes already curling from their throats and through their jagged teeth. Nine brave warriors jabbed at the beasts from behind, nudging and prodding them in the desired direction.



The Pygmy Boar Riders (AKA Saurus!) advanced to the left of the Pygmy cohort that had failed to reach the enemy, in order to protect its flank. Behind the same unit, the Terradons settled down - eyeing the pirates still mustered upon the temple and considering whether to direct their next move against them.



Gobbling down Ixtli grubs to bolster his magic, one Skink Priest attempted to summon the lightning once more but despite his diet failed. Tehenhuain was more certain in his magical manipulations, and cast the Wolf’s Hunt on the Stegadon, sending the huge beast into the massed Pirate free company ahead of it. Panicked by the sudden and terrifyingly fleet motion of the monster, these pirates joined in the Handgunners’ flight.



The last of the Skink Priests, spotting the enemy Wizard Lord still standing upon the higher levels of the temple, attempted to employ the Blood Statuette of Spite upon him, but the salty sea dog of a conjurer proved too resilient to succumb to it’s harmful effects.

Now came the chance of the skirmishing Pygmies, the two companies totalling thirty one in number, to send a rain of poison tipped darts at the foe. Five Black Swordsmen tumbled to the ground. Then came the Salamanders’ turn to play their own terrible tricks. Six of the Pirate Free Company on the far right flank of Conrad’s line were slain by the fiery blasts, and like their kin on the other flank, their hearts proved to be wanting in courage. They fled, rushing through the Black Swordsmen and their detachment of Handgunners. At least under Conrad’s stern command these two units stood their ground.



It seemed to Conrad now that none of his men would stand against this foe. He could not quite believe that he had only an hour before wondered whether halflings, even this strange Lustrian variety, could put up a fight of any kind. Yet apparently they were better warriors than almost all the men he had brought with him.

Following the Wizard Lord’s example, the Pirate Handgunners atop the temple refused to be cowed by the proximity of the Stegadon. Elsewhere, faced with almost certain demise in the frightening jungles of this sweltering realm, every unit but one in Conrad’s army rallied, as if coming to their senses and suddenly realising that their only chance was to stick together and fight as one. Only the Estalians were dazed enough to continue their flight.

Better still, the Black Swordsmen charged the Boar Riders ahead of them, just managing to contact the foe. Finally, the Pirates had launched an attack of their own. Perhaps this would prove to be their salvation, for surely their diminutive foes could not withstand full-grown men in battle?



The Duellists were not so sure, however, and chose caution over any bold move. They ran forwards, yes, but only in an attempt to find cover in the little swamp ahead of them. Perhaps from there they could fire their pistols and see off the primitive foe with novelty of such modern weapons?



The Pirates’ magic users failed once more to harm the foe with magic, the lesser wizard even having to use a dispel scroll to prevent an enemy spell the fumbling Wizard Lord brought into being. This land seemed only to favour the magic of its favoured inhabitants.

A handful of Pygmies now died from bullet wounds, while a Terradon fell to a crossbow bolt. None of the jungle warriors, however, felt an urge to flee as a consequence. It was clear they shared a resolve rather stronger than that of their foes. While the Pirates began reloading, the fight between the Swordsmen and Boar Riders bloodily unfolded. Yet even here, however, the jungle warriors proved hardy in battle, for neither side broke, and the fight went on.

Frustrated by their previous failed attempt to close upon the enemy, the Pygmy cohort and their Gorillagors charged into the Dwarfen Slayers, rushing through the leaden bullets unleashed as they closed and crashing into the foe with glee. Tehenhuain himself led this company, as well as a Pygmy Chief, the most respected warrior of all three tribes. At the same moment, upon the Pygmy right flank, the Stegadon charged the now rallied Pirate Free Company once again. This time they stood to take the charge, bracing themselves as best they could for the mighty impact of the beast.

The Terradons chose not to move against the Handgunners on the temple, but instead flew over the swamp containing the Duellists, dropping their burden of rocks as they did so to kill five of the pistol-wielding pirates. The Pygmy skirmishers, deciding they were unafraid of the Duellists, decided to separate – one group going off towards the enemy centre, the other standing their ground ready to calmly dispatch the Duellists.



When they shot their darts, four more Duellists collapsed to slide beneath the murky waters of the swamp. This proved too much for the last Duellist, who fled the field in anguish never to be seen again!

Tehenhuain knew what he must do, and conjured up the Bear’s Anger, directing its effect upon the Pygmy Chief in his own unit. The little warrior would be transformed into a ferocious and deceptively mighty fighter. The Boar Riders hacked and slashed at their foes, this time slaying two of the black garbed Corsairs, who in response seemed unable to harm the pygmies or their boars. Now it was Conrad’s turn to do as much of the rest of his army had done – to turn and flee. The Boar Riders couldn’t catch them, but they overran into the Slayer’s flank in their fury, and turned a bad situation into a worse one for the Long Drong’s bearded buccaneers.



To make an awful situation about as bad as it could be, the newly rallied Free Company were somewhat disheartened by their general’s flight (he passed right through them) and for the second time they too took to their heels.

In the centre of the field, the two large units of Pygmies began the bloody work of slaying Slayers. Ten Dwarfs fell in total, some to Tehenhuain’s snakes, others torn in two by Gorillagors, still others pierced by stone tipped spears. Several fell to the wild Pygmy Chief, his magically induced fury proving almost unstoppable.

Only Long Drong and three of his warriors remained. He knew full well that he would perish with the last of his loyal band within next few moments.

Out on the Pygmies’ right flank, the Pirate Free Company somehow found it in them to make a stand against the Stegadon, and through sheer weight of numbers they held their ground. The Stegadon was beaten in combat, but knew no fear and fought stubbornly on. Five Pirates had been trampled underfoot.



Now (at the end of turn 3) the Pirates knew full well that their cause was hopeless. Conrad and his Swordsmen were running. Long Drong was certain to fall to the massed ranks of Pygmies and monsters all around him. Virtually no Handgunners were left to fire any kind of volley, and one Free Company was running pell-mell away from the field, all cohesion lost from their formation. In contrast, only a mere handful of brave Pygmies lay dead or wounded, and all three Skink Priest could be seen preparing for their next magical assault.

The battle was all but over. Conrad would be lucky to return to his ship, never mind take any gold with him.

(Battle conceded by the Pirate player as an obvious massacre.)

NB: The pirate army was mostly Empire in composition, but with DoW cannons (more appropriate), as well as Duellists and Long Drongs’ Slayers as Special and rare choices to make a convincingly ‘fluffy’ force.