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.