Dark Elves vs Lizardmen 1500 pts battle report

warhammer fantasy battle maps report :-

I think Fear causing Lizardmen Cold Ones caused one commander a little trouble...

"Charge! CHAAARGE! You imbeciles...you stinking goblin-brained fools! Khadriel screamed and ranted. He leapt off his chariot and made as if to run over to the quaking riders atop their panicked steeds.

Thasia caught his arm, "My lord! We must charge ourselves!"

I'll kill you all! Khadriel roared as he allowed himself to be dragged back to his place in the chariot, where the Nauglir were fighting amongst themselves. "I will wear your flesh as a cape! Your blood will be fed to the slaves! AHHHHHHH!"

(a well detailed report interspersed with some atmospheric narrative)

source : druchii.net

credit : The Griefbringer

30-Apr-2009

1500 Dark Elves vs Lizardmen: The Grudge Match Continues

It's been a long while since I've gotten in a game of Fantasy. However, with the new army book in hand and some small teaks to my army list, I was ready to take on Bobby's Lizzies again.

The jungle burned with unnatural fire. Once verdant and moist with life, the attentions of dark sorcery had withered and twisted the rugged landscape into a barren, black tangle of dead plants, ash, and dessicated animals. The sky was orange with the horrid fumes created by the sheets of green flame that the sorceresses summoned to do their master's bidding, and the stench was enough to choke a man dead.

Khadriel Griefbringer, Master of the Spire of Blood, breathed in the greasy smoke, relishing the burning sensation as it scorched and poisoned his throat. His driver, Thasia, whipped the Cold Ones further along the apocalyptic expanse of dead trees and scorched earth, the chariot's wheels grinding ashen logs into dust under its spiked wheels.

He had returned to Lustria for the fourth time in as many centuries. This time he was no longer amused to hunt and dodge the wretched lizards of this abyssmal land in their dank holes and sweaty forest. Now he burned his army a road from the sea to the very gates of Atzl-Qora, and there would be no retreat this time. He would either succeed in this endeavour, or perish in its attempt.

Thasia coughed, her face covered with a silk scarf.

Stop that. Khadriel barked, "Breath deep, Thasia. It is the taste of death. Even now, the cowardly skinks run to hide beneath the skirts of their stupid Saurus protectors. They will see how worthless the gesture is when we drag them, screaming, back to the Spire."

Thasia nodded. "My lord is very wise."

Khadriel grunted. He knew she didn't agree. From a less valuable servant, he might have killed her right then, but Thasia had proven herself a skilled bodyguard through the years, and showed promise as a general and a beastmaster. Besides, he knew her objections--the morale of his corsairs was low, thanks in part to the choking fumes he forced them to breathe on their march. Khadriel, though, was unconcerned--if bad air gave them pause, then they were too weak to be in his service and would perish, either by the hands of the enemy or by his own. There was no turning back.

1500 points Dark Elves Army list

Khadriel's Reavers (Dark Elves edition 7)

Khadriel Griefbringer: Master, General, Heavy Armor, Sea Dragon Cloak, Crimson Death
in Cold One Chariot (Light Purple Chariot)
Ithis Duskwalker: Lv2 Sorceress, Focus Familiar, Power Stone, Dark Lore (Chillwind, Word of Pain)--Red-Purple
Helio Deathsong: Lv2 Sorceress, Tome of Furion, Power Stone, Lore of Death (Dark Hand of Death, Steal Soul, Doom and Darkness) in Purple Corsairs

15 Corsairs, Full Command, Reaver w/handbows, Banner of Murder (Light Purple)
15 Corsairs, Full Command, Reaver w/handbows, Warbanner (Purple)
5 Dark Riders, RxBs, Musician (Black)
5 Dark Riders, RxBs, Musician (Navy Blue)
5 Shades, Extra Hand Weapons (Black Skirmishers)
6 Cold One Knights, Champ, Standard, Standard of Slaughter (Dark Purple)

1500 points Lizardmen Army list

Defenders of Aztl-Qora (Lizardmen edition 6)

Scar Vet: General, Light Armor, Enchanted Shield, Always-Strike-First Sword on Cold One, Bane Head (Red)
Skink Priest: Lv2, Diadem of Power, Lore of Heavens (Forked Lightning, Comet of Cassandora) in Yellow Skinks
Skink Priest: Lv2, Cube of Darkness, Lore of Heavens (Forked Lightning, Portent of the Far) in Light Blue Skinks

23 Saurus Warriors, Full Command, Spawning of Quetzl (Blue-green)
10 Skinks, Javelins and Shields (Yellow)
10 Skinks, Javelins and Shields (Light Blue)
10 Skinks, Blowpipes, Scouts (Aqua)
5 Cold One Riders, Full Command (Green)
3 Kroxigor (Olive)
2 Jungle Swarms (Light Green)
Salamander Hunting Pack w/2 Sallies (Orange)

Terrain and Deployment:

The board had two forests only, one in the NW and one in the east, mid-board. I placed my Murder-Corsairs on my west flank, followed by a team of Dark Riders. The center was held by the Cold One Knights and the Chariot, while the east flank had the Warsairs (+Helio) and the second group of DRs, behind which Ithis hid. The shades siezed the eastern forest.

Bobby's lizzies (which seemed much more numerous from the last time I played them at this point level) had a team of skinks + priest in the far west, on the other side of the forest, the Cold Ones and Saurus hugging the western side of the center, the Kroxigor at board center, then the Sallies. Behind the sallies went the other group of Skinks + Priest, then the two jungle swarms shielded the Scar Vet, then the blowpipe skinks, having nowhere to scout (yay burning forest), deployed in the far east.

Deployment:



Turn 1

I won first turn (after about a half-dozen times of us rolling the same thing). The Shades moved forward and shot at the blowpipe skinks, but I miraculously failed to wound anyone. Ithis follwed them into the forest, intending to use her familiar to gain LOS from a safe hiding spot. Both groups of Corsairs moved up and my Murder-sairs, stupidly, wheeled a bit to point themselves at the skinks in the far west. The Cold One units, neither of them stupid this round, stayed put. My western DRs rode up to harry the Cold One Knights, but couldn't kill any, while the ones in the east rode forward and managed to bounce their crossbow bolts off the Kroxigor. My magic phase turned out to be devastating. I hit the Salamanders with a Chillwind and a Dark Hand of Death and threw Doom and Darkness on the Scar Vet. With no high general leadership to save them, the Sallied panicked and, in turn, panicked the skinks behind them, who ran off the board along with a skink priest (though not the diadem one, unfortunately). Altogether, not too bad for a first turn.

Top of Turn 1:



The Skink Priest Nato sniffed the smoky air, his colorful crest flaring red with apprehension. The terrible druchii ran across the blackened field with terrifying speed, and he could sense that Old Krosk, the Scar Vet leading their army, was filled with dread from the way he crouched on the back of his mount.

Then Nato saw it--a small, winged beast, twisted and bat-like, with gleaming black eyes. It landed on the dead branch of a scorched tree and cocked its head at him. Suddenly, he felt the presence of a malign intellect behind those eyes, and he felt the air crackle with obscene power. Bolts of black energy arced across the landscape, reducing many of the skinks prodding the Salamanders forward to dust. The air became so cold it burned, and panic quickly spread.

Nato clutched the sacred Cube of Darkness given to him by his master tightly to his chest and ran for all he was worth.

In Bobby's turn, the Salamander's rallied. He then tried to charge the Dark Riders in the west with both the Saurus and the Cold Ones. I fled, of course, bringing his troops slightly closer but escaping unharmed. The Kroxigor, Scar Vet, Swarms, and both remaining groups of Skinks moved up, as well. Magic was easily shut down (and remained so the rest of the game). Shooting with the Blowpipes at the Shades was likewise worthless (Bobby needed a 9 to hit or some such). The turn ended without incident.

Bottom of Turn 1:



Turn 2

Things start to go poorly for me in this turn, when both Chariot and Knights go stupid (not that big a deal, since they had no target anyway). More importantly, my murder-sairs fail their fear check to charge the flank of the Cold One Riders, leaving them open to a flank charge next turn (stupid first turn wheel!). My Dark Riders in the west rally and try to box-off the riders' charge next turn, shooting down one of the riders in the process. My Shades charge the blowpipe skinks and slaughter them with prejudice (yay extra hand weapons!), running them down. My Dark Riders in the east charge the jungle swarms. I do four wounds with the Riders--good--but then my horses all miss, even with re-rolls! That means 10 attacks back instead of 5; Bobby rolls well, and I lose 3 DRs. Still, the musician wins me the combat by 1, killing one base worth of jungle beasties. In magic, a chuck some spells around but don't manage to do much damage (I consistently rolled 1 or 2 hits with any magic missile for most of the game). Doom and Darkness hits the Scar Vet again.

Top of Turn 2:



Cowards! Khadriel screamed across the battlefield at the sight of his men hesitating to charge the cavalry. His scream was loud enough to unsettle the nauglir mounts around him, and the chariot and the knights jerked forwards under their impulsive movement.

It's no matter, Khadriel thought to himself. "So long as the rest of them hold up..."

In the bottom of turn 2, Bobby charges his scar vet at the dark riders engaged with the jungle swarms, killing them quickly and overrunning to beside my war-sairs and Helio. The Cold One Riders, doing a lot of wheeling, manage to squeeze a pair of riders into contact with my corsairs flank (I've *got* to get better at blocking that stuff.). They fail their fear check (again), lose 4 men, and flee. They escape, at least. Elsewhere, various other elements of his army move forwards, though he forgets all about his Salamanders and they don't shoot. Magic is shut down easily, as usual.

Bottom of Turn 2:



Turn 3

My cowardly corsairs keep running, the b@stards. They go off the board and doom themselves to an ugly fate at their general's hands. The rest of my movment is set-up for the next turn. My Dark Riders ride to the flank of the Cold One Riders, but their shooting does nothing. My Knights wheel to face the Kroxigor while my Chariot sneaks behind to get a next turn charge at either the Saurus or Salamanders (who were actually a bit closer and more towards the center than the map shows). Ithis fled deeper inside the woods to avoid being charged by the Scar Vet. The shades trotted forwards and put a wound on the Kroxigor with shooting. In magic, I took a wound off the scar vet with Steal Soul, hit him with Doom and Darkness, but all other spells were dispelled or failed to do any damage. The Reaver handbows hit and wounded twice, but the scar-vet's 0+ armor save kept him alive and safe.

Top of Turn 3:



In the bottom of the turn, Bobby charged my shades with his remaining jungle swarm. The swarm killed 1, but the remaining attacks back from the shades wiped the swarm out. They overran into the rear of the Kroxigor. The Scar Vet, unable to see Ithis in the woods, tried his luck at charging the warsairs. He eviscerated my champ, of course, but lost combat by 3 and, when coupled with Doom and Darkness, this turned fatal. He fled, and I pursued but failed to catch him (though it was a near thing with the new slaver rule). Elsewhere, the Salamanders moved up, as did the remaining skinks, while the Cold One Riders did an about-face and moved a bit closer to the action at the center of the board. Though magic was shut down, the Salamanders killed 3 Cold One Knights with their massive flame-spew (I had to make 12 saves on a 3+--I was lucky).

Bottom of Turn 3:



Turn 4

This turn was just apocalyptically bad. Trouble the first: Chariot fails stupidity, so no salamander charge this turn. Trouble the Second: The Dark Riders fail their fear test and can't charge the Cold Ones flank. Trouble the Third: Though I pull off the combined charge on the Kroxigor, kill 1 and wound another, and pile up a mountain of combat res for the loss of only one shade, Bobby ROLLS SNAKE EYES. It's at this point I tell him he just won the game--that failure to break is going to cost me upwards of 500 points, ultimately. I swear profusely and proceed to flip off my dice.

On the bright side, I do chase his general off the board. Magic this phase was pretty much nonexistent, though I did manage to roll snake eyes when trying to damage a pair of skinks with the salamanders. Awesome...

Top of Turn 4:



Charge! CHAAARGE! You imbeciles...you stinking goblin-brained fools! Khadriel screamed and ranted. He leapt off his chariot and made as if to run over to the quaking riders atop their panicked steeds.

Thasia caught his arm, "My lord! We must charge ourselves!"

I'll kill you all! Khadriel roared as he allowed himself to be dragged back to his place in the chariot, where the Nauglir were fighting amongst themselves. "I will wear your flesh as a cape! Your blood will be fed to the slaves! AHHHHHHH!"

In the bottom of Turn 4, the Cold One Riders (who *should* have Dark Elf spears in their flanks right now...grumble, grumble...) charge the chariot, forcing me to flee. The Salamanders eat the remainder of their handlers while pelting the chariot with flame (and doing two wounds to it), while the Skinks miss the Dark Riders with their javelins. The Saurus actually fail a fear check trying to charge the chariot as well. In close combat, the Knights/Shades kill another Kroxigor, but the remaining Krox kills all three Knights and runs down the remaining shades. For their monster reaction test, the Salamanders feel guilty for eating their masters and decide to sit tight and just shoot anything nearby. Ugh...

Bottom of Turn 4:



Turn 5

Well, at this point I am pretty sure the game is a collossal failure on my part. Still, I keep slugging along. My Dark Riders charge and run down the skinks plus their remaining priest, losing one of their own in the process. My Chariot rallies, my spells do precious little (really could have used more magic missiles this game...).

Top of Turn 5:



In Bobby's half of the turn, the only thing he really does is walk his Kroxigor into the forest.

Turn 6

I, myself, fail stupidity for this round, since I decide to charge the Chariot at the Saurus block. I get word of pain off, but it does no real good since they fail their fear test, anyway. Doom and Darkness is a fraction of an inch out of range. I flub my impact hits, suck my damage rolls, and kill 3 Saurus all-told. Lose by 2, but stick. The Cold One Riders will be coming to kill me next round, and I have delivered my general into doom yet again.

Top of Turn 6:



Bobby's Cold Ones charge my chariot, I break after killing a single saurus, and run for the hills after Khadriel is beaten down (again) by Saurus clubs. I escape pursuit, but to no avail since I cannot rally. Balls.

Bottom of Turn 6:



Final Score

Dark Elves: ~1030
Lizardmen: ~1110
A Draw in the Lizardmen's Favor.


Thasia was summoned back to the Spire of Blood to meet with her lord, who was still recovering from his injuries. In his shadowy throne room, where he dwelled alone with the banners he had siezed in victory, she knelt before him.

She noticed the floor was carpeted with rugs made from elven skin. She swallowed her anxiety--the Griefbringer would not save this fate for her, would he? "You called for me, my Lord?"

Yes, Thasia. Rise.

Thasia rose. "The burning continues well, my Lord. Though we were bruised in the last battle, we still have many able troops and..."

Khadriel cut her off. Thasia noticed the labor with which he was breathing, the odd and broken angle at which he reclined on his iron throne. "I will not lead those wretches to battle again until they prove themselves to me. I am giving you command of the operation, Thasia. You have some talent as a beastmistress; see if you can't bring these beasts to heel for me."

Thasia bowed low. "I am honored, my Lord."

Nonsense--you are expectant and ambitious. You will use me for only as long as you cannot best me. The Griefbringer sneered. "But have no worries, girl--the fools under my command will soon break your body as thoroughly as they have mine. And then, when you fail, I will have the pleasure of skinning you for a rug."

Thasia met her lord's gaze. "That will not happen."

We shall see. Begone.


Post Mortem

Well, that game just p'ssed me off. The constant failure of fear check in the west flank (two failed charges against the juicy flanks of Bobby's cavalry--TWO!) coupled with that enraging Insane Courage roll for the Kroxigors turned what was about to be a great victory into a miserable draw.

Of course, I can't blame dice entirely. I did the math wrong on the amount of stuff I had killed compared to the amount of stuff Bobby had. If I hadn't charged with my chariot in the last turn, that would have been a 300 point knock to Bobby's score, earning me a marginal victory. Oh well.

Magic performed well (though I missed a heavier magic missile spell), shooting was lackluster, but the Chariot is the thing I'm really p'ssed at. I will no longer deliver my general into the hands of the enemy that way anymore. I keep doing it, over and over, and it is stupid. I am going to put my general somewhere he (or, now, she) can do the most good. I don't know where that is, yet, but I'll keep thinking.

In any case, this was a nice, close game (no matter how p'ssed I was in turn 4), and I thank Bobby for another challenging round. Thanks for reading!

3000 pts Dogs of War vs 2000 pts Empire battle report

warhammer fantasy battle scenario narrative :-

"Out on the far left of Edric’s massed Foot, the Handgunners were busy – they had already poured several volleys into the advancing Pikemen, and their success was beginning to tell. For a moment the Black Company’s professional Pikemen faltered, as if they might turn tail and flee, but the Captain leading them refused either to flinch or falter, and they took encouragement from him to continue their bloody advance."

(another superb master class of a battle report from padre. His reports have so much character you could probably sit them down in a bar and chat all night !)

source : battlereporter.freeforums.org

credit : BatPadre

29-Apr-2009

Against the Odds for Mortensholm
2000 pts Empire vs. 3000 pts Dogs of War

They were close now. The sound of the Black Companies’ artillery pounding at the castle walls had been their marching beat for nigh upon two hours, and now they could even smell the sulphurous smoke emitted by those same hellish machines. There was no man amongst them who was not filled with rage at the thought of what was being done to their home, a feeling so strong it was hardly tempered by the fact that they knew the Black Company could muster a force much, much larger than anything Graf Edric could put upon the field.

The Graf knew the full truth of it. His scouts had returned with their assessment of the enemy’s strength, and it was easily twice his own. Even if the Don left several regiments behind to watch the castle and thus guard against any sallies, his men would still significantly outnumber the Graf’s forces. Edric cursed the fact that his army was without artillery, but it had, after all, been intended for a winter campaign clearing the Yetzin valley of greenskins, and not for a pitched battle with the army of a powerful Border Prince (one who had begun to call himself King).

Thus Graf Edric’s mind was cluttered with concerns as he watched his army deploy for the final advance. Of course, he knew what the field of battle would be like, for it was his very own garden – the land outside his town of Mortensholm. The scouts had told him how it had changed since he was last there: how there was now an all but abandoned circumvallation of bastions and siege-works extending around to the south and east, from the river to the cliff; how the town itself lay in ruins, battered and burned by murdering engines, with the Graf’s army settled like carrion amongst the rubble; and how the very mortars responsible for the destruction now sat quiet and abandoned, their awful work done.



The Graf would approach from the east, the only real option, and had ordered his army in such a way as to give the enemy as little time as possible to react. He could not hope for complete surprise, for the town commanded a view down the valley, but he might squeeze some tiny advantage from a rapid advance, forcing the enemy to deploy hurriedly and perhaps thus haphazardly.

His own Horse were all deployed upon the right flank, with the Light Horse and Pistoliers furthest out, then Captain Vincent and himself each leading one of the two companies of Knights. The Free Company followed the Knights, with instructions to march up to fill the gap when the noblemen advanced.



The centre of the line had the massed Foot soldiers – two regiments (one of Swordsmen, one of Halberdiers) with their detachments of Handgunners and Swordsmen. Amongst them lurked the two wizards. Upon the far left moved the Skirmishing Archers, the best that Edric had available to manoeuvre upon that flank, considering he had massed all his Horse upon the right.

In Mortensholm horns were blaring and drums beating, sounding the ‘Alarum’. Soldiers scrabbled through the streets to muster upon the field outside. Pikes were dragged along cobbles as their bearers stumbled and pushed, hooves threw up sparks as horsemen forced their way through the mass of Foot. Several light cannon were already moving into place, having previously been left upon the town’s siege-works as too small to take up room on the new line facing the castle, where the larger pieces were emplaced.

Somehow, from what at first sight appeared to be chaos and confusion, the line was ordered. It was all Don Matthias could do to match the enemy’s deployment – anything fancier would have led to muddlement. It was a neat and simple order, easily delivered, and easily understood. And his men, nearly all professionals of years’ experience, carried it out with efficiency.

His own skirmishers, Estalian Duellists, came up on the far right, thus facing Edric’s Archers. The Don’s only wizard on the field, the Marienbuger Jan Van Junge, was amongst them, having just returned from a pleasant walk to the south of the town, where there was no smoke of brimstone nor squabbling dogs (both the human and the animal kind.)

The core of the Black Company’s Foot, two regiments of Pike and the Tilean Paymaster Carlo Atobello and his Bodyguard took the centre-right, angling to face the enemy Foot. Three artillery pieces were emplaced centre and left, with the Horse also facing their equivalents on the opposing side.



The two companies of Heavy Lancers were led by Don Matthias (Game note: as ‘Borgio the Besieger’) and his Mercenary Captain Rudolph Litzen (Game note: as Mercenary General ). The Light Horse arrayed themselves on the Don’s right flank, while the Norsemen marched behind being the last to reach the field. Two regiments of Crossbow did the best they could to order themselves on the left flank, both hoping that when the Horse advanced they might find a target or two for their quarrels.

Hoping to keep what little initiative he had obtained, Graf Edric began issuing commands. Perhaps if he could bring his Horse to bear effectively, then the enemy’s cannons would lose the chance to rain destruction upon his army? All the Horse upon the right moved up cautiously, positioning themselves in the hope that they would be the ones delivering charges upon the foe, and not receiving them. The Pistoliers sought temporary shelter behind a pair of ruins, and prepared to make their dash through the gap ahead of them. The Light Cavalry, mercenaries, matched the Pistoliers’ caution and also moved tentatively forwards. Both knew there was a sizeable body of Crossbowmen upon the other side, as well as some Heavy Lancers.



Upon the far left flank the skirmishers also jogged forwards. They had a mind to shoot into the flank of the enemy pikemen, if they could position themselves satisfactorily. The massed Foot, however, merely edged forwards, with the Free Company joining their line. They intended that the Handgunners would have as much chance as possible to play bullets against the enemy.



Now began the Black Company’s advance. The Graf’s cautious mood, it seemed, was infectious, for the Don’s own Foot regiments also moved somewhat cautiously, for as they advanced they did not cover the full distance they might.



Pike tips glinted and the huge banners of the young Kingdom of Caroly fluttered in the breeze as ‘Instancibile’ and ‘Resplendente’ moved up to keep the line with the Carlo Atobello and his Bodyguard on their left.



Upon the left of the Don’s line, he and his own Bodyguard nudged their mounts forwards, while Rudolph and the other Heavy Lancers wheeled so that they might better face the centre of the field, and so the Crossbow behind them had a view of the two ruins where the enemy’s Light Horse were hiding.



The Norsemen moved up to the side of the central brace of cannons while the Duellists and Jan Van Junge the Wizard moved to conceal themselves in the trees. Suddenly all three cannons let loose, each felling a knight so that poor Edric was left with only two companions. Captain Vincent winced at the sight of what had been done to his Lord’s guard, but tried to conceal hit concern from his own knights.

“Steady, gentlemen,” was all he managed to say, but his own men barely heard them, for all were thinking that the enemy certainly knew how to work their artillery. Would these men be similarly blown to pieces in the next few minutes?

Crossbow bolts lifted two pistoliers out of the saddles and threw their lifeless bodies to the ground. Their champion decided that he could hesitate not a moment longer, and began to issue the order to advance. At the same moment Edric knew he could not linger, and led a desperate charge at the Rudolph leading the ‘Caricare’ Lancers. Two Knights quickly fell in the ensuing melee, one from each side, leaving Edric and his Standard Bearer barely holding their own and facing a flank charge from the Don himself.



The two wizards managed to cast a little magic, steadying the hands of the handgunners with the Portent of Far, but young Therese then miscast for the second time and burned herself in the process. Nevertheless the successful spell proved its worth as two of Don Matthias’ own Lancer Bodyguard fell to the bullets. Two pikemen also died from bullets and arrows, while the Pistoliers moved right up to the Crossbowmen and fired a fusillade of shots at them, slaying four. But the Don’s men proved willing, and refused to be panicked by the loss. Laboriously they reloaded their crossbows and made ready to give as they had received.

Don Matthias, barely noticing that two of his men had fallen so close to him, spurred his Lancers on and into the side of the Graf. Because Edric was caught up in a personal fight with Rudolph, however, all that The Don could do was cut down the last of Edric’s own Bodyguard.



The Light Horse slammed into the Handgunners with Therese, knowing that they could surely drive the petty unit off. This they did, and although they failed to reach the fleeing foe to finish them off, they made sure that Therese fell to their spear tips before she could turn tail.



Once more the massed Foot moved on, and again they were careful to maintain their line, and thus sacrificed some movement to do so. The central Crossbow regiment, who had yet to contribute to the fight, reformed into two ranks – they knew that soon they would have targets and wanted to be ready. Their fellows to the left were fully occupied, however, and now brought down four of the Pistoliers. Somehow the surviving pair, perhaps too dazed to react, stood their ground!

The three cannons were not so effective with their second shot. Perhaps one had been allowed to rust a little lying in the siege-works, for it now blew itself to pieces and tore its crew apart. The next overshot the enemy, but the last ripped through a knight and three Free Company.

Graf Edric was suddenly gripped with fear (little did he know its supernatural origins – the magical artefacts carried by Don Matthias) and unthinkingly he fled from his foes. Both the Black Company’s Lancers and their leaders, however, restrained themselves from pursuing. They were wise enough to see that to do so would put themselves right in front of the enemy and risk flank charges.

“No,” thought Don Matthias, “let him run.”

He would win this battle, and he would do so with tactical cunning and precision. His men laughed and jeered at the fleeing enemy Lord, but none broke ranks and followed him.



Perhaps more out of desperation than bravery, the surviving Pistoliers charged the large crossbow unit facing them. Meanwhile, Captain Vincent, horrified to see his noble Lord and master forced to flee from the foe, led his own Knights in a charge against Don Matthias and his Bodyguard. The Light Horse bravely attempted to support Vincent’s efforts by charging the other Black Company Lancers commanded by Rudolph Litzen.



Less dramatically, but no less dangerously for the men doing it, the Archers on the far left flank threw themselves at the Estalian Duellists in the trees, hoping at the least to slay the enemy wizard Van Junge.



Graf Edric, ashamed to be seen fleeing by his massed ranks of Foot, no matter that the cause had been overwhelming, halted his horse and turned to see what he could possibly do to regain his honour and assist his brave men. His two wizards had managed magically to imbue the Graf’s army with some little fortune as they both brought the second Sign of Amul to bear. Maybe a little good luck could turn the battle?

It seemed possible, for the Archers somehow broke the Duellists, who should have been very much their betters in combat. The Estalians, perhaps as they now knew the little copse of trees so well (having crept around for long enough within it), made their way more rapidly through it and thus outran the Mortensholm men. The wizard Van Junge ran with them, beginning to wonder whether he really ought to have sought out safety with a larger regiment rather than this band of desperadoes.



The Light Horse, though receiving some casualties, held their own against the Lancers, but Captain Vincent found that even the magical fortune summoned by the allied wizards could not help him. He and his own unit were broken and cut down by the Don and his Bodyguard, who crashed into the flank of the now (surely?) doomed Light Horse. The Pistoliers also failed to inflict a forceful blow, and were sent running off by the Crossbow.

As the Duellists failed to rally themselves and stumbled onwards in confused flight, and the Black Company’s Light Horse charge a second time at the surviving Handgunners they had failed to wipe out in the first charge (and then yet again failed to finish them off), the massed Foot marched slowly forwards. Their movement was made more cautious by the unsettling proximity of enemy archers to their rear.



The Norsemen, wondering whether they would strike a blow at the enemy in this battle, now began a much more rapid march forwards. Graf Edric spotted them close by, and started to wonder whether the best he could now do was to support his Foot soldiers.



When the two remaining artillery pieces fired yet again, they only managed to bring down four enemy halberdiers. The Crossbowmen on the right killed the two panicked Pistoliers galloping away from them, while the other Crossbowmen unchivalrously wounded Graf Edric, though he was so caught up in a world of concerns that he barely noticed the wound. Unsurprisingly, the Don, Rudolph and the Lancers easily dispatched every Light Horseman before them, and hurriedly set about re-ordering themselves for their next attack.

The Free Company of Mortensholm, happy that the Handgunners had held the enemy’s Light Horse long enough, now charged into the rear of those same Horse. Sheer weight of numbers prevailed, and after dragging a handful of riders from their mounts, they chased the rest of them off the field with a cheer. Their Lord, Graf Edric, moved to stand close by his Foot soldiers, and was trying to decide whether he ought to attempt to get them safely away, so that they might fight against better odds another day.

Out on the far left of Edric’s massed Foot, the Handgunners were busy – they had already poured several volleys into the advancing Pikemen, and their success was beginning to tell. For a moment the Black Company’s professional Pikemen faltered, as if they might turn tail and flee, but the Captain leading them refused either to flinch or falter, and they took encouragement from him to continue their bloody advance. As they did so, it was the turn of the regiment next to them to lose some men as the Archers in the rear sent a bout of arrows into their midst.

Now it seemed the real fight would soon begin. Both Don Matthias and his second in command urged their Lancers on, and the Norse picked up their pace. Even the Duellists chose to run no further, but instead turned to face the enemy Archers with murderous (if somewhat tardy) intent. And most ominously of all, the Black Company’s foot regiments now approached very close to the foe. If the rightmost Pike regiment could withstand one more volley, then all three regiments looked set to be in combat in mere moments.



The cannons sent another two blue and white garbed halberdiers to the afterlife, and as their torn bodies spun bloodily to the ground, spattering crimson blood in a wide arc, the Graf ordered the survivors to charge into the exactly similarly armed Paymaster’s Bodyguard before them. The Mortensholm Swordsmen, however, stood and watched as the deadly, multiple lines of pike-tips advanced towards them. They knew that to charge such a foe would gain them no advantage, and their sergeant thought that he might buy the Graf a little time by holding them back.

Edric beckoned the detachment of Swordsmen to move up beside him, in the hope that they might prove even a temporary match for the large body of Norsemen approaching fast.

The Handgunners and Archers once more shot at the dwindling Pike regiment on the far flank, but once more the Captain somehow encouraged them to keep their order. It occurred to him that soon their would be too little men left in his regiment to make any sort of difference to the fight, although perhaps their awful contribution had been to receive shot after shot that might otherwise have hurt the rest of the army.



In the huge melee the Paymaster and his bodyguard proved the better skilled at arms, yet the Graf’s men, desperate in their desire to drive off these invaders, climbed over their fallen comrades and fought on. Their bravery would prove of little use, however, as the Norse were now close enough to deliver their blow. So Graf Edric could only look on helplessly as the frenzied northmen smashed into the flank of his halberdiers, his most veteran garrison soldiers. He knew that only the gods could help them now. A mere moment later, he turned to see that the Black Company’s Pikemen finally came to blows with his swordsmen.

The horrible press had begun, the screams and cries building in an awful crescendo. Sword, pike, halberd and dagger slashed, swiped, cut and thrust. Mortensholm’s fate hung in bloody balance.



Surprisingly the Swordsmen found it much easier than they had feared to fend off the pikes with their swords and shields, and thus held their ground. Not so the Halberdiers, however, who now broke and fled and were butchered by the frenzied Norsemen. The men of the Sword detachment were dismayed to witness the routing and massacre of their parent regiment, and thus they too turned tail and ran.

All this meant that the Norsemen’s pursuit took them right into Graf Edric – nigh upon twenty crazed warriors facing but one nobleman upon his barded steed.



The last few of the Black Companies’ rightmost pike regiment charged at the Handgunners that had dealt such destruction upon them. The Handgunners chose to flee from this threat, but had waited a moment too long, and the Pikemen ran them down to scatter them completely. Their part in this battle was done.

The Free Company, seeing their Lord so hard pressed, but unable to get to him themselves, chose instead to reform and face the advancing enemy Lancers. They hoped that they might at the least keep these enemy knights away from their Lord, perhaps long enough for him to extricate himself from the Norsemen’s clutches.

A little magic and an arrow or two felled another handful of Pikemen, but still the Black Company veterans would not give in. Graf Edric slew the Champion leading the Norsemen, but could not hold his own against the mass of pushing men with their round shields, no matter what prayers he uttered. Once again, and this time for the last time in this battle, he turned from them and galloped away. Riding right past the badly mauled Pikemen, he headed off into the hills.



He could do no more, not this day. The battle was lost, his home conquered, his heart broken. He would ride for an hour, until finally he halted and fell from his horse in exhaustion.

When exhaustion turned inevitably into a troubled slumber, he dreamed of vengeance.

Unknown to him, however, the fight had actually gone on a little longer. The Duellists charged the Archers who had previously shamed them, and discovered that the Mortensholm men were indeed made of strong stuff. They could not break them, and were forced to begin a long and bloody melee.

In the centre of the field, Don Matthias and his Lancers thought nothing of the enemy before them (the Free Company), and charged them with no concept that they might prove troublesome.



This was a mistake.

The Don hacked down two of the Mortensholm irregulars, and although the Foot soldiers could do no harm back, once again their numbers proved crucial. With a cry of ‘Mortensholm’ they surged forwards and startled the Lancer’s mounts, and before the Don could regain mastery of the situation, he and his men were fleeing away from the Free Company!



Of course the Lancers behind stood ready to counter-charge the Free Company, and with such surprise and force as they could deliver, they knew that the Free Company could not withstand them.

Don Matthias might be ashamed of his panic and flight, but the battle was won nevertheless. He would remain master of the newly conquered Mortensholm, and without doubt the castle would soon fall to him.

But for how long?

Result: Victory to the Black Company. [Dogs of War win]

Game note: This was the end of turn 6. The Swordsmen and Archers and Free Company were all still upon the field and fighting, which surprised me considering the 3:2 point advantage to the DoW. Maybe DoW are considerably underpowered compared to Empire? The only game event ‘fudged’ in the above account was Don Matthias’ flight. The Free Company actually outran him and thus killed him and his Lancers in the pursuit. Because, however, in the campaign world this game was set in the Don is (later) known to be alive and kicking, I was forced to do the story fudge and take the one ‘fake’ photo of the entire battle – the very last one of the FC chasing after the Don. We shall have to assume that although his Lancers were caught and mauled, the ‘brave’ Don galloped that little bit faster and thus saved his neck.

Please don't think I fudge such events in other accounts, but here I was fordced to for the sake of the campaign. I should learn not to attempt to do 'historical' battles.

PS: Thank you J and T for playing the ‘bad guys’ and giving me the chance to write this report.

Wood Elves vs Dwarfs 2250 pts battle report

warhammer fantasy battle tournament report :-

One of a series of tournament reports from David L

(a no nonsense battle summary)

source : bugmansbrewery.com

credit : David L

28-Apr-2009

2250pts Dwarf Army List

Dwarf Lord, shieldbearers, great weapon
MRoSteel, Resistance, Stone, MRoChallenge, Furnace - 286 points

Thain BSB, Strollaz, Guarding - 175 points

Runesmith
shield, great weapon, spellbreaker, spellbreaker, Stone, Furnace - 136 points

Thain, shield, great weapon, Stone - 76 points

10 Thunderers, shields - 150 points
15 warriors, shields, banner, musician - 150 points
24 Longbeards, full command, Battle, Stoicism - 363 points
17 Hammerers, shields, full command, Stoicism - 276 points
13 Hammerers, shields, banner, champion, Battle - 218 points

bolt thrower, engineer, Penetrating - 86 points
bolt thrower engineer, Burning - 65 points
Stone Thrower, engineer, Accuracy, Penetrating, Burning - 155 points
Organ Gun - 120 points

2250 exactly

2250pts Wood Elves Army list

Lord on stag with magic spear, regeneration
Wild rider noble with moonstone
Branchwraith level 1 with cluster
Alter kindred with ward against shooting

4x9 Dryads
9 Wild Riders with noble and flee banner
8 Wild Riders with lord and warbanner
6 wardancers
Treeman
Eagle

Wood Elves without shooting make a much more beatable enemy for Dwarfs than someone that fields 30 archers. Getting shot by longbows when I don't have 30 crossbows to shoot back is unpleasant.

Scenario was ants, which start on the center line 24" from each side. They move each compulsory phase and inflict d6+1 S2 hits with reduced armour saves on anything they hit. They cannot be killed.

There are a few piece of impassable terrain around and one piece of difficult near my deployment zone. Only forest on the table was his free one. (cardboard circle in pictures)

I use one impassable to anchor my west, so the thunderers cannot be flanked. Behind them goes the small Hammerers, facing west. I surmise correctly - one Wild Rider unit starts on that side. Warriors go in the middle with Longbeards behind. The warriors are going forward to get in the way, potentially fleeing. Organ Gun there too. Big guns east of that, then the other Hammerers and flaming bolt thrower on the table edge. East Hammerers are set so they can expand frontage out to 15 wide and block anything going around. Lord is with Organ Gun, runesmith and Thain with central artillery.

He has Dryads all over, wardancers in the middle, Treeman in the west middle hiding behind his free forest, wild riders far east and west. Eagle and Alter start east.

I stroll the warriors forward and win first turn. But my shooting does nothing, literally. One pile of ants moves towards his army, the other goes east into a previously open gap between cliffs. He advances, the Treeman continuing to hide in the woods and the Eagle hiding behind a cliff. On my 2, the eastern ants eat his alter kindred. Thank you ants! They will continue progressing east and eventually leave the table. My Stone Thrower then lands a perfect shot on Wild Riders, flattening 5 of them. Other shooting kills a few Dryads.

On the bottom of 2, he launches a triple charge at my aggressive warriors using injured Dryads, Dryads with Branchwraith, and injured Wild Riders. The warriors flee (roll says from the Dryads) and go through lots of stuff, covering a huge distance and barely staying on the table. I would have prefered a shorter flee distance, but getting him to fail 3 charges is great success for that mission.

Treeman comes out, western Wild Riders complete their long run ... the envelopement is beginning.



During Wood Elf turn 2, as my warriors slow him down by fleeing. The Alter Kindred was just east of the Eagle when the ants ate him.

Start of Dwarf turn 3


Turn 3

Fleeing warriors rally. But they have no space to face anywhere.

As I had planned from the beginning, the Dwarf Lord leaves the Organ Gun and joins the western Hammerers. Those Wild Riders (and their general) are welcome to come play! I don't want the Eagle to easily take out my artillery, so the BSB and Runesmith join the Stone Thrower and the Thain the bolt thrower.

Then it's Treeman time. Stone Thrower guesses wrong and misses. S7 bolt thrower hits and does 1 wound. Flaming bolt thrower adds 2 (4) more. Thunderers take the short range shots and get the last wound. Awesome job artillery!! Organ Gun then blows away 4 Dryads, leaving 1 in that unit. He will retire to the woods.



Start of Wood Elf turn 3

Wild Riders charge western Hammerers. Western Dryads charge Thunderers. Ants eat a dryad and wardancer. His east flank shifts east and the central dryads move forward into the difficult terrain, threatening my artillery.

Thunderer stand-and-shoot drops 2 and only 5 have range to make it into base contact. Then the dryads roll poorly, killing only 1 Thunderer. I kill 2 in return and the leadership 10 Forest Lord is not enough to keep them around. Super fighting Thunderers run down the dryads!! In the other combat, the Forest Lord does no better personally, as the Wild Riders can only get through the armour of one Dwarf and I smash 3 of them in return, including the unit champion. With 3 ranks on my side, they flee but escape.

End of Wood Elf turn 3. Picture from western table edge.


Turn 4

He has too many units that cause fear for me to protect the artillery anymore, so the Runesmith and Thain join the Hammerers and the BSB returns to the Longbeards. Longbeards turn to face east. Thunderers continue their 'pursuit' across the table, to claim a table quarter which is worth a bonus tournament point. Warriors turn east, so anything that kills some of my artillery is getting charged by something. Lord's Hammerers continue the 'pursuit' west, now an inch away from the fleeing enemy general.

Stone thrower takes out a couple wardancers/dryads. Organ Gun opens up on the Wild Riders and poofs the unit, although the noble makes his saves.

Start of Wood Elf turn 4. Picture from western table edge.

He charges east dryads at flaming bolt thrower, last wardancers at other bolt thrower, dryads at stone thrower. His general rallies and the surviving noble goes and hides. The dryads autobreak those artillery, but the branchwraith dryads do not pursue far enough to go off the table. One crew survives the wardancers and holds.

End of Wood Elf turn 4. Picture from western table edge.


Clean up...

Dwarf Lord and Hammerers charge enemy general. Warriors charge Branchwraith unit. Longbeards and other Hammerers turn around to look for returning dryads. Organ Gun moves west so the wardancers will not be able to charge it if they kill the last bolt thrower crew.

The Wood Elf general manages to hold this time, while the Branchwraith unit breaks. They nearly die on the eastern Hammerers but are just short. Wardancers take out my last crew.

The branchwraith unit rallies. Other dryads return and move east to avoid getting killed. Wardancers try to run north.

His Wild Riders cannot generate damage with most of his hitting power stuck on my tank-lord. The elves break and flee off the table.

I double charge the Branchwraith unit with Hammerers and Warriors, beating them by a ton and running them off the table.

Victory for the Dwarfs!!

Warhammer Battle Report Compilation "Engine"

Don't tell anyone (!) but at work I created a short program to help me update this site with battle reports.

It's basically a formatting macro but I think it will help cut the time to get a battle report onto this site by about 50%.

I will soon resume updating this site with Battle reports every day or every other day. Thanks for your patience.

BTW, the Steam Tank is the closest thing I could think of in the Warhammer World to represent an "Engine" - it's my poor idea of a joke :)

Image is © Games Workshop Ltd. All rights reserved. Used without permission.

Beasts of Chaos vs Hordes of Chaos (mortals) battle report 3000 pts

Massive warhammer battle report :-

Two armies, two great writers and, from the sound it, a superb battle.

(these are the sort of guys that make Warhammer great)

source : warhammer.org.uk

credit : Marcoos14/Bobster

17-Apr-2009

by Marcoos and Bobster (from 2004)

Marcoos
We arranged our game for Easter Monday, which should have given me plenty of time to prepare, right? Well sadly not. A combination of beer, food and poker meant I managed very little preparation, so with 10 minutes to go I decided to keep the same list as for an earlier battlerep.

3000 pts Beasts of Chaos Army

Beastlord - GW, Shield, Armour of Yes You've Guessed It, Dark Heart
Wargor BSB - HA, Sword of Might, Rune of the True Beast
Lv4 Great Bray - Braystaff, Power Familiar, Scroll, Chaos Armour
Lv2 Bray - Staff of Darkoth, Scroll
16 Bestigor - FC, Warbanner
Herd - 8 Gor/9 Ungor FC
Herd - 8 Gor/9 Ungor FC
Herd - 5 Gor/6 Ungor Mus
Herd - 5 Gor/6 Ungor Mus
5 Dogs
5 Dogs
4 Chariots (if I put it on one line it doesn't seem too bad )
5 Centigor - Spear, LA, Shield Champ & Mus
10 Furies
4 Minotaurs - Great Weapons
4 Minotaurs - Great Weapons
Giant
Spawn (still no marks )
Shaggoth - GW, LA

Again, everything that could be was Undivided, and it was almost a pure Beast army.

Here's the army in full:



And here's a closer up shot of the characters:



Bobster
When Marcoos mooted the idea of another battle report like the one against AndyP, I was very keen to take part for a number of reasons:

1) The first one was quality and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
2) It gave me a chance to play a 3000 point game, something I hadn’t done for a long time.
3) It gave me a chance to get my Chaos Army out of the mothballs, after 2 years playing it (one year as a Hordes of Chaos list and 1 year as Beasts of Chaos) I have retired it and even thought about selling it. The army was a labour of love at one point and it was very cool to see it all out on the battle field one again.

When writing my list I decided that I would go with a Mortal lead Undivided list and try to get as many units on the board as possible, in the end I settled on the following:

Characters
Exalted Champion – Chaos Steed, Barding, Hand Weapon, Great Weapon, Chaos Armour, Shield - General
Aspiring Champion – Battle Standard Bearer, Hand Weapon, Chaos Armour, Sword of Might
Mortal Sorcerer (Level 2) – Hand weapon, Chaos Armour, Power Familiar
Beastlord – Hand Weapon, Great Weapon, Shield, Armour of Damnation, Crown of Horns
Bray Shaman (Level 2) – Hand Weapon, Braystaff, 2 x Dispel Scroll
Bray Shaman (Level 2) – Hand Weapon, Braystaff, Staff of Darkoth, Dispel Scroll

Core
6 Chosen Chaos Knights – Full Command
5 Chaos Knights – Full Command
5 Marauder Horsemen – Spears, Throwing Axes, Musician
22 Chaos Marauders – Light Armour, Shield, Full Command
1 Mortal Chariot
5 Chaos Hounds

Special
Beast Herd – 8 Gor, 9 Ungor, Full Command
Beast Herd – 8 Gor, 8 Ungor, Full Command
4 Minotaurs – Great Weapons
Tuskgor Chariot
6 Furies

Rare
4 Dragon Ogres – Light Armour, Great Weapons
Chaos Giant

I wasn’t convinced it was a great list but good enough and able to handle itself. If I could use the fast hard hitting units properly and support them properly I should be able to cause Marcoos a few problems.

Anyway the pictures:

The whole army –



The Characters -



Marcoos
With two basically combat oriented, fast and manoeuvreable (sp???) armies, terrain would be unlikely to favour one army over the other, but a few choke points would certainly make for an interesting game.

The terrain set up as below, with long grass and a wood in the bottom left and bottom right hand corners (effectively out of the game) and rocky ground in the centre of the top deployment zone (again out of the game). Much more interestingly, right at the centre of the table was a long hill, with a small gap to a largeish wood, and then another small gap to a large piece of rocky ground.



Bobster won the roll for deployment, and chose the top table edge to attack from rather than into the rocky ground. Can't say I blamed him

For spells, I got a reasonable selection:
Lv 4: Steed, Creeping Death, Shades and Lurker
Lv 2: Bears Anger, Oxen Stands (plus the Staff )

Having both Creeping Death and Unseen Lurker was a real bonus, as both spells would be "must" stop in the later game.

Bobster was less fortunate, rolling up:
Mortal: Fireball, Burning Head
Beast: Creeping Death, Shades (plus the Staff )
Beast: Steed, Pit

Burning Head was the only spell that I was particularly worried about, although if Pit of Shades was ever cast on a big gribblie it would almost guarantee a scroll.

A nicely balanced magic phase for both of us, 9PD vs 6DD in both cases should make for a good match up, although of course Bobster had to steal the edge in shooting with those 5 throwing axes :roll:

As Bobster had won the deployment roll, he was forced to set up first. I had about 4 more deployments than him anyway which meant I got to see where most of his army was going before committing my main stuff.

I planned to have a strong centre advancing in two waves, with a relatively powerful left flank and a delayed right flank. I was expecing the Dragon Ogres on the open right flank outside of the ruins, and didn't feel I could really deal with them without using the Lord, so I planned on a delaying tactic with 2 chariots, a small herd and the Furies. I was a little surprised to see the Chosen out there too, but it just meant I had more to delay (and significantly less chance of doing it ).

Both herds and the Centigor would head for the central wood to claim it, with the Bestigor and Giant going through the gap between wood and hill. My dogs and Minotaurs would hide behind the hill ready to get the charge on anything coming over the top, whilst the Minotaurs and two chariots coming round the left hand side of it.

Probably not the best plan in the world, but it would have to do!

From my point of view, Bobster had deployed (from left to right); the Marauder Horse, Hounds and Minotaurs to hold the left flank. Normal Knights, Beast Chariot, Giant, Furies and Marauders with BSB and Mortal L2 in the centre. The two herds and beastly characters would advance into the difficult terrain in the centre, supported by the chaos tank. And then the small matter of the Chosen and the Dragon Ogres on the extreme right.

Here's the map of set up, I'll let Bobster explain his cunning plan (TM).



Bobster
Sorry for the delay in posting, I was dying yesterday with the ‘mother of all hangovers’ anyway normal service should now be resumed. When winning the roll for table sides I decided to deploy around the rocks rather than ending up fighting in them.

With the wood in front as well I decided that this centre ground would probably be important during the game and deployed both Beast Herds and the Beast Lord in this area due to their flexibility and hoped to get one of them into the woods. I knew this would mean getting the first turn otherwise Marcoos would be firmly controlling this area with his herds and Centigor. I also deployed the Giant, Marauders and Chariots centrally to support the herds where needed.

This left me with the faster harder hitting elements of my army to be deployed on the flanks; I also thought I probably had enough high strength units to deal with the opposing Beast Chariots which lurked there. Being able to break through on at least one of these flanks was going to be crucial to me and, as Marcoos has enough lighter units to delay my advance, I decided to team up the Chosen and the Dragon Ogres on my left to hopefully allow one unit to break though and support in the middle. This left me with the Chaos Hounds, Horsemen, Minotaurs and Normal Knights plus character to work together on the right flank.

I was relatively happy with my deployment and plans (the usual vague nonsense - but what the hell!!) but I was very aware that getting first turn would be more than handy. Whenever I play beasts and they get the first turn they invariably march right out and encircle me, meaning that I can charge early but there will be the inevitable fleeing and counter charge or I could end up shuffling around and end up fighting later but in my half of the board. I would much rather me making the first move and placing Marcoos on the back foot. Anyway at least through finishing deployment first I have the +1 to the dice off….

Anyway for completion here is the map of the deployment again…



Marcoos
Sadly for Bobster, and happily for me, I won the roll off for first turn (always nice to see the Gryphon aka Camp Pony come up on the roll off ).

Here's a few photos;

Deployment



Mortal's centre



And the two units set to cave in my right flank



And the congestion of my centre



With less than a second's hesitation I decided to go first. I'd much rather be fleeing and counter charging from the middle of the board rather than my own deployment zone, and it would give me a chance to get the centre rolling before Bobster's heavier flanks got into the game.

There was very little of note in my first turn - I advanced rapidly on the left and in the centre, but kept everything out of charge range (barring the Minotaurs on the left - I'd happily let the dogs or Marauder Horse charge them). All my characters jumped into units - I was wary of an irresistable Pit of Shades taking someone out early doors.

My delaying units matched their speed to the Spawn so as not to deny him any targets in my second turn if Bobster advanced rapidly. The Furies headed out to the right flank, and were boosted by an Unseen Lurker (the only spell cast that phase) over to the extreme right. The Furies were planned to be an integral part of my delaying tactics - and a threatened flank/rear charge would be pause for thought for either of the heavyweight units over there.

Map at the end of my turn:



And yet another photo:



Bobster
Ah well first turn didn’t materialise and now as predicted I now have an advanced much more spread army to face, nevermind on with the show. On my left I moved my Chosen and Dragon Ogres forward enough be able to threaten the units in front of them - I was hoping that the Spawn on the side wouldn’t go very far and give a charge in turn 2 with the chosen and maybe a decent overrun. However, I was already sorry I had let those Furies out to the right flank; I could see that they might cause a bit of bother.

In the middle I pushed the Giant forward to cause a few terror tests and to slow the advance of the Beasts' centre, I hoped to be able to move up behind him next turn and set up some charges of my own.

On the right I moved the marauders right out in front of the opposition Minotaurs and shielded my own unit with my dogs knowing that if the chariot charged I could flee and counter charge. My knights and character plus the Furies got themselves a view of the hill in case anything decided to stand on top in turn 2.

After movement things looked like this:



During the magic phase I spectacularly managed to not cast a single spell – no I don’t mean that Marcoos had to stop a couple or use a scroll, I mean I didn’t pass a casting value once. Excellent.

As they could, the Marauders threw their 5 axes at the Minotaurs – 3 hits and 2 wounds later was a decent result and also meant that when the charge I was expecting next phase came I was hoping that the mounted Marauders were completely wiped out so that the Minotaurs wouldn’t be able to overrun while they feasted. Thus would then mean I would only need 1 wound to have the Minotaurs testing.

End of turn photo:



Marcoos

Well my delaying tactics had got off to a good start - the combined chariot and Fury threat had caused the Dragon Ogres to advance fairly tentatively.

My only charge saw the Minotaurs crash into the Marauder Horse. I figured I could get the small herd in the way of the hounds to protect the Minotaurs from a flank charge if they wiped the horse out, but sadly the herd was march blocked so my minotaurs were looking a little exposed!

In the centre, the giant failed to go boo on the dogs, which looked as though it would really mess my central advance up. When the herd containing my level 2 went unruly, they were also dragged right next to the giant making the centre of the board incredibly congested! The spawn decided to go turbonutter this turn, and sped into the gap between the rocks and the wood. Not wanting to miss out on a party, my Shaggoth ran forwards to try to terrify the Beastlord and his herd off the board.

On the left, my two chariots lined up for counter charges. On the right, I carried on with the delaying tactics with the Furies flying behind the Dragon Ogres to march block them.

In the centre I started trying to clear some units out of the way. With an unruly herd just in front of the giant, I blocked off his charge onto the herd with the dogs in front of the bestigor. The giant tried to get a view past the dogs for a charge next turn. I pushed the other unit of dogs onto the hill trying to tempt a Fury charge - but this would prove to be a mistake!

My magic phase drew out a scroll but then things got very interesting - an irresistable Creeping Death on the Chosen saw 2 Knights die, and what's more they promptly failed their panic test. Sadly I had kept the Furies just behing the Dragon Ogres to keep them out of range of a potential charge by the beast herd in the ruins, so the Chosen were not crossfired... but at least they were out of the game for a while .

Combat saw the minotaurs score 7 hits, but then only kill 4 Marauders - played for and got . The horse propmtly kicked the head in of one minotaur, but when Bobster didn't roll snake eyes on the break test the minotaurs hotfooted it off the board.

Here's the map:



And a photo of the action:



Bobster

Well that turn didn’t help. The panic on the Chosen was most unexpected (I had a scroll ready for the Creeping Death) and even when the IF came and I lost 2 of them I thought I would be okay as 4 can still handle themselves in combat but when I failed the test on 8 twice, not nice. Add to that the Minotaurs rolling 3 1’s to wound so that the Marauder Horse were broken by fear causers and the Turbo Nutter Spawn getting away and it couldn’t have been much worse. Nevermind, onwards an upwards.

I declared charges with both my Mortal Chariot and the Beast Lord’s Herd into the spawn. I has hoping to kill the fiends and then use overrun to move beyond the approaching Shaggoth and it wouldn’t take too high a roll for the Beast Lords unit to reach Marcoos’ unit in the woods which could be very handy as getting the charge plus the Lords attacks should mean a win right in the middle of Marcoos’ battle line…

I also declared a charge with my Furies at the small herd next to the hill and a second flanking charge with the Chaos Hounds. Finally as the Fury obstacle was out of the way the Chaos Knights and Character charged the dogs on the hill. At last I was getting moving.

Unfortunately the Beast Lords unit failed its fear test and managed to block the charge for the chariot the loss of the opportunity to get rid of the Spawn was bad enough but losing the overrun past the Shaggoth was a big blow - nevermind the chance to fight in the woods

In slightly better news, the Herd elected to hold and promptly failed its fear test against the furies and was on 6’s in the first round, the dogs then moved to flank.

The dogs fled from the Knight’s were caught and then the unit Enemy In The Way into the lurking Minotaurs who also flee but get away – this has enabled by General’s unit to get across the hill behind the Beast’s line somewhat.

Then very bad news – a failed rally on the Chosen!! That’s lost me over 300 points and means that Chaos’ finest have been routed by 2 strength 1 attacks – Ace!!

In the remaining movement phase I shuffled round the remaining units and continued to use the Giant to hold the Beasts middle in line hoping to get one or 2 of the unit behind to cause them subsequent trouble.

In the Magic phase I managed for a second time to not meet the casting value of a single spell and didn’t even give Marcoos’ the chance to use his dice or scrolls for the again!

Having lost my 5 axes ( ) I forewent the shooting phase and went straight on to Combat where the Furies and Hounds broke the small herd and with the hounds Pursuing into Fresh Enemy – the 2 chariots behind and the furies missing them into the Beasts backfield.

All in all not too bad a turn, but it could have been so much better.

The current state of play:



and the end of turn photo:



Marcoos

Blimey charlie, things were not going to plan at all. My weaker delayed flank suddenly looked like it might be the stronger suit.

I had paid dearly for my mistake with the hounds, with a low pursuit roll meaning that the Knights got to move their full distance, and get behind my army, whilst the rest of the left flank was in tatters!

On a brigther note, I was passing terror tests left right and centre. And I had the chance to prove how rubbish herds are when they don't get ranks against monsters.

Seizing the day, I declared charges with the furies and both chariots into the Dragon Ogres - sadly one chariot decided the great axes were just a bit too scary! The Shaggoth went into the Beastlord's herd and the Spawn again ran (oozed?) like the clappers right into the second herd.

The hound mistake took another turn for the worse when my fleeing minotaurs failed to rally and left the board. To compensate, my other minotaurs returned and looked in scary fashion at their opposite number. The giant moved behind the Knights, keeping close enough to hop back in front of them if the terror gambit failed. The rest of my army milled around in confused fashion trying to work out how to get to, or past, the giant!

My magic phase was less successful this turn, but it did see the use of another two scrolls - I was guessing this was the end of Bobsters store now, so future turns could be interesting!

But it was all happening in the combat phase; on the left my chariot beat off the dogs, and one PIFE'd into the Minotaurs behind. My spawn caused a couple of casualties, but only drew combat, and despite the herd failing it's fear test my Shaggoth only scored one casualty against them and took a wound in return. So much for herds being rubbish without their rank bonus :roll: , but at least the Shaggoth held .

The chariot and furies went beserk on the Dragon Ogres, and won combat by lots, despite the chariot learning the hard way about strength 7. The Ogres feld so far they not only escaped the furies, but they ran past the cowardly chariot, so I couldn't charge again if they rallied. For the second turn in a row I missed an obvious crossfire chance with the small herd. I might get the hang of 7th edition one day :roll: .

A bit of a mixed bag this turn, I really had to get to grips with the giant in the near future!

Here's the map...



And a pic:



Bobster

Well we certainly had a game on now! I had been a bit surprised when the Beast herds had managed to beat both the Shaggoth and Spawn. True, I had been held in place and still couldn’t move on those expensive middle ground units, but on a brighter note I still had some units to play with. The loss in combat for the Dragon Ogres was coming from the moment the Chosen decide they really fancied being in the pub instead of a battlefield but a least they had outrun their pursuers and had a chance to rally.

I declared 3 charges this turn:

1. The Furies into the rear of the closest chariot. I was hoping to either fear and outnumber it or beat it in combat and then help the Minotaurs fighting the second charging one behind.
2. The BSB into combat with the Spawn, to hopefully help kill the monster this turn.
3. The Mortal Chariot into the Centigor.

All of Marcoos’ unit held and the Chariot being charged by the furies passed its fear test. The BSB also managed to overcome any worries about the Spawn and moved into base contact but unfortunately the Chariot was a mere fraction out and missed the Centigor failing its charge.

During the rest of moment I managed to rally the Dragon Ogres and faced them towards the Chariot and Furies, I also turned the Chaos Knights and Exalted Champ to look at the rear of the Beasts battle line.

More shuffling ensued with the rest of my army as until it could move forward together and support each other I felt I had to stay out of too much harms way.

In the magic phase something miraculous happened I actually cast 2 spells, even getting one into play!! – Shades of Death on the Marauders. Oh I know that it wasn’t going to do much good yet but after Magic phases 1 and 2, it was a start.

In the combat phase things started brightly, the Shaggoth lost to the Herd again with the Beast Lord’s Armour of Damnation and Great Weapon both being used to their full potential, unfortunately the Shaggoth held but was looking very ill indeed.

The BSB also did his job and killed the spawn on the Charge.

Then some bad news, the Furies do a wound on the charge but then take one in return from both the Bestigor and the Ungor. This loses the rear bonus and means I am testing on -1…POP! No more Furies then, oh dear :roll: .

The chariot also crashes into the Minotaurs and does 5 wounds but the brutes manage to hold but, are now staring at a charge from the newly returned to the table, opposition Minotaur unit.

Here’s the map at the end of my Turn 3



And a photo of the battlefield.



Well I'd had a stroke of fortune with the chariots on my left still standing - doing 2 wounds to the Furies was certainly a bonus! Sadly two of my big griblies were either dead or dying but they had held up Bobster's herds for a while, so it wasn't too bad.

I had taken a risk in letting Bobster cast the Fear spell, as I had plans for the dogs and those Marauders, but I was unwilling to use a scroll at that stage so took a chance.

I declared charges with the Minotaurs into the chariot/Minotaur combat, the Centigor at the Chaos Tank, the dogs at the Marauders and my Bestigor into the giant. My small herd on the left also went unruly and charged the Dragon Ogres (gulp!). Continuing my good fortune leadership test rolls, everything passed. And Bobster held all charges.

My giant moved to block the Knights, whilst the herd behind it took up a speed bump position, allowing the 2 mages to hide in the wood. My herd in the wood finally felt sufficiently confident to poke it's nose out and have a look at the lone BSB daring him to charge! On the right I tried to get everything out of harms way when the Dragon Ogres beat the herd!

My magic phase was uneventful, and we decided to skip shooting and went straight onto combat. On the left, the minotaurs and chariot fought out a no score draw, whilst the centigor only managed to win by musician against the tank which also held. The Marauders easily saw off the dog, although not before the hounds had put a cheeky wound on the Mortal Mage .

In a surprising turn of events the herd actually beat, and then broke the Dragon Ogres! Sadly, they just stopped on the board . This also got the Dragon Ogres away from the chariot, which was pointing towards the centre of the table (pessimist? me? nah ).

Here's the map after all the action:



And the photo:



Things were starting to get interesting...

In another surprise, the Bestigor went through the Giant faster than a dose of salts, and the Bestigor decided not to overrun, safe from the Knights for another turn.

Bobster

Well Turn 4 was here and I wasn’t out of it yet, so assessing the current situation I declared the following charges:

1. Knights and Exalted into the Giant
2. Herd and Beastlord into the Centigor (Marcoos didn’t mention that last turn the Herd and Lord had finished of the Shaggoth)
3. The BSB into the now visible herd – I knew this was a gamble and I half expected to lose by 1 but it was my only way to rank up the herd in such a way that the Bestigor wouldn’t be able to charge past and would give me chance to get to that big juicy point sink unit of Bestigor before then end of the game.

Thankfully the Dragon Ogres rallied on the edge of the board and faced themselves with the troublesome herd and the furies in their front arc.

In the remaining movement phase the marauders and Beast Chariot backed off, the former hoping that the Bestigor had left the Dark Heart at home this week.

The Magic phase reverted to type with naff all managing to be cast. So Combat it is then…

Firstly, The Beastlord and unruly retinue manage to destroy the Centigor and overrun.

Next was the Exalted and Knights and having seen the Bestigor chop up their own Giant friend they promptly followed suit and downed the opposition big lad in one easy charge – there looked like being a sting in the tail though. The Giant falls forward onto the unit, all the partial hits are missed by Marcoos leaving the lord as the only model to take a hit – “no problem” says I “I will use my ‘look out sir’ roll to escape this” – you guessed it, 1… oh dear!! Thankfully the lucky Chaos General passed his armour save and a very large sigh of relief was issued. Having survived, the Knights overrun into the waiting speed bump herd…

Then the BSB. As expected he only manages 1 would and loses by 1. He promptly failed on a seven twice, and disappeared over the horizon! Oh good, he is now no more and the Bestigor can still see the Maraurders. It looks a long way I really hope he doesn’t have the Dark Heart!!

End of turn map:



Battlefield photo:



Marcoos

Bobster wrote: "Marcoos didn’t mention that last turn the Herd and Lord had finished of the Shaggoth"

Given his performance, I'm surprised he got mentioned at all

Onto turn 5, and things were still very much in the balance. The sad demise of the Giant was going to mean the end of a Beast Herd, so abandoning them to their fate I got on with moving to get into position for turn 6.

I only had one charge to declare, the victorious beast herd chased after the fleeing BSB who ran to the board edge, and got a PIFE into a Beast Shaman lurking behind him, who again fled, this time off the board.

My Bestigor edged out of the wood - I had hopes of finally getting some magical movement off this turn! Whilst my Furies and Chariot angled to double team the Dragon Ogres in the last turn. Rather than try and repeat their Ogre slaying heroics of the previous turn, my small herd moved within range of Bobster's big herd. They were gambling on a lucky unruly test, but had the back up of being able to charge and rank up the beasts if they tried to surround my two shamen in the wood.

The magic phase was good for me this turn, although I yet again made a mistake in working out the dice for each shaman :roll: . I forgot my L2 had the Staff so threw his dice at Oxen stands on the dogs, which Bobster let through. Remembering the staff, I then groaned and said "bugger, I won't be able to use the staff now that the L2 has no dice left .

I then threw 4 dice and scored an obscenely high Lurker roll, which Bobster failed to stop even using all his dice. The Bestigor managed to just reach the Marauders through the help of the Dark Heart. At this point I had a mental abberation and moved the unit before checking whether all models could reach. I'm pretty slack about that and normal just slide, whereas Bobster plays to the rules and doesn't. Being the gent he is, Bobster let me roll of for getting the Lord in and the dice gods chose to favour me with a 4.

I then realised I still had 3 pool dice and could try to use the Staff - but it seemed a little harsh after my previous declaration, so I pulled out a Shades of Death on my herd - it might just keep them alive! A fairly memorable phase, although not for the right reasons...

In the combat phase, my minos finally prevailed, although not before the last wheel had been hacked off the chariot, and I ran down the enemy only to end up stood in front of the Beast Chariot. The herd lasted about as long as the giant, only by dint of extra bodies, but were run down to a cowardly beast.

In the Bestigor/Marauder combat, I managed to win and run down the Marauders, although it would have lasted longer than a turn if Beastlord hadn't been fortunate enough to 4+ it into the fight. This also got me into the L2 behind. Lesson learned - always discuss sliding before a game starts, and then measure properly before moving units! A fair dose of pain had been dealt to the mortals, but they still had their two big combat characters ready to deal out some pain!

Here's the map:



And another pic:



Bobster

Bugger!! That hurt. The dreaded charge on the Marauders had managed to occur and lost me the unit, unit standard and soon the mortal mage lurking behind, even the rallied unit of Hounds look like gaining a table quarter. In what was becoming a tight game that was going to be points that would be difficult to claw back.

However, I still had one more chance:

1. The knights could charge the herd near the words and the Beastlord’s unit to the right on the woods would be able to flush the expensive mages from their hiding place leaving them ready for a charge from the mortal chariot in turn 6.

2. I could also get the charge on Marcoos heard in the rocks – with even luck, usually the charging heard will win this confrontation.

3. Finally the chariot could attempt a charge on the Minotaurs, a bit risky this but good impact hits could make that another chance to remove a unit which had really been a thorn in my side. Plan decided I declared all 3 charges, Marcoos held for all 3.

Then the proverbial hit the fan :

The Herd fails if fear test and spends the turn hugging each other due to their fearsome kin and wait to receive a charge instead of dealing one out.

The Beastlord’s unit goes unruly and chares the small heard who are already being ranked up by the knight – talk about overkill.

The BSB fails to rally and leaves the board.

Honestly, right from the Chosen deciding to take a day off, psychology tests have really not been my friend today and have cost me more that one opportunity and I reckon this last round of psychological madness is going to be the final nail.

Only having 2 level 2’s left and not managing to cast all day, magic is unsurprisingly uneventful again.

In combat the Knights and the Beastlord’s unit beat the Herd and both overrun. The mortal wizard was wiped out by the Bestigor. The Chariot manages 5 impact hits and only 3 wounds, all the crew miss and then the Minotaurs do the wounds in return. Fear and outnumber is the name of the day and the Chariot is fleeing off the board!

End of turn map:



And photo:



Marcoos

Well that turn could have gone a lot worse! With the entire left half of the board secure, it was just left for me extract whatever I could from the right flank.

I had a few charges to declare; the fear causing herd went into the opposing beasts, and the furies and chariot combo charged the chariot. Or at least that was the plan.

Both of us failed fear tests, with Bobster's herd run down due to the spawn combat in turn 3 reducing them below my unit strength! My chariot also chose to stand still. Bugger. Although in fairness, I think the only psychology tests I failed all game were from that chariot, so mustn't grumble too much (it just wouldn't be me if there wasn't a slight groan though ).

My Bestigor, Minotaurs and Dogs all went onto quarter grabbing duty, whilst the level 2 felt brave enough to poke his head out again and try another creeping death on the Knights.

In the magic phase, I managed to Staff of Darkoth the herd into the last level 2, who was beaten and run down. In the other combat, the Furies and Dragon Ogres managed to draw.

I'd done all I could, it was just left to see what damage Bobster could manage in his last turn.

The map:



And the photo:



Bobster

Well, what could I manage in my turn 6? The loss of the herd was expected but they could have stuck around long enough to save the mage in the magic phase – useless idiots :roll:.

With 4 remaining units and 1 already in combat my options were now limited, but my choices were:

1. Knights and exalted to charge the Beast Chariot
2. Beastlord and Beast Herd to charge the flank of the Furies
3. Mortal Chariot attempts to charge rear of the Bestigor – I am fairly certain this won’t reach but it’s turn 6 so what the hell?

All of Marcoos’ units hold and the Mortal Chariot does indeed fail - just.

With now being as well equipped for magic as I was for shooting I decided to go straight to combat:

The Knights and Exalted destroy the Chariot
The Herd and Lord wipe out the Furies before either they or the Dragon Ogres become involved.

Map of the Battlefield:



Photo of turn 6:



And that’s it!!! I had done all I could, but would it be enough? I suspected not, especially as Marcoos now had three of the table quarters. Regardless, it was time to add up the scores and find out.

It was a bit of an epic this game which lasted for many a long hour - a great way to spend a bank holiday Monday, plenty of twists and turns (most of which left me dismayed) and a good, hard fought battle .

I will let Marcoos deliver the final ‘scores on the doors’ and then pop back for some final thoughts on the game and my army.

---

counting the cost...

Marcoos
Well it had been an epic game, at least 6 hours and by the finish I only just managed to make the very nice dinner my sister was cooking for me .

The final scores on the doors reflected the carnage that had happened across the battlefield.

Bobster scored points for:
1 Table Quarter
A big herd plus banner
Both small herds
1 unit of dogs
3 chariots
Centigor
Furies
1 and 1/2 units of Minotaurs
Giant
Shaggoth*
Spawn

From Bobster I scored
3 Table Quarters
The BSB plus Banner
3 Shamen
The Chosen*
Marauder Horse
Marauder Foot + Banner
Dogs
1 Herd
Minotaurs
Beast Chariot
Furies
1/2 Dragon Ogres
Giant

* In the fight for most inept unit on the battlefield the Chosen were a surprise winner over the Shaggoth by a mere 14pts!

It looked fairly close, but we both suspected the characters would swing it, and so it proved with a victory of 2591 to 1853 in my favour.

I have to say that fortune favoured me and played a decisive part in the battle. Bobster's magic phase was decidedly unspectacular, but his leadership tests were consistently poor, and mine were consistently above average, which contributed heavily to my victory. I would say we were fairly evenly matched throughout in terms of our skill, game play and decision making, so perhaps the biggest factor for me was getting the 1st turn.

Most importantly for me, it was a great gme to play. Highly enjoyable, hard fought and in the balance right up til the end (if that chariot had of reached my Bestigor and done 6 impact hits it would have been brown trousers time - and there wasn't much in it ).

Hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed playing the game and writing the report. I hope to do another one soon, but an impending family arrival might impact that.


Bobster

Nuts !! I didn’t think I had a chance, but I suppose a minor loss wasn’t too bad given some of the misfortune that I endured in patches, However in hindsight I think some of this was my own fault.

When creating my list I just went a bit mad and threw the characters together, I should have taken advantage of playing 3000 points and the ability to have 2 lords. Either using a Chaos Lord (this would have given me Ld 9 for some of those crucial tests) or more likely a Lvl 4 mage instead of 2 lvl 2’s. Marcoos ability to throw 4/5 dice at a spell gave him a crucial edge in the magic phases and meant I burnt all my scrolls too early – I just didn’t have the ability to trouble him in the same way.

Other big moments I think went against me – the roll of for first turn being probably the most important, it was just that big in a game with these two armies and meant I was almost always being re-active instead of dictating terms. The other being that on the few occasions that I had a chance to wrestle a degree of control, I failed crucial leadership tests.

1. Obviously the Chosen Knights running off – wouldn’t have given me a chance to win the game but any chance to save 320 points is important.

2. When the furies charged the rear of the Chariot, both the Bestigor and Ungor managing to hit and wound the beats and me then not getting a ward save and pooping was a big moment and lost me the initiative on my right flank where I had invested a lot into trying to win.

3. The Beastlord’s unit failing it’s fear test to charge the spawn and overrun into the middle of Marcoos’s line. This was the most frustrating as in itself it might not have won me the game but could have put so much more pressure on in an area where Marcoos was very comfortable a lot of the time.

Anyway, it was a great game with plenty of tense moments – Kudos to Marcoos for winning (I had to give him this one as a font memory before he spends all those nights changing nappies ) I hope to have another crack at one of the in the future.

[A rare Victory for the Beasts of Chaos - Ed.]