Time for battle report 3 from the tournament. As always, my army list for reminder:
Prince - Dragon Armour, Shield, Barded Steed, Giant Blade, Helm of Fortune, Talisman of Loec, Pigeon Pendant
Archmage - Dispel Scroll (Life - Awakening, Shield, Regrowth, Dwellers)
BSB - Heavy Armour, Barded Steed, Dragon Helm, Dawnstone, Amulet of Light, Great Weapon
30 Spearelves, Full Command, Gleaming Pendant
12 Archers, Light Armour, Musician
12 Archers, Light Armour, Standard
12 Swordmasters (Archmage)
10 White Lion, FC, Banner of Eternal Flame
5 Dragon Princes
1 Tiranoc Chariot
8 Silver Helms, Shields, Musician (Prince, BSB)
2 Repeater Bolt Throwers
1 Great Eagle
Opponent & pre-battle thoughts
This time I faced Beastie Boyz and I was really interested in that army. It seems to be an underdog according to the internet knowledge. From my point of view it was great to play against such a rare army (I think there were only two of them in the whole tournament) and wondered what it could do. In particular I was concerned with chariots who are bane of ASF small elite units. BoC army list (with as many details as I remember).
Doombull with heavy armour, shield, Gnarled Hide (scaly skin 5+), Dragon Helm, Dawnstone, Arabyan Carpet (fly)
Gorebull BSB - heavy armour, some magical standard and a gift but I can't remember which
Gorebull - heavy armour, Many Limbed Fiend
Great Bray Shaman - level 4 , Lore of Beast - Transformation of Kadon, Amber Spear, Flock of Doom but can't remember the last one
Bray Shaman - level 2, Dispel Scroll, Lore of the Wild - Savage Dominion and something else
40 Gors, Full Command
30 Gors, Full Command (Ambush)
5 Ungor Skirmishers
5 Ungor Skirmishers
5 Ungor Skirmishers (Ambush)
3 x Tuskgor Chariot
7 Minotaurs
I was happy to see only 3 chariots and I decided to make them my shooting priority. If I could kill one, then other two would be easy prey for my Knights. Of course if they were to operate as squadron. I had no idea how to deal with Minotaurs (joined by BSB and Gorebull) so I decided to delay their advance. There was also an issue of 30 Gors in the ambush. All depended on where and when they were going to appear. As usual the plan was to divide and conquer.
First deal with chariots, then surround and destroy big Gor unit while delaying Minotaurs. If that works and have enough turns/units left, I would try and surround Minotaurs. Deployment
Beastie Boyz ready for action
As I didn't want to fight with my elites against Minotaurs I deployed them on western flank. I thought I could tempt his flying general to attack one of them and keep him occupied for a some time and use the opportunity to move second one to attack big Gor unit with Spears and Knights. The Knights had to deal with chariots as soon as possible. As usual I started second (I feel like I play Bretonnia, I wish I got some blessing thanks to that
)BoC Turn 1
Beasties move forward full speed
And a nice overview
Movement: All units moved forward as fast as possible. Ambushing Gors also appeared on the table but fortunately for me I could decide from which table edge. Not surprisingly I kindly ask my opponent to place them on his edge. That would give me more time to deal with his bigger unit before smaller one enters the fight. On the western flank Doombull flies on his carpet towards elven elites.
Magic: I think his first attempts were simply dispelled. In general nothing happened in this magic phase.
HE Turn 1
HE move forward to meet advancing Beastmen
Charges: White Lions charge the beast, hoping to wound it and keep it for some time to let Swordmasters do their job and occupy huge Minotaur so that he cannot join the fight elsewhere.
Movement: Spearelves positioned themselves next to stone circle ready to intercept advancing Gors or stay and block their advance towards the centre. The Knights moved towards the Chariots, entering their charge range on purpose to tempt them to attack. Chariot and Dragon Princes were held behind to give support but stay away from Minotaurs.
Magic & Shooting: With nothing to regrow yet and not enough dice to cast Dwellers, archmage tried to cast Awakening which was dispelled. One repeater aimed at the chariot in the middle of the squadron and inflicted 3 wounds. The second one, however, failed to do any damage. Archers in the building opened fire at Gors killing a few (despite T4 they die easily as they have absolutely no armour).
Combat: White Lions couldn't harm monstrous Minotaur as his armour proved impenetrable even to their huge axes. The Beasts stroke back killing almost half of a unit. That unnerved chracian huntsmen who failed their stubborn break test and fled, closely pursuit by the raging Doom Bull.
BoC Turn 2
Chariots thunderous charge!
The battle really begins!
Charges: As expected the squadron of doom takes the bait and charges in. I am confident the Knights can hold but the question is at what cost. Doombull charges fleeing White Lions who run out of the board. So does Doombull, which is good because he cannot charge anything else his next turn.
Movement: Ungor Skirmishers in front of the Gors run towards the Archers, while Gors themselves move just a little bit forward, inviting Spearelves to charge them. On the east Minotaurs move forward as their living shield moves sideway. Surprisingly other Gor unit made a camp in the marsh and never moved entire game.
Magic: Great Bray shaman cast magic missiles (2D6 S2) on Archers and killed two. Other attempts were dispelled.
Combat: 4 Knights were killed due to Impact Hits but elven heroes destroyed two chariots and damaged the third one. Tuskgors and chariots crews could not inflict any more damage. It meant that remaining chariot lost the combat significantly broke and was run down by pursuing Knights!
HE Turn 2
HE take the initiative
Movement: With no charges HE moved to take advantage of the victorious combat. The Knights swift reformed and moved full speed towards the rear of big Gor units. Swordmasters wheeled to be able to charge them next turn as well, while Spearelves remained in their position, waiting for Archers to clear the path for them. Chariot moved to the flank of Minotaurs. Unfortunately Dragon Princes failed their Ld test and could not march so they retreated towards their deployment. That was probably a mistake as I could run forward and then simply flee as Minotaurs would charge, towards the opposite table edge and save the unit. I also forgot to move the eagle this turn
Magic & Shooting: Archmage attempts to cast Regrowth and Dwellers were dispelled. Archers killed only two Ungors. Repeaters killed a few more Gors. With no combat that was quite quick round.
BoC Turn 3
BoC keep pressing forward
Charges: Minotaurs charge Dragon Princes who flee from the table. Doombull flies to block Swordmasters' advance (damn!), while Ungor Skirmishers do the same for Spearelves.
Movement: Gor units remain where they are, I don't quite know why.
Magic: Attempt to dispel Savage Dominion fails and ugly Jabberslythe enters the field! Obviously it appears next to my lonely repeaters. It is getting interesting
HE Turn 3
HE bid their time for an attack
Charges: The Chariot charges Ungors as they became visible after Minotaur charged elven Knights.
Movement: Silver Helms close the distance to Gors. Swordmasters move slightly back and ready themselves for combat next turn. Archmage steps up to have a line of sight to the newly called monster and be able to cast Aweking to put it down.
Magic & Shooting: Awekening goes through but no wound is inflicted. Archers from the building and both Repeaters unleash their fire at Jabber but manage to wound it only once. Ouch! Not good. The second unit of Archers kill all Ungors though.
Combat: Chariot kills Ungors with easy and stays behind Minotaurs.
BoC Turn 4
Even more Monsters appear on the battlefield!
Behold Great Fire Dragon!
Charges: Doombull charges Swordmasters while Jabber hits Repeater.
Movement: Minotaurs close the distance towards second repeater. Big Gor unit reforms to face incoming elven Knights but also to have Spearelves in their front arch.
Magic: Archmage fails to dispel Flock of Doom (my big mistake for letting him be targeted) but i fortunate to survive on 1 wound (later healed). This also mean the Transformation of Kadon had been successfully cast and Great Fire Dragon appeared among the ranks of Gors and stepped forward roaring a challenge to nearby Spearelves.
Combat: Swordmasters swung their blades with precision but they too could not penetrate Doombull's armour. They lost a few of their numbers but held. Jabber made a short work of the crew but not before they inflicted another wound on it. Jabber overrun into second Repeater.
HE Turn 4
HE charge in!
Charges: The Prince orders his Knights to attack despite lack of support from Spearelves who now have their own trouble to deal with. However, the Archers jump over the wall and charge the exposed flank of big Gor unit. They add their standard and flank attack to the combat and will fight only 3 gors.
Movement: Archmage joins the Archers in the building while Great Eagle lands in front of Minotaurs.
Magic & Shooting: Archmage manages to Regrow one Knight. Not much in shooting phase with enemy regiments out of range or shooter engaged in combat.
Combat: Swordmasters still cannot wound Doombull, lose combat are broken and run down. Doombull, however, again flies out of the board. It is very important to kill Bray-Shaman to make jabber disappear and Silver Helms manage to do it. The Repeater is saved. The Prince and remaining Knights inflict some more damage while Archers kill one gor. With no casualties in return Gors lose combat, break and run down (by Archers as the Knights were too slow
)!BoC Turn 5
Great Fire Dragon charges Spearelves!
Mighty dragon versus disciplined ranks of Spearelves
Charges: Great Fire Dragon charges Spearelves who hold. Can they hold long enough for the Knights to come to the rescue? Minotaurs charge Great Eagle.
Movement: Doombull flies to face the Knights and prepares for his last charge.
Combat: With no magic we proceeded towards combats. Minotaurs chopped poor eagle to pieces in no time. The Champion of Spearelves valiantly called a challenge to transformed Great Shaman and was killed outright. But thanks to his sacrifice the combat ended with a draw.
HE Turn 5
The game enters its end phase
Movement: Archers and Knights reform to face Doombull, while Chariot shifts a little.
Magic & Shooting: I learned I could dispel Transformation so I picked all my dice and managed to do this. great! My 4 ranks of spears can aim at Great-Shaman now with success
I must admit I was really scared that with attacks, breath hits and thunderstomp Great Fire Dragon would kill too many Speaelves. And I am not sure I could wound it much with my Prince either. I am also confused as I remember at this moment I was shooting at lone Gorebull who moved out from his unit. He also ate my Repeater and was killed later by archers. Just can't recall when he was separated from the unit so forgive me for not precise diagrams showing slightly different situation.Combat: Now Spearelves could avenge their brave Captain and pierced Great Shaman many times. Malicious sorcerer was no more.
BoC Turn 6
Not much have left of the might beastmen horde
Charges: Doombull decided to attack the Knights in the last glorious charge.
Movement: Minotaurs wanted to trap the Chariot and in order to do so BSB moved out of the unit. Again, that has happened a turn before as in the 5th my turn I had a choice "to charge or be charged". Since I can't recall how it recall was I decided to put it in a diagram in a similar way. The outcome was I charged BSB with a Chariot but got only one impact hit and the Chariot was destroyed. Sorry for confusion
Combat: Elven Prince decided to solve the matter personally and challenged Doombull to single combat. Monstrous Minotaur had no less than 9 Attacks now thanks to many victorious combats but managed to inflict only single wound. Elven Prince harmed him many times and Great Bull was seriously wounded now but kept fighting.
HE Turn 6
Combat: With other units out of range for shooting and magic there was only one combat to resolve. Just to make sure, the Prince used his Talisman of Loec and finally killed Doombull. With the death of the general of beast army the battle was over and HE emerged victorious!
Comments
I am obviously glad I won but I must admit my opponent helped me to achieve that victory. I forgot to ask why he kept his other Gors out of action. I was lucky their ambush failed (small Ungor unit failed to appear whole battle). His deployment was also helping me to deal with his army separately. I would place his Minotaurs in the centre so they could be helpful anywhere. His chariots are dangerous but I would also use them as flank protection instead of charging the only unit who could deal with them, even when charged. His last charge was kind of suicidal I think but with some luck he could kill my Prince so maybe that was worht risking.
Beastmen army is very interesting opponent and I really was scared when two big monsters appeared on the table. I am glad I managed to come up with a solution to that problem. I didn't know Doombull is such a combat monster. Had I known I would not charge him with White Lions but wait for his attack and then challenged him with WL Champion. If they held they would stay there longer, need to remember that for future. I was also tempted to position my Knight on the western flank instead of elites but then I had to deal with chariots in other way. Probably playing defensively and shoot at them more before they would be in charge range. I am not sure it would be a better solution. I am also convinced that horde formation does not suit Beastmen and they should deploy deep to keep their steadfast as long as possible with many chariots as second wave attack.
I was shooting at big Gor unit all game as I wanted to decrease number of ranks to break their steadfast. I could ignore them and shoot at Minotaurs with repeaters, as Big Bulls are quite vulnerable to such attacks. But I am glad I did what I did as in the end they didn't have steadfast and their BSB was not nearby either.
I really enjoyed that battle mainly due to this additional fantasy dimension when his Shamen started calling big monsters to their aid. I am also sure there are things I could do better anyway so do not hesitate to point out my mistakes as it is much harder to spot them when one is winning
Thanks for reading!
