HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

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Hinge
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HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#1 Post by Hinge »

So I got my first game in with the new book and it was against my old army, WoC. The build I faced is a pretty tough build and was not confident going in. No pictures as my army was pretty much fully proxied.

My list
Lore Master, BoH, ToP 330
Noble, BSB, Dragon Armor, GW, Enchanted Shield, Reaver Bow, Pot of ST. 159

Characters 489

10 Archers, Mus, Std. 120
12 Archers, Mus, Std- 140
5 Reavers, Spear, Bow, Mus 115
5 Reavers, Spear, Bow, Mus 115
6 Silver Helms, Champ, Mus, Shields 158

Core 648
6 Swordmasters, 78
6 Swordmasters, 78
5 Shadow Warriors 70
6 Dragon Princes, Mus, Std, Banner of Flame 194
12 White Lions, Mus, Std, 176
Tiranoc Chariot 70
Tiranoc Chariot 70
Special 736

2x RBT 140
2x Eagles 100
Frostheart Phoenix 240
5 Sisters- 70
5 Sisters - 70

Rare 620

My Opponent
Demon Prince, MoN, L4 Death, Chaos Armor, Flight, Charmed Shield, Sword of Striking, Dragon Bane Gem, Soul Feeder, Chaos Familiar, Flaming Breath
BSB, Demonic Mount, Barding, Enchanted Shield, ToP, Burning Body
Throgg
8 Trolls
Chaos Chariot
Chaos Chariot, MoN
Chaos Chariot, MoN
5 Hounds
Gorebest Chariot, MoN
Gore Beast Chariot, MoN
Chimera
3 Skull Crushers



A fast and extremely durable army that should give me some fits. The good news is I had some practice against a more vicious version of this list, so had some ideas.

I felt the trolls would be an excellent objective as I was packing a great deal of flaming shots, spells, and attacks. With no enemy shooting and all my opponents’ spells able to pick the characters out of unit, I had some flexibility to run them out on their own.

The critical question was target priority. I felt I could shoot at it for one (or two if I went first) turns before it would be on me. Past experience has taught me they can be very resilient to shooting and soul feeder will often get them their wounds back. I was tempted to ignore the beast as best I could but the addition of Death magic scared me. My characters were pretty vulnerable.

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Demon Prince Spells-Spirit Leach, Caress, Soul Feeder, Doom and Darkness, Fate

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#2 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Hinge,

I am looking forward to reading about that battle with great anticipation! It is indeed one tough army you faced, even more so for MSU force. All these impact hits can do a lot of damage to small units. Flying prince and Chimera are another problems. Skullcrushers and Throgg's Trolls were two very powerful units to be dealt with as well.

I wonder how chaos players really use this army. From one point of view it is very fast and durable. On the other hand chariots are relatively slow during positioning so technically that gives you some time. However, even unsupported the Prince itself is a pain in the back and can pretty much choose its combats.

Your deployment looks very interesting with so many darts around. I would only ask about the terrain at this stage, in particular, did you play with mysterious terrain rules.

Don't keep us waiting for too long!

Cheers!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#3 Post by Nasher »

Yes I'm looking forward to see how you deal with this WoC army as well.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#4 Post by Elessehta of Yvresse »

Wow, that's a lot of units, your movement phases must have been awesome, can't wait to see arrows everywhere ^_^
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34506][i]Lord Elessehta Silverbough of Ar Yvrellion, Ruler of Athel Anarhain, Prince of the Yvressi.[/i][/url]
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#5 Post by Hinge »

Lol. Those movement arrows should look crazy. We will see tonight when as I start putting it all together.

Terrain-We play mysterious woods about half the time but rarely any other type. This game it was all standard. Building was 3 story. That is a Marsh in the upper left. The rocky outcropping the Shadow Warriors are sheltering in is treated as hardcover and Dangerous Terrain for all but skirmishers.

Deployment- While I have played MSU and chaff heavy armies, the raw number of drops overwhelmed me a bit and I was pretty un-happy even before the game started. I know one advantage of MSU is out deploying your opponent, but the deployment zone starts to fill up pretty quickly, taking some of this advantage away.

In this game I fixated on bringing all the fire attacks I could on the trolls. I should have known the Demon with its Dragon Bane Gem would likely go down close by. Not that it matters much since the Demon can rip up any one of my units, but allowing my opponent to make an easy run at the Dragon Princes is unnecessary. The Dragon Princes really should be out on the flank, where superior movement and ST5 on the charges would go a long way to pop chariots (not to mention they cause fear in them!). A late game charge on the trolls would likely develop. I broke my cardinal rule of keeping the chariots together. I was way too indecisive with the Frost Heart. This is another unit that should be angling for a flank. On the plus side, I got the eagles and shooting where I wnated them.

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#6 Post by Eltherion »

Hinge

As you have mentioned you have a very crowded deployment zone which could cause you problems later in the game if you aren't careful.

The Shadow Warriors may have been able to scout on the WoC right by the looks of the diagram? also the both ER may have been able to push up your left flank to try and stretch his lines a bit. As you have said with the Dragon Princes over there as well to keep the chariots honest.

I can see that the building in your deployment zone is going to play a key role maybe as a hinge (pun intended) to swing your army round on.

The Death Magic on the flying Demon Prince is also going to be nasty. I assume Throgg has to be his army General which allows the Demon Prince to do what he wants, no fear of the Trolls failing stupidity.

The RBT's may struggle to get many clear shots, ideally taking off a Skullcrusher or 2 would be nice :).

His main Chariot & Troll force will be slow to move up but have a large charge distance.

A very tough army to face either way.

Like the others I am looking forward to reading the Batrep.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#7 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Hinge,

Some more random thoughts before you write it all up.

1. I am very curious about all the new toys you brought to the field. How would Loremaster do, both in offense and defense. Are small units of Sisters really better than a slightly bigger one? How is Frostheart going to help this particular army? I believe it will be great to have it in any combat Swordmasters and Lions are in as that would help them the most. But downgrading S5 to S4 (as many of the units in the WoC army have it) is always handy. I am of course intrigued by small units of Swormasters and their performance.

2. Right flank - I believe eagles are going to delay skullcrushers by blocking and forcing overrun moves to the wrong direction. But what was your plan to deal with Chimera when all the flaming attacks were focused on trolls in the center? Wouldn't you prefer to deal with faster enemy units first?

Cheers!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#8 Post by Hinge »

WoC Turn 1

Image

To the surprise of the waiting High Elfs, the minions of evil advance with surprising caution. Even so, the creature from the depths of nightmares summons his powers of chaos. Loremaster Faichon’s attempts at defense are easily swatted aside and Battle Standard Bearer Hulon is driven to his knees. Hulon feels his soul being ripped from his body, his vision dimming, and the fabric of reality bending to the Demons will. As the pain becomes unbearable, there is a flash, and it is as if the weight of the world has been lifted. Shaken, Hulon stands, feeling the warmth emanating from his armor. It is clear the armor forged in the heat of dragon’s breath by the master smiths of Vaul’s Forge proved its worth against foul magics.

The Demon was able to punch a Caress through the Loremasters attempts to dispel. He did 3 wounds, but I made 2 of the 6+ Dragon Armor ward saves. Wow.

Helf Turn 1 Ele Movement Arrows!

Image

Hulon downs the potion that the Lore master had given him and readied his bow. Finding a good position on the upper floor of a farm, he takes aim at the foul Demon. Hulon always wondered about the Human saying –Payback is a female dog. Well he decided to acquaint the Demon with it.

The first unit of sisters charged the hounds. I backed the Dragon princes up to open the range from the Demon Prince while setting up a potential counter charge with the chariot. The shadow warriors gamely step in front of the Skull crushers. Archers and the characters occupy the house.

Faichon draws upon the Winds and prepares to show the foul creature of chaos what a Loremaster of Hoeth can do.

A big winds roll and the Book leads to one of the best magic phases I have ever had. From memory I cast, a 2 die fireball at the trolls, Earthblood, small Shems at the trolls, Searing Doom at a Gorebeast chariot, and Spirit Leach at a chariot. Searing Doom and Fireball were stopped. The Book consistently allowed me to have high casting values on 2 or 3 die (or even 1 in the case of Shems). It actually felt more powerful then casting with a L4.

I shoot a chariot at the Demon Prince and hit twice to pull the charmed shield. Much to my surprise, the other shot not only wounds, but gets through the Demon’s defenses. Next up is the BSB, who sticks 2 wounds. The first RBT misses but the second finishes it off. Other shooting plinks a couple more wounds off the trolls.

The Sisters break the hounds, who stop just in front of the trolls.

Woc Turn 2

Image

The fall of their Demonic Master spurs the slaves of chaos into action. With a crack of whips and rumble of wheels, the host surges forward. Alas many of the units are just too far away.

I was hoping the hounds would rally in front of the trolls but no such luck. They move up.
The far chariot beats the Silver Helms but fails to catch them. The other combats go as expected with the Chimera over running off the table. I placed my eagle behind the SC within 6 inches of the Shadow Warriors and I pay for my mistake when it fails its panic test.

Helf Turn 2

Image

Tiranoc chariot makes long charge at one of the nurgle chariots.

The sisters stand their ground in the face of the Trolls. The eagle rallied but the Reavers realize their duty is to interdict the mighty skull crushers. Dragon Princes back up a little to prepare their counter charge.

The Loremaster conjures up another powerful magic phase. Wysans on the chariot. Searing doom is stopped but a 2 die fireball gets through.

The magic phase is followed by an all out effort at the trolls. The Bows of Averlorn prove their worth. By the end, only 2 trolls and Throgg remain.

The boosted chariot smashes the chaos Chariot, its brother is awed and flees before being the next target.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#9 Post by Hinge »

WoC Turn 3

Image

Enraged by the flaming arrows of Averlorn, the Servants of Chaos continue to charge forward.

One of the sisters flee a charge and prove to be amazingly fleet footed, retiring to the camp. Their militia brothers prove stouter, but the Gorebeast Chariot crushes them. Throgg smashes the other RBT to pieces in frustration. The BSB and SC mow down the Reavers, who death is not in vain. Finally the last chariot finishes off the Silver Helms.

Helf Turn 3

Image

The Dragon Princes decide it is time to join the action. Spuring their swift steeds, they charge the huge contraption floundering in the woods. Losing one of their number to the treacherous terrain, they take heart that the other chariot has joined them in the hunt.

I place the eagle in front of the other Gore Beast Chariot on the off chance Frosty cannot get the job done. I know that Gorebeast Chariots are unbelievably tough and have no idea what the Frost Phoenix can do.

Magic finally sees the wind die down, though I punch a Searing Doom through on the Chimera for 2 wounds.

Shooting takes off one of the trolls and the far chariot.

Combat-The Gorebeast Chariots prove their toughness, dishing out more wounds then they receive and holding.

Woc Turn 4

Image

The far chariot charges and blasts a unit of Swordmasters. The Chimera charges in and tips the scales, but the elves hold. The Skull crushers run through another eagle and off the board.

Helf Turn 4

Image

The last Eagle flies forward to pin the Skull Crushers off the table edge.

During magic, Throgg goes down in a flurry of fireballs and Shems while the Chimera gets an Iceshard.

Shooting sees the last chariot and troll shot off.

One Gorebeast Chariot is finally broken and run down by a Tiranoc Chariot while the Frost Heart turns to face the last combat.
In the other combat, the Dragon Princes armor once again proves its worth and only one is felled. The Tiranoc Chariot takes its final wound.

Woc Turn 5

Image

The Dragon Princes finally go down.

Helf Turn 5

Image

The Frost Heart charges the flank of the gorebeast chariot, breaks it and runs it down. The Chimera panics and flees off the board. At this point we call the game.



Wrap up.

I was surprised at the cautious advance of my opponent. I think I would have shoved all the elements as far forward as I could and dare me to charge. This gave me a little more time to use magic and shooting to take elements out, especially when I gained magic dominance.

I don’t deny I was very fortunate on the first turn. The BSB should have gone down to the Caress and was saved by making two 6+ ward saves. To compound my good fortune, the Demon Prince failed all 4 of its 5+ ward saves. I think it will be a rare game that I can shoot off a fully kitted Demon Prince in 1 round of shooting.

The Loremaster was amazing. I was getting good rolls on the winds. When combined with the Book, it seems I was regularly casting 4-5 spells, some boosted. This put a lot of pressure on my opponent, doubly so when his sole caster went down.

Deploying this army will be tricky. I already mentioned what I would have done differently.

The elite infantry floundered around for the whole game. I think this was partially due to a desire to stay at extreme charge range from the enemy chariots. Once one of the chariots blew by chasing the Silver Helms, I should have turned the WL and SM around and closed. The trolls were getting gunned down and I should have been far enough from the other two chariots not to be in danger. I could have easily fled the Silver Helms off the table, leaving a nice rear charge with nowhere to go.

Shooting and Magic did most of the heavy lifting, but my chariots found themselves in the thick of the fighting and proved their worth.

Nurgle Gorebeast Chariots are just out right tough. These are going to be very tough to deal with.

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#10 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Hinge,

What a game! The sheer amount of action is overwhelming to say the least. It was a great read during afternoon coffee break and I promise I will come back with more comments later. For a time being, thanks for the great report and congratulations on the victory! =D>

Cheers!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#11 Post by Aethyr »

Great report, very informative and enjoyed the fluffy elements immensely too. :)

Very action packed, they don't go like that every day!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#12 Post by Eltherion »

Excellent batrep!!! it looked like a fun game to play and fun to read. Once again showing how deadly MSU HE's can be if used properly.

Putting the archers and characters into the building was a really useful move keeping them safe for the rest of the game and giving them a great Shooting & Magic field of fire.

Catching the WoC chariots flat footed (getting the charge on them) seems the way to limit their damage output (stopping their impact hits). Silver Helms, Tiranocs and DP's seem ideal for this.

I was surprised to see their Demon Prince go down so easily i guess it partially depends on the kit they have.

Well done onwards to more victories!!!
2008-2013 Wins:Draws:Losses
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New High Elf Book 16 : 1 : 5 Bargle Con II, 2nd Overall, Conviction 2nd Overall & Best Sportsman

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#13 Post by Elessehta of Yvresse »

Did you count VPs at the end, it looked like you tore him apart. His opening move was nice and orderly, but after that things just went off on their own, no Daemon Prince to control them?
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=34506][i]Lord Elessehta Silverbough of Ar Yvrellion, Ruler of Athel Anarhain, Prince of the Yvressi.[/i][/url]
[quote="Narrin’Tim"]These may be the last days of the Asur, but if we are to leave this world let us do it as the heroes of old, sword raised against evil![/quote]
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#14 Post by Hinge »

We did not add up the points (though I could do so now) as he had conceded. In the US, we play mostly W/L/D style games rather then 20-0, so when it hits a certain point, often the points don’t get added. In tournament play I do so though, I have been surprised a time or two.

I was also surprised at how easily the Demon Prince went down. I think I basically had everything go right and would be hard pressed to repeat that success in future games. Sneaking a single St3 shot through was silly and the difference of killing it or not. I would not draw to many conclusions from that success, other than the Reaver Bow plus PoT of ST is a pretty good way of plinking 2 wounds on a hard to kill model.

I really think that when his DP went down, he got a bit flustered. I have often observed that many players have a tough time if you can kick their crutch out from under them. Of course the secret is identifying that crutch. This is why I loved the spell, Vaul’s unmaking.

I have played 6 WoC armies from the new book. I have killed the DP three times. In two cases, this was early and in each of them it seemed to put my opponent off their game. As I look at this battle, there were plenty of elements to tear me up if my opponent had refocused and brought them to bear
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#15 Post by Eltherion »

Just wondering about the sisters in 2 x 5 units I intend to run 1 unit of 10 I guess it will be less flexible than your 2 x 5 but maybe wont give up its points as easily?

Were there any changes tweaks to your list that you might make?

Which troops performed well and which were the underachievers?
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New High Elf Book 16 : 1 : 5 Bargle Con II, 2nd Overall, Conviction 2nd Overall & Best Sportsman

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#16 Post by Hinge »

@Eltherion-

I think this is a tough battle to get a good guage and want to run a couple more before making some changes. For example the Swordmasters performed poorly but I really did not put them in a good position. The units that did well.

Loremaster- This happened to be a match up that the signature spells were ideal for. A shadow mage would have been very useful but I feel my opponent would have just stopped Wither early and Mindrazor late. It will be interesting when I have to face Skaven wether he is still as useful.

BSB-I will stick with the PoT of ST + Rever Bow. I will dink around with the last couple points.

Chariots-Worked better than expected. Wysan one up and it turns into a chaos chariot. Worth the 70 points.

Dragon Armor- I made a number of 6+ ward saves that saved my bacon, both on the BSB and the Princes themselves. There will be many games where it will not matter but this is a nice little addition.


5 packs of Sisters. I really liked this idea and the flexibility they provided.


One change I make more immediately is packing an MR item on the Loremaster. Death is a common lore on the tourney scene and the small units are susceptible to magic missiles. Since I plan to avoid combat, this is worth a look.

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#17 Post by Eltherion »

Your Bsb set up is similar to mine I am trying a Halberd instead of the GW for re-rollable hits at Str 5 or Str 8 if using the potion. The Charmed Shield is really useful vs. cannons, death snipes, etc. The Bsb is in the list for his Leadership bonuses re rolls and combat is something he should avoid as he is quite squishy.

I am starting to think the sisters are that good that I have squeezed 2 x 10 into my MSU lists.

Dragon Princes are awesome so I run 2 x 5 with nothing, cheap and effective.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#18 Post by Gondarion »

The major weakness of the Gorebeast chariot is it is SLOW, I wonder if it is even worth engaging with it much of the time. It isn't much different from a war shrine. Use miasma and you could take it out of the game until the later turns, where a even decent sized unit of spears could charge and break it mostly just on static CR.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#19 Post by Marinero »

Impressive army you have :) Thank you for this report, it was pleasant to read and useful to boot.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#20 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Hinge,

I have finally found time to get through your report again and ask some questions! I hope you will not be too busy to answer them.

I must admit that such WoC armies look very dangerous to our MSU forces. All these chariots alone can be a challange to contain. My initial thought was to "ignore" Daemon Prince and try to kill more of his army than he kills of mine. I was also surprised by your comment that you had practice against the more dangerous one. What was in that other force and what is your general advice on taking on it?

I was wondering about target priority as well and how it affected your deployment. Why would you prefer to shoot at trolls rather than at Chimera? With Sisters of Avelorn on board you could wound it and hopefully finish it with the rest of the shooters. I thought it could be good idea as it eliminates a very dangerous and fast unit while slower trolls can be diverted and re-directed until you are ready to deal with them.

Also, why do you prefer to use chariots together? They seem to be good units on their own and can nicely support other troops.

In turn 1 you charged with sisters instead of shooting at the dogs. My understanding is that with shooting there was a chance they could survive (only 5 shots) and with DP nearby a panic check would have been passed. While in close combat they could break more easily. If the Prince survived and dogs would have passed break test then it was still ok as no other unit could charge the sisters, they would probably finish the enemy the following turn and be free to move and shoot then. Let me know if I got it right :)

I was curious about wide Reavers move on the left flank. It seems to me that they could easily sneak to the flank of the leftmost chariot and park much closer to be more annoying. Or was it to be out of the march blocking range?

Finally, I was really impressed by your shooting. That round forced me to re-consider the option I wanted to take and not to shoot at the DP. While it was not granted you could kill it in one round it was also not that unlikely. Shooting at it with S3 arrows to get the hits and then to get rid of the enchanted shield was a very good idea (something easily forgotten in the heat of battle). But even if you didn't kill it I think your opponent would be very concerned about safety of his most expensive model and maybe more reluctant to enter the combat? Anyway it was a great thing to happen, boosted your morale while definitely affected the performance of the opponent.

You have mentioned the gamey positioning of shadow warriors. Was it because they were placed so that Skullcrushers would fail their charge upon the unit contracting before the combat? Or was it still possible to charge them but your opponent decided to attack with a chariot instead?

The combination of flaming S4 attacks from sisters and then follow up with the rest of the shooters is indeed deadly. I really like that approach and I find it very flexible when you have a mixture of different types of the shooters. Thanks to that you can pose a threat to many potential enemies and cannot be easily countered by some powerful character sporting some fireproof armor. It is of course very rewarding to see these trolls dying so quickly!

It was a very good and interesting way of using beast magic too. Well done on that one! =D>

I was wondering if the charge of the Frostphoenix against one of the chariots nearby Skullcrushers was an option. It looks to me that against the one closer to the middle it would have been a flank charge. Even without any wounds you would be winning by 2 and that already gives a chance to break it (and force a panic check on the second one). Of course proximity of BSB makes it less likely so maybe it is just too risky. What do you think?

In turn 4 you took the charge of a chariot with Swordmasters. Was it calculated risk? Did you consider withdrawing instead? I'd sooner risk such maneuver with Lions.

Looking at a diagrams it didn't seem as if your enemy moved cautiously at all! I only think he might have been too eager to make up for the loss of the Daemon Prince and started charging units individually with chariots and chimera. He didn't use skullcrushers and it seems to me he was also afraid to use bsb separately after the loss of the general. I am unsure if it was good idea though as his unit and that character didn't do much at all.

Having said that I think it was a great game and I really like the flurry of movement arrows! It was a tough match up and it always feels good to win such a game. I also like the fact that even if shooting and magic were very important that game it was also a very dynamic battle with units on both sides performing daring moves and long charges.

Thanks again for the report and I do hope it is just the beginning!

Cheers!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#21 Post by Hinge »

@SM-

Well to answer some of your questions in no particular order.

Target Priority- I will not argue that shooting at the Chimera over the trolls/DP is likely a better choice. I went after the DP for two reasons. One, a bit of a panic when my BSB very narrowly avoided getting ganked by Caress. Second, it was clear he was charging staring at my Dragon princes, which is a unit I am placing a pretty high value on. In all honesty, I was lucky to take the DP down in 1 turn. However, the results of doing so far outweigh taking the Chimera down. Time and time again, I have found that if you can kick the crutch out from an opposing player early in the game, you can grab dominance out of proportion to the loss. I think this told as my opponent declared a number of long charges on the second turn, with those that failed really breaking up his advance.

By the time I was done with the DP, the Chimera had raced by. I also don’t respect the Chimera as much as most people. Sure, it can tear up my units but in the end, I feel like it would end up going down, giving back points. Its low leadership is such a huge Achilles heel. I also figured there may be an opportunity to panic it off. On the other hand, DPs have constantly shredded every army I have fielded if I have not taken them down quickly which is another reason I took the shot at the DP. 2 Bolt Throwers plus 3 ST 8 shots seemed like decent odds.

Shadow Warriors. Not sure about what “gamey maneuver” I pulled. They were placed such that the SC would be forced to overrun away from the battle. Pretty standard stuff. I believe my opponent did not want to have them frenzy baited so early and elected to charge the Shadow Warriors off with a chariot. Frankly, this was a mistake. It is pretty clear I was circling them with chaff and was going to sacrifice what I needed to keep them from the main battle line. Just charge with the SC and keep pressure up with both Gore Beast Chariots. Those things are frightenly tough.

Left Reaver- I think I was going around a pretty large swamp which is what swung me out so wide. The picture may not do it justice, but the last chariot had angled well so that it was tough to stay out of the charge arc without running past the line.

Dual Chariots. I find keeping them together increases the odds that one will make it into combat to support troops (one always seems to fail charge). Also two together generate enough punch to win most combats on the turn they dual charge, making them a unit in their own right. Finally, Chaos Chariots are so tough, that I felt it would take a dual charge to see one off. Of course I hit on the idea of casting Wildform on a chariot during the game.

Your understanding on the charge of the Sisters is right on. It was more important to block up the trolls with the dogs then to shoot five more shots. That was effectively a free chaff unit.

Frost phoenix. I think I was playing too carefully with this unit. I will have to put him in different situations and see what happens. That -1 ST is huge.

No doubt I should have fled with the SM. It was one of those “why the hell did I not flee” thoughts just as his chariot was crashing into the unit. Someday I will play a perfect game.

Hinge
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#22 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Hinge,

Thanks a lot for your answers!

On DP - I totally agree that the chance to kill it with the shooting you had was not that bad and even wounding it might mean your opponent would not be so bold with charging with it early. I was simply wondering what you based your decision on. I guess i need to rethink my theoretical then and see if I could pull put a similar fit. It is great to see DP can be killed! :)

On SW - I don't think your positioning was gamey but I was simply referring to your own description from the report. :) Hence the question to find out if I missed something.

Thanks again and I am looking forward to new reports!

Cheers!
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#23 Post by FrankHunter »

Hi Hinge, long time no see (I'm Dark Schneider from COTEC).
That's a nice battle report, but I think your opponent made one funamental mistake with his DP: all your shooting was BS based, so he should have hided the DP behind the Trolls, granting him a -2 to be hit that would have made the difference. Given that the guy had wings, he would have still been able to charge after one turn of full marching by the trolls.
That said, it would be nice to see you on cotec again soon, even if I get you're playing HE now (I'm doing the same!)
Cheers and good luck
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#24 Post by Hinge »

@DS-

Nice to hear from you.

I agree, but I think that BS based shooting has been down for a while now in 8th ed. that players are not respecting it. Everyone’s focus is on cannons. Now a days. I don’t doubt he would have parked the DP behind all those regening trolls if I had 1.

At a recent GT, I was shocked when an opponent exposed the flank of a Mournfang cav unit to one of my goblin bolt throwers. Sure I needed a 5 to hit but felt that he took an unnecessary risk. It proved out when the bolt actually slew three models! Just a silly mistake because people do not view crappy Gobbo Bolt Throwers as a threat.

I think HE will be bringing back the respect for BS shooting. Mostly because they can bring a strong shooting phase and still have the CC units to back it up (unlike Woodies).

I still lurk over at COTEC but feel I do not have a lot to offer in many of the conversations. Between playing my O&G in recent tournaments, practicing for Bragging Rights, and starting to paint a HE army, just not a lot of time for my beloved WoC.

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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#25 Post by Baeronvonbleat »

When you dual-flank charged the Gorebeast chariot, did the Gorebeast attack? Two wounds seems like a high output without the gorebeast attacking back (the critter pulling a chariot doesn't get to attack if the chariot is flank charged). If that was just the crew, I'm impressed by the output.
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Re: HE MSU v Chariot Spam WoC- Deployment

#26 Post by Hinge »

nope, the gorebeast did not attack. 4 ST5 (down to ST4) attacks sideways from the riders. Chaos chariots are just tough.
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