Ulthuan

I had a battle today at the local GW store. 1500 points, my High Elves vs Jesse's Wood Elves. I've already had two fun games against him - in the first my Swordmasters taunted his Wood Elves from the watchtower while my mage took off a unit per turn with Soul Quench, and in the second his Stegadon was completely unstoppable, his Ripperdactyls did horrible things to my Dragon Princes and I ended up being tabled. We rolled up Battle for the Pass.

My army:
Loremaster
Book of Hoeth, Gem of Sunfire, Golden Crown of Atrazar
Noble BSB
Star Lance, Dragonhelm, Luckstone, Potion of Foolhardiness, heavy armour, shield, barded horse

19 Archers - standard, musician
5 Reavers - bows only
5 Reavers - bows only

5 Dragon Princes - musician
12 White Lions - full command, Gleaming Pennant
13 Swordmasters - musician, champion

7 Sisters of Avelorn

His Wood Elves: (Roughly)
Eternal Kindred Noble (general)
Stag, Spear of -1 to hit after he wounds, 2+ ward vs fire
Waywatcher Noble
Hail of Doom Arrow

10 Glade Guard - musician, standard, Banner of Eternal Flame
2x 10 Glade Guard - musician, standard
10 Dryads

10 Wild Riders - musician, standard, Banner of Swiftness

9 Waywatchers
2x Great Eagle

This is my first time using Battle Chronicler and everything's from memory so everything's slightly out of place. I apologise if the ranges seem off at times.

Deployment with vanguarding. We forgot to use the effects of his forest and the temple in the bottom left we played as soft cover + dangerous terrain to cavalry.

My thoughts as we began were that my Sisters would jump into the building. That would put them in range of most of the board, they should be able to survive any return shooting and I could jump my Loremaster in with them should the need arise. My infantry would try to hold the left flank while my Dragon Princes would sweep around the right. I was hoping to use the right Reavers to eat those nasty killing blow waywatcher shots and the left Reavers to do... something. I didn't really have a plan for those. On to the game!

He got the first turn after I rolled a 1.

He advanced on the flanks, keeping his Glade Guard back. His shooting killed 3 Reavers on the left and wiped out the unit on the right. My Sisters passed their panic but the Dragon Princes failed - even after the re-roll - and almost went off the board!

High Elves 1:

My Reavers charge his Eagle - mainly to get out of the way - and then my White Lions fail a 15" charge on his Wild Riders. A bit of a long shot but worth the risk. Luckily my Dragon Princes rallied. The Sisters went into the building and my centre shuffled forwards, bringing my mage into 24" of most of his army but keeping my units more than 20" from his Glade Guard (so no close range shooting next turn) and out of charge range of the Dryads.
Magic sees me incinerating 7 Dryads with a top level Fireball. That was a big relief because with their 2 attacks each at I6 they could do a lot of damage to my small units of elites.
My shooting kills off 3 Glade Guard from the right hand unit and they fail panic. Combat between the Reavers and Eagle is boring and nothing happens.

Wood Elves 2:

His Wild Riders charge my White Lions, and his fleeing Glade Guard run off the table.
His shooting kills off ~4 Swordmasters and 5 Archers. He even used his Hail of Doom arrow, rolling a measly 4 shots and doing very little.
In combat the eagle kills off one Reaver, but we stick. His Wild Riders are much more effective. Between attacks, mounts and a single stomp he kills off 9 of my White Lions. Luckily I'm attacking at the same time as his Wild Riders, but because I'm suffering -1 to hit (after his Noble had gotten a kill or two) I only kill 2 in return. However, I'm stubborn and hold - thanks to the Gleaming Pennant's re-roll. 5 points well spent! He reforms to bring his Noble to the flank, hoping to inflict them with -1 to hit next turn.

High Elves 2:

My Swordmasters can fit past the Dryads with little room to spare, so they charge into the flank of the Wild Riders. My Dragon Princes charge the Eagle, it flees off the table and they walk forwards 5". My Loremaster jumps out of the rapidly thinning unit of Archers and into the building.
In the magic phase a mid level fireball kills off 5 Waywatchers. Excellent, now they won't completely destroy my Dragon Princes.
My Sisters kill off 1 Dryad, and the archers kill 4 from the central (flaming) Glade Guard unit.
In combat I sneakily challenge with my White Lion champion. He has no champion and so his Noble is forced to accept. His noble of course wins, but now my Swordmasters are free to attack without the annoying -1 to hit. After the dice are rolled my White Lions are gone and 2 Swordmasters lie dead, but 4 Wild Riders have been killed. He wins combat due to a banner, I stick and he reforms to face me.

Wood Elves 3:

His Dryads charge my Archers and I flee, ending up below the house. (which is mistakenly added to BC a turn late ) He redirects into the read of the Swordmasters.
His shooting... honestly I can't remember. Perhaps he rolled terribly, perhaps earlier casualties I reported happened here instead. Either way it amounts to little this turn.
Combat is relatively bloody, (for such small units) the Dryads are gone, 4 Wild Riders, the Noble and 3 Swordmasters remain. I'm not sure if I held this turn or fled, but I don't think either result would really change how things played out. I'll follow the picture and claim I held.

High Elves 3:

My Archers rally (They should be below the house here) and my Princes advance. I decide not to try and corner his Waywatchers. I figure that I'm unlikely to be able to catch them and so I can go after the Glade Guard instead.
I unleash the power in the Gem of Sunfire to roast the Eagle with Shems Burning Gaze. Pew pew.
My Sisters kill off two more Waywatchers, and the Swordmasters are predictably flattened.

Wood Elves 4:

His Wild Riders dismount and break into my house. His Waywatchers continue to back away.
After 2 failed swift reforms by the Glade Guard, my Dragon Princes shrug off the Waywatchers and his shooting does nothing.
In combat I challenge with my Loremaster. I figure that without the stag he's very unlikely to kill me in one round of combat and next turn I have the option of jumping out the back of the building, and by challenging I save my Sisters from a mauling. The challenge is uneventful and no wounds are caused. Between my Stand and Shoot and ASF attacks, I kill 2 Wild Riders. The remaining one is only able to kill a single Sister.

High Elves 4:

My Dragon Princes are within charge range of a single unit of Glade Guard, and far enough away that he'll flee and I'll be stranded where I am if I charge. Instead I walk forwards and stop at the edge of the forest. His unit of flaming Glade Guard can't move out of my charge arc next turn so I figure this is the better option. My archers (finally correct on BC!) move up, but their shooting does nothing.
In magic I get a nice 10 hits on his Wild Riders with fireball. 5 his on the lone Wild Rider incinerates him. 5 hits on the Stag Noble reveals his 2+ ward against fire. My Loremaster is thrown off balance and fails to cast Spirit Leech.

Wood Elves 5:

His various units circle around my Dragon Princes, and his Noble charges into the house again.
Shooting kills 2 Princes (1 to killing blow) but they pass their panic test.
In combat I challenge again. This time I do one wound to him and his return wound is saved by my Golden Crown.

High Elves 5:

My Dragon Princes finally connect a charge onto the flaming Glade Guard. One handful of dice later and the Wood Elves die before even getting to attack.
In magic I get 11 dice. 3 dice go to a medium Fireball on his Waywatchers and he fails to dispel with 4. I produce 4 hits. He allocates 2 on the Noble trying to save the unit, but this proves fatal as everything rolls to wound and the unit is exactly wiped out. I throw 2 dice on Iceshard Blizzard onto the unengaged Glade Guard, for the -1 leadership as much as anything else. (A mistake I think, I should have cast it onto the Stag Noble) I then 6 dice Spirit Leech onto his Stag Noble, get two wounds past his ward save and he dies.
My shooting rolls like fire and 8 Glade Guard from the remaining unit die, panicking the remaining two.

Turn 6 sees his Glade Guard rally only to be killed by my Dragon Princes, which means I win by tabling him.


Learning points:
- Making reports on BC for the first time takes ages!
- I need to use my Reavers better. My opponent likes to shoot them off early on, so I should probably vanguard them behind my lines to keep them alive until they're needed.
- I need to adapt my magic phases better. Especially in my turn 5, I had planned to use 6 dice on Spirit Leech on his Stag Noble. It was my best shot at killing him and he had 6 dispel dice that phase. Between having +2 to cast and the Book of Hoeth I had a good chance of getting it off even if he threw all his dice at stopping it. However by the time I actually cast it he had only 2 dispel dice left. I could have comfortably used 3 and spent the remaining on Wildform or Earthblood as a contingency should the Spirit Leech fail, but I had planned on 6 dicing Spirit Leech and so that's what I did.

I also really didn't think the game would end that way. By the time turn 4 came around I had lost my elite infantry, my Dragon Princes had spent the entire time dancing around looking pretty and even reduced the Wild Riders seemed unstoppable! One failed round of shooting and my Sisters proving to be an absolute roadblock later and things swung around for me.


As well as any comments on the battle itself I'd really appreciate feedback on the report itself. Any presentation issues, comments on my style of writing, anything you think would improve it etc.

I hope you enjoyed the report!


Edit: Also if anyone knows a way to lock a character into a unit (so they behave as one) on Battle Chronicler I'd appreciate the info.

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First of all, attaching a character - when you click on them in the army list at the left, the menu at the bottom for things like charging, fleeing and destroyed comes up. At the bottom is attach. Click this and a menu comes up with all your units. You can select which one to attach them to and then click anywhere on the map - the character will go straight to the centre of the front rank of that unit. I hope that all makes sense.

I think it would be better to have the dragon princes on the left. They can handle the stagbus, I reckon. They'd be striking first, whereas the infantry weren't. Also, you can use your reavers on the left (after maybe shooting down the eagle with their bows?) to act as a speedbump so you can get the charge off on the wild riders. That would handle them a lot easier.

Then I'd put the elite infantry in the centre to advance and deal with the glade guards. If you put the white lions in front, they'll either have to face those 3+ saves or hard cover if they shoot your swords, so your infantry should survive long enough to get into combat. Then I'd just throw all the magic missiles you have at the waywatchers (no point wasting shooting on them) and take out the dryads, eagles and some glade guards with your shooting.

Still, well played. Some nice moves there. Thanks for the report and keep posting them.

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"I say the Eatainii were cheating - again." -Aicanor
"Eatainian jerks…" -Headshot
"It was a little ungentlemanly." -Aicanor (on the Eatainii)
"What is it with Eataini being blamed for everything?" -Aicanor

Thanks for the tip. I think that's exactly what I was looking for.

I think I'm overprotective of my Dragon Princes. There are too few to properly protect my BSB when casualties start mounting (and while infantry characters are happy to jump from unit to unit, he doesn't really have anywhere else good to go to atm) and more importantly they're my nicest looking unit, I can't let them die just like that!

Hmm, good suggestion. Especially if I put the Loremaster in with the Swordmasters and used his hexes/augments to help keep my infantry alive. Also yes, I do need to work on my targeting skills. My ranged units were first shooting at one target, then another, then back to the first etc. I don't think that that was a particularly bad choice for this game, but I really should decide early on what I need to shoot at and what can be ignored for the time being.

Thank you! I have no idea when I'll even get another game in, let alone whether I'll remember enough to make a report from it.

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Nice BR!

You've IDed a solid advantage of the Loremaster over my squishy AM's - you can use them as a challenger to protect our units (and then buff back with lifebloom next turn). Especially clever with the building assault breaking the combat!

Agreed about the reavers - I always used to just send them forward 12" but now I sometimes don't vanguard at all so that I can charge his fast cav T1 or I'll simply use vanguard to redeploy. It was on here somewhere that I read about not just bombing forward and its sunk in (after a couple of hard lessons like the one you took here).

Very dynamic battle - could have gone either way a few times.

RE: dragon princes - if you're scared to commit because they're too small a unit, what about swoppoing them to core helms and then upping your points available for elite infantry? Or even putting your BSB on foot seen as your bus looks quite small and doesn't look like it fits as naturally with your infantry army as traditional busses - although that might be a consequence of the points level...do you normally play higher points (2K?).

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Former Roles: Advisory Board, HR, Moderator and Highborn Elves Army Support

Thanks!

That's true about the Loremaster, so why did I not even think of mentioning it?

Swapping the Princes for ~6 Silver Helms, dropping some Archers (which would then be possible) and then boosting the infantry would make this a stronger list I think. However this list comprises of the majority of the models I own. A large part of using the mounted BSB in this list was that I wanted to try out the Star Lance build. I'll likely be trying out a Reaver Bow foot build next time I play. I think the foot build would work better than the mounted build for this list, but I think the mounted build is the better one when viewed in isolation.


In other news I had two games since then, but neither were worth turning into a report.
The first featured a large (for the points level) unit of Ironguts having a party in the Watchtower while my army cleared up his support, and then the game ended on the first possible roll before I had a good chance to push him out of the tower. I did get a turn of attempting all 3 flaming Magic Missiles from my Loremaster at a unit in a building, which was fun but I can't remember how effective it actually was.
The second was a doubles game (total of 2k per side) which was 3 turns of two High Elf armies running face first into 3 Volley Guns before the game was called due to time.

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Agreed - I'm drawn to the mounted BSB and especially star lance option for the added protection and combat oomph it gives. I think that's an excellent way to put it - in isolation I think mounted is better every time (and rightly so, he costs more points). But with a foot-focussed list (and even with core cavalry I'd tend to consider non-bus or units of <10 cavalry infantry based), I think the foot build works better as he's more likely to be where you want him to be!



I've played a couple of 1K each doubles games with HE and I felt pretty weak *shudders*. I went Loremaster to double up on LOADSA spells and combat character, but without BoH he's lacklustre. A Lv3 could just take BoH I think, but loses some of the utility through only having 3 spells. I think the best approach would be Lv2 with ring and scroll, which is a compromise towards Lv3 with the third spell (and MMs are more effective at low points too). Special PG rocked though - at 1K they're hard enough to take on most stuff and just don't die - they're like a unit twice their size in terms of attrition and don't give up CR easy. I went core cavalry as I felt that at 1K our infantry would be a weak spot...but that doesn't leave any bunkers for the mage...I'm wondering whether sea guard might be a good compromise unit at 1K?

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At 1k I reckon a level 2 with the Ring of Fury and the Golden Crown is the way to go. The potential of double Soul Quench is huge at lower points, and having access to 3 spells helps to stop those situations where your opponent has 6 dispel dice and you have only one spell worth casting. The Golden Grown gives him a pseudo 3 wounds, and as long as you accept that your mage will often die you can actually stick him in a combat unit. The ward save he gives will help your combat unit actually reach combat, and if he dies... well by that point his range of targets will often be more limited (because they're now in combat or are already dead) so it matters less. Also, while we might be weaker at 1k, so are many/most other armies.

Sea Guard probably would be worth it - their dual role becomes more useful when your numbers become so diminished, and I think their str 3 shooting will be comparably more useful at these points. I'm not such a fan of Sea Guard though -not for any good reason, I just think that I'd rather take Archers or potentially even Spearmen instead. I think the only time I'd specifically want Sea Guard is if I was using a Metal level 4 and that's only because stacking Glittering Scales with their 5+ armour sounds awesome.

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Nice, clear report.

This one caught my eye because I run Stagbus Wood Elves, albeit with a Lord at higher points totals. I feel Stone of the Crystal Mere/Potion of Strength is the best load-out for the Noble because he needs a decent Ward against war machines and he needs to be able to kill things. I also feel Gleaming Pennant is better than Swiftness on the Wild Riders because they'll lose combat now and then and need to hold. The Waywatcher Noble looks a rather expensive way to get Hail of Doom in to me, especially as it has a 30" range anyway, so the Scouting is a little redundant.

That said, I feel your opponent played reasonably well. Taking the Reavers out early makes sense, though I'm not so sure about the eagle that fled the board edge or the failed Swift Reforms, couldn't the Glade Guard have just wheeled to shoot? He seemed to start well but just couldn't deal with your magic. I can see the logic behind going magic-free at low points totals but the Loremaster is very nasty here and magic missiles are deadly against elf infantry. You were critical of your spellcasting Solith but it won the game handsomely.

I'm not convinced about running the elite infantry at his archers, even with the Loremaster, even with Lion Cloaks. The S4 will very likely hurt. DP's + BSB should be able to deal with his Stagbus if you get the charge.

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Cavalry Prince Reloaded
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I played a 1200 point game against the new Dark Elves today. I wasn't taking notes so my knowledge of winds of magic and the exact numbers of casualties is sketchy at best. I've simplified it somewhat and so units will take unspecified numbers of casualties before suddenly dropping dead. My apologies if this makes the game confusing.

My list was:
Mage – High Magic
Level 2, Khaine’s Ring of Fury, Golden Crown of Atrazar
Noble
BSB, Heavy Armour, Reaver Bow, Potion of Strength

19 Archers
standard, musician
5 Reavers
bows only, musician

12 White Lions
Musician, Standard, Gleaming Pennant
17 Phoenix Guard
Full Command, Razor Standard

6 Sisters of Averlorn

I didn't get a copy of my opponent's list, but it was roughly:
Death Hag on Cauldron

~40 Witch Elves with full command

Hydra
Hydra

5 Warlocks

Deployment

In previous games my Reavers have achieved very little, so I deployed them behind my lines and used their vanguard to get them into position. This time I had a plan to use them well: I would keep them alive until I needed them - at which point I would run them in front of the frenzied Witch Elf horde to either buy me another turn before having to fight them or to present a flank to my Phoenix Guard or White Lions. I planned to use my archers to thin down his horde (as their shooting would do little to any other target) and use the BSB/Sisters/Magic and earlier charges to take out the Hydras before turning on the Witch Elves.

I rolled up Soul Quench and Walk Between Worlds, while my opponent's Warlocks had Doombolt and Soulblight.

My opponent won the first turn, and we began.

Dark Elf turn 1:

He moved up, his magic did nothing and he had no shooting.

High Elf turn 1:

Before I could stop to think, my BSB chugged his potion of steroids and ran into the tower. I wanted him to shoot at a Hydra and didn't want to force the entire unit of Archers to do the same. In retrospect, with my opponent's almost complete lack of ranged power he should have deployed in the tower to begin with. My army shuffled back wards. I made sure my Reavers were out of charge range of the right hand Hydra, and I put my Archers 1/2 an inch within the Witch Elves charge to force a frenzy check.

Magic did little (a recurring theme for the entire game) and killed about 2 Witches.

Now I realised just how stupid my use of the BSB had been - between moving, cover, range and multiple shots he was hitting on 5's and proceeded to miss with all 3 shots. Serves me right. The Sisters showed him how it was done and put a couple of wounds onto the Hydra, and the Archers dropped a few more Witches.

Dark Elf turn 2:

The Druchii moved in for the kill. The left Hydra was cautious of the White Lions, keeping 14" away, while the right Hydra moved round to the flank of my Phoenix Guard and burned ~5 to a crisp. The Hydra then went and regained all its lost wounds, clearly feeding off the despair of my Guard.

High Elf turn 2:

Although the Lions needed a 9 to reach the Hydra, I decided that it was worth the risk - if I didn't it would either be able to hang back, or would move into ideal flame range and fry them down to a bare handful. Rolling a 10 they made it in! Now it was time for my Reavers to prove their worth. I looked to march them in front of the Witch Elves... and realised that, due to the Phoenix Guard being in the way they couldn't get close enough for a redirect to achieve anything. Cursing myself I settled onto plan B: I sent the Phoenix Guard to stand in front of the Witches and planted the Reavers in the path of the Hydra.

Magic did nothing, my Archers dropped another few Witches and my Sisters and BSB between them put two wounds back onto the Hydra.

In combat my White Lions showed them how to do it and hacked the Hydra apart before it could even blink. I reformed them to face back towards the Witch Elves.

Dark Elf turn 3:

He declared a charge from his Hydra onto my Reavers, I held. He declared a charge from his Witch Elves onto my Phoenix Guard, I held. He declared a charge from his Warlocks onto my Archers, and I decided to flee. My mage was sitting on the left edge of the unit and would not survive the combat if I held, and an average roll would bump my unit past my Phoenix Guard. Also, everything else was committed to a charge and nothing else would be able to chase off my Archers. I was feeling quite clever until I realised that because the Warlocks were in a 3x2 formation at the time they could just about fit between the building and the rear of my Phoenix Guard. They promptly rolled ~10 and my Mage and Archers were gone.

Bereft of my +2 to dispel, I was powerless to stop a Soulblight onto my Phoenix Guard.

In combat my Reavers were clearly trying to redeem themselves with the sole survivor holding on a double 1, which of course meant that I wouldn't be able to shoot the Hydra in my turn.
My Phoenix Guard on the other hand were able to kill off ~5 Witch Elves before being buried under a bucketful of dice and were killed to an elf. Gulp. The Witches overrun was stopped by the Warlocks in their path. The Hydra feasted on more elf flesh and regained a wound.

High Elf turn 3:

I charged my White Lions into the rear of his Witch Elves. I wasn't that optimistic about my chances, but the alternative was probably to spend the rest of the game running away with my Lions and Sisters at which point I'd still probably lose on victory points. Death or glory it was!

My building crew shot down 3 Warlocks.

I realise now that we did the Lions/Witches combat wrong, as I rolled my attacks as if I also attacked simultaneously. My illegal attacks killed a massive ~2 Witches before my entire unit was wiped out. Death or glory? Clearly I had chosen death. The Hydra killed my lone remaining Reaver.

Dark Elf turn 4:

The Hydra charged the building. I did another wound to it through stand and shoot before it squashed all of my Sisters and put a wound onto my BSB.

In my turn I stepped my lone remaining model out of the building to get out of the Hydra's charge arc but my shooting couldn't bring it town. In my opponent's turn 5 he Doombolted my BSB in the face and it was all over.



Well, ouch! I was completely unprepared for this game. I think my initial plan, while probably too vague (I thought about what I wanted to do without considering just how or when to do it) wasn't too bad. I think in my turn 2 I should have jumped my mage into the building and then used my combined magic and shooting to focus on either the Warlocks or the right Hydra. I was never able to bring it down because I never put enough force onto it. My opponent did get slightly lucky on his rolls to regain wounds but that's bound to happen at times and I need to be able to kill it regardless.

In fact, my opponent's entire army felt like that: each unit needed a lot of attention to kill it completely, or it wasn't worth even trying. Between the Hydras regaining lost wounds and the Warlocks being able to use their magic even with one guy left (right?) each of these units needed to be focused on in turn. The huge unit of Witch Elves, with it's ward save from the Cauldron was, if anything, even tougher to get victory points out of. It also had a huge amount of points sunk into the unit so winning without killing it was always going to be a challenge.

Nevertheless, I should thank my opponent for a highly enjoyable game! Next time I don't think I'll feel guilty about bringing a Loremaster and a bigger unit of Phoenix Guard.

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I played a 1500 point game against Dark Elves today (although a different opponent) which also ended with my BSB being the last remaining model in my army while hiding in a building. Sadly I don't remember enough details to make a full report.

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Another 1500 point game today. I managed to get an irresistible Fiery Convocation off on 30 Eternal Guard standing in the watchtower. 26 casualties later I was feeling dirty for doing so much in a single spell. I ended up winning the game.

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Game 3 - High Elves vs Warriors of Chaos - 1500 points

I think it's about time I dusted this thread off and wrote some new reports!

Today, a 1500 point Battle for the Pass, my High Elves vs Jesse's Tzeentch Warriors of Chaos. I didn't take notes, but I did take a few pictures so this should be mostly correct.

My list:
Loremaster – Book of Hoeth, Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown of Atrazar (330)
Noble – BSB, heavy armour, halberd, Reaver Bow, Potion of Strength (146)
14 Archers – standard, musician (160)
5 Reavers – bows only, musician (95)
5 Silver Helms – shields, musician (125)
5 Dragon Princes – musician (155)
18 Phoenix Guard – full command, Razor Standard (345)
Repeater Bolt Thrower (70)
Repeater Bolt Thrower (70)
Total: 1496

My opponent's list:
WOC list:
Sorceror Lord - Charmed Shield, Dispel Scroll, Talisman of Endurance, Level 4 Wizard, Mark of Tzeentch, Lore of Metal (345)
Exalted Hero - Battle Standard, Daemonic Mount, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Protection, Burning Body, Mark of Tzeentch (210)
23 Chaos Warriors - shields, full command, Standard of Discipline, Mark of Tzeentch (436)
Chaos Chariot
5 Chaos Warhounds
5 Chaos Knights - ensorcelled weapons, musician, Mark of Tzeentch (235)
Gorebeast Chariot
Total: 1,496 points

Deployment:


I deployed mostly defensively. My thoughts going into this game were that the giant brick of Warriors would take a lot to kill - several turns of shooting and magic to soften them up before finally engaging with my Phoenix Guard and flank/rear charging with any cavalry I had left. However to do this I'd need to kill off his support units first. Between my magic and Bolt Throwers I didn't think this would be too much trouble to manage, and once done I'd have a large amount of control over the board.
My Silver Helms were 3 wide so they could fit down the side of the house to get to the rear of the Warrior's lines. The Reavers vanguarded up only a small distance to stay out of charge range of the Knights.

The Sorcerer Lord rolled up Searing Doom, Enchanted Blades, Transmutation of Lead and Final Transmutation.

I managed to win the roll to go first, even with the +1 going to my opponent!

High Elf turn 1:


Mass advance. My Archers needed to step down the hill to make sure they weren't giving cover for my Bolt Throwers and my Loremaster needed to get into range. My cavalry moved into better positions, with the Reavers being completely hidden from the Chaos Knights by the tower.

In the magic phase I successfully cast Spirit Leech on his Sorcerer Lord onto to roll a 1 on the dice-off. A lower level Searing Doom on the Gorbeast Chariot was dispelled. (As a side note, I hate this thing. So many elves have been crushed under it's virtually invulnerable wheels that it's been named 'The Destroyer of Avelorn')

A pair of single shot bolts completely missed the hulking Gorebeast and a hail of arrows pinged harmlessly from the Knight's armour.

Warriors of Chaos turn 1:


The Knights hold back, wary of my Dragon Princes charge. The Warhounds manage to sneak forwards far enough that my Silver Helms couldn't draw line of sight to them. The rest of the army maintained a solid battle line.

With little else worth casting for the time being my opponent threw a 6 diced Final Transmutation at my Phoenix Guard that I am powerless to dispel and 5 are turned to gold.

High Elf turn 2:


My Silver Helms had a flank charge lined up on the Warriors and I decided to charge. I figured that I wouldn't do much to the unit, but I didn't have anything else planned for this unit and I'd at least get some attacks onto his general. One Silver Helm crashed into the fence in the way in. Thanks to his BSB joining the unit, the Warriors were actually 5 deep at this point so I had to maximise with only 1 Silver Helm in contact with the Sorcerer Lord. Not what I'd been hoping for when I declared the charge but it serves me right for not thinking it through beforehand!

In magic I cast an Iceshard Blizzard onto the warriors - mainly to lower the general's leadership by 1. Searing Doom is dispelled and my Spirit Leech onto the Gorebeast Chariot does nothing.

In shooting my Archers again fail to damage the Knights. This time I get a single bolt to hit the Gorebeast but fails to wound. Just what will it take to kill this thing?

In combat his BSB makes way, but I'm still able to direct all of my attacks onto either the Sorcerer Lord or the Warriors. All I'm able to do is trigger the Sorcerer Lord's Charmed Shield, but thanks to Iceshard Blizzard he's only able to kill a single Knight in return. Amazingly, I pass my break test and hold his Warriors in place for a turn!

Warriors of Chaos turn 2:


The Warhounds move past the edge of the forest. The Knights advance to bait my Dragon Princes while the Chariot moves to offer a nasty counter-charge.

In the magic phase I let Transmutation of Lead go through onto my Archers so that I can stop Final Transmutation.

Again, he only is able to kill a single Silver Helm. I do nothing to him and I break, fleeing through the building. He reforms to face my lines once more.

High Elf turn 3:


Fuelled by their arrogance I charge my Dragon Princes into his Knights, needing ~7 to make it. I know this is likely a suicide mission for my Princes but my unit is significantly cheaper than his Knights so if I can kill them it's a win on points. More importantly, it should hold up his faster units for a turn or so to give me more time to deal with them. My Silver Helms rally and the rest of my army shuffles around.

Once again I manage to cast Spirit Leech onto the enemy general, and once again my Loremistress proves she has the strength-of-will of a potato and does nothing.

This turn I finally manage to cause 2 wounds to the Gorebeast Chariot with the combined shooting of my entire army.

In combat, my Dragon Princes kill 2 Knights, they kill 1 back and finally one of my horses kicks another Knight to death. Go horses! I win combat and he breaks, I pursue and fail to catch them. Noo! My Dragon Princes have sacrificed themselves without earning a single victory point in return.

Warriors of Chaos turn 3:


The Chariot declares a charge onto my Dragon Princes. I'm too close to the Chariot and to the board edge for fleeing to be worth it so I'm forced to hold. Then the Knights fail to rally and run off the board. Huzzah!
The Warriors discover that they are in a fear-forest as the rest of the enemy army advances. My opponent makes sure to keep the Gorebeast chariot just over 15" away from my Archer unit.

My opponent puts Enchanted Blades onto his Warriors in preparation for my Phoenix Guard charging them. I have no intention of charging them next turn so I let it go to save my dice for Final Transmutation. It fails to cast.

3 Dragon Princes are cut down and the single survivor flees ~3". The Chariot ignores him and reforms, knowing the Dragon Prince needs double 1's to rally.

High Elf turn 4:


I gulp down my Potion of Strength. (Actually I forget until my shooting phase, but my opponent was nice enough to let me retroactively chug my steroid juice)
My remaining Silver Helms make a rear charge on the Warhounds. I'm relieved they made the charge as now I won't have to waste a bolt thrower (or two) to shoot them off the table.

My remaining Dragon Prince runs off the table, but he's tired and it takes a few turns of running ~5" per turn.
I realise that I can run my Loremistress out on her own. His only real way of hurting her at this point is Searing Doom, and she only has a 4+ save and the Golden Crown to protect her. He could send his BSB or chariot to hunt her down but it'll take some time to catch her, so I jump out of the Phoenix Guard and move to the flank of the Warriors. My Reavers jump out from hiding to taunt the Warrior unit, ending 1" in front of them and at an angle. If the Warriors kill them and overrun my Phoenix Guard will have a nice flank charge set up.

In the magic phase I get an Iceshard Blizzard though onto the Warrior unit but my other attempt(s?) are dispelled.

My Archers and BSB show me how it's done and finish off the hated Gorebeast Chariot. My Bolt Throwers shoot single bolts at the regular Chariot and put 2 wounds onto it.

In combat 1 Silver Helm and 1 dog die. I win combat, but his general is in range by millimeters and they stick. They do however fail to reform.

Warriors of Chaos turn 4:


The Warriors and Chariot both crash into my Reavers. I can only assume they're too drunk to notice the danger as they hold in place.

I manage to dispel Final Transmutation cast onto the Archer unit.

In combat the Chariot's impact hits alone wipe out the Reavers, and both units decide to reform rather than overrunning.
My lone Silver Helm and the Warhounds do nothing to each other, but I still win combat and he flees. I pursue but he runs off the board anyway.

High Elf turn 5:


A combination of blurry pictures and unpainted models is why I'm not showing more of the pictures I took.

Charge!
I realise that the Warriors are in the forest and so can't be steadfast. My Phoenix Guard have a fairly easy charge to reach them. I think I'll need magical assistance to win this combat but if I can break the Warrior unit I'll almost certainly win the game even if I can't catch them because the unkillable BSB will die. Even if I can't break them in a single round of combat, they'll still be in the forest so every turn I can win combat is a turn I can possibly win the game in a single stroke. I declare the charge and he holds.

I realise that 5" of movement isn't quite enough for my Archer unit to block the Chariot from charging my Phoenix Guard and I can't rely on my shooting to finish it off. I decide instead to charge my Archers into the Chariot. Without impact hits I should remain steadfast with a BSB re-roll for at least 2 rounds of combat, long enough for the Phoenix Guard/Warrior combat to be decided. If I fail this charge, my two Bolt Throwers will have to do the job.

I declare both charges, he elects to hold and I connect with both. Thanks to the Chaos BSB having a huge base I actually have some choice in where I align with my Phoenix Guard and I choose to put 2 of my models in base contact with his Sorcerer Lord. Game on!

In an incredibly lucky magic phase I manage to cast both Miasma (reducing his WS by 2) and more imprtantly: Wildform.

Everything is in combat, so we skip shooting. In combat I put as many attacks (5) onto his Sorcerer Lord as I can. We're playing with closed lists at this point so I can only assume he's tougher than the regular Warriors so I'm no doubt sacrificing some of my combat res in attacking him, but I'm hoping that over a few rounds of combat I can at least kill him for a bunch of victory points even if I fail to kill the rest of the unit. The dice are on my side and I inflict 2 wounds onto the Sorcerer Lord and kill 3 Warriors in exchange for no casualties. He takes the tensest break test I've ever experienced but passes. So close!

Warriors of Chaos turn 5:


We jump straight to magic. I let Transmutation of Lead go off because, thanks to Miasma, I'll still have a higher WS than him so all it'll do is get rid of my 6+ armour save. Enchanted Blades on the other hand could change things a lot, but my opponent rolls remarkably low and I'm able to stop it.

Either now or in my following turn My Archers are able to finish off the Chariot after it killed ~7 Archers. I was never going to charge my Archers into the flank of his Warriors because I'd just be giving away combat res so exactly when this happened has very little effect on the rest of the game.
In the main combat I finish off the Sorcerer Lord and kill ~5 Warriors in exchange for ~4 Phoenix Guard. I still win combat, but once again he holds. By now I'm losing attacks and he isn't so it's looking worse and worse for my chances at breaking him.

High Elf turn 6:


In magic I'm once again able to successfully cast a WS reducing Miasma and Wildform after some truly terrible dispel rolls. I'm still in with a chance!

This time the dice fail me and I don't kill a single Warrior. I'm hitting on 3's with a re-roll, wounding on 3's and he has a 6+5++ save and I do nothing. He's now winning the combat on static combat res alone but to make matters worse 3 more Phoenix Guard die. I fail my break test, the standard bearer is killed but he is unable to catch me.

Warriors of Chaos turn 6:


My opponent charges his BSB out of his unit (because it has a much higher movement and swiftstride) at my Phoenix Guard. I only flee 5" and stay on the board by a matter of millimeters. Because of this, he's unable to re-direct into one of my Bolt Throwers. The BSB of course tramples my remaining Phoenix Guard into the ground. With that, the game is over.


Wow, what a fun game!

I think my early magic phases were quite weak. Despite having the dice available I decided that throwing 6 dice at a boosted Searing Doom wasn't worth the miscast it might have caused. In a sense it worked because I didn't get a single miscast all game, but with 3 Spirit Leeches in a row causing a grand total of 0 wounds it certainly felt lackluster. This lack of magic power in the earlier turns was more than made up by my later magic phases. Continually having Wildform on my Phoenix Guard when it mattered was a huge help.

I did feel like it too far too long to finish off the Chariots, but this was probably balanced out by the Chaos Knights fleeing off the table so I can't complain too much. Perhaps it would have been better to multi-shot the Bolt Throwers at the Knights and then charging the Dragon Princes into one of the Chariots instead.

I'm very pleased I was able to set up things with the Warriors and Phoenix Guard in my turn 4. My opponent was left with the dilemma of fighting the Phoenix Guard in the forest of giving me an easy flank charge. I think it might have actually been better for him to overrun and take the flank charge. He wouldn't have gotten the 5+ parry saves, but he would have been free to make way with his BSB to force at least some of my models to waste their attacks on his ridiculous ward save. I think after all that I'd have been unlikely to bring them below 3 ranks and he'd have been steadfast. In any case, this probably wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game so it's all academic really.

After adding up the points I was 330 points ahead, meaning victory for the Asur!


I'd appreciate any feedback, on my playing, on my list or on my reporting. Thanks for reading!

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Thanks for the report and congrats on the victory! I thought that losing that final grind between warriors and phoenix guard would swing the battle in your opponent's favour but you hung on I think the low risk casting strategy with the Loremaster was the right thing to do - he's got great versatility but hardly any spell is worth being sucked into to warp (a big searing doom might be the only one, indeed).

Cheers!

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Elven Field Surgeon, Department of Intensive Care, Resuscitation and Necromancy

Hey solith

Thanks for the report, always great to read these things around here. I must say I really like the look of your opponents themed list. Should be more of them!

Turn 2 – Not sure on the charge with the Silverhelms, surely you knew they’d get overwhelmed and destroyed so why not save them for a rear charge and less attacks in another turn?

Turn 3 – Can’t help but feel you threw your Dragon Princes away in this case. He’s using two of his units to hold up your single unit of Dragon Princes, I almost think that’s a worthy trade off of holding tight for the time being or bringing the Reavers up to get involved.

A great plan to take the Warriors using the forest and avoiding impact hits with the Archers – well done. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off in the end (but I blame the dice and not your tactical prowess! )

I can’t help but think that in the opening turns your bow fire should have focused onto the Warriors, if they got into combat with a rank less and less attacks things could have gone differently.

Looking forward to the next one.

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Just re-read this whole thread - forgot I'd read (and commented on!) the welf one and enjoyed that again .

Bad luck with the delfs. In principle sisters, reaver bow and regular archers concentrated on a single target/turn should be the way forward I think. I'm not sure though what I would have prioritised for that target, hydras or warlocks. I think I would have ignored the witches though - had your reavers lasted longer they could have slowed them down, and if not, with such a big unit, you could potentially have forced them to move around the building and slowed them that way? Tough game.

Good game vs the WoC. I agree with Jimmy RE the helms - you should have kept them back T2 and charged something T3 - maybe a chariot flank/rear, maybe warriors rear if you're going to charge them at all, maybe dogs. Not sure I agree with him about shooting the warriors though, I think chariots are the go-to target in his list (and, if you've not got them covered with cavalry, the dogs).

RE: the woods charge and archers charging the chariot - . Nicely done. A bit of a toss up whether to charge or shoot the chariot but good logic on charging, paid off, and even if the archers had died and not killed it I guess it would have been weakened and exposed to RBTs.

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@Jimmy
Thanks for the feedback

I think I agree with you on the Silver Helms. If I'd kept them behind the Warrior's lines threatening rear charges it would have been more useful. It might have been possible to get a turn 3 charge on the Chariot alongside the Dragon Princes' charge. It's unlikely that I'd kill the Chariot but it would stop the counter-charge on my Dragon Princes.

I also get your point about simply using the cavalry stand-off to my advantage. The longer he delays the more time I have with which to shoot him.

I'm honestly unsure about shooting the Warriors. It's a tactic I definitely should try against these Warriors at some point, but I usually get thinking that because the Warriors are slow and the Knights and the (typically used) Chimera are very fast I have to deal with the fast elements of his army first. However, the Warrior unit is where the victory points are so perhaps concentrated fire and an earlier charge on them would be worth it.

@Ferny
Thanks!

That Dark Elf game was so long ago I don't really remember it, but thanks for the input. I think the answer is to focus fire on a Hydra if you can, and if you can't then shoot the Warlocks. Low amounts of firepower on Hydras isn't really worth it when they heal back up. I certainly played that game badly.

Yeah I'm definitely convinced I threw away the Silver Helms in turn 2. The fact that they survived the game is irrelevant here - they should have probably died and I could have had them in a great position.

Charging the Archers into the Chariot was an easy decision in the end. I think I needed to roll a 6 or a 7 to connect the charge so it wasn't a certain thing, but if I failed I still had two bolt throwers free to shoot at it. By charging I'd either guarantee the Chariot not being able to charge my Phoenix Guard in the following turn, or I'd fail the charge and simply not be able to shoot with my Archers and BSB.
On reflection: I actually saw an opportunity, analysed it to decide which approach was better and had a backup plan prepared if it would fail. I pretty much never play that well.



I've played another two games since then. The first I don't think I'll turn into a report - I tried a mini-light council but I don't think I had a good list to use it well, I deployed badly and wasn't really thinking about what I did. Needless to say, I got crushed as brutally as I deserved to. The second game though I will write up - hopefully later today, perhaps tomorrow.

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Thanks for the report, Solith. I always enjoy your reports. Shame there aren't more of them!

I don't really like using the single shot on the eagle claws - always seems to miss. I'd usually just go for the volley so that at least some will hit.

On your turn 3, was it that far for the dragon princes to charge the gorebeast chariot? It doesn't look like it on the diagram, but I know the diagrams probably aren't 100% accurate. I'm guessing it would be too far to be honest as that seems a much better option.

And as pointed out a few times already , the silver helms were wasted and that was a great move charging the warriors in the wood and the chariot with the archers.

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That used to be my opinion as well, but having faced some 1+ empire knights lately I've gone for the single shot a couple of times. While it does miss now and then, when it hits home the results can be devastating! A deep knight formation (quite a common sight these days) might lose 3-4 guys to a successful shot. Happened to my twice in my last game. One of Swordmaster's last report includes a bolt wiping out half a unit of White Wolves and almost killing the BSB, too. Give it a try more often - great fun when it works

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@Elithmar
Thanks!

I kind of agree that Bolt Throwers really should be using the multi-shot. Unfortunately, un-ideal targets sometimes need to be shot first and against some targets (especially Gorbeast Chariots) they statistically _should_ do a lot more damage using the single shot.
If my maths is correct (and that's a big if) the single bolts do 0.5 wounds per shot at a Gorbeast Chariot at long range; whereas the multi shot does 0.166~ wounds per volley at long range.
... which leaves me thinking that shooting Gorbeast Chariots at all is a complete waste of time. Bleh. Bolt Throwers are one of the few thigns that can semi-reliably hurt them though so sometimes I don't feel like I have much of a choice.

But yes, the first single shot bolt I fire in any game is pretty much guaranteed to roll a 1 to hit. It's part of the reason I don't think it's worth taking a single Bolt Thrower - I take 2 or none at all.

I don't think I even measured a charge from my Dragon Princes onto the Gorbeast Chariot. Looking at the pictures I have of the game though I'd guess it's about 5-6 inches further. I think therefore it would have been a long, but not necessarily impossible charge to get into the Chariot. Probably not worth the risk in this situation but definitely worth remembering for next time!

@RE.Lee
I completely missed your previous comment
I'm coming around to the low-risk casting strategy on the Loremaster as well. I used to happily throw 6 dice at boosted Searing Dooms, but then I realised that a Power Drain miscast result has an even greater chance of costing you your wizard than a Dimentional Cascade does (on a level 2) so now I'm not so cavalier about it.

Also, you got two good flank shots with single bolts in a single game? What's the secret to your luck?

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Game 4 - High Elves vs Warriors of Chaos - 1500 points

Yesterday me and Jesse got to talking about narrative campaigns and decided to try out a game with somewhat more fun/fluffy/themed lists – lists without the typical lord level casters at any rate. He then came up with the awesome idea of letting his main unit – the Warriors – roll on the Eye of the Gods table before the game began. (To give some kind of bonus to represent units/characters progressing in a campaign but keeping it more random than simply choosing something) We extended this to include the characters within the unit as well.

So of course he promptly rolls up +1 strength. *gulp* Warriors of Tzeentch with their 5+ parry save and the strength of halberds?

To balance this, I got to roll on the Phoenix’ Attuned to Magic table for my main unit – the Silver Helms and accompanying characters – and I rolled +1 attack. Cool!

We also placed a few objectives across the table that had little effect and also decided that we’d gain bonus points if one general killed the other on top of standard victory points.

My list for the game:
Prince – barded steed, heavy armour, shield, Giant Blade, Dragonhelm, Dawnstone, Potion of Foolhardiness (276)
Noble – BSB, barded steed, dragon armour, Ogre Blade, Enchanted Shield, Luckstone (170)
Mage – level 2, Khaine’s Ring of Fury, Channeling Staff (160)
5 Reavers – bows only, musician (95)
5 Reavers – bows only, musician (95)
8 Silver Helms – shields, full command (214)
23 White Lions – full command, Banner of Swiftness (344)
Bolt Thrower
Bolt Thrower

I’ve wanted to try out a cavalry Prince for some time, so I proxied in a Dragon Prince model (because my stag dude is still far from finished) and jumped at the chance! Apart from the Bolt Throwers, my army ended up being fast and aggressive compared to my typical builds.

His list:
Lord – shield, Hellfire Sword, Helm of many Eyes, Flaming Breath, Dragonbane Gem, Potion of Foolhardiness, Scaled Skin Mark of Tzeentch (375)
Sorcerer – level 2, Spell Familiar, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Endurance, Ironcurse Icon Mark of Tzeentch (225)
18 Warriors of Chaos – shields, Mark of Tzeentch, Gleaming Pennant (341)
5 Chaos Knights – musician, ensorcelled weapons, Mark of Tzeentch (235)
Chaos Chariot – Mark of Tzeentch (120)
Gorebeast Chariot – Mark of Tzeentch (140)
5 Warhounds
5 Warhounds


Deployment:


What with it being a more theme-y game I split my army into two. I had the defensive force – both Bolt Throwers and one unit of Reavers; and I had my relief force – the White Lions, second unit of Reavers and the Cavalry. I placed the defensive force around the hill on my right, with my Reavers finding out that it was a stupidity forest. My relief force was rushing in from the left, with the Reavers advancing up the far flank.

My opponent chose to concentrate his army onto one flank with the building, fence and table edge to protect his flanks and to limit the effectiveness of my speed.

My Mage rolled up Fiery Convocation and Tempest which I swapped for Drain Magic for a spell I could cast in combat for the lore attribute.
He rolled up Infernal Gateway, Treason of Tzeentch and Blue Fire of Tzeentch.

I vanguarded my Reavers on the right to hunt down his isolated Hounds but stayed further back on the left, not wanting to be suicidal… just yet.

I got the first turn and we began!

High Elf turn 1:


My Reavers on the left held in place to shoot at the dogs while on the right I moved into short range. My combat units advanced around the forest and up the centre of the board.

In magic I began with a Drain Magic to give me a ward save. I then cast Fiery Convocation with irresistible force, roasting two Warriors and the champion and suffering a wound for my trouble.

My Reavers both shot a single dog down. I was hoping for more to force panic tests, but it was not to be. My Bolt Throwers shot single bolts at the Chariot and predictably missed.

Warriors of Chaos turn 1:


The Warhounds on the right charged my Reavers. My stand-and-shoot panicked them off the table!

The Warriors moved up, not quite close enough to garrison the fence while the Sorcerer went into the house. The remaining Warhounds went after my Reavers and the rest of his army prepared for my attack.

His Sorcerer dispelled Fiery Convocation, biding his time to unleash his deadly powers.

High Elves turn 2:


I shuffled my combat units around, realising I’d not placed them in good places the turn before. My White Lions were close enough to tempt his Chariot to charge me, but I thought that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

My magic phase achieved nothing, but with shooting I killed two of the remaining Warhounds and put two wounds onto his Chariot. Under the stern gaze of the Chaos Lord the Hounds refused to panic however.

Warriors of Chaos turn 2:


Not wanting to remain as Bolt Thrower target practice for the entire game, the Chariot crashed into the White Lions.

The Warriors walked up to the fence and the Gorebeast Chariot showed it’s utter contempt for my High Elves by showing its rear to my Reavers.

In the magic phase the Sorcerer unleashed the power of the Infernal Gateway on my Silver Helms and I was powerless to stop it. 5 strength 5 hits later, a single Silver Helm is dead and my unit now has a 6+ regen save.

The Chariot and its crew killed off 4 White Lions and my Mage before they predictably chopped it into firewood.

High Elves turn 3:


Chugging my Potion of Fools, my Silver Helms charged the Warriors. Two Silver Helms died trying to jump the fence… until I remember that I now had a Regen save.


Tzeentch is indeed fickle.

My White Lions moved up in support, and my Reavers jumped in front of the Gorebeast Chariot.

At some point around here my Reavers are able to sneak a wound though onto the Gorbeast Chariot. My shooting for the rest of the game was spent failing to do a single wound to the Sorcerer in the building.

In combat my Prince declares a challenge and the Chaos Lord eagerly steps up to face him general vs general in a duel to the death! Thanks to the fence I’m hitting him on 5’s, and thanks to the Helm of Many Eyes I don’t get my precious re-rolls so even with 6 strength 7 attacks I’m only able to inflict two wounds. The Chaos Lord attacks simultaneously, inflicts 3 wounds (each with the multiple wounds (d3) rule!) which completely ignore my armour save. *gupl*

At this point we realise that the Hellfire Sword causes flaming attacks and I’m wearing the Dragonhelm.

The rest of my unit doesn’t fare quite so well however. Between my BSB and my unit (all with +1 attack but -1 to hit) I’m only able to kill 2 warriors. In return he kills 5 of my Silver Helms. Either it’s a drawn combat or he wins by musician, but we both stick.

Warriors of Chaos turn 3:


The Gorbeast Chariot has had enough of my Reaver’s prancing about and crashes into them. The Knights hold their position and the Warhounds jump in front of my White Lions

In magic he is able to cast Treason onto my Silver Helms. This unit is now leadership 5 and can’t get re-rolls.

The Gorebeast Chariot does what it does best and my Reavers are no more. In the main combat my Prince and his Lord are unable to hurt each other. I have a 2+ ward so that’s not so surprising, but he is down to a 6+ armour save and a 6+ ward and he’s able to save every wound I cause! My Silver Helms and BSB kill three Warriors while he is only able to kill my unit champion. Thanks to my Silver Helm standard still being alive, I actually win combat. Luck is definitely on my side here – he’s rolling badly and I’m passing armour saves like mad.

High Elves turn 4:


My White Lions charge and kill off the two remaining dogs.

In the main combat, my Prince finally kills off the Chaos Lord with 1 wound in overkill. My BSB and last Silver Helm kill two Warriors before they… do nothing. I’m not sure who is more surprised by this; Jesse, me or my Silver Helm! I win combat by a lot but he’s steadfast and holds.

Warriors of Chaos turn 4:

Image from before combat.

Charge! The Gorebeast Chariot charges my Prince and the Knights are too impatient to wait any longer and charge the White Lions.

Magic sees Treason of Tzeentch get recast on my Silver Helms.

The Knights and their horses are able to kill a combined 8 White Lions while I only kill 2 in return. I’m stubborn and hold. The Gorebeast Chariot does 6 impact hits which are enough to finally kill the last Silver Helm but do nothing else. My Prince directs all his attacks on the Gorebeast Chariot and be brings it down to 1 wound remaining. With Treason on my unit I fail my fear test but roll incredibly well. I don’t remember how many wounds my BSB did, but his Warriors attacks all bounce off my armour and I win combat yet again. This time both the Warriors and the Chariot flee. I pursue and catch the Warrior unit.


And after combat.


We decide to call it there. Forgetting that the Hellfire Sword caused flaming attacks and of course High Elf nobles/princes will have 2+ ward saves had a massive impact on the game. My dice rolls were just obscene at times though – clearly my Prince was the favoured of Tzeentch this game! The worst offenders were my Siver Helms: not only did I pass so many armour saves but, after suffering a single wound to Infernal Gateway it gave me a 6+ regeneration save which I passed 4 times throughout the game.

It was a very fun game, not too serious. Me trying to be vaguely fluffy mean my Bolt Throwers were deployed appallingly and had little effect on the game, but my dice rolls more than made up for their lack. Apart from the deployment though, I'm not going to use fluffyness as an excuse for my *ahem* questionable choices during the game.

Perhaps it's the +1 attack he had all game, but I'm impressed with how the Prince performed. The build is (obviously) copied from Seredain's, (found near the bottom of page 46) and I think I'd have copied his BSB build if I had remembered it. I'm keen to try him out again in the future and so I've actually started work again on my converted stag character.


Thank you all for your comments so far, they're great!

Edit: Added in the full Warrior's list.

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I think when the gorebeast chariot charged your helms unit, assuming the models are positioned as per the report, wouldn't he have had to allocate them to the prince as nothing else was in base contact?

Nice to see the game ebb and flow.

I'm not sure whether you had to have your lions so close to the first chariot - another round of shooting and that would've been matchwood without costing elf lives (or not - RBTs are more fickle than Tzeench!). Might it have been safe to jump the wizard out and run him solo if you expected the charge, or was magic missiles to risky? I'm also not sure I would have charged the warriors with the defended wall - what ranged threat did he have, just the magic? How much of a threat was it, I'm not really familiar with the lore.

Anyway, good game (and well done finally getting it reported after answering all my questions ).

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Hey Sol

That’s a cool little spin with the additions to the game, keen to see how it plays out! White Lions with an extra attack would have been nasty!

On did deployment, how did this pan out? I can’t help but feel the bolt throwers aren’t in an optimal position, secondly I’m of the opinion if you group your war machines together it’s just begging for attention.

That’s a bit of a chuckle about the regen saves! With the Hellfire sword, was he rolling each turn to see if it wounded him?

Thanks for the report, always entertaining to read.

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@Ferny
We played it as distributed as for shooting attacks - so with under 5 rank and file models the hits were spread evenly across all the remaining models including both characters. That may well be the wrong way to do it though.

Yeah on the tactics etc. I probably should have hung back and waited for better charges rather than simply rushing forwards. I don't think I could have run the mage solo, the Sorcerer had two magic missiles/direct damage spells - one doing D6 hits at strength D6, the other doing 2D6 hits and strength 2D6. I don't remember the range on those spells, but it's still too much to risk him running solo. Lore of Tzeentch has quite a lot of ranged damage, but it's incredibly random and each spell cast can do nothing or can do a huge amount of damage.

I think though, for a non-serious game like this I'm glad I charged in rather than sitting back and having a less fun shooting game. I still probably should have waited another turn and been more careful of my positioning.
On the other hand, I did pretty much have to charge my general into his general for the sheer reckless fun and drama of it.

Thanks for the response! (And yes, it took me twice as long as it should have. )

@Jimmy
Thanks!

I have no idea if the random bonuses will ever get repeated, but it is a fun thing to do and I can recommend under the right circumstances. I'm just lucky he didn't roll up +1 toughness or +1 ward save!

I think I actually deployed my Bolt Throwers second. Normally I leave them until last and often do put one towards each flank so I definitely agree with you. In this battle (with all my other deployments being the same) I'd have been far better off putting both centrally, or one central and one on the hill to my left.

We completely forgot about rolling for the Sword until after the game. I certainly didn't mind though.

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From my knowledge and understanding of the BRB, same rule for <5 rank and file model as it does with different unit type.
That is, I shoot at a unit of marauders with throgg in it. Hits are distributed as the marauder controller wishes, but in order to allocate a second hit on a model every other model in the front rank must cop a hit first. Same goes for a third, etc.
That's how I play it, anyway...

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Regards,
Brad
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It looks like you've noticed most of your mistakes and as you said it was a fun game so no point saying you shouldn't have charged the warriors with the helms etc. BUT I was wondering why you didn't charge the reavers on the left into the hounds on turn 2. I'm pretty sure you would have killed them all (which you were unlikely to do with shooting) and you could have overrun into the chariot, preventing it from doing anything in the chaos turn (I think this would be a good trade).

Anyway, thanks for another great report. People should try fun rules like that more often.

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"I say the Eatainii were cheating - again." -Aicanor
"Eatainian jerks…" -Headshot
"It was a little ungentlemanly." -Aicanor (on the Eatainii)
"What is it with Eataini being blamed for everything?" -Aicanor

@NexS
Yup. 6 hits distributed evenly across 3 models so 2 hits per model. Very scary with 4 killing blow hits on 2 character without ward saves but I was lucky and neither died!

@Elithmar
I actually thought about charging the Reavers into the hounds. I would almost certainly have made the overrun into the Gorebeast Chariot but that would have held it up during Warriors' turn 2. Considering that I wasn't engaging with anything else at that point, I think charging the Reavers in would have simply been throwing them away for no real gain.

If on the other hand I'd charged other units in my turn 2 (for example if I'd moved my main units further up in turn 1 and charged the Warriors and/or regular Chariot in turn 2) then it would definitely have been worth it to save me from counter-charges.

Fun and non-serious games are worth it once in a while. You get to try out lists and tactics you wouldn't under normal circumstances and you can just have a laugh at it all.

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Game 5 – High Elves vs Warriors of Chaos – 1500 points

Today I somehow got three games in. Two I’ll definitely turn into reports, the third I may or may not.

Game 1 was against Francisco and his Nurgle Warriors of Chaos. I didn't get a copy of his list but I think I have most of the details remembered.

After his success in my previous game, I wanted to use the cavalry Prince again. To be honest, I also wanted to use him because my model is finally in a usable state.

My list:
Prince – barded steed, heavy armour, shield, Giant Blade, Dragonhelm, Dawnstone, Potion of Foolhardiness (276)
Noble – barded steed, dragon armour, Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield, Golden Crown of Atrazar, The Other Trickster’s Shard (170)
Mage – level 2, Khaine’s Ring of Fury, Dispel Scroll – High Magic (170)
8 Silver Helms – shields, full command (214)
5 Reavers – bows only, musician (95)
12 Archers – musician (130)
20 White Lions – full command, Banner of Swiftness (305)
Repeater Bolt Thrower
Repeater Bolt Thrower

His list: (some items/upgrades may be missing)
Sorcerer Lord – level 4, Spell Familiar, Talisman of Preservation, Charmed Shield, Mark of Nurgle – Lore of Nurgle
20 Warriors of Chaos – shields, full command, Standard of Discipline, Mark of Nurgle
5 Warhounds
5 Warhounds
Gorebeast Charior – Mark of Nurgle
5 Chaos Knights – ensorcelled weapons, standard, musician, Gleaming Pennant
Chimera – regeneration, breath weapon

Deployment:


We rolled up Dawn Attack so my deployment was somewhat dictated for me. I had to deploy first, but I was almost guaranteed the first turn so I think I preferred it this way. My cavalry being on my flank was fine, because with their speed I knew I could re-deploy them relatively easily. I was actually more worried about the Bolt Thrower on my right flank as it’s only good line of fire would be obstructed by my cavalry, giving my opponent hard cover.

My opponent’s deployment ended up being almost entirely central. His Warriors were lined up against my White Lions with the Gorebeast Chariot and Chimera positioned to help either flank.

After my opponent had deployed, my thoughts were that my cavalry could deal with his Knights before swinging round to deal with the Gorebeast Chariot (with a strength 7 Prince in my list I’m suddenly unafraid of these monsters!) and hopefully hit the Warriors in the flank/rear. Meanwhile my White Lions could hold up/pressure his Warriors to keep them occupied. This only left his Chimera. With its speed and central I can’t plan for where it will be to any degree of certainty so I left it with only a general plan in place – shoot it when I can and let whichever flank of my army it attacks deal with it.

I rolled a double 6 for my spells and ended up taking Hand of Glory and Drain Magic
My opponent had Miasma of Pestilence, Rancid Visitations, Curse of the Leper, Fleshy Abundance and Plague Wind

After vanguarding my Reavers to re-deploy in a better position, I got the first turn.

High Elves turn 1:


My Archers moved into a Blood Forest. My White Lions raced forwards to bring my Mage into 18” of the Warriors. My cavalry moved up more reservedly.

In the magic phase I killed a combined 3 Warriors from two casts of Soul Quench – one from the Ring of Fury.

My shooting killed a further 2 Warriors, as well as 3 from each unit of Warhounds. Unfortunately both units held under the stern gaze of the Sorcerer Lord.

Warriors of Chaos turn 1:


The Warhounds on the right rushed forwards to block my cavalry, with the Gorebeast Chariot, Chimera and Knights all preparing to charge any reckless advance on my behalf. Eager for combat, the Nurgle Warriors rushed at my White Lions.

The winds of magic were fairly low, and my opponent’s cast of Plague Wind was too high for me to match with dice. Not wanting to lose a big chunk of my White Lions, I used my Dispel Scroll.

High Elves turn 2:


My Silver Helms may have been blocked from advancing by the Warhounds, but the path for my Prince was clear. The Chimera and Gorebeast Chariot were both facing so that a successful charge on the Knights would bring me outside of their forward arc and safe from retribution. To make it better, I needed to roll ~7 to complete the charge. Not certain, but a good chance

Deciding that being reckless was the order of the day, I drank my Potion of Foolhardiness and charged! My White Lions backed off to make any charge by the Warrior unit unlikely, and my Silver Helms performed a Swift Reform and went to support my White Lions.

I successfully cast Drain Magic and then a boosted Hand of Glory on my White Lions, mainly for the 5+ ward save.

My left hand bolt thrower was able to kill a single Warrior. My Archers finished off the remaining two Hounds on the right while my Reavers couldn’t scratch the Hounds on the left. My right hand Bolt Thrower was able to put a single wound onto the Chimera

Thanks to the Mark of Nurgle, my Prince was only able to kill 2 of the Knights. My heart stopped for a brief moment when I failed 3 armour saves, but I passed them all on the re-roll! Despite their Gleaming Pennant, the Knights failed their break test and ran off the board.

Warriors of Chaos turn 2:


The remaining Warhounds charged my Reavers, but my stand and shoot killed both before they could reach me.

The Warriors, Gorebeast Chariot and Chimera all converged towards my White Lions.

In the magic phase, I managed to roll a total of 7 on 4 dice and failed to dispel Curse of the Leper on my White Lions. Toughness 1 with a Chimera staring down at me. *gulp* To make things worse, Fleshy Abundance went up on the Chimera with Irresistible Force, giving it a 3+ regen save. The Miscast blows up 5 Warriors.

Then came the shooting phase. The Chimera breathed on my White Lions, hitting 17. Thanks to my lowered toughness, this meant 14 wounds. Between my armour and ward save only ~7 died, but it was enough to force a panic test. Which I failed. Twice. To make matters worse, I rolled a double 6 for my flee distance and my flight took me directly over the Bolt Thrower and bounced my unit off the table. Almost 500 victory points, my entire magic phase and one of my biggest combat threats gone just like that.

Oh, and to really rub things in my face my Bolt Thrower failed it’s panic test too and wouldn’t be able to shoot in my turn.

High Elves turn 3:


Despite the disaster of the last turn, I’m not out of the game yet! My Silver Helms have an easy flank charge on the Chimera. With it’s 3+ regen save I’m not likely to kill it outright, but with a starting combat res of 4 I should win. If it breaks, that’s an overrun into the flank of the Warrior unit and a chance to kill off the Sorcerer.

I declare the charge. I also declare a charge from my Prince into the Gorebeast Chariot. I’m pretty sure his strength 7 attacks will kill the Chariot before it can kill him, and at the least he’ll hold it up for long enough for my Silver Helms to get their chance at winning me the game.

He fails the charge.

The Picture is slightly off, but I’m able to get a total of 2 Silver Helms into base contact with the Chimea.

My left hand Bolt Thrower kills a single Warrior, while the right hand one misses the Gorebeast Chariot.

In combat, my Silver Helms and the Chimera trade 1 wound each. Amazingly, he passes two leadership tests in a row to hold and then to reform.

Warriors of Chaos turn 3:


The Warrior unit charges my Reavers. I flee and the Warriors are blocked by the Chimera. The Gorebeast Chariot charges my Silver Helms and (annoyingly) takes no damage from the fence.

In the magic phase I let Curse of the Leper go up on the Warrior unit as I won’t be fighting them in the upcoming turn. However, I’m unable to stop both Miasma of Pestilence and Fleshy Abundance from being cast on the Chimera.

In combat I get somewhat lucky. Between impact hits and the crew’s attacks, only 2 Silver Helms die. I’m actually able to kill the Chimera before it attacks, and with 2 wounds apiece win combat thanks to my musician. That could have been a whole lot worse!

High Elves turn 4:


This time my Prince is able to complete the charge on the Gorebeast Chariot and it’s actually a rear charge.

My Reavers rally on a 9 – perhaps the first time the’ve used the musician I constantly buy for them. I run them right back to their previous position.

My shooting is unable to touch the toughness 6 Warriors

Between Mark of Nurgle and the fence my Prince is actually hitting the Chariot on 5’s. However with his re-rolls and the attacks from my cavalry unit I inflict ~3 wounds. One Silver Helm dies, but I win combat by a landslide and the Gorebeast Chariot breaks. I pursue with both units and catch it, although my Silver Helm champion trips over the fence and dies.

Warriors of Chaos turn 4:


With little else to do, the Warriors charge my Reavers.

To protect himself from my following shooting phase, my opponent begins with Fleshy Abundance on his unit. One Dimensional Cascade later, 2 Warriors are dead and the Sorcerer Lord has gained one toughness and one wound. Enjoying the single miscast result that doesn’t lose him any power dice or the ability to cast, he casts Curse of the Leper. This time with a triple 6. One smaller explotion later, another Warrior is dead and the Sorcerer has yet another wound and toughness.

A single Reaver survives the combat but is run down when he attempts to flee.

High Elves turn 5:


My Archers walk into the building. (I must have missed some movement in an earlier turn, it makes no difference when this happened however) My Silver Helms wheel past the fence and my Prince rejoins the unit.

My shooting completely bounces off the Warriors. The Sorcerer is actually toughness 7 at this point so even single bolts from my Bolt Throwers (it’s a flank shot for both so he has to be the first model hit) can’t wound him.

Warriors of Chaos turn 5:


The Warrior unit reforms and walks towards my cavalry.

In the magic phase my opponent is yet again able to cast Fleshy Abundance and Curse of the Leper despite my efforts to dispel.

High Elves turn 6:


I’m fairly sure I’m ahead by enough victory points at this point to win, but I want to see just what my Prince is capable of. I charge in.

With nothing else to do, we jump to the combat phase. Not wanting to waste my Prince on a toughness 8 model with a 4+ ward save, I decide to challenge with my BSB. I probably didn’t have to do this , but it certainly didn’t hurt. He accepted with his champion. In the challenge we are unable to hurt one another, but my Prince (possibly with the help of the Silver Helms) is able to inflict 2 wounds even through the magical defences they have in place. The Warriors are unable to get past my armour save with anything. The Warriors break from combat and I run them down for a complete tabling!


Wow, from losing my White Lions to a complete victory, this game certainly swung from one way to the other.

I completely forgot about both my Banner of Swiftness and The Other Trickster’s Shard in this game, although I don’t think either would have changed things to any noticeable degree. It’s something I need to work on though.

On my deployment: I think I would have deployed my Mage with the Archers, but with them being forced to deploy so far away from the action I didn’t want to waste his short ranged spells so he had to go with the White Lions. Even though it was all but certain to lead to his death, I think this was the right choice to make. My Bolt Throwers were also unable to do much in this game, although one did put a very crucial wound onto the Chimera. I think their deployment left them struggling to find targets that didn’t benefit from hard cover for one reason or another. Perhaps I should have deployed them first so they could get better positions rather than waiting until the end where all the good places were filled.

While my Silver Helms performed admirably – lead by my BSB they take far less damage than I expect them to and are incredibly reliable - the star of the game was definitely my Prince. He chopped up the Knights and was instrumental in breaking – and then running down – both the Gorebeast Chariot and then the Warriors, all without taking a single wound! At this points level I’m forced to choose between the Prince and a lord level caster and so far I’ve not regretted taking the Prince in the slightest.

Up next: 1000 points against the new Dwarfs! This will probably be written tomorrow or on Monday.

Thank you all for your comments so far, it’s a big boost to my enthusiasm!

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A glorious victory! Well done - sacrificing the White Lions was surely a clever tactical maneuver to expose the main Chaos force

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cheers, Lee

Elven Field Surgeon, Department of Intensive Care, Resuscitation and Necromancy

Thanks, enjoyed the report!
Good to see the prince get his points back.

@RE.Lee
Thank you!
My White Lions must have realized they weren't needed and left to do some important business. All that wine isn't going to drink itself after all.

@gaz
Thank you!
Yeah I'm incredibly happy with the Prince's performance so far. At the current rate he's going to become a permanent feature in my reports.

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My painting log
My battle reports