Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

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Ratvan
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Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#1 Post by Ratvan »

So my first recorded game was against Warriors of Chaos, playing a fairly standard list

Total Roster Cost: 2397

Daemon Prince - 500 pts
Magic Level 4, Lore of Death, Mark of Nurgle, Chaos Armour, Daemonic Flight, Charmed Shield, Dragonbane Gem, The Other Trickster's Shard, Scaled Skin, Soul Feeder

Sorcerer - 195 pts
Level 2, Lore of Metal, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation

Exalted Hero - 220 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Mark of Tzeentch, Disc of Tzeentch, Sword of Swift Slaying, Dragonhelm, Third Eye of Tzeentch

17 Chaos Warriors - 375 pts
Mark of Tzeentch, Halberd, Shield, Full Command, Gleaming Pennant

5 Marauder Horsemen - 80 pts
Flail

5 Marauder Horsemen - 80 pts
Flail

5 Chaos Warhounds - 40 pts
Vanguard

5 Chaos Warhounds - 40 pts
Vanguard

Chimera - 275 pts
Flaming Breath, Regenerating Flesh

5 Chaos Knights - 245 pts
Mark of Nurgle, Ensorcelled Weapons, Musician, Standard Bearer

4 Skullcrushers of Khorne - 347 pts
Ensorcelled Weapons, Musician, Standard Bearer, Banner of Swiftness


I took a variation of the list that is currently submitted in the Army List section

Loremaster of Hoeth - 300 pts
Level 2, Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Earthing Rod, Golden Crown of Atrazar

Noble - 327 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Griffon, Swiftsense, Halberd, Dragon Armour, Star Lance, Charmed Shield, The Other Trickster's Shard

5 Ellyrian Reavers - 95 pts
Spear & Bow

5 Ellyrian Reavers - 95 pts
Spear & Bow

5 Silver Helms - 105 pts

5 Silver Helms - 105 pts

15 Lothern Sea Guard - 210 pts
Shield, Full Command

5 Dragon Princes - 155 pts
Musician

5 Dragon Princes - 175 pts
Musician, Standard Bearer, Banner of Eternal Flame

11 Sword Masters of Hoeth - 163 pts
Bladelord, Musician

11 Sword Masters of Hoeth - 163 pts
Bladelord, Musician

Lothern Skycutter - 120 pts
Eagle Eye Bolt Thrower

Lothern Skycutter - 120 pts
Eagle Eye Bolt Thrower

5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70 pts

5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70 pts

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70 pts

Great Eagle - 50 pts

The Game

Deployment
Image

Knowing full well that I would most likely go second I deployed my units roughly 6" from my board edge giving me time and space to manoeuvre my forces into a cohesive battle line, I managed to out deploy my opponent loading my Bolt Throwers (Eagle Claw and Skycutters) opposite the Chimera with the plan of forcing it towards one of my units of Sisters of Avelorn.

Turn 1 Warriors of Chaos

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Everything moves forwards and my plan of forcing the Chimera into the midfield paid off, unfortunately it decided to hide within a forest.

Turn 1 High Elves

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My Skycutters move over the warhounds on my left trying to get some flank/ rear shots of the Chimera, the rest of my left flank shifts to block charges to my infantry hiding behind the cavalry wall. I charge both warhound units with my Reavers and both units elect to flee. Fleeing over the Skycutters the warhounds on the left took 3 wounds. The other unit of warhounds escaped however the Reavers overran into the Deamon Prince. I manage to squeeze a fireball onto the Chimera inflicting a wound, I also attempt to cast Miasma on the same target however this attempt was dispelled. Shooting phase the Sisters of Avelorn manage to peg the Chimera for a wound and the Eagle Claw finishes the job inflicting 2 wounds on the beast with no change of regeneration. The Reavers inflict a wound on the Daemon Prince and all but one are smashed from their saddles in return, however they pass the break test with help from the BSB re roll.

Warriors of Chaos Turn 2

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Both Warhound units continue to flee, the one on the right leaves the table. The Knights and BSB move forwards, the later attempting to get to the rear of one of my Swordmaster units. The Warriors of Chaos shuffle backwards. The Skullcrushers fail a swift reform and so simply move to keep my Griffon Noble in their front arch. Both units of Marauder Horsemen declare charges, the left most unit fails it charge against the Silver Helm unit, the right most unit while taking a casualty to stand and shoot reaction from the Sisers of Avelorn.

High Elves Turn 2

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The left most Reavers charge the fleeing warhounds, forcing them further towards the table edge. Silver Helms and Dragon Princes charge the left most Marauder Horsemen and the Silver Helms charge the Chaos Knights, everything else moves to the right flank to add the pressure onto the rest of the WoC lines. The Great Eagle moves behind the Marauder horsemen, the The Noble positions himself on the Warriors flank arc. The Skycutters and Eagle Claw slam the Warriors unit and deal them 7 casualties with some help from the Sisters unit and a Fireball from the Loremaster. The Silver Helms and Dragon Princes slaughter the Marauder Horsemen the Silver Helms overrun towards the Warriors of Chaos, the Dragon Princes overrun into the flank of the second Marauder Horsemen unit. The Marauders fail to wound the Dragon Princes and the remaining horsemen flee's over the Great Eagle and suffers a wound destroying the unit. Two Silver Helms die in the fight against the Chaos Knights but manage to kill one of them in return, the Daemon Prince finally finishes the last Reaver and shuffles round to face the Seaguard.

Warriors of Chaos Turn 3

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Both the Warriors of Chaos and the Skull Crushers swift reform to keep the BSB in their front archs, the Daemon Prince and the BSB charge the Seaguard, the Deamon Prince taking a wound from the shooting. The Chaos Knights down two of the Reavers who flee after not managing to even hit (even though the steeds did hit and wound they understandably did not manage to get past the armour save) and successfully escape the pursuit. The Deamon Prince and BSB smash 7 Seaguard apart however the unit manages to hold with a double one.

High Elf Turn 3

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Everything moves in to engage the remaining targets, (even Silver Helms who are not in fact charging) the BSB moves around again to annoy the Skullcrushers, both Swordmaster units declare charges, the first against the Chaos Knights flank and the other against the BSB. The GReat Eagle charges the Deamon Prince. One Chaos Warrior falls to a bolt from a Eagle Eye Thrower. The Swordmasters cleave two knights apart and lose of their number in the process, however the survivor decides to stick around. The Second Swordmaster unit obliterates the Chaos BSB in a flurry of attacks. The Great Eagle wounds the Deamon Prince who, in turn smashes another rank of Seaguard from their feet.

Warriors of Chaos Turn 4

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The Warriors of Chaos unit moves towards my far right corner trying to conserve points. The Skullcrushers having enough of the Noble decide to wheel and front up against the Silver Helms and Sisters of Avelorn on the nearby hill. The last Chaos Knight kills a Swordmaster and weathers the incoming attacks. The Deamon Prince suffers another wound but finally manages to kill off the remaining Seaguard.

High Elves Turn 4

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Seeing victory on the Horizon I charge the Warriors of Chaos with the Noble and the Dragon Princes, The SKullcrushers with the Silver Helms and the Sisters of Avelorn, the Chaos Knights with the Dragon Princes and the Deamon Prince with the Swordmasters. The Chaos Knights finally succumb to the Lances of the Dragon Princes, The Blademaster refuses the Challenge of the Daemon Prince and the unit cuts it down.

Game conceded by opponent at this point.

So the game went well, I managed to isolate and remove from the game the two units that I originally identified as my key threats. Downing the Chimera first turn was a massive advantage for me and allowed me to focus my full army onto a reduced Chaos Force. Magic in this game just did not happen with the exception of a few Fireballs from the Loremaster so will reserve judgement on him until a few more games are played.

Opponents thoughts

"The army was just simply far too fast and far too numerous for me to cope with, I expected to see a small amount of support and was expecting to be able to divert it (Horde) around by feeding it Marauder Horsemen and Warhounds and working through the supporting troops.

It was a real Nightmare to know what to target as I was expecting to see units flee and the pursuit to take me into an ambush of a numerous amount of units. Those Skycutters were also a pain, I was expecting a flying Chariot to be thrown forwards into units and definitely not used as mobile bolt throwers.

I will be wanting a rematch not that I know what I can expect to be coming my way, thank you for being such a great opponent and for giving me the advice that you did about how you would have played against your force.

Ta

Paul
Last edited by Ratvan on Sun Jan 05, 2014 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#2 Post by Ferny »

Good win. I agree that once the chimera was removed basically all threat to your potentially vulnerable left flank (loaded up with easy kills) was dealt with and you could then swing round the flank yourself.

I think you were a bit lucky with the reavers holding up the DP that long, and I don't know why your opponent kept wheeling the crushers to face a flying character, or why the warriors unit moved away from combat rather than into it? As it was these choices gave you free reign to pick off his weaker units (and even his character combo) pretty much at your leisure. Had he played more agressively I reckon it would have been a tougher game.
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#3 Post by Jimmy »

Congrats on the victory! That is a solid army to play against with some real threats and interesting comments by your opponent. You did just about everything right so I'm not going to comment on your play however it appears your opponent seemed to be confused with how to play the Skullcrushers. It seems he didn't want to commit them and when he could it was too late. I actually think he spread his forces to thin.

Anyway, great job!
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#4 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Ratvan!

Congratulations! That was a tough army to face but you made it! Element of surprise was helpful and confusion that your opponent felt all the time prevented him from being more aggressive. But using such an opportunity and picking on enemy's mistakes is also part of the game!

A few quick questions:

1. It seems you used Sisters as skirmishers. If yes, I am afraid they are not that type of a unit (although I would love to have them like that for sure!)

2. Did you shoot at Chimera with a single bolt or was it a multiple shot with your Eagle Claw?

3. Your BSB was quite away from the units at some stage. Didn't you feel it might be a little risky as some of your regiments had to pass fear/terror checks and the rerolls would have been nice there just in case?

4. Where was your Loremaster positioned? What kind of spells did you prioritize to cast this game?

5. In the second round of combat between Daemon Prince and Sea Guard you mentioned they lost entire rank but they held Was it another very low roll for Ld check?

6. In turn 4 you had no targets for Skycutters but you didn't move them. I think it would be good to do so just in case you need some chariot charges against the regiments that hold. Of course it was not needed any more as the opponent conceded. Was it the reason for not moving them?

A very interesting report indeed and it was nice to see the Skycutters performing well.

Cheers!
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#5 Post by Ratvan »

Thanks all, I have to say that the game was more of a loss for my opponent than a win for myself.

I realised after two games (proxying Shadow Warriors for Sisters) that they're not skirmishers.

I shot the Chimera with multiple bolt thrower shots as well as sisters and Eagle eyes.

I admit that I was lucky with the BSB rolls and thinking of it we both forgot about the fear and terror tests.

I didn't get round to moving the Skycutters in turn 4, it was getting on for time and could see my opponent looking down and not that interested.
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Game 2 - Versus Skaven

#6 Post by Ratvan »

Skaven List

Grey Seer - 505 pts
Screaming Bell, Fencer's Blades, Earthing Rod, Ironcurse Icon

Chieftain - 122 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Halberd, Storm Banner

Warlock Engineer - 85 pts
Level 1, Warp-Energy Condenser

Warlock Engineer - 95 pts
Level 1, Doomrocket

40 Skavenslaves - 102 pts
Shield, Musician

40 Skavenslaves - 102 pts
Shield, Musician

40 Skavenslaves - 102 pts
Shield, Musician

40 Clanrats - 257 pts
Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer, Poisoned Wind Mortar Weapon Team

40 Clanrats - 192 pts
Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer

5 Poisoned Wind Globadiers - 115 pts
Poisoned Wind Mortar Weapon Team

5 Poisoned Wind Globadiers - 50 pts

6 Gutter Runners - 108 pts
Sling, Poisoned Attacks

Warp Lightning Cannon - 90 pts

Warp Lightning Cannon - 90 pts

Doomwheel - 150 pts

Hell Pit Abomination - 235 pts

My List

Loremaster of Hoeth - 305 pts
Level 2, Sword of Might, Shield of the Merwyrm, Earthing Rod, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Potion of Foolhardiness

Noble - 327 pts
Battle Standard Bearer, Star Lance, Halberd, Dragon Armour, Enchanted Shield, THe Other Tricksters Shard, Griffon, Swiftsense

15 Lothern Sea Guard - 200 pts
Shield, Musician, Standard Bearer

5 Silver Helms - 115 pts
Shield

5 Silver Helms - 115 pts
Shield

5 Ellyrian Reavers - 95 pts
Spear & Bow

5 Ellyrian Reavers - 95 pts
Spear & Bow

5 Dragon Princes - 155 pts
Musician

5 Dragon Princes - 175 pts
Musician, Standard Bearer, Banner of Eternal Flame

8 Sword Masters of Hoeth - 124 pts
Musician, Bladelord

8 Sword Masters of Hoeth - 124 pts
Musician, Bladelord

Lothern Skycutter - 120 pts
Eagle Eye Bolt Thrower

Lothern Skycutter - 120 pts
Eagle Eye Bolt Thrower

5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70 pts

5 Sisters of Avelorn - 70 pts

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70 pts

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70 pts

Great Eagle - 50 pts

Magic

Skaven Spells
Grey Seer: Howling Warpgale, Death Frenzy, Wither, Plague
Engineer 1: Warp Lightning
Engineer 2: Warp Lightning

Deployment

Image

My opponent ignored most of my plans for miss-direction with my chaff and set up much as he always does in an defensive formation built around spreading the Generals Leadership into a wide position as possible.

In response to his deployment I attempted to overload my left flank with Cavalry and the right flank with my infantry hidden in the forest and protected by the Tower in the centre of the board.

Skaven Turn 1

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My opponent moved everything forwards its base movement speed keeping cohesion with his units, the Doomwheel and the Hell Pit Abomination each moved forwards 3” and 9” respectively, the later heading for my left flank of cavalry. The Doomwheel discharged and fried 6 slaves. The Gutter Runners manoeuvred around to the edge of the forest. In the magic phase my opponent attempts to cast Howling Warpgale but it is dispelled. No shooting takes place as everything is out of range and my opponent decides to not let off the rocket.

High Elves Turn 1

The left flank marches forwards in an attempt to flank the Hell Pit and Skaven Slaves anchoring the flank, in the magic phase fireball and boosted Shem’s were dispelled however I managed to sneak a Miasma through on the Skaven Slaves forming the front of the castle. In the shooting phase the combined shooting of the Sycutters and Eagle Claws manage to reduce the Doomwheel to splinters and the Globadiers take three casualties from the second Eagle Claw, they pass the panic check and refuse to flee.

Image

Skaven Turn 2

My opponent split his forces, the Hell Pit Abomination Globadiers, Poisoned Wind Mortar, Giant Rats and Gutter Runners heading towards the Cavalry on my left flank. The two Globadiers, Wind Mortar and Giant Rats heading towards the Sisters of Avelorn and Great Eagle in the Tower. My opponent decides that now is the time to set off the Storm Banner, the Grey Seer attempts to cast Wither on the Dragon Princes with Banner of Eternal Flame, the spell is cast with Irreversible Force and the Grey Seer loses two magic levels.

High Elves Turn 2

One of the Silver Helms and the Withered Dragon Princes march up and past the Abomination and Gutter Runners. The Swordmasters move to support the Sisters of Avelorn in the tower and the Noble Shuffles around to avoid the attentions of the Warp Lightning Cannons. I declare charges with Dragon Princes and Silver Helms against the Abomination, Reavers charge the Gutter Runners and Globadiers in the flank. In the magic phase I force a Miasma through on the Abomination reducing Weapon Skill to 1 and a Wyssans on the Dragon Princes, Wither is dispelled from the other unit of Dragon Princes. In the shooting phase despite the -1 modifier the Sisters finish off the Globadiers and the Poisoned Wind Mortar making the Giant Rats flee. Both Skycuters fire on the closest Warp Lightning Cannon and between them manage to reduce the warmachine to splinters. In the combat between the Abomination and the Combined force of the Dragon Princes and Silver Helms the Elves do 7 wounds to the creature but regeneration saves 2 leaving the beast on 1 wound. In return the Abomination fails to wound either unit that’s to its WS1! The Reavers facing the gutter runners slay 3 of the Skaven and lose one in return, the unit breaks and flees and I decide to combat reform my unit to face the rear of the wounded Abomination. The other unit of Reavers slays 3 Globadiers and one of the Reavers falls to the fumes. This time the Skaven stick in combat.

Image

Skaven Turn 3

The Gutter Runners continue to flee towards my table edge and the Giant Rats flee of his board edge, the Skaven slaves on my left flank charge the unit of Reavers who were fighting the Globadiers. The rest of the Skaven army march forwards with the majority of the army bought to bear against my right flank. The Grey Seer attempts to cast Wither on the Silver Helm unit fighting the Abomination which I let pass, the Howling Warpgale however was dispelled with dice. The Weapons team shoots into the Combat with the Abomination and managed to kill a Dragon Prince, the Warp Lightning Cannon manages to kill 4 Sea Guard with a scattered shot (aimed for the Eagle Claw) In the combat the Abomination manages to take down another Dragon Prince and was finally dispatched. Reavers dispatch the two Reavers and the Slaves take down two of the riders who decide to flee through the Weapons team thankfully not taking any further wounds from the terrain test.

Image

High Elves Turn 3

The Reavers rally and park themselves in front of the Skaven Slave regiment the other unit of Reavers moves close to the unit of Skaven slaves on my left flank. I declare a charge with my BSB on the Gutter runners, attempting to keep the unit away from my Eagle Claws, the unit escapes and the Noble fails the charge miserably (fantastically). The Cavalry move round the rear of the Skaven units attempting to engage the Flanks/Rear of the units and deny them SIN. The Skycutters move to the hill on my right flank to deal with the Warp Lightning Cannon. The Swordmasters and the Seaguard move forwards, the Lore master unit behind the Reavers hoping to engage the flank of any overrun and reforms to 7 wide. The Loremaster casts Spirit Leech and manages to down the Engineer in the Skavenslaves. Miasma is dispelled on the Grey Seers unit and I manage to get a Wyssans off on the Reavers in front of the Loremaster. In the shooting phase the Eagle Eye Bolt Throwers manage to inflict two wounds on the Warp Lightning Cannon leaving a single wound remaining. The Reavers on the left manage to slay two Slaves with Shooting, the Reavers in the midfield manage another wound on the unit that had the Engineer sniped out. The Seaguard, Sisters and Eagle Claws all pump shots into the right most Slave unit managing to kill 8.

Image

Skaven Turn 4

The Gutter Runners continue to flee, the three units of Skaven Slaves declare charge (left to right) against the Reavers on my Left, Reavers in the Centre and Giant Eagle on my right. The Giant Rats position themselves between the cavalry and the Grey Seer unit, the later reform to face the incoming cavalry. In the magic phase Wither is cast on the unit of Reavers in the centre which I allow to pass, plague is attempted on the Sisters of Avelorn but is dispelled. The Warp Lightning Cannon fires upon the Seaguard can vaporises another 3, the Weapons team targets the Silver Helms and take down two of the Knights. In the combat between my left most Reavers and the Slaves the Reavers miss their attacks as do the Slaves, however with so much Combat Resolution against them the unit flees and is caught by the Slave unit. The Centre Slaves rampage over the Reavers with no loss (again) and overrun into the Loremaster and Swordmasters. Finally the Eagle is slaughtered and the unit overruns into the Sisters of Avelorn in the Tower, the unit is then moved back 1” as per the rules for assaulting buildings.

Image

High Elves Turn 4

The Dragon Princes move to the flank of the Skaven Slaves on my left, the Silver Helms charge the Poisoned Wind Mortar. The BSB flies over the Slaves and lands between the three Skaven units. I charge to Warp Lightning Cannon with my Dragon Princes, the Storm Vermin with both Skycutters and Silver Helms, the Slaves by the Tower with Swordmasters and the Final Slave unit with the Seaguard. The Dragon Princes Slaughter the Skaven warmachine on the charge, The Silver Helms destroy the Weapons Team and combat reforms to face the rear of the Slave unit (attempting to force a swift reform away from General and BSB) The Silver Helms and the Skycutters slaughter 16 Stormvermin and lose three of the Silver Helms in return. The Swordmasters and Seaguard kill 12 Slaves and in return the slaves manage to inflict 7 (yes 7!) wounds on the Loremaster dragging him down with weight of numbers.) In the final combat the Sisters and the Sword Masters kill 6 slaves and the Sisters of Avelorn in return perish. Despite the proximity of the BSB the other unit of Sister break and flee towards the table edge.

Image

Skaven Turn 5

The Gutter Runners rally and march back towards the action (and the Eagle Claws)The Slaves on my left instead of reforming do a huge wheel and park themselves on top of the hill with their flank protected by the wooded area. The Stormvermin manage to not only destroy the Silver Helms but also both the Skycutters for only a loss of 2 Rats, they then combat reform to face my BSB and the other combats. The Combat between the Slaves and the Swordmasters below the Tower the Swordmasters kill 5 Slaves and lose a single model in return. The other Skaven Slaves kill 4 Swordmasters for the loss of 7 and the grind continues.

Image

High Elves Turn 5

The Sisters of Avelorn decide they have had enough and continue to stride towards my table edge, I move my Dragon Princes to threaten the rear of the Skavenslaves on my left and the Stormvermin’s flank respectively, the Silver Helms flank the Stormvermin and the BSB backs up in the hope that the combats will continue and protect him from the Grey Seer. Under the Tower the Swordmasters take down another 5 Slaves and lose 3 in the process. The Swordmasters and Seaguard do 6 Wounds to the Skavenslaves and in return the Swordmasters are destroyed and the Seaguard lose 2.

Image

Skaven Turn 6

The Gutter Runners march up to threaten the Dragon Princes and the Slaves on the left continue to March around the wooded area. The Stormvermin charge the Swordmasters. In the Combat the Swordmasters are slaughtered to a man, the Stormvermin unit overrun into the Seaguard and the Slaves reform to face the Dragon Princes. The Seaguard go the way of the Swordmasters and the Noble is now very exposed.

Image

High Elves Turn 6

The Sisters needing a 10 decide to roll 11 and flee from the board, with nothing left to do I declare a charge on the Gutter Runners with the Dragon Princes, and the Skaven Slave unit with the BSB, Dragon Princes and the Silver Helms. In the Shooting phase the Eagle claws slaughter 7 Slaves and is not enough to break the unit. The Dragon Princes kill all but one of the Gutter Runner son the charge and the terrified Skaven flees only to be caught by the pursuing Dragon Princes. The Other Slave unit is promptly despatched by all three units.

Image

Endgame

Skaven Victory Points – 1588
High Elves Victory Points – 1231

My Thoughts

I simply did not see the Danger to my Loremaster, If I had not lost him the points could have been so much closer (and potentially a win to myself)
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Cealyne
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#7 Post by Cealyne »

Hello!
Tough break on the loremaster. Major pain and draw back with being T3, even S3 attacks are something to fear. The weight of attacks is rough for a 4+,4+. Ya know?
Skaven are always an uphill battle for high elves, even more so for an MSU style list. One of my regular opponents is a skaven player. I get much luck thrashing him, but when his stuff works it is such a hard loss. Good report friend, good read!
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#8 Post by Tullarion »

A problem I see, is that you had your BSB on a griffon. That's not bad in itself... but it is bad when you have a nice big monster with a combat character, and you never find a way to use him in combat. By the time he got a charge in the final round... the game was over. I think he could have been more influential. That said, I think you otherwise played very well, your maneuvering and target selection were great. He passed a few leadership checks he had no right to be passing, and your sisters turned out to be very cowardly... Also, good use of the loremaster's spells... it was a shame to lose him when you did, but he'd already had a good impact.
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#9 Post by Ratvan »

Looking back at it now, I forgot the Loremaster had the Shield of the Myrwyrm and as such didn't roll his wardsave! I like my Griffon but do think I should have him on Eagle with Reaver Bow set up
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Re: Ratvn's MSU Battle Reports

#10 Post by Ferny »

Good fight and read! :)
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#11 Post by Jimmy »

Tough break on the game and super frustrating you forget about the Loremaster's saves!!

Looking forward to the next game.
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#12 Post by Ratvan »

Thanks Jimmy, unfortunately next bat rep is sometime off as I'll be using my OnG for tournaments and prep as I really need to get my High Elves painted. Might start a OnG bat rep thread as a result of this however
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=59241&p=857158#p857158/url]My MSU Battle Reports[/url]
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Swordmaster of Hoeth
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#13 Post by Swordmaster of Hoeth »

Hi Ratvan,

Thanks for the report and apologies for the late reply!

I haven't read the comments below so forgive me if I repeat any of them but I prefer not to do so until I read the report for myself and make observations, so that I am not biased. I am also adding them as I read.

I am confused about Skaven army list. It shows 5 infantry blocks (3 slaves and 2 clanrats) while the diagram shows only 4. Also, I cannot identify small units in front of cannons, what are they? I presume the biggest regiment contained the grey seer on the screaming bell but where were the other characters?

It was an interesting formation for Skaven, I must admit. Not that it is surprising but it is also very compact. No wonder your opponent ignored your deployment as he gains nothing from reacting to it. In fact, it can separate his units too much and play into your hands.

Your deployment is also interesting. On one hand it creates two separate groups, each with different mission. On the other, that also means taking more risk as the cavalry wing is not supported by characters. Their small numbers and closeness to each other could have been a source of some disastrous panic checks. I know I can fail these :) Was the hill infinitely high so that heavy cavalry was not targeted by cannons?

Very good shooting on turn 1, great to see Skycutters contributing to the overall effect! It was also a very good thing to slow down Slaves with miasma. I often like to either engage such living shield or simply park in front of it and slow the enemy further.

I have just answered my question about small units in front of the cannons - Giant Rats! :)

Do you think it was viable to form the cavalry in the 3 wide formation? It would have allowed for a charge of 3 of them against the A-bom and even if the DP were under the spell effect you were adding flaming attacks to the equation and hopefully the thing could die in a single round, never to return.

A few good things in your turn 2 made for a very efficient and satisfactory moment for sure! Miasma on A-bom was great, again a small spell affects the combat in an indirect but significant way. Very good shooting too, especially when the Storm Banner was in the effect. I am glad to see Skycutters performing!

But why did you decide to reform reavers? Did you fear that the heavy cavalry is not going to finish the abomination following turn?

In your Turn 3 you rallied Reavers who fled from the combat against Slaves the previous turn. It seems you moved them (R1) which could not have been done. Fast cavalry can move after rally only if that was due to flee reaction to the charge. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

Skycutters were also very good here, basically all units show that having bows or bolt thrower is always a good thing as it gives you opportunity to attack the enemy from afar. It may not work every battle but at least there is the potential to do so. While with no equipment like that it certainly is not going to make a difference. I guess by that time Storm Banner stopped working?

In your turn 4 you charged the Stormvermin (another mystery solved, no clanrats, just stormvermin!) with cavalry and skycutters. While the casualties were horrendous the unit was far too numerous to break due to being steadfast, still having ranks and so on, even without the bell. (I presume there was no bell as you didn't mention its effects during the game). What was the reason to do so? The regiment was facing away from your units so it would have to lose some time to get back towards your infantry. You could have used the units you engaged in better positioning and being a threat to many enemy units at the same time, thus giving you the option to choose the fights better. Or simply be used as re-directors.

Also, was it possible to charge these skycutters to the flank of a skaven slaves fighting near the tower?

Another question, was it possible for Silver Helms to charge slaves in the forest? If yes then I would have done so because in the forest they don't count ranks and are not steadfast so that charge+flank+wounds gave you the opportunity to destroy that annoying unit. NOt many points but still.

Turn 5 Gutter Runners rally but why did they move? The unit that rallied is not allowed to perform any movement at all.

Was it possible to wheel and move Silver Helms so that they would end up in front of the Stormvermin? This would have slowed them down, possibly divert again and save some Swordmasters.

It was a very good battle and unfortunately a few things didn't work that took away some significant amount of points. Losing Loremaster was very unlucky. I see you have mentioned no ward saves were made. Even so, I presume there were 9 slaves fighting him (due to horde formation). They were hitting on 5+ and wounding on 4+, so even without any armour he was not in that great danger. But then, having 4+ save and 4++ ward should have seen him through. Unlucky indeed.

Having said that I believe that you played very well until turn 4 but then you didn't make good choices. You had a lot of cavalry units around your enemy, you destroyed a lot of dangerous support regiments and had the enemy separate his forces. I would have tried to move the cavalry around. If the diagrams are correct you could move them so that giant rats in front of the Stormvermin could have not seen any one of them Because of that they could have not charged either. Following that Stormvermin would have not been able to attack either.

Then you could have either set up charges to attack Stormvermin with many more regiments (thus pinning them down until the end of the game) or divert them and help out the units fighting slaves. Somehow they were losing that grind match and in fact this is where you lost majority of units and points. Please, note that the loses were suffered when you committed to combat from turn 4 onwards. Until then you had the game under control and your enemy could not do much if you wanted to avoid combats.

It does not mean you should have. I simply think they could have been prepared batter so that you could have won them and then use the units for that final charge against enemy main unit.

Cheers!
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#14 Post by Jimmy »

Please do! Not enough Greenskin battle reports around the net and yours would be a pleasure to read and keep tabs on.
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#15 Post by Ratvan »

@ SM wil get back to you with replies asap once I am back on a pc, typing with a phone is shocking.

@ Jimmy once a few tweaks to the list are complete will set up a OnG list discussion and bat rep thread
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=59241&p=857158#p857158/url]My MSU Battle Reports[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=60865/url]My Orcs and Goblins Thread[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62115&p=866549#p866549/url]Da Dok's Workshop - 40k Orks[/url]
Ratvan
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Re: Ratvan's MSU Battle Reports

#16 Post by Ratvan »

@ Jimmy OnG thread started up, hope you enjoy my analysis of the army list I will be using this saturday.

@ Swordmaster.

I apologise my opponent tend to use the list that I posted however for this battle he mixed it up and took Stormvermin in place of the Clanrats, he also took a Grey Seer on Screaming Bell (which he forgot to ring for the duration of the game) the two engineers were in the two flanking Skavenslave regiments.

Yes his deployment is rather frustrating, this game was in fact my best ever result against him, usually I get massacred.

The hill was actually 6" high so blocks line of sight, we have a lot of other games played at the club (Malifaux, warmachine, infinity) so have a LOT of LOS blocking terrain, which is both good and frustrating at the same time.

Miasma is my favourite spell, so much so that on other forums I use it as my screen name.

Yes I should perhaps have adopted the 3 wide formation as it would have assisted me in getting the Banner into contact with the A-Bomb.

With me I roll really well with shooting, however when it comes to combat and armour and ward saves my luck tends to disappear!

I reformed the Reavers as for some reason I thought that I may lose the combat and heavy cavalry, if this had happened my left flank would have been exposed to the A-Bomb and allowed it to run rampant. It was simply a gut feeling.

Yes there were a few mistakes with rally and march moves. (and not just me which is nice) we were on a time limit for the game so a fair few mistakes crept in here and there.

Yes the storm banner was over thankfully rather quickly, I like the duality of the Skycutters my opponent wants to close on them while they're shooting and when they're in range I do charge them in, against Skaven however I did over estimate the impact on the Stormvermin unit.

I charged the Stormvermin as I assumed that I could hold them with the Reavers and Skycutters in time for another round of charges. It was a calculated gamble that did not turn out to my advantage.

The Skycutters did not have quite the angle to get the charge off against the Slaves fighting near the tower since the tower blocked LOS..... damn I could have flying charged the Slaves.

Yes it was possible for the Silver Helms to charge the Slaves in the Forest, I was too concerned at this point by the Victory point tally and the Stormvermin unit reaching my infantry to consider that. It was also possible to redirect the Stormvermin with Silver Helms but again my mind wasn't really on the game at this point, too busy counting my chickens.

As I mentioned I am unlucky with armour saves and wardsaves (when I remember to roll them, good news is I have not let that happen again!) but yes I was very unlucky to lose the Loremaster. After that turn 4 onwards, I am aware that I made a lot of poor choices, I had thought I had done enough to carry the game through to the end and to be completely honest stopped thinking tactically but rather just attempted to hack everything to pieces, which did not turn out well.

I think that I will have to find a replacement model for my Loremaster as my opponents are now aware that this figure I have spent a lot of time and effort not only building and converting but painting as well. I lose him I tend to lose my tactics and as a result the game. I am aware of this but it does not help me in "the moment"

Thanks for reading.
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=59241&p=857158#p857158/url]My MSU Battle Reports[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=60865/url]My Orcs and Goblins Thread[/url]
[url=http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62115&p=866549#p866549/url]Da Dok's Workshop - 40k Orks[/url]
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