2500 pts vs Warriors of Chaos - "The Gods Turn Their Backs"
Posted: Fri May 06, 2011 4:06 am
Chaos Warriors vs. High Elves
So going in to this match, I made it my goal to keep in mind the common criticism I had of my last match: my movement phases were too chaotic. My goal was to think about every move I made this game and make sure it was going to further my goal, and if it wasn't, then why was I doing it? How effective I was at this is open to interpretation
I took the same army as my last battle report, in an attempt to eliminate army list from the equation, and focus completely on using things effectively.
High Elves:
Archmage, Forliath's Robes, Talisman of Saphery, Silver Wand, Level 4, Shadow Magic
(Miasma, Enfeebling Foe, Withering, Pit of Shades, Okkam's Mindrazor)
Mage, Level 2, Annulian Crystal, Metal Magic
(Searing Doom, Plague of Rust)
Noble, Battle Standard Bearer, Armour of Caledor, Great Weapon, Dawnstone
14 x Archers, Musician
11 x Archers, Musician
35 x Spearmen, Full Command
14 x White Lions, Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame
12 x Swordmasters, Bladelord
20 x Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Banner of Sorcery
5 x Dragon Princes
1 Lion Chariot
2 x Great Eagle
Warriors of Chaos
Chaos Lord, Mark of Tzeentch, Stream of Corruption, Chaos Armour, Great Weapon, Trickster's Helm, Talisman of Preservation, Disc of Tzeentch
BSB, Book of Secrets, and some other stuff?
(Miasma)
Mage, Level 2, Lore of Slaneesh, Third Eye of Tzeentch
(Lash of Slaneesh, Ecstatic Seizures)
Mage, Level 2, Lore of Slaneesh, Spell Familiar
(Lash of Slaneesh, Hellshriek, Titillating Delusions
**Equipment may not be eactly as shown**
26 Chaos Warriors, Hand Weapon + Shield, Mark of Tzeentch
40 Marauders, Hand Weapon + Shield, Mark of Tzeentch
5 Chaos Warhounds
5 Chaos Warhounds
5 Chaos Warhounds
6 Chaos Knights
2 Chaos Chariots
1 Hellcannon
Deployment
The Warriors had a lot of low commitment drops, so I tried to mitigate this by dropping the easily re-deployable eagles first, then the bigger block of archers in the middle - this kept my options open without revealing my plan. Once the two chariots were down and he still hadn't committed to a flank, I dropped my Dragon Princes on the far right. He dropped his big block of Marauders, at which point I decided to counter hard on the left flank with my heavy hitters.
I tried to keep my BSB central, because he was going to be integral in making sure I didn't lose any units unexpectedly to that miserable hellcannon.
Turn 1
High Elves
Lo and behold I managed to win first turn for the second game in a row - a luxury I'm not often afforded. I don't question my luck and take it.
I move the Dragon princes up between the two forests to threaten any unit that got too bold in advancing. Hopefully I'd also leave that block of Marauders stranded on that far flank. God knows I didn't know yet how I planned on dealing with them...
The swordmasters move up centrally, and the unit of archers move up 5" in order to get in range of the metal spells. The spearmen stay put for the time being, and on the left flank I begin my advance with the white lions. I needed to put some pressure on that hellcannon and my dragon princes were once again on the wrong side of the battlefield.
Magic phase I roll 4 and 5, and the banner gives me 2 power dice. 11 versus 5. I start off with a miasma on his marauders, in an attempt to slow them down further, and keep that flank from crumbling. I roll a 1 for the stat reduction. I follow that up with a plague of rust on the Chaos Knights (-1 AS), then fail an attempt with my archmage at Enfeebling Foe (powered up for range)
Shooting is unsuccessful at killing anything, and thus my turn ends.
Chaos Warriors
His Dogs issue a charge versus my eagle, and I like Frederico's odds (I've named my eagles affectionately at this point). He holds. His big unit of marauders announces a charge on my eagle which flees and they advance 4 inches.
His two other units of warhounds move up to intercept potential chargers, and his chariots roll into what I like to call the High Elf "Oh @#$%" zone.
Magic ends up being 6 v 5 after the annullian crystal, and he throws all 6 at Ecstatic Seizures, but I manage to dispel with my +5 and 5 dice. Phew!
He scores a direct hit on my white lions with the hellcannon, but their lion cloaks ensure that only 5 die.
My eagle kills a dog in combat, but they charged, so we tie.
Turn 2
High Elves
I had a choice to make - I could charge the dogs in the middle with my swordmasters, and potentially overrun into the chariots... but I saw what his plan was. Flee with the dogs, and leave my swordmasters with their pants (dresses?) down, ready to get charged by two chariots. Strength 5 impact hits? No thanks. They move back enough to make the charge from the chariots improbable, and the white lions continue their march forward, inching just out of view of the chariots.
Like the Swordmasters, the Dragon Princes see his Chaos Lord approach and know a bad fight when they see one. They back up 4 inches to also make a charge difficult.
Magic ends up being 9 vs 5, and the metal mage starts off with another plague of rust on the knights and is successful - they're down to a 3+ armour save at this point. Next comes a searing doom at his lord, which he is unsuccessful at dispelling. 4 hits result in two wounds, at which time he reveals that he has a 3+ ward save... that promptly betrays him with 2 2's.
The archmage tries enfeebling foe again, and once again fails on 3 dice, ending the magic phase. His friends nickname him "Bubba" at this point.
The big unit of archers shoot at the dogs in front of the chariot, and manage to kill 4. Cool. The remaining one takes its panic test and fails. Really Cool. It runs through the two chariots and forces panic tests. Mega Cool. One of the chariots fails his panic test on a reroll and flees off the board. Catastrophically Cool. The other archers put some wounds on the dogs midfield.
The eagle manages to kill two more dogs, and they flee from combat. He pursues forward, but not enough to get in combat with the hellcannon.
Warriors of Chaos
Charges - The dogs midfield charge the still fleeing eagle, who is forced to flee and forces panic tests on the spearmen and chariot. They both pass.
His lord declares a charge on the dragon princes, as well as the marauders. They flee, and the lord redirects to the Lion Chariot who holds - I think there's a good chance I can put that final wound on him. Doesn't matter, because he fails his charge and comes out from behind his safety wall.
Magic is 6 v 5 again, and he starts with a Seizures on the Phoenix Guard. Bubba dispels that. He then attempts a Titillating Delusions on the White Lions, but fails to meet the casting value.
Hellcannon misses, and all units are once again out of combat.
Turn 3
High Elves
The Lion Chariot issues a charge declaration on the knights of chaos, but they aren't excited about the idea given their rusted out armour. They flee from the charge, and the chariot redirects into the lord. Between impact hits, S6 white lions and actual lions, I figure I'm good for one wound. Right?
The fleeing troops rally, and my Phoenix Guard move up into charge range of the chariot - either he charges or gets charged, I'm good with that on the PG.
Magic is 10 v 6, so I start in on the lord to make sure I take that combat. First off the bat is an enfeebling foe on the lord, which gets dispelled. Next comes miasma to reduce his initiative and get my two rerolls to hit with the big S6 attacks. I get it, and roll a 1 for the reduction. Have I ever rolled anything but 1 for that??
Plague of Rust follows suit, reducing him to a 3+/3+, and the chariot takes a wound from a 1 hit searing doom.
One unit of archers kills the remaining warhound midfield, and the other unit tries in vain to put a wound on the chariot. Despite their failure, they still high 5 each other over that dog incident.
In combat, the lion chariot does 4 impact hits... and whiffs them all. Then the white lions swing... and whiff too. Then the lions swing as well and bounce off his armour, not to mention his ward save. He returns the favour by smashing the chariot to bits and turns to face the flank of the archers (the picture doesn't represent this quite right. D'oh!
Warriors of Chaos
The Chaos lord successfully charges the archers on a long charge (5 attacks from the chaos lord and 1 disc, I think to myself, he can't break steadfast), and the hellcannon charges the white lions ("Its day of reckoning has arrived!" I think to myself). One of his mages charges my eagle running disruption, which also holds.
Boxcars for the magic phase, which ends up being 11 v 7. He attempts a Titillating Delusions on my Phoenix Guard, but I dispel it - I can't have my plans being foiled by ADD soldiers! He successfully casts miasma on the white lions for -3 WS and dispells enfeebling foe on his lord.
In combat, the white lions do a big ole 5 wounds to the hellcannon. I start doing my hellcannon destruction dance, when I am informed that you randomize hits versus the crew even in combat, and I watch in grim fascination as the hellcannon does 8 wounds including his thunderstomp. One lone White Lion fails his stubborn test and gets mauled by the daemon as he flees. His friends are too horrified to even give him a nickname...
The lord starts unleashing on the archers, killing 5 with his attacks and missing with his disc. He then reveals to me that his lord has stream of corruption, and I die a bit more inside. That is until his 7 hits roll not a single dice over 4. The archers hold on steadfast, and we move on to my turn.
Turn 4
High Elves
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I announce a charge on the chaos lord with my spearmen. The Phoenix Guard charge the chariot, and the swordmasters move up behind the cover of the Great Eagle. The Dragon Princes loop back around the forest.
Magic phase, I attempt to reduce the toughness of the lord with enfeebling foe (1...), and his initiative with miasma, which I finally manage to get more than 1 for. He's now at toughness 4 and Initiative 5, giving me my rerolls.
Doesn't matter, though, because the elves fail to do a single wound to him. Luckily he has a bad round of combat versus the archers, and only managed to kill 3. This leaves him with a flank charge, and a standard bearer to contend with, and he breaks from combat. His big roll of 10 puts him right in front of my swordmasters, and the spearmen and archers follow suit, but fail to catch him. Darn.
The Phoenix Guard put two wounds on the chariot, and it puts two back on them in return. It holds.
Warriors of Chaos
The knights of chaos charge the eagle fighting the mage (I forgot to mention them, but they just made faces at each other anyway), and the warriors can't make the wheel to hit the phoenix guard in the flank due to the eagle, so they charge the eagle to clear it out instead.
The Marauders reform and move towards the center, and the lord rallies, ready to face the swordmasters.
His magic phase, he dispels the enfeebling foe on his lord and I dispel his casting attempts.
He shoots the hellcannon at the unit containing the metal mage and scores a direct hit on the mage's head. The shot clears out the remaining archers, but he rolls a 1 to wound on the mage - score!
In combat, the Phoenix Guard finish off the chariot, and opt to reform for a flank charge on the warriors, as opposed to setting up to take the mage and knights.
The eagle manages to survive the onslaught of the warriors, but flees from combat. Due to the lord's presence in the middle of the action, the warriors stop in their tracks.
Turn 5
High Elves
The swordmasters charge the lord, and the phoenix guard and spearmen charge the big block of warriors, and the stage is set for the final battle.
The metal mage, angered by the hellcannon killing his bodyguard, launches a searing doom at it and manages 5 hits, 4 of which wound. The hellcannon melts in a ball of molten goo, and Bubba fails once again to do anything effective with his dice.
I opt to resolve the combat with the swordmasters first. They manage to score 3 hits... and one of them manages to sneak past that ridiculous ward save! I immediately start breakdancing.
The swordmasters overrun into the combat with the warriors, and the elves manage to do 7 wounds to the warriors, with the archmage nullifying the BSB. The chaos warriors answer by doing 4 wounds in return, but lose combat significantly. The Warriors break, and after seeing my wicked dance moves, he conceeds the battle.
After Battle Thoughts
Him dropping those marauders on the flank was huge for me. He seemed to have a fixation on my unit of 5 Dragon Princes, and I happily indulged it by dancing around that table edge. As much as I would have liked to have had them on the other flank to hit that hellcannon quicker, 150 points to keep a 40 strong unit dancing around all game is a good tradeoff in my eyes.
The Metal mage really came into his own this game, overshadowing the Archmage in most phases. Plague of Rust was a lot more useful than I originally though, and not just for the obvious reason; it made his normally borderline foolhardy knights very very timid. Even though that Lion Chariot blew up, the threat of it put those knights essentially out of the game, so again, well worth the 140 points.
I wasn't expecting things to line up *quite* so well at the end. I expected an overrun from the chaos warriors into my spearmen after killing my eagle, then a surround maybe on turn 6, but when that lord fled right in the perfect spot to charge through, everything just seemed to work out.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments or criticism. Just go easy on the last one, I have feelings too...
So going in to this match, I made it my goal to keep in mind the common criticism I had of my last match: my movement phases were too chaotic. My goal was to think about every move I made this game and make sure it was going to further my goal, and if it wasn't, then why was I doing it? How effective I was at this is open to interpretation
I took the same army as my last battle report, in an attempt to eliminate army list from the equation, and focus completely on using things effectively.
High Elves:
Archmage, Forliath's Robes, Talisman of Saphery, Silver Wand, Level 4, Shadow Magic
(Miasma, Enfeebling Foe, Withering, Pit of Shades, Okkam's Mindrazor)
Mage, Level 2, Annulian Crystal, Metal Magic
(Searing Doom, Plague of Rust)
Noble, Battle Standard Bearer, Armour of Caledor, Great Weapon, Dawnstone
14 x Archers, Musician
11 x Archers, Musician
35 x Spearmen, Full Command
14 x White Lions, Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame
12 x Swordmasters, Bladelord
20 x Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Banner of Sorcery
5 x Dragon Princes
1 Lion Chariot
2 x Great Eagle
Warriors of Chaos
Chaos Lord, Mark of Tzeentch, Stream of Corruption, Chaos Armour, Great Weapon, Trickster's Helm, Talisman of Preservation, Disc of Tzeentch
BSB, Book of Secrets, and some other stuff?
(Miasma)
Mage, Level 2, Lore of Slaneesh, Third Eye of Tzeentch
(Lash of Slaneesh, Ecstatic Seizures)
Mage, Level 2, Lore of Slaneesh, Spell Familiar
(Lash of Slaneesh, Hellshriek, Titillating Delusions
**Equipment may not be eactly as shown**
26 Chaos Warriors, Hand Weapon + Shield, Mark of Tzeentch
40 Marauders, Hand Weapon + Shield, Mark of Tzeentch
5 Chaos Warhounds
5 Chaos Warhounds
5 Chaos Warhounds
6 Chaos Knights
2 Chaos Chariots
1 Hellcannon
Deployment
The Warriors had a lot of low commitment drops, so I tried to mitigate this by dropping the easily re-deployable eagles first, then the bigger block of archers in the middle - this kept my options open without revealing my plan. Once the two chariots were down and he still hadn't committed to a flank, I dropped my Dragon Princes on the far right. He dropped his big block of Marauders, at which point I decided to counter hard on the left flank with my heavy hitters.
I tried to keep my BSB central, because he was going to be integral in making sure I didn't lose any units unexpectedly to that miserable hellcannon.
Turn 1
High Elves
Lo and behold I managed to win first turn for the second game in a row - a luxury I'm not often afforded. I don't question my luck and take it.
I move the Dragon princes up between the two forests to threaten any unit that got too bold in advancing. Hopefully I'd also leave that block of Marauders stranded on that far flank. God knows I didn't know yet how I planned on dealing with them...
The swordmasters move up centrally, and the unit of archers move up 5" in order to get in range of the metal spells. The spearmen stay put for the time being, and on the left flank I begin my advance with the white lions. I needed to put some pressure on that hellcannon and my dragon princes were once again on the wrong side of the battlefield.
Magic phase I roll 4 and 5, and the banner gives me 2 power dice. 11 versus 5. I start off with a miasma on his marauders, in an attempt to slow them down further, and keep that flank from crumbling. I roll a 1 for the stat reduction. I follow that up with a plague of rust on the Chaos Knights (-1 AS), then fail an attempt with my archmage at Enfeebling Foe (powered up for range)
Shooting is unsuccessful at killing anything, and thus my turn ends.
Chaos Warriors
His Dogs issue a charge versus my eagle, and I like Frederico's odds (I've named my eagles affectionately at this point). He holds. His big unit of marauders announces a charge on my eagle which flees and they advance 4 inches.
His two other units of warhounds move up to intercept potential chargers, and his chariots roll into what I like to call the High Elf "Oh @#$%" zone.
Magic ends up being 6 v 5 after the annullian crystal, and he throws all 6 at Ecstatic Seizures, but I manage to dispel with my +5 and 5 dice. Phew!
He scores a direct hit on my white lions with the hellcannon, but their lion cloaks ensure that only 5 die.
My eagle kills a dog in combat, but they charged, so we tie.
Turn 2
High Elves
I had a choice to make - I could charge the dogs in the middle with my swordmasters, and potentially overrun into the chariots... but I saw what his plan was. Flee with the dogs, and leave my swordmasters with their pants (dresses?) down, ready to get charged by two chariots. Strength 5 impact hits? No thanks. They move back enough to make the charge from the chariots improbable, and the white lions continue their march forward, inching just out of view of the chariots.
Like the Swordmasters, the Dragon Princes see his Chaos Lord approach and know a bad fight when they see one. They back up 4 inches to also make a charge difficult.
Magic ends up being 9 vs 5, and the metal mage starts off with another plague of rust on the knights and is successful - they're down to a 3+ armour save at this point. Next comes a searing doom at his lord, which he is unsuccessful at dispelling. 4 hits result in two wounds, at which time he reveals that he has a 3+ ward save... that promptly betrays him with 2 2's.
The archmage tries enfeebling foe again, and once again fails on 3 dice, ending the magic phase. His friends nickname him "Bubba" at this point.
The big unit of archers shoot at the dogs in front of the chariot, and manage to kill 4. Cool. The remaining one takes its panic test and fails. Really Cool. It runs through the two chariots and forces panic tests. Mega Cool. One of the chariots fails his panic test on a reroll and flees off the board. Catastrophically Cool. The other archers put some wounds on the dogs midfield.
The eagle manages to kill two more dogs, and they flee from combat. He pursues forward, but not enough to get in combat with the hellcannon.
Warriors of Chaos
Charges - The dogs midfield charge the still fleeing eagle, who is forced to flee and forces panic tests on the spearmen and chariot. They both pass.
His lord declares a charge on the dragon princes, as well as the marauders. They flee, and the lord redirects to the Lion Chariot who holds - I think there's a good chance I can put that final wound on him. Doesn't matter, because he fails his charge and comes out from behind his safety wall.
Magic is 6 v 5 again, and he starts with a Seizures on the Phoenix Guard. Bubba dispels that. He then attempts a Titillating Delusions on the White Lions, but fails to meet the casting value.
Hellcannon misses, and all units are once again out of combat.
Turn 3
High Elves
The Lion Chariot issues a charge declaration on the knights of chaos, but they aren't excited about the idea given their rusted out armour. They flee from the charge, and the chariot redirects into the lord. Between impact hits, S6 white lions and actual lions, I figure I'm good for one wound. Right?
The fleeing troops rally, and my Phoenix Guard move up into charge range of the chariot - either he charges or gets charged, I'm good with that on the PG.
Magic is 10 v 6, so I start in on the lord to make sure I take that combat. First off the bat is an enfeebling foe on the lord, which gets dispelled. Next comes miasma to reduce his initiative and get my two rerolls to hit with the big S6 attacks. I get it, and roll a 1 for the reduction. Have I ever rolled anything but 1 for that??
Plague of Rust follows suit, reducing him to a 3+/3+, and the chariot takes a wound from a 1 hit searing doom.
One unit of archers kills the remaining warhound midfield, and the other unit tries in vain to put a wound on the chariot. Despite their failure, they still high 5 each other over that dog incident.
In combat, the lion chariot does 4 impact hits... and whiffs them all. Then the white lions swing... and whiff too. Then the lions swing as well and bounce off his armour, not to mention his ward save. He returns the favour by smashing the chariot to bits and turns to face the flank of the archers (the picture doesn't represent this quite right. D'oh!
Warriors of Chaos
The Chaos lord successfully charges the archers on a long charge (5 attacks from the chaos lord and 1 disc, I think to myself, he can't break steadfast), and the hellcannon charges the white lions ("Its day of reckoning has arrived!" I think to myself). One of his mages charges my eagle running disruption, which also holds.
Boxcars for the magic phase, which ends up being 11 v 7. He attempts a Titillating Delusions on my Phoenix Guard, but I dispel it - I can't have my plans being foiled by ADD soldiers! He successfully casts miasma on the white lions for -3 WS and dispells enfeebling foe on his lord.
In combat, the white lions do a big ole 5 wounds to the hellcannon. I start doing my hellcannon destruction dance, when I am informed that you randomize hits versus the crew even in combat, and I watch in grim fascination as the hellcannon does 8 wounds including his thunderstomp. One lone White Lion fails his stubborn test and gets mauled by the daemon as he flees. His friends are too horrified to even give him a nickname...
The lord starts unleashing on the archers, killing 5 with his attacks and missing with his disc. He then reveals to me that his lord has stream of corruption, and I die a bit more inside. That is until his 7 hits roll not a single dice over 4. The archers hold on steadfast, and we move on to my turn.
Turn 4
High Elves
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I announce a charge on the chaos lord with my spearmen. The Phoenix Guard charge the chariot, and the swordmasters move up behind the cover of the Great Eagle. The Dragon Princes loop back around the forest.
Magic phase, I attempt to reduce the toughness of the lord with enfeebling foe (1...), and his initiative with miasma, which I finally manage to get more than 1 for. He's now at toughness 4 and Initiative 5, giving me my rerolls.
Doesn't matter, though, because the elves fail to do a single wound to him. Luckily he has a bad round of combat versus the archers, and only managed to kill 3. This leaves him with a flank charge, and a standard bearer to contend with, and he breaks from combat. His big roll of 10 puts him right in front of my swordmasters, and the spearmen and archers follow suit, but fail to catch him. Darn.
The Phoenix Guard put two wounds on the chariot, and it puts two back on them in return. It holds.
Warriors of Chaos
The knights of chaos charge the eagle fighting the mage (I forgot to mention them, but they just made faces at each other anyway), and the warriors can't make the wheel to hit the phoenix guard in the flank due to the eagle, so they charge the eagle to clear it out instead.
The Marauders reform and move towards the center, and the lord rallies, ready to face the swordmasters.
His magic phase, he dispels the enfeebling foe on his lord and I dispel his casting attempts.
He shoots the hellcannon at the unit containing the metal mage and scores a direct hit on the mage's head. The shot clears out the remaining archers, but he rolls a 1 to wound on the mage - score!
In combat, the Phoenix Guard finish off the chariot, and opt to reform for a flank charge on the warriors, as opposed to setting up to take the mage and knights.
The eagle manages to survive the onslaught of the warriors, but flees from combat. Due to the lord's presence in the middle of the action, the warriors stop in their tracks.
Turn 5
High Elves
The swordmasters charge the lord, and the phoenix guard and spearmen charge the big block of warriors, and the stage is set for the final battle.
The metal mage, angered by the hellcannon killing his bodyguard, launches a searing doom at it and manages 5 hits, 4 of which wound. The hellcannon melts in a ball of molten goo, and Bubba fails once again to do anything effective with his dice.
I opt to resolve the combat with the swordmasters first. They manage to score 3 hits... and one of them manages to sneak past that ridiculous ward save! I immediately start breakdancing.
The swordmasters overrun into the combat with the warriors, and the elves manage to do 7 wounds to the warriors, with the archmage nullifying the BSB. The chaos warriors answer by doing 4 wounds in return, but lose combat significantly. The Warriors break, and after seeing my wicked dance moves, he conceeds the battle.
After Battle Thoughts
Him dropping those marauders on the flank was huge for me. He seemed to have a fixation on my unit of 5 Dragon Princes, and I happily indulged it by dancing around that table edge. As much as I would have liked to have had them on the other flank to hit that hellcannon quicker, 150 points to keep a 40 strong unit dancing around all game is a good tradeoff in my eyes.
The Metal mage really came into his own this game, overshadowing the Archmage in most phases. Plague of Rust was a lot more useful than I originally though, and not just for the obvious reason; it made his normally borderline foolhardy knights very very timid. Even though that Lion Chariot blew up, the threat of it put those knights essentially out of the game, so again, well worth the 140 points.
I wasn't expecting things to line up *quite* so well at the end. I expected an overrun from the chaos warriors into my spearmen after killing my eagle, then a surround maybe on turn 6, but when that lord fled right in the perfect spot to charge through, everything just seemed to work out.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments or criticism. Just go easy on the last one, I have feelings too...