John Rainbow's Adventures - Short Tournament Report

[SpellArcher]

I find the two most important spells in High Magic to be Flames because it eats dice and scrolls and Shield because you get it off and it turns combats. Of course there are games where Vaul's or the other spells really shine. But I can see what you mean about the mechanics of the Dragon list being different John.

[John Rainbow]

So if I go through High Magic with regards to my list:

1. Shield of Saphery: hampered in my case by comparatively short 18" range. The mages are likely in the archer unit in the backfield and thus over 18" from the dragon. The characters and WLs are all fairly survivable and I should not be looking to lose that many of them in a combat. I want to win in couple of phases at the most and therefore not need the 5++. If I've needed to rely on this spell to win a CC something has gone wrong! It is otherwise a very good spell with a very cheap cost and could help protect the dragon against cannon or help the WLs reach CC intact.
2. Arrow Attraction: cute, but I don't really have enough ranged firepower to make use of this.
3. Courage: again a useful spell (could help the dragon a lot in the 1st round of CC against a big block) but the very limited range makes it pretty worthless for me unless I expose the caster.
4. Fury of Khaine: A decent enough magic missile.
5. Flames: A good spell and nice to have an RiP in the repertoire. Will draw dice in either phase due to the RiP but generally low strength unless someone forgets about it.
6. Vaul's: A game-breaker for sure and a brilliant spell with low cost.

I just think that I can get more mileage from a different lore if I'm honest.

[pk-ng]

How about Drain Magic?

[John Rainbow]

Ah, the oft forgotten Drain magic! I'll go with 'decent' for this one. It's free which is always good and in the case of my army helps make up for my magical deficiencies. It's also a low casting cost which is nice.

So what's to come from me in the near future?

• HE v. Lizardmen BatRep
• Gaming on Saturday so I'll have some more BatReps to do next week
• More pics of stuff I've been painting (Archers & Star Dragon)
• Pics of WiP display board

[aj8900]

In my dragon list i play my mages like this:

Level 1 High Mage with Annulian crystall. drain + shield.
Level 2 XXX Mage with Jewel of the dusk and ruby ring of fire.
i often take heavens on the L2 because of Iceshard Blizzard and the lightning / comet spells.

I think it offer a good seletion of offencive and defencive spells and would have been much better for you in this game.

[Atlantic]

You could also try Light and Heavens together.

The way I see it, your list isn't optimized to take full advantage of light in the first place. Light is awesome, but with how you are kitted out you aren't guaranteed to get Banishment and at Strength 5, it isn't a game breaker.

Heavens has some cool stuff in it other than the already mentioned Harmonic Convergence. I think it also combos well with Light. More important, these combos will pull scrolls early as they are kind've devastating.

Iceshard Blizzard and Pha's Protection go together like pees and carrots. (one on the bad guy, one on your lions)

Wind Blast + Net of Amyntok is potentially nasty and could make other low str players sweat bullets. It might also be an easy way to remove war machines depending on how close you are.

Comet + Net is another major annoyance combo that can make your opponent sweat.

Curse of the Midnight Wind + Pha's is another great combo.

Thunderbolt is a cheaper version of the Boosted Shem's.

Chain Lightning is a more effective (more expensive cast value) version of Banishment for you as you are only packing two light wizards at this point. A standard Banishment plus a standard chain lightning in tandem would be nasty.

Timewarp paired with any of the heavens buffs/hexes would be ugly. Same with speed of Light.

The Comet is also only a cast value of 12.

I'm not sure where you would find the points, but maybe the following set up would help you.

Level 3 wizard with Heavens
Level 3 wizard with Light and Seerstaff (Pha's, Banishment, Net)

That way you get the best of the Lore of Light and those spells will combo well with anything you draw from Heavens.

[Atlantic]

I thought of another advantage for Heavens + Light.

You would be able to take advantage of both Lore Attributes.

Heavens will give you some cheap wounds on flying critters.

This could be worth it's weight in gold against other high elves as their eagles become vulnerable quick. Flying annoying crap will go down faster.

You will still also have the Light Attribute to beef up your banishments against undead and daemons.

The more I think about it, I may start experimenting with this combo. I've been running a Coven for the last month, once I get past my big tournament this weekend, I might reinvent my own wizard set up to a Light/Heavens/Metal combo.

[John Rainbow]

2500pts HE Star Dragon List v. Lizardmen
Last Saturday after defeat at the hands of the Ogres, I played a Lizardman army in my third ever game against the reptiles. I had altered my list slightly after the game against the Ogres to include a dispel scroll instead of the wand to beef up my magic defence. Against Lizards especially, this seemed like it would be a good decision as it was magic defence that really cost me the last game.

The lists:

High Elves
Prince Alithir on Stardragon + GW, AoC, Vambraces, Loec
Casyin, Noble BSB on eagle + S.Might, DA, shield, Helm Fortune
Eiltia, Level 2 Light Mage + Annulian
Fenrier, Level 2 Light Mage + Dispel Scroll, Ironcurse Icon

28 Seaguard + command, shields, BoEF
21 Archers + musician

25 WLs + command, Am.Light, +1 Movement Banner
7 SMs + command, Skeinsliver, Gleaming Pennant

2 x GE

Lizardmen
Slann(4)[Life] + Cupped Hands, +1PD, Loremaster
Skink Priest(1)[Heavens] + cloak of feathers
Saurus Hero + BSB, +A sword
Saurus Hero

31 Saurus + Sword & Board
31 Saurus + Sword & Board
10 Skinks
10 Skinks

20 Temple Guard
Salamander
6 Cold One Knights
Stegadon (basic one with a bolt thrower)

Deployment

So the placement of the river stayed the same as in my game v. Ogres but the rest of the terrain moved around a bit. I chose my board edge and deployed first. Chaff drops were Eagles and Skinks which meant I had to place the first ‘major’ unit. I put the WLs in the center. I was pretty happy with the result of deployment - it was very similar to that of may last game and looked like it could work out pretty well. I stuck the dragon on my left to hit the weaker right flank of the Lizardmen.

Spell Selection:
For spells I got Timewarp and Net on the Mage in the Archers (crystal Mage) and Pha’s and Banishment on the Mage in the LSG (scroll Mage). As he was a Loremaster the Slann got all the Life spells while the Skink took Iceshard Blizzard.

HE 1

After finishing deploying first I had +2 to the roll off and unsurprisingly won it and elected to take the first turn. my left flank moved up pretty quickly to threaten the weaker Lizardman right while I largely held on the right. The LSG moved to occupy the bridge over the river. The way we play this is that there is enough room for one unit to get onto the bridge, it is not a building though so the enemy can charge them, etc as normal though they do count as being in hard cover for shooting.

I started my first magic phase with boxcars (awesome! 12v6) only to IF my first cast of Net of Amyntok on the Slann. This did 1W to my crystal Mage and killed 10 archers too (sad face). I had rolled a 4 on the miscast chart but luckily avoided being sucked into the ether. Needless to say, the loss of dice killed the phase.

As my LSG had moved and the archers were at long range to all enemy units, shooting was ineffective.

L1

The Lizardman army pressed forward on the flanks with the Cold One Knights moving up to protect the flank of the Saurus block - if I charged either unit I would potentially be taking a flank charge from the other unit. Curiously, Saurus block 2 stayed put and out of the game (for now). Net stopped the Temple Guard from moving as they didn’t want to take a chance but played no further part this phase as all the strength tests were passed.

The magic dice came up 9v7 after channeling and the crystal and the Slann started off with Throne. Life magic is so predictable!. I dispelled his 3d attempt with 4 of my own the dispelled +2T on Saurus block 3 with 3v3d. Lastly the Slann cast dwellers on the LSG but I pulled my scroll. I didn’t want my right flank collapsing this early in the game!

Shooting was a null phase as all of the Lizard firepower was out of range.

HE2

Unsurprisingly I charged the dragon into the Saurus block to the front and used my Eagles to block counter charges from the Cold One Knights and Stegadon. Elsewhere the WL continued to move up on the left whilst the SMs backed off from the Skinks on my right flank.

The winds gave me 9v5 dice and I started off by Netting the Slann again. I managed to roll triple 1’s for this however and lost control of the phase. Nothing else was cast.

Shooting pin cushioned 5 Temple Guard after both the archers and LSG loosed on them. I must admit I completely forgot about the Skink priest floating around the board and within range of my LSG for pretty much the entire game. I should have shot him as soon as I had the chance! My excuse is that the model was small and harder to see - he also didn’t cast anything so I forgot about him.

In combat the Saurus Champion challenged Prince Alithir who could not refuse. He was smacked back down though, Alithir doing a single mighty wound in the process. The dragon could not add any more res. due to being at a different initiative step and I ended up losing CC by 2 points. Luckily, Alithir held on an Ld8.

L2

Charges were declared from the Cold One Knights to the Eagle and Stegadon to the Eagle blocking its way. I elected to flee the giant dinosaur and hold against the cavalry. Again the Lizardmen flanks moved up and the Temple Guard also decided it was time to get moving too as they shuffled forwards in the center.

Magic was 5v4 and all of it went into a casting of Dwellers on the WLs which I failed to stop. 8 proud Elven warriors were dragged into the dirt.

The Salamander proved to be out of range of the LSG after a poor artillery dice roll but the skinks took down 2 SMs with their blowpipes.

In CC, the Eagle struck first against the Knights and somehow managed to sneak a wound past their armour save. In return the noble beast was skewered and the Cold One Knights overran. I think this was potentially a bad decision by my opponent although the Knights were in a bad place either way. Given the board layout at this time I would maybe have reformed to take the WLs towards the building if they charged and away from the fight.

In the Prince/Dragon v. Saurus fight the Scar Veteran stepped up. Despite having a decent armour/ward save he was struck down by a combination of wounds from Alithir and his dragon. I’m not entirely sure who won the combat here but whoever lost passed their respective break test and held for another round.

HE 3

My turn 3 opened up with two charges - the WLs into the Cold Ones and the SMs into the skinks. Both units held and the stand & shoot from the skinks took down 4 SMs! Luckily they again passed a panic check. I think I must’ve moved my BSB at this point but forget where too... The Eagle also rallied.

In the magic phase I rolled 5v4 but was shut down by a dispel of Net (3v5d) and then an attempt at Banishment on the Stegadon was scrolled. Shooting put 3W on the Temple Guard.

In combat, the SMs cut down 5 Skinks but lost another of their own to be left with one last man standing who pursued them as they ran. The WLs proved their worth against heavy cav. and destroyed the Cold Ones before reforming (not shown on diagram). Prince Alithir was finally able to start hitting some regular Saurus this phase and with his mount did 10W total. The Lizards held on steadfast.

L3

My opponent was again cautious (too much so IMHO) and declared no charges - the Lizards simply moved up the board a little further. The Skinks also rallied and turned to face the lone SM bearing down on them.

Luckily for me magic ended up as 5v4 but it ended up being a decent phase for the Slann due to his +1PD per spell. To start with I failed to dispel throne on 3v4d and this was followed up by some buffs on the Temple Guard giving them a 4+ regen save and regrowing 6 of the fallen warriors. I think the reason the spells went onto the TG and not the Saurus against the dragon was that my WLs and LSG could have both charged the TG in my next phase. This would have been bad news for the Slann!

Whilst the Skinks missed with all their shots against both the WLs and LSG, the Salamander finally found his range and roasted 7 LSG.

In combat Prince Alithir and the dragon did 12W after using the breath weapon but the Saurus were still steadfast and held... ‘Cold Blooded’ is really very good - I can’t believe Empire get it too now!

HE4

The lone SM charged the Skinks who failed to shoot him down as he charged. Meanwhile the remaining Eagle moved to block the Stegadon whilst the BSB took advantage of the Lizardman flank. The LSG moved backwards to make a long charge from the Temple Guard less likely.

Magic dice came up 7v5 and both an attempt at Timewarp (4v3) and Net (3v2) were dispelled. Shooting accounted for two of the elite Temple Guard.

The remaining Sword Master took revenge for his slaughtered brethren as he cut down two of the Skinks. Unfortunately is was with his last breath as he was laid low in return. Prince Alithir reduced the Saurus block to it’s last man who then held on snakes. Annoying.

L4

The Stegadon again rumbled forward in attempt to charge the Eagle. This time it got up enough speed to complete the move. In the Center the TG and Saurus blocks finally decided to split apart though they had left their flanks dangerously exposed.

My opponent rolled 5v3 for magic dice and with the +1PD/spell the Slann got, I knew this would be another bad phase for me. To begin with I dispelled the RiP throne from last turn (I forgot in my phase) and this was followed by my opponent casting... Throne! It went off IF but the miscast was ignored on the 2+ roll. Flesh to Stone followed this and the result was T8 Temple Guard.

Shooting was a poor phase for the Lizards. On their right the Skinks managed to down one WL whilst on their left, the Skinks missed their shots and the Salamander ate a couple of its handlers.

In close combat the dragon (finally!) finished off the Saurus and reformed. The Eagle got absolutely stomped by the Stegadon.

Rules Question: In this phase my opponent miscast while casting throne. He had cupped hands so could pass off the miscast but throne negates it on a 2+. Which takes precedence? In the end we agreed that throne did as it did not give an option to take the 2+ roll or not. You are required too. We judged that if this roll was failed, you could then use cupped hands. Any thoughts?

HE 5

Prince Alithir and Casyin the BSB took advantage of their good field position to combo charge the remaining Saurus block in the flank and rear after they had been left exposed. The WLs and LSG attempted a combo charge on the Temple Guard & Slann but only the LSG made it as the WLs failed to roll 6 on their charge distance . The archers reformed to face the skinks.

After a 10v6 dice split for magic, only Pha’s went off on the LSG after Timewarp on the WLs was dispelled using 6d to my 5d. Shooting took 3W off the Skinks.

In CC, the Prince took the challenge of the Saurus BSB and struck him down with max. overkill.The BSB then added a couple of wounds but the Saurus held (on steadfast) and reformed to face the dragon.

The LSG were in the flank of the Temple Guard and even against their increased T, managed to get 2W through. The guard were stubborn though and held on for another phase whilst reforming to face the LSG.

L5

My failed WL charge had left me in bad shape on the field as they took a charge from the Stegadon whilst the LSG were charged by the Salamander. Looking back on this, I should probably have fled the Stegadon and would have most likely bounced over the building and got away. In my defence I thought I could take on the Stegadon with the WL. As you will see though, I was wrong!

Magic was a bad split for me at 5v4 - this kind of split really maximises the advantage of the +1PD for the Slann. Luckily though, the phase went badly for my opponent after I dispelled the RiP throne. He started by casting throne again but I then dispelled Flesh to Stone and Regrowth was failed.

In shooting, the Skinks put a wound on the archers.

Close combat proved messy as the WLs put 2W on the Stegadon who then crushed almost all of them in return. A combination of impact hits, lots of regular attacks and a thunderstomp decimated my elite unit. They held on a stubborn Ld check though. The Prince and BSB put out a lot of wound but, the Saurus were still steadfast due to having ranks.

In the LSG v. Temple Guard combat the LSG managed a single wound but had 5 of their own number killed (a smaller number than expected thanks to Pha’s). They fled but luckily escaped the attention of the Salamander who gave chase. The Temple Guard reformed to hopefully make a difference in the fight against the dragon.

HE6

My sixth was a turn of little movement as the LSG rallied. Magic ended up being 9v5 with the only spell to get through a casting of Net of Amyntok on the Temple Guard. In shooting the archers accounted for 4 skinks who then passed panic. Again, cold blooded was showing its worth.

In combat the WLs were cut down without causing a wound whilst the Saurus were reduced to a single rank without any reply. The Stegadon reformed towards the archers. This was a mistake I feel as the attacks of the Stegadon could have done some serious damage to the Prince/Dragon due to their str.

L6

There was some movement but by-and-large the Lizards stayed put to avoid surrendering further VPs. Magic was 7v5 and the net result of the phase was that the Saurus block were Shielded with thorns and had 4 of their number regrown.

Shooting was ineffective for the Lizards as there were either no targets readily available or else they missed.

Combat was huge this turn as I really wanted to kill the Saurus and get a major victory. Unfortunately the Prince fluffed all his attacks! Luckily though, his mount and the BSB made up for this and the Saurus were hacked down as they fled the field.

Game over and a High Elf victory!

Results
A clear win to the High Elves though not as large a victory as it could have been. I feel I made a few critical mistakes - as did my opponent.

First up, sorry for some inaccuracies in diagrams. My pictures from the game proved to be pretty shocking when I went back and reviewed them and these are my usual source for unit placement information. Also, thanks to the uselessness of Battle Chronicler in not allowing you to easily undo stuff, there are a few problems with the diagram. Again, apologies for this. So, what did I learn from this game...

As usual, I forgot terror/fear tests consistently. Maybe I’ll write it on the back of my hand before my next game!

Should I have eaten a dwellers on the LSG during the first Lizardmen magic phase? I’m not sure on this one but there were a couple of instances when the scroll would have been useful later on in the game. In the end though, it probably wasn’t a great idea to risk one of my mages (carrying said scroll) so early in the game.

I forgot about the Skink priest for most of the game. He could’ve given me some fairly easy points on the board. I really need to remember things like this for tournament play as they could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

I did not use my BSB effectively this game. He only saw combat in the last turn and was never really in a position to make use of his rerolls. This is not good on my part.

I feel as though some of my other mistakes (e.g. accepting the Stegadon charge, etc) were down to inexperience playing against Lizards and these units in particular. You can count on the fact that I won’t do the same again!

Lizards Feedback
I think that deployment really hurt my opponent and in the end cost him the game. My combat units had free reign over his right flank and he was never really in a position to threaten the dragon. By putting the second Saurus block behind his lines my opponent played into my hands as his superior numbers never came into play. These guys should have been in-line with the rest of the force with the Cold Ones out on a flank - probably the far right to sweep around the building and threaten my WLs.

I also think my opponent was far too cautious. There were several phases when he could have charged me or been more aggressive but wasn’t. My core infantry could not have stood up to his Temple Guard and likewise I have few units that can damage the Stegadon. I think that my opponents mistakes cost him the game more than my good play as I don’t in any way feel like this was my best game. Having said this though, I guess the fact that I saw these mistakes and capitalised on them is good.

As usual if anyone has any thoughts about how either myself or the Lizards guy approached this game please share them!

[John Rainbow]

Some feedback on some previous comments from before the BatRep:

In my dragon list i play my mages like this:

Level 1 High Mage with Annulian crystall. drain + shield.
Level 2 XXX Mage with Jewel of the dusk and ruby ring of fire.
i often take heavens on the L2 because of Iceshard Blizzard and the lightning / comet spells.

I think it offer a good seletion of offencive and defencive spells and would have been much better for you in this game.

I don't think my spell selection was at fault here. It was my inability to stop my opponent from casting crucial spells that really hurt me. My big issue with doing something like you suggest is that I both lose out on magical defence and my already reduced casting ability is reduced further still. I have said before that I don't believe Shield of Saphery to be all that valuable in this list as it is nice to have but not necessary to my survival. As with Atlantic's suggestions after yours, a big problem with having mages take two different lores is that you lose the benefit of almost always getting some useful spells. Whilst you might sometimes get the exact spells you want, probability says you won't get them most of the time. By taking the same lore with two mages, you can capitalise on the fact that they aren't allowed the same spells, etc when they generate them. This can be crucial in getting the spells I want.

The way I see it, your list isn't optimized to take full advantage of light in the first place. Light is awesome, but with how you are kitted out you aren't guaranteed to get Banishment and at Strength 5, it isn't a game breaker.

Heavens has some cool stuff in it other than the already mentioned Harmonic Convergence. I think it also combos well with Light. More important, these combos will pull scrolls early as they are kind've devastating.

I agree that I am not kitted out to make full effect of Banishment, however, 2d6 Str5 hits re-rolling ward saves is still very good. The reason I have taken light magic is not because I am trying to run a coven approach, far from it in fact. I am only kitted out for magical defence. I generate no extra power dice and actual casting of spells is a secondary priority to stopping my opponents phases.

There is a huge benefit to taking the same lore on both casters - you are more likely to get the spells you want/need. Light is an especially good choice for this as all of the spells are useful in some regard. Whilst there are some very nice lore combinations out there, I am hardly equipped to take advantage of them with my current setup. I am not willing to sacrifice my current defensive items for say, the Seerstaff or wand which would allow me to take advantage of some of the combos you quote. Doing so would negatively affect my ability to defend against magic. You also have to factor in that I am not as likely to get spells through my opponent's defences when casting with a lvl2. As I mentioned before, actual casting of spells is a secondary priority to defending against them.

The other issue here is that I want cheap magic missiles or ranged damage spells that can be boosted if required. The Lore of Light is very good in this regard compared to other lores.

Something I would ask you to consider is this: I only have two level twos that get 2 spells each. Firstly, what are the chances of getting the spells I want in some of the combinations you have listed? Secondly, with the average split of power dice in my own phase being 7v4 (assuming no shenanigans with channels, items, etc) what is the likelihood that I will get both spells needed for the combination to go off? In my opinion, these two factors make the possibility that this works very unlikely. Thus I need to have spells that are good on their own to start with i.e. spells that give me some advantage without being cast in combination with other spells.

Level 3 wizard with Heavens
Level 3 wizard with Light and Seerstaff (Pha's, Banishment, Net)

There is no way I could find the points for these choices without changing my list entirely. The Prince on Dragon costs 622pts out of a possible 625pts allocated to Lords choices. Taking 2 lord level casters would necessitate a different list/strategy.

[Atlantic]

I totally forgot about the dragon and the lords point consideration.

My bad.

What about Level 2 Light seerstaff and a level 2 with heavens?

[~Milliardo~]

Good game this time!

Not much to say about your playing - the few mistakes I noticed, you also mentioned. Your White Lions getting smashed like that are exactly why, as much as I like Shadow and some of the more offensive lores, I keep defaulting back to Life and High Magic. Unless everything goes their way, they really die quite easily in combat.

[John Rainbow]

Your White Lions getting smashed like that are exactly why, as much as I like Shadow and some of the more offensive lores, I keep defaulting back to Life and High Magic. Unless everything goes their way, they really die quite easily in combat.

They do indeed if you're not careful. In this case I wasn't really aware of what I was charging though and that is what cost me.

So I had a friend over this evening and ended up playing an unexpected game at 2500pts v. his Chaos Warriors.

His list was roughly as follows:

Sorcerer Lord(4)[Shadow]+puppet
Sorcerer(2)[Tzeentch]+dispel, disc
BSB
Hero + disc, 4++, stream of corruption

18 Warriors of Khorne + halberds
18 Warriors of Tzeentch + sword & board
45 Khorne Marauders + GW

2 x Slaneesh Chariot
Hellcannon

So, in no way a cheese-fest list but a decent one nonetheless. I used the same list I have been using for a while but switched to dual Heavens casters to test it out. To summarise the game, his Hellcannon rolled a direct hit on every turn it fired. This killed the dragon on T2. On T3 the Hellcannon misfired (while still rolling a direct hit) and both my casters took a wound after puppetry forced my miscast to a 9. On my T3 I miscast on 3d and then killed both my wizards after being forced to take result 9 again from the miscast chart (Str.6 hits). Fortunately my Prince managed to kill some stuff without his dragon - the Khorne warriors and then the Sorcerer Lord in the unit of Tzeentch warriors - to snatch a draw from an otherwise crushing defeat. At the end of the game, 3 remaining WLs also saved me from losing 450pts and the game. So, not a great game for me as luck was on my opponent's side. I had average rolls. He just had better ones pretty consistently! MVP was the Hellcannon.

In terms of Heavens magic I have made up my mind. It doesn't really work with this list. Having a single magic missile really hurts and the other spells don't really help me that much. I don't need the spells like comet as I already have a huge movement advantage and the reroll buffs while nice, aren't essential to HE who already get some of them and tend to have a poor AS, etc anyway. For instance the WLs already get to reroll hits, they generally wound on a 2+ so rerolling ones is good here but not critical. In terms of AS they generally don't get one if they take return hits so the reroll is less useful. So, Heavens is out as a magic lore for me as of now.

Tomorrow I am playing in a mini-tournament style event with some friends to practice for the Crossroads GT (I think there will be 7 or 8 of us) and will try to get some BatRep material from it for you guys. I will be using the 2500pt Star Dragon list from my last game. I imagine I will be using dual Light mages but I might test something else if I feel like it. Either way, wish me luck!

[SpellArcher]

Well played for the Lizardman game John. His units did seem to get tangled up but then facing a Dragon can have that effect I think as the other guy tries to stay flexible enough to counter it's myriad options. Even with your solid magic defence the Slann seemed to get some stuff through but it was not game-breaking.

Personally, I've never been a fan of the 2 Lvl2's set-up but this is mainly a style thing. I have to say though that I'm getting it now for this list. I think you are on the right track with both Mages on Light. Some games you will get little off due to strong enemy defence but some you will. I agree though that the chances of setting up spell combos, even if you had Sorcery, are slim against a good player. I don't think it's a better set-up than Curu's High Mage with Crystal but it looks like an equally viable one.

Of course the benefit of Curu's way is that he has more points for troops in an army already spending heavily on characters. This seemed illustrated to me in the way your Swordmasters went down, where a bigger unit might have survived the game. I take it you still feel the magic item slots are worth using, even on such a small unit? I have to say I've got faith in it. Some players will only take Banner of Sorcery for example on a great big unit but for me you pick the tools you need and if some things work out fragile, you live with it.

Good luck!

[John Rainbow]

Personally, I've never been a fan of the 2 Lvl2's set-up but this is mainly a style thing. I have to say though that I'm getting it now for this list.

I much prefer this setup to having a lone level 2. Just that fact that I now have a scroll and the crystal is huge for defence and it helps my offense by offering more spells. I agree that it is a large investment of points but currently I think that it is worth it. For the cost of one of these guys I could either add some core troops or extra SMs (see next comment) but I don't think that this is really warranted. I don't think there's enough points to get a new unit other than an eagle or chariot.

This seemed illustrated to me in the way your Swordmasters went down, where a bigger unit might have survived the game.

True but these guys are somewhat of a weak link in my army anyway. A clever opponent should put their shooting these guys as they go down so easily and are worth more than my core (who admittedly go down just as quickly). I don't see there being a huge gain in adding to this unit although getting a second rank could be helpful. They do not keep pace with my faster elements and as I said, represent a very vulnerable unit that can be taken advantage of. At the moment I am unwilling to sacrifice what the second mage gives me to add to this unit.

I take it you still feel the magic item slots are worth using, even on such a small unit?

Definitely. There are a couple of reasons for the setup I have on this unit. Initially I want to get in the Skeinsliver. With such a small army I am virtually guaranteed the +1 for going first and this items nets me a +2. Statistically this is a huge swing for getting the first turn and it can really help. For instance, last night I played a Hellcannon Chaos list and by turn two Prince Alithir had been undragononed after only two (lucky) hits. If I had got the first turn - and I was unlucky not to, this would not have happened as would have been in combat by his T2.

The banner is there for two reasons: it uses up a few points I have left over and is good in those stupid Blood and Glory scenarios of which I believe there is one in the Crossroads GT. This is a tournament in late September that I am currently aiming towards.

[John Rainbow]

Gaming Weekend Summary
So I played three games yesterday in the following order:

1. Bretonnians
2. Empire (Net Cav. List)
3. Lizardmen

Game 1 was a simple pitched battle which I won pretty handily after the dragon got stuck in and my SM (luckily) managed to kill the Bretonnian lord. He had 7 Heroic Killing blow attacks so could have potentially killed the dragon but next to no defensive abilities so he when he got hit first, he died. Eagles took care of Trebuchets and redirecting.

Game 2 was a Blood and Glory scenario and I faced Empire. My opponent used his mobility to run away from the dragon and left me with a choice on T2. Either charge the Steam Tank, or move to the other side of a building (out of Steam Tank charge range) and weather a turn of fire but then kill his main unit and win the game in one fell swoop. I'm not sure what I should have done here really although with hindsight maybe going for the big kill was a bad move. It forced my opponent into an all-or-nothing play to take out the dragon. If he failed, it would give me the game but if he got it, it would be bad for me. Unluckily, he got what he wanted and a combination of shooting, magic and CC killed the Prince first, to be followed shortly by his mount. I ended up being crushed.

Game 3 was the silly random deployment scenario where units could end up on the left, right or center depending on the roll of a dice. Obviously I hadn't learned from my previous game and went for the 'big' play again and charged the Slann and Temple Guard on T2. Again, this backfired (although I did kill all the TG) as I left enough room for a counter charge which took out the dragon. From there the game was pretty even and looked to be heading towards a draw but he got off Flesh to Stone irresistibly on a Saurus block in contact with my WL. In the last turn of the game I needed to make 2 6's (for armour saves) from a total of 11 dice and only got one. This lost me the WL and gave my opponent a minor victory.

So, I went 1 and 2 total for the day which was a little disappointing. I had some good chances but my own mistakes cost me. I went for the big kill twice in two games and lost out each time.

Lesson for the day: Patience is a Virtue!

P.S. Sorry no BatReps, it was rather too relaxed an affair with rather too much beer involved to do BatReps during games!

[John Rainbow]

PAINT BRUSHES
So, I have been doing a fair bit of painting recently and though I do not profess to be Golden Daemon standard (or anywhere near it for that matter), I think I can paint to a reasonably good standard (my painted, Eagle Mounted BSB). I thought it might be useful to go through some of the brushes I have used in the past and why I use what I use and whether I like them or not. I hope someone might find this useful...

Synthetic Brushes
When I first started painting my High Elves (and playing WFB) it was just after my move to the US and all I could find locally were some fairly low standard synthetic brushes made to be used with acrylic. They each cost around $10 and I got a range of sizes. I should also say I got them from an art store, if that means anything... They were not a cheapo Walmart option or similar. I found that in painting, I most often used brushes around (brush) size 1 or size 0. These brushes were perfectly good but only ever lasted a couple of months (if that) probably due to the low quality and my somewhat aggressive use of them. The issue would always be that the bristles eventually bent out of shape and became unusable for anything requiring any fine control.

I still have these brushes and use them for all sort of things - drybrushing, washes, etc that I don't want to use my nicer brushes for. They were very good while they lasted but they didn't last long.

Sable Brushes - Raphael 8404 Series
From my synthetic brushes I climbed (lots and lots of rungs) up the ladder of brush quality and found myself settling somewhere near the top with the Raphael 8404 series brushes made from Kolinsky Sable. For those of you who aren't in the know, this means that most of my brushes are made from a type of Siberian weasel. Apparently the fur of the humble weasel is very good for making (acrylic) paint brushes due to it's absorbency and springiness, amongst other factors. Allegedly, the best (acrylic) brushes are made from 'Red Sable' from the belly of said weasel. I fear I have digressed, but now you know where your brush comes from. I chose these brushes after a quick search online and reading about a debate between the Raphael brushes and a competing company called Windsor and Newton. There is also another kid on the block called Rosemary and Co. who also make good brushes according to some reviews. I went for Raphael purely on the basis of a single review on CMON which had some pictures and said they were very good (Link).

I got my Sable brushes from a website called ASW Express and they each cost around $10 for a size, 2/0, 0 and size 2 brush (during a sale - price is about double this now). Interestingly this is around the same price as I paid for my synthetic brushes from the art store. Note that the price of Kolinsky Sable brushes skyrockets as the size goes up at quite a fantastic rate. I have to say, I was very surprised by both the quality and 'feel' of these brushes when I got them. I also think they are single-handedly responsible for improving the results of my painting as they hold their shape so well. The brush I most often use now is the size 2. it holds an incredibly small point for a larger brush - they are quite 'thick bodied' - and can do pretty much everything I ask it to. I would highly recommend such a brush to anyone painting minis out there. This is especially true when you can get them for the same price as a synthetic brush.

These brushes have also proven to be extremely durable. I have used my size 2 for all sorts of weird and wonderful painting techniques, even drybrushing (though that was a bad idea - it ruins brushes) and it is still going strong after about 8 months. My Raphael size 2 is pretty much exclusively the only brush I use whilst painting.

I should also say that at the same time as I got these brushes I also bought some brush soap to clean them with. This has also been great and you can definitely tell that it works. I tired it on an old brush once and the effect was astounding. I would recommend some brush soap to any people like myself looking to 'move up in the brush world'. Whether it's the soap that's helping the brush last or just pure brush quality I don't know. I imagine it's both though. FYI I use 'Master's Brush Soap'. The reason I got this one was that it was in a review for brush soap and someone made some comments about the brushes being 'real hair' and needing cleaning as such. I believe you can use shampoo/conditioner on your brushes but have never tried taking a shower with mine (as of yet).

How well these brushes match up to the other Sable options (Rosemary & Co, Windsor & Newton, etc) I will likely never know as I will probably be buying a Raphael again when I eventually need a new one. I don't think I would ever use a different brush now. That's how much I like these ones.

GW Brushes
I recently came by a GW brush set and got it on the cheap. I have only had it for a few months but so far I have been very impressed. In case people are wondering the different brushes in the set are made of different materials depending on the application e.g. stiffer for drybrushing. The brushes are made of: Sable, Ox hair or synthetic materials (Nylon?). The brushes are all of the new GW type and cost me somewhere around $30 for the set. Note that the old type GW brushes were notoriously crap so beware what you buy on eBay or similar.

Thus far I have been very impressed with these brushes. They paint very well and hold their shape nicely. It's also good to have a different brush specifically for different things. I now have a brush specifically for washes that came in the GW set and works really well as it has bristles that hold extra 'wash' than usual. So, in summary, the GW brushes seem to be pretty decent so far. I'll let you know more a couple of months down the road.

Other Brushes
There's always a place for some other brushes and I keep an array of old or cheap brushes for a multitude of purposes. Quite often, I use these brushes for simply blocking out colour over a large area or drybrushing stuff. My only advice here would be to only throw a brush away if it is seriously torn up. They can always be used for something painting related that you don't want to use your nice brushes for. A good example is painting on PVA glue before flocking the base of a mini. Do not use a Sable brush for this. EVER.

Anyway, that's it for now. Here's hoping someone finds this useful. In closing, always keep the brush protector on when you're not using a brush!

[John Rainbow]

Also, any comments on whether people find this kind of thing useful/improvements to make would be awesome.

[Atlantic]

I'm not sure you played the final two games wrong.

I don't know enough about what happened during the 2nd game, but in game 3 it looks like you were more a victim of your dice.

The Dragon list is a bold gambit in the first place. I think threatening the Slann in T2 is probably a smart move most of the time as once his unit is in combat he can't magic missile the rest of your army.

[John Rainbow]

I'm not sure you played the final two games wrong.

I don't know enough about what happened during the 2nd game, but in game 3 it looks like you were more a victim of your dice.

The Dragon list is a bold gambit in the first place. I think threatening the Slann in T2 is probably a smart move most of the time as once his unit is in combat he can't magic missile the rest of your army.

So, in game 2 I had a chance at an all or nothing play that forced my opponent into the same type of situation. Unfortunately it backfired on me and I got crushed. I don't think I had any other option here due to the positioning of the Stank and Helblasters defending his army. I am not that unhappy about this loss.

You are correct in saying that the Star Dragon list is a bold one that either pays off or gets royally smashed when facing a hard counter i.e. gunlines and cannon. But, just because the list is bold, does not mean you have to play it in such a risky manner. What I meant was that against the Lizardmen I had options to take the slow victory by using my mobility but I got starry eyes and went for the big kill. This didn't really pan out for me (which I should have seen coming) and ended up costing me the game. The bad dice roll at the end just made it worse. I should have been more patient about my play and took apart the army a unit at a time rather than going for it all at once - the temptation to try and kill the Slann when was exposed proved to be too much.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Recent Thoughts on Star Dragon Lists
I should start by saying that I intend to carry on with this list for the foreseeable future, especially as it is nearly all painted! However, I think it worth writing down that I currently believe there are stronger HE builds out there. I am of course thinking of something more along the lines of Furion's or Brewmaster's lists. This post was somewhat prompted by Atlantic who mentioned the 'gambling' nature of the Star Dragon list. It is high risk, high reward. There are several armies that cannot handle this list unless they are forewarned and tailor against it. There are however, other lists that are exceptionally good against the Star Dragon. The usual Ogre double Iron Blaster list springs to mind as a hard counter to the dragon, which is in no way tailored against it. In fact it's a very good build against most people when backed up with the right troops selections but that's not the point.

My reasoning for saying that this list is not the optimum HE build is the existence of these hard counters which don't necessarily exist for other armies. For instance, the Coven of Light approach can deal with most opponents and has relatively few 'hard counters'. The real dangers with this list are things that force miscasts and affect the magic phase. I am thinking along the lines of the Hellheart, Becalming Cogitation and Banner of Sundering amongst other things. Having said this, the Star Dragon list, as Curu in particular has shown on this forum, has the potential to be very successful in the right environment. I believe that the ETC rules do help this list with the way they treat LoS, particularly around terrain. I believe that I have also been somewhat successful with this list but as a newer player, have made a lot of mistakes with it too. I am looking forward to my next tournament to really test it out some more.

From Curu's last posts (made some time ago now), I believe he was thinking along the same lines when he decided to try and subvert the Coven-lite approach into his Star Dragon list as a way to make it more rounded. Personally, I don't think this works as it means even more points have to be put in characters and puts even more work on the Dragon in terms of damage output and CC. In my eyes Curu was trying to incorporate a more MSU approach with his Dragon-Coven list as a way to get round this problem - by trying to stall CC and pick his fights whilst using the mini-coven to take out the more threatening units. I would potentially try this list but I'm not sure I have the ability as a player to get all of this working together (I'm a positive thinker as you can tell!).

So, what do I believe to be the best approach? I actually think that a list built around solid combat blocks of PG and WL could be successsful. I think that combining this with good magic (maybe Shadow?) and trying to build in synergy between all the list elements would work. I am aware that it would be very reliant on magic to work however. I also imagine that an all archer core would be the right way to go here to try and take advantage of some of the de-buffs in shadow. I imagine this will be my next approach once I am done with the Dragon list - which won't be any time soon.

[Atlantic]

I'm on a quest for something unique. Your's and Curu's Dragon list got me thinking for a moment.

I think in the long run this would probably not work out, but it may be worth discussing.

Points would have to be worked out, along with magic items, but I was thinking about something like this.

Archmage, level 4, Life, probably Invincible
Archmage, level 3 with silver wand, lore of beasts - hoping for transformation
Mage, level 2, seerstaff - to get transformation

BSB
30 ish spears
20 ish archers

big block of swords - probably a banner of sorcery
block of white lions

several eagles

The gamble would be to turn both of the wizards into monsters at some point during the game. Dragon and Chimera run around doing what they do. The combat units supported by the life mage move up and do what they do. As the life mage would be moving forward, it would be easier to put wounds back on the monsters.

[John Rainbow]

I'm on a quest for something unique. Your's and Curu's Dragon list got me thinking for a moment.

I think in the long run this would probably not work out, but it may be worth discussing.

This could work out very well in some situations but fall foul of various things in others. The main issue is I feel is an over reliance on magic and a distinct lack of magical defence. With these items you have listed, you cannot afford the crystal/scroll. I have seen things like this work but I have also seen them fail hard. Having no magical protection could be very bad indeed and lead to the 'fail hard' result.

An example I have faced: a friend of mine used to play a Wood Elf list with lots of cheap hero level characters (Branch Wraiths I believe). He would then keep a Beasts wizard behind them and attempt to get off a boosted Savage Beast of Horros. I saw it work against an Ogre list and the big guys just got shredded in single round of CC. It never worked against me however for various reasons like a poor phase at the wrong time or me having a scroll, etc. The Wood Elf player moved onto something more reliable in the end.

Magic is great, but building the whole offense around such a fickle concept is really tough. This added to the fact that your opponent could dispel the Transformations in his turn leads me to believe this might not be a great idea. When it works, it will really work. But, when it doesn't it will really hurt you. By all means though, try it and report back here!

[Lord Anathir]

re the saurus game:

"In combat the Saurus Champion challenged Prince Alithir who could not refuse. He was smacked back down though, Alithir doing a single mighty wound in the process. The dragon could not add any more res. due to being at a different initiative step and I ended up losing CC by 2 points. Luckily, Alithir held on an Ld8."

I think this was mighty risk to take, especially with BSB out of range. As a dragon user myself I can't say I would've made that charge. I've lost my dragon to some silly stuff, and in the end I usually prefer to be safe with it when it comes to determining its combats. However its assuring to know the dragon has that resilience. He will have min +2 res on the first turn after eating the champ. Plus you didnt even know what gear the scar vet had! I think I might've flown the dragon behind the saurus/cok, and advance the lions as you did, with the bsb. That would give you good options on a combo charge that has virtually no chance of losing. You killed both units anyways, but it could so easily have been the dragon breaking, getting caught and then the lions trying to engage full saurus + cok.

[John Rainbow]

I think this was mighty risk to take, especially with BSB out of range.

You are indeed correct on this. I think I have said before that one of the most dangerous situations for the dragon to be in is the first round of CC and in a challenge with a unit champion. He will usually be killed by the Prince and as such there is little combat res generated. I too have had the dragon break from CC in a situation very similar to this, however, I have always been lucky so far and gotten away.

In the situation that arose in this game I wanted to break the Lizardman right as quickly as possible due to the Stegadon and Temple Guard coming down the other side. What might have been a better idea and in a similar vein to your suggestion would be to tackle the Cold One Knights first. I can then either overrun out of the way of the Saurus or turn to face them (and possibly take a charge) depending upon the position of the WLs/BSB after my own phase.

Something I definitely need to work on is my judgement of risk/reward with this list. It has come up in my last few games too.

Plus you didnt even know what gear the scar vet had!

But I would not be able to find this out unless I got into CC in the first place. Its kind of a catch 22 situation. I can see only two real options with doing this: (1) use the WL champ to challenge and find out what he has. The loss of the WL champ is not a huge blow to me although it wound generate combat res. for him due to many attacks and lose my Amulet of Light. (2) Use the Prince to challenge. The Prine should be able to see off most opponents in CC and has decent enough defences that a combat character probably won't get him in one turn. The Dragon also gets to hit against the relatively slow Saurus.

The BSB can't really be used for this as he does not have a ward save and is kind of inbetween the Prince and WL Champ in terms of abilities in CC. I also can't afford to lose him!

Do you have any other suggestions about how to find out what items he has or go about taking him out?

[Big Brother]

Sable Brushes - Raphael 8404 Series

As an aside, I fully recommend these brushes as well. I have been using them for about 9 months now and love them. usually use #2, #1, and #0, but I am also thinking even a smaller one might be nice for detail work.

Also, I am glad to see you continuing the dragon lists. I have been working one up that I will test Thursday. Hopefully I will get enough notes to put up a report.

[John Rainbow]

SPAM IN WFB
A topic that has come up in different guises in a couple of different posts on this site recently has been spamming units. Whilst the posts I am referring to have not been referring to 'spam' specifically, that is what is being talked about and what I want to discuss here.

So, first up, what is spam?

Spam is the concept of taking many repetitive or similar unit choices in a given army.

Is spamming acceptable?
Spam is seen as somewhat boring and predictable, especially in the 40K world where RazorSpam in particular became the norm for the majority of MEQ armies in 5th edition. Whether this will be the case in 6th edition 40K still remains to be seen. Having said this, much of the problem with spam is related to 40K only because of the prevalence of such lists, even to the point where tournaments would feature almost nothing else. In 40K spam has also always been much easier to achieve due to available lists/game balance.

In the WFB world, spam is generally more acceptable and is mostly not even referred to as 'spam'. I am talking for instance of armies made up of purely Chaos Warriors, Marauders or the new breed of Empire Cav. lists. These types of list are usually not referred to as spam lists, even though they are. This probably has something to do with several factors. For instance, most army books feature at least a few competitive builds meaning that similar lists are not all that common. Also, some lists featuring multiples of a single unit are not actually any good. I am thinking here of the fact that we can lead armies composed entirely of big blocks of Chaos Warriors on a merry dance around the table.

Why bother with spam and why does it work?
Spamming is done for several reasons, but usually it is because the unit in question is the optimal choice. It might be the best unit in the book, under-costed leading to high points efficiency or even broken under the current ruleset. This kind of thing leads to such infamous lists as the 'Marauder Horde' which features a hideous number of hideously effective yet undercosted troops which get more efficient as the unit gets bigger. Hence they get 'spammed'.

How can spam inform list building?
If we ignore the fact that some armies can take multiple blocks of cheesy units for spam (i.e. those that are under-costed or broken), we can actually look at some of the more tactical aspects of spam. A good example of this is the all-cav. Empire list. By taking multiple blocks of high AS cavalry, the opponent reduces the options available to any of your troops which have little to no armour-piercing ability. I will explain this further: consider an Empire army half of which is 2+ AS cavalry with the other half made up of low cost infantry like halberdiers who have T3 and a poor AS. You have a shooty army with some bolt throwers and archers. In this situation you would shoot the armour-piercing bolt throwers at the knights and the archers at the infantry. You have targets for all of your force. If instead you faced the all-cav. list, your archers would have no 'good' targets as they have no armour-piercing ability. Thus, by spamming Knights, the Empire player has gained an advantage over your force - it takes 12 of your Str3 archers/spearmen to kill a single Knight (assuming 4+ to hit & 4+ to wound). Your opponent has effectively multiplied his force by 12 in this case. This is a tactical advantage provided by spam.

Spam can also be disadvantageous however. An army composed of entirely combat oriented troops (Warrior spam) is more vulnerable to being redirected or delayed and shot to pieces. This is especially true for these types of armies against us and other armies with low cost, high mobility redirectors.

These kind of effects must be considered when we are building lists. As a general rule, HE are not that great at spam as we would traditionally conceive of it. Our troops generally have poor T and AS so a list such as the Empire one cited is impossible to create with the current edition army book (though I bet this changes in the next edition HE book!). Our units are also expensive and a lot of them cannot be spammed as they are usually limited by numbers and cost - the units we would probably want to spam are our elite/rare choices.

Can HE use spam/spam tactics?
Yes, but perhaps not in the way you might think. A good example is the coven of light which has spammed both Light mages to increase the magical effectiveness of the army and archers to increase the ranged output of the list. This is still spam but of the a-typical kind. HE lists also often feature multiple eagles - they are the most effective unit at what they do and are very points efficient. Again, one could argue this is bordering on spam.

In another post myself and Jaith were discussing the issue of target saturation or prioritising between units. This is similar to the shooty army v. cav. list example that I put down earlier. We were talking in the context of the dragon list and how most high strength shots will be targeting the dragon. Whilst I disagreed with some of what was said, this issue got me thinking about how we put together lists and expect an opponent to play against it. I guess the outcome of the discussion was that some care should be taken to avoid presenting easy targets to the opponent. By this I mean do not expect to take a single unit of DPs supported by infantry and expect the anti-armour attacks of the opponent to go anywhere other than the DPs. This kind of situation is somewhat difficult to avoid for HE as we are limited in the number of heavily armoured units we can take, but we could mitigate this situation by taking WL which have a better AS v. shooting or another unit of cavalry. The second option is that which Seredain opted for in his list - by taking a unit of DPs and then another unit of SHs as a character bus, he presented two targets for his opponents. Both of these also have decent combat potential and make the opponent think about which to attack with any of their units that can potentially damage them.

So, there you have it. I have potentially rambled on about things here but this was something that had been on my mind for a while. I hope someone at least finds something useful in there...

Anyone else have thoughts about WFB spam?

[John Rainbow]

HIGH ELVES v. LIZARDMEN 2500pts
So I've been sitting on this one for a while but as I've been so busy I didn't have chance to get the BatRep done till now. I played my buddy Austin and his Lizards at 2500pts in a simple battleline scenario. I am still using the dragon list but this time was trying out high magic on my mages.

Lists:

High Elves
Prince Alithir on Stardragon + GW, AoC, Vambraces, Loec
Casyin, Noble BSB on eagle + S.Might, DA, shield, Helm Fortune
Eiltia, Level 2 High Mage + Annulian
Fenrier, Level 2 High Mage + Dispel Scroll, Ironcurse Icon

28 Seaguard + command, shields, BoEF
21 Archers + musician

25 WLs + command, Am.Light, +1 Movement Banner
7 SMs + command, Skeinsliver, Gleaming Pennant

2 x GE

Lizardmen
Slann[Life] + cupped hands, +1 PD, take away 6's
Scar Veteran
Scar Veteran

31 Saurus + command
31 Saurus + command
23 Temple Guard + Command

2 x 1 Salamander
3 Terradon Riders
2 x 6 Chameleon Skinks
Stegadon

Deployment

The Slann new all the Life spells and I was rolling for High magic. I got Vauls and Flames on the mage in the archers and Shield and Fury on the mage in LSG. A pretty decent combo! As for deployment, I was pretty happy. I had a fairly solid refused flank, the only issue would be that I needed to deal with the Stegadon before it could hit my infantry. Str/T 3 v. dinosaur = dead Elves. It would have to be the Dragon dealing with this guy!

My list deployed first due to my low unit count and I had +2 for the first turn. As such I promptly rolled a 1!

L 1

The Lizards began a cautious advance and the battle had begun!

The winds came up 8v7 (bad for me due to that stupid +1PD to each roll) and I was forced to use my scroll to dispel Dwellers after using my dice on Throne.

On the left my eagle was killed by the Chameleon Skinks whilst the unit on the other flank took down a Sword Master.

HE 1

I acted swiftly and moved up on the right flank as quickly as I could, declaring charges on the way. Unfortunately the dragon failed to make it into B2B with the stegadon and 2 SMs were lost to stand and shoot but the BSB made it into contact with the Terradons. I was forced to move my eagle up to block the stegadon from charging me next turn.

Magic was 7v5 and I first cast Fury using 2d which my opponent dispelled with 3d. Putting 4d into Flames of the Phoenix netted me 7 dead Saurus but I failed to cast Shield. Two further Saurus were brought down by shooting.

In CC, the BSB butchered the Terradons and overran out of the arc of both the Stegadon and the Saurus. Result! The skinks likewise were slaughtered by the SM before getting a chance to strike back and they too, overran.

L 2

This turn started with the Stegadon declaring a charge on the blocking Eagle. I elected to flee as my units were out of reach of the dinosaur but alas, the poor eagle was caught and trodden into the dirt. Elsewhere, the lizards looked to close the gap between the armies and get to grips with my slower units.

Magic came up 6v5 and after my opponent used some dice to dispel the RiP Flames, I dispelled Throne. Awakening of the Wood was cast on the archers but was also dispelled. Yay for +3 to dispel! My joy was short lived however as the Salamander closest to my WL belched out a huge fireball and roasted 5 of my plucky Elves.

HE 2

I noticed that I could potentially get a dual combat going on here and elected to charge with both my WL and the BSB at the Temple Guard, unfortunately I'd misjudged it slightly and it meant the WL had to contact both the TG and the Salamander. I knew my BSB would kill the Sally but was hoping he would then overrun into the TG. With the WL in contact with both the TG and the Salamander it meant my BSB would be left high and dry and outside of the combat as he would no longer be in B2B. I think I should have charged both the Salamander on the other side of the TG and the TG with my WL to pull of the rolling combat that I wanted.

MY dragon also charged the Stegadon and the SM reformed to help out if needed. The magic dice rolled up 10v6 and I set about casting Vauls and destroyed cupped hands. I then ended my phase by miscasting and doing a wound to each mage . My archers managed to score 3W on the Saurus block ahead of them.

In CC the Dragon crushed the Stegadon after taking a wound and 12TG and the Salamander fell before 8WL were struck down in return. As predicted, the BSB was now out of the fight for a turn...

L 3

Turn 3 opened up with the Saurus failing a charge aimed at the BSB (it was a long one so I had held). The Slann got 7v6 dice and I dispelled a great cast of Throne (3v6d). This then allowed the Slann to get off Flesh to Stone, Regen and Shield of Thorns which killed 2WL.

Needless to say, combat did not go well. 3TG were killed but in return my WL were left at 2 men strong.

HE 3

I used my turn 3 to do some rearranging. The Dragon switched flanks and the BSB charged the remaining Salamander to do the same. Magic was a failure but shooting took down 8 Saurus and the BSB routed the Salamander in CC. Unfortunately the last WL were also killed in CC with the (now very angry) TG.

L 4

The Lizardman advance continued whilst the Salamander continued to flee. The Lizardmen magic phase did not go well after the Slann failed to make the value for Regrowth.

HE 4

I used this turn to ready myself for the killing blow in the second half of the game. The dragon moved to the flank of the TG and toasted 2 of them with his breath weapon. Mmm... tastes like chicken! A further TG was downed by shooting and again magic represented a failure launch.

L 5

The Lizardmen troops made towards my lines while the TG turned to face their DOOM! And try to cast some spells for some help. Unfortunately all that came of the magic phase was 2 Regrown TG. No buffs. Not good for Lizards!

HE 5

This was it! The Dragon/Prince and BSB charged the Slann and his guard while the rest of the Elves pretty much stayed put to watch their Lord go about his work. After getting 12v6d for magic, I cast Fury(2d), was rewarded with 7 hits and... zero wounds. Ouch. I did manage to get Flames through though and toast 7 more Saurus. Vauls was dispelled (4v6) and finally with my last dice I cast Shield on the archers.

It was clobberin' time and the Prince/Dragon/BSB combined to reduce the TG to the last man standing after some heroic amour saves from the Lizards (6+'s mostly). This meant we would go another round!

L 6

A My opponent declared a long charge against my archers (I had cast shield in anticipation and was hoping for some luck in CC) but the distance proved too much and the Lizardmen charge faltered. With that, the game was up as the Dragon/Prince and BSB killed the Slann and the last TG.

Result
A heroic victory for the HE against the forces of good! Yay.

I was pretty happy with how this one went other than my mistake in the BSB/WL charge situation. I haven't got too much else to say here really. It always seems like I learn more from defeat to be honest!

My choice of High magic for my casters worked out pretty well as I got the spells I wanted. I can't help thinking like I prefer Light as my 'go to' lore with this list though. More thought is needed I think before I finally decide.

So that wraps up a quick BatRep when I'm meant to be writing a research paper... comments and criticisms welcomed!

[~Milliardo~]

I feel the same way - not much to say when things go to plan!

Nevertheless, thanks for posting - it went well with my morning tea and eggs. :3

[John Rainbow]

Thanks Milliardo. Glad to know someone reads this...

Currently I am working on finishing up some archers, LSG and my display board. I'll put some pics up soon!

[~Milliardo~]

Looking forward to the pics!

Are you still using the Dragon List or did you move on yet?

[John Rainbow]

As promised, a few pics of what I've been doing recently...

Display board, LSG and archers
I'm working on a ruined temple theme display board, it has some fallen down pillars and and altar that you can see on top of the pink foam hill. Their is also some paving on the path to the altar and a small pattern in the foreground too. I'm going to be adding some quartz crystals around the back right end of the board at some point too.

The LSG are nearly done, I just have to go over and highlight up the models. The archers need washing and highlighting. There's a few days work in these guys still.


40k Vampires from Space!
The new 40k edition and a local escalation league have taken my attention away from WFB for the time being. This is the Sanguinary Priest I am using. It's based on the Corbulo model but I replaced his head with a helmeted one and have magnetized the backpack options. In this case I'm running a jumpers list.


I am doing an all-helmeted space marine list as I think the idea of not wearing the helmet is silly. They spend years (decades?) making a single marine and then they take their helmet off to get shot in the face? Yeah. No thanks. We're taking helmets. Maybe my saves will be luckier than usual...

My current 500pt BA list is something like:

Librarian + Plasma Pistol, J.Pack
Priest + Power Axe & Plasma Pistol, J.Pack

5 ASM + P.fist & Meltagun
5 Asm + P.Axe & Meltagun

If anyone has any ideas about how to escalate it up to 750pts please chime in! I'm thinking Attack Bikes with melta at the moment.

Again, the pics are pretty awful. Hooray for using an iPhone!

Are you still using the Dragon List or did you move on yet?

Milliardo, I am still using the Dragon list. I will be taking it to a tournament in late September. Expect to see some more BatReps/discussion around then. I am currently stuck with a pretty crappy month full of writing various things for my PhD so gaming has taken a back seat for a while. I'm spending my breaks from working on painting stuff when I get time.

You almost sound like you want me to move on from the Dragon list?