Path To Glory - ETC All Games Up!

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rusty
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs High Elves April 21st

#451 Post by rusty »

Nice report, thanks.

Impressive how your army chews through Demigryphs.
I like how you played the long game in taking down his mage with the small helms. Assume that was your plan with the unit all along?
Managing to keep the steam tank out of the fight was also good work.

The Empire BSB with Demis. Risky vs RBTs, why bother when he could have been placed in ICKs?

Your setup with charge-countercharge-overrun-new fight was well executed. However, there is substantial risk involved with so many break tests and overruns going your way to make it work perfectly to the end. As you found. I don't think you should expect that all the elements in the criticial line here would work.
I haven't done the math, but there's a big risk involved.
The big question here: could you have done anything different to kill those units in a less risky way?


Was your PG in range of General+BSB when taking the first ICK charge?

Magic: Good thing you spend relatively few points on magic when it doesn't work.

For army selection I'm surprised he didn't drop all his characters and a obsidian lodestone in the ICK's. Would have nicely negated a lot of your potential magic damage. It's risky in some ways, but as you've found, killing the last stubborn remains of such a unit can be a real pain.
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Curu Olannon
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs High Elves April 21st

#452 Post by Curu Olannon »

@sparkytrypod - the Prince was attacking him for all phases apart from the first, where I just wanted to reduce the RnF. I probably should have targeted the Lector with him here as well, as removing stubborn is my primary concern.

The problem with the Lions covering the rear is that they`re too few to stand up to 4 full-strength demis, reliably. With the Loremaster they`re also worth a lot of points. I could perhaps congaline them, but it`s still a risky move. Moving the Loremaster out of the unit is very risky as the STank is still alive. Also the Helms would still be in contact with the Archlector, they just slide after.

@RE.Lee - Indeed big demis are scary! However as all other high-quality fighting units, they are in desperate need of assistance. The Empire buffcarts are really good with them and Lore of Life/Light/Heavens can work wonders as well. In this game however the magical buffs didn`t really do that much. As for committing passively, it`s a big advantage to be able to force him to charge, since the alternative is worse. Furthermore this buys me another turn of Searing Doom + Spirit Leech.

@rusty - The Lions output 23 S6 attacks with the Loremaster. This averages a little over 6W, or two dead demis on average. Add to that, rank-piercing RBTs, Searing Doom and the Cavprince and things are looking good. In the current meta, having answers to MC is invaluable. The STank was just poorly deployed, the lake certainly helped in this regard as well. The Reavers eventually made a big difference as their wound helped to cause a misfire and they managed to block it at a critical point.

The Empire BSB - I don`t think he realized this mistake. It is common for opponents to underestimate RBTs, which is one of their major strengths.

As for the big cluster with overruns, break tests etc. I don`t really rate it as much of a risk to be honest. I`m steadfast with Lions + PG (who have way more ranks than IC Knights who were 6-wide) and have re-rollable LD10. While my overrun failed, I still could`ve won this fight big. I think the main mistake was not targeting the Archlector more, previously. The problem is that if I don`t commit Helms + WL to the IC Knights, the PG can be in trouble. If I only commit one unit, the Demis will eat the combat. Thus, one unit can block the Demis and the other can engage, or both can engage. The best choice for blocking is probably Lions as the Silver Helms only really do damage through the Prince and they aren`t stubborn. The Lions were reduced by the first fight, so I would probably only kill 1 on average. This leaves 3 striking back, in his turn with possible magic assistance as my scroll was gone. Add Iceshard to the mix (of which he has 2 casts) and it`s looking very grim. Even without magical assistance, the demis (3 surviving) deal 7.5 wounds to the Lions. Again, congalining is a possibility (with the Champ first, reducing damage output even further) with an ensuing combat reform if his magical assistance is poor. I fear this would be hard to do though as the space is rather crammed. I could probably do 2-wide which achieves the same effect (largely) as only 2 demis get to strike. Overall though, the SHelms + Lions into IC Knights should be able to hold the Demis charging through combat resolution. The problem was having the Prince target the unit in the first combat. He should`ve targeted the Lector, which would leave quite a few more IC Knights for ensuing combat res in the next phase, if the demis charge.

Having gone through this scenario now I think my decision was the best one, given the situation. I could have front-charged the 4 demis with the cavbus instead of aiding the Lions in the first place. The problem with this is that his Demis + BSB can suddenly hold my Lions, leaving the PG alone outside of General/BSB bubble. I did consider this, but found it safer to involve all my units in the same fight. An Eagle really would`ve been handy here ;) Assuming the fight goes roughly average and I leave some IC Knights alive, I`m looking at 4-6 wounds on the IC Knights + Lector, he kills maybe 2 infantry and then the demis strike: 4.4 dead Helms on average. Let`s round it up to 5 and say the IC Knights kill 3, while I only deal 4 wounds. The resolution is thus:
Charge + Rear + 8 vs Flank + Banner + BSB + 4 => lose by 4. So LD6 re-rollable for Helms and PG, LD10 re-rollable for Lions. This is pretty much what I consider to be worst case and indeed what happened. The odds of failing this test with the Helms and being caught is ~20%, and that`s assuming worst case even happens in the first place. By Warhammer standards I consider this to be fairly safe, especially considering the fact that I don`t see any other better moves. This was simply that one game out of 5 ;)

The best alternatives are blocking with Lions and letting Helms go into IC Knights or simply front-charging the 4 Demis with my Helms instead of aiding the Lions. The problem with the first approach is Lions dying (which could very well happen) as the Prince alone is far from sure to kill the Archlector in 1 round of combat (without the Lions charging as well I can`t place the Helms to give the Prince B2B with the Lector) and as long as he`s stubborn he won`t go anywhere. This leaves the Demis 4 rounds of combat to whittle down 16 Lions + Loremaster before I can interfere. With only 2 being able to strike, it could possibly work as I strike back with 6 S6 attacks and have the option of make way! with the Loremaster as well.

The problem with the second approach is that the PG can lose, and are outside the bubble. If this happens, the IC Knights can suddenly assist against the Lions and I`m now looking at a domino effect in the opposite direction of what I wanted.

Overall I consider both of these alternatives to be riskier than simply charging it all in. There are lots of things which can go my way here, that simply didn´t, which would have made the situation truly terrible for him. Indeed, I did win the game despite the Helms dropping to the Demis so I must have done something right ;)
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John Rainbow
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Empire April 27th

#453 Post by John Rainbow »

Just a quick note: I haven't had chance to read or comment on either of the last 2 BatReps yet. I'll try and find some time this week :)
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Empire April 27th

#454 Post by Curu Olannon »

Hey John, thanks for stopping by :) I`ve played quite a few games recently so I understand if people don`t have the time to read them all thoroughly. Hopefully this won`t slow down either though, 2 weeks to the tournament and lots of builds I still want to face. Luckily I got to face a new enemy yesterday: Beastmen. This means I`m looking to face Dwarfs, Skaven, Dark Elves and Warriors before the tournament as the lists are out and these are among the most common (apart from HE and Empire whom I know well).

BR vs Beastmen coming up later today!
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Empire April 27th

#455 Post by Curu Olannon »

.::. Battle Report - 2400 vs Beastmen (ETC comp) .::.

A new army! I haven`t faced Beastmen in a very, very long time. I know that they have some strong options available so was eager to see how they play.

// Lists //

Prince on Barded Steed, Heavy Armour, Enchanted Shield, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Ironcurse Icon = 268
Loremaster of Hoeth, Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation = 330
Noble BSB on Barded Steed, Dragonhelm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, The Other Trickster`s Shard, Dragon Armour, Shield, Lance = 163
Heavens Mage, Dispel Scroll = 110
Characters = 871

12 Silver Helms, Shields, Full Command = 306
5 Silver Helms, Shields, Musician = 125
5 Reavers, bows = 85
5 Reavers, bows = 85
Core = 601

20 White Lions, FC, BOTWD = 340
20 PG, FC, Razor Standard = 375
Special = 715

3 RBT = 210
Rare = 210

Army Total = 2397

Beastmen:

LORD
Great Bray Shaman: General, Lv4 Shadow, Power scroll, Obsidian lodestone. 315p
Great Bray Shaman: Lv4 Death, Warrior bane, Scepter of stability,
Talisman of preservation, Healing potion. 335p
HERO
Bray Shaman: Lv2 Shadow, XHW, Dispel scroll, Opal Amulet 152p
Bray Shaman: Lv2 Beast, Shard of the herd stone. 160p
Wargor: BSB, HA, Shield, Gnarled hide, Crown of command. 166p
CORE
9 x Ungor Riders 54p
40 Gor heard: FCG, XHW, Totem of rust. 395p
40 Gor heard: FCG, Shield, Standard of Discipline. 360p
SPECIAL
1 x Razergor 55p
1 x Razergor 55p
5 x Harpies: 55p
5 x Harpies: 55p
39x Bestigor heard: FCG, Razor Standard 543p

// Pre-battle thoughts and deployment //

I knew the list I was facing was tough (as far as tough BM lists go), which presented me with 2 options: I could either hang back and win small, fairly reliably going into a 12-8 or something like that, or I could go gung-ho style and see just how tough they are in combat. With this being a practice game I decided to go for the second.

Deployment: Herdstone went down first so I could choose to how to counter this. I decided to play WL center, with Helms on extreme flank and PG towards refused flank. I placed chaff on the West, intending to kill off Pumbas and Harpies to gain board control and move East as needed to get the freedom I wanted to engage. I placed both characters with Lions to avoid having to dispel nasty death snipes.

Spells: he got Miasma, Withering, Pit, Mindrazor on L4, Miasma + Enfeebling on L2. Death got Spirit Leech, Caress, Soulblight, Fate of Bjuna. L2 Beasts got Wyssan`s, Curse of Anraheir. I defaulted to Iceshard.

Image

Image

Image

All of his characters apart from the L2 beasts guy was in the central block.

Having +1 to start ensured me first turn!

// HE T1 //

One Reaver unit moves up to force march tests on Pumbas. Small Helms advance slowly to react to Pumbas. Infantry move up center and big Helms await his T1 with a cautious advance.

Magic sees Iceshard land on Harpies. I forced out DD with a Spirit Leech on his L2 Beasts. The result killed 2 and they panicked off the table. I finished with 1D6 Miasma on the Bestigors (which were placed close to the table edge!) to slow them down to M4. Shooting: I did one wound to Pumba and a few on the Bestigors from RBTs. Nothing major.

Image

// BM T1 //

One Pumba fails march test and moves up towards RBTs 7". The other passes his and moves centrally. Harpies move up, blocks are very cautious.

Magic - double Miasma brings Helms to I2. Pit of Shades is dispelled.

Image

// HE T2 //

PG charge Harpies. He flees, I redirect into Pumba. He holds. Reavers rear-charge Pumba. Hold again. Small Helms charge the other Pumba, which also holds. Infantry move up. Big Helms stay still.

Magic - I think I drew his Scepter of Stability here on a high cast of Spirit Leech. I got Miasma through on his Bestigors, M3. Shooting killed a few guys, nothing major. Combat saw my Helms fluff vs Pumba on the West, but I won by 1 because of charge. He held. The other Pumba didn`t die (!), but fled. PG restrained, Reavers pursued. PG reform.

Image

// BM T2 //

Yet again his blocks are very cautious. Harpies rally. The magic phase goes the same as last time: I dispel Pit and Helms are I2. Combat sees Pumba win vs Helms, I hold.

Image

// HE T3 //

WL + PG charge his Western block. WL fail their 7+ required so I move Reavers up to block central block (who need 7+ to reach Lions). With almost all of his characters here, I want him to charge my WL with this block actually: since it`s so long and unwieldy I have to close the door, which means the Bestigors will be isolated. Furthermore, if he fails the charge he`ll be stranded in the wood where he isn`t steadfast: if I kill the BSB he can quickly lose the game instantly. Thus, I place Reavers ahead of him, taking care that they only need 6+ or 7+ to escape (by moving through the Lions) should he charge.

Magic sees him dispel my attempts at helping the PG, even the scroll comes out. I finish with Miasma on his central block for -2M: perfect! Shooting panics Harpies off table and kills a couple of Bestigors.

Combat sees PG do what they do best: grind. I win, he holds on steadfast. Pumba finally kills the Helms on the West.

Image

// BM T3 //

He charges my Reavers! I happily flee and he tries to complete the charge (which is impossible given the distance) and stumbles ahead 5", right into the middle of the wood! Magic sees him assist vs PG, but only one Miasma (WS) goes through, -1 sees him still only hit on 4s. I think he also cast Wyssan`s on the Bestigors, which I didn`t bother dispelling as I had no intention of contacting them. I also spent my scroll here.

Combat sees PG grind it out and win again, he holds on steadfast.

Image

// HE T4 //

WL charge center. Reavers block Bestigors. I brainfart as I forget to shuffle my Helms 4" left, I was intending to double-flee which essentially leaves the Bestigors out of the game. Magic sees me draw his scroll, but I still get Earthblood through. Shooting kills last Pumba.

In combat the PG win again, he holds. I brainfart with Lions as I forget about the Crown and target the unit with as much as I have. Huge mistake. They kill a lot of the Beasts which fail to do a lot in return. He holds on stubborn.

Image

// BM T4 //

Bestigors charge Reavers, I flee. He redirects into Helms and I flee as well, to make sure he`s out for the full game in case the central combat goes on. Yes that`s 330 vp insta-wasted, but I think it was worth it. My mistake not moving them previously, anyway.

Then comes the hurt. Magic is huge and he starts throwing the spells around. I prioritize as best as I can, but given the power scroll the result is this:
- Miasma WL (-1WS)
- Soulgblight WL
- Mindrazor block vs PG

In combat the magical assistance really shows as, although I load as many attacks as I can onto the BSB, he survives. Furthermore I don`t kill as many as last round either and take a lot in return, T2 not being solid. Loremaster nearly goes down, 1W left. I lose I think but hold on stubborn and reform the Loremaster to corner-to-corner. PG win, Mindrazor´s not that big of a deal for them actually as they already have no armour save because of the banner.

Image

// HE T5 //

Reavers rally and move to within BSB/General bubble to block him in his T6, if need be. Magic is huge and now it`s my time to abuse my potential: BoH ensures a lot of spells go through: net result is Wyssan`s + Earthblood on WL, Miasma (-1WS) on him. He dispelled two casts of Iceshard and failed to dispel miasma.

In combat I kill the BSB and lots of normal folks, winning big. He fails break test and since he`s below 25% I opt to reform, having both the PG combat and the fleeing unit in my arc in case I need to help out T6. The Bestigors PANIC (LD7 for the lose) and flee off the table. PG win their combat and he`s no longer steadfast. I run him down.

Image

With that, the game is pretty much over. I charge his Skirmishers + L2 Beasts in my T6 with PG and kill off the last few guys. It`s a clear 20-0 massacre to the High Elves!

// Evaluation //

I learned one very important lesson in this game: the only way I can engage Beastmen is if I either have complete board control (meaning I can block out a given unit from combat for at least an entire turn), or if I can break him in 2 rounds of combat. The first can be achieved by using Reavers + small Helms more tactically and praying that the RBTs can handle Pumbas on their own. Harpies are still a problem and early magic should have ONE priority: draw dispel dice with Spirit Leech => Fireball + Iceshard on Harpies. In this game, my opponent used the Harpies very aggressively. Placing them behind his units would`ve given him a lot more options (e.g. blocking my WL T4) and made my life harder. Also, placing them closer would allow them general/BSB bubble.

The Bestigors hit amazingly hard. S6 AP is no joke. This game I didn`t engage them at all, but going in against them is very, very risky. I suppose magically assisted PG is my best bet here. Speaking of magical assistance, the Beastmen have so much magic it`s not even funny. I think my opponent had an irrational fear of Silver Helms in this game: if he had focused on Withering / Enfeebling early on (which are both RiP spells), my offensive magic would be harder pressed. Also, placing the Bestigors near the table edge necessitates them moving up, early. Otherwise they become easy, trivial even, to block out with cavalry.

I made 2 big mistakes here and 1 big strategical mistake. Mistake number 1, probably the biggest one, was not targeting his BSB in the first round of combat. At this point my Loremaster was full 3W, so I had him in b2b. This would`ve allowed me to place 8 S6 attacks on him, which would likely have killed him. The second one was not shuffling the Helms, losing a lot of unnecessary points. The strategical mistake was not committing more chaff to board control on the East.

Lastly, although this was a huge win it`s a difficult matchup. Had the Bestigors played more aggressively with the Harpies played defensively, it would be a lot harder for me to choose favourable combats like I did. It`s tricky for Beastmen to keep characters within Herdstone range for power dice purposes while moving the blocks and the blocks, being composed of 25mm infantry, are cumbersome. Identifying when and where to strike reliably is key to winning big against these. I`m very happy I got to play this game as it`s been an eye-opener with regards to how Beastmen play.

As always, C&C appreciated :)
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RE.Lee
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#456 Post by RE.Lee »

Thanks for the report!

The beastmen army acted very bizarrely - with all those big units I'd except them to push forward and start grinding you down (with all the magic augments I guess that might be doable?). Instead he stood still and allowed you to dominate the board with your chaff. I've never actually played against Beastmen, but they seem decent enough fighters.

Congrats on yet another win, a massacre such as this should make you proud :lol:
cheers, Lee

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Nicene
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#457 Post by Nicene »

I wonder why he opted to charge your blocks when he did. He had already siezed the ranged advantage, so there was no need to rush into unfavorable combats. Unless he felt he was trapped by your T2 movements and had to try to break out?

Also, you mentioned taking a panic test for losing a single silver helm--is this an etc thing? The BRB only requires a panic test when you lose 25% of the unit's original numbers, I thought.
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Orchaldor
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#458 Post by Orchaldor »

Nicene wrote: Also, you mentioned taking a panic test for losing a single silver helm--is this an etc thing? The BRB only requires a panic test when you lose 25% of the unit's original numbers, I thought.
25% of the models with which the unit started the phase (BRB p.62)

A friend of mine plays Beasts regularly, I found the best way to deal with them was to isolate them from each other and chop them up piece by piece (much as you did by freezing out the bestigors). We also found that with the herdstone in play, his movement was very restricted as he tried to keep in range of it, which helped me pick my fights.
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#459 Post by sparkytrypod »

good win curu.

cant understand the beastmen player though, pretty much sacrificed his chaff the way he deployed them, infantry blocks without chaff = dead blocks.
razorgors and harpies are really really good chaff and they were wasted.

putting the characters inside the gors was a mistake too, should have gone in bestigors and these should have been behind the forest not gors, who had ranks to remain steadfast with out the Crown of command.

I understand the forest "trap", I think however that the beastmen player forgot that lions would be stubborn regardless.
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Curu Olannon
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#460 Post by Curu Olannon »

@RE.Lee - The problem for him is that if he pushes, he has to leave the mages or lose his +3PD from the Herdstone. I think his main mistake was not using the chaff more defensively.

@Nicene - I assume you`re talking about the Empire game and his T3 decisions? Well, to be honest he didn`t have much of a choice. If he hadn`t charged me, I would`ve charged him and that`s even nastier. What would you have done? As for panic, the BRB is quite clear here (as already pointed out). ETC doesn`t introduce a whole range of wacky rules, really. It`s just the stupid TLoS system that is replaced and some magic restrictions.

@Orchaldor - Indeed the Herdstone largely dictates his possibilities. Isolation is key here as a combined 120 wounds is simply too much for my army to handle.

@sparkytrypod - Yes the chaff was sacrificed here and achieved very little. The character placement was interesting because I don`t really want to target T5 4++ stuff in fear of being tied up too long. I should however have targeted the BSB, for sure. Against me, an option here is actually placing all characters with the skirmishers behind the Herdstone: unless I can wrap around with cavalry there`s no way for me to touch them.

As for the forest I don`t think he intended to use it as a trap. Dangerous terrain against cavalry maybe.

---

Tomorrow I`m facing Dwarfs again, looking forward to what`ll hopefully be an interesting matchup!
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Warhammer blogs from 2011-2015:

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sparkytrypod
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#461 Post by sparkytrypod »

good idea with the characters in skirmishers, a real wood elf play!

still, the bestigors need to be in a central position in his formation, they are the danger unit & can handle any of your units, rerolling Strength 6 attacks is brutal, a memory from our past! wounds on 2's with -4 to armour with the razor standard.
I think they are the best big block heavy infantry in the game, T4 with rerolling Strength 6 attacks!

this dwarf game is where you will unveil this new trick/change I believe... cant wait!
death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain

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teep
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#462 Post by teep »

Hey Curu,

first off, it's really kool and interesting to see the 2elite + cavhammer army come to life,
especially in such capable hand as yours! I've tested a similar version of the concept
and my empire bud didnt like it one bit :) - I wont say more now, since I got an army
blog with betreps and army pics in the making...

But I do have a couple of questions: how would you gear your current list up, if you
were playing at 2500pts? I'll face the Vamps next wednesday (second time ever)
and I currently feel that I need all the help I can get :roll: -
Could you provide me with some general tips regarding deployment and movement, useful
synergies and dangerous pitfalls that are easy overlooked by the noobish likes of me?
Unfortunately, I do not know what kind of VC army the guy will field next week, but I guess
he'll rather go blenderlord/single terrorgheist instead of GhoulKing/sreamspam.

Thanks in advance,
teep
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Curu Olannon
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#463 Post by Curu Olannon »

@sparkytrypod - I agree that Bestigors are essential, indeed. S6 is brutal, as any HE player knows :) I`ll be sure to pay them the proper respect when I face BM again. To repeat myself: I`m very glad I got this game!

@teep - 2500 points? That`s interesting! First of all we have to spend 25 more on core, so there`s that. Secondly I really miss fireward on my Prince. Between these upgrades, we`re looking at ~60-70 points left. From here, you have a few options, all of which have their own merits:
- extra RBT
- L2 mage
- more elites
- unit of Shadow Warriors

Which of these you choose really depends on your playstyle and preference. I`m not sure what I´d choose myself.

While I enjoy playing this configuration, I do feel a lack of flexibility in a lot of games. It really boils down to the 2 elite units and my characters: indeed if they all survive I usually win (the rest combined is only 800 points!). If often feels like I`m stretching the points just a little too much - like this is more the kind of army you could work with @3k or something, though my experience at such point values is close to zero. I think a viable alternative, adhering to ETC restrictions, would be L4 Death instead of Loremaster and ditch the PG to make Lions a big unit, introducing Frostheart and a 4th RBT as well. This completely changes the way the list plays despite the fact that the "on paper" changes aren`t that big. If I had the time I would love to playtest it. Sadly I don`t, so I`m stuck. Make no mistake, I am very excited to try this at a tournament though and in a little over a week I`ll get this chance ;)

---

Finished my game vs Dwarfs tonight. It`s too late to start typing the report now so you`ll have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this deployment photo and feel free to predict the game and my super-trick!

Image
Small Silver Helms are on meatshield-duty while the infantry is taking up the flank, ready to advance on the Dwarf Longbeards.
Retired from Warhammer. Playing Warmachine & Hordes (Cygnar).

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sparkytrypod
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#464 Post by sparkytrypod »

that is rough looking, how many war machines??! and 2 gyro steam baths to be had!

intrigued to see what this trick is!
death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain

do an rpg personality test, im from Ireland and I get...

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Gandalf_82
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#465 Post by Gandalf_82 »

Just caught up on your last two reports, once again a good read cheers!

Impressed with how you dealt with the Demi's, I can see how your list can do but they still pack a punch and scare me whenever I play Empire.

The more I read your reports and analysis, the more it makes me realise how I need to think more about the match ups I commit my forces to, although in part I still suffer from not knowing that much about opposition forces. Getting there slowly though and i've started picking up a few more army books!

Looking forward to reading about his trick, I dont have a clue what it is from the deployment! But as I am playing Dwarves on Friday i'm hoping its something I can try and replicate! :-)
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#466 Post by Curu Olannon »

@sparkytrypod - he has 2 cannons, 1 organ gun and 1 flame cannon. Quite a few counts-as ;) He also sports 2 blocks of S6 stuff, along with 2 gyros and 2 units of shooters (Irondrakes and Xbows). Remember that gyros cannot march and shoot, which enables us to at least partially deal with them effectively.

@Gandalf_82 - I`m getting used to MC by now. S6 and the cavbus really is a strong counter. The key here is making him force the issue - though the Cannons provide him with a ranged advantage the Loremaster is super-dangerous for him to face. Suddenly demis are gone to RBTs and Searing Doom. Suddenly that BSB isn`t looking so sharp due to Spirit Leech.

Knowing your strategy previously to going into the game is crucial to your success. It doesn`t have to be extremely specific, but against Dwarfs for example I know that I need more than one block engaging one of his blocks, while the other needs to be blocked out while this is happening. This is very important to keep in mind. Knowing your opponent is of course key to this. Personally I have all the books electronically, which makes it a lot easier to prepare, look things up etc :)

Report coming up soon!
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Beastmen April 29th

#467 Post by Curu Olannon »

.::. Battle Report - 2400 vs Dwarfs (ETC comp) .::.

Prince on Barded Steed, Heavy Armour, Enchanted Shield, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Ironcurse Icon = 268
Loremaster of Hoeth, Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation = 330
Noble BSB on Barded Steed, Dragonhelm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, The Other Trickster`s Shard, Dragon Armour, Shield, Lance = 163
Heavens Mage, Dispel Scroll = 110
Characters = 871

12 Silver Helms, Shields, Full Command = 306
5 Silver Helms, Shields, Musician = 125
5 Reavers, bows = 85
5 Reavers, bows = 85
Core = 601

20 White Lions, FC, BOTWD = 340
20 PG, FC, Razor Standard = 375
Special = 715

3 RBT = 210
Rare = 210

Army Total = 2397

His list:

Thane BSB with 5++ vs ranged bubbled and 4++ on self
Runesmith with destroyer scroll
Runesmith with scroll and breath weapon (general)

Block of Longbeards with stubborn banner
Small unit of xbows
Block of Hammerers
2x Cannons with re-roll misfires, one with flaming
Flame cannon with re-roll misfires
Organ gun with BS3 +1 to hit, re-roll misfires
12 Irondrakes

// Pre-battle thoughts and deployment //

Although I haven`t played the new Dwarfs a whole lot (this being my third game, I believe), I have a fairly good grasp of how they play. They present a couple of unique threats for us, chief amongst them being their new and improved shooting. The rare S5 AP weaponry tear through our cavalry like there`s no tomorrow. You have to work very hard to keep it alive. Often it`s simply not possible.

Going into this game I was confident as I knew what I had to do, and how I should do it. My main objective was to overwhelm one block, chaff away the other and clear his backfield in the meantime. Easier said than done, for sure.

In deployment for once I outsmarted his Irondrakes, which ended up in a very poor position from which they couldn`t heavily impact my plan. I also got the blocks as I wanted them, with PG being very hard to get at and WL in a central, dominating position. All RBTs also got good lines of fire and could hopefully provided support, which I`ve often found them to be lacklustre at when facing Dwarfs.

Image

I tried to roll Comet but failed, so defaulted to Iceshard ;) Due to +1 I went first!

// HE T1 //

The 5 Helms had the glorious duty of meatshielding my bus. Lions and PG move up max. Helms take care to stay 21.5" away from Irondrakes. One unit of Reavers sweep wide to disrupt Irondrakes and a Gyro. The other moves to chaff when needed.

Magic sees him fail to dispel Spirit Leech on his superscroll dude as he rolls very low when trying to dispel a low cast. I roll a `5` and being 1 point up, it`s looking good. He rolls a `5` as well however and barely lives! I finish the phase with a small Searing Doom on his Vanguarding Gyro, which he lets through. It scores 2W. Shooting sees the RBT do their best to convince me: they manage to ping off the last wound and the gyro goes down. Quite a good start!

Image

// DW T1 //

His Irondrakes stay put, gyro moves a bit towards Reavers, taking care to stay behind the hill to hide from RBTs.

Shooting is abysmal. Organ gun fails to kill small Helms (1 survive), Flame Cannon kills only 3 PG after I manage 8/11 4++ saves and BOTH cannons fail to do anything: one rolls the magical combo 4-2, the other rolls a `1` to wound an RBT.

Image

// HE T2 //

Time to reveal the trick! With the small Helms being reduced to 1 model, I can no longer ensure the safety of the bus. Furthermore, his blocks are deployed to prevent PG from sneaking past his flank - NOT a single model. I move the Lions up and place both characters in them, BSB on the far side. The beauty of this is that all his shooting is magical, so 2++ from BOTWD thank you very much. The Helms move to a pretty good charge distance on the Organ Gun - should they survive. PG move up as well and their angle relative to the Longbeards means that a charge sees me having to close the door - exposing Longbeards` flank to WL.

Magic sees Spirit Leech go through yet again! This time he beats me however and the superscroller lives. I failed to cast Miasma and that was that.

Shooting sees RBT kill a few Irondrakes.

Image

// DW T2 //

Blocks shuffle to receive the new threat, caught off-guard by the characters moving into the Lions. Shooting sees one Cannon having a flank shot at Silver Helms, it kills 3. Irondrakes and Organ Gun combine to kill 5 more, leaving only 4 alive. Panic is passed and the OG knows what`s coming. Flame Cannon misses.

Image

// HE T3 //

So I have 11" to the Longbeards for both blocks. However making the charge with both is unlikely, both scrolls are intact and the BSB can truly cause havoc in his backlines whereas the Silver Helms can deal with the OG. I decide to play it safe and bide my time. Blocks move up to very favourable positions, the last Helm from the small unit blocks Hammerers. BSB into Flame Cannon, Helms into OG. At this point I also march up my far Reavers a lot, hoping to distract his Gyro to kill them instead of moving to where it`s needed.

Magic sees the superscroll remove Spirit Leech. I can`t remember if I managed anything else but I know that I failed miasma again, at least.

Shooting pings a Dwarf here and there, nothing major. In combat the BSB kills the crew outright and overrun into a Cannon. The Silver Helms kill the OG and overrun off the table. Adding insult to injury, the destroyed OG panics the Irondrakes!

Image

// DW T3 //

Strange elects to buy himself some time: both Runesmiths (the general with the scroll intact and the superscroll-1W-dude, that is) move to block me out. This pretty much eliminates the Lions` immediate threat as he can double-flee and I will auto-fail my charge. Blocks back up a little.

Shooting sees his Gyro kill 3 Reavers. Panic passed. The last cannon targets the lone Silver Helm and YET AGAIN misses by 2+2! In combat the BSB fails to repeat his former success and the stubborn crew hold.

Image

// HE T4 //

The surviving Helm is extremely valuable: I now have another option for dealing with his Runesmiths - not committing the Lions at all! This also ensures that the scroll will be gone for when serious combat happens. The beauty of the situation is as follows:
- Silver Helms charge general. If he flees, he opens up for a dual-block charge on the Longbeards. If he holds...
- PG charge other runesmith. If he flees, he opens up for Lions again. If he holds...
- PG can overrun into general. Since he is already engaged by a Helm, the combat happens in the same turn and I can thus reform as well before he gets to move.

So the Helm charges his General, he holds. PG charge the other Runesmith, he holds. No more charges. Lions shuffle towards table edge. My thinking here is that the Longbeards are the easier and safer target: it brings me inside BSB bubble and the Hammerers are easier to block out. Reavers block Hammerers. Silver Helms re-enter the table and are pretty much doomed since they`re facing Irondrakes and Xbows.

Magic: can`t remember. Scroll came out at least ^^. Shooting killed a couple of Hammerers.

Combat: PG kill Runesmith and overrun, killing general as well. Reform. BSB still stuck on Cannon.

Image

// DW T4 //

Longbeards charge PG. I flee: I am pretty much guaranteed to go through my own units and am thus safe. I can rally on LD10 T5 and be ready for a combo-charge with WL on Hammerers T6. Longbeards now have an awkward choice: Hammerers can`t help them as there`s a million things in their way, so they have to either face the Lions, or charge the Lions. He redirects and makes it. Hammerers charge blocking Reavers, xbows + irondrakes charge Silver Helms. Gyro marches to the thick of the action. Shooting sees the lone Cannon kill a Reaver from the far unit. Panic passed.

Combat: Lions win big (loremaster and prince really proving their worth here), he holds on stubborn. Hammerers kill blockers and overrun. Silver Helms kill a few before they die. BSB kills Cannon and reforms to have both Longbeards and Cannon in his front arc.

Image

// HE T5 //

The BSB charges the Cannon. Tragically, the PG fail their rally test and keep fleeing. That`s a huge bummer! Magic sees me land Iceshard on Hammerers (in case he wants to try anything funny in his T5), no need to support the Lions in a big way: a single Miasma leads him to WS4 => I hit on 3s.

Shooting sees a single bolt deal 2W to the Gyro. The other RBTs ping the last wound!

Combat sees WL kill the Longbeards down to 1 man standing! Since I have failed to kill his Champion (which killed my mage in a challenge for one turn and was missed this turn), he loses the banner and thus is no longer stubborn! He needs snake eyes and fails. He flees, I restrain. Hammerers overrun yet again from blockers, into blockers (they must be tired by now?). BSB kills Cannon.

Image

After this, Hammerers keep moving away and I can`t reach him. With the PG rallying it would`ve looked brighter. In the last turn of the game I have a flank shot at Irondrakes, which are only 6 remaining and 2 single bolts both fail to do anything. I also tried a 3D6 Fireball on the XBows, but he dispelled. The last Longbeard ran off the table after I charged him and forced that last, necessary flee move to ensure this. His shooting tried to kill my BSB in his T5, but only dealt 1W to him. I joined the WL again and that was that!

Counting up, I was nearly 900 points ahead: a 15-5 victory to the High Elves! (close to 16-4).

// Evaluation //

It is important to remember that Silver Helms are bad. S5 just doesn`t cut it. They are there to ensure a safe haven for my characters. Against Dwarfs, this typically isn`t possible for more than one turn. Being able to send them into BOTWD is crucial. This also allows the WL to strike with a LOT more power, as well as sending out characters to solo-charge. I did consider Prince + PG combo-charging Longbeards on their own for example after his blocking shenanigans. The problem was that I would not have had any way to deal with his Runesmiths then. Without AP, the Longbeards` S6 isn`t that dangerous.

The game went well, according to plan. Had the PG rallied I would`ve played the chaff differently and set up for a T6 charge on the Hammerers. I don`t think he could`ve avoided it. Instead I sent him further away to ensure a solid win.

His Cannons were really bad in this game. However he doesn`t have that many targets either. True, the RBT crucially disables the last gyro quite late in the game, but as it turned out I didn`t need it anyway as the PG didn`t rally.

The Silver Helms ended up giving away north of 300vps. It could also look like they only got an Organ Gun for this. The true nature of this is that they kept the entire flank busy and they forced him to commit to shooting them: otherwise I could just have kept the characters there!

Lastly, board control is key. My constant units harassing the Hammerers allowed me to pick the fights I wanted, when I wanted them.

I`m sure there are decisions that could`ve been better. I will return to some key events later on. For now, I`m happy with having a strong win as opposed to my last 0-20 and I feel confident facing Dwarfs at the tournament. I also believe that the characters moving into Lions will catch 90% of players off-guard the first time it happens. It`s a simply but brilliant move.

As always, please leave a comment if you have one ;)
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Dark Reaper
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#468 Post by Dark Reaper »

Nice win, you know I always root for Strange, but I think you needed this one after losing 0-20 last time. :P

The moving of your characters is simply brilliant. To further expand on this, against armies with no other shooting than cannons, you might even use your Ellyrian Reavers as a means of getting look out sir for one round. Admitedly, this works better with Dark Elves where everything is fast cav anyway, but I think it is another trick you might be able to use. Anyway, in a game like this, doing something like this in the movement phase really makes a huge difference.

You mention that Silver Helms aren't really good, and I agree with you here. In a recent game I had, I had no qualms about them charging a unit of Warlocks, as I knew the Helms had no chance of killing them anyway. However, they seem to work great as a character bunker for you, and you need the mobility the steeds provide for your characters.

Well played, I unfortunately don't have that much to criticise right now. :)
[url=http://druchii.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=74746]My Dark Elf Army Blog[/url]
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#469 Post by Ferny »

Nice win against the hated dwarf gunline :mrgreen: =D> !

Are these games open-list? i.e. did you know in advance that none of his war machines weren't magical? I would expect dwarfs to rock at least one un-runed war machine specifically because of us elves - how confident would you have felt with your trick under those circumstances?

Without detracting from how you dealt with it though, my favourite bit of this BR was where he moved both 'wizards' out of the unit to set up a double flee through his own unit. I've never come across this move before and it's inspired!
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John Rainbow
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#470 Post by John Rainbow »

Hey Curu, great BatReps v. Empire and Beastmen. I also learned something new in that game v. Elves where your Prince got shot out. I too hadn't realized that would be the case until (like you did I imagine) I went 'what?' and re-read the relevant section of the BRB. I don't really have any more comments about the other games above what has already been said but I do think in both the last two games your opponents made some key mistakes that cost them big - I have no idea what the Empire player was doing with his Stank way out there and moving it towards a lake and in the Beastmen game your opponent really needs to be aggressive in his movement I feel. Holding back really played into your hands and with arguably his best unit on the flank it allowed you to dictate play.

I'll try and read the Dwarf game later today and actually get some timely comments in if I can before everyone else gets there first!
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#471 Post by Curu Olannon »

@Dark Reaper - I know you do ;) Although I think I would`ve won our last encounter as well if I hadn`t brainfarted deluxe, I knew my approach in that game had a lot more inherent risk than I feel comfortable with. Therefore I wanted another game against Dwarfs and now I feel pretty confident going up against them in a tournament. I think that the characters running into WL will catch a lot of opponents off-guard (probably everyone who hasn`t seen it before). It`s a simple move, but its impact is huge and having an ace up your sleeve is always nice.

Ellyrian Reavers are of course a source for protection as well, for one round vs one Cannon without other, serious ways to threaten them. It`s an edge case but worth bearing in mind. Same goes for the small unit of Helms. Basically my entire core selection has one purpose: let the PG + WL + Characters fight what they want, when they want. I don`t expect more than that, anything else is a bonus. Of course there are matchups where they perform well as S5 ASF isn`t useless per se (e.g. killing the Empire Wizard in a recent game, getting the OG here), but it`s important to remember what their role is so you don`t overcommit. I feel this is doubly true for High Elves who are used to serious cavstars, because all the while the Prince`s loadout stays the same, the unit overall loses a LOT of potential without multiple fighty characters.

@Ferny - I didn`t know his list before meeting him at the club yesterday. However ETC plays open lists so I knew prior to deploying our stuff what he had. The Dwarf Engineering Runes are so good though that leaving them at home is just bad, unless you´re tailoring. I have yet to see any all-comers lists without runes on WMs. Obviously, if even one machine capable of targeting a character isn`t runed, the trick doesn`t work. It relies on BOTWD basically replacing Look Out, Sir! (you get a 2+ basically) to keep the characters safe. Again though, against Dwarfs this isn`t really an issue and I don`t think any other lists sport enough firepower to threaten my Helms that much, unless I make a mistake. Of course there are shooty Ogres which is a concern, but it`s nowhere near as bad as Dwarfs and there are ways to counter them.

I agree that Strange`s move to block me out with his Runesmith was brilliant. Although it cost him 350VP, it probably saved 4-5 battle points as I otherwise could`ve concentrated all my fighting power on one block at a time. Sacrificing characters like this can play a huge role in the game and it`s also important to remember for lists like mine (where the L1 is basically expendable). Double-flee setups are quite common though, although I must admit I used them way more frequently back in the days when Eagles were plentiful due to Reavers being special (it`s way easier to get Eagles where you need them, when you need them than Reavers).

@John Rainbow - I had to look up the STank/lake issue and it sadly turns out I was wrong. I was 100% sure that water features (rivers/lakes) were impassable for chariots, but there is nothing in the rules to support it.

As for the Beastmen, moving the unit out requires characters to stay behind. As mentioned previously, jumping into the skirmishers is a possibility and not that risky as they`re tough and fighty compared to my Reavers.

---

I`m hoping for at least 2 more games before the tournament (which is next weekend): Skaven and Dark Elves. I feel I have a pretty good grasp of most other possible matchups, but these are hard armies to face. In the case of DE, quite abundant as well for this tournament.
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John Rainbow
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#472 Post by John Rainbow »

Curu Olannon wrote:@John Rainbow - I had to look up the STank/lake issue and it sadly turns out I was wrong. I was 100% sure that water features (rivers/lakes) were impassable for chariots, but there is nothing in the rules to support it.
Steam Tank in the 7th ed. Empire book treated all difficult terrain as impassable. That might be the source of the confusion.
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#473 Post by Curu Olannon »

Yeah, well I never played 7th Empire actually ;)
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#474 Post by John Rainbow »

Hey Curu. Great game v. Dwarfs. I'm not sure there's too much to say - you won without too many problems it seems - but I did really like the couple of moves you highlighted. The double flee move was interesting but is a well known play, using it in this situation was a nice applicaton from Strange. On the other hand the move with your Prince/BSB seems so obvious now that you have done it but as you said, was a fun trick to play. I think these things really highlight the worth of a BattleBlog to the community in terms of showcasing some of the moves that the better players think to employ in certain situations. Seeing another BatRep v. Dwarfs was nice too - I haven't faced them yet so I'm getting some experience through you.

Thanks for taking the time to do the write up!
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#475 Post by Curu Olannon »

Hey John, thanks! The double flee move was interesting in this case because it was so expensive (north of 300vp) and I still had some options, such as solo-charging the Prince out with PG to engage Longbeards. In the end I decided against this as my RBTs were far from certain to kill the Runesmiths, magic is fickle and having him block me for another turn could potentially be disastrous. I do believe that with rallying the PG, I could`ve destroyed the Hammerers as well.

---

Tomorrow I have a game against Skaven. I`m trying to get a game vs Dark Elves as well, hopefully tuesday/wednesday. The rest of my available time will be spent painting as I have quite a bit left. I`ll post the rulespack, lists etc as well in a couple of days :)
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Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Dwarfs May 1st

#476 Post by Curu Olannon »

.::. Battle Report - 2400 vs Skaven (ETC comp) .::.

Prince on Barded Steed, Heavy Armour, Enchanted Shield, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Ironcurse Icon = 268
Loremaster of Hoeth, Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation = 330
Noble BSB on Barded Steed, Dragonhelm, Golden Crown of Atrazar, The Other Trickster`s Shard, Dragon Armour, Shield, Lance = 163
Heavens Mage, Dispel Scroll = 110
Characters = 871

12 Silver Helms, Shields, Full Command = 306
5 Silver Helms, Shields, Musician = 125
5 Reavers, bows = 85
5 Reavers, bows = 85
Core = 601

20 White Lions, FC, BOTWD = 340
20 PG, FC, Razor Standard = 375
Special = 715

3 RBT = 210
Rare = 210

Army Total = 2397

His list:

Grey Seer (3#, 535 pts)
1 Grey Seer, 535 pts
1 Screaming Bell
1 Fencer's Blades 1 Dispel Scroll 1 Dragonbane Gem 1 Skalm
Chieftain (1#, 126 pts)
1 Chieftain (Battle Standard Bearer), Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard
Bearer) 1 Storm Banner
Warlock Engineer (1#, 120 pts)
1Warlock Engineer, Level 2Wizard 1Warp-Energy Condenser
Warlock Engineer (1#, 65 pts)
1Warlock Engineer, 1 Brass Orb
Stormvermin (40#, 400 pts)
Full command Grand Banner of Clan Superiority
Poisoned Wind MortarWeapon Team (Poisoned Wind Mortar; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour)
2x Clanrats (30#, 220 pts)
Light Armour; Shield) Full comman
1 PoisonedWind MortarWeapon Team (Poisoned Wind Mortar; Hand Weapon; Heavy
Armour)
2x Gutter Runners (9#, 162 pts)
Extra Hand Weapon; Sling; Throwing Star; Poisoned Attacks;
Warp Lightning Cannon (1#, 90 pts)
Doomwheel (1#, 150 pts)
Doomwheel (1#, 150 pts)

// Pre-battle thoughts and deployment //

I was very eager to face Skaven. I know they are a tough matchup for me so I need to identify my worst plays here. This Skaven list is not among the toughest out there (which says a lot!), but it`s still plenty hard for High Elves.

My plan was to deal with Doomwheels ASAP by means of shooting and magic. Both Searing Doom and Spirit Leech are good here. I wanted to engage the Bell with multiple units to bring the PG`s infantry-grinding power to bear. Easier said than done.

Deployment went fine, with me getting Lions on the flank towards him with Helms slightly skewered on the far flank so I could utilize their movement properly.

Image

I rolled Chain Lightning and defaulted to Iceshard Blizzard. He got Warp Lightning and Crack`s Call on his Warlock, the rest on the Grey Seer. Rolling for first turn, he took the initative.

// SK T1 //

Doomwheels moved up, center shuffled a bit. Magic, I can`t really remember but probably nothing major. The Bell was forced to move forwards though. Shooting: lots of misfires. No damage done pretty much. One doomwheel went in a random direction, perfect charge for my Helms.

Image

// HE T1 //

Cavalry and PG charge Doomwheel. Lions move up big. Magic is 6v6, I start with 3D6 Searing Doom on Doomwheel. Dispelled with 4D6. I follow up with 3D6 Spirit Leech, scrolled. Shooting puts 3W on a Doomwheel. I kill the other in combat.

Image

// SK T2 //

Bell charges WL. Doomwheel charges WL. Clanrats block PG + cav. Magic is interesting. I dispel Scorch with dice, scroll Warp Lightning (afraid of losing LoS! on Prince) and he gets Death Frenzy through. I should`ve let scorch go, dispelled WL on dice and scrolled Death Frenzy. Shooting: 1 Silver Helm dies... Combat: 2D6+1 S6 impact hits and Death Frenzy kill lots of Lions. I direct all attacks (11) I can onto the Grey Seer, but he`s crucially left on 1W and pops Skalm. Oh-oh, I`m in trouble and I know it. I pass my stubborn test.

Image

// HE T2 //

I contemplate charging the Prince out and into the Stormvermin on his own. The problem is that I will mostly lose and lose big before the rest of my forces can help and he`s not stubborn on his own. Instead I charge the PG into Clanrats and move the Helms up for a dual-charge in my T3. My only hope now is that the Lions can survive one more round of combat.

Magic is 9v6. I start off with 3D6 Iceshard on him from the L1, which he lets through. He then dispels 3D6 Iceshard from Loremaster with 4D6. I have 3D6 left and intend to cast Miasma on 1D6, Earthblood on 2D6. It`s a long shot, but it`s my best bet. I fail to cast Miasma and I`m really hoping that the one cast of Iceshard will suffice.

Shooting does nothing major as Storm Banner (which he activated my T1) is still up.

In combat I again target the GS with as many Lions as I can as killing him is crucial, and Skalm is gone. I manage 0 wounds after he again passes a lot of 4++ saves. Loremaster targets the Doomwheel but only manages 1W. In return, he attacks with a lot of stuff... In the end, a single Lion is left alive!! I pass my stubborn test after BSB re-roll! PG murder Clanrats but I suffer 1 casualty in return and he is thus steadfast and passes his break test. I was counting on this but he needs a ton of luck to remain steadfast next turn.

Image

// SK T3 //

Gutter Runners both arrive and pop up near RBTs. Magic sees him get Death Frenzy off on the Clanrats fighting PG. I dispel Scorch from the Bell + Grey Seer I think. Shooting kills 2 RBT and some Helms.

In combat I lose Loremaster + Mage + Lion. He reforms 9-wide to face SH + PG. Despite Death Frenzy I beat his Clanrats badly and they run. I restrain and reform, ready for a dual-charge on the Bell. In combat I specifically avoided targeting the Doomwheel with the Loremaster despite it being on 1W because it messes with his reform: basically if he wants to reform to face me he needs to go very wide (which indeed he did!).

Image

// HE T3 //

PG + SH into Bell. By careful positioning in earlier turns I get both Prince + BSB into contact with the Bell. Magic: All mages gone. Shooting: Reavers (bows for the win, I keep telling you ;) ). Combat: I target GS with Prince + BSB + 2 Helms. Despite this and TOTS, the annoying rat has 1W left. PG murder Stormvermin as though they were born to do it and Silver Helms add to the tally. In return he kills a few, but it`s far from enough.

At the end of the combat, I target GS with 2 Steeds. 1 manages a hit... Then a wound... Then the 6+ armour save is failed, the 4+ ward save is passed... TOTS... FAIL! Grey Seer dead! He is unbreakable because of the Bell, but he`s lost the GS and Death Frenzy and my Prince is safe from shooting because of the locked combat.

Image

// SK T4 //

Warlock fails to rally with the Clanrats. Magic sees me dispel Scorch from the Bell. WLC + mortars target Silver Helms, I panic. Gutter runners panic Reavers off table. Combat: I win big, he is unbreakable.

Image

// HE T4 //

Helms rally. Remaining Reavers move towards WLC. Shooting sees RBT kill 2 Gutter Runners, he passes panic. In combat I kill off the last Stormvermin. Bell left on 1W (Prince had to target it).

Image

// SK T5 //

His last unit of Clanrats charge the Helms in a desperate gamble to win on static, as Prince has to target the Bell and I don`t get the static from PG (as the Bell is destroyed they´ll be out of combat) I`m looking at 1W + banner + bsb and whatever my Helms + BSB can do vs 3 ranks + charge + banner + whatever his Clanrats can do. Warlock rallies but reforms to have 0 good targets for Chain Lightning. I dispel Scorch from the Bell. Shooting kills off 3 Reavers, panic passed. RBT dies. Silver Helms lose 1, down to 2.

In combat my Silver Helms + BSB step up to the task and kill quite a few Clanrats. Prince kills Bell. He is steadfast, but to no help: he flees and I pursue to catch him.

Image

// HE T5 //

2 Silver Helms charge WL + Clanrats. He flees, and it`s a very big roll so the last Reaver charges as well and this forces them off the table. Prince moves out of the unit and has enough movement to make the WLC miss him on a 10. PG charge Gutter Runners, they flee.

Image

WLC hits the Prince, but rolls misfire for bounce/strength! Gutter Runners rally. I charge and kill his WLC in the last turn of the game. PG are too far away to charge Gutter Runners again. With the WLC going down, he has only the Gutter Runners left. I count up my losses as well, which are quite significant, and in the end I`m just shy of 1050 points ahead - a 16-4 victory to the High Elves!


// Evaluation //

For once I`m going to leave this empty so you should have plenty to comment on as there were quite a few mistakes here ;) I will post an analysis later.
Retired from Warhammer. Playing Warmachine & Hordes (Cygnar).

Follow me on Courage of Caspia, my blog.

Warhammer blogs from 2011-2015:

:: Path to Glory - High Elves Army Blog ::
:: Curu Olannon's Vindicators - 2500 points Army Blog (Old book, outdated) ::
Ferny
9th Age Moderator
Posts: 1906
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2013 12:03 pm

Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Skaven May 4th

#477 Post by Ferny »

Hi Curu - photos aren't showing for me - getting a photobucket logo instead?
The 9th Age: Alumni

Former Roles: Advisory Board, HR, Moderator and Highborn Elves Army Support
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Curu Olannon
Vindicated Strategist
Posts: 4929
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:21 am
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Skaven May 4th

#478 Post by Curu Olannon »

Yeah I get the same. I might have to find a replacement for photobucket :(
Retired from Warhammer. Playing Warmachine & Hordes (Cygnar).

Follow me on Courage of Caspia, my blog.

Warhammer blogs from 2011-2015:

:: Path to Glory - High Elves Army Blog ::
:: Curu Olannon's Vindicators - 2500 points Army Blog (Old book, outdated) ::
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Curu Olannon
Vindicated Strategist
Posts: 4929
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:21 am
Location: Oslo, Norway

Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Skaven May 4th

#479 Post by Curu Olannon »

I re-uploaded the Skaven BR pictures to another service, should work now :) The problem is the total bandwidth from photobucket in a month, hopefully this is a one-time exception due to heavy activity on my part (and of course all of you who read this!). If I understand it correctly, it should reset on the 8th. Anyways, Skaven BR should now be complete :)
Retired from Warhammer. Playing Warmachine & Hordes (Cygnar).

Follow me on Courage of Caspia, my blog.

Warhammer blogs from 2011-2015:

:: Path to Glory - High Elves Army Blog ::
:: Curu Olannon's Vindicators - 2500 points Army Blog (Old book, outdated) ::
sparkytrypod
Posts: 494
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2012 11:37 am
Location: ireland

Re: Path To Glory - BR vs Skaven May 4th

#480 Post by sparkytrypod »

hi curu,

any list changes to be made in reaction to wood elves or do you think its an issue for your list?
death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain

do an rpg personality test, im from Ireland and I get...

[CENTER][url=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm][img]http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/24.jpg[/img][/url][/CENTER
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