Lords of the West Battle Report series

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Lohendrinus
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Lords of the West Battle Report series

#1 Post by Lohendrinus »

Finally, after sometime I have finished my first video Battle report. It's a 2300 pts clash between the High Elf army of Prince Tyrion and the Dogs of War warhost of Prince Lorenzo Lupo on the plain of Luccini. You would read more 'fluff' during the video but to make it short for now, just say Tyrion, so well-versed in Tilean history, attempts a "Sabine rape" on that very people to stop the demographic time-bomb of the Asurs :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ4gJ1zg4eM

Comments are extremely welcome. I hope in the next battle of Trantio, you guys here will help me make up the High Elves army 2500 pts to take on a Dogs of war army.
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#2 Post by Aerendar Valandil »

Looks great. 8)

Those are my two favorite armies.
Lohendrinus
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#3 Post by Lohendrinus »

Aerendar Valandil wrote:Looks great. 8)

Those are my two favorite armies.
Thank you, m'lord.
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elendor_f
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#4 Post by elendor_f »

I have finally watched it! I have to say, the real MVP were the Phoenix Guard, standing still watching their fellow Elves do all the work :lol: .
Pretty bad luck for the Mercenaries (the full Pikemen unit with Paymaster running away was painful to watch) but hopefully next one will be closer!
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Lohendrinus
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#5 Post by Lohendrinus »

elendor_f wrote:I have finally watched it! I have to say, the real MVP were the Phoenix Guard, standing still watching their fellow Elves do all the work :lol: .
Pretty bad luck for the Mercenaries (the full Pikemen unit with Paymaster running away was painful to watch) but hopefully next one will be closer!
My mistake was to use the 3D6 wind of Magic and the dastardly Loremaster used his precious Book to wreak havoc. Now all I need is to return magic to the normalcy.

Anyway, this is the first test for the 2nd Video Battle Report. I need to test more thoroughly to avoid the same one-sided fest like the last Report (though of all the systems, 8th Edition Warhammer is the most easily afflicted with massive mood swing!)

Tileans - Dogs of War:

- Merchant Prince: Full Plate, Barded Wh, Dawnstone, Helm of Myrmidon (enemy attacking him suffers -1 to hit and -1 Atk), Ironcurse Icon, Sword of Anti-heroes, Weaponmaster (+1 WS, rerolls 1 miss/combat) 238 pts

- Hireling Wizard Lord: lv 4, Lore of Life, Staff of Fickle Fortune, Talisman of Endurance 265 pts

- Paymaster: Braces of Pistols, Heavy Armor, Enchanted Shield, Talisman of Preservation, Paychest 154 pts

Core:
- 36 Pikemen in Heavy Armor Full Command (Razor Banner) 291 pts
- 12 Marksmen of Miragliano including Maximilian Damark 197 pts – The Marksmen never suffer -1 to hit in Long Range!
- 11 Venators including Voland 350 pts
- Vespero and 6 Vendetta Duellists 148 pts

Special:
- 29 Paymaster's Bodyguards Full Cmd (Banner of Miragliano, rerolls all 1s to hit) 374 pts
- 8 Pitfighters with Javelins and shields 96 pts

Rare:
- 1 Bronzino's Galloper Gun 155 pts
- 2 Mercenary Cannon 2*110= 220 pts

Total: 2488 pts

Opposing them were the expeditionary Asurs (without Tyrion though, as he is too hard for DoW to handle)
Lords and Heroes
- Annointed of Asuryan: Reaver Bow 235 pts
- Archmage lv 4 High Magic: Book of Hoeth, Talis of Preservation 320 pts
- Noble on Griffon: Heavy armor, Lion Cloak, Longbow, shield, lance, Golden Crown of Atrazar, Dragon Helms 261 pts
- Noble on Barded Elven Steed: BSB, Dragon Armor, Dawnstone, Enchanted Shield, Sword of Might 170 pts

Core:
- 48 Lothern Seaguards Full Cmd, Shield upgrade 576 pts
- 5 Ellyrian Reavers armed with spear (Musician) 90 pts
- 11 Silver Helms full cmd (Shield upgrade) 283 pts

Special:
- 24 Phoenix Guards Full cmd
- 1 Tiranoc Chariot

Rare:
- 1 Eagle Claw

A very concise report:
Both the magic wielders got the best spells of their school. The Merc wizard lord had EarthBlood, Throne of Vines, Regrowth and Dweller Below. The Archmage rolled Soul Quench, Apotheosis, Arcane Unforging, Fiery Convocation. Also, the Magic was 'toned down' to 2D6 wind of Magic dices :o


Turn 1:

There were intentionally lots of terrains on the board to make the game more challenging. The DoW luckily got the first turn (I have a sneaking feeling that whoever gets the first turn in the 8th edition has 65% to win the battle), and happily rushed forward. An IF Dweller below on the Seaguards killed 25 of them, minimiraculously, both the Anointed and the Archamage were spared. The Merc Wizard then lost all 3 levels and all the best spells apart from, well, Throne of Vines! Cannons aimed at Bolt Thrower and all failed (Griffon and Chariots had plenty of things to hide in the mean time), while the superb Marksmen dropped dead 3 Silver Helms.



In the Asur turn 1, both the Anointed and the Archmage jumped straight to the Phoenix Guards while Seaguards reformed into 3*8 formation and rained arrows at the Bodyguards (only killed 1 or 2 as those tough mofos had full plate armor no less!) Silver Helms and Chariot moved forward a bit, they were scared shitless of the pikemen opposite them. The Archmage then dissolved their fear by dropping a huge IR Fiery Convocation on those pikies and cremated 21 of them. The wizard embedded inside was wounded as well! The backlash was minimal to the Asur. The Eagle Claw tried to pepperspray the Vespero's boys but those clever lads hiding too well behind the Bodyguards. Unfortunately for them, the Griffon Noble who had just moved out from hiding to threaten both the cannon and the duellist themselves, managed to shoot one Tilean dead with his longbow.



Turn 2:

The Bodyguards due to a slightly wrong deployment (DoW had a huge marsh in the middle of their zone), still struggled on to reach the Asur lines. Voland's lad with the Prince in tow were within 14 '' of the Phoenix guards and Seaguards. Bronzino moved forward to block the silverhelm while the Pitfighters sneaked into a wood and skewered 3 Silver Helm with their javelins. The Merc Wizard Lord also jumped deep into a wood. He pathetically failed to dispel the Remain in Play Fiery Convocation and the spell burnt 6 more pikemen (luckily those stout Tileans passed panic again and again). The shooting Phase was quite glorious. Apart from the feats of above-mentioned Pitfighters, one cannon blasted apart the Griffon, leaving the noble rather bashfully pedestrian. In emulation, The Marksmen annihilated the only Asur chariot. The Gallopper Gun, without Bronzino to oversee, wasn't as successful while the last cannon downright misfired when targetting the Bolt Thrower.



The High Elves in both Flank roused to action with the BSB charged the Pitfighters on the wood, routing and catching them, unfortunately stopping 1 inch right in front of the Marksmen. The Silverhelm, meanwhile, charged Bronzino, beating the lad off with 1 wound, and elected to restrain and reform. The Noble costly failed his charge on the cannon. In the Magic Phase, the Archmage cast Arcane Unforging on the Merchant Prince, failed to wound him (rolling 1!) yet destroyed his Sword of Anti-heroes. Huge IF Soul Quench killed 8 Bodyguards but also wounded the Archmage. The Dow wizard now had all the dice to dispel Fiery Convocation on the super relieved pikemen (9 of them were left!) The shooting of Bolt Thrower and Seaguards were inconquential while Reaver Bow couldn't get pass the Venators' 1+ AS.



Turn 3

But then when Voland's boys charged, the Magic Bow instantly earned triple its cost by dropping 3 knights. The Bodyguards moved within support with the Vespero's Duellists firmly at their back. Bronzino rallied. The chinless wonder Wizard lord tried to cast Throne of Vines just to heal himself, managed an IF again, lost another level (to zero) and promptly wasted the wound he just gained! He would be firmly in the deep of the wood henceforth. One cannon had two choices, either to shoot the vengeful noble guaranteed to butcher them next turn or the BSB threatening the Marksmen unit, opted for sacrifice and gloriously shot the proud Standard Bearer's head off. The marksmen, grateful, dropped three more Silver Helms in front of them. In Close Combat, Halberd without Razor Banner couldn't crack the hard armor of the Tilean knights. In contrast, the Prince knocked down the Keeper of the Flame white Voland and 2 Venators ganged up on the Archmage. Despite 3+ Ward Save, he sadly joined the bleedin' choir invisible. The Phoenix Guards held on steadfastly.



The Seaguards took all the risk in the world and hit the Venators in the flank (if they failed to break the latter en suite, the Bodyguards and Vespero's boys would be on their own flank). The Reavers made a hit on the Galloper Gun and destroyed it. 3 last Silver Helms, by all miracles, charged the Marksmen, shrugged off all deadly accurate bolts and actually routed the best of Tilea. On the other side of the field, the noble final got to grip of the griffonbane cannon and made short work of the crew. In combat, both the Asur units won decently by 3 against the Venators but they held on with Paymaster's rerolls.



Turn 4- Turn 6:

With no magic, the battle should have gone on pretty fast but for the superb durability of the Phoenix guards. Bronzino charged the Reavers, routing them and well avenging his Gun's loss. The one surviving cannon grapeshot and eviscerated the last of the SilverHelms. The bodyguards and Vespero's lads smashed into the flank and rear of the Seaguards, routing them and panicking the nearby Eagle Claw. Yet for 3 turns and 6 combat phases, the blessed Phoenix Guards held on, killing all the Venators but Voland, reducing the Bodyguards to 6 fellas. Only in the last phase, with incredible killing power of Tilea combined, Merchant Prince, Voland, Vespero, Paymaster with his guards did the Asuryan Guards were reduced to 1 rank and broke. The only High Elf left on the field was the noble who lost his bicycle in turn 2 ;)


This game is what I love about 8th Edition.

Men of the Match Award: The Vespero's Vendetta. Two killing blows from Ves on the Phoenix guards finally made them turn tail in the last turn.
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#6 Post by Prince of Spires »

Sounds like a great and fun battle.
Lohendrinus wrote: With no magic, the battle should have gone on pretty fast but for the superb durability of the Phoenix guards. Bronzino charged the Reavers, routing them and well avenging his Gun's loss. The one surviving cannon grapeshot and eviscerated the last of the SilverHelms. The bodyguards and Vespero's lads smashed into the flank and rear of the Seaguards, routing them and panicking the nearby Eagle Claw. Yet for 3 turns and 6 combat phases, the blessed Phoenix Guards held on, killing all the Venators but Voland, reducing the Bodyguards to 6 fellas. Only in the last phase, with incredible killing power of Tilea combined, Merchant Prince, Voland, Vespero, Paymaster with his guards did the Asuryan Guards were reduced to 1 rank and broke.
This is my experience with PG as well. When your rolling is decent they can take a huge amount of punishment before they die. And since they have LD9 they're less dependent on having a character nearby then other units. It makes a difference. :) Since they're so durable I generally only bring a unit of 15, which still sticks around a long time and it can dish out a lot of hurt as well. Though I do give them the razor banner which makes the most of their S4 and lessens the need for magical support.
Lohendrinus wrote:(I have a sneaking feeling that whoever gets the first turn in the 8th edition has 65% to win the battle),
Interesting thought. I don't know if there are any numbers available to research this. It could very well be true. In my experience the army who has the initiative tends to win. It lets you dominate the flow of the battle and allows you to chose which combats to fight and which to avoid. One way I've found to help get the initiative is to bring some extra redirectors. At 2500 pts I would probably bring 3. Even if you go second they give you a lot of control over your opponents movement. Which allows you to make the most of your own shooting and magic. But also lets you decide which combats you are going to fight.

Personally in your list I would achieve this by dropping the noble on griffon and replacing him with 2 eagles, one eagle claw bolt thrower and a tiranoc chariot (or if you can find the points a lion chariot). 2 extra redirectors can be very annoying for your opponent. 2 RBT is massively better then just one. And the same goes for the chariot. 1 chariot you can ignore. 2 means your opponent has to pay some attention to them (I would run them separately, not in a unit).

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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#7 Post by Lohendrinus »

Prince of Spires wrote: Interesting thought. I don't know if there are any numbers available to research this. It could very well be true. In my experience the army who has the initiative tends to win. It lets you dominate the flow of the battle and allows you to chose which combats to fight and which to avoid. One way I've found to help get the initiative is to bring some extra redirectors. At 2500 pts I would probably bring 3. Even if you go second they give you a lot of control over your opponents movement. Which allows you to make the most of your own shooting and magic. But also lets you decide which combats you are going to fight.

Personally in your list I would achieve this by dropping the noble on griffon and replacing him with 2 eagles, one eagle claw bolt thrower and a tiranoc chariot (or if you can find the points a lion chariot). 2 extra redirectors can be very annoying for your opponent. 2 RBT is massively better then just one. And the same goes for the chariot. 1 chariot you can ignore. 2 means your opponent has to pay some attention to them (I would run them separately, not in a unit).

Rod
Thanks for your comment and insight. During my time in the UK, I had 4 Eagles and 4 RBTs and always used them to the maximum 4 Rare slots. When I came home, most of them were gifted to my friends though. At the moment, I'm regularly checking Ebay to buy several more RBTs and Reavers as I have just one RBT for now. I have one box of Sisters and very much keen to paint them asap. Which combo do you think are better, 1 RBT and 10 Sisters or just simple 2 RBTs (which will surely save me tons of time :D )?

In terms of redirectors, even High Elves can't beat Dogs of War in this front. Dow can have very cheap Core light Cav at 55 pts for 5 naked lads (60 pts with spear). A good DoW gen usually bring 4 light cav units to the table to wreck havoc. Not to mention the legend Bronzino himself, who you saw very capable when acting independently.
This is my experience with PG as well. When your rolling is decent they can take a huge amount of punishment before they die. And since they have LD9 they're less dependent on having a character nearby then other units. It makes a difference. :) Since they're so durable I generally only bring a unit of 15, which still sticks around a long time and it can dish out a lot of hurt as well. Though I do give them the razor banner which makes the most of their S4 and lessens the need for magical support.
Phoenix Guards with Razor banner are beasts. A unit of 24 dudes plus the Razor at 435 pts is the greatest anchor a High elf army can have (just avoid a Dweller Below at all costs though). By the way, the new plastics are so hard to rank up so after I built them, they have ever been in fix 24 strong formation. Of course they are magnetised and can be moved out but I would rather avoid the hassle of all those cloaks and pointy halberds.

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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#8 Post by Prince of Spires »

My PG are still the old models. And they rank up much better (at least if you put them in the correct place in the unit):
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Your unit does look great. The red and blue work really well together. And the flames on the cloaks are very striking. Great looking unit.

As for shooting, the general consensus is that RBT are better then Sisters, point for point. The range and lack of mobility (mainly no musician) of the sisters are the main issue. 24'' is not far enough in some situations. Still, they're great shooters. And if you're often in situations where flaming would make a difference then they're definitely worth it. The difference between them isn't soo big that you must have a RBT instead of the sisters. So, give them a try and see how they perform I'd say.

55pts fast cav in core is a great choice. It beats the already pretty good deal of 80pts reavers in HE core. And even the 50pts rare eagles. Though it must be said that for fast cav reavers bring a pretty decent punch. It should give an interesting tactical battle with that many redirectors on the table.

Rod
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#9 Post by Lohendrinus »

I wish I had those super pretty and headgear sensible 6th edition Phoenix Guards instead. My dudes took as much time to form up as to paint. And painting took literally ages :?

Alright, I will take your advice and put away the Sisters project for a while (they will queue nicely after a veritable mountain of leads!) If desperate, I can always hire a unit of Marksmen of Miragliano and believe me these boys are just as good (BS4 xbow, no long range penalty led by a T4 hero).

Regards.
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Re: Lords of the West Battle Report series

#10 Post by Prince of Spires »

Lohendrinus wrote:I wish I had those super pretty and headgear sensible 6th edition Phoenix Guards
:lol: :lol:

I was very lucky with them and found them on ebay where someone was selling them for cheap. They also took a long while to paint (though that could be because I'm just slow...).

Rod
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
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Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.
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