Game 1: High Elves vs Orcs and Goblins
This was my first game using the new plan, and was against an opponent that is just getting back into WHFB after a hiatus. This was his first game back with O&G, so hopefully we didn't get much of anything wrong rules wise.
High Elves:
Eltharion the Grim w/ Lore of Light
Archmage Level 4 w/ Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Preservation
Noble BSB mounted on Barded Elven Steed w/ Talisman of Endurance, Sword of Might, Heavy Armor, Shield
30x Spearmen FC w/ Banner of Swiftness
23x Archers w/ Standard Bearer
5x Ellyrian Reavers w/ Musician
23x Phoenix Guard FC w/ Razor Standard
10x Dragon Princes of Caledor FC w/ Banner of Eternal Flame, Star Lance
Great Eagle
Frostheart Phoenix
2496
Orcs and Goblins:
Gorbad Ironclaw
Savage Orc Great Shaman Level 4 mounted on War Boar w/ Dispel Scroll, Lucky Shrunken Head
Black Orc Big Boss w/ Shield
Night Goblin Shaman Level 2
Night Goblin Shaman Level 2
25x Orc Big-Uns FC w/ Additional Hand Weapons
14x Savage Orc Big-Uns FC w/ Spears, Shields
25x Night Goblins w/ Boss, Standard, 2x Fanatics
5x Forest Spider Riders w/ Bows
5x Forest Spider Riders w/ Bows
Spear Chukka
Spear Chukka
18x Savage Orc Boar Boy Big-Uns FC w/ Spears, Shields
Rock Lobba w/ Bully
Doom Diver
3x River Trolls
Magic:
Eltharion the Grim: Timewarp, Speed of Light
Archmage: Shem's Burning Gaze, Pha's Protection, Net of Amyntok, Banishment
Savage Orc Shaman: Brain Bursta, Hand of Gork, Foot of Gork, Ere We Go
Night Goblin Shaman: Itchy Nuisance, Gork'll Fix It
Night Goblin Shaman: Sneaky Stabbin, Gift of the Spider God
Deployment:
The High Elf Archers with the Archmage inside sat on top of a hill at the far left of the High Elf line. Next to them in line were the Phoenix Guard, and behind them the Dragon Princes. The small shed shown in the picture was declared impassible terrain. Farther to the right were the Spearmen, with the Frostheart in the center of the board and on the Elven right. Farthest to the right were the Reavers and the Great Eagle. The Greenskin line was based on the Spear Chukkas holding the top of the hill with the Rock Lobba behind and the River Trolls in front. The far Greenskin right and left both had Spider Riders and the Greenskin center was held by Gorbad and friends. To Gorbad's right were the Orc Big-Uns and to his right the Night Goblins. The Savage Orcs were behind the Spider Riders and the Doom Diver was at the back in the middle.
Initial Thoughts:
I really botched the deployment here. My Phoenix Guard and Spearmen are not in mutually supporting positions right off the bat and the Dragon Princes are awkwardly stuck behind the Guard. Furthermore the Archers are too far away from most of the action. My position could turn into a strong refused right flank, but the Orcs out-shoot me by a large margin meaning I've got to attack. My plan is to use the cluttered left table side to engage the Greenskin units separately and try to make maneuvering the massive Boar unit difficult. The Eagle will also try to run right quickly, get behind enemy lines and destroy some warmachines. I also hope to destroy the Bolt Throwers with magic and archery.
Vanguard:
The Spiders got to Vanguard first so they pushed forwards aggressively to get in my face. The Reavers responded by moving to the center to get in the way of the Boar Boys as soon as possible.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 1:
The Spider Riders on the Greenskin right promptly fail Animosity and charge the Phoenix Guard to the front. Other than that the rest of the field generally advances. Magic is an 8-6 phase. The first Goblin Shaman fails to cast Gift of the Spider God on the Boar Boys, but then Itchy Nuisance goes off on the Frostheart reducing its movement by a massive 6". An attempted Gork'll Fix It on the Frostheart also fails to cast. Hand of Gork is dispelled on the Orc Big-Uns while Ere We Go is cast on the Boar Boys.
Shooting manages to kill 3 Dragon Princes with a direct hit from the Doom Diver and a Reaver is killed by the other Spider Riders.
In combat the Spider Riders are all killed by the Phoenix Guard before they attack.
High Elves Turn 1:
No charges see the Elven line advance. Unfortunately the Great Eagle flies too close to the Night Goblins, triggers the Fanatics and is promptly splatted. The Phoenix Guard turn towards the center to support the Spearmen and the Frostheart flies back a bit more to the center. The Dragon Princes move up to engage the Trolls. The Reavers get into a blocking position for the Boar Boys.
Magic is a good 11-6 phase that puts Speed of Light on the Phoenix Guard, Net of Amyntok on the Doom Diver, and Pha's Protection on the Dragon Princes. A boosted Shem's is dispelled on the Trolls.
Shooting manages to plink two wounds off the closest Spear Chukka.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 2:
Nobody fails Animosity this time. The Spider Riders charge the rear of the Reavers. One Fanatic kills himself and the other spins backwards right in front of the Night Goblins. The Goblins decide to walk right over that Fanatic and 7 Goblins die in the chaos. The Trolls shuffle slightly and the Orc Big-Uns continue advancing towards the center a bit.
Magic is another good 9-5 phase. Gork'll Fix It is cast on the Reavers and Gift of the Spider God on the Orc Big-Uns. Ere We Go is cast as well with a small bubble, and Foot of Gork on the Phoenix Guard is dispelled.
One Spear Chukka manages to hit the Phoenix Guard with a bolt but the crazy elf shrugs it off like nothing. The Rock Lobba also scatters to only hit one Phoenix Guard who also lives.
The Spider Riders kill 2 of the Reavers at the cost of 1 Goblin but fail to catch the Reavers in the pursuit, putting both them and the Reavers right in front of the Boars.
High Elves Turn 2:
The Frostheart charges the Orc Boy Big-Uns, but the expected Spearmen support fails to materialize after the Spearmen fail their 6" charge. The Dragon Princes also charge the Trolls. The Reavers then rally to provide more blocking fun. Meanwhile in the center the Spearmen and Phoenix Guard jostle around a bit trying to get into decent placement to face the oncoming hordes of Orcs.
Magic puts Pha's Protection on the Dragon Princes while Net fails to cast. Speed of Light is then dispelled.
The Archers then manage to kill off the damaged Spear Chukka.
The Frostheart was then very surprised to take 2 wounds as I had forgotten the Orcs had poisoned attacks, however, 7 Orcs died as well so the Frostheart won combat. The Dragon Princes wiped out the Trolls and overran forwards.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 3:
The Night Goblins fail animosity and try to charge the Spearmen but fail forwards. The Spider Riders also charge the Reavers. The Savage Orc Boars are still held up by the Reavers but will hopefully get operational freedom next turn. The Greenskin left also continues to advance towards the center as fast as possible.
Magic is a surprising 8-8 phase after 2 channels for the Elves. Gork'll Fix It goes off on the Frostheart Phoenix while Gift of the Spider God on the Big-Uns is dispelled as is Ere We Go.
The Doom Diver tried to hit the Phoenix Guard but promptly scattered right onto the Frostheart, almost in a perfect plan. However, he fails to hurt the Frostheart after a low number of hits and a passed 4++. Two more Phoenix Guard get splatted by the Rock Lobba and the remaining Chukka misses.
The Reavers manage to kill one of the Spiders but are killed in return. The Frostheart dismally kills only 2 Orcs but is not harmed in return and passes the break test.
High Elves Turn 3:
The Dragon Princes charge the remaining Chukka while the Phoenix Guard and Spearmen finally form a coherent battle line. Neither can charge into the Orcs to support the Frostheart due to terrain and the Spider Riders. The Archers move forwards to find something else to kill.
Magic tries to get Banishment on Gorbad's squad but it is scrolled. Pha's is then dispelled and Speed fails to cast for a completely defeated magic phase!
Eltharion then proves his worth by shooting a Boar with his bow.
The Dragon Princes then easily kill the Spear Chukka and overrun. The Frostheart Phoenix kills another 5 Orcs but takes an additional wound.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 4:
The Savage Orcs fail Animosity and they try to charge the Spearmen as do the Night Goblins (the Goblins were voluntary though). Both fail, however, as the charge was quite long. The Spider Riders charge the Phoenix in the flank, and the Boar Boys reform to go after the Dragon Princes, trying to trap them.
Magic sees one Goblin Shaman fail to cast Gork'll Fix It then the next Shaman fail to cast Gift of the Spider God. Brain Busta then miscasts onto the Elven BSB, but doesn't harm him Meanwhile 4 Boars are killed by the explosion.
The Phoenix Guard continue to shrug off the Goblin artillery by tanking the Rock Lobba shot. The Doom Diver then panics due to having Dragon Princes so near and blows itself up.
The Frostheart then got angry and killed all 3 Spider Riders along with 5 more Orcs at no damage.
High Elves Turn 4:
The Spearmen counter-charge the Night Goblins and the Dragon Princes decide that discretion is the better part of valor and march past the Boar Boys front to get out of their arc. The Phoenix Guard advance in an attempt to get relevant. The Archers continue advancing in their quest to find someone to shoot.
Magic sees Banishment kill 5 Boar Boys. Speed of Light is dispelled, but Net goes off on the Rock Lobba. Pha's Protection also goes onto the Frostheart to keep it as safe as possible.
The Spearmen kill the Goblin Shaman along with 9 Goblins at the cost of 1 Spearmen and the Goblins run. The Spears fail to catch them, though, and instead end up right in front of the Savage Orcs. The Frostheart wipes out what's left of the Big-Uns and also wounds the Black Orc once. The solitary orc decides to run, but is caught. Unfortunately this puts the Frostheart right in front of the Boar Boys charge!
Orcs and Goblins Turn 5:
WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My opponent didn't yell when declaring this, which upset me greatly.
The Savage Orcs decided to show the Goblins how to kill Spearmen and charged them to the front. The Boars of course also charged the Phoenix.
Magic saw Sneaky Stabbin fail to cast due to the magic mushroom and it wounded the Shaman. Ere We Go was then dispelled.
In combat the Frostheart killed 2 Boars and didn't take any wounds but all of the Greenskin static combat res forced a break test which the Phoenix failed! And he was about 2" too far from the BSB to reroll! Fortunately I rolled a 10" flee. Unfortunately, the Boars rolled a 10" pursue. The Savage Orcs then proved they knew what they were talking about by killing 6 Spearmen at the dismal cost of only 3 Orcs.
High Elves Turn 5:
The Dragon Princes and Phoenix Guard both turned towards the remains of Gorbad's Boar unit hoping to catch him next turn. The Archers decided to stay put and shoot.
Magic remarkably saw both Speed of Light and Banishment dispelled with double 6's.
The Archers then shot 3 Boars to death.
The Spearmen continued their embarrassment by failing to kill any Savage Orcs after 3 6+ and 6++ saves are passed. In the meantime 4 Spearmen are killed.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 6:
Here we had an interesting situation. Gorbad's unit barely clipped the back of the last Archer in his front arc, so we decided to dice off to see if he could charge, and in he went.
Magic was a very large phase that put Ere We Go on the Boars, Sneaky Stabbin on the Savage Orcs, and Gift of the Spider God on the Savage Orcs.
The Rock Lobba misfired, not hurting itself but missing its last shot.
The Spearmen then finally remembered how to fight and killed 6 Orcs at the cost of 2 Spears and caught the remaining Orcs in their flight, and overran into the Night Goblins.
The Archers then managed to kill off the rest of the Boar unit leaving just Gorbad and the Shaman, but 5 Archers were killed. No worries, though, they are LD 10 steadfast! They failed. And were run down.
High Elves Turn 6:
Seeing as there's not much else I can do the Dragon Princes charge the Rock Lobba and kill it. The Spears also wipe out the Night Goblins.
High Elf Victory!
Thoughts:
I really screwed up deployment this game, and that kept the Phoenix Guard out of combat the whole game. The Dragon Princes were also probably not used to their maximum having them just hunting warmachines most of the game, though it was a necessary job once the Eagle died. I think I primarily won this game due to the Reavers keeping the Boars occupied for so long and I chose the right part of the board to fight in, where the Boars couldn't physically fit where they needed to be to get their powerful charges off. The Archers were too far in the flank to work all that well, they could have done better instead of spending two turns moving forwards just to get something to shoot at.
My opponent and I talked a bit about his list and since it was still early he made some quick modifications and we set up to play again, using the same board and I kept my same list.