3500pts battle

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SpellArcher
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Re: 3500pts battle

#31 Post by SpellArcher »

Interesting game Rod, there are a few similarities (but also differences) with my third game from the tournament.

At first, I read Turn 4's rallies as ratties! Your opponent almost had a whole phase of whipping his troops back into the action. He got a few licks in but this turn and the next just seemed to see you consolidate and methodically pick stuff off. Always hard to kill that bell unit though!
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Prince of Spires
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Re: 3500pts battle

#32 Post by Prince of Spires »

I'm looking forward to the report from your third game then.

Some thoughts about the game.

Indeed, the end phase was more about mopping up and picking off stuff to gather points. My opponent managed to do enough damage to make this necessary instead of allowing me to focus more on the bell unit. By the end of the game a lot of my units were seriously depleted to the point where charging them into the bell unit would just give the risk of losing the points. And since it wasn't needed to secure a solid victory I played it safe. For instance, there were 5 spearmen, 7 archers, 9 LSG and 3 DP's left.

The interesting things happened in earlier turns I think. One of the main differences between our lists was that my combined arms list had units supporting each other. Which gave me the chance of getting help to units that needed it.

Also, having a set of redirectors and a bunch of units I wasn't afraid to sacrifice helped a great deal. The skycutter for instance didn't do a whole lot (beside fail a charge and get shot down). But simply the fact that he shot the skycutter instead of first focus on the archer/archmage unit meant that my archmage survived the game and gave me magical dominance after the WL managed to take out the seer (the WL being another sacrificial unit).

In total I had 3 pure redirectors, 1 RBT I didn't mind dying and 4 disposable units (WL, SW, skycutter and spearmen). My opponent had a doomwheel and a abomination. And perhaps the rat ogres. This gave me a chance to dominate the movement phase, ensure that the bell only got into combat when I wanted it to, though the spearmen combat in his T3 was unplanned and a costly mistake. I think if that combat hadn't happened I could have gotten the bell unit with several combined charges.

I got a few lucky breaks. Mainly breaking the bottom rat unit in 1 turn of combat and breaking the doomwheel with the LSG. Also, in the last combat round between the DP's and the doomwheel I actually managed to ward save his three ZZZAAPs with 3 sixes (think I failed to mention that one in the report). On the other hand, in general my rolling was horrible. I couldn't make a wardsave with my PG in big parts of the game. The Phoenixes couldn't kill anything with their attacks all game. In 7 rounds of combat the phoenixes were in, I think they killed maybe 5-7 rats with their actual attacks (Thunderstomps did help out lots here and there). In the end, the rolling probably averaged out.

In general spreading out a game over a month and a half didn't help the overal progress or battleplan (on both sides). It made us forget items or characters that were in the lists (like Caradryan in the PG). But, not much that could be done about it I guess. Sometimes things just happen that way.

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

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SpellArcher
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Re: 3500pts battle

#33 Post by SpellArcher »

Prince of Spires wrote:By the end of the game a lot of my units were seriously depleted to the point where charging them into the bell unit would just give the risk of losing the points. And since it wasn't needed to secure a solid victory I played it safe.
This rings true (pun intended!) to me Rod. Bell units are invariably so big and solid that a lot of things have to be going right for a Combined Arms list to have a crack at them. More often we find ourselves feeding it redirectors and killing the other stuff. See my third game for more on this.
Prince of Spires wrote:The interesting things happened in earlier turns I think. One of the main differences between our lists was that my combined arms list had units supporting each other. Which gave me the chance of getting help to units that needed it.
This is something I forget sometimes. I find myself bemoaning the lack of sheer muscle in combat for example but usually, Combined Arms lists give you some kind of answer to almost anything.
Prince of Spires wrote:Also, having a set of redirectors and a bunch of units I wasn't afraid to sacrifice helped a great deal. The skycutter for instance didn't do a whole lot (beside fail a charge and get shot down). But simply the fact that he shot the skycutter instead of first focus on the archer/archmage unit meant that my archmage survived the game and gave me magical dominance after the WL managed to take out the seer (the WL being another sacrificial unit).
Another good point. I was asking myself "are my Seekers doing enough?". But as you say, when they get shot other things don't and units you can afford to lose are always helpful.
Prince of Spires wrote:On the other hand, in general my rolling was horrible.
Something I learned from Seredain was that you can build for this. If your army fits together well you can often soak up a major dice fail because you have capacity ready elsewhere. You should be able to lose any single element, however powerful, to bad luck and still come back strong with the rest of your army.
Prince of Spires wrote:In general spreading out a game over a month and a half didn't help the overal progress or battleplan (on both sides). It made us forget items or characters that were in the lists (like Caradryan in the PG). But, not much that could be done about it I guess. Sometimes things just happen that way.
Rarely do we get ideal gaming conditions! But it sounds like you both had an enjoyable battle Rod. Thanks for posting it up!

:)
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Prince of Spires
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Re: 3500pts battle

#34 Post by Prince of Spires »

SpellArcher wrote:
Prince of Spires wrote:Also, having a set of redirectors and a bunch of units I wasn't afraid to sacrifice helped a great deal. The skycutter for instance didn't do a whole lot (beside fail a charge and get shot down). But simply the fact that he shot the skycutter instead of first focus on the archer/archmage unit meant that my archmage survived the game and gave me magical dominance after the WL managed to take out the seer (the WL being another sacrificial unit).
Another good point. I was asking myself "are my Seekers doing enough?". But as you say, when they get shot other things don't and units you can afford to lose are always helpful.
I think this has been a key element of playing HE with the 7th and 8th ed books at least. Eagles are the example unit for this. It's pivotal for HE who generally don't have units that can tear through whole armies by themselves. You have to accept that sometimes you have to sacrifice something to win the overall battle.
SpellArcher wrote:
Prince of Spires wrote:On the other hand, in general my rolling was horrible.
Something I learned from Seredain was that you can build for this. If your army fits together well you can often soak up a major dice fail because you have capacity ready elsewhere. You should be able to lose any single element, however powerful, to bad luck and still come back strong with the rest of your army.
This is pretty much the doctrine of a MSU army. But I agree that it also works with other army types as well. Part of the solution is using overwhelming force. Part of it is knowing when to gamble on a roll and when to play safe. For instance, in a magic phase it can be throwing an extra dice at a spell you really need cast, even if it means casting a spell less. Or doing the reverse, take a chance and gamble to cast a spell extra. But a big part of it is also mental attitude. If you accept that sometimes you roll horribly and keep in mind that you can still win even if you do then you're still ahead. If you get stuck in a negative frame of mind after a few bad rolls then you're bound to lose even when you then start rolling above average.
SpellArcher wrote:
Prince of Spires wrote:In general spreading out a game over a month and a half didn't help the overal progress or battleplan (on both sides). It made us forget items or characters that were in the lists (like Caradryan in the PG). But, not much that could be done about it I guess. Sometimes things just happen that way.
Rarely do we get ideal gaming conditions! But it sounds like you both had an enjoyable battle Rod. Thanks for posting it up!
It was indeed a fun game. And I'm lucky I could simply leave stuff in place and pick it up a week or two later. It was a fun game for both of us and a couple of great evenings. Having a game is also having a cup of tea / coffee together, chatting a bit. It's not just the game but also meeting up with a friend :)

Thank you for reading and commenting. I'll see if I'll also put up my next game if/when it happens. Nothing planned just yet.

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

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.
SpellArcher
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Re: 3500pts battle

#35 Post by SpellArcher »

Prince of Spires wrote: This is pretty much the doctrine of a MSU army. But I agree that it also works with other army types as well.
Especially Combined Arms Rod. Even my Daemon list should be able to lose it's Keeper of Secrets or DP and keep fighting. The 'patchwork' effect (other units that can fight, other sorcerers) is all about that.
Prince of Spires wrote: If you accept that sometimes you roll horribly and keep in mind that you can still win even if you do then you're still ahead.
Just so. It can even give you a psychological edge as some opponents get sloppy when they're on top.
Prince of Spires wrote:It was indeed a fun game. And I'm lucky I could simply leave stuff in place and pick it up a week or two later. It was a fun game for both of us and a couple of great evenings. Having a game is also having a cup of tea / coffee together, chatting a bit. It's not just the game but also meeting up with a friend

Thank you for reading and commenting. I'll see if I'll also put up my next game if/when it happens. Nothing planned just yet.
Sounds great. Really enjoyed the report and looking forward to another sometime.

:)
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