Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Post Battle Reports here for bragging rights...

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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (new Wood Elves coming up!)

Post by Amboadine »

Looking forward to reading this. Seeing what they can do.
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (new Wood Elves coming up!)

Post by Clockwork »

You can find my list over in this thread here.

His list was:

Spellsinger level 4, High Magic, Acorn.
BSB with Hail of Doom Arrow, stuff.
Waystalker with Bow of Loren.

30 Glade Guard, Full Command, Double Shots.
5 Glade Riders, Poison.
5 Glade Riders, Poison.

18 Wildwood Rangers
Treeman
3 Warhawk Riders
5 Wild Riders
10 Waywatchers
10 Waywatchers
10 Wardancers

Spells: I rolled Black Horror, Chillwind, Soulstealer and Word of Pain.
Wood Elves got Apotheosis, Tempest, Soul Quench and Hand of Glory.

The initial woods were second in bottom right and second in top left. The other three were added as Venom Thickets thanks to the Acorn, with the 4th top right an Abyssal Wood placed in the deployment zone.

That's a lot of shooting. And a lot of Poison forests (rolled a 3 on the acorn in addition to the existing woods). And not many channels to advance. My plan of attack was to use my chaff to gain the upperhand in the shooting war by thinning out his Waywatchers before committing. Until then I'd sit behind terrain for the cover bonuses.

In case anyone is wondering, we played a map from the Pompey Pillage tournament that's coming up in a couple of months.

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So, completely forgetting everything about the plan I'd just formed, turn 1 I poked the Knights out from behind the forest so that the Waywatchers and the Waystalker could see them >.>

In the shooting phase I was able to kill of 7 out of the 10 Waywatchers on the right and the unit retreated into the wood. But I couldn't repeat the success on th left and only dropped one. My central RBT missed the Treeman.

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The remaining Waywatchers rallied and the Warhawks charged into the Dark Riders, killing two but losing one of their number and the Riders held.

The magic phase was disastrous. First a Tempest was let through, killing 4 Crossbowmen, followed by a big Soul Quench which killed all 5 Shades occupying the building. Finally, a Hand of Glory was Irresistible Forced on the Glade Guard, with the resulting miscast dodged due to High Magic lore attribute.

In the shooting phase, the Waywatchers promptly punished me for my stupidity by shooting off 5 (!) Knights, and the Waystalker sniped one wound on the BSB. Guided by the Spellsinger, the Glade Guard shot off 13 Witch Elves.

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The Dark Elves were unable to repeat their success of the previous turn, only able to kill a couple of Wood Elves with a flurry of shots. Even the Sorcerer’s magic was unable to achieve anything of note (due to a combination of shooting penalties and terrible rolling lock, I really wasn't able to do anything).

The only combat continued to stalemate.

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The Wood Elves kept up their barrage of shots, in this turn deleting both the Cold One Knights (despite all the penalties), and the Warlocks (thanks to Hand of Glory buffed Glade Guard). Even the Sorceress was wounded twice.

The Wild Riders joined the combat and saw off their dark bretheren, overruning to the edge of the field.

Glade Rider reinforcements also arrived.

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Throwing caution to the wind, the Chariot and Bloodwrack Shrine both declared long charges. Sadly, the Waywatchers comfortably passed their Terror check and neither unit made it in (It was double 6s for both, but I needed to make something happen).

Enraged by the loss of his Warlocks, the Supreme Sorcerer pushed a Black Horror through the Glade Guard, killing nearly half their number. Such was his rage, though, that he did not realise that the vortex was on a path to the central Bolt Thrower, destroying it instantly. When Shade and Dark Rider shooting finished less than 10 Glade Guard were left standing.

The Crossbowmen attempted a swift reform but failed, and the surviving Bolt Thrower killed two of the nearby Glade Guard.

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Both the Warhawk Riders and the Treeman declared charges into the exposed Shrine, but only the Warhawks were able to make contact. They dealt two wounds but lost another of their number.

Through magic and shots, the Glade Guard were able to wipe out the second unit of Shades. The BSB turned with his Ranger bodyguard and unleashed the Hail of Doom Arrow, but only three shots were produced. Still, the Sorcerer was wounded once but, having gained a wound through an earlier casting of Soulstealer, remained alive.

The Waywatchers shot two wounds off of the Chariot.

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The Chariot charged again, and this time made contact with the flank of the Glade Guard. Enough models were cut down that they were without a rank, and they fled from the field in disgrace with the Spellsinger caught under its wheels.

The Executioners charged into the Warhawk, killing it, and overran to interpose themeslves between the Treeman and the Shrine, losing some of their number to the Wood.

Nearby, the BSB charged into the Wild Riders and cut three of them down. No blows were struck back by the riders who looked like they might be put to flight; but one of the horses suddenly lashed out and toppled the Master from his steed (that armour save roll of 1...).

Unfortunately, due to time, we had to call it there. But I think that, despite getting the Glade Guard and the Spellsinger, I was on to a loser here.

Initial Post-Battle Thoughts.

Hmm... ouch. Those Waywatchers are every bit as scary as I thought they would be. And 30 Glade Guard with double shot AP bows buffed by Hand of Glory, with the Level 4 able to discard miscast wounds with the lore attribute... yeah. This is bad.

First things first- I didn't play this one well. I think my plan was sound, if I'd stuck to it properly, but in the second turn my luck fled me. Without keeping the pressure on and the wounds up through shooting and magic, this meant that the Wood Elves gained the edge in the shooting war and allowed them to establish ranged dominance, after which I was on the back foot and could not compete. After this point he was able to simply pick a unit and delete it in one round. All those woods were certainly a hindrance which weighed on my mind, but in hindsight I think I should have ignored them and just pressed forward. I'd practically eliminated one unit of Waywatchers anyway, and the other unit and the Glade Guard can only shoot at one thing at a time: if I'd pushed up turn 2 with all my combat units I might have been able to overwhelm him with target saturation.

My tips would be: don't mess about. Throw everything you have at dealing with those Waywatchers and Glade Guard, because if they are able to establish supremacy you are finished. Secondly, don't keep them at arm's length. All ahead full, and damn the torpedoes terrain! Anything that survives should be more than enough to win combats against the shooters.
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (vs new Woodies!)

Post by Amboadine »

I think as we get more experience against our elusive cousins, we will come to the best solutions to dealing with them. The Waywalkers no armour save is definitely cause for them being high on the list of priorities.
Keeping your CoKs out of sight as originally planned would have definitely helped you out, they are prime WW targets.
You are correct that if we can get them into combat, we will have the better of them, just need to get there. Warlocks and ward save characters may come in very handy here.
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (vs new Woodies!)

Post by Clockwork »

Yeah, that's what I thought. Till one point they were shooting through the forest, and even with -2 to hit (long range, forest), they dropped 3 or 4 Knights in one round O.O
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (new Wood Elves coming up!)

Post by T.D. »

Clockwork wrote:
My tips would be: don't mess about. Throw everything you have at dealing with those Waywatchers and Glade Guard, because if they are able to establish supremacy you are finished. Secondly, don't keep them at arm's length. All ahead full, and damn the torpedoes terrain! Anything that survives should be more than enough to win combats against the shooters.


This is what I've gathered from reading the new book.

Warlocks and the COB ward are even more important against Woodies than ever, as are our RBT and RxB to compete with their shooting.

Thanks for the batrep! :)
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Clockwork »

Hi everyone! I’ve somewhat neglected this thread and my Dark Elves whilst working hard on my Lizardmen, first to get them in tournament ready condition, and then to write (and play well!) a competitive list. However, at the last minute I’ve managed to get into a one day event next weekend running SCGT comp, and because the Lizard comp is pretty restrictive, I’ve decided to use this as an opportunity to get the Dark Elves out again and ruin some hobby!

To that end, this weekend I managed to get in a practice game with my regular opponent, who will also be attending with this Wood Elves. As well as giving the list a run out, this will also give us the opportunity to settle the question of which Elf is coolest Elf.

You can read up on the comp here. In short, comp differences add to roll off for deployment type, side and game order. All games are battleline with Blood and Glory rules in effect. There are also secret missions for 100VPs. Victory conditions are win/loss/draw with a 350pt margin.

Dark Elves:

Dreadlord with Cloak of Twilight, Dawn Stone, Heavy Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Shield, Lance, Repeater Crossbow, Dark Pegasus.
Supreme Sorceress, Level 4 with Dispel Scroll, Obsidian Amulet, Dark Steed. Lore of Metal.

Master with Talisman of Preservation, Ironcurse Icon, Heavy Armour, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Battle Standard Bearer, Dark Steed.

18 Corsairs, Full Command, Additional Hand Weapons, Banner of Swiftness.
5 Dark Riders, Musician, Shields, Repeater Crossbows.
5 Dark Riders, Musician, Shields, Repeater Crossbows.
12 Repeater Crossbowmen, Musician, Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame, Shields.

7 Cold One Knights, Standard, Champion.
18 Executioners, Full Command, Gleaming Pennant.
Reaper Bolt Thrower
Reaper Bolt Thrower
6 Shades, Additional Hand Weapons.
5 Harpies

5 Warlocks
Bloodwrack Shrine

Wood Elves:

Durthu
Spellweaver, Level 3 with Dispel Scroll, Obsidian Trinket, Elven Steed. Lore of Life.

Noble with Bow of Loren, Ruby Ring, Battle Standard Bearer.

10 Trueflight Glade Guard, Musician.
10 Trueflight Glade Guard, Musician.
13 Hagbane Glade Guard, Musician and Standard.
5 Hagbane Glade Riders, Musician.

5 Wild Riders, Standard, Shields.
5 Wild Riders, Shields.
5 Sisters of the Thorn, Standard.
5 Wardancers

Treeman
Treeman
6 Waywatchers

Sorceress: Searing Doom, Enchanted Blades, Glittering Robes, Final Transmutation.
Spellweaver: Regrowth, Throne of Vines, Dwellers Below.
Durthu: Wildform.

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The Dark Elves unexpectedly won the first turn, but prior to this there was a flurry of pre-battle redeployment on both sides.

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Fast moving elements sped up both sides of the battlefield to threaten the flanks of their hipster Elf cousins. The rest of the Dark Elf army was far more cautious, wary of the three Treeman, except for the Corsairs who bravely ran up the middle to make themselves a tempting target.

In the magic phase, one Doombolt killed three Wild Riders from the unit on the right, with another one shot off by the Shades to leave a lone survivor in his saddle. The other unit of Riders was completely wiped out by the combined firepower of the RBTs and Crossbowmen. The Dreadlord and Dark Riders managed to kill three of the six Waywatchers with their own Repeaters.

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All three Treemen rushed forwards, with the Glade Guard turning to deal with the threats menacing their flanks. An attempt at Dwellers was made on the Executioners, but this was blocked with a Dispel Scroll.

Disaster struck in the shooting phase when the three Waywatchers managed to wound the Dreadlord, despite his Cloak! Two of the nearby Dark Riders, an RBT, and four of the six Shades were also killed.

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Flanking units probed into the Wood Elf lines, with the centre still holding back and awaiting the signal to attack. This time, a Searing Doom took two wounds off a Treeman, with the flaming bolts of the Crossbowmen dealing another two. The surviving RBT found its mark on Durthu, but the bolt dealt only a single wound.

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With a roar, Durthu and his fellow Tree collided with the Corsairs. They bravely stood their ground, and the braver still Reaver stepped up to challenge Durthu himself (and was promptly stomped into the dirt for his efforts). Nonetheless, the Corsairs managed to inflict a lucky wound on the other Treeman, and held their ground. Reinforcements in the form of the Glade Riders arrived to harry the Warlocks, and the Glade Guard continued their gradual wheel to keep the flankers in their sight.

The Spellweaver managed to heal the wounded Treeman back up to full strength through magic, while the Waywatchers added insult to injury when they dealt a second wound to the Dreadlord (who said 3++ ward saves were too good?). This round the Dark Riders took the brunt of the shooting, with one unit wiped out entirely and just one left standing from the other.

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With the Wood Elf flanks and centre completely turned, now the Dreadlord gave the signal to attack. First the Executioners charged a unit of Trueflight, who fled. They redirected into the flank of the larger unit of Hagbane, who held – but when both the Dark Rider and the Dreadlord also declared charges, which would go into the rear, the Noble decided instead to withdraw rather than risk his army’s standard. But their drecition of flight took them right across the path of the Executioners, who demonstrated the swift savagery of the Druchii by catching them and wiping the unit out entirely (to explain, the Hagbane Guard fled from the Dreadlord, who charged last, which meant that their direction of flight was directly across the front of the Executioners. I rolled a mighty 11 for charge distance, which was more than sufficient to catch the unit and wipe it out). After the short but bloody massacre, the Executioners turned back towards the centre of the battlefield.

The Knights also joined the combat, slamming into the flank of the Treeman with an equally impressive charge and without losing any of their number to the multiple dangerous terrain tests. However, the intervening woodland threw their aim and they could only manage two wounds for the loss of three of their own. The combined might of both Treemen all but wiped out the Corsairs, who fled and managed to escape Durthu, though the Knights held on.

Sensing their opportunity, the Harpies landed in the way of the Treeman.

A Searing Doom on the Treeman was scrolled this turn, and the Warlocks attempted to Doombolt the Sisters but were stopped by the Spellweaver. The RBT went wide of its mark at the same target, but the Crossbowmen demonstrated their prowess by putting four wounds on it from two flaming bolts.

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Durthu charged the last two Corsairs off the table, then redirected into the offending RBT and smashed the war machine to pieces. The rest of the Wood Elf line turned inwards to deal with the rampaging Executioners, while the Treeman scared the Harpies away with its terrifying charge.

In the magic phase, a Throne of Vines was allowed through but a Regrowth could not be stopped – once again, the near-death Treeman was brought up to full health. These two successful castings also healed Durthu and the third Treeman, still engaged with the Knights. However, his luck was not to hold as he could only kill one Knight and lost the combat, pierced in the back by multiple lances.

This time, the Waywatchers could not find their mark, despite assistance from the nearby Glade Guard.

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Once again, the Knights dug in their spurs and charged – first against the Sisters, who fled, and then against the Treeman. As before, it appeared that their aim was off and they could do only two wounds to it. The Executioners also attempted to join the combat, but the distance was too great. Rather than joining in as well, the Dreadlord and last Dark Rider turned to finish off the Waywatchers.

The magic phase sputtered out when the Sorcerer failed to cast Searing Doom on Durthu. Nonetheless, the Warlocks did manage to Soublight the Treeman. The Darkshards walked down off their hill but found Durthu more resilient to their bolts.

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Durthu charged into the rear of the Knights and was challenged by the Master, who took a wound, while the Knights managed one more on the Treeman (to be fair, it was probably from the Cold Ones who were doing all the work).

The Waywatchers calmly shot the Dreadlord out of the sky (for anyone who is counting, that’s 3 wounds from 11 Waywatcher shots over four turns...). One Warlock was also killed, and a Dwellers Below pulled four Executioners to their doom.

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This time the Executioners were able to join the combat, after putting the Trueflight Guard to flight, who had foolishly walked a step too far backwards, with the Medusa cutting up the Treeman after being augmented by Enchanted Blades. The challenge however dragged on, with neither side able to inflict any damage.

After crossing back over the battlefield, the Warlocks managed to cast Doombolt on the Sisters but not one was killed (turns out 3++ saves ARE good...). The Crossbowmen were forced, once again, to demonstrate to their bretheren how it’s done by shooting off both the Spellweaver and all but one Sister in one deadly volley.

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In return for the loss of their own wizard, the combined firepower of all the Wood Elf shooting killed all the Warlocks and the Supreme Sorcerer. This triumph was short lived, however, when despite killing the Master, Durthu still found himself on the losing end of combat and was run down by the Knights.

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Freed from combat, the Executioners went looking for points and charged the flank of the nearby Wardancers, who were unable to flee. Alhtough able to dance around most of the attacks, the Wardancers still broke from combat, escaping through the trees but leaving the Glade Riders exposed to the overrun.

The Knights desperately attempted to goad their beasts into escaping the inevitable Wood Elf shots next turn, but the Cold Ones stubbornly refused to obey and instead stumbled forwards (curse you Stupidity!).

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In the closing moves of the game, the Cold One Knights were pin cushioned by arrows and the Executioners wiped out the Glade Riders.

Both sides were broken.
Dark Elves scored their secret mission (kill the enemy general).
Wood Elves failed their secret mission (keep their general alive).
Result: Draw!
Coolest Elf: Dark! (Because Trees don’t count as Elves).

Well, to have been in such a good position at the end of my turn 3, I’m chalking this one up as a loss – and one that I managed to snatch from the jaws of victory, at that. The key mistake that I made was with the Dreadlord. Despite getting terribly unlucky, I shouldn’t have exposed him to any further shots: he could have redirected into the Glade Guard, and although he wouldn’t have broken the unit in the first round of combat, he would have got through them eventually and stopped them shooting for a turn or more (and not been shot at for that time, either). Still, I was wary both of the DT and I wanted to keep him available to charge Treemen. That’s a perfectly reasonable choice, but if I wanted to do that I should have used his next turn to fly to the far side of the battlefield, as far away from the Waywatchers as he could be, and definitely not back towards them to risk another failed ward roll. I wasted a 400 VP monster-hunting combat character trying to kill ~120 points of Waywatchers by shooting at them. That was just dumb, and as the victory point margin is 350, it most certainly cost me the game. Same with the surviving Dark Rider – he would have spent his points much better chasing down lone models. As it was, both the Sisters and the Wild Riders survived with one left which denied me their VPs. If I had been able to clear these up, it would have been a significant swing back to me. Something to concentrate on in the future.

Otherwise, I was very pleased with how the game went. Focusing all my shooting on the Wild Riders turn 1 was the best decision, I feel, as it completely eliminated the fast threat that they posed and meant that I could deal with the much slower Treemen in my own time. Putting pressure on both flanks really paid off and I was extremely pleased with how that went in opening up his centre – the Executioner charge was a lucky one, but I had two Swiftstride units charging the BSB as well, so I was very confident at being able to run them down. Several times in the opening turns my opponent conceded that I was giving him very hard choices to make, and I don’t envy him having to decide what was the lesser of two evils. Personally, I would have used all the shooting to focus on one flank and one unit at a time, rather than trying to divide the shots.

The only other point to consider are the two Knight charges but, in hindsight, I’d probably still take both of them again. The first was key to pinning the Treeman in place, as they would have been free to charge again in their next turn after finishing off the Corsairs. The second I’m less sure about – although killing the Treeman on the charge was far from guaranteed, they were in a pretty vulnerable position had they tried to run away, or after the Sisters. At least this way, I had a fighting chance (which sort of paid off, but not in the way that I would have liked).

Still, this was a very good run of the list and it taught me several valuable lessons. Next week, in my first round game I’m up against Bretonnians in a grudge match against one of my opponents from Pompey Pillage earlier this year. That time, my no-Slann double-Oldblood Lizardmen narrowly took a loss against his VC bus, after some 150 points of Skeletons rear charged more than 800 points of Temple Guard, Oldblood and BSB and took them off – right before they were able to flank the bus – so this is my chance for revenge! Having not played Bretonnians since way back in 5th edition, I’m keen to see how it goes (especially concerning as I have lots of S5+).

Any hints/tips/suggestions/criticism welcome!
Last edited by Clockwork on Tue Sep 30, 2014 7:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by T.D. »

I love a good illustrated report!

Thanks very much for the write up. Very fun battle by the sounds of it.

I agree that you should have protected your DL more. On the plus side of the sacrifice of your DL and left wing Dark Riders, it did help to keep your Knights alive, who then went on to play an important role in the battle. I would probably have prioritised a stand-and-shoot avoiding charge on the Waywatchers with Dark Riders and/or Dreadlord if possible (20/20 hindsight is always perfect :P).
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Thraundil »

Great game, pleasure to read about.
What I find vs wood elves when I play with pegasus is to focus magic missiles onto the waywatchers fast, thus giving the fliers free reign over the battlefield... Either that, or get them into combat asap. Doesnt matter which combat. They'll win it most of the time...

Shooting the wild riders off the board was definitely the right call. Woodies are so deadly to us because they pin us down completely. We cant win a shootout, and if we move forward they slam into us with their mounted strength 5 witch elves :killed:

Taking some inspiration from here. Often, I try to kill the trueflight archers. Perhaps I should focus more on shooting wild riders.
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Equipment: Staff, longsword, dagger, 20 gold, insignia ring.
Skills: Power of Aqshy (2), defensive figthing
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Re: CLockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Clockwork »

T.D. wrote:I love a good illustrated report!

Thanks very much for the write up. Very fun battle by the sounds of it.

I agree that you should have protected your DL more. On the plus side of the sacrifice of your DL and left wing Dark Riders, it did help to keep your Knights alive, who then went on to play an important role in the battle. I would probably have prioritised a stand-and-shoot avoiding charge on the Waywatchers with Dark Riders and/or Dreadlord if possible (20/20 hindsight is always perfect :P).


Thanks!

Yeah, as I recall I believe that they were always just out of arc of sight (the maps there don't convey it very well). Not sure whether I would have taken that charge, but something to think about in the future.

I've also just realised that in Turn 3, I could have had a much easier time of it with my Warlocks - they were ideally placed to push the Glade Guard off the table, or flank the bigger unit from the other side. I'm so used to running them around and dropping Doombolts like a bamf that I forget just how much they can contribute to combats as well. D'oh!
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Clockwork »

The Legion assembled, ready to take the field of battle!

Image
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Malys the younger »

Very nice looking army! The BSB looks very dynamic and I like the Shrine.
Image

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The Grim Host of Malys the Younger: http://druchii.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=75760

Overall W/D/L: 5/0/3
vs Empire: 1/0/0
vs Wood Elves: 2/0/2
vs Beastmen: 2/0/0
vs Vampire Counts: 0/0/1
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Amboadine »

Nice army :)
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Clockwork »

Thanks guys! The Shrines been through a bit of a rework since I initially put it together, but I'm liking how it has turned out. Magical fire effects ftw. Although the new Dark Eldar Archaon could potentially replace the guy on top as a statue. I haven't quite decided yet.

You'll have to forgive the Harpy/Gargoyle movement tray, I had to throw something together in a rush using spare parts :/

In a slight change of plan I'm now up against Dwarfs first thing tomorrow.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (back 29.09.14!)

Post by Clockwork »

Alright lets do this, Game 1!

Game 1 – Dwarfs (Greg Day)

Dwarfs:
Lord with Shieldbearers (General)
Lord with Oathstone, runic weapon.

Thane BSB
Runesmith
Runesmith

30 Longbeards, Full Command, Shields, Great Weapons, Strollaz.
10 Thunderers.

Gyrocopter
25 Ironbreakers, Full Command, Strollaz.

Organ Gun
5 Rangers

A very compact army indeed. Both those units looked very resilient, but outside of them there weren't that many points to pick up.

For spells, I did not roll Final Transmutation. That's all you need to know.

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Looking at deployment, you can see that I made some huge mistakes. Mistake number one: not using my Shades to block the very obvious vanguard moves. Mistake number two, and sadly one I repeat all weekend: the Harpies are too far away to properly support my line. And mistake three: deploying centrally to fight those blocks, instead of avoiding and flanking them. If I'd deployed to the right of that hill, I might have been able to split them up.

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The Dwarfs got turn one and continued to barrel towards the Dark Elf lines. The Gyrocopter swept over the Corsairs, killing several, then the Organ gun opened up and killed several more. On the opposite flank, the Rangers and Thunderers killed two Dark Riders, which caused the unit to withdraw.

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Throwing caution to the wind, the Executioners steeled themselves and charged headlong into the approaching Dwarfs. Elsewhere, the Druchii reformed for potential flank charges on the Longbeards in subsequent turns.

The crossbowmen and one Bolt Thrower fired on the Gryocopter, but could only inflict one wound. The other Bolt Thrower also could not find its mark, though the Dark Riders made one more wound. The Shades distinguished themselves by shooting dead four of the Thunderers.

In the combat, the Executioners and Medusa directed all of their attacks against the characters available to them. But there was disaster when neither Dwarf fell. In return, the Lord smashed apart the Shrine, the Runesmith revealed a Breath Weapon, and the unit broke from combat and was run down, with the Ironbreakers clipping in to the Corsairs.

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The Ironbreakers hit the Corsairs like a ton of bricks and broke them, running them. The nearby Crossbowmen, who had just suffered the Gryocopters steam gun, decided that this was an opportune moment to withdraw and left the field.

The Longbeards wiped out the Harpies, who had stayed on instruction from the Dreadlord to protect the flank of the Corsairs, whilst the Organ Gun turned and wiped out the menacing Dark Riders.

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With the centre and left flank all but completely wiped out, the Dark Elves were now presented with a difficult decision: attempt a perilous combined charge on the Longbeards, with the Knights in the rear and the Dreadlord in the flank, or choose discretion as the better part of valor. Ultimately, the Dreadlord elected that it was better to preserve his remaining soldiers for further campaigns.

The Socereror left the Warlocks, who were being steadily depleted by Dwarven fire, and joined up with the rallied Dark Riders. Both Bolt Throwers remained to sell their lives dearly, although one was able to take out the Organ Gun and the other the Grycopter before doing so.

The remaining Dark Elf fire was directed against both the Thunderers and the Rangers, though wasn't sufficient to kill either unit just yet.

Image

The two Dwarf combat units reformed to work their way gradually back into the battle, whilst the surviving ranged units were able to finish off the Warlocks.

Image

Both Bolt Thrower crew expertly dismantled their machines in swift time and moved them out of the line of sight of the units approaching them (on the right, the hill was steep enough for me to hide behind it, buying one turn).

The Shades finished off the Thunderers, whilst the Dark Riders, Sorceror and Dreadlord killed all but one Ranger.

In the last turns of the game, the Rangers were wiped out, but the Ironrbeakers managed to catch the Bolt Thrower they were chasing down. Although the Sorcereor was able to cast Searing Doom on the Longbeards repeatedly, their numbers were such that it did not trouble them. The Dark Elves continued to avoid combats and ultimately withdrew from the field, defeated.

Result: Dark Elf Loss
Secret Mission: Have more units in own deployment zone than the enemy - Failed!
Fortitude: Broken.

Well, all I can say is that I played that one terribly. First off, my deployment was awful and I didn't do anything to negate the obvious Vanguard, even with ample opportunity, whilst the positioning of the Crossbowmen and Corsairs was just open to exploitation by my opponent. Secondly, I committed way too early to that unit of Ironbreakers and, when I did, I did it with insufficient strength. Although I sort of assumed that I'd bounce off the unit, I was hoping to at least Killing Blow a couple of characters, and have the unit stuck in a combat for a turn or two. Sadly this was not to be, and I practically threw away some 400-500 points (more, once you consider how the rest of the line then broke).

The choice that I faced in Turn 2 was the toughest one the whole weekend. It was my only opportunity to get some points and salvage a draw, or even a win. But whilst it looked tempting, it was far from guaranteed: the Dwarfs would have enough numbers to be Steadfast on a 10 regardless of how much damage I was able to inflict, plus there were enough characters and champions in that unit to mean that my Dreadlord would not be able to fight his General in a challenge, and thus wouldn't get to make use of his Cloak. Indeed, with Make Way it was possible that a large number of my attacks would have to be against the characters and potentially wasted, let alone the number of attacks that I'd take back. If I didn't win in 1 or 2 rounds, then the Ironbreakers would be coming back my way and I'd be in real trouble. In the end, I decided that I was better off going for a minor loss and clearing up what points I could. Was this the right decision? What would Druchii.net have done?

With this defeat, I found myself down on the bottom table for my next game. But it wasn't all bad – the only way from here was up, and at least we finished early for lunch! I also got to watch my regular opponent, who I had traveled down with, table a S7 Banishment Tomb King army with his Durthu and 2 Treeman Wood Elves.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Thraundil »

Tough game! It was, as you pretty much said, lost in deployment. Dwarf melee lists like this MUST be stopped from vanguarding, as your only real chance of victory over such a list is to avoid it until you have softened it up so much that you can actually defeat it on the charge. Was there a stubborn rune in his line? Often, you have to outright KILL the stunty units, or they will grind you down... This weekend past, I watched an ironbreaker unit weather a flank, rear and front charge from sisters, wild riders and Durthu, respectively... For 3 or 4 combat rounds :P

But yeah. Not getting final transmutation is a disaster for metal magic. Its so damned important to create pressure in the magic phase.
Name: Ladry (female)
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Equipment: Staff, longsword, dagger, 20 gold, insignia ring.
Skills: Power of Aqshy (2), defensive figthing
WS4, S2, T3, D4, I6.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by T.D. »

Thanks for the enjoyable illustrated write up.

I didn't think your positioning was too bad from the outset, as your forces had a strong centre and were setup to envelope his. Of course, with hindsight and vanguard blocking things would have went better for you ...but that's hindsight :)

That your shrine and Execs failed in that first combat was the game breaker. Didn't realise how tricksy these new Dorfs can be :P

Looking forward to more...
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Amboadine »

Great write up, thanks for sharing.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Akholrak »

Very enjoyable battle report.. Thanks for the write-up. Will be looking out for more. :)
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Clockwork »

Thanks for the feedback so far guys! The rest of the reports should be up in the next couple of days.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Gidean »

Clockwork wrote:Thanks for the feedback so far guys! The rest of the reports should be up in the next couple of days.



Thanks for the report! I can't throw any stones at your 'game play'. I had the most humiliating game of my hobby against my son's Dwarf gunline (versus a Two Towers List) last Saturday. Maybe with some coaxing I will write it up and let everyone see my shame (with pictures) :oops: I'm sure Malekith has already dispatched assassins to take me off the rolls. :P
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Clockwork »

Game 2 - Tomb Kings (Craig Hayer)

Liche High Priest, Level 4, Lore of Nehekera
Liche Priest, Level 2, Lore of Light
Liche Priest, Level 2, Lore of Light
Liche Priest, Level 1, Lore of Light
Liche Priest, Level 1, Lore of Light

3 Chariots, Full Command
3 Chariots, Full Command
20 Archers, Musician and Standard
20 Archers, Musician and Standard

3 Necropolis Knights, Standard and Champion
3 Necropolis Knights, Standard and Champion
Warsphinx

Screaming Skull Catapault
Caslet of Souls
Heirotitan

Remember I said that I saw my friend tabling some Tomb Kings? Well, this is that Tomb King army. Poor Craig was not having the best of times. On paper, he had a very strong list – S7 Banishment, a ton of magic, all the tools needed to deal with low Toughness, low model count armies, plus two units of Necropolis Knights. But now he found himself facing more Elves, except this time of the Dark Elf variety, who were just as fast as their Elven kin.

Image

Please note: both hills were steep enough to block line of sight. The rock in the centre was impassable, and the marsh on the left difficult terrain.

Collectively, the Tomb Kings knew all spells from Lore of Light, with two Shem's but only one Banishment. In addition, from Nehekara they knew Desert Wind, Neru's Protection, Righteous Smiting, and Vengeance.
The Dark Elves rolled Final Transmutation, Searing Doom, Glittering Scales, and something else that I forget (sorry!).

Due to comp differences, the Tomb Kings got the first turn! Note that in this game I was able to choose the deployment type and settled on Pitched Battle – although Meeting Engagement meant I could be closer to him, he would also be closer to me, and I didn't fancy taking turn 1 charges from Chariots into my lines (plausible when he has the higher comp score and finished deploying first).

Going into this game, my plan was to rush all the fast moving stuff forward as quickly as possible – specifically the Dreadlord, who was going to aim to get into the back lines. The Executioners and Knights were going to be a second wave. I was also careful to deploy in long thin lines to mitigate the Catapault, but also to try and stay 6” away from other units (fairly unsuccessfully). On the flanks, I intended to use the Dark Riders to repeatedly bait and flee the Knights and Chariots.

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The Tomb Kings opened the battle with two flank chargers, which saw the Dark Elf auxiliary units flee. The rest of the line moved forwards cautiously, though the Archers were unable to enter the building due to their size.

Combined magic and shooting killed all but one Shade, one Dark Rider, and a Bolt Thrower (who, despite my efforts, was left just inside 6” of the Corsairs). The Warlocks also had their movement reduced. Although the magic started out fairly even (something like 4vs3), the additional channeled dice from the Tomb Kings saw it grow exponentially in their favour (ending something like 9vs 3), which only reiterated the importance that the Dark Elves needed to reach their lines.

The Catapault aimed for the Executioners but went wide, killing only one or two of them.

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Led by the Dreadlord, the Dark Elf centre boldly surged forwards, though the last Shade continued his flight. Behind them, the Executioners reformed into more ranks and moved up cautiously (I think I did this to pass by the Shade, could be wrong), whilst both Dark Rider units reformed and prepared to block charges once again.

In the magic phase, all power was thrown at a Final Transmutation on the Heirophant's bunker, though only a handful of skeletons were turned to gold. Dark Elf shooting was similarily uninspiring, with the sole surviving Bolt Thrower only able to manage one wound on the Knights, and the Dark Riders another on the leftmost Chariots.

Image

For a moment it seemed like the whole front of the Tomb King line was surging forwards, as multiple charges were declared. Out on the flanks, the Fast Cavalary once again fled, though on the left they did so by blocking the Knights. In the centre, two Chariots smashed themselves against a wall while charging into the Corsairs (Ouch! To make matters worse, this happened to Craig in his last game, too!). Nonetheless, the Knights were strong enough to inflict horrendous casualties on the Corsairs, who broke and fled with the surviving Chariot catching them, though not quite reaching the Executioners.

The Knights reformed to turn back and face the Dreadlord, who had just withstood some 60 shots from the Archers and a Burning Gaze (The Casket was dispelled, and Banishment blocked when the Sorcerer read from his Scroll), and was eyeing up the Tomb King back field with glee...

However, the accuracy of the Catapault was spot on and landed a shot right on top of the Shrine, though it narrowly escaped with one wound left.*

*This, in fact, was a terrible, terrible mistake. All this time I've assumed that the Shrine has a 6++ Ward. Five wounds were inflicted and I rolled one 6 to keep it alive. BUT, when I was re-reading the unit entry I discovered that it in fact has MR1 and ONLY a 6+ Armour Save. I was hugely embarrassed at this mistake and gave Craig the points that he should rightfully have had for the unit. Not only that, but I've been playing this wrong SINCE THE BOOK CAME OUT, and probably have to retract a few of my otherwise victories :oops: Craig very kindly took this well, and in fact his attitude was so good throughout the game, especially hot on the heels of his loss, that I gave him my best sports. Craig, if you're reading this then I offer my sincerest apologies and we must have a rematch where I will use the right rules! :oops:

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Now it was the Dark Elves turn to make charges, and to that end the Dreadlord went into the Casket and the Executioners into the Chariot.

I had a multiple of choices here and want to spend a few moments on why I made the decision that I did. Casket, Catapault, Titan or either of the bunkers? I didn't want to go into the general just yet, as I'd be both exposed to a charge from the Knights and I wouldn't be able to kill the Heirophant due to the number of models he has with which to challenge. I could charge the Titan, but at this stage I wasn't really all that worried about his magic – Banishment was the one problem spell, and I was saving my dice to block it each turn. This left the Catapault or the Casket – finding out that the Catapault wasn't nearly as strong as I thought it was, and with the Shrine nearly dead anyway, I thought it would be better to go for the Casket (it was also more points). Was this the right call?

On the left, the Dark Riders rallied and prepared to sacrifice themselves to expose the Chariots to a charge from the Knights. However, their comrades in the other unit could not stop the flight of their steeds and withdrew from the field.

The Warlocks ran up to get nearer the house and once again threw all their dice at Final Transmutation, though this time it was dispelled with a Scroll. The RBT was then able to finally kill one of the Necropolis Knights.

The Chariot was wiped out by the Shrine, but the overrun of the Executioners was blocked by the nearby impassable (unclear on the map, but the edge of the footprint was blocking my rightmost Executioner, so I only got a couple of inches on the overrun). The Dreadlord soundly smashed the Casket to pieces, with the resulting explosion wounding both the Catapault and the Titan (didn't know it did that, which made my decision all the more justified I feel).

Image

A long charge from the Knights in the centre nearly sent the Warlocks running from the field, who had foolishly overexposed themselves, whilst another long charge from the other unit connected with the Bolt Thrower and took it off. The remaining unit of chariots went into the Dark Riders and wiped them out, reforming rather than overrunning to get an opportune flank into the Knights. One unit of archers turned to face the Dreadlord, as they contained the Liche Priest with Banishment. However, this was once again blocked, whilst the combined Tomb King shooting of another ~40 shots and multiple Shem's could not penetrate the Dreadlord's thick plate.

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Once again, Druchii warhorns sounded – spearheaded by the Dreadlord, who slammed into the wounded Heirotitan. The Knights also saw their opportunity and went into the rear of the archers, with the Shrine leaving the Executioners to charge the flank of the Knights (the unit itself was blocked by the aforementioned terrain). The Warlocks rallied on a very shaky 8, and returned to the battle eyeing the Catapault.

In the magic phase, a Doombolt on the Catapault was blocked, but this allowed a Soulblight onto the Necropolise Knights. In the ensuing combat, this meant that the Shrine was able to kill two of the three Knights without taking any wounds itself, and consequently crumbled the unit entirely.*

*Although I said that the loss of the Shrine wouldn't have made much difference, you might be thinking “but, Clockwork, it just took off those Knights!” Yes, that's true, but had the Shrine been destroyed the frontage of the Executioners would have been reduced enough that they could have fit through the gap and connect with the flank of the Knights themselves. With some 12+ S6 attacks, I estimate that they would have done just as much damage to the Shrine, if not more.

The Knights and Dreadlord both saw similar performance, either beating or crumbling their opponents. (Mistake here! I resolved the Knight combat first, then reformed them to face the Necropolis Knights – not expecting the Shrine to wipe them out. This meant that their flank would be exposed in the subsequent turn, as I'd done a terrible job of trying to block the Warsphinx...).

Despite a hail of bolts, the Crosbowmen could not wound the Knights bearing down on them.

Image

More charges were declared by the Tomb Kings, though with mixed blessings. The Sphinx flanked the Knights to kill one and wound the BSB himself, taking a wound in return, whilst the Chariots were unable to kill the Harpies and even lost one of their own models. The Harpies broke, but could not be caught on the overrun. However, the surviving unit of Necropolis Knights survived the Crossbowmen stand and shoot unscathed, took no losses, and despite not breaking their Steadfast, the Druchii still failed and fled, to be devoured by the constructs. The lone Shade, who had been fleeing since turn 1, found himself caught in their path and vanished in a gale of sand.

Image

The Executioners and Shrine attempted two long charges but were unsuccessful, and were shown up by both the Warlocks, who managed to contact the Catapault and took it off, and the Dreadlord, who cut down a Liche Priest. Disaster then struck when the BSB failed two Ward saves and was killed by the Sphinx crew, with another Knight trampled beneath the beasts hooves.

Image

The Chariots and the Knights turned back towards the centre, whilst the Archers left the building to hide from the Dreadlord. However, their efforts were unsuccessful when the Warsphinx was destroyed in combat (by the Cold Ones, not the Knights, who had so far done all the damage...), allowing the Knights to reform towards their flank.

Image

The Executioners and Shrine attempted to charge again but were once more unsuccessful. However, the Knights were able to crumble the Heirophant and his unit, which saw one of the Chariots destroyed, though the Knights survived unscathed.

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The Chariot charged the Harpies, who fled, and redirected into the Executioners but was smashed apart (or it failed and was charged in my next turn – apologies, little hazy at this point). The Knights attempted to withdraw as far from the menacing Dreadlord as possible.

Image

The efforts of the Knights were in vein, for the Dreadlord demonstrated no concern at the distance, and promptly wiped the Knights out entirely (I think it was a double 6 on the distance. FTW).

Result: Dark Elf Victory!

Poor Craig. I felt bad enough tabling him for the second time in a row – worse was when I found out about the BWS. As you can see, however, the result was pretty decisive despite that. Whilst the list looked tough on paper, in practice it was fairly easy – the scariest things were the Banishment and the Knights, once they were mitigated/dealt with, there wasn't too much else that was concerning for me.

What do I think I could have done better? Well, besides knowing the rules for my own units, deployment was sound in principal but there was room for improvement. For a start, if I'm going to try and mitigate 6” effects then I should make sure that I'm 6” apart from things! Secondly, the Harpies were once again just too far away – ideally, I would have liked to have had them in the previous turn so that I could sacrifice them to the Chariots instead of the Dark Riders. Also, a greater awareness of the blocking impassable would have been beneficial. The scouting of the Shades may have been a mistake, but one I was prepared to make in the interest of exposing units after failed turn 1 charges. Pushing the Corsairs forwards served as a very valuable lure, which is basically why they are in the list anyway.

Man of the match was undoubtedly the Dreadlord. In this game he killed: One Casket, one Heirotitan, one Liche Priest, one unit of Necropolis Knights, absorbed multiple Shem's, and upwards of 80+ shots. Not one single wound was taken (in fact, I don't think I had to resort to the Cloak even once).

Other things that went well were mitigating the Knights and Chariots on both flanks, who were kept out of most of the game with relative ease thanks to the Dark Riders, though its a shame that the Knights were able to clear up as well as they did in the end. I also need to be much more aware of combat turn order, as had I resolved the BWS combat first then the Knights would have been much better positioned to take a charge from the Sphinx.

Nonetheless, a big win which saw me rise up toto table 6, where I bumped into my friend – who was himself on his way down, after receiving a thrashing from some rock hard Warriors up on table 3. Whilst I was sad not to be rising higher, I was pleased to avoid the Warrior lists that were dominating the top tables!
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Thraundil »

Nice game. 1+ rerollable followed by 3+ versus shooting is just brutal. Banishment is your only concern, and you rightly dispel it every turn, in spite of the very threatening TK magic phase. I like your deployment, and the way you stop the chariots from doing much. However, the mistake with the dark rider flee to block your own knights was unfortunate, and thats a place you could definitely improve. The dreadlord did super work for you :D was he not wounded at all by the casket exploding?
Name: Ladry (female)
Class: Mage (Pyromancer)
Equipment: Staff, longsword, dagger, 20 gold, insignia ring.
Skills: Power of Aqshy (2), defensive figthing
WS4, S2, T3, D4, I6.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Clockwork »

Nope ! Not even a problem for him.

Yeah, if I had angled the dark riders a bit further up and to he left, their flight path would have been such that it would have left the Knights clear. But then they might have been too far away from the bunker later in the game, so I guess it worked out well in the end.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Clockwork »

Game 3 – Dark Elves (Mat Smythe)

A Dark Elf off but, not only that, a Wood Elf-off on the table next to me, as well!

Dreadlord, Cold One, Heavy Armour, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Lance.
Morathi

Sorceress, Level 1 Lore of Light
Master, Cold One, Heavy Armour, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Lance, BSB.

10 Dark Riders, Musician, Champion, Shields and Crossbows.
10 Dark Riders, Musician, Champion, Shields and Crossbows.
10 Dark Riders, Musician, Champion, Shields and Crossbows.

10 Cold One Knights, Full Command.
Scourgerunner Chariot
Scourgerunner Chariot

10 Warlocks, Champion.

Wow, what a list! All mounted, lots of mobility, practically all Vanguarding, but with plenty of ranged firepower to boot. A wall of cavalry is certainly something intimidating to behold, let me tell you! I was not looking forward to this.

My only option was to try and avoid the main Knight unit whilst dealing with everything else – at worst, only engaging it with overwhelming force. Plus, Final Transmutation.

Image

I seemed to have some luck when my opponent deployed centrally and towards the back of the board, and then used his Vanguard moves to shift up into the far corner. This would buy me some more time before the wall hit. My own deployment was fairly tight and central, attempting to take advantage of the terrain to reduce his mobility, and threaten anything which came up the middle.

Morathai had Chillwind, Word of Pain, Black Horror and Power of Darkness, with the level 1 running Net of Amyntok.
My Sorcerer had Searing Doom, Glittering Robes … and Final Transmutation! Also a 4th spell, but it was irrelevant and I can't remember what it was.

Pink Dark Elves had the first turn!

Image

As the cavalry came on with a strong left flank, they concentrated fire on the Shades which left just one standing (evidently, steeled from the last game, this time he held his nerve and did not flee!). I think that the Chariots both fired on the RBTs, but went wide. Magic was equally uneventful.

Image

Seeing an opportunity, the Warlocks dug in their spurs and flanked the Scourgerunner, dispatching the crew with ease (though the Sorcerer took a wound for his efforts). Sadly, this action left them out of range for a Final Transmutation on the Knight unit, so it was thrown on the Warlocks instead with the loss of only a handful.

The rest of the Dark Elf line swung around to face the cavalry. Their own shooting was equally unmemorable.

Image

With some swift redeployment, the mounted Pink Dark Elves came on again. Due to movement and intervening terrain, however, their crossbow shots mostly went wide, with only three Dark Riders knocked from their saddles.

In the magic phase, a Chillwind was cast on the Crossbowmen but inflicted no wounds. However, the Sorceress managed to Irresistibly cast Net on the Warlocks, dropping herself down a hole in the process, and killing Warlocks from both units (also wounding the Supreme Sorcerer).

Image

The Red Dark Elves saw two opportunities to strike – with the Dark Riders into the Scourgerunner Chariot to the north, again in the flank, and the Knights and Dreadlord into the Dark Riders adjacent to the Pink Knights. Both charges were successful, with the Knights and Riders carrying on over into the flank of the big Knight unit. This could be the big turning point of the game, and the tournament!

The Warlocks were unable to cast due to a failed Net test, and the Sorcerer was unable to contribute (I may have tried a Glittering, which was IF dispelled). I think I turned all my shooting on the Warlocks, but couldn't make anything of it.

Image

Disaster! Morathi was able to cast a low level Word of Pain on the Knights, which I let through on the grounds that: 1) On average, it will drop my WS by 2, meaning I'm hitting on 4s (which I am anyway) and 2) getting Soulblighted or Power of Darkness instead would be significantly worse. But the WS reduction was by 3, meaning that all my Knights suddenly were hitting on 5s – cue the rubber lance syndrome, an inability to roll any 3+ armour saves, and Morathi inexplicably having a S5 sword (because she really needs the combat ability as well, right?) and all 7 Knights were completely wiped out. The BSB promptly failed to roll snake eyes on two attempts and was pulled down, whilst the two Dark Riders that survived fled. The Knights turned to face the opposing Dark Elf line once more...

Out on the flank the Warlocks attempted a long charge on the Bolt Throwers but were unsuccessful.

Image

The Corsairs and Dreadlord both declared charges on the Dark Riders, but they fled far enough that they could not be caught. This left the Dreadlord precariously exposed to a charge from the Knight bus, so the surviving Dark Elf units moved up to support him and set up a series of double-flees.

Combined magic and Repeater Bolt Thrower fire took off fully half the Knights.

Image

Disaster followed upon disaster, when the depleted Knight unit charged the Dreadlord, who withdrew – only to panic the Harpies, who fled a massive distance over the Crossbowmen... who also panicked and fled! When the Knights redirected into the Dark Riders, they too fled – panicking the Corsairs! Suddenly, the whole Dark Elf line had collapsed.

I think it was in this turn, but it could have been last turn, Morathi cast a Chillwind on the Crossbowmen, and the Warlocks followed up with a Doombolt to leave just the Standard Bearer standing. After they wiped out both RBTs, the Warlocks overran and took him out.

Image

Several Dark Elf units rallied, though the Harpies fled from the field. I think I was able to kill a Knight with something, though I'm not too clear what it was at this point.

Image

The Pink Dreadlord charged out of his Knights and into the opposing general (Sadly, I didn't have the movement left on my Dark Riders to block the whole unit). He was soon joined by the Dark Riders, who had blitzed through the intervening Red Dark Riders attempting to block their path.

Morathi put a Black Horror through the Executioners, killing a handful, and I believe the last two Dark Riders were killed by Crossbow fire. The Warlocks were now free to go into the flank of the Corsairs, breaking the unit and running them down.

However, in the combat phase there was hope yet again, when the Red Dreadlord killed his opposite number on a Killing Blow (go Cloak!). His Pegasus then killed a Dark Rider (because I forgot to call a challenge – d'oh!), tying the combat (or I held – again, memory fatigue sorry!).

Image

The Executioners charged the Knights ahead of them, killing all three but unable to wound the BSB. Meanwhile, the Dreadlord was able to break the Dark Riders in combat and ran the unit down.

Image

Morathi and the Warlocks flank charged the Dreadlord, though this time he remembered to issue a challenge. However, thanks to Morathi casting Word of Pain no damage was inflicted (no Killing Blow :() The Dark Riders attempted to shoot the last Warlocks but were unsuccessful, whilst the Executioner and BSB combat dragged on.

In my final turn, neither combat proved conclusive and the game ended pretty much in this condition.

Result: Draw!

Apologies for being brief towards the end there, I'm increasingly hazy about what happened and I'm certain that I messed up some turn orders. For instance, I'm pretty sure that the Executioners only fought the Knights for one round. Its possible that I wasn't able to charge them until turn 6 (for whatever reason). Suffice it to say, this is essentially how it turned out: I couldn't Killing Blow the BSB, and I didn't get to Killing Blow Morathi :(

Nonetheless, a hard fought draw and a bloody massacre on both sides, as civil wars inevitably are. The end result being a ~200 point difference.

What can I say about this game? To be honest, I thought that I played it pretty well and took the oppertunities as they presented themselves. I was extremely intimidated by the cavalry wall, which is why I played so cautiously with the Executioners, but in hindsight being more aggressive with them may have paid off. For his part, I thought that my opponent was not nearly aggressive enough, and had he really pushed it I could have been in a lot of trouble from the start.

When I managed to flank that Knight bus, I genuinely thought that I was in with a huge chance. Having reviewed the end results, I could have easily jumped up several places, although I wouldn't have been able to break into the top 5 due to the way that SCGT comp works. Watching my Knights bounce off though, coupled with my line just completely collapsing the way it did, was a real blow – alleviated only when my Dreadlord landed that Killing Blow. MVP of the weekend for sure!

But what a way to end the day, and it was too close to call until victory points were totalled up. With this draw, I was able to jump up to 10th position. Not bad, I thought!

So, a big thanks to all my opponents for three good games, massive apologies to Craig once again, and I hope to be back soon. Coming up next: lessons on my list and the future.
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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Post by Gidean »

Clockwork wrote:Game 3 – Dark Elves (Mat Smythe)

A Dark Elf off but, not only that, a Wood Elf-off on the table next to me, as well!



Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! :burns:

Loving the reports. :)
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