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Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:33 am
by Thraundil
By the seven winds of magic, what a game. Your opponents list is borderline cheese, and its rather easy to see the tournament is definitely not a comped environment? :P

Anyways. You should have won the game with that beautiful doubleflank. You opponent played carelessly and didnt really respect your army, and then wins due to a stroke of luck. Not cool. That was a golden oportunity to wipe out his unit, as he shouldnt have had steadfast left after that.

Anyways. The dice messed you up, and you recover rather well from it. So, good play on your part :) I really like how you manage to do work with your list. Especially that corsairs seem to actually work for you :p

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 10:01 am
by Clockwork
Hey Thranduil - you can imagine how gutted I was feeling when my Knights bounced off his! All in all, I was actually very pleased with this game, given how tough the list was and that spot of bad luck. I thought I was going to go down big, so it was nice to have been able to salvage the draw.

In specific regards to the Knight combat, I think there are two things to take away from this:

1) The ability to hit is key, especially vs other ASF units where re-rolls are lost. In short, I think with ASF re-rolls I've been getting lazy and trusting that I'll hit a bunch of times regardless. Without these and with hitting on 5s, that just wasn't the case. Moreover, Soulblight wouldn't actually have been much of a concern - my Knights would still be wounding on 2s, although it would have affected armour modification.

2) I don't have enough combat buffs. Where I wasn't able to make the most of my previous magic phase because Net of Amnytok shut down my Warlocks, Morathi was then able to dispel that one spell which I wanted - Enchanted Blades. I could have really done with another offensive buff/debuff here, and indeed the lack of a such an additional spell to compliment Soublight really played on my mind the weekend, and is something I'll address in my follow up post.

The event actually used the South Coast Grand Tournament comp pack latest revision, which you can find here. Personally, I'm a fan of SCGT comp in principle - however, I think that there are some oversights which need to be addressed. The top tables were dominated all day by three rock-hard WoC lists who also managed to score comp scores that were all better than mine. Although I took the list that I wanted and scored what I thought was a respectable comp 3, that all-cav Dark Elf army backed by Morathi somehow came out Comp 4. I tried to write several Lizardmen lists, and they all came out with really low scores because of the hard comp on Saurus characters, and the bizarre array of soft choices (Ripperdactyls and Cold One Riders aren't a soft choice? Really?), no soft Core, and where the cheapest soft choice is some 130 points of Rare.

I really like how you manage to do work with your list. Especially that corsairs seem to actually work for you :p


Thanks! I think its because its combined arms which I enjoy playing above all else that it works well for me, but I do find playing Dark Elves a joy. Might also have something to do with the paint job which got a few compliments! I'm just as surprised as you are by the Corsairs - really, a third unit of Dark Riders would do better, but they are in the list because a) I don't want to lose my second infantry combat unit with ranks and veer further towards a cav list, especially when at 18-strong the Executioners are actually kind of fragile; and b) my other option for infantry combat Core is Witch Elves, which I still haven't found good conversion bases for yet. Theoretically, in the current Elf-heavy BS shooting meta, and the BS shooting to counter them, M6 with a 4+ save isn't all that bad. Still, I don't have very high expectations for them, and they are fairly cheap, so when they do get used as sacrificial lures (such as in the last two games or vs Durthu in the practice game previously) I'm usually okay with it.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 11:06 am
by Clockwork
So, my first event with Dark Elves is done and I finished a fairly respectable 11th - narrowly missing out on the top 10 because I only got one secret mission.

As noted previously, I really enjoyed playing the list. I think what I like the most are the opportunities to go balls to the wall aggressive. Many times playing Dark Elves I find myself in situations where I can say "no guts, no glory!" and put stuff in - usually it works and pays off big, sometimes it doesn't, but its good fun all the same. If I can see those opportunities and take proper advantage of them, then I think I can really improve my game.

So what were the highlights?

The Dreadlord. Without a shadow of a doubt, this guy was my number 1 best bro. He's practically immune to S3 and doesn't really care all that much about S4, either. Although prior to the event I was concerned that he would get stuck fighting champions or rank and file and lose the benefit of the Cloak, which you can sort of see play out in my reluctance to get him into that Knight bus in game 3, his mobility really allowed me to pick and choose his targets - notably in game 2, where he got into the back field and had his choice of ideal units to engage. Not only that, but his Leadership 10 saved my bacon on more than one occasion. I was most likely going to drop him down to a Master, but after his performance I'm going to keep him as he is for a while.

The Knights. I was concerned that with their limited number of attacks they wouldn't do so well against things that aren't equally limited in model count, but they seemed to do just fine - the three attacks from the BSB gives them a nice boost, and the Cold Ones are surprisingly excellent at chewing through rank and file. They did bounce off that Knight unit in game 3, but that's more to do with the lack of buffs/debuffs in that combat. Speaking of the BSB, although he's on a horse he never leaves the Knight unit, so I'll probably switch him to a Cold One for the additional 2 S4 attacks as well.

Corsairs. As noted previously, they do a fine job acting as bait.

RBTs. Internet wisdom says 4 is best, and I can see where 4 would be beneficial in mitigating variation and losses (looking at you, game 2) but I seem to be doing just fine with 2.

Executioners and BWS. They only fought one 'real' combat, which was very favorable, but they seemed to be considered a significant threat that my opponents treated with caution (well, except for game 1).

Dark Riders. Great chaff, great flexibility.

And, more importantly, what was I not so pleased by?

Lore of Metal. I really like the lore, but I couldn't seem to make it work. I cast Final Transmutation 4-5 times all weekend, and didn't turn any characters to gold. I think the threat of the spell is good, but in both instances I probably would have been better casting Doombolt (on the Skeleton Archer bunker in game 2) or Searing Doom (against the Knights game 3, although they did have MR2 from Morathi). In addition, I just didn't find it supported combats very well. Enchanted Blades is a great spell, but too easily identified and blocked, and I didn't really find an instance where Glittering Robes would have been useful. I still think its a good Lore both for its anti-armour and anti-Flaming capabilities, but I'm less sure of running it on a Level 4. If it wasn't for the defensive abilities of a Lv4, I'd drop down to a Lv2 in a heartbeat. I also found that the Searing Doom being armour-dependent can be a double-edged sword - a couple of times, notably in game 1 but also 2, I would have much preferred having a second Doombolt.

Supreme Sorceror. I'm not enamored with running him on a horse in the Warlock unit. It makes me far too reluctant to commit them to any combats - had the Warlocks been alone in game 2, I might have taken that charge from the Necropolis Knights instead of risking the whole unit running off the table. Game 3 shows just how well they can do once they get into combat, and at the moment I'm largely missing that opportunity and it would have been ideal to set them up to go into the second Scourgerunner and then into the flank of the Knights instead of the Dark Riders (although I was keen to see how they did - conclusion, not great). In order to make this work, I think that I'd either need to put him in a big unit of Warlocks - which I'd still be reluctant to commit to combats, thus wasting their combat potential - or a big unit of core Dark Riders, and I'm just not keen on running that. In the future, then, he's going on foot - probably in the Crossbowmen unit. This may in turn have an effect on the Lore I'm running, as I'll need things with longer ranges. It might also make the Crossbowmen a bit too much of a vulnerable target, effectively doubling their points cost, and they could probably do with a few more bodies. This is something I think I'll need to play test.

The Warlocks. As noted, I'm not using them to their full potential. They'll do better solo, and in fact I'm going to have two units of them to double their effectiveness. This would also give me access to the second magic missile that I want, as well as the second debuff. #filthmonger

Shades. They got shot down to 1 man turn 1 in two games, which kind of wastes the additional hand weapon that I gave them. But I love the models and, if used correctly to block Vanguards as in game 3, they are very good. So they stay, but in future they'll just be naked.

Harpies. They did their job in dying to stuff I didn't want to fight, but I really messed up their positioning. In all cases I could have used them a turn earlier, but that being said I used them because they were there, not because I needed them. The Dark Riders did a good enough job of chaff. As I'll be playing 2.4k games in future, they'll be the first to go.

Crossbowmen. Didn't really achieve much all day, but I'm reluctant to give them up - they've proved to be a pretty good firebase in the past, and I'm reluctant to give up their Banner in case I run into any Trolls or Abombs. What I am noticing is that once the Crossbowmen and RBTs are eliminated I lose any sort of ranged threat, which the second Doombolt should account for.

And what about myself as a player?

Know thy rules! I still feel shitty about that BWS situation.

Check those movement paths! A couple of times, particularly in game 2, I found fleeing units or terrain blocking key units.

Buffs are key to swinging combats, especially those that affect to-hit ratios. Use them, and plan ahead if I'm engaging in the opponents turn.

The next event I have lined up is one called Reading Warfare, due in November. Although I was originally going to take Lizardmen to this even, I had so much fun playing Dark Elves that I'm going to take them as well. I should be able to get a few practice games in the next couple of weeks with my intended list - watch this space!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:49 pm
by T.D.
Clockwork wrote:Image


Beautiful move.

I thought you had won at that point. Goes to show how strong Morathi in particular (and the right buffs/hexes in general) can be in the game.

That whole last game was full of excellent play from both sides. I really liked the way you wrangled your combined arms force; making use of its flexibility and its synergies.

Congrats on your tournament result! & Looking forward to see what filth you manage to monger in future tournaments :mrgreen:

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:20 pm
by Clockwork
You, me, my opponent, and the guys on the adjacent table, too!

What I really liked was how he used his Dark Riders to keep probing my flank. Its a tactic that I've used before, notably against Wood Elves in the practice game, but one that is all the more effective with big blocks of cavalry. I was constantly aware of how increasingly exposed my rear was looking, and its really poor luck on his part that he wasn't able to capitalise on it more with the flank charge into my Dreadlord.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:08 am
by Swordmaster of Hoeth
Hi Clockwork,

Great to see your battle reports! Very well written and entertaining. The army looks fantastic and Executioners are my favorite unit here! :)

How do you find your current army list? You have mentioned you are going to discuss it and what to do in nearby future so I guess you are going to answer my question anyway!

Thanks a lot for great reports!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:06 am
by Akholrak
Some excellent reports, Clockwork - very enjoyable.

Congrats on your tournament result, and thanks for sharing. :)

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:38 am
by Clockwork
Swordmaster of Hoeth wrote:Hi Clockwork,

Great to see your battle reports! Very well written and entertaining. The army looks fantastic and Executioners are my favorite unit here! :)

How do you find your current army list? You have mentioned you are going to discuss it and what to do in nearby future so I guess you are going to answer my question anyway!

Thanks a lot for great reports!


Hi Swordmaster! They are definitely my favorite unit to look at on the table, although they don't always make it to combat - possibly because of how menacing they look!

I go into some detail about what I liked and did not like in the post before T.D.s.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (South Coast Brawl!)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 11:42 am
by Clockwork
Hi guys, I had my first game with the new Tournament list against Bretonnians last night in a Watchtower scenario, and in Swordmaster fashion here's a preview of deployment.

Image

What do you think? Who's chances do you fancy? Was it the right call to deploy the Corsairs in the Tower and be so aggressive with Vanguard?

Full report should be up shortly!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 2:34 pm
by Amboadine
Looks like you should have been okay versus the Brets.
Corsairs in the tower seems a reasonable deployment, really not many other choices for you other than the xbows.
Vanguard wise I might have gone out to the right flank slightly more.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 2:39 pm
by Clockwork
To go after the Bowmen? Maybe, but they were deployed behind stakes and I didn't fancy a frontal charge. I was also eying up that large gap in the centre of the Bretonnian lines...

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 3:04 pm
by Amboadine
Stakes would have changed it somewhat, but I was actually eyeing the flank of the Men at arms and the trebs.
Plus if you could have broken the bowmen and over ran into the war machines there was a chance of clearing the missile dangers very quickly

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:09 pm
by Clockwork
Good points! That would have certainly aided me in taking the pressure off in the early game, although I was keen to keep that Dark Rider unit back as a redirector. It would have been worthwhile sending the Warlocks up that way, though.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:59 pm
by Amboadine
I agree, Warlocks was what I was thinking of rather than the DRs.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:45 am
by Clockwork
Dark Elves vs Bretonnians!

In a prelude to their campaign in Bretonnia, a Dark Elf force has seized control of a strategically vital Watchtower. But one lone survivor of the attack has brought word to the local Lord who, gathering to him what strength he has available, now rushes to take it back...

Bretonnians:

Bretonnian Lord with Luckstone, Birth-Sword of Carcassone, Virtue of Confidence, Gauntlet of the Duel, Shield. General.
Prophetess of the Lady with Warhorse, Mane of the Purebreed, Level 4 Life.
Damsel of the Lady with Icon of Quenelles, Level 2 Beasts.
Damsel of the Lady, Level 2 Beasts.
Paladin with Virtue of Empathy, Enchanted Shield, Morning Star, Grail Vow.
Paladin with Battle Standard, Charmed Shield, Wyrmlance.

12 Knights Errant, Full Command, Errantry Banner.
12 Knights of the Realm, Full Command, Banner of Swiftness.
40 Men-At-Arms, Musician & Standard.
10 Peasant Bowmen, Musician & Braziers.

Grail Reliquae & 12 Battle Pilgrims.
3 Pegasus Knights, Full Command.
Field Trebuchet
Field Trebuchet

Two big lances led by very strong characters looked fairly scary to me, and there was no way I wanted to let them charge my Knights or Executioners. The Pegasus Knights and Trebuchets were also a concern, and if the Men-At-Arms ever got into the tower it would be game over. The list above only comes to 2300 so I'm definitely missing something, probably equipment on the characters.

Spells:
Supreme Sorceress: Searing Doom, Enchanted Blades, Glittering Robes.
Prophetess: Throne of Vines, Flesh to Stone, Dwellers Below, Awakening of the Wood.
Damsel: Wildform, Flock of Doom.
Damsel: Wildform, Amber Spear.

Image

With only the Battle Pilgrims and the Men-at-Arms presenting themselves as serious threats to the Watchtower, I decided to focus on keeping them out of it and doing what I could to bait the two Knight lances away. To that end, I threw up three of my Vanguard units to tempt early charges that I could flee, whilst the second Warlock unit held back, eyeing up a potential turn 1 charge into the Knights...

The Bretonnians elected to pray and receive the blessing of their Lady, so the Dark Elves had the first turn.

Image

Spurring their mounts forward, the Warlocks hurled themselves at the Pegasus Knights, drawing on the Winds of Magic en route to hex their prey. Though the Knights put up a brave fight and even managed to pull one of the Warlocks down, with their strength sapped they were no match for the coven and were slaughtered as they attempted to flee.

Elsewhere, a unit of Dark Riders and Warlocks darted through the gap in the Bretonnian lines. Together, the combined firepower of the Dark Riders, Shades and Crossbowmen brought down nearly half of the Pilgrims guarding their Reliquae, and the survivors fled under the hail of bolts despite the urgings of the Paladin leading them and the nearby Battle Standard Bearer.

Both RBTs fired at a Trebuchet, but one went wide and the other thudded into the woodwork without inflicting any damage.

Image

The Knights Errant, keen to avenge the Pegasus Knights, charged the Shades and when the elusive Dark Elves withdrew, they instead elected to storm the Watchtower. The Paladin promptly slew the Reaver after his armour easily turned the Dark Elf's attacks, whilst two more Corsairs were cut down by the Knights for the loss of one of their own. The Corsairs held.

On the other flank, the Knights of the Realm advanced cautiously alongside the Men-at-Arms, who received a boon when a Damsel used her Icon of Quenlles before departing the unit. She then cast a Flock of Doom on the Dark Riders, which was let through though it killed two (argh!), but a subsequent Wildform on the Knights Errant was blocked by the Supreme Sorceror.

The Peasant Bowmen killed one of the Bolt Thrower crew, with one Trebuchet killing one from the other when its rock scattered. The other Trebuchet killed two Executioners, again after scattering form its intended target of the Shrine.

Image

Unable to resist the temptation, the Warlocks charged the exposed rear of the Knights of the Realm hoping to repeat the success of their brethren. The Shades rallied, but in doing so continued to block the Dark Elves from charging the Knights Errant, who had dangerously exposed themselves also. Anticipating that the Knights of the Realm would soon be upon them, the Executioners reformed into ranks (which I then forgot to move forward – d'oh!).

In a strong magic phase, 6 dice were used to cast Soulblight on the Knights of the Realm but the Prophetess dispelled it with ease. Alas, the other unit of Warlocks was too far away to do the same, instead hexing the nearby Knights Errant.

Once again the Bolt Throwers were unable to find a weak spot in the Trebuchets, and the shots from the surviving Dark Riders on the Damsel went wide, but the Crossbowmen delivered a hail of bolts onto the Pilgrims which, their courage already sapped, forced them to retreat once more.

The Warlocks killed two Knights for the loss of two of their own to the Lord, but held under the urgings of the nearby Dreadlord.

Image

The Knights Errant reformed to size the Shades up once again, whilst the Men-at-Arms continued their steady march and the Damsels both sought to escape the wrath of the Dark Riders.

In an utterly disasterous magic phase, the Prophetess and her Damsels were unable to cast a single spell, but the Trebuchets made up for this by dropping a rock directly on the Dark Riders, killing three. The Lord killed another Warlock and broke the two survivors, though elected to turn and face the Dark Elf lines once more rather than pursue his beaten foe.

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Seeing a potential opportunity, the Bloodwrack Shrine charged out of the Executioners and into the Knights of the Realm, but could not reach them. The Shades reformed to draw the Knights Errant away from the Watchtower and the Dark Elf centre, and towards the Crossbowmen. Sensing danger, the Supreme Sorceress quietly slipped out the unit when the Crossbowmen were looking the other way.

Both the Dark Riders and the Dreadlord ran towards the menacing Trebuchets, and this time the Bolt Throwers found their mark – although could only inflict one wound (I hate rolling 1s with D3 wounds!).

Another Soulblight was cast on the Knights Errant this turn, but despite a hail of bolts from the Crossbowmen and Shades only one of the young Knights was knocked from his saddle.

Image

The Bretonnian Lord sounded the charge, leading his own Knights into the Dark Riders ahead of him whilst the Knights Errant charged the Shades, and the Men-at-Arms charged the Shrine. The Dark Elf light cavalry were no match for the chivalry of Bretonnia and were cut down, though the overrun was blocked by the nearby Men-at-Arms (again, not clear on the map – however, the KotR charged first, and due to the proximity of the MaA, my Dark Riders had to align to him. This meant the angle was much narrower than I had set up, but they were still prevented from going into my Knights. Phew!). For their part, they managed two wounds on the Shrine despite taking a number of casualties from the crew and the Medusa's deadly gaze. At the end of the combat, the Shrine reformed to open a gap which would allow the Executioners to join the fight.

Despite their best efforts, the Shades could not find an opening in the armour of the Knights Errant, and escaped when three of their own were trampled beneath their hooves. Under the leadership of the Paladin, the Knights Errant demonstrated surprising caution when they turned back towards the Tower rather than follow up their charge into the Crossbowmen, steeling themselves to storm it once more.

The Prophetess was able to cast Throne of Vines, whilst Flesh to Stone was stopped. A big Amber Spear on the Dreadlord was blocked by a Dispel Scroll. One Trebuchet scattered, whilst the other misfired and inflicted one wound on itself.

Image

Having absorbed the initial Bretonnian charge, the Dark Elves now sounded their own warhorns – with combined charges on the Knights Errant into both flanks, and the Executioners joining the Shrine. Up in the corner of the field, the Dark Riders and Dreadlord killed both Trebuchet crews, which panicked the nearby Peasants.

The Winds blew strongly in the magic phase, and the Dark Elves were able to make two attempts at a bubble Soulblight, with the first dispelled. Such was the position of the Warlocks that virtually all the Bretonnians were affected by it!

One Bolt Thrower unleashed a hail of bolts on the Damsel, killing her outright, whilst the other fired at the Bowmen (I think? Sorry not too sure at this point!). In the centre, the Crossbowmen turned towards the Knights of the Realm but could only kill one.

The Shrine and Executioners unleashed a furious assault on the Men-at-Arms, but the protection afforded by their Blessing saved many from being cut down by Draichs. Though the Dark Elves won, the Men-at-Arms held under the steel gaze of their nearby General.

All eyes now turned to the combat on the left flank, and it looked to all that the Knights Errant would be sent to an early grave along with the colours. But disaster began to unfold when the Warlocks' steeds buckled at the flaming lance of the Paladin, and despite landing home with all of their attacks, the Cold One Knights found their lances were nearly all turned at the last minute. Only two Knights Errant were killed, and the remainder calmly held their ground.

Image

The surviving Battle Pilgrims and the Knights of the Realm joined both ongoing combats (there was just enough space on the left of the Executioners to allow them to clip). The Prophetess feinted with a Flesh to Stone on the Men-at-Arms, which was dispelled, allowing her to embolden the Knights Errant with a Wildform.

On the right, the Shrine was finally toppled by the brave Men-at-Arms, though not before they once again lost a great deal of their number, and the Bretonnian Lord slew the Draichmaster in combat. This time, despite inflicting heavy casuatiles, the Executioners were on the losing end, but they held.

Turning to face the Battle-Pilgrims who had the audacity to charge them in the rear, the Warlocks wiped them out and turned over the Grail Reliquae, scattering its holy contents and leaving just the Paladin standing. Both he and his mounted counterpart then killed two of the Warlocks. Once again, the Knights found that they could not penetrate their opponent's armour, nor could their mounts, and worse still one of their own was slain. Though the surviving Warlock held, the Cold One Knights broke, with the Standard Bearer and Master both pulled from their saddles as they attempted to flee. The chivalry of the young Bretonnian Knights had prevailed!

Despite this victory, and with both sunset and the main Dark Elf force fast approaching, the Bretonnian Lord signaled for his men to withdraw. The Dark Elves had held the Watchtower, but it had been a costly victory (a 6 was rolled to end the game there).

Result: Dark Elf Victory!

Argh, not again! Another ideal double-envelopment, this time backed up with a great hex and no penalties on myself, and I still suffered from rubber lance syndrome and bounced off! Rolling two 11s on the break test twice was just insult to injury. But my opponent was making armour saves and Ward saves like an absolute boss, and this was a frequent occurrence throughout the game. Thanks to Soulblight, through shooting and combat I was consistently inflicting horrendous damage time after time, but no matter whether he was being asked to make a 3+, 5+, or 6+ on armour saves or Wards, my opponent produced results time and time again. To be fair, my opponent was very unlucky with his leadership rolls throughout – which makes up for his luck with armour and ward saves! - especially on the Pilgrims, who failed everyone that they were asked to make!

Was Soulblight the right call here? Should I have tried for Enchanted Blades on the Knights instead, so they were hitting on 2s with Armour Piercing? Having crunched the numbers, on average dice the results are even - with the benefit to the Knights from Blades balanced out by the reduced performance from the Warlocks.

Nonetheless, despite this I had a great game, and it was one of those that demonstrated the importance of focusing on the objective. Still, had this been in a tournament then I would have been in a serious trouble – the game would have gone on for another two turns, and neither combat would have lasted much longer, giving the Bretonnians ample time to make final assaults on the Tower or to clear up my remaining points. I had already given up about 675 at this point, and was about to give away at least another 125 for the Warlocks, and expect that the Executioners would have eventually gone down as well. To preserve their points, Knights needed to rally without the BSB or the General – and do so quickly, before either combat was finished and they were charged. Maybe I could have pulled something back when the Dreadlord returned, but I'm not so sure. Assuming 500 VPs for the Tower plus the 450-500 VPs that I had taken, it was a very shaky 12-8 to me but could have swung back to a draw or even a significant loss very quickly.

So, onto the usual post-battle analysis. What went well?

The Warlocks. Taking the Sorceress out of the unit really encouraged me to take risks, some of which paid off (taking out the Pegasus Knights which took a very real threat out of the game turn one, and pinning the KotR lance) and others that didn't (the flank charge). Although I didn't bother casting Doombolt once – those 5++ saves preying on my mind – I did relish the opportunity to cast multiple Soulblights, especially the bubble version turn 4, making it very tough for my opponent to dispel. Again, its just a shame that I wasn't able to follow this up with casualties inflicted. Sending the one unit into the rear of the KotR lance was a risk, but if I'd been able to win through CR something might have happened – and you can only exploit opportunities like that if you take them! I just need to remember to get into 24” Soulblight range with both units for the double threat.

The Dark Riders. Ran around chaffing stuff up and being a general nuisance as usual.

The Shades. Helped shoot off the Pilgrims turn 1, which vastly reduced the chances of occupying the building, and practically took them out of the game (or so I thought!). Acted as good bait for the Knights Errant, but perhaps slightly mispositioned and blocked the charge path of my Knights after their Flee – although, to be fair, I expected the Knights Errant to press home rather than redirect into the Tower, which would have left them deliciously exposed to charges from my centre

The Bloodwrack Shrine. In turn 3, and thinking back to my game against the Tomb Kings, I saw the opportunity to charge the BWS and look to get some Killing Blows and Impact Hits on the Knights of the Realm and the Lord, who only had his Blessing Ward Save, potentially stalling them for a turn or two as I had done with the Warlocks. I needed an 11 on the dice, and with Swiftstride I thought it was worth a shot as I had nothing to lose if I failed. As you can see, I was able to chaff up the KotR anyway, and the Shrine blocked the Men-at-Arms from reaching the Executioners and distracted them from the tower, so its not all bad. Once in combat, the Shrine did a great job on thinning out the Men-At-Arms, easily killing 7-8 a turn thanks to the effects of the Gaze, and ASF. Its a shame it died when it did, having not made a single 6+ save when the MaA were hexed by Soulblight and proving that it is incredibly fragile (at least, without a Ward! :P), but it is good to see how it does against rank and file.

General deployment. I was pretty happy with how this went: my fast cav were free to run left, right or up the middle as needed, the Crossbowmen were placed to bait any overrunning Knights on the left, and my Executioners with their Killing Blow were set up to counter-charge any over-impetuous Knights on their flank. My own Knights were deployed centrally so they could swing left or right as needed. As noted in the posts above, pushing out a little more to the right with my Warlocks would have allowed them to get into the Trebuchets earlier, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to get into the middle of his line and bubble a Soulblight - unfortunately, I only rolled 4 for my first turn magic phase.

And what didn't go so well?

The Knights. Despite what I thought to be good deployment, tactically sound early caution to keep their options open, and a decisive turn 4 charge, they still failed to deliver. I'm not sure whether this is just poor luck or if I'm doing something wrong here. Do they just need more bodies, or someone else to roll the dice? I'm going with the latter, given that they hit and wounded all 10 times and only killed 2, and the Cold Ones themselves and the Warlocks didn't kill any.

The Dreadlord. I sent him after the Trebuchets Turn 3, thinking that I'd have time to clear them up and come back to the battle whilst both lances were getting chaffed up, and wanting him to join a combat where a character couldn't hide from his challenge or attacks. This was a mistake, as it was clear that whether the Knights Errant went into the Crossbowmen or held as they did, that I'd have an opportunity to engage in my turn 4. Sending a 300 point Lord to clear up 90 points of Warmachine was a waste – especially when the Dark Riders would have been more than capable of the task themselves!

The Executioners. Again, despite what I thought was a good deployment decision which meant that they'd have good charges on the KotR lance if it came on too soon, or a flank into the MaA going into the Tower, in turn 2 I reformed them deep with the intention of moving them forwards ready to charge the Knights of the Realm in my turn, but forgot to actually do this – instead, just making them a very tempting Trebuchet targets. It also meant that it would be another turn before they could engage.

RBTs. Spent all game uselessly shooting at Trebuchets and only dealt one wound the entire time. Should have focused on trying my luck against the Knights, Blessing be damned, or whittling down the Men-at-Arms.

Supreme Sorceress. Didn't even try to cast with her once all game. There might have been an opportunity for Enchanted Blades on the Warlocks in my turn 2 had she been in range, or on the Knights in turn 4, but I always felt that Soulblight was more useful as I wasn't having much trouble hitting in most cases. For the same reason, I didn't think that Searing Doom was worthwhile with those Wards. It might have been an idea to cast Glittering Robes on my Corsairs turn 1, but as mentioned I rolled low for dice and went for everything on Soulblighting the Pegasus Knights to ensure I won that combat. I can see that putting her on foot is going to cause an issue with range, and in hindsight maybe I should have tried to run her into the tower and join the Corsairs.

Thanks for reading! Please share your thoughts/comments/sympathies below.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:57 am
by Amboadine
Nice report. I think you got a little lucky that your opponent seemed to not bother trying to take the Watchtower.
I stick with my earlier comment that trying to take the bowmen and trebs with an early charge would have helped you. Sending the lord off after them in a later turn was really a waste of his ability and you could have used the RBTs against those nicely grouped cav units rather than shooting at war machines.
Taking out the peg knights early was good, they could have caused problems.
What was the thinking of hiding one unit of DRs behind the tower for most of the game, seems to be a little wasteful as they only managed to die?
Your turn 3, you seem to have decided not to get a combined Shades, warlock charge in on the Knight's Errant, were you hoping for a rear charge if the Shades held the following turn?
CoKs I think you were just a little too cautious with them and missed an opportunity.
Your assessment is fair but had you gone another couple of rounds you would have definitely been in trouble.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:50 pm
by Clockwork
Regarding the Dark Riders, I wanted to be able to keep something back to chaff up the Knights of the Realm. The Shades weren't available for this as they were doing the same thing on the left with the Knights Errant. Speaking of which, I was expected the Knights Errant to kill/break the Shades, then overrun into the Crossbowmen. In my next turn I'd then flank charge with the Knights and rear charge with the Dreadlord. I didn't think about putting the Shades and the Warlocks in at all - it seems that the Shades would just give up combat resolution, as they've got no upgrades? An Enchanted Blades or Soulblight might have done something, I guess, especially if the Dreadlord had gone in as well.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:28 am
by Swordmaster of Hoeth
Hi Clockwork,

Thanks a lot for another great report, congratulations on the victory and apologies (as always!) for coming late to the party. I hope I can make up for it with comments to your very interesting report. :)

Let me start with having a closer look at the armies also to find out if I understand their respective strengths.

Bretonnia - Army List

General - Well protected with 2+ armor and built in ward save. Tooled up to issue challenges but does not seem overpowered. Re-rolls to hit and to wound are definitely great and the fact his magical swords also forces the enemies to re-roll successful armor saves means he can be very efficient.

Prophetess - her main role will be to protect the lance with the general. It can be done with mainly two spells: regrowth and flesh to stone. Of course potential Dwellers is always good against enemy characters and big units.

Damsels - beast magic is not a surprise here but the fact they are both on foot is. It means that Wildforms may be more difficult to cast as they would need boosted versions due to longer range to the more impetus knights. If that is the case Bretonnian player may find himself with shortage of power dice. Even with potential 3 channels per phase.

Paladin - It is very rare to see a Paladin designed to lead Men-at-Arms to battle so I am happy that your opponent decided to use one. It will be very interesting to see how he performs.

BSB - Good addition due to flaming attacks. Slightly better protected than a regular knight but can be singled out by Executioners, for example, in particular if they manage to get that Killing Blow. Nothing wrong with this character of course. If the blessing of the lady is strong he can be hard to kill.

Errants - young and impetus knights in good strength. Their reckless charge can be line breaking even if their WS3 may not be that helpful. One of the popular choices so no surprise they are included.

Knights of the Realm - equally strong, even without extra strength but slightly faster. Again, good numbers and both lances can fit all their attacks on a very small frontage so it will be very important to divide them. It will also be interesting to see which character is going to join which lance.

Men-at-arms - another unit that is not seen often. Quite significant number here. On one hand that is good as poor peasants die in droves so at least they would stay a little longer. On the other, if formed deep and close to the knights (or maybe even led by the paladin), they can be harder to shift than expected.

Bowmen - good for you there are only 10 of them as archers in general are good at killing T3 elves with not much armor.

Pilgrims - stubborn block of infantry can always be good. What is more, they have lady's blessing so now your opponent has both infantry regiments with that ability. I am very curious how is he going to use them!

Pegasus Knights - good, well armored, fast. Nice counter to dark riders but with only single unit it might not be enough to get aerial dominance.

Trebuchets - very dangerous due to high strength of the hits and two are often enough to make up for some wild scattering. Should be dealt with as soon as possible.

Dark Elves

Dreadlord - Very good protection thanks to 1+ armor save and re-rolls, 3++ ward against the shooting and T4 on top of that. Very fast on his dark pegasus. I think he can have a chance to actually kill Bret General on the charge. He strikes first, re-rolls to hit and S6 on the charge (with re-rolls of 1's) he should inflict quite a few wounds. Then whatever passes the armor and ward is multiplied. Of course it is also risky as if that fails he can be wounded too.

Supreme Sorceress - fast too so that she can even go alone if there is a need. Good protection against magic. Lore of metal is fantastic against the knights as their ward will be 6++ only.

BSB - good protection is all he needs to keep his flag waving and that is his priority. Provide re-rolls and stay alive. I think he is perfectly prepared for that duty. You can actually improve that by giving him enchanted shield instead of the icon but I guess having 6++ against war machines is a good thing to have too.

Corsairs - I am very intrigued by this unit. They are there for flexibility I think. They can support with shooting but can also get into combat and provide ranks. Remind me about Sea Guard :)

Dark Riders - the best regular fast cavalry in the game! Enough said!

Crossbows - very good support with lethal shooting. I see why you wanted to add flaming attacks, with their volume of fire they can be deadly indeed. I love AP on crossbows too.

Knights - I absolutely love the models! With base S4 for the knight and mount they can actually be very good at grinding the infantry. I think they would be fantastic against Men-at-Arms even all by their own. Against the knights they will perform very well too.

Executioners - another favorite unit of mine. They will be absolutely deadly if hitting the flank of the enemy knights and can take man-at-arms head on easily.

Bolt Throwers - very good support and enemies are rightfully afraid of them. With focused fire you can hurt even the knights.

Warlocks - hated unit and for a good reason. They are simply too good for the points :) Great addition to level 4 and both spells are just great.

Bloodwrack Shrine - I really like elements in the armies that grant effects to units. Having +1 to Ld and -1 for the enemies is great already. Additional hits either in combat or in shooting phase are nice bonus!

Scenario

I am replying while reading so it is possible I will find out the answer by the end of the report but was it a Watchtower scenario as in the rulebook or is it a modified version?

Infantry units are of a very great importance here as only they can garrison the tower. Both units have 3 of these. Bretonnia has a problem because their infantry is not that great at claiming the buildings back. So as soon as DE have the building in their possession they fight an uphill battle.

On the other hand if Bretonnian infantry takes the place in the tower then crossbows will have the field day despite the hard cover. Flaming attacks allow the re-rolls on to wound rolls against the garrison. And assaulting the building with any infantry will see men-at-arms dying in droves.

That is why Brets need to be very aggressive and try to catch DE infantry as soon as possible and probably focus their shooting on these units too. It may be hard to do so because of DE superiority in movement phase.

I think DE should focus their magic and shooting first at Pegasus Knights then at infantry. Of course well placed searing doom at knights is always good and may drain their dispel dice thus allowing casting doom bolts. As long as knights are isolated and separated charges can be arranged.

Deployment

DE have the advantage as they can deploy 4 fast cavalry units before committing any other regiments. In that time Bretonnia deploys majority of the army. I think refused flank would be a good idea here, with fast cavalry spread evenly, infantry shooters more or less in the center then executioners and the knights. It allows to approach aggressively and engaging one lance with both hard hitting units while using fast cavalry to block it.

Bretonnian army is too spread out in my opinion. It was a good idea to position trebuchets in the corner to put more distance between the hunting parties and war machines. However, they are also grouped together so that means destroying one can panic the other. Bretonnian formation also left gaps to be exploited by dark elven fast cavalry. I would deploy infantry in the middle, ready to approach the tower and both lances would guard the flanks.

The vanguard moves were good but I would also move W2 forward. Since Bretonnians pray you can use it to move beyond pegasus knights and into the gaps so that none of your fast cavalry are seen but at the same time you are ready to shoot, cast spells and even charge the rear of enemy formation.

I understand W2 stayed put to intercept Pegausus Knights but your dreadlord would do it easily himself and he is even better at intercepting enemy fliers like that.

T1

It looks like I underestimated the combat capabilities of Warlocks :) You exploited the mistake of the enemy that put himself in the charge range but also seemed to be too far from BSB. In any case they were taking Ld test on 6?

I think there was no reason for DR1 to move back, I would have pressed further to threaten the bowmen and trebuchets. Unless that building or whatever that terrain is impassable they could easily destroy that flank. In fact, I would position W1 nearby too for additional support but be ready to intervene with the Bretonnian infantry movement.

I am surprised you shot at trebuchets and it seems also with single shots. What you could do is to aim at bowmen (with Dark Riders too) and I am sure you would inflict enough casualties for panic check. They would flee towards Trebuchets (good chance due to low Ld) and if fled through they could even panic them too.

Why did you decide to move the knights to the left flank? They are much better in team with Executioners because they prevent Bretonnian knights from moving forward aggressively and can also declare independent charge on men-at-arms. With pilgrims taken care of nicely by shooting (well done!), big block of infantry is something you want to stop from reaching the tower. While the Knights Errant are still too far to pose a threat at all.

It was good move on your opponent with chasing away the Shades as they blocked the path for counter charge for your units. I think there was a good opportunity here to kill the BSB though. You can decline challenge with champion and direct attacks from 5 models (I think) against a character. Both players have 10 models to fight. Bretonnians however, need to dismount. That means they are S3 and are 4+ armor. They cannot shift the corsairs as they don't have enough attacks. So with 5 models you have 11 attacks, with re-rolls to hit against the 2W hero. I think it was worthy trying.

T2

I think you had a perfect situation to set a trap on the Bretonnian force. KE cannot charge anything but the tower so you can even move corsairs out of it for a turn and poor Bretonnians can only reform then.

In the meantime you position DR1 in front of the Knight of the Realm. Your own knights move to face towards the right flank but being careful not to be in the path of the overrun. Executioners move forward too, without reforming. They should stay just out of the charge range of men-at-arms (or maybe even move into it, long charge anyway and they have advantage anyway). Warlocks and Dreadlord ready to attack too.

Your opponent has a dilemma now. If he does not charge he is blocked and the knights or executioners can press against men-at-arms. If he charges, then he kills DR and can overrun exposing flanks to the charge of COK and Executioners. If not then Knights, Warlocks and Dreadlord all attack Knights of the Realm from 3 sides. Massive static combat result already. Executioners can move to intercept men at arms.

He can add men-at-arms to charge against Dark Riders but in doing so his units are blocking each other and you can actually charge infantry with your two units and then possibly overrun into the knights (so charging in with warlocks to allow second round of combat is good idea) or if they hold you are safe from the counter.

T3

I am glad you finally decided to pay attention to trebuchets although single unit of Dark Riders would be enough to do so. Assigning Dreadlord to killing peasants is an overkill and I am sure he is already holding a grudge against you for using his skills in such a boring hunt :p

Again, Knights and Executioners should have moved towards men-at-arms and focus on killing them while Knights of the Realm are blocked.

I wonder if it were possible to move Executioners sideways so that shrine does not block their movement. Btw, why did you decide to charge the Knights alone? What did you need to reach them?

It was interesting that Errants reformed exposing the flank like that. Very risky.

T4

It was a good decision to charge from both flanks but I wonder if the fear test was required as it was not the turn wyrmlance was used. Did you consider issuing the challenge against enemy BSB with your own?

In any case it was really bad that you could kill only 2 knights and thus they remained steadfast. I think having dreadlord here would have been much more beneficial. He could challenge BSB and kill him probably thus denying break test re-rolls. While Dark Riders would easily overrun into second trebuchet and do the job anyway.

Was it possible to align Executioners so that they were not offering the charge to the knights of the realm? Also, were men-at-arms still steadfast after that combat?

After-battle thoughts

You held the watchtower and that was what mattered. Now I see that it was worth 500Vp and that indeed saved you the game. I have mentioned few things in the turn by turn comments but here is what I would have done differently in summary:

1. Send Dark Riders against trebuchets asap
2. Shoot multiple shots with repeaters against bowmen to panic them and possibly panic nearby trebuchets
3. When it is done, look for other targets such as lone damsels.
4. Be more aggressive with assault teams and using dark riders as blockers so that you could put the pressure on the enemy and pick your fights instead of him.
5. If possible, reform and align units so that there is no room for the enemy for clipping the counter charges.
6. Better co-ordinate the attacks (like dreadlord added to the combat for example so that he can take of the challenges).

Thanks again for the great report! I hope my comments are useful but remember they are just food for thought!

Cheers!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:57 pm
by Clockwork
Hi Swordmaster! First off I should point out that I was using this list which has a fe key differences (Dreadlord only has a 2+, sorceress is on foot, and of course double warlocks).

It's always good to get feedback from a player of your calibre and experience and I think you raise some excellent points and give some great advice. Suffice it to say that I agree with most of your comments and will try to go through them in more detail when I have the chance.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 1:07 am
by Swordmaster of Hoeth
Thanks for the kind words, Clockwork! I am glad you found my comments useful! Looking forward toy your reply! Oh, maybe next time you write the report add your current list just for reference? I based my post on the list I found earlier in this topic and indeed I was concerned it might not be the updated one as it had harpies and only one unit of warlocks.

Cheers!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:16 am
by Clockwork
It was linked to in the deployment post, but then I forgot to post it when replying to you above. Whoops!

here it is again: http://druchii.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t= ... 25#p912495

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 11:31 pm
by Swordmaster of Hoeth
Ah, I should have checked army list sub-forum! Thanks for pointing me to the right direction!

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 6:11 pm
by Clockwork
So, I'm back from Reading and another event is over! I’ll try to get some reports up if I have time between now and next weekend, where I’ll be attending Blood and Glory. In the mean time - what I learned, and how I thought my list did.

Before that, very quickly my results were:

Game 1: 16-4 loss
Game 2: 18-2 loss
Game 3: 19-1 win
Game 4: 20-0 loss
Game 5: 11-9 win

So not too great! But I was happy with one big win and only one 20-0, and the first loss swung on a couple of key dice rolls. More importantly, a few key lessons were learnt and the most important of all was that my list was just not good enough.

Critically, I have too many units at too small numbers. It’s too easy to reduce them to the point that they are meaningless, and I bleed points as a result. The Executioners need to be 21-24 at a minimum. The Knights need to get up to 10. I’d be better off getting a big unit of Corsairs/Witches, replacing them with a third unit of Dark Riders, or getting more Crossbowmen. Unlike a true MSU list, like Swordmasters, which has multiple redundancies, I struggle once I start losing handfuls of models because that redundancy isn't there.

Deployment. A couple of times I tried a double line, notably game 4 but found that I was only blocking my own units – this is somewhat a symptom of the too many units/too few models problem – or exposing myself to horrible flank charges – also, notably game 4. I need to learn to embrace the refused flank.

Aggression. Too often, possibly a result of lesson 1, I hold back. In game 5 I had the first turn and could have pushed right up to bait early turn long range charges, or probe gaps to get into warhachines . Instead I held back and with my largely 18-24” ranges just could not achieve much.

On to individual unit performance. You’ll note I don’t talk about game 4 below, and from the result above you can probably see why – my luck finally ran out and I drew Warriors, and it was a total disaster right from deployment. Not much to say about it that hasn't been covered above.

Dreadlord on Dark Pegasus – really shined game 3 against Ogres by pinning one unit in place and steadily going through it, before joining a combined charge on a Gutstar which took it off for a 19-1, but overall didn’t achieve much. Game 1 had a chance to shine against a Knight bus, but fluffed his attacks; game 2 he was outnumbered trying to keep an eye on 3 Frost Phoenixes (although did Killing Blow a Prince after being charged!), and game 5 couldn’t kill a Star Dragon which ate him. He’s a great tool but against multiple fliers he is completely overwhelmed – I either need to pick one target and go for it, or get him some backup.

Supreme Sorceress – didn’t cast much, but when she did it was invaluable (Searing Dooming Chimeras, Final Transmutating Phoenixes on cheeky 6s, and Glittering Robes bubbles keeping Executioners alive from 4x RBTs). For that reason, and if only as a backup caster for when a unit of Warlocks inevitably bites the dust, she’s useful to have around. When she did cast, it was with wild abandon almost all weekend, and it was refreshing to be able to do that without worrying about losing my general or only caster. I’d maybe like to make her a level 4 but didn’t find the level 3 was too much of an issue even with dispelling.

Master BSB & Knights - it’s hard to discuss these separately as they always went together. Game 1 bounced off a Knight bus after narrowly not killing a Grandmaster with Runefang (only had to do 1 more wound!). Game 2 got pinned by Caradryan. Game 3 took out a rampaging Stonehorn but failed to join in a multi-charge on a Gutstar. Game 5 got flanked by Dragon Princes, held them, then ground the unit out. The Dread Knight died to a bolt turn 6. In almost all occasions, having more numbers would have been worthwhile in either ensuring more damage dealt, or absorbing the damage they took. The alternative is to drop them, put the BSB on foot in the Executioners, and get another combat unit.

Dark Riders: 10/10, though the only change I’d make is to give them Banners so they can more easily win chaff combats, or capture objectives. In game 5 I might have been able to claim an objective, gaining 500 VPs and 2TPS doing it, had they had banners.

Corsairs: Blehh. I too easily throw them in the way of something scary, mostly because I don’t know what else to do with them. They are too small to meaningfully contribute, but too big/slow for chaff. Another unit of Dark Riders would serve in this at half the cost, or I take a smallish unit of Witches who can at least throw out a ton of damage (which Corsairs most definitely cannot).

Crossbowmen: Really like these guys. The extra BS from the champion is well worth his 10 points in virtually guaranteeing at least 1 more hit when the rest of the unit is hitting on 5s or 6s. If nothing else they are a good bunker for my Sorceress, though I’d probably drop the Shields.

Executioners. As noted, way too small. Whether it was RBTs, impact hits or Thunderstomping monsters, it was just way too easy to reduce 18 down to the point that they couldn’t contribute. Notable achievement: Star Dragon comes in and steps on the Draich-master. Dreadlord flank charges my turn, doesn’t kill the Dragon and gets squished. Executioners break him through static combat res and run the Dragon down!

RBTs. 10/10. Played against 4 and it was horrible – 2 is a happy medium for me. Need to get a better handle on when to single bolt or not, and how to deploy them. Too many times opponents were able to use them as a stepping stones into my lines. By Game 5 I was deploying them off in corners with much better results.

Shades. Sometimes they were chaff, sometimes they absorbed some magic missiles or BS shooting, and every now and again they plinked off a wound or two here and there – though game 1 they spent 5 rounds shooting at a cannon and a hellblaster and couldn’t kill either. In hindsight, I should’ve charged one of them instead.

Warlocks. Another 10/10, and all the internet rage about two units of them are fully justified. Only in game 5 I didn’t get off a bubble six dice Soulblight, with each other occasion to great effect. I’ve almost gone too far the other way now and I’m too eager to throw them into trouble, though usually they come out of it ok. The only disadvantage I’ve found is the relatively short range of Doombolt, and the fact that even on a 12 dice magic phase I burn through power dice casting Soulblight!

BWS. 0/10. Didn’t achieve anything of note all weekend, up to and including being asked to hold on a LD6 breaktest on the final roll of the last game to preserve its points (and allow the Executioners to escape), and failing. On the times where my opponents didn’t concentrate on killing the Executioners and running it down, it was cannoned off. I love my model, but it’s gone and the points will buy me more Executioners and Knights (7 and 3, respectively).

Thoughts then for the future:

Magic Lore. I’m a fan of Metal, but it really does not compare to Warlock magic. Shadow might be my answer to inefficient Corsairs (or Black Guard – see below), but I’d probably want a level 4 to guarantee Mindrazor and/or Enfeebling. Either way I can cover off the Flaming requirement through a Ruby Ring.

Replacing the Knights with a second combat unit. Black Guard are the obvious answer, but I’d only get 18 for the price of 9 Knights and would have to chop something else for the Razor Standard. Ideally they’d want to be around 20-24, without radically altering the list elsewhere (eg Life. Shadow magic could be good in support). Witch Elves could struggle against the prevalent armour and BS shooting, whilst Chariots don’t have the ranks or Command options that I’d like.

Core rethink. Two units of Dark Riders and one unit of 10-12 Crossbowmen with Full Command is mandatory, but I’m not sure what else to do with the remaining ~200 points. Is 18 Corsairs large enough, or should I squeeze the Crossbowmen down to minimum and drop the flags from the Dark Riders to go bigger? A third unit of Riders plus the Crossbowmen?

And now I’m also hearing about combined Elf lists for the End Times. I’d love this just from a modelling perspective, but dipping into list building a little bit I’d be able to answer a lot of the questions above: A Book Loremaster, Silver Helms and Trueflight Glade Guard in Core alongside Dark Riders. Maybe Phoenix Guard instead of the Knights.

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2015 11:05 am
by Lord Drakon
Hi Clockwork. Sorry for necromancing your log, but I discovered you live in the same city (Delft) ! Therefore I really like to challenge you for a 2400 matchup as soon as possible ;)

Re: Clockwork's Battle Reports (Tournament Practice)

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 2:16 pm
by Clockwork
@LordDrakon I've literally just seen your post from 2 years ago! Think it's a case of mistaken identity though.

For everyone else, I've got a new battle report thread over on t9a forums and will soon update with a 5 game event using my DE.

http://www.the-ninth-age.com/index.php?thread/28837-clockwork-s-dread-elf-battle-reports-call-to-war/&postID=716328#post716328