Hi MangoPunch,
I wanted to reply to your topic long time ago but unfortunately I was too busy to post properly. However, some of the hassle I had recently is over so hopefully it is not too late to add to your topic!
Let me start with the game against HE and we will see how much further I can get in one go! Btw, as a rule I try to reply to a battle report as I read it without checking the comments made by other forum members so I apologize if I write something already discussed.
Game vs High Elves1. Armies
I don't intend to comment on armies in terms of what I think is good/bad choices. In fact, I don't think there are bad units, just generals who can't use them to their full potential
Because of that I prefer to look at strengths and weaknesses of both forces. Each player brought these units for a reason after all.
High Elves army has some tough regiments indeed. Phoenix Guard is quite big and with 4++ alone they can take a lot of punishment. One Frostheart is a powerful monster and having two of them is obviously even harder. Combined charge of PG block and one of the birds can cause a lot of trouble, especially against low T and low armor foes. And that is what DE army is.
Two units of archers are good support as they can be efficient against light troops and even help in combat as their ASF can be quite handy too. They might not prevail in one on one fights but at the same time they can still inflict casualties and/or keep enemy busy.
There are 3 wizards but no BSB which personally I think is a risky approach. It is not to prevent units from fleeing because your opponent probably assumes his big PG regiment is going to win combats due to high resilience but it adds a lot of flexibility.
I wonder what was your opponent plan in terms of magic lore selection. I understand that he wanted to make his PG even tougher nut to crack with flesh to stone and regrowth. Dwellers is also a good spell, provided the enemy likes to keep his characters in a single unit.
The army is compact and with smaller number of units that can be both an advantage and disadvantage. It does not give away points easily, as archers and reavers are the only fragile regiments. Wizards can be spread or put into PG block. However, with few units it is more difficult for it to get into desired combat as units can be diverted or delayed. Of course flying monsters can compensate for that to an extend but it is about allowing PG to get there rather than anything else.
Your army has totally different approach. It may be looked at as a classical match between more orthodox approach of big units against MSU army. You have a fair mix of different tools. 5 combat units provide quite a nice hitting power. All are very good at killing other T3 units. Amount of attacks are amazing and against HE in particular hatred will be very useful. Even PG has to be careful against WE as they might have trouble in saving all these attacks. WE are also great against Phoenixes due to poison.
You have good shooting that can be used to destroy fragile reavers and archers to allow you to dominate the movement phase even more efficiently. Add to that magic phase (warlocks) and with focused fire you can quickly eliminate all but PG. Technically Phoenixes are also a target (especially with withering) but I wonder about target selection here. You see, flying monsters can be dangerous but archers are very powerful against small, unprotected units and can quickly cripple them at range and be a constant threat. While Phoenix can charge only what it can see thus having limited options in comparison. It is still hard to make the priority but a decision should be made in order to stick to the plan.
2. Deployment
With better range of long bows I think it was good idea for HE to deploy a little further. I am sure your opponent assumed he would have first turn and wanted to shoot/cast magic turn 1 but the longer you have to march towards him the better for HE. I would also hide ER behind the archers to keep them for later as the longer they are alive the more valuable they become for disruption of enemy moves.
On the other hand you had smaller chance to start the game so you could have deployed accordingly. For example, you could simply position your regiments at 30.1" away from the archers and use DR vanguard to move out of harms way. They can get back to position quickly. Or if vanguarding to the flank put them out of sight it is also good option.
Another option is to form them in a conga line but presenting the flank, at 24" edge of deployment. In that formation they are long and can provide hard cover to more than one unit. I would have preferred to move them away though and start with the army further as to deny good shooting in turn 1 for HE. You can pick up the pace quickly anyway, keep witches covered by knights and dark riders and warlocks racing at the flanks so that it is easier to outflank the enemy.
3. The game
T1 - as expected, HE used their archery to eliminate fast cavalry. It is a good choice as otherwise DR can be very annoying. The situation with COK shows that there might be good idea to consider giving them gleaming pennant instead of champion so that they can be prepared for such unlucky rolls and allow you to use them on the flanks outside of BSB influence.
Well done on removing his reavers. I wonder what was his plan with keeping them in first line?
T2 - That was indeed risky on your part, first to put your general and level 4 so far away from the army (and BSB) as well as in the harms way of the archers. It was good decision to keep her with warlocks (even in such a small unit) but it would have been equally good if she stayed with knights for a while or simply hid behind BSB. Just make sure she could not be reached by magic missiles and you are safe.
The main thing, however, is that you lost powerful unit that can help you to dominate magic phase as warlocks spells are devastating and draw dispel dice well.
On the other hand I think PG should have stay with the army and further archers should have moved a little forward to finish your remaining Dark Riders. In that way your opponents keeps his battle line steady while you still have lots of terrain to cover and you already lost your 3 fast units that can provide some cover or threaten the flanks.
Now I am a little confused. I thought warlocks were the bodyguards to the sorceress and 3 dark riders were left alive to block PG? Is that correct?
Other than that a very good move with many units surrounding exposed regiment and preparing for multiple charge.
T3 - Quite interesting situation I must say. However, I wonder what else could have been done. For example, did he try to charge with his second phoenix? If not he could have blocked COK from left flank from moving anywhere.
Another good option was to charge PG against DR but phoenix against witches. Yes, risky with all the poison but he had t stomp to add to combat. Also PG would have overrun towards the witches on the left while phoenix would have blocked WE and COk at the same time. That would have given him an opportunity to break through.
I would have cast Shield of Thorns on PG because he knew this unit is going to hit WE and that would have helped him to kill some before the combat.
It was very lucky for him to break Hydra but also shows that it might have been a good idea to keep that breath attack for more convenient target. If used in close combat it would have helped you to swing the balance into your favor and maybe even win it! While killing PG is important they are simply better protected.
A very good execution of a multiple charge indeed! That is what MSU is all about!
I think it was a mistake to dispel the RIP spells. Shield was on Archers who were not in combat. Throne was on Archmage not engaged at the moment. I'd rather cast many small spells in the situation where the number of dice is even. In particular D&D was good for the combat!
I am sure that you would add now that that breath of hydra was very helpful as it allowed breaking steadfast and you are of course correct.
From that moment your opponent was put on back foot and he was desperate to do some damage. I think it was good idea to attack WE instead. They are easier to wound with magic missiles and as COK are not ItP they can be panicked. Not likely but there is a chance. Same with his other spells. WE are not as strong and there are more of them so Dwellers is better used against such troops.
All in all you used MSU well and exploited his mistakes. He should have kept the formation as breaking it allows MSU army to outflank even powerful units such as PG and by the sheer amount of attacks overwhelm them.
Well done!
Ok, I think I will try to comment on the game against daemons some time later as I have already written quite a lengthy post! Hopefully I will be able to come back soon!
Cheers!
