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Post by knoffles on Jun 19, 2018 20:58:46 GMT
Turn 1 - Lizards
The Skink Skirmisher units surged across the board in order to get into range with their blow pipes next turn and to generally do what chaff do best (screw up movement and be a bloody nuisance). They were supported by the two blocks of heavy infantry moving up as a second wave. Both units of Chameleons materialised in front of my right flank (I’d been careful to not leave gaps behind my lines) and targeted the Razorgor on that side. The venom of the lesser striped tree frog had been left on the darts for too long, as he took a couple of wounds from their poison but it wasn’t enough to kill him. The Slann barely opened its eyes and nonchalantly waved a hand and launched a boosted fireball on the chariot opposite him. The resulting miscast not only made him pay a bit more attention to what was going on but cost him a wizard level and lost him that spell. It did manage to put a couple of wounds on the chariot but the trade-off might come back to haunt him. The priest then tried to cast Blizzard on the Bestigor but Khazbar dispelled it with ease.      Turn 1 – Beasts
Determined to clear out some of the skink cloud threatening to gum up his lines, Bashor ordered his forces forward. The Gor Horde targeted one of the Chameleon units, who unsurprisingly ran but they didn’t get too far and were summarily cut down. The Doombull charged the Skinks directly in front of him, who also fled but this time to safety, leaving behind a very pissed off Minotaur. He glared through red tinged eyes at the Lizard lines, death and blood at the very forefront of his thoughts. The central chariot charged the unit next to the skinks who had fled, taking a couple of wounds from the stand and shoot reaction ( Edit: what is it with all the shooting causing two wounds each time). The chariot made short work of them (helped out, as it had been given a Wyssans Wildform buff) and crushed the remaining fleeing skinks beneath its iron shod wheels as it overran. This did leave it directly in front of the Cold One Riders with it very likely to receive a charge in the following turn.    Turn 2 – Lizards
The Cold One riders, seeking revenge for what it had done to their smaller brethren, charged into the chariot and in the ensuing combat, neither side managed to do any damage to the other ( Edit: it wasn't helped as this was the one and only time in the game I forgot Primal Fury), however the Lizards charge and banner were enough to win the combat and the chariot decided discretion was the better part of valour and turned tail. In what was becoming a trend for the game, it didn’t run fast enough and was smashed to pieces by the chasing cavalry. The fleeing Skink skirmishers rallied under the nearby eye of the Slann and BSB. The Slann attempted to cast Blizzard on the Gor but was blocked by Khazbar. He was able to prevent the Frog-Mage following up with a Spirit Leech at his faithful Cattleclysm but a baleful glare at his apprentice was enough to get Wazzock to read from his scroll. This turned to dust as the spell dissipated harmlessly. The remaining Chameleons, weaved through the Beastmen lines and finished off the wounded Pumba. The nearby horde of Gor choose this moment to fail their re-rollable panic check and ran away from the camouflaged skinks, bouncing through the chariot/coldone combat and ended up in the Lizardman deployment zone, dangerously close to the edge of the board. That definitely wasn’t part of the plan! ( edit: it was part of Neil’s though, as that was why he had targeted the unit with Blizzard in an attempt to reduce their leadership. He hadn’t counted on the 11" roll and them bouncing through the combat, which he said had caused his plan to backfire). To add further insult to injury, 7 of their number were cut down by the Cold One Riders as they ran through the unit ( a stupid amount of 1's were rolled for the dangerous terrain check). The Skink Cohort reached the building in the far corner of the battlefield and moved in to take permanent residence where they would take no further part in the battle ( bar helping score scenario victory points). The remaining skinks and salamander targeted the Bestigor to start whittling down their numbers but their aim faltered under the manic gaze of the embedded Beastlord and only 4 fell to the combined fire.         Turn 2 - Beasts
Cattleclysm, incensed by his previous foe having slipped through his claws, crashed into the Cold One Riders (who, conveniently, were unable to flee due to their Immune to Psych rule). He cut down 50% of the unit and the rest fled ( Edit: I forgot the standard bearer should have been removed at that point). The Cold Ones bounced through the freshly rallied Gor horde and due to a particularly low roll managed to stay on the table in the small gap between the Gor and edge of the board. Drat! The Bestigor charged the Skink screen that were directly in front of them losing a few of their number to poison. In combat it came as no surprise to anyone watching that the Bestigor hacked the skinks apart and then reformed to face the Temple Guard. The remaining chariot moved to cover the flank and rear of the Bestigors in case the Oldblood decided to join the party and the Harpies moved up to protect the rear of the Doombull for the same reason. The Ungor Raiders on the left flank moved to get in the way of the Saurus block so it would be prevented from moving fully into the Beastmen left quadrant.       Turn 3 – Lizards
With their screening chaff now gone, the Temple Guard had no choice but to take the initiative and charged into the Bestigor. The guard were supported by the Salamander and handlers who went into the flank of the elite Beastmen. The Slann invoked the forbidden rod trying to boost the weak winds of magic, taking 3 wounds in the process ( amusingly, one for each extra power dice). The giant frog started the phase by casting Blizzard onto the Bestigor but this was quickly dispelled. Khazbar had previous run ins with Nurgle and knew what a difference negative hit modifiers could have. This did mean allowing the Slann to get off Earthblood giving his bodyguard a weak regen to replaced the armour save they would lose thanks to their attackers great weapons. The spell also healed him of one of the wounds he had lost. Combat saw the Temple Guard and Bestigor each killed 6 a piece but the combat ended a draw due to the additional wounds caused on the Salamander and skinks (cancelling out the flank attack and charge bonus). The Saurus block charged the Ungor blocking them and the plucky underdogs managed to take out two of them before they were wiped out ( edit – I just pulled them after seeing if they managed to kill any Saurus). The Oldblood charged the harpies who fled, leaving him floundering around in the centre of the battlefield much to the amusement of Khazbar. The Scar Vet on Cold One showed him up by making a long charge into the chariot and making short work of it. The remaining Cold One riders successfully rallied and turned to face the rear of the Gor. The Chameleon’s shot and killed 3 of the nearby Ungor but the plucky raiders held their ground.      Turn 3 – Beasts
The remaining 2 Ungor Raiders went for glory and found only death as they charged into a hail of poisoned shots from the Chameleons. with a loud bray, Khazbar ordered his unit to charge the temple guard but the long speculative charge failed miserably to reach them. He instead ordered the Doombull to move up to threaten the flank of the Temple Guard (conveniently this also moved him out of the charge arc of the oldblood). Khazbar, rubbing his hands with glee at having a clear shot, threw a boosted amber spear at the ancient saurus but this was scrolled. His attempt to cast Curse of Anraheir on the Temple Guard was then dispelled but the Slann was unable to prevent Wyssans buffing the Bestigor and they then went on to finish off the Salamander and cut up the Temple Guard some more. The boost to their toughness also helped to prevent more than a fewof their number falling in response. The Guard held though, as with the Slann in their midst they were stubborn. The Razorgor, seeing an easy target, moved round the Sarus block to threaten the Skink Priest who had moved out of the house. In a move that either, was completely illegal as they may not have rallied, or my notes/photos had gotten out of sync, the Harpies moved to try and block the Cold One Riders. Either way they weren’t able to do it (having failed the leadership test to march and so couldn't block them), so it was a moot point.    
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Post by knoffles on Jun 19, 2018 21:04:22 GMT
Turn 4 – Lizards
In a move that completely blindsided the Beastmen ( I forgot that rivers only impede marching), the Saurus block charged into the flank of the Bestigors. The Slann attempted subterfuge in order to influence the combat. A Spirit Leech onto the Doombull was let through but failed to wound it. Displeased that the wiley shaman had not fallen for the misdirection he cast Blizzard onto the Bestigor but Khazbar ensured this was dispelled. Starting to get frustrated that this lesser being had the audacity to block his spells, he put all his force into a Wyssans. The power staggered Khazbar, who could do nothing to prevent the irresistible spell. The Mage-priest blinked with worry as a second miscast went off and an audible sigh was heard as it only killed two of his bodyguard. In a brutal round of combat for both sides, most of the remaining Temple guard were killed as were almost two ranks of the Bestigor. With only 3 Temple Guard left alive, the Slann had no choice but to step up into the front rank. The elite Beastmen lost combat by 5 ( Edit: though it should have been 2 as the Saurus rank bonus shouldn’t have counted due to them being partially in the river) but in a lucky bit of rolling ( or karma due to the aforementioned inclusion of the saurus ranks) and much to my delight and Neil’s disgust, they passed their leadership test and held. The Slann was definitely in trouble now as he was in range of a whole host of great weapons and narrowed, red, bestial eyes looking with malice right at him. On their left flank, Cold One Riders hit the back of the Gor Horde. Khazbar immediately made way to the back of the unit and Zurrock went to follow him but, incorrectly, was convinced he had to stay at the front. 2 dead Saurus later and the final rider ran back towards the edge of the board ( with the standard bearer being removed this time). The Oldblood tried to support this by charging the front of the unit but again failed to make the charge. Khazbar, swelling with power gained from slaying the Cold One Riders, snorted with glee again as he knew he had another little gift lined up for him. Even the nearby skinks shooting up the Gor and removing a rank from his unit was not enough to dampen his mood. On the other side of the river, the Skink Priest moved up to block the Razorgor. The piggy couldn't believe his luck, lunch had been served!     Turn 4 – Beasts
Blood drunk with rage, Cattleclysm smashed into the Temple Guard and killed the remaining few and the Slann with ease. This left him out of combat and he over ran slightly. The Bestigor and Saurus combat continued with the Saurus killing a few of the Beasts. . Combat tied and the severely depleted Bestigor reformed to face the Saurus. The Razorgor was unable to help himself and charged into the Skink Priest who had moved to block him and he was swiftly crushed ( edit: Neil just removed him without rolling combat). At this point the Lizards had no magic users left on the board! The remaining Harpies charged the single Cold One rider to ensure it didn’t rally and he swiftly left the battlefield. They followed him off and at least would be safe from the skink shooting for a turn. The Gor, unable to charge, moved up to support the central combat if required. Khazbar took the opportunity to launch a second boosted amber spear at the oldblood. His opal amulet was overwhelmed by the irresistible force of the cast and a blue mist was all that remained in its wake. The shaman’s laughter was cut short as both he and Zurrock took wounds from the feedback and 5 Gor fell dead.  Turn 5 - Lizards
The combat between the Saurus and Bestigor came to a conclusion with Bashor forcing his way into contact with the Lizardman unit where he promptly slew 4 of them. The Saurus hit back and killed all the unit bar the champion, Wazzock and Bashor. Again the Bestigor lost combat but this time they had enough and were run down by the vengeful Lizards. Khazbar looked on and the smile lit up his face again as he watched the Beastlord get trampled into the mud. The remaining skink skirmishers and Chameleons moved out of the charge arc of the Gor and shot them up some more, removing another rank and causing the unit to waver. No panic took hold as the infectious glee of Khazbar boosted the spirit of the unit. The Scar Vet attempted to charge the Doombull but all he accomplished was to add to the long list of failed charges in the game.  Turn 5 – Beasts
With the path now clear, the Gor horde charged into the Saurus block, backed up with a rear charge from the Razorgor. The Gor were so eager to get to grips with the unit that had slain their leader that they went into a frenzy ( Edit: first time I’d ever rolled that on a unit that wasn’t 5 Ungor Raiders). To back this up, Khazbar cast a boosted Savage Beast on himself and Zurrock (and Cattleclysm was caught in the bubble if not the combat) and between them (with their 14 re-rollable S8 attacks) and the frenzied unit (29 re-rollable S4 attacks), they tore the Saurus apart and then overran. The Doombull then moved to try and ensure the skinks wouldn’t be out of his charge arc.   Turn 6 – Lizards
The scar vet again tried to charge the doombull but again failed to make the distance. With very few units left, the Chameleons moved up to prevent the Gor swift reforming to face either deployment zone. The skink skirmishers with the BSB moved so that every model was on the edge of the board to maximise the Doombull’s charge. The other remaining skink skirmisher unit moved to place themselves in front of the other unit. They then killed the remaining Harpies.  Turn 6 - Beasts
The Doombull charged the one skink unit he could reach and made short work of them with his 10 S9 attacks (thanks to Savage Beast). We didn’t even roll for the BSB’s unit to see if they would panic, as due to the inability to get the Gor fully into any quadrant, even if they had run off the board, Neil would have won 1-0.  Result
Win for Neil Neil – Win (15) – Secondary Object (0) = 15 Me – Loss (5) – Secondary Objective (6) = 11 My secondary objective was ‘Cut off the head’ (kill the enemy general in close combat) Neil’s was ‘Raid the Baggage’ (get a fortitude bearing unit in the enemy deployment zone). Conclusions
That was one of the most brutal but fun games I’ve played in a long while. It swung back and forth several times and could have gone either way up until the end. Although getting frenzy in my fifth turn was amazing from a ‘never had it before’ perspective, it actually cost me the game as it prevented me from reforming after combat, which would have given me the chance to move into Neil’s quadrant in my final turn. Probably the main factor in the end, really came down to the fact that I only had two units capable of capturing quadrants (combined with Neil playing an excellent running away game with the skirmishers). This lack of units with fortitude has caused challenges throughout the tournament and was frankly down to a bad list selection from me. Or rather than bad list selection, more accurately it was me just taking what I wanted to and ignoring the scenarios that I myself had set as the tournament organiser. I have no-one to blame bar myself… I'll add that I may have made a mistake using the Doombull to finish the Slann and Temple guard rather than moving him to target the more slippery skink bsb. In my head, the issue was I needed to ensure I killed the Slann in combat to complete the secondary objective as I didn't know what Neils was or if he had achieved it (he hadn't). It could also be argued that I probably should have used the Doombull to charge the Saurus, rather than the Gor, as at that point, the Gor held one of the enemy Quadrants but I also needed to ensure I killed the Saurus unit to prevent it capturing my quadrant and I don't think the Doombull alone could have managed that. One thing that did go my way throughout the game (ignoring Neil's ability to keep failing 3 dice charges) was my primal fury rolls. I didn't fail a single one ensuring I re-rolled almost every to hit dice. Still, despite the loss, I'm happy to have made my first Semi-final and I still have a chance to make 3rd place overall.
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Post by sedge on Jun 20, 2018 20:23:49 GMT
Good report. It's really annoying when you know you've "beaten" your opponent's army, but lose on points! (Though having scenarios with an objective in mind is better than just repeating slugfests all the time.) That's also typical Beastmen, getting Frenzy from your Primal Fury on the one occasion when you really could do without it.
What do you think you'd take differently in your army next time?
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Post by knoffles on Jun 21, 2018 21:25:11 GMT
Ah well I’m locked into this list for one game (3rd place play-off) and when that’s over, I’ll do a list analysis.
Straight off though, if I was running an almost identical list in the tournament, I would have more than likely have cut down the Gor Horde to 40 and taken an additional unit of 10 Gor with a standard (or perhaps Ungor) just to have an additional fortitude bearing unit so I could score the scenario objectives more easily.
I may have also of dropped the lvl1 shamanand used those points for something else (and taken the dispel scroll on the level 4).
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Post by Naitsabes on Jun 22, 2018 18:08:08 GMT
Great read, I enjoyed it. Great game, both of you played well. I thought you had this when the slann fell but, never underestimate the frenzy of a walking cow or goat. Also, the thread title still puts a smile on my face every time I see it. Please keep this up.
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Post by FvonSigmaringen on Jun 22, 2018 20:37:58 GMT
What Naitsabes said.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2018 18:19:29 GMT
This was a fantastic read! Really looks like you know your list pretty well. Nice to see Beastmen still being used competitively!
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Post by knoffles on Jun 30, 2018 11:48:00 GMT
Cheers gents, I enjoy writing them so if others enjoy them too it’s an added bonus 😀
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Post by grandmasterwang on Jul 9, 2018 13:59:55 GMT
I really thought you had won that, killing the slann and with Cattleclysm and Khazbar still alive.
Great report and pictures.
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Post by knoffles on Jul 9, 2018 19:45:23 GMT
I really thought you had won that, killing the slann and with Cattleclysm and Khazbar still alive. Great report and pictures. It was such a close run thing. The scenario objective stated to capture a quadrant you need to be fully within it but due to the over-run and the size of the horde I couldn’t clear the centre point to get into any quadrant (the map doesn’t show it very well). |
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Post by knoffles on Aug 18, 2018 6:58:27 GMT
Playoff Game - Beastmen vs Luke C’s Dark Elves – 10/08/18
The game of ‘elevens and twelves’. After a very close defeat against Neil’s Lizards in the club Semi-Final, it put me into the third place playoff (or loser’s game) against Luke C and his Dark Elves. This was the third time I’d played Luke in the last year and each time had been against his Dark elves using my Beastmen. I’m afraid to say that I failed to beat him in the last two showings ( including our game earlier in the competition with the same lists). Suffice to say I wasn’t feeling overly confident and combined with it being my first time at the club in a while, I decided the main aim was to have fun (whilst winning if I could!). As always, any mistakes are entirely down to my notes (with a bit of poetic licence thrown in). The Herd was in disarray. The battle against the Lizards had driven them from the ruins and the Beastmen had started to look at Khazbar in ways he didn't like. He knew his authority was on shaky ground. There were whispers growing that the gods had abandoned him. Even worse, Bashor had survived the battle, though in a weakened enough state that Khazbar had managed to wrestle control back but not to expel the troublesome lord from the herd. Decisive action was needed.
Thankfully Khazbar, unlike most of his kin, was forward thinking and had already found a fallback location. A dark twisted glen, within the remains of a fortress, deep within the forest. Gathering the remnants of the herd, they set off to this last refuge unaware that even now their movements were being tracked by an old foe.
After several hours of trudging through the thick undergrowth they neared their destination. Vine strewn walls appeared with regularity and crumbling towers could be seen in the distance. The woods began to change the closer they got, drawing in the light and becoming darker and more sinister.
Ahead, one of the Halfhorn scouts appeared from the undergrowth. He rushed up to Khazbar, a scent of fear palatable in the air. The fear was justified as Khazbar's dark magic ripped the unfortunate Ungor apart as his displeasure manifested itself. How was it possible? How could the vile elf sorceress have found them again? With a shout he ordered the herd forward, determined to reach the twisted glen first.
Lists
BeastmenKhazbar the Magnificent (Lore of Beasts) – Great Bray Shaman, Brass Cleaver, Jagged Dagger, Talisman of Preservation, Gouge Tusks Cattleclysm – Doombull – Gold Sigil Sword, Ramhorn helm, Dragonbane Gem, Arabyan Carpet, Gnarled Hide Bashor the Bloody (General) – Beastlord, Ogre blade, Armour of Destiny Wazzock the Lame (Lore of Shadow) – Dispel Scroll Zurrock the Mighty (BSB) – Wargor, Beast Banner 48 Gor – AHW 37 Bestigor – Standard of Discipline Tuskgor Chariot Tuskgor Chariot Razorgor Razorgor 5 Harpies 5 Ungor Raiders 5 Ungor Raiders Dark Elves
Dreadlord (General) – Lt Armour, Sea Dragon cloak, sh, Ogre Blade, Talisman of Endurance, Cold One – 246pts Supreme Sorceress – Power scroll, Talisman of Preservation, Darksteed, Lore of Life – 320pts Death Hag (BSB) – Cauldron of Blood, Obsidian Blade, Rune of Khaine – 390pts Master – HA, sh, Sea Dragon cloak, Lance, Cloak of Twilight, Dark Pegasus – 188pts Dark Riders (5) – Musician, Standard, Spear, Repeating Crossbow, Sh – 120pts Dark Riders (5) – Musician, Standard, Spear, Repeating Crossbow, Sh – 120pts Dark Riders (5) – Musician, Standard, Spear, Repeating Crossbow, Sh – 120pts Witch Elves (27) – FC. Razor Standard – 372pts Cold One Knights (9) – FC, Banner of Eternal Flame – 310pts Executioners (23) – FC – 306pts Scenario, Secret Missions, Terrain and pre-match rolls
We initially rolled Dawn attack but as neither of us were taking the game too seriously and I had groaned loudly when it had been rolled (mainly as it was the scenario I’d played the most during the comp), Luke suggested we play wicked woods instead. The terrain was from pack 5, so we had 2 sets of 2 building that were linked by walls/hedges. There was also a single wood and a hill. We ended up surrounding the ‘Wicked Woods’ with all the scenery and it ended up like this:   For spells generated: Khazbar - lvl 4 Great Bray Shaman (Lore of Beasts): Wyssans, Curse, Savage Beast and Transformation Wazzock - lvl 1 Shaman (Lore of Shadow): Miasma Supreme Sorceress – Throne, Regrowth, Earthblood and Flesh to Stone Deployment
With a symmetrical layout, we didn’t even roll for table sides and stayed on our respective table edges. I laid the first unit and it was then alternating. After deployment and the 3 vanguards of the darkriders, it looked like this:   A little bit of proxying took place by Luke, due to the wrong mini' case being picked up.     The closest Razorgor was not meant to deploy there, that was me totally forgetting to move it after plonking the remaining units on the table after Luke had finished!
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Post by knoffles on Aug 18, 2018 7:07:14 GMT
Turn 1 – Dark Elves
The Witches led by the frothing Hag made their intent clear from the offset, attempting to dominate the game by surging forward to capture the woods in front of them. Two of their number were torn limb from limb as the woods struck at them and the Cauldron also lost 4 wounds. The Cold One knights, even with the General in them, then proceeded to fail their stupidity and in a display of palm to face slapping, Luke realised that in moving the witches first, the BSB was now out of range so the best the unit could do was stumble a few inches forward. During the magic phase, two of the wounds to the Cauldron were immediately recovered with the lore of life attribute as Earthblood was cast on the Cold Ones and Flesh to Stone on the Witches – both were the weakened versions as throne was dispelled. (Edit: I realise now that this wasn’t possibly because the level 4 Sorceress was bunkered in the Cold One’s and failing stupidity with the unit would have prevented her from both casting or channelling).
Between them, the dark riders managed a wound on the chariot on my right flank. The other Darkriders (having lost a model to dangerous terrain) failed to wound the Bestigor.     The 2 Bestigor in the witch unit were slaves, chained to the front of the Cauldron. Or they were spares that I lent Luke, that conveniently matched the footprint of the Cauldron. I’ll let you decide.  Turn 1 - Beastmen
Seeing the twisted elves move into the woods, Khazbar ordered the forces of the herd to advance on all fronts, chaff moving to the fore and the rest jostling for position. Khazbar himself, unsure about the horde of lunatics in front of him, ordered his Gor to position themselves behind the wall. Seeing an opportunity to further impede the enemy cavalry unit, to cast Curse onto them. Completely fluffing the spell, he managed to miscast and the resultant power drain stripped him of three levels and spells and left him with just Transformation of Kadon. Bugger!      Turn 2 - Dark Elves
Both the Witches and Cold One knight units decided to hold their positions. The witches because doing so gained them a scenario point, due to holding the woods and the Knights as they 'bravely' decided not to risk the dangerous terrain test. The Dark Riders continued to move round and get in the way. Their shooting was still completely ineffective with just 3 Gor dying to their shots. The Executioners, fancying their chances, charged into the Doombull and despite him cutting down 4 of their number, he lost the combat due to the musician swinging the odds, proceeded to fail his leadership test (box cars) and was run down in short order (damn that was not part of the plan!). The Executioners then overran into the nearby chariot. Magic was ineffective with Throne dispelled and the sorceress failing to cast regrowth.  Turn 2 - Beastmen
Raging about his loss of power and needing to vent his frustration, Khazbar ordered his bodyguard of Gor to charge the darkriders in front of him. The riders fled but the Gor not only ran them down, as the Gor made a maximum move (eleven) but they managed to also career into the witch elves too (losing 11 of their number to dangerous terrain in the process…). They were joined by the Razorgor, who having charged first (in order to complete my secret mission – take a message), ensured that the Gor combat would take place in my turn and not Luke's. (Again this was not part of the plan). Wazzock tried to cast Melkoth’s to help that combat but it was dispelled. Khazbar did cast Transformation and became a Mountain Chimera but this just ensured that he was moved out of combat (as the Razorgor was in the way). Combat was a brutal affair. 24 of the Gor fell to the combined attacks of the witches, leaving just the front rank of Gor alive. This was the best result possible for the Elves as a few more kills and the Chimera would have made it into combat! The remaining 9 Gor, BSB and Razorgor, fought back with the same ferociousness as the witches with 15 of the 17 attacks available each killing a witch. It wasn’t enough to save them and they ran back towards their lines. The brave Pumba was cut down but the Gor outdistancing their pursuers (twelve inches vs eleven) and shockingly neither unit lost any further models from the dangerous terrain test. (I will say I wasn't totally unhappy that the two units had clashed as I was curious to see the outcome and would have suggested us squaring them off after the game anyway, I just didn't want them in combat at that point).
The Executioners were only able to cause 2 wounds to the chariot and the plucky crew held their ground.     
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Post by knoffles on Aug 18, 2018 8:23:10 GMT
Turn 3 - Dark Elves
The Witches again charged the remaining Gor, who had no choice but to flee. They weren’t able to escape their fate this time and the witches pulled up just short of the edge of the board. One unit of Darkriders charged the chariot they had previously been railroading but failed to do any wounds. The other charged the Ungor in the house killing all the halfhorns. The Dark Master finally got in on the action and charged and slew the final Razorgor. The Cold One Knights, finally able to do something, crashed into the Bestigors. Seeing the imminent demise of my level 1, I used his scroll to get rid of Throne and dispelled Earthblood. In the combat, Luke suggested a wizard challenge and with very little remaining on the board I agreed (Yes the sensible option would have been to direct my rank and file attacks at his sorceress but at this point we were having such a good laugh and killing his level 4 wouldn’t have made a lot of difference to the outcome, so I accepted for shits and giggles). As it happened, Wazzock got the first moral victory and caused a wound! In the rest of the combat in the unit, the Dreadlord caused a single wound on Bashor and the knights killed 8 of the Bestigor. In a frightening display of rolling (I had forgotten what Luke’s rolling could be like) he saved 7 of the 9 wounds rolled in return. The Bestigor were steadfast 10 so weren’t going anywhere for the moment. The Executioners unsurprisingly finished off the chariot and turned to face the woods in the centre.    A very convincing Dark Master on Peg!     Turn 3 - Beastmen
Determined to salvage a bit of pride, the Harpies charged the flank of the nearby Darkriders and in a total first for the unit, not only decimated their target, they then ran down the remainder too. Shocking behaviour! Wazzock managed to cast a boosted Melkoth’s onto the Knights, reducing their WS, BS, I and M by 2. The ‘Wizard off’ continued but with neither side managing to cause any wounds. The Dreadlord finally got the better of Bashor who ended up a bloody mess on the floor. The Bestigor managed to kill off 4 of the Knights for the loss of another 8 or so (at this point I had forgotten to note the numbers) but the unit still remained steadfast (if only on an 8 with the loss of the lord).  Turn 4 - Dark Elves
In what was the final turn of the game, the Executioners moved up to the edge of the woods, ready to move in and gain more scenario points if needed. In the magic phase, Throne was dispelled but this allowed regrowth to go through on the Cold One Knights, replacing two of them. Earthblood was also cast on the unit and in the process, the Sorceress was healed of the wound she had taken earlier. She immediately lost the wound again as Wazzock once again got one up on his foe but her mount returned the favour, giving him a good kick to the head. The remaining Bestigor put down the newly resurrected Knights but with the Dreadlord now free to concentrate on the rank and file, they had another 6 of their number cut down. This on top of the death of their leader, was too much for them and they turned tail. The Cold Ones, their blood finally heated by the combat, tore into them leaving none alive. In the one bright point of the round, the remaining chariot destroyed the dark riders and turned to face the witches. At that point we called the game as I had nothing left with which to contest the scenario (or anything else for that matter!).     Results
Luke – Win (15) = 15pts Me – Loss (5) + Secret Mission (6) = 11pts So overall I came 4th in the club comp out of 20 players. I must say that I'm pretty happy with that. Especially using an army that is generally considered underpowered. Conclusions
Khazbar frantically flapped his wings as he tore his way through the air. “What a disaster”, he thought. One defeat after another had culled the weak from the herd but the latest setback had not strengthened the core but utterly shattered it. He thanked the dark gods that his transformation had given him the means in which to escape the fate of his herd. There was nothing left but to head back to the Drakwald to start over. As he roared his frustration and turned to wing his way north, his cry was answered and a blooded Cattleclysm burst from the forest to join him in his journey.
This was yet another thoroughly enjoyable game. Not so much from the outcome or the way I played (which was riddled with errors) but from the banter, laughs and improbable dice rolls. With regards to the dice, I don't think I've ever played a game where so many 2 dice rolls (with the exception of the magic phase), ended up as either an 11 or 12. Almost every charge or overrun came up with that roll. I won't go into detail about my errors in the game but there was a definite rustiness to my play. That isn’t to take anything away from Luke, he dominated the game from the start. The one comment I will make is around the magic phase. I made a point of dispelling Throne every time it was cast (this was for historic reasons) but this was a mistake. With the limited magic available to me after my first turn miscast, in some turns I would have been far better off letting it go through and getting rid of it in my turn, so I could dispel the only other thing he could cast. Still you live and learn. What next?
I've not quite had enough of playing with the Beastmen for the minute. I will do my standard after tournament list evaluation in a later post and I have one of the club guys who wants a game as he has never played Beasts before. I'm trying to delay that game however, until after the arrival of my Twisted Catacombs kick starter minotaur miniatures, as I'll definitely run a full minotaur and double Ghorgon 'frenzy' list for fun. Before that game, I'm hoping to get some more time in with the Wood Elves and once I move house (in a couple of months if all goes well) I'll be able to dig out and finally build my Bretonnians.
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Post by knoffles on Aug 19, 2018 10:55:52 GMT
Just out of curiosity (and especially after finding out it could have fitted in the unit). I rolled to see what difference it would have made if the Mountain Chimera had been in combat using a random number generator (https://www.random.org/dice/), as I’m no where near any dice. After attacks, breath weapon, ward saves etc. an additional 9 wounds were caused, which would have killed all the remaining rank and file witches, just leaving the hag and Cauldron and meant the Gor would have won the combat by 2 (due to the charge and additional banner).
Now this is highly subjective as a potential 15 attacks could have gone against the monster which could have killed it before it could have attacked but then again those attacks would have meant far less Gor were killed who could of themselves attacked. Either way, at that point, the Gor would have also of gained an objective point as the witches were now understrength.
What it does do is highlight to me how many rules there are to remember in this game and not remembering just one or two per game can really make an impact.
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Post by sedge on Aug 20, 2018 15:55:35 GMT
I just wanted to note I've really enjoyed reading the series of battle reports, and I'm looking forward to the list evaluation too (and seeing those minotaurs).
Another little rules error (I think) - the Cold One Knights should've taken their Stupidity test in the first turn before any other movement. My understanding of the Stupidity rule (unless FvonSigmaringen corrects me) is that Stupidity tests are taken at the start of the Movement phase, before charges and regular movement.
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