Auckland will be awash with gore and spare body parts come late-September!
I'm running a Fantasy tournament as part of the annual City Guard "GuardCon" gaming convention called Fields of Blood. Looks like it's going to be a real ripper of an event with substantial player attendance forecast - looks to not only be the biggest Fantasy event on the gaming calendar but also potentially the biggest Fantasy tournament that NZ has ever had!
26th and 27th September at Takapuna Grammar School here in Auckland. If you haven't requested a registration and player's pack let me know. Flick an email through to:
fieldsofblood2009@gmail.com
2250pts, 6 rounds, fully painted armies only, tiered 8-judge panel composition system.
Check out http://www.wargamerau.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=73641 for updates.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Experiences using Daemons and VCs
Continuing with my habit of "borrowing" other people's armies I caught up with NZs own Skeletor - Glen Tibbles - for a couple of games using one of Reid's Daemons lists. Despite losing a big unit of Plaguebearers and Nurgle Herald to an horrific charge by a unit of Blood Knights with Hellfire Banner I came away with a comfortable win with just the VC General surviving the engagement. The night was young so Skellie cranked out more Skellies - this time the accursed Tomb Kings. Was sweating it as usual against TKs, losing a unit of Fiends to a chariot charge before a unit of Flesh Hounds at some Skeleton Archers and the Tomb King himself thank to some impressive ward-saving (and some poor luck on Glen's part). A short while later they were munching through the rest of the army and he had no answer to that or the Plaguebearers regenning the Chariot's attacks, or the Flamers barbecuing whatever they touched. Or the Bloodletters tearing the Bone Giant a new one. Brutal game.
Then I grabbed Ray's Daemons that he's using for Tin Soldiers. Ray and I had a already had a couple of games - one where he'd massacred a Warriors of Chaos list I'd thrown together (now there's an army book you need to practice with!) and one where I'd beaten him down with the dirty Runefang Dark Elf list. Thought I fancied my chances using the Daemons against Pommy Dave's Tin Soldier list (the High Elves masquerading as Wood Elves thing). Boy how wrong was I! Butchered pretty badly, only the Plaguebearers surived that little encounter! What really caught me was the lack of cheap redirectors and chasing units in Ray's list. I'd be a fan of having a couple of solo Fiends for those two jobs.
Next on the list of things to do was play Ray's Tin Soldier 2 Daemons using Reid's TS2 VCs - not a good matchup for the Vampires in this particular instance. Despite the bad matchup the Vampires walked away with a solid victory - the Daemons being left with 1 and 1/2 Flesh Hound (that's models, not units) in the end. What really made the game was a fresh and rather enormous unit of Zombies springing up which not only trapped some Flesh Hounds in combat but got right in the way of the Nurgle block who couldn't get into the action quick enough. By the time they touched something (Grave Guard) they were surrounded and the combat ended with Hellfire Banner Black Knights in the side, Ghouls in the rear and Grave Guard (and VC General in the front). Plaguebearers lost by 9 or so at one point and poof! Gone burger.
Last night it was decided Reid had better get a least one game in with his army before TS2 so he threw down against those damn dirty Dark Elves again. The Darkies put in a sterling effort and considerable overtime and the VCs were left with the Grave Guard and annoyingly unkillable Black Knights (and a BIG unit of raised Zombies). I'd lost the Black Guard and some Crossbowmen but looked on the board like a 15-5 win or thereabouts. This is all excellent stuff as I move closer to building/having/fielding my ownVC army later this year in preparation for DogCon 2010. Beating Reid is always pretty sweet too - once in a blue moon type stuff for me and a victory to savour :) I think he's got me 3-2 at the moment and one of those wins to me was sheer dumb luck (Empire vs Orcs - an unrecorded FluffyCon practice game where he failed a ld9 test in the last turn and a bunch of stuff ran off; basically I was on the ropes big time and the dice turned it around).
Then I grabbed Ray's Daemons that he's using for Tin Soldiers. Ray and I had a already had a couple of games - one where he'd massacred a Warriors of Chaos list I'd thrown together (now there's an army book you need to practice with!) and one where I'd beaten him down with the dirty Runefang Dark Elf list. Thought I fancied my chances using the Daemons against Pommy Dave's Tin Soldier list (the High Elves masquerading as Wood Elves thing). Boy how wrong was I! Butchered pretty badly, only the Plaguebearers surived that little encounter! What really caught me was the lack of cheap redirectors and chasing units in Ray's list. I'd be a fan of having a couple of solo Fiends for those two jobs.
Next on the list of things to do was play Ray's Tin Soldier 2 Daemons using Reid's TS2 VCs - not a good matchup for the Vampires in this particular instance. Despite the bad matchup the Vampires walked away with a solid victory - the Daemons being left with 1 and 1/2 Flesh Hound (that's models, not units) in the end. What really made the game was a fresh and rather enormous unit of Zombies springing up which not only trapped some Flesh Hounds in combat but got right in the way of the Nurgle block who couldn't get into the action quick enough. By the time they touched something (Grave Guard) they were surrounded and the combat ended with Hellfire Banner Black Knights in the side, Ghouls in the rear and Grave Guard (and VC General in the front). Plaguebearers lost by 9 or so at one point and poof! Gone burger.
Last night it was decided Reid had better get a least one game in with his army before TS2 so he threw down against those damn dirty Dark Elves again. The Darkies put in a sterling effort and considerable overtime and the VCs were left with the Grave Guard and annoyingly unkillable Black Knights (and a BIG unit of raised Zombies). I'd lost the Black Guard and some Crossbowmen but looked on the board like a 15-5 win or thereabouts. This is all excellent stuff as I move closer to building/having/fielding my ownVC army later this year in preparation for DogCon 2010. Beating Reid is always pretty sweet too - once in a blue moon type stuff for me and a victory to savour :) I think he's got me 3-2 at the moment and one of those wins to me was sheer dumb luck (Empire vs Orcs - an unrecorded FluffyCon practice game where he failed a ld9 test in the last turn and a bunch of stuff ran off; basically I was on the ropes big time and the dice turned it around).
The Runefang Files - Blogspot ate my Fecking Posts!!!
So I haven't been back for a while but had posted up reports of my games at Runefang 2. Thought I'd see if anyone's been reading the blog and left any comments. Lo and behold my posts for the other 4 games (!) have disappeared! What the hell?!
Had a little cry and decided I couldn't be assed rewriting the uber-essays that were the round 2-5 reports so here are the summaries (which hopefully stick to the site and don't randomly wander off into internetial oblivion).
Round 2 - Vampire Counts
Tough list with 2 Skellies block, big Grave Guard unit, 2 units of Zombies, 2 Corpse Carts, Wraiths with Banshee, big unit of Wolves. Drakenhof on BSB meant Grave Guard weren't going anywhere, Forbidden Lore on Vamp General meant magical fun times and an ethereal Vamp in the Wraith unit meant they had the potential to be quite a handful.
Cleaned up the Wolves first. Shot down one Zombie unit before charging it with Dark Riders and finishing it off easily (they had a banner so it was quite the bargain). Shot a Skellie unit to pieces and managed to shoot down a Corpse Cart. Manticore spent the game chasing around the Wraiths who feared the 5 str7 attacks I'd be inflicting in a challenge with either the Vamp or the Banshee. Black Guard discovered how hard the glass ceiling is - taking on the regenning Grave Guard was only going to end one way. Was a bit hacked off at my stupidity in this regard - should have bailed the BSB from the unit and hidden in a nearby forest or just led the Grave Guard around by the nose. Hydra and Spear block did for the other Zombie unit (and another banner). Last turn lost the Hydra to a barrage of fire magic from the VC General which was highly annoying (he just managed to kill it) but not before it had eaten the other Corpse Cart. Vampires were left with the unkillable Grave Guard bunkering the Lord and BSB and a unit of Skeletons. 12-8 win to me.
Round 3 - Anvil Dwarfs
2 units of Quarellers, Organ Gun, Rune of Forging Cannon, big Hammerers, little Hammerers, big Longbeards and a couple of small Warrior units and of course the fecking Anvil or Stupid Doom. Blew through some Warriors and the little Hammerer unit and the Back Guard buried themselves in the big Hammerer unit for most of the game, eventually killing them all off and chasing down the Dwarf BSB. Hyrda Terrored off the Longbeards and ended up eating them in a later combat. Useless DE General got stuck into the Runelord and after 4 rounds of combat managed not only to NOT kill him but also lose the Manticore and break. My last turn he fails to rally. Dwarf's last turn the powered up Anvil kills the remaining Black Guard (BSB left alive on one wound!), the Hydra (gah!) and a unit of Dark Riders. Ass. 12-8 win which could (should) have been a sweet sweet victory (had the Runelord died when he was supposed to it would have been in the bag I reckon... probably looking at an 18-2 win).
Round 4 - Lizards
Very nice and well-balanced Lizardmen list from Greg Rae who is just getting into Fantasy - good player and a very enjoyable game. Engine, Slann, 2 units of Terradons, lots of skirmishing Skinks, two one-Salamander units, 2 Krox units, 2 Saurus Spear units, Jag Charm Scar-Vet. Nice list but didn't help convince me Lizards should be in tier 4 :) Close game with some cagey play from Greg, lots of fleeing from charges. Good ol' three-dice leadership tests were awesome - reminded me why I enjoyed playing with Lizards so much. Made a big mistake with the Cow, charging the Engine (trying to kill the Priest). Fluffed big time and was fortunate to hold for ages after Saurus charged me in the flank but eventually broke and run down. Game kinda petered out a little in the end but otherwise very very good fun and probably the most enjoyable game of the weekend. 11-9 loss.
Round 5 - Dwarfs
Fast becoming NOT a fan of playing Dwarfs. This one had a Flame Cannon and Organ Gun, 2 units of Quarrellers, big blocks of Slayers, Hammerers and Ironbreakers, Shieldbearer Lord, BSB, Runesmith in a block of Warriors, Miners. Felt a bit sorry for my opponent as a dismembered a unit in each turn. Highlight was a combo charge against the Ironbreakers - Spearmen in the front, Black Guard in the flank, Cow in the rear. Won by 11 and ran them down with Black Guard hitting 5 surviving Slayers (after shooting casualties), Cow flew off the table, and Spears pursued ready to come around and hit Quarrellers later in the flank. Only thing left in the end was the Hammerers and Lord (was never going to try that one on) and 2 Miners. If the Miners had broken to the last charge it would have been 20-0. As it was happy to finish with a 19-1 win.
30% + tier 2 + hardass army meant I got absolutely comp-hammered out of any kind of contention. Maths was right though - a 15-5 win average would have seen me just about podium. As it was placed 24th out of 32 (?) players.
Was VERY flattered to receive Best Sportsmanship with 4 of my 5 opponents voting me their favourite player. This is an amazing award to get in a tournament as it is essentially the only element of the event judged by the participants themselves. Very very cool and very pleased to receive it. Nice to see an example of a bastard army not spoiling sports scores which is a theory put out by some people after recent events.
Overall had a helluva good time. Met some wonderful people down in Wellington and even the skin-heads (Hagen et al) managed to impress. HUGE thanks to Pete Dunn who put myself, Nick Irvine and Neil Williamson up in the palatial mansion that is Che Pete - very cool place. Kudos to the winners of the event - a great bunch of guys and I'd very much like to get down that way again in the future.
Had a little cry and decided I couldn't be assed rewriting the uber-essays that were the round 2-5 reports so here are the summaries (which hopefully stick to the site and don't randomly wander off into internetial oblivion).
Round 2 - Vampire Counts
Tough list with 2 Skellies block, big Grave Guard unit, 2 units of Zombies, 2 Corpse Carts, Wraiths with Banshee, big unit of Wolves. Drakenhof on BSB meant Grave Guard weren't going anywhere, Forbidden Lore on Vamp General meant magical fun times and an ethereal Vamp in the Wraith unit meant they had the potential to be quite a handful.
Cleaned up the Wolves first. Shot down one Zombie unit before charging it with Dark Riders and finishing it off easily (they had a banner so it was quite the bargain). Shot a Skellie unit to pieces and managed to shoot down a Corpse Cart. Manticore spent the game chasing around the Wraiths who feared the 5 str7 attacks I'd be inflicting in a challenge with either the Vamp or the Banshee. Black Guard discovered how hard the glass ceiling is - taking on the regenning Grave Guard was only going to end one way. Was a bit hacked off at my stupidity in this regard - should have bailed the BSB from the unit and hidden in a nearby forest or just led the Grave Guard around by the nose. Hydra and Spear block did for the other Zombie unit (and another banner). Last turn lost the Hydra to a barrage of fire magic from the VC General which was highly annoying (he just managed to kill it) but not before it had eaten the other Corpse Cart. Vampires were left with the unkillable Grave Guard bunkering the Lord and BSB and a unit of Skeletons. 12-8 win to me.
Round 3 - Anvil Dwarfs
2 units of Quarellers, Organ Gun, Rune of Forging Cannon, big Hammerers, little Hammerers, big Longbeards and a couple of small Warrior units and of course the fecking Anvil or Stupid Doom. Blew through some Warriors and the little Hammerer unit and the Back Guard buried themselves in the big Hammerer unit for most of the game, eventually killing them all off and chasing down the Dwarf BSB. Hyrda Terrored off the Longbeards and ended up eating them in a later combat. Useless DE General got stuck into the Runelord and after 4 rounds of combat managed not only to NOT kill him but also lose the Manticore and break. My last turn he fails to rally. Dwarf's last turn the powered up Anvil kills the remaining Black Guard (BSB left alive on one wound!), the Hydra (gah!) and a unit of Dark Riders. Ass. 12-8 win which could (should) have been a sweet sweet victory (had the Runelord died when he was supposed to it would have been in the bag I reckon... probably looking at an 18-2 win).
Round 4 - Lizards
Very nice and well-balanced Lizardmen list from Greg Rae who is just getting into Fantasy - good player and a very enjoyable game. Engine, Slann, 2 units of Terradons, lots of skirmishing Skinks, two one-Salamander units, 2 Krox units, 2 Saurus Spear units, Jag Charm Scar-Vet. Nice list but didn't help convince me Lizards should be in tier 4 :) Close game with some cagey play from Greg, lots of fleeing from charges. Good ol' three-dice leadership tests were awesome - reminded me why I enjoyed playing with Lizards so much. Made a big mistake with the Cow, charging the Engine (trying to kill the Priest). Fluffed big time and was fortunate to hold for ages after Saurus charged me in the flank but eventually broke and run down. Game kinda petered out a little in the end but otherwise very very good fun and probably the most enjoyable game of the weekend. 11-9 loss.
Round 5 - Dwarfs
Fast becoming NOT a fan of playing Dwarfs. This one had a Flame Cannon and Organ Gun, 2 units of Quarrellers, big blocks of Slayers, Hammerers and Ironbreakers, Shieldbearer Lord, BSB, Runesmith in a block of Warriors, Miners. Felt a bit sorry for my opponent as a dismembered a unit in each turn. Highlight was a combo charge against the Ironbreakers - Spearmen in the front, Black Guard in the flank, Cow in the rear. Won by 11 and ran them down with Black Guard hitting 5 surviving Slayers (after shooting casualties), Cow flew off the table, and Spears pursued ready to come around and hit Quarrellers later in the flank. Only thing left in the end was the Hammerers and Lord (was never going to try that one on) and 2 Miners. If the Miners had broken to the last charge it would have been 20-0. As it was happy to finish with a 19-1 win.
30% + tier 2 + hardass army meant I got absolutely comp-hammered out of any kind of contention. Maths was right though - a 15-5 win average would have seen me just about podium. As it was placed 24th out of 32 (?) players.
Was VERY flattered to receive Best Sportsmanship with 4 of my 5 opponents voting me their favourite player. This is an amazing award to get in a tournament as it is essentially the only element of the event judged by the participants themselves. Very very cool and very pleased to receive it. Nice to see an example of a bastard army not spoiling sports scores which is a theory put out by some people after recent events.
Overall had a helluva good time. Met some wonderful people down in Wellington and even the skin-heads (Hagen et al) managed to impress. HUGE thanks to Pete Dunn who put myself, Nick Irvine and Neil Williamson up in the palatial mansion that is Che Pete - very cool place. Kudos to the winners of the event - a great bunch of guys and I'd very much like to get down that way again in the future.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Runefang Files – Round One GRUDGE vs Skaven (Pete Dunn)
Well I was most surprised and a little flattered to find that Pete Dunn was keen to grudge me, ensuring that we finally met on the battlefield and wouldn't be dodging each other thanks to ill-luck with the draw in this tournament. Some serious research (reading his blog) and asking around (Reid) led me to predict what he was taking (for all the good it did me) with a high degree of accuracy. Outside of the absence of the ubiquitous Ratling Guns it was a fairly standard go at the Skaven horde concept replete with acres of crap to wade through (Slaves), ridiculous throwaway deployments (2 units of 2 Globadiers), the twins (2 Warlocks with kit including Storm Daemon and Dispel Scroll), and the Skaven Deathstar (term used lightly) – fully ranked Stormvermin with Warbanner and BSB with banner of +2 for outnumber (total of static 8). With a cowering Warlord reluctantly radiating ld7 (boosted via ranks to ld10) I wasn’t expecting much from Terror and Fear checks in this game and I think all up Pete failed just one Panic check in the whole game! Psychology schmychology!
Realising I would be finished deploying long before Pete had put anything worthwhile down I went for a central deployment, placing the blocks behind a hill and some light stuff and hitty monsters more towards the right. Pete practically castled his entire army in his left hand corner (barring a unit of Clanrats on the other flank who spent the game sneaking forward through a forest to contest a quarter), behind and around a couple of hills, one of which rather handily included a patch of forest for his Warp Lightning Cannon to hide in. I wasn’t exactly within striking distance of anything but was reasonably happy with how things looked. Tunneller markers went in front of the Reapers and to the right of a forest in my zone next to some Harpies and Dark Riders. On reflection I should have put the Hydra on the left flank and wandered through the forest but at least where it was he had to make a choice about what to shoot - the Hydra or the Cow.
I came forward like a bat (Harpy?) out of hell and motored straight up the guts with practically everything. Harpies flew to get in the way of Jezzail fire to save some Dark Riders while everything else pushed up the middle towards a hill behind which was lurking the aforementioned Jezzails, a BIG block of Plaguemonks and accompanying Censer Bearers, and of course some chaff (Slaves). A pittance of shooting culled a few Clanrats from the abundantly fleshed out hill-fortress on Pete’s left which he happily removed, safe in the knowledge there was plenty more where they came from. My Crossbow shooting was neutralized by several small hills on the left and a massive forest on the far left. In fact my shooting had (unsurprisingly) very little effect on the game but the Reapers and Crossbowmen did all survive so at least I wasn’t bleeding points (in that area at least!).
Pete hung back behind the hill and started to position Slave units for maximum annoyance value. Warp Lightning magic drew dice and probably a scroll while the Warp Lightning Cannon did what it said on the box – a tremendous str10 blast carving 4 wounds off the Hydra (feck! Ouch!).
Suddenly not rating my chances of the Hydra surviving beyond a few more seconds I chucked it forward and crossed my fingers. The Cow maneuvered to get a sneaky charge angle on some Clanrats and everything else hoofed it forward fast. A unit of Harpies and some Dark Riders whacked into the front of some Slaves who held and to my great dismay actually saw the Dark Elf forces off in the following turn ☹ I made quite an error at this point with the facing of a unit of Crossbowmen who were charged by some Slaves. With the Elf General and BSB nearby I had no problem at all holding and was able to counter-charge the Slaves with the other Crossbow unit and get rid of them but this cost the Black Guard a vital turn of movement.
In Pete’s turn the Slaves hit the Crossbows, stalling my advance which would cost me later. A mighty str2 shot from the Warp Lightning Cannon was enough to take down the Hydra (groan) leaving one Handler alive to play the diverting game. A unit of Tunnelling Gutter Runners came up and decided to play with the Shades, killing two before being butchered in return, the surviving rat forcing the Shades to pursue back towards my deployment zone. The other unit decided discretion was the better part of valour (or cowardice) and widely kept their heads below ground (Pete rolled a misfire – the rats didn’t come on and I didn’t get any VPs for them either. Kind of win-win). I managed to contain the Warp Lightning one last time at the cost of my second scroll.
Having suffered the attentions of the Reaper Bolt Throwers a reduced strength Clanrat unit took a giant Cow in the front. The Elf General laid about himself with wanton abandon but with the Skaven General and BSB literally an inch away the Clanrats didn’t budge. Bugger. With a unit of Censer Bearers looking to be in range (nevermind the Jezzails who were all too willing to shoot into the combat!) my General looked to be in a spot of trouble. A unit of Crossbows hit the Slaves that were tying up the other unit in the flank and broke them easily but in a quirk of fate the Slaves, fleeing from the highest unit strength, unit actually ran sideways along the length of the board, escaping the frustrated Dark Elves.
In went the Censer Bearers, only one having the range to actually make contact. The awkward conga line of lunatic flail-wavers hemmed in the Stormvermin who, as a further contingency to Skaven ineptitude, reformed to face the Cow should the Censer Bearers stuff things up. Shooting into combat Pete managed to take a wound from the Cow before the Bearer in combat whiffed. Both units took a beating from the Cow and Elf General but while the Bearers broke the accursed Clanrats held again. I had one more turn to make the magic happen and save my boss from a static 9 flank charge.
Sighting Slaves (both fleeing and non-fleeing) all over the place I declared a flurry of charges – Black Guard into one unit feeing from the previous combat who scarpered through their mates and of the board, Spearmen and Harpies into another who also scarpered off the board. By great good fortune this allowed the Harpies to hit the fleeing Censer Bearers who buggered off too before they could rally and cause me more grief. The sorely tested Dark Elf General finally broke the Clanrats (who needed 5s with a reroll – not a sure thing by any means) and pursued them off the board). Yay! This panicked the Warp Lightning Cannon which spent several turns fleeing in different directions before rallying itself in Pete’s last turn. The only serious concern I had now was that when he returned to the board my General had to choose between facing the twins and their warp lightning spells, or the Jezzails and their shooty death. Dang.
With the Harpies bearing down on them the decision of what to shoot was an easy one for the Jezzails and the flying harridans were annihilated in short order. Pete finally began pushing forward on the left with confidence in numbers canceling out his fear of my shooting the left flank. The rats milled around waiting for the Cow to make it’s grand entrance and face shooty/magic death.
I started my turning by sportingly asking Pete if I could just leave the Cow off the table. He declined ☺ and I decided to move it behind a hill so it was “only” facing a couple of Warp Lightning spells. The Black Guard crested the hill in Pete’s deployment zone ready to mess something up good in the next turn (we were at turn 5 by this point). I made my second really big mistake here and again it was to do with the facing of a unit. The Plaguemonks, being Frenzied, would be forced to charge the Black Guard on their hill. Likely to lose they would flee and I would have to pursue but unfortunately, while I was likely chase them off the board the pursuit wasn’t going to take me into the Stormvermin who I DESPERATELY wanted to get my hands on.
Pete’s turn and he was somewhat surprised (and disappointed) to realise the Plaguemonks had to go in. Taking 9 casualties on the charge they lost combat by something hideous (I think 14 - 3 ranks, standard, BSB, hill, outumber, kills vs 3 ranks and a standard or something like that) and broke. The Black Guard pursued and forced the Jezzails to flee the table too but the writing was on the wall at this point. The Stormvermin were not tempted in the slightest to try it on with the Black Guard and they finished the game a few inches away facing each other and hurling childish insults. On the flank my worst fears were realized and the Cow was gunned down by 12 (that’s a double 6 for hits people!) hits from Warp Lightning. The boss held the banner he’d captured and survived the game by skirting around the edges of a Clanrat unit.
In the end the battle kind of petered out and much jeering was made by onlookers of Pete’s decision not to fire the Warp Lightning Cannon in the last turn (sorry, it must have rallied in turn 5 – hazy memory) and by me because he wouldn’t charge the Black Guard with the Stormvermin (Pete’s not an idiot ☺). He’d dealt out a fair bit of damage and when the dust settled and the calculations were complete I’d snatchd up a 12-8 win (Pete's only loss of the weekend). Given the differences in our armies I’d say Pete did bloody well out of that little encounter! I enjoyed the game immensely – the army, the player, the mad dice – great Warhammer and an outstanding first game for the tournament!
I had the funny feeling I might have come off better in this encounter if I'd had my Empire lads with me. Sure did miss that Mortar!
Realising I would be finished deploying long before Pete had put anything worthwhile down I went for a central deployment, placing the blocks behind a hill and some light stuff and hitty monsters more towards the right. Pete practically castled his entire army in his left hand corner (barring a unit of Clanrats on the other flank who spent the game sneaking forward through a forest to contest a quarter), behind and around a couple of hills, one of which rather handily included a patch of forest for his Warp Lightning Cannon to hide in. I wasn’t exactly within striking distance of anything but was reasonably happy with how things looked. Tunneller markers went in front of the Reapers and to the right of a forest in my zone next to some Harpies and Dark Riders. On reflection I should have put the Hydra on the left flank and wandered through the forest but at least where it was he had to make a choice about what to shoot - the Hydra or the Cow.
I came forward like a bat (Harpy?) out of hell and motored straight up the guts with practically everything. Harpies flew to get in the way of Jezzail fire to save some Dark Riders while everything else pushed up the middle towards a hill behind which was lurking the aforementioned Jezzails, a BIG block of Plaguemonks and accompanying Censer Bearers, and of course some chaff (Slaves). A pittance of shooting culled a few Clanrats from the abundantly fleshed out hill-fortress on Pete’s left which he happily removed, safe in the knowledge there was plenty more where they came from. My Crossbow shooting was neutralized by several small hills on the left and a massive forest on the far left. In fact my shooting had (unsurprisingly) very little effect on the game but the Reapers and Crossbowmen did all survive so at least I wasn’t bleeding points (in that area at least!).
Pete hung back behind the hill and started to position Slave units for maximum annoyance value. Warp Lightning magic drew dice and probably a scroll while the Warp Lightning Cannon did what it said on the box – a tremendous str10 blast carving 4 wounds off the Hydra (feck! Ouch!).
Suddenly not rating my chances of the Hydra surviving beyond a few more seconds I chucked it forward and crossed my fingers. The Cow maneuvered to get a sneaky charge angle on some Clanrats and everything else hoofed it forward fast. A unit of Harpies and some Dark Riders whacked into the front of some Slaves who held and to my great dismay actually saw the Dark Elf forces off in the following turn ☹ I made quite an error at this point with the facing of a unit of Crossbowmen who were charged by some Slaves. With the Elf General and BSB nearby I had no problem at all holding and was able to counter-charge the Slaves with the other Crossbow unit and get rid of them but this cost the Black Guard a vital turn of movement.
In Pete’s turn the Slaves hit the Crossbows, stalling my advance which would cost me later. A mighty str2 shot from the Warp Lightning Cannon was enough to take down the Hydra (groan) leaving one Handler alive to play the diverting game. A unit of Tunnelling Gutter Runners came up and decided to play with the Shades, killing two before being butchered in return, the surviving rat forcing the Shades to pursue back towards my deployment zone. The other unit decided discretion was the better part of valour (or cowardice) and widely kept their heads below ground (Pete rolled a misfire – the rats didn’t come on and I didn’t get any VPs for them either. Kind of win-win). I managed to contain the Warp Lightning one last time at the cost of my second scroll.
Having suffered the attentions of the Reaper Bolt Throwers a reduced strength Clanrat unit took a giant Cow in the front. The Elf General laid about himself with wanton abandon but with the Skaven General and BSB literally an inch away the Clanrats didn’t budge. Bugger. With a unit of Censer Bearers looking to be in range (nevermind the Jezzails who were all too willing to shoot into the combat!) my General looked to be in a spot of trouble. A unit of Crossbows hit the Slaves that were tying up the other unit in the flank and broke them easily but in a quirk of fate the Slaves, fleeing from the highest unit strength, unit actually ran sideways along the length of the board, escaping the frustrated Dark Elves.
In went the Censer Bearers, only one having the range to actually make contact. The awkward conga line of lunatic flail-wavers hemmed in the Stormvermin who, as a further contingency to Skaven ineptitude, reformed to face the Cow should the Censer Bearers stuff things up. Shooting into combat Pete managed to take a wound from the Cow before the Bearer in combat whiffed. Both units took a beating from the Cow and Elf General but while the Bearers broke the accursed Clanrats held again. I had one more turn to make the magic happen and save my boss from a static 9 flank charge.
Sighting Slaves (both fleeing and non-fleeing) all over the place I declared a flurry of charges – Black Guard into one unit feeing from the previous combat who scarpered through their mates and of the board, Spearmen and Harpies into another who also scarpered off the board. By great good fortune this allowed the Harpies to hit the fleeing Censer Bearers who buggered off too before they could rally and cause me more grief. The sorely tested Dark Elf General finally broke the Clanrats (who needed 5s with a reroll – not a sure thing by any means) and pursued them off the board). Yay! This panicked the Warp Lightning Cannon which spent several turns fleeing in different directions before rallying itself in Pete’s last turn. The only serious concern I had now was that when he returned to the board my General had to choose between facing the twins and their warp lightning spells, or the Jezzails and their shooty death. Dang.
With the Harpies bearing down on them the decision of what to shoot was an easy one for the Jezzails and the flying harridans were annihilated in short order. Pete finally began pushing forward on the left with confidence in numbers canceling out his fear of my shooting the left flank. The rats milled around waiting for the Cow to make it’s grand entrance and face shooty/magic death.
I started my turning by sportingly asking Pete if I could just leave the Cow off the table. He declined ☺ and I decided to move it behind a hill so it was “only” facing a couple of Warp Lightning spells. The Black Guard crested the hill in Pete’s deployment zone ready to mess something up good in the next turn (we were at turn 5 by this point). I made my second really big mistake here and again it was to do with the facing of a unit. The Plaguemonks, being Frenzied, would be forced to charge the Black Guard on their hill. Likely to lose they would flee and I would have to pursue but unfortunately, while I was likely chase them off the board the pursuit wasn’t going to take me into the Stormvermin who I DESPERATELY wanted to get my hands on.
Pete’s turn and he was somewhat surprised (and disappointed) to realise the Plaguemonks had to go in. Taking 9 casualties on the charge they lost combat by something hideous (I think 14 - 3 ranks, standard, BSB, hill, outumber, kills vs 3 ranks and a standard or something like that) and broke. The Black Guard pursued and forced the Jezzails to flee the table too but the writing was on the wall at this point. The Stormvermin were not tempted in the slightest to try it on with the Black Guard and they finished the game a few inches away facing each other and hurling childish insults. On the flank my worst fears were realized and the Cow was gunned down by 12 (that’s a double 6 for hits people!) hits from Warp Lightning. The boss held the banner he’d captured and survived the game by skirting around the edges of a Clanrat unit.
In the end the battle kind of petered out and much jeering was made by onlookers of Pete’s decision not to fire the Warp Lightning Cannon in the last turn (sorry, it must have rallied in turn 5 – hazy memory) and by me because he wouldn’t charge the Black Guard with the Stormvermin (Pete’s not an idiot ☺). He’d dealt out a fair bit of damage and when the dust settled and the calculations were complete I’d snatchd up a 12-8 win (Pete's only loss of the weekend). Given the differences in our armies I’d say Pete did bloody well out of that little encounter! I enjoyed the game immensely – the army, the player, the mad dice – great Warhammer and an outstanding first game for the tournament!
I had the funny feeling I might have come off better in this encounter if I'd had my Empire lads with me. Sure did miss that Mortar!
The Runefang Files - Introduction
Long-term readers of this less than esteemed and august blog will recall the disastrous non-trip to Wellington last year that “Pommy” Dave Grant and myself unwillingly endured. After we were done with catastrophic mechanical malfunctions (both auto and aero), postponed by inevitably misbooked flights, and I suffered a last minute lost (but not actually lost) wallet that pushed me to the brink of the limits of human endurance and sanity I was left with a credit with my favourite airline (not) for a flight that I had to book within a year of the biggest cockup in recent airline history.
I spent some time casting around for a decent event to attend while simultaneously fending off my wife who was quite keen to get her hands on a plane ticket for whatever heinous shopping exploration she had planned. Fortunately for me the Wellington lads felt it necessary to run a tournament at zero hour and I was able to book in at a reasonable cost a tenuously reliable flight to Wellywood to take part in Runefang II (there’s not a few sequels scheduled to come out this year including Tin Soldier 2, Horned Rat 2 and Skitterleap 2 – lets hope the traditional shoddy byproduct of an excellent original is not a trend set in concrete as established by Hollywood moguls interested only in making a quick buck with a poorly thought-out, ill-conceived epilogue to the real story that is any first movie… sorry… disgressus maximus…). Having also found a willing and gullible travel buddy in one Nick Irvine (aka Always Wood Elves Nick aka Captain Soft Scores) the weekend was shaping up to be quite the adventure.
4:30 bloody AM saw me up and at ‘em, pick up Nick on the way through to the airport. With Welly airport closed the previous day due to typically inviting weather and my previous experiences with Pacific Blue weighing heavily on my mind I was most surprised to actually make it to Wellington not only in one piece but only 15 minutes late. Nice! Half a paycheck worth of taxi ride through the mental rabbit warren that is the Wellington CBD and hill suburb of Khandallah later and we arrived at the obscurely placed Khandallah Scout Hall, filled to overflowing with keen gamers and as diverse a range of armies as you could hope to encounter. Feeling I was obviously at an advantage for already being awake for 4 hours (unlike the luckless locals who probably woke up 15 minutes before they needed to be at the venue – poor bastards) I set about conquering the Wellington upstarts, ready and willing to demolish anything that crossed my path with by far and away the dirtiest list I have ever (maybe will ever) take to a Warhammer Fantasy tournament.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, the army:
As mentioned previously (and as evidenced by previous posts - take some time to have a read and wander through the archives if you’re new to all this) I’m quite the army whore. Don’t tell my wife (please PLEASE don’t tell her!) but I’m finding it extraordinarily difficult to stick to using one army (I recently tried a couple of games using Daemons – oh… my…goodness!). The upshot of having great friends who don’t mind (much) that you’re pilfering their prized plastic is that you get to experience the spice of life by playin a range of armies. Pete made the comment that (one) reason he quite liked Fantasy (compared to say… 40k) is that the armies really are VERY diverse and quite unique. It’s not just the fact that you don’t face Space Marines every other round – rather, between (and even within) army books you can encounter and experience startling differences resulting in innumerable subtle strategic and tactical distinctions. For this reason (and because Ray opened a cupboard at exactly the wrong moment, allowing me to see a choppy little chap sitting on a Manticore) I felt obliged to give Dark Elves a shot.
Having used Lizards, Dwarfs, Empire and Brettonians previously in both friendly and competitive games I found myself utterly compelled to have a hit out with something Elven in nature. Dark Elves naturally are one of the more recent flavours of the month and my good mate Ray happened to have a painted army on hand and was generous enough to allow me to use it. Sold.
I spent a week putting some list options together and playing a few games. Whether by universal design or newness to the list I found myself always drawn back to a couple of things:
- Hydras are absolutely f**king brokenly awesome. For 175pts you’re either mad or stubbornly fluff-driven not to take one. They should be coming in at 210pts plus (much better than a Giant in my opinion).
- Reaper Bolt Throwers are stupidly good. 4s to hit at long range? Str4 Armour Piercing? Ho-ly crap.
- Are Black Guard really that good? Yes, I’m afraid so (if they don’t get shot to pieces before they hit in combat). I had to take them. In fact I had to give them the ASF banner too. Oh, and a Crimson Death for the Champion. Oh and better put the BSB in this unit with a Great Weapon. Madness (I’d fallen right off the wagon by this point).
- Harpies are just about the best thing ever. 55pts for 5 flying, baiting and fleeing, two attack, march-blocking pains in the ass? Big yes. Two units please. Chuck in a couple of units of Dark Riders too while you’re at it.
- Failing 3 Stupidity checks in one game gave me reason enough to drop all the Cold One elements from the list.
- I’ve really taken a big flying Terror causer before. Ok yes I mucked around with a Hippogryph for a while when I was using Bretts but Hippos are shite. To be honest the Manticore wasn’t too much better but the Dreadlord on top with Pendant (broken) and Sword of Battle + Potion of Strength (to bust out 5 str attacks with Hatred when I feel the need) was/is the business and kinda sealed the deal. I ALMOST went with a Black Dragon. Almost. Damn but I was close to taking a Dragon. Scary how easy it is to compromise your morals with Dark Elves. Maybe I was just playing in character?
So what did I end up with? An army that pretty much ticked every red light box you possibly can if you’re taking Dark Elves! I felt a bit guilty using such a nasty list but given the 30% comp weighting at Runefang II also felt I’d have my work cut out for me needing to overcome the train wreck that would doubtless be my comp score with smooth moves, mad skills and a consistent performance on the battlefield. I’ve never been put in this position before as my comp score inevitably compensates for my shoddy generalship. Usually.
Here’s what I took:
Dreadlord – Pendant, Sword of Battle, Potion of Strength, Sea Dragon Cloak, mundane armour (enough to get a 2+ save vs shooting), Cow (Manticore)
BSB – 1+ save armour, Ring of Hotek (wait till you read about the game I had vs a Slann and Priest on Engine… at once awesome and hideously disappointing)
Sorceress with 2 Scrolls (caddy. Might have cast one spell over the 5 games)
2 x 5 Dark Riders – Spears, Uzis, Muso
2 x 5 Harpies
20 Spears with full command and Warbanner
2 x 10 Crossbowmen
15 Black Guard – Hag Graef (ASF), Crimson Death on Champion, no musician
6 Shades
2 Reaper Bolt Throwers
Hydra
Geez that was it. Damn it looks small now but there’s a hard core of badness in there ☺
On reflection I would have changed some stuff (I won’t be taking them to a tournament again so this is just wishful thinking and wistful musing):
- drop the Ring and try some more magic; it’s a fun Lore and I didn’t get to flex Power of Darkness at all
- put the boss on a Dark Steed – the Cow was dead weight and though it sounds naff I just found it to be too soft (looks good though!)
- take an Assassin. They look like wicked fun!
Other than that the list was great, I mean come on – I took all the best stuff right?
Next up... Round One GRUDGE vs Pete Dunn!
I spent some time casting around for a decent event to attend while simultaneously fending off my wife who was quite keen to get her hands on a plane ticket for whatever heinous shopping exploration she had planned. Fortunately for me the Wellington lads felt it necessary to run a tournament at zero hour and I was able to book in at a reasonable cost a tenuously reliable flight to Wellywood to take part in Runefang II (there’s not a few sequels scheduled to come out this year including Tin Soldier 2, Horned Rat 2 and Skitterleap 2 – lets hope the traditional shoddy byproduct of an excellent original is not a trend set in concrete as established by Hollywood moguls interested only in making a quick buck with a poorly thought-out, ill-conceived epilogue to the real story that is any first movie… sorry… disgressus maximus…). Having also found a willing and gullible travel buddy in one Nick Irvine (aka Always Wood Elves Nick aka Captain Soft Scores) the weekend was shaping up to be quite the adventure.
4:30 bloody AM saw me up and at ‘em, pick up Nick on the way through to the airport. With Welly airport closed the previous day due to typically inviting weather and my previous experiences with Pacific Blue weighing heavily on my mind I was most surprised to actually make it to Wellington not only in one piece but only 15 minutes late. Nice! Half a paycheck worth of taxi ride through the mental rabbit warren that is the Wellington CBD and hill suburb of Khandallah later and we arrived at the obscurely placed Khandallah Scout Hall, filled to overflowing with keen gamers and as diverse a range of armies as you could hope to encounter. Feeling I was obviously at an advantage for already being awake for 4 hours (unlike the luckless locals who probably woke up 15 minutes before they needed to be at the venue – poor bastards) I set about conquering the Wellington upstarts, ready and willing to demolish anything that crossed my path with by far and away the dirtiest list I have ever (maybe will ever) take to a Warhammer Fantasy tournament.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First, the army:
As mentioned previously (and as evidenced by previous posts - take some time to have a read and wander through the archives if you’re new to all this) I’m quite the army whore. Don’t tell my wife (please PLEASE don’t tell her!) but I’m finding it extraordinarily difficult to stick to using one army (I recently tried a couple of games using Daemons – oh… my…goodness!). The upshot of having great friends who don’t mind (much) that you’re pilfering their prized plastic is that you get to experience the spice of life by playin a range of armies. Pete made the comment that (one) reason he quite liked Fantasy (compared to say… 40k) is that the armies really are VERY diverse and quite unique. It’s not just the fact that you don’t face Space Marines every other round – rather, between (and even within) army books you can encounter and experience startling differences resulting in innumerable subtle strategic and tactical distinctions. For this reason (and because Ray opened a cupboard at exactly the wrong moment, allowing me to see a choppy little chap sitting on a Manticore) I felt obliged to give Dark Elves a shot.
Having used Lizards, Dwarfs, Empire and Brettonians previously in both friendly and competitive games I found myself utterly compelled to have a hit out with something Elven in nature. Dark Elves naturally are one of the more recent flavours of the month and my good mate Ray happened to have a painted army on hand and was generous enough to allow me to use it. Sold.
I spent a week putting some list options together and playing a few games. Whether by universal design or newness to the list I found myself always drawn back to a couple of things:
- Hydras are absolutely f**king brokenly awesome. For 175pts you’re either mad or stubbornly fluff-driven not to take one. They should be coming in at 210pts plus (much better than a Giant in my opinion).
- Reaper Bolt Throwers are stupidly good. 4s to hit at long range? Str4 Armour Piercing? Ho-ly crap.
- Are Black Guard really that good? Yes, I’m afraid so (if they don’t get shot to pieces before they hit in combat). I had to take them. In fact I had to give them the ASF banner too. Oh, and a Crimson Death for the Champion. Oh and better put the BSB in this unit with a Great Weapon. Madness (I’d fallen right off the wagon by this point).
- Harpies are just about the best thing ever. 55pts for 5 flying, baiting and fleeing, two attack, march-blocking pains in the ass? Big yes. Two units please. Chuck in a couple of units of Dark Riders too while you’re at it.
- Failing 3 Stupidity checks in one game gave me reason enough to drop all the Cold One elements from the list.
- I’ve really taken a big flying Terror causer before. Ok yes I mucked around with a Hippogryph for a while when I was using Bretts but Hippos are shite. To be honest the Manticore wasn’t too much better but the Dreadlord on top with Pendant (broken) and Sword of Battle + Potion of Strength (to bust out 5 str attacks with Hatred when I feel the need) was/is the business and kinda sealed the deal. I ALMOST went with a Black Dragon. Almost. Damn but I was close to taking a Dragon. Scary how easy it is to compromise your morals with Dark Elves. Maybe I was just playing in character?
So what did I end up with? An army that pretty much ticked every red light box you possibly can if you’re taking Dark Elves! I felt a bit guilty using such a nasty list but given the 30% comp weighting at Runefang II also felt I’d have my work cut out for me needing to overcome the train wreck that would doubtless be my comp score with smooth moves, mad skills and a consistent performance on the battlefield. I’ve never been put in this position before as my comp score inevitably compensates for my shoddy generalship. Usually.
Here’s what I took:
Dreadlord – Pendant, Sword of Battle, Potion of Strength, Sea Dragon Cloak, mundane armour (enough to get a 2+ save vs shooting), Cow (Manticore)
BSB – 1+ save armour, Ring of Hotek (wait till you read about the game I had vs a Slann and Priest on Engine… at once awesome and hideously disappointing)
Sorceress with 2 Scrolls (caddy. Might have cast one spell over the 5 games)
2 x 5 Dark Riders – Spears, Uzis, Muso
2 x 5 Harpies
20 Spears with full command and Warbanner
2 x 10 Crossbowmen
15 Black Guard – Hag Graef (ASF), Crimson Death on Champion, no musician
6 Shades
2 Reaper Bolt Throwers
Hydra
Geez that was it. Damn it looks small now but there’s a hard core of badness in there ☺
On reflection I would have changed some stuff (I won’t be taking them to a tournament again so this is just wishful thinking and wistful musing):
- drop the Ring and try some more magic; it’s a fun Lore and I didn’t get to flex Power of Darkness at all
- put the boss on a Dark Steed – the Cow was dead weight and though it sounds naff I just found it to be too soft (looks good though!)
- take an Assassin. They look like wicked fun!
Other than that the list was great, I mean come on – I took all the best stuff right?
Next up... Round One GRUDGE vs Pete Dunn!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Where to from here?
Time for something different I reckon. The Empire are still a strong option for me and I'm still having great fun with the list but for Runefang II it's going to have to be something really different.
Maybe... Dark Elves?
Of course it has to be Dark Elves! Reckoning that the bandwagon is still running hot and fast I've jumped on-board, borrowed Ray's sneering pointy-ears, bashed together a dirty list and sought as many play-testing games as I can before Runefang happens and my plans for world/Wellington domination blow up in my face like a shoddy and unreliable Great Cannon.
The list is certainly very different to what I would normally be using with the Empire (or indeed any army with which I've had previous experience). The Hydra is incredible (and great fun to use!), Reaper Bolt Throwers are almost unbelievable, Shades can be good value (not that I've discovered so far but I'm hoping I can figure out how to use them), and the characters have really supplied me with something quite beyond what I'm used to fielding. Harpies are a hoot - highly highly annoying Flyers that, combined with Dark Riders, give the army some much needed "chaff" (although it's hard to think of the excellent Dark Riders in such derogatory and expendable terms) that is not only incredible fast but also remarkably punchy.
I've managed a few test games - against my own Empire list (Cannons are good aren't they?!), Daemons (Banner of Hellfire - OW!), High Elves (3 units of Dragon Princes and a Star Dragon being an entertaining feature of that particular list), Chaos Mortals (losing just one Bolt Thrower while simultaneously annihilating the enemy army bar one cowering Knight in a forest), and a very solid win over another Dark Elf army that left just 3 Witch Elves and a 1/2-wounds Hag BSB alive at the end for my opponent.
Once I'd gotten my act together and had a rethink about the army and list I was intending to use I then sought out a game against Philfy's High Elf test list for Tin Soldier 2. Alas Philfy, fearing the wrath of Ji-Dave and another 20-0 thrash-annihilation, failed to show for our game (wuss!!!) but by great good fortune I was able to get a game against Capt Soft Score instead. Nick decimated my Empire in our last encounter so I was highly motivated to get some stabby Hatey revenge. The game went VERY well except for two things:
- poor placement of the Manticore led to it almost being magically charged by Wardancers (I was lucky Nick rolled low for the charge distance) but then the Manticore was shot out from underneath the boss by 7 Glade Guard (hitting on 2s, all randomised onto the Cow, wounding on 5s = dead Cow). With the boss now on foot and in charge range of the Wardancers I had to get stuck in. Their annoying 4+ ward saved them and he eventually lost by 1 in some later round of combat and I fluffed the break test. Worse I fled a subsequent charge and was but down by some handy Glade Riders.
- The Black Guard were happily eating into the flank of a big unit of Eternal Guard until a bad round of wounding rolls saw me lose combat by 1, fail the Stubborn and of course fail the reroll. Worse Nick caught them in the pursuit and cut them down. This panicked the Hydra (who was about 2" short of an overrun into the front of the Enternal Guard from a previous combat) which fortunately managed to rally in my last turn. Sheesh.
The first incident was bad play; the second dumb luck. It happens of course but otherwise I was very happy with how the game went (won by about 550VPs - would have been by over 1000VPs if the Black Guard hadn't broken) so no hard feelings there. Still struggling to use the Cow very well. Lost the Boss/Cow, a unit of Crossbows, a unit of Dark Riders and all the Harpies. Oh yeah, and the stupid Black Guard and BSB!
MVPs would probably be the Hydra (practically untouchable - didn't take any wounds and dealt out plenty of breath-weapony goodness; also crushed 3 units in combat) or the Harpies who march-blocked, ran down a big unit of fleeing Glade Guard, and stopped the Eternal Guard from fleeing from the Black Guard. Fantastic unit - incredibly versatile, lots of fun to use. It was also nice to face a somewhat more magic-intensive list - Nick was waving around 8PD so with 3DD and 2 scrolls (and due to placement the Ring never came into play) holding him off was never a sure thing (killing off the L4 helped a lot though!!).
The army overall has provided a useful gaming experience - if nothing else I feel I have a better chance against Dark Elves should I face them in the future - knowing what they are capable of is a big advantage (and the dangerous units are not always the most obvious ones). It's also a heck of a different army to what I would normally take - I dare say quite a bit harder than my usual choices but it's nice to mix things up in this regard too.
So... Runfang 2 this weekend and an exciting tournament right from round one as I've been grudged by the number 3 player in NZ - Pete Dunn! I've never played Pete before but based on reputation alone this is going to be a great game! I understand Pete is taking Skaven so it's great to know my experience having played Asian Nick's ratties is going to pay off and I've also sought advice from other players about what to expect and possible counter-measures. It's an interesting matchup for the Dark Elves, potentially a very good one, but Pete will be flooding the board with models and it will be a struggle to get through the chaff to the good stuff and the point sinks... Hang on... Do Skaven actually have any point sink units?...
Reports to follow next week :)
The list is certainly very different to what I would normally be using with the Empire (or indeed any army with which I've had previous experience). The Hydra is incredible (and great fun to use!), Reaper Bolt Throwers are almost unbelievable, Shades can be good value (not that I've discovered so far but I'm hoping I can figure out how to use them), and the characters have really supplied me with something quite beyond what I'm used to fielding. Harpies are a hoot - highly highly annoying Flyers that, combined with Dark Riders, give the army some much needed "chaff" (although it's hard to think of the excellent Dark Riders in such derogatory and expendable terms) that is not only incredible fast but also remarkably punchy.
I've managed a few test games - against my own Empire list (Cannons are good aren't they?!), Daemons (Banner of Hellfire - OW!), High Elves (3 units of Dragon Princes and a Star Dragon being an entertaining feature of that particular list), Chaos Mortals (losing just one Bolt Thrower while simultaneously annihilating the enemy army bar one cowering Knight in a forest), and a very solid win over another Dark Elf army that left just 3 Witch Elves and a 1/2-wounds Hag BSB alive at the end for my opponent.
Once I'd gotten my act together and had a rethink about the army and list I was intending to use I then sought out a game against Philfy's High Elf test list for Tin Soldier 2. Alas Philfy, fearing the wrath of Ji-Dave and another 20-0 thrash-annihilation, failed to show for our game (wuss!!!) but by great good fortune I was able to get a game against Capt Soft Score instead. Nick decimated my Empire in our last encounter so I was highly motivated to get some stabby Hatey revenge. The game went VERY well except for two things:
- poor placement of the Manticore led to it almost being magically charged by Wardancers (I was lucky Nick rolled low for the charge distance) but then the Manticore was shot out from underneath the boss by 7 Glade Guard (hitting on 2s, all randomised onto the Cow, wounding on 5s = dead Cow). With the boss now on foot and in charge range of the Wardancers I had to get stuck in. Their annoying 4+ ward saved them and he eventually lost by 1 in some later round of combat and I fluffed the break test. Worse I fled a subsequent charge and was but down by some handy Glade Riders.
- The Black Guard were happily eating into the flank of a big unit of Eternal Guard until a bad round of wounding rolls saw me lose combat by 1, fail the Stubborn and of course fail the reroll. Worse Nick caught them in the pursuit and cut them down. This panicked the Hydra (who was about 2" short of an overrun into the front of the Enternal Guard from a previous combat) which fortunately managed to rally in my last turn. Sheesh.
The first incident was bad play; the second dumb luck. It happens of course but otherwise I was very happy with how the game went (won by about 550VPs - would have been by over 1000VPs if the Black Guard hadn't broken) so no hard feelings there. Still struggling to use the Cow very well. Lost the Boss/Cow, a unit of Crossbows, a unit of Dark Riders and all the Harpies. Oh yeah, and the stupid Black Guard and BSB!
MVPs would probably be the Hydra (practically untouchable - didn't take any wounds and dealt out plenty of breath-weapony goodness; also crushed 3 units in combat) or the Harpies who march-blocked, ran down a big unit of fleeing Glade Guard, and stopped the Eternal Guard from fleeing from the Black Guard. Fantastic unit - incredibly versatile, lots of fun to use. It was also nice to face a somewhat more magic-intensive list - Nick was waving around 8PD so with 3DD and 2 scrolls (and due to placement the Ring never came into play) holding him off was never a sure thing (killing off the L4 helped a lot though!!).
The army overall has provided a useful gaming experience - if nothing else I feel I have a better chance against Dark Elves should I face them in the future - knowing what they are capable of is a big advantage (and the dangerous units are not always the most obvious ones). It's also a heck of a different army to what I would normally take - I dare say quite a bit harder than my usual choices but it's nice to mix things up in this regard too.
So... Runfang 2 this weekend and an exciting tournament right from round one as I've been grudged by the number 3 player in NZ - Pete Dunn! I've never played Pete before but based on reputation alone this is going to be a great game! I understand Pete is taking Skaven so it's great to know my experience having played Asian Nick's ratties is going to pay off and I've also sought advice from other players about what to expect and possible counter-measures. It's an interesting matchup for the Dark Elves, potentially a very good one, but Pete will be flooding the board with models and it will be a struggle to get through the chaff to the good stuff and the point sinks... Hang on... Do Skaven actually have any point sink units?...
Reports to follow next week :)
NatCon Summary
Overall I would have to say I enjoyed NatCon more than any previous tournament I’ve attended. There’s a couple of good reasons for this – not least of all the fact that this was also my best performance in a tournament so far!
I played 8 excellent opponents, only one of which is a regular opponent (Mark). Despite the fact I played all three Brettonian armies (thanks again for that Philfy…) and two Dwarf armies I found every game enjoyable and challenging in its own unique way. The two Dwarf armies had some similarities in terms of army composition but the generals behind the army were VERY different players. Ken and Darren were both an absolute blast to play and I really hope to face them again at future events. The Brettonians, an army I have previously had enormous trouble dealing with, were all managed quite brilliantly (how’s that for modesty?).
Against Mark I suffered from a bout of karmic realignment with that blasted Paladin – if it weren’t for that I would have had him sown up nicely (sigh... more battle points go wanting).
Against Harry I was toast and the question was only by how much – beyond a shadow of a doubt Tomb Kings are my nemesis army, good general or not (Harry is, unsurprisingly, an EXCELLENT general!). Retrospectively I should have played cagey, denied points, sacrificed crap all over the place and eked out a minor loss if at all possible.
Against Joe I shouldn’t have obsessed so much over the bloody dragon and taken shots at his bolt throwers instead which more than earned their points back by eliminating my diverting options in the middle game (turns 3 and 4). I was unlucky to not killing the Dragon (one wound left… come on!!!) but it’s hard to blame the dice when you aren’t really thinking strategically (although I did roll up that ‘1’ for number of wounds on the first shot…). In fact I’m really disappointed about that last game – I should have known the placings would come down to a couple of points between 7th and 4th – the Flagellents died cheap and nasty and that was very poor play on my part. I’m also disappointed that I didn’t play Reid – obviously one of us needs to work a little harder to create that kind of matchup! I had a good run early on and got my wish – to play good players and to face off against challenging armies.
I very much liked that Phil gave everyone a copy of all the army lists in play. Made for some entertaining theoryhammer at the end of the day as we contemplated our matchups for the next round and also circumvented a lot of questions during the games. Damn good idea and something I’ll be stealing later in the year. The tournament overall was well-organised and ran smoothly (one misdrawn round aside – and that was quickly fixed before any damage was done). Congrats and cheers to Phil for his hard work and to the comp judges. No thanks for to Phil for drawing me against three Brettonians and two Dwarfs but that’s as much my fault as anyone elses :)
Having mentioned the comp judges I found the army composition scoring to be (as always) a focal point for further discussion. Having all the army lists available means you can actually try and make some sense of the comp scores people received. On the whole I’d have to say I like what I see but there were a few things that stood out that, while I wouldn’t directly question (far be it for me to question the judgement of a panel of vastly more experienced players!) and would like to gain a better understanding of for future events.
First, that Vampire Counts army. Harry made the comment in a discussion midway through the event that the Dixon clan had pretty much got together and created the hardest army they felt they could get away with. Ok, fine. Thing is though – they actually did get away with it! It received 25/60 for composition. It was not vetoed. This really drew significant attention from me because I am currently working on a VC army for the 2010 tournament season (starting with DogCon – fingers crossed!) so any comp dialogue or VC army lists gain my immediate notice. I couldn’t help but compare this to my Empire list (41/60 comp score). A 16 point differential could easily have been made up by a good player – I’m confident I could have done better with that VC list than I did with my Empire. Was it hit hard enough? Was it hard enough to warrant a veto? Rumour had it that only one list was vetoed and resubmitted (a magic heavy Daemon list) but I wonder how this list dodged the veto bullet or how close it came to missing.
The Star Dragon High Elf list – 34/60. Joe wasn’t pulling too many punches here.
Flying uber-boss, ItP (Standard of Balance – also cancels Hatred/Frenzy; useful against Dark Elves!) Dragon Prince bus, 2 bolties, mini-Swordmasters. Reminded me a lot of Philfy’s Fields list actually J The only thing he was light on was magic offense and defense and given the highly aggressive focus of the list this wasn’t likely to make much of a difference in most of his games if he had blasted through his opponent’s two major units by the end of the second turn. The list undoubtedly took a hit but with a differential between our lists of 7 points I guess I feel less bad (he was only 5 battle points ahead of me in the end). I suppose the lack of a magic phase from High Elves is a concession but this appeared to me to be somewhat counteracted by the ItP Dragon Prince unit from hell.
*****
Before I’d put some more serious and considered thought into how my own army went I was initially strongly considering taking a Steam Tank to my next tournament (Runefang II – one month away), however the more I thought about it the more I have become convinced that I don’t need to have a Stank to make the army work better and there were multiple opportunities and moments where I made poor in-game decisions or failed to take advantage of opportunities that my opponent presented that would have netted me a substantial points gain. The Rune of Challenge incident against the Dwarfs for instance – I should have fled the Rune-encouraged charge against the Ironbreakers (a guaranteed loss) and fled. Average dice may or may not have put me off the table (was probably about 12-13” away) but more importantly would have not only prevented the Dwarfs from gaining my Knight’s banner but also allowed the Flagellents to get a charge off on the Ironbreakers. While the Flagellents would never have broken the unit (or indeed caused much in the way of casualties) it would have meant gaining the initiative over the Dwarfs and possibly allowing the Flagellents to survive the game with a couple of models left. In real terms this is a points gain to me of 100 points at the very least (the captured banner), maybe as much as 205 points (banner + surviving ½-strength Flagellents). Had the Knights and Priest actually not fled the board then the points differential would have been even greater (potentially a 500+ points difference overall!!!). This sort of margin of difference would have changed my overall placing enough to move me to the podium! So, no Steam Tank for now and I just need to play better J My initial plan Empire was to become a much better player by utilising clever strategy and cagey decision-making, not by taking uber-units of doom and destruction (which is what, in Empire terms at least, classify the Steam Tank). I’ve included my original thoughts below for the sake of amusement and to illustrate the change in direction of my thinking on the army’s effectiveness over the last couple of days.
DELETED BUT INCLUDED FOR AMUSEMENT - My own comp score of 41/60 is probably spot on. I can see how I could have gone softer but I’m not a good enough general to not have the Arch-Lector’s magic defense and survivability as an asset and the Flagellents as a block of reliable and guaranteed Unbreakable troops. Of everything else in the list the only hindrance to a more decent comp score is probably the two Cannons but quite frankly, Empire have to have something to deal with the various monstrousities that are out there! My strongest consideration at this point is whether I should lose the Flagellents and the Knights with Great Weapons (no comp bonus for that unit and definitely not worth taking in game terms) and get a Steam Tank. Gives me some more points to play around with too (33pts – 48 if I lose the Sigil of Sigmar on the Priest which never came into play). I know Steam Tanks are hideously vulnerable in the current game but the Flagellents guarantee the opponent such a vast amount of points so easily (anything that charges them, shooting, magic… you name, it kills them) that I really struggle to think of a game where they worked really effectively AND survived the game (I’m not talking ½ points – I mean at all!). With a plastic kit coming out, the Steam Tank is looking more tempting than ever! Taking a -1 comp hit for including it is easily worth not giving up points to my opponent AND the strategic value I get out of the model itself.
Other than that the army worked fairly well. The detachment system is great when it works but the army book has been around for so long that people are either wise to the counter-charge tactics or you are facing something so hideously brutal that the loss of ranks doesn’t hurt at all and you end up giving up combat res getting your detachments killed off. Three or four years ago detachments would have been awesome. They can still be very useful but you have to resign yourself to giving up a lot of points using them to divert and bait so to me it just reinforces the fact that a detachment-based Empire force bleeds points like there’s no tomorrow. However, given the models I’m using are the models I have available and the army wasn’t constructed and theoryhammered from the get go to be a killing machine I fell I did well. Part of that was luck of the draw in terms of matchups, part of it was down to some lucky artillery rolls, and part of it was down to my opponents (particularly the Dwarf and Brettonian players) getting frustrated to heck by all those little guys running around and getting in the way :)
Haven’t heard where NatCon is next year but based on my most recent experience I’d like to think I’d be in there again. Once again, congratulations to the prizewinners and place-getters and to Philfy for doing such a standup job of running the whole show.
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