Amongst those collected together to play that day was one Reid Pittams. Apparently Reid is pretty damn good at Warhammer. I don't know this for sure, not yet played him though I hope to one day at a tournament - him winning Orctoberfest could just be propaganda and brain-washing. I decided to sit this round out and watch the master(s) at work.
Doug and Reid were more than a little concerned that I was taking notes and photos of their game! :p
Doug's list is (roughly) below. In the ultimate battle of Chaos vs Chaos, Reid took the following:
Level 1 Slaanesh Herald
Level 2 Tzeentch Herald (BSB)
Block of Daemonettes, Bloodletters, Plaguebearers (about 20-stong each I think)
3 Fiends
4 Bloodcrushers
5 Furies
6 Flesh Hounds
Nasty stuff but about as soft as Reid could get with the models he has available.
Both armies set up on the cusp of their deployment edges and got down to the serious business of proving who better at being... chaotic.
Reid won the first turn and began a general although somewhat hesitant advance. Magic resulted in not much happening and it was over to Big Man to launch his attack.
Doug sped the chaff (Hounds) up to the middle of the board with a unit of Marauder Cav somewhat suicidally facing off against the Fiends on his extreme right. The Knights faced off against a nearby unit of Bloodletters.
Reid refused to charge and shuffled around a bit in front of the Hounds. The 'Crushers angled towards the deadly Knights and the Furies flew over the Maruaders next to the Fiends. Flickering Fire from the Horrors caused a wound on a Spawn attempting to block in the Daemonettes and Fleshies on Doug's left and a couple of magic missiles from the Tzeentch Herald finished it off!
Doug refused to charge! The Hound screens manouevered to direct the possible Daemon charges in the next turn and the blocks moved up in support. Marauder Cav threw their axes into the Furies and to everyone's surprise killed two!
Reid decided it was time to get in there and get spill some blood. The Daemonettes charged some Hounds who failed their Fear check and fled into the Flesh Hounds. The Bloodletters charged another unit of Hounds who failed their Fear check and fled behind the Knights. The Fiends charged the Marauders who, surprise surprise, failed their Fear check and also fled behind the Knights. reid ummed and ahhed and eventually redirected the Fiends into the Knights (mostly to see what would happen I suspect). The Plaguebearers also charged some Hounds (there were a lot on the board!) who actually held! Incredible! The Tzeentch Herald moved within his unit of Horrors to get line-of-sight for his magic. Drain Life went off killing 4 Hounds from a couple of units, 2 Chaos Warriors and a Chosen. The 'Bearers stomped the Hounds and overran into the Forsaken (Doug claiming this was a calculated gamble... hrm...). The Fiends managed to kill a Knight before taking 4 wounds in return and popping from combat res and the resulting fluffed leadership test. Result!
Doug refused the charge! I nearly screamed with frustration but bit my lip hard. Another Spawn ambled into the Daemonettes and the Warriors moved forward to support in the next couple of turns. The fleeing Marauder Cav rallied but an interesting discussion developed over whether they could move freely after rallying. The first response was yes but as Doug pointed out the ruling specifically mentions only Fast Cavalry who have chosen to flee can move on the turn they rally. As the Maruader Cav had fled as a result of failing a Fear check (and being outnumbered by the chargers) it was determined they could not move. The other unit of Cav tried their luck, chucking axes into the Furies, but didn't manage to kill off any. In combat the Spawn took two wounds from the Daemonettes and one was eaten in return. The Spawn of course held (being Unbreakable). the Plaguebearer/Forsaken combat the Exalted Hero (who had earlier joined the unit) killed the 'Bearer champ in their challenge. One Forsaken died before their 15 return attacks killed two Plaguebearers. Outnumbered by Fear-causing enemies the Forsaken and Exalted auto-broke and were cut down. the Plaguebearers overran into the recently rallied Maruader Cav who wisely chose to flee.
The remaining Furies chased off the already fleeing Marauder Cav. Bloodcrushers went into the little Warrior unit. Charged by Bloodletters the Chaos Chariot failed it's Fear check (how about that then?). The 'Letters redirected into the Knights. The Horrors backed away from the approaching Chosen. Drain Life killed off the Spawn in combat with the Daemonettes, 2 Chosen (ouch!), and 2 Hounds. The Hounds fled as a result, straight into the waiting arms of the Bloodcrushers. Splat! Against the Knights the Bloodletters managed two kills (neither of these being from Killing Blow). The 'Letters lost one in return and the Knights held! The 'Crushers lost their combat agains the Warriors by 1 but took no wounds at resolution.
Doug's Chariot rallied but the Hounds fled the table. There were no charges but the Maruaders managed to finish off the Furies in a spectacular demonstration of axe throwing madness. Against the Bloodcrushers the Warriors lost 5 men (!) auto-broke and were caught. The Bloodletters lost by 1 against the Knights (there were only 2 Knights left!) but passed their Instability check.
With two turns remaining Reid threw the Daemonettes and Flesh Hounds into the front of the large Warrior block. The Horrors shuffled and Tzeentch Herald bailed from the unit before they were charged by the Chosen. The Plaguebearers flanked the Knights in combat with the 'Letters and the Crushers turned to hit the Chosen or Warriors. 6 str6 missiles into the Chosen killed 3. One Knight fell to the Bloodletters and Plaguebearers and the 'Letters lost 1 in return. The surviving Knight broke (at -3 to leadership, not a forgone conclusion) and was cut down by the 'Letters as the Plaguebearers ran into the Chariot. Against the big Warrior block the Daemons caused no wounds (!). 2 Daemonettes died and the Fleshies took a wounds from combat res.
Doug's fifth - the Chosen launched themselves into the Horrors more than ready to bring the pain. The Chariot auto-broke and fled off the table. 19 attacks from the 6 Chosen resulted in 6 wounds, 5 Horrors dying in the combat (one of these was from combat res). The big Warrior block again took no wounds but dished out two to the Daemonettes and another two to the Flesh Hounds.
Unfortunately the game was up for the Warriors as they were hit in the rear by the Crushers. Drain Life killed a Chosen. The Chosen then reaped the Horrors - 9 (!) dying from the melee and resulting "break" test - 5 Horrors remained. The Crushers killed 3 Warriors, the 'Nettes tagging 1, the Slaanesh Herald (who had by now finally made it's way into the combat) killed 2. The Warriors killed a Flesh Hound but subsequently auto-broke and were cut down. Bah.
Bottom of the sixth and it was basically game over. Unsurprisingly the Chosen finished off the Horrors and claimed the quarter they were in and the surviving unit of Maruader Cav contested another.
Surviving Chaos Mortals - less than 1/2 of the Chosen, unit of Marauder Cavalry (one standard and one quarter held)
Surviving Chaos Daemons - Daemonettes, Flesh Hounds, Bloodcrushers, Bloodletters and Plaguebearers (one quarter held, 3 standards and General/Hero-killing bonus)
Ouch.
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