I played Aaron (Aa7) again tonight against a different iteration of his Nurgle Daemon army. In a further attempt to soften it up for FluffyCon tonight he trialled this list:
Daemon Prince - Mark of Nurgle, Trappings of Nurgle (Regen and 4+ armour save), Winged Horror (Fly)
7 Furies
7 Furies
21 Plaguebearers - FC, Standard of Seeping Decay (reroll wounds)
21 Plaguebearers - FC
14 Plaguebearers - musician, standard
4 Nurglings
3 Nurglings
4 Beasts of Nurgle
So. Against this list I managed a 15-5 win. It's tough to get points off and a final charge from the full-strength Spearmen against 5 Plaguebearers from the non-Seeping 21-block failed to kill any so they not only survived (141VPs for the other half of the unit, 100 for their standard, 100 for the table quarter they were still able to contest... grrr!) but stopped me from netting some bonus points. Final VP difference was 937VPs.
The question at the end of the game was: has Aaron gone too far? Are these Daemons too fluffy?
Now, don't laugh too hard. Yes they all cause Fear, are Immune to Psychology and have 5+ ward saves. But what they don't have is:
- regen on the blocks (only on the Prince and the Beasts)
- decent leadership (the Prince is leadership 8! That sucks!!!)
- no BSB (this is huge)
- no magic (2PD and 2DD with no scrolls)
- no movement to speak of (Beasts are movement 6, everything else is movement 4 aside from the Prince)
- no shooting (i.e. no Flamers)
I would go so far as to suggest this is a list staring down the barrel of a +1 to the base score for Daemons. Could it get +3?
Anyway some of the happenings in the game:
- the Flagellents Frenzy charging Nurglings (deja vu?), smasherising them and overrunning into (just - we diced it because it was so close) the 21-block with magic standard. "Just" meaning only one hit on a corner. It took the Plaguebearers with the help of the Beasts and some Furies (who were reduced to 3 from their starting strength) 5 rounds of combat to kill the Flagellents off by which time I'd taken care of almost everything else. The Furies went on to sacrifice themselves redirecting the Reiksguard who (with the Swordsmen/General and GW-Knights) were lining up on the 21-block for a last turn insane combined charge.
- Lore of Light on the Wizard. Can't think why I didn't take this last time as the first spell is not only Flaming but is str6 against Daemons! Smokin'!
- The Prince hit the Reiksguard in the flank with a max range charge (he was 19 inches away), contacting the Priest who was on the side. With 5 str5 WS8 attacks he managed to cause not a single wound, taking one in return and (being down by 4) another 2 wounds from combat resolution. The Priest died in the next round after Aaron stopped Soulfire (spoilsport!) but the Prince still lost by 1. Aaron dialled up '12' for the break check and the sneering, smelly Daemon vanished in an explosion of slime and ichor.
- 3 Nurglings charged the GW-Knights who beat them off over 2 rounds of combat, taking no casualties.
- We had an interesting charging situation at one point. The Wizard fled 10" from a Fury charge and escaped (they were charging into a forest on foot). He fled into the path of a Plaguebearer block and the Beasts who were charging a diverting 5-man Crossbow detachment. The detachment passed it's Fear check from the 'Bearers but auto-fled from the Beasts. The 'Bearers redirected into a nearby Spear detachment who fled so they failed charge. The Beasts redirected into the already fleeing Wizard who fled again in a new direction. The Beasts redirected again into the Swordsmen but were too wide to fit through the gap between two Plaguebearer blocks. We're pretty sure we got it right but there was a fair bit of rulebook reading to figure it out (the issue being the order of charge declarations, making sure you can choose to redirect multiple times etc).
- Having killed off the 14 'Bearer-block the Swordsmen competely forgot to move to engage the flank of the Plaguebearers fighting the Flagellents or the rear of the Beasts fight the Flagellents in the flank.
- the Mortar fired twice but spent the next four turns caving to peer pressure and not shooting for fear of killing off their mates with friendly fire.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Proactive Colonialism - FluffyCon playtesting
I promised myself before this game I wouldn't unleash the powers of Dave against a fellow Dave. Unfortunately my dice had other ideas...
Dave brought along a version of his fluffy Wood Elves - acquired over the last few months and seeking a couple of coats of paint. The current iteration (Dave gets bored quickly so the list sees frequent changes) looks like this:
L3 Mage with reroll leadership-based tests and some other kit of little consequence
BSB on horse with Fimbelwinter Shard (argh!) and Sword of Might
Alter Noble with Sword of Continual Missing (ok, it was just a Great Weapon but Dave rolled so badly - 4 attacks, 1 hit in each of 6 or so rounds of combat) and D6 str2 hits Sprites
20 Gladeguard - FC
2 x 5 Glade Riders - muso
2 x 8 Wardancers
15-ish Eternal Guard (BSB is here)
3 Warhawk Riders
10 (count 'em) Waywatchers
Deployment saw the Gladeguard in the middle (ended up on a hill in the centre in his deployment zone), Eternal Guard next to them sneaking about in their forest and on each flank a unit of Riders and Wardancers. Deployment of the game goes to the Waywatchers who deployed almost on top of the Huntsmen and Handgunners (they can deploy in terrain and still be in LOS).
Pommy Dave lost the roll off for first turn... and the Waywatchers died.
Ok, they didn't die straight away. They actually broke in his next turn allowing their attackers not only to cut them down but also shoot to bits a Rider unit that had come along to investigate. Understandably upset about this the Huntsmen were set upon by Hawks and Dancers, ripped to shreds easily. This panicked the Pistoliers who fled but rallied and eventually did for the Hawks along with the Handgunners (who were charged by them but beat them off).
The Dancers chose NOT to pursue because they were much more interested in intercepting the Reiksguard and Priest who were hooning up the middle going for the Gladeguard and Mage on the hill. Two rounds of shooting failed to kill a single Knight (Dave was understandably miffed about this) although one did die to stand-and-shoot when they managed to charge. With Ariel's Blessing the Gladeguard survived and passed their break check. By the end of the game the Mage (sole survivor of the unit) was broken and run down, half the Knights and the unharmed Priest surviving to take a table quarter (and hold the banner they had captured).
The Flagellents went straight for the Eternal Guard, getting charged and dying in droves. The Swordsmen later hit the flank of the Eternal Guard who held easily. The Swords didn't manage to hold so well when the Dancers on their flank rear-charged and killed 11 (damn...). The Swords broke but rallied (Dancers failed to catch, Eternal Guard restrained). The Wizard reduced them to 3 before they recharged the Swordsmen, killing one and dying to the return attacks. Nice.
The Alter Noble with the broken sword took the whole game to kill off 10 Crossbows and the 9-Spear detachment - poor sod. The Spear block (and BSB) themselves took a charge from the other Dancers, lost 3 and wiped them out in a pursuit, escaping from the then free Eternal Guard.
In the end I still had - the Cannon, Mortar, 1/2 Reiksguard, Priest, BSB, 1/2 General, 1/2 Swords, Spears, Free Company detachment, Handgunner detachment, Pistoliers and 1/2 Wizard. Also had 3 quarters and an enemy banner.
Dave had a wounded Alter Noble and his BSB hiding in a forest and 5 Eternal Guard contesting a quarter.
Had Dave won the first turn - different game. Waywatchers smash the Handgunners and Pistoliers and Huntsmen and march block everything while casually shooting Knights with Killing Blow arrows. The Alter Noble was appallingly bad. The Flagellents survived just long enough to hold the Eternal Guard up to stop them hitting anything much at all.
And the Reiksguard Knights were incredibly fortunate not to take casualties for the first two turns of the game. Nice one.
Unlikely to be a 20-0 victory but a substantial one nevertheless and the first time I've beaten the previous Top Dave.
Of course he was very tired so that's probably why I won. Too much sun + pasty English bodies proving to be a less than useful combination :-)
Thanks for coming over for a game Dave - I sincerely hope to smash you should we meet at FluffyCon.
Dave brought along a version of his fluffy Wood Elves - acquired over the last few months and seeking a couple of coats of paint. The current iteration (Dave gets bored quickly so the list sees frequent changes) looks like this:
L3 Mage with reroll leadership-based tests and some other kit of little consequence
BSB on horse with Fimbelwinter Shard (argh!) and Sword of Might
Alter Noble with Sword of Continual Missing (ok, it was just a Great Weapon but Dave rolled so badly - 4 attacks, 1 hit in each of 6 or so rounds of combat) and D6 str2 hits Sprites
20 Gladeguard - FC
2 x 5 Glade Riders - muso
2 x 8 Wardancers
15-ish Eternal Guard (BSB is here)
3 Warhawk Riders
10 (count 'em) Waywatchers
Deployment saw the Gladeguard in the middle (ended up on a hill in the centre in his deployment zone), Eternal Guard next to them sneaking about in their forest and on each flank a unit of Riders and Wardancers. Deployment of the game goes to the Waywatchers who deployed almost on top of the Huntsmen and Handgunners (they can deploy in terrain and still be in LOS).
Pommy Dave lost the roll off for first turn... and the Waywatchers died.
Ok, they didn't die straight away. They actually broke in his next turn allowing their attackers not only to cut them down but also shoot to bits a Rider unit that had come along to investigate. Understandably upset about this the Huntsmen were set upon by Hawks and Dancers, ripped to shreds easily. This panicked the Pistoliers who fled but rallied and eventually did for the Hawks along with the Handgunners (who were charged by them but beat them off).
The Dancers chose NOT to pursue because they were much more interested in intercepting the Reiksguard and Priest who were hooning up the middle going for the Gladeguard and Mage on the hill. Two rounds of shooting failed to kill a single Knight (Dave was understandably miffed about this) although one did die to stand-and-shoot when they managed to charge. With Ariel's Blessing the Gladeguard survived and passed their break check. By the end of the game the Mage (sole survivor of the unit) was broken and run down, half the Knights and the unharmed Priest surviving to take a table quarter (and hold the banner they had captured).
The Flagellents went straight for the Eternal Guard, getting charged and dying in droves. The Swordsmen later hit the flank of the Eternal Guard who held easily. The Swords didn't manage to hold so well when the Dancers on their flank rear-charged and killed 11 (damn...). The Swords broke but rallied (Dancers failed to catch, Eternal Guard restrained). The Wizard reduced them to 3 before they recharged the Swordsmen, killing one and dying to the return attacks. Nice.
The Alter Noble with the broken sword took the whole game to kill off 10 Crossbows and the 9-Spear detachment - poor sod. The Spear block (and BSB) themselves took a charge from the other Dancers, lost 3 and wiped them out in a pursuit, escaping from the then free Eternal Guard.
In the end I still had - the Cannon, Mortar, 1/2 Reiksguard, Priest, BSB, 1/2 General, 1/2 Swords, Spears, Free Company detachment, Handgunner detachment, Pistoliers and 1/2 Wizard. Also had 3 quarters and an enemy banner.
Dave had a wounded Alter Noble and his BSB hiding in a forest and 5 Eternal Guard contesting a quarter.
Had Dave won the first turn - different game. Waywatchers smash the Handgunners and Pistoliers and Huntsmen and march block everything while casually shooting Knights with Killing Blow arrows. The Alter Noble was appallingly bad. The Flagellents survived just long enough to hold the Eternal Guard up to stop them hitting anything much at all.
And the Reiksguard Knights were incredibly fortunate not to take casualties for the first two turns of the game. Nice one.
Unlikely to be a 20-0 victory but a substantial one nevertheless and the first time I've beaten the previous Top Dave.
Of course he was very tired so that's probably why I won. Too much sun + pasty English bodies proving to be a less than useful combination :-)
Thanks for coming over for a game Dave - I sincerely hope to smash you should we meet at FluffyCon.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Ewww... what's that smell? - FluffyCon playtesting
No, it's not Pommy Dave. Actually as I was finishing the previous post I received a PM from Aaron (Aa7 on the forums) asking if I was free for a game against his fluffy Nurgle Daemons. I think Aaron can accept I use the term "fluffy" very loosely in this context - we both agreed making a fluffy Daemon army was more than a little challenging. Especially as he was trying to go mono-god.
Despite my initial misgivings about his list the game turned out quite well (barring a big mistake on my part - well.. at one point Aaron had too many options and I didn't have enough answers) - a draw 130VPs in his favour. And that was with the mass-failing of Fear-checks left/right/centre (mostly left and centre).
The list (bearing in mind he's trying for fluffy here):
Herald (General) - Level 1, Palanquin, no flank/rear bonus gift thing, enemy strike last gift thing
Herald - Level 1, bound 3 spell that's quite nasty
21 Plaguebearers - FC, Standard of Grossness (of whatever)
14 Plaguebearers - FC
14 Plaguebearers - FC
7 Furies
7 Furies
4 Nurglings
3 Nurglings
4 Beasts of Nurgle
Over the course of the game I managed to take out one of the 14-"man" blocks and 1/2 of the other (just three left - curses!), one unit of Furies (three left in the other - dammit!) and all of the Nurglings. In return I lost a crapload of guys including the unfortunate loss of the Swordsmen and General after some Furies blew through their Spear detachment and overran into their flank to join the Beasts who had hit their flank. Thanks to the Furies (who caused 3 casualties - the Beasts only killed 4 guys from their 14 attacks!) I auto-broke and had some major issues.
Aaron won the roll-off for Scouts and placed some Nurglings in a central forest. I was worried the Flagellents would end up Frenzy-charging them and be drawn into the forest which is just what happened but they didn't overrun too far and managed to get back into the game (took out one of the 14-strong blocks). Didn't even bother going for the 21-block.
I completely wasted the Knights (both units) who didn't die but also couldn't find a combat to get involved in that wouldn't see them hideously crushed.
I also lost half the Flagellents and the Wizard who fled from the last 3 Furies (failed Fear check) after Aaron discovered (thanks to me measuring for a Fiery Blast) they were just in charge range. If it weren't for that he would have won by less than 30VPs.
Got to say - I'm pretty damn happy with a draw result against Daemons with this Empire army!
I recommended he think about submitting a list with just one character - a Daemon Prince. Plaguebearers will be a lot less frustrating without Regeneration! I learnt that Beasts of Nurgle are quite insane - toughness 5, ward, regen, Slime Trail. Blech. Also learnt that the Lore of Fire is tasty against regenning badass mofos.
Despite my initial misgivings about his list the game turned out quite well (barring a big mistake on my part - well.. at one point Aaron had too many options and I didn't have enough answers) - a draw 130VPs in his favour. And that was with the mass-failing of Fear-checks left/right/centre (mostly left and centre).
The list (bearing in mind he's trying for fluffy here):
Herald (General) - Level 1, Palanquin, no flank/rear bonus gift thing, enemy strike last gift thing
Herald - Level 1, bound 3 spell that's quite nasty
21 Plaguebearers - FC, Standard of Grossness (of whatever)
14 Plaguebearers - FC
14 Plaguebearers - FC
7 Furies
7 Furies
4 Nurglings
3 Nurglings
4 Beasts of Nurgle
Over the course of the game I managed to take out one of the 14-"man" blocks and 1/2 of the other (just three left - curses!), one unit of Furies (three left in the other - dammit!) and all of the Nurglings. In return I lost a crapload of guys including the unfortunate loss of the Swordsmen and General after some Furies blew through their Spear detachment and overran into their flank to join the Beasts who had hit their flank. Thanks to the Furies (who caused 3 casualties - the Beasts only killed 4 guys from their 14 attacks!) I auto-broke and had some major issues.
Aaron won the roll-off for Scouts and placed some Nurglings in a central forest. I was worried the Flagellents would end up Frenzy-charging them and be drawn into the forest which is just what happened but they didn't overrun too far and managed to get back into the game (took out one of the 14-strong blocks). Didn't even bother going for the 21-block.
I completely wasted the Knights (both units) who didn't die but also couldn't find a combat to get involved in that wouldn't see them hideously crushed.
I also lost half the Flagellents and the Wizard who fled from the last 3 Furies (failed Fear check) after Aaron discovered (thanks to me measuring for a Fiery Blast) they were just in charge range. If it weren't for that he would have won by less than 30VPs.
Got to say - I'm pretty damn happy with a draw result against Daemons with this Empire army!
I recommended he think about submitting a list with just one character - a Daemon Prince. Plaguebearers will be a lot less frustrating without Regeneration! I learnt that Beasts of Nurgle are quite insane - toughness 5, ward, regen, Slime Trail. Blech. Also learnt that the Lore of Fire is tasty against regenning badass mofos.
List submitted for FluffyCon - breakdown
Have submitted my list for FluffyCon so I thought I'd recap and break it down MC Hammer styles. How have the lads been doing and my feelings after the playtesting so far...
Characters (466)
Captain (General) – Dawn Armour, Sword of Might, Barded Warhorse, Shield
Captain (BSB) – Armour of Meteoric Iron, Biting Blade
Warrior Priest – Barded Warhorse, Shield
Battle Wizard – Level 2 upgrade, Wizard’s Staff, Dispel Scroll
Core (1242)
6 Knights – Full Command, Warbanner
5 Knights – Great Weapons, Musician
10 Crossbowmen
10 Huntsmen
25 Spearmen – Full Command, Shields
9 Free Company (detachment)
9 Handgunners (detachment)
20 Swordsmen – Full Command
9 Spearmen (detachment) - Shields
5 Crossbowmen (detachment)
20 Flagellents – Prophet of Doom
Special (289)
5 Pistoliers – Outrider Champion with Repeater Pistol, Musician
Great Cannon
Mortar
Total Points: 1997
Power dice: 4
Dispel dice: 4 + one scroll
Models in army: 145
The "Breakdown"
General
This guy's a chump. He'll get pasted by any serious character and likely Killing Blowed at the drop of a hat. But that's in a "normal" game. In FluffyLand he's a tank with the rerollable save and 3 str5 attacks is pretty reasonable - especially against standard infantry. The leadership doesn't do anything if he's with the Knights but it can boost the centre if he deploys with one of the big parent blocks.
BSB
Like the General this guy is pretty much outclassed by serious fighters. he's really there to add a kill or two against an enemy unit. He'd rather not risk accepting challenges but with some luck will survive a hitty character for a round - almost enough time for me to get some more guys in the fight.
Priest
Obviously there to provide Hatred for the Knights with Warbanner so they can be a half decent hammer unit. I need to try him in one of the blocks - Hatred and a timely Unbreakable in the Spears for example could prove quite useful. Or the Swordsmen to help with a Fear-causing enemy.
Mr Wizard
This poor bugger is pretty hopeless but it lets me roll some dice in the magic phase. Rarely doesn he have a major impact on the game and I'm a bit gutless to use the Wizard's Staff for fear of the all-to-common miscast (and I don't roll up many decent high level spells). Has tended to go with Fire or Death but should really try look into Heavens and Metal more often. Has a tendency to suicidally wander around outside of units. Dies a lot (often partially self-induced).
Psuedo Knights
Brettonians these guys are not. While the Warbanner and Priest are undoubtedly helpful (going up against a full static res block down by 3) they still struggle when hitting anything front on. Getting the flank charge is obviously preferable but I've had problems setting these up with some many models in the middle (infantry traffic jams thanks to the detachments). The GW-Knights compete with the Battle Wizard for 'Most Useless Unit'. They hit like a wet bag in combat (oooh yay... great weapons... str4... how will I control my glee?), run away a lot, panic their mates... a fluffy choice because the models (converted from Flagellents - Flage-Knights) are great.
Crossbows
The Handgunners were originally the parent shooting unit until Antony pointed out that was stupid and I switched them - a much more sensible choice. Decent shooting but inconsistent and not to be relied upon to get it right (ever). Anything they pick off is a bonus.
Huntsmen
The Scouting Ninjas! These guys are great - not because they have an impact on the game but they're full of character and their ineptitude (and the rare moment they do something right) is incredibly amusing. Infrequently find themselves able to march-block by Scouting.
25 Spears and detachments
Good static res and if joined by the BSB or the boss is nearby they're leadership 8 (not sure why I'm so pleased about that). Fighting in an extra rank can surprise some people (that's right - fear my extra str3 attacks! Rawr!). What's more surprising of course is the supporting stand-and-shoot without penalty Handgunners and the counter/supporting charge Free Company with 2 attacks each. And no one falls for this - too easy to counter.
20 Swords and detachments
Good combat unit with the 4+ save in combat. BSB often goes here. Crossbow detachment tends to inconveniently get in the way a lot. Spear detachment looks good and pointy but is horribly ineffective.
20 Flagellents
Incredibly important if the plan is to succeed. The anvil to the army. Devastating if they can compete a charge, never lose Frenzy, can kill themselves for combat bonuses (often the key to their success or failure), str5 in the first round of fighting. On the downside - WS2 and no armour means they drop like flies. Their success or failure often determines the outcome of the game.
The Folly of Youth (Pistoliers)
These guys are VERY hit or miss. They tend to run away badly (getting caught or getting in the way). Fast Cav status is fantastic but I have trouble using them to the best extent. Usually die quickly.
Cannon
Boom! That's about it really. Blows up a lot but sometimes saves me from chariots, Giants and Treemen :-)
Mortar
The truly awesome and underestimated Mortar is a real boon in a tournament encouraging lots of basic troops and fluffiness. Practically a guaranteed frustration for Skaven, Elven and Goblin enemies. Not too bad at guessing so usually very useful.
Starting to look beyond 2000pts now - considering Nationals and likely Runefang later in the year. Want to stay fairly fluffy so at this stage I'm thinking:
- add another Cannon
- change Priest into Arch-Lector and give him the current General's gear (swap weapons with the BSB)
- add in another L2 Wizard
- add another 5 Swordsmen to bulk them out to 25 (good for sucking up some hits before losing a rank bonus)
Game against Pommy Dave tonight - will be tricky as I'm honour bound not to unleash my Dave powers on a fellow Dave. He'll have no compunctions about doing so and I will be inundated with an ongoing, relentless and persistent (and heavily accented) commentary on the game, state of my play, his awesomeness at Warhammer etc. And I'm playing bloody Wood Elves again! Argh! :-)
-
Characters (466)
Captain (General) – Dawn Armour, Sword of Might, Barded Warhorse, Shield
Captain (BSB) – Armour of Meteoric Iron, Biting Blade
Warrior Priest – Barded Warhorse, Shield
Battle Wizard – Level 2 upgrade, Wizard’s Staff, Dispel Scroll
Core (1242)
6 Knights – Full Command, Warbanner
5 Knights – Great Weapons, Musician
10 Crossbowmen
10 Huntsmen
25 Spearmen – Full Command, Shields
9 Free Company (detachment)
9 Handgunners (detachment)
20 Swordsmen – Full Command
9 Spearmen (detachment) - Shields
5 Crossbowmen (detachment)
20 Flagellents – Prophet of Doom
Special (289)
5 Pistoliers – Outrider Champion with Repeater Pistol, Musician
Great Cannon
Mortar
Total Points: 1997
Power dice: 4
Dispel dice: 4 + one scroll
Models in army: 145
The "Breakdown"
General
This guy's a chump. He'll get pasted by any serious character and likely Killing Blowed at the drop of a hat. But that's in a "normal" game. In FluffyLand he's a tank with the rerollable save and 3 str5 attacks is pretty reasonable - especially against standard infantry. The leadership doesn't do anything if he's with the Knights but it can boost the centre if he deploys with one of the big parent blocks.
BSB
Like the General this guy is pretty much outclassed by serious fighters. he's really there to add a kill or two against an enemy unit. He'd rather not risk accepting challenges but with some luck will survive a hitty character for a round - almost enough time for me to get some more guys in the fight.
Priest
Obviously there to provide Hatred for the Knights with Warbanner so they can be a half decent hammer unit. I need to try him in one of the blocks - Hatred and a timely Unbreakable in the Spears for example could prove quite useful. Or the Swordsmen to help with a Fear-causing enemy.
Mr Wizard
This poor bugger is pretty hopeless but it lets me roll some dice in the magic phase. Rarely doesn he have a major impact on the game and I'm a bit gutless to use the Wizard's Staff for fear of the all-to-common miscast (and I don't roll up many decent high level spells). Has tended to go with Fire or Death but should really try look into Heavens and Metal more often. Has a tendency to suicidally wander around outside of units. Dies a lot (often partially self-induced).
Psuedo Knights
Brettonians these guys are not. While the Warbanner and Priest are undoubtedly helpful (going up against a full static res block down by 3) they still struggle when hitting anything front on. Getting the flank charge is obviously preferable but I've had problems setting these up with some many models in the middle (infantry traffic jams thanks to the detachments). The GW-Knights compete with the Battle Wizard for 'Most Useless Unit'. They hit like a wet bag in combat (oooh yay... great weapons... str4... how will I control my glee?), run away a lot, panic their mates... a fluffy choice because the models (converted from Flagellents - Flage-Knights) are great.
Crossbows
The Handgunners were originally the parent shooting unit until Antony pointed out that was stupid and I switched them - a much more sensible choice. Decent shooting but inconsistent and not to be relied upon to get it right (ever). Anything they pick off is a bonus.
Huntsmen
The Scouting Ninjas! These guys are great - not because they have an impact on the game but they're full of character and their ineptitude (and the rare moment they do something right) is incredibly amusing. Infrequently find themselves able to march-block by Scouting.
25 Spears and detachments
Good static res and if joined by the BSB or the boss is nearby they're leadership 8 (not sure why I'm so pleased about that). Fighting in an extra rank can surprise some people (that's right - fear my extra str3 attacks! Rawr!). What's more surprising of course is the supporting stand-and-shoot without penalty Handgunners and the counter/supporting charge Free Company with 2 attacks each. And no one falls for this - too easy to counter.
20 Swords and detachments
Good combat unit with the 4+ save in combat. BSB often goes here. Crossbow detachment tends to inconveniently get in the way a lot. Spear detachment looks good and pointy but is horribly ineffective.
20 Flagellents
Incredibly important if the plan is to succeed. The anvil to the army. Devastating if they can compete a charge, never lose Frenzy, can kill themselves for combat bonuses (often the key to their success or failure), str5 in the first round of fighting. On the downside - WS2 and no armour means they drop like flies. Their success or failure often determines the outcome of the game.
The Folly of Youth (Pistoliers)
These guys are VERY hit or miss. They tend to run away badly (getting caught or getting in the way). Fast Cav status is fantastic but I have trouble using them to the best extent. Usually die quickly.
Cannon
Boom! That's about it really. Blows up a lot but sometimes saves me from chariots, Giants and Treemen :-)
Mortar
The truly awesome and underestimated Mortar is a real boon in a tournament encouraging lots of basic troops and fluffiness. Practically a guaranteed frustration for Skaven, Elven and Goblin enemies. Not too bad at guessing so usually very useful.
Starting to look beyond 2000pts now - considering Nationals and likely Runefang later in the year. Want to stay fairly fluffy so at this stage I'm thinking:
- add another Cannon
- change Priest into Arch-Lector and give him the current General's gear (swap weapons with the BSB)
- add in another L2 Wizard
- add another 5 Swordsmen to bulk them out to 25 (good for sucking up some hits before losing a rank bonus)
Game against Pommy Dave tonight - will be tricky as I'm honour bound not to unleash my Dave powers on a fellow Dave. He'll have no compunctions about doing so and I will be inundated with an ongoing, relentless and persistent (and heavily accented) commentary on the game, state of my play, his awesomeness at Warhammer etc. And I'm playing bloody Wood Elves again! Argh! :-)
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Saturday, January 24, 2009
Bad habits - FluffyCon playtesting
Nick and I managed two games on Friday night.
The first, against the Dwarfs, was really quick - to be expected I suppose when the opposing army only particpates in the movement and combat phases (if any). The Flagellents did a good job of tying up two Warrior units and one was reduced to half strength. Almost one Warrior unit went down (left a single survivor that I didn't have the resources to chase down) and 1/2 the Miners who didn't make combat thanks to some judicious "tactical retreating" from the Mortar and Handgunners.
The Slayers died before making combat.
Unfortunately I struggled to make an impact on the three tough blocks and despite a last turn charge Nick passed rerolled break checks for all three (Longbeards, Ironbreakers, Hammerers) and the end result was (surprise surprise) a draw.
Fortunately he'd also brought along yet another fluffy incarnation of Wood Elves so we got another game. This one proved to be much more interesting.
2 x L1 casters (one is the General)
BSB
7 (?) Wardancers
10 Gladeguard
10 Scounts
2 x 6 Wildriders
2 x 10 Dryads
4 Treekin
Treeman
In short I was mercilessly crushed (a 16-4 loss; once again pleasantly surprised that even when you're getting your butt kicked all over the pitch it's possible to make up/conserve enough points to mitigate a complete thrashing). A handy IF Fiery Blast coupled with a daring cannon shot did for the Treeman on the one occasion he put himself in LOS to the cannon (hehehe) and after a tense combat a depleted unit of Wildriders and the Wardancers fell to the Swordsmen and Empire General.
Fear and Terror were a big issue - I lost the Reiksguard and Priest to Terror from the Treeman and a subsequent chasing charge from some Wildriders hounding them off the board before they could rally. Shooting from the Scouts was intense as I quickly lost the Crossbowmen. The Huntsmen fell to an uber-Eagle of Doom although with some satisfaction the surviving member of the Mortar crew hit it over the head with a sack of gunpowder and killed it (just before he buggered off thanks to some outnumbering, Fear-causing Dryads).
The BSB and Spearmen were led into a lovely trap whereby they took Treekin in the front and Dryads in the back - autobreaking as a result of outnumbering by the Fear-causing enemy (and the 11 casualties they inflicted with their charge!).
The Flagellents were REAMED by the Wardancers - totally and utterly creamed. Makes me look forward to playing against two units of 8 when I play Pommy Dave on Monday night. Ick.
Post-battle discussion highlighted two things which have become a worringly bad habit:
- thinking Empire troops are on par with... anything. They aren't.
- needlessly baiting/fleeing when I would be better off just charging (with GW-Knights) or redploying (with Pistoliers).
Of course Nick is a great player so no shame in taking such a significant loss (I had my share of bad luck but that'll happen sometimes - can't blame the dice!) but I was a bit miffed at my lack of form. Made a LOT of mistakes that he had to pull me up on - might be getting Warhammered out I think.
Thank goodness work is starting again shortly :-)
The first, against the Dwarfs, was really quick - to be expected I suppose when the opposing army only particpates in the movement and combat phases (if any). The Flagellents did a good job of tying up two Warrior units and one was reduced to half strength. Almost one Warrior unit went down (left a single survivor that I didn't have the resources to chase down) and 1/2 the Miners who didn't make combat thanks to some judicious "tactical retreating" from the Mortar and Handgunners.
The Slayers died before making combat.
Unfortunately I struggled to make an impact on the three tough blocks and despite a last turn charge Nick passed rerolled break checks for all three (Longbeards, Ironbreakers, Hammerers) and the end result was (surprise surprise) a draw.
Fortunately he'd also brought along yet another fluffy incarnation of Wood Elves so we got another game. This one proved to be much more interesting.
2 x L1 casters (one is the General)
BSB
7 (?) Wardancers
10 Gladeguard
10 Scounts
2 x 6 Wildriders
2 x 10 Dryads
4 Treekin
Treeman
In short I was mercilessly crushed (a 16-4 loss; once again pleasantly surprised that even when you're getting your butt kicked all over the pitch it's possible to make up/conserve enough points to mitigate a complete thrashing). A handy IF Fiery Blast coupled with a daring cannon shot did for the Treeman on the one occasion he put himself in LOS to the cannon (hehehe) and after a tense combat a depleted unit of Wildriders and the Wardancers fell to the Swordsmen and Empire General.
Fear and Terror were a big issue - I lost the Reiksguard and Priest to Terror from the Treeman and a subsequent chasing charge from some Wildriders hounding them off the board before they could rally. Shooting from the Scouts was intense as I quickly lost the Crossbowmen. The Huntsmen fell to an uber-Eagle of Doom although with some satisfaction the surviving member of the Mortar crew hit it over the head with a sack of gunpowder and killed it (just before he buggered off thanks to some outnumbering, Fear-causing Dryads).
The BSB and Spearmen were led into a lovely trap whereby they took Treekin in the front and Dryads in the back - autobreaking as a result of outnumbering by the Fear-causing enemy (and the 11 casualties they inflicted with their charge!).
The Flagellents were REAMED by the Wardancers - totally and utterly creamed. Makes me look forward to playing against two units of 8 when I play Pommy Dave on Monday night. Ick.
Post-battle discussion highlighted two things which have become a worringly bad habit:
- thinking Empire troops are on par with... anything. They aren't.
- needlessly baiting/fleeing when I would be better off just charging (with GW-Knights) or redploying (with Pistoliers).
Of course Nick is a great player so no shame in taking such a significant loss (I had my share of bad luck but that'll happen sometimes - can't blame the dice!) but I was a bit miffed at my lack of form. Made a LOT of mistakes that he had to pull me up on - might be getting Warhammered out I think.
Thank goodness work is starting again shortly :-)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Dodgy Dwarfs - pre-game FluffyCon playtesting
Nick was kind enough to supply me with his list for our game tonight and I thought I'd bust out a quick breakdown and some thoughts on a plan (which he will read, counter, and crush me with). So...
Nick is King Fluffy as this list fairly soundly demonstrates. Fairly.
Master Engineer - General; Great Weapon; Gromril Armour
Thane - Gromril Armour; Battle Standard
Runesmith - Great Weapon; Gromril Armour
19 Longbeards - Heavy Armour; Shield; FC
3 x 19 Warriors - Heavy Armour; Shield; FC
2 x 10 Warriors - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Musician
14 Hammerers - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; FC
14 Ironbreakers - Gromril Armour; Shield; FC
10 Troll Slayers
9 Miners - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Musician; Prospector
Dispel Pool: 5
Casting Pool: 2
Models in Army: 153
Total Army Cost: 1998
Well the first thing that strikes me is - that's a crapload of Dwarfs right there. Seriously - 153 models? Damn but that's freakin' HUGE man!
Next - no shooting or warmachines. Interesting tact given the army is led by a Master Engineer (questionably fluffiness actually Nick - what the hell is he doing there in the first place?). Anyway...
A good sized basic dispel pool - large enough to cause me anti-magical concern - and what I would expect from Dwarfs at FluffyCon. It's big enough to worry most armies who decided to invest heavily in magic (max 8PD at this tournament).
So what strengths does it bring to the table?
- numbers (I'm actually outnumberered for goodness sakes!) thanks to points saved from not taking toys and magic standards (not a dumb move by any means in a FluffyCon context)
- static res up the wazoo
- flankers/diverters (GW-Warriors, Trollslayers, Miners if they don't use Underground Advance)
- warmachine hunters (Miners)
- variety (some Stubborn - Hammerers, some exellent armour - Ironbreakers, some Unbreakable - Trollslayers
- as per Dwarfs: great toughness, armour and leadership
- lined up next to each other it's difficult/impossible to get a supporting charge with a detachment
Weaknesses?
- no shooting
- short, fat and slow
- possible to traffic jam them because there are so many big blocks (look for viable and advantageous terrain choke-points)
Hrm...
Well all those Warrior blocks spread out will make flanking the force with Knights difficult and a head-on charge is akin to suicide as I could only hope to win by 1 or 2 and rerolling on ld7 or so for a break test means the Knights are flanked and dead. Ok.
Hammerers, 10-man units and Trollslayers get shooty love first - anything I definitely cannot bust through with a charge needs to die and the 10-man units, being most mobile for the flank charge will wipe the floor by cancelling my valuable and important rank bonus (which I will definitely need as kills are going to be almost non-existant). After that (yeah right... after I've killed off the Hammerers and Trollslayers... ha!) I'll be going for the Longbeards where there is a serious points investment. I've got a funny feeling the Dwarfs are going to be the ones doing the charging in this game.
Magic rolling will be on Shadows - not to get Pit of Shades but rather Unseen Lurker or Shades of Death (a Fear-causing unit of Spearmen will sort those small Elite blocks out (except the Trollslayers).
The Flagellents will go for the middle of the line where they will hope to tie up as much as possible - if they can charge two units at once and tie them down for a few turns it will help immensely. They'll die, but hopefully they'll die slowly.
I'll lose a warmachine to the Miners if they come on behind my lines but really I don't see the Cannon or Mortar achieving much anyway (especially the Mortar).
So it looks like this:
- tie down multiple units with the Flagellents and/or just get the hell in the way of something
- try and reduce the Longbeards to 1/2 strength
- Hammerers, Trollslayers and 10-man units suck down the shooting
- magic will try for Shades of Death or Unseen Lurker but pretty much anything else in the list will be fine. Even Steed of Shadows on the Wizard will be fun (keeps him out of trouble). Soulfire will have it's uses in combat (especially against the Ironbreakers!) if the opportunity arises (and Unbreakable doesn't take priority
- pick on ONE unit of Warriors to get behing enemy lines
- try for the Dwarf BSB if I have the option
Nick's a clever player but his normally conservative Wood Elf approach has to be totally cast by the wayside. Seeing him play ultra-aggressively with combat Dwarfs will be very entertaining.
Nick is King Fluffy as this list fairly soundly demonstrates. Fairly.
Master Engineer - General; Great Weapon; Gromril Armour
Thane - Gromril Armour; Battle Standard
Runesmith - Great Weapon; Gromril Armour
19 Longbeards - Heavy Armour; Shield; FC
3 x 19 Warriors - Heavy Armour; Shield; FC
2 x 10 Warriors - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Musician
14 Hammerers - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; FC
14 Ironbreakers - Gromril Armour; Shield; FC
10 Troll Slayers
9 Miners - Great Weapon; Heavy Armour; Musician; Prospector
Dispel Pool: 5
Casting Pool: 2
Models in Army: 153
Total Army Cost: 1998
Well the first thing that strikes me is - that's a crapload of Dwarfs right there. Seriously - 153 models? Damn but that's freakin' HUGE man!
Next - no shooting or warmachines. Interesting tact given the army is led by a Master Engineer (questionably fluffiness actually Nick - what the hell is he doing there in the first place?). Anyway...
A good sized basic dispel pool - large enough to cause me anti-magical concern - and what I would expect from Dwarfs at FluffyCon. It's big enough to worry most armies who decided to invest heavily in magic (max 8PD at this tournament).
So what strengths does it bring to the table?
- numbers (I'm actually outnumberered for goodness sakes!) thanks to points saved from not taking toys and magic standards (not a dumb move by any means in a FluffyCon context)
- static res up the wazoo
- flankers/diverters (GW-Warriors, Trollslayers, Miners if they don't use Underground Advance)
- warmachine hunters (Miners)
- variety (some Stubborn - Hammerers, some exellent armour - Ironbreakers, some Unbreakable - Trollslayers
- as per Dwarfs: great toughness, armour and leadership
- lined up next to each other it's difficult/impossible to get a supporting charge with a detachment
Weaknesses?
- no shooting
- short, fat and slow
- possible to traffic jam them because there are so many big blocks (look for viable and advantageous terrain choke-points)
Hrm...
Well all those Warrior blocks spread out will make flanking the force with Knights difficult and a head-on charge is akin to suicide as I could only hope to win by 1 or 2 and rerolling on ld7 or so for a break test means the Knights are flanked and dead. Ok.
Hammerers, 10-man units and Trollslayers get shooty love first - anything I definitely cannot bust through with a charge needs to die and the 10-man units, being most mobile for the flank charge will wipe the floor by cancelling my valuable and important rank bonus (which I will definitely need as kills are going to be almost non-existant). After that (yeah right... after I've killed off the Hammerers and Trollslayers... ha!) I'll be going for the Longbeards where there is a serious points investment. I've got a funny feeling the Dwarfs are going to be the ones doing the charging in this game.
Magic rolling will be on Shadows - not to get Pit of Shades but rather Unseen Lurker or Shades of Death (a Fear-causing unit of Spearmen will sort those small Elite blocks out (except the Trollslayers).
The Flagellents will go for the middle of the line where they will hope to tie up as much as possible - if they can charge two units at once and tie them down for a few turns it will help immensely. They'll die, but hopefully they'll die slowly.
I'll lose a warmachine to the Miners if they come on behind my lines but really I don't see the Cannon or Mortar achieving much anyway (especially the Mortar).
So it looks like this:
- tie down multiple units with the Flagellents and/or just get the hell in the way of something
- try and reduce the Longbeards to 1/2 strength
- Hammerers, Trollslayers and 10-man units suck down the shooting
- magic will try for Shades of Death or Unseen Lurker but pretty much anything else in the list will be fine. Even Steed of Shadows on the Wizard will be fun (keeps him out of trouble). Soulfire will have it's uses in combat (especially against the Ironbreakers!) if the opportunity arises (and Unbreakable doesn't take priority
- pick on ONE unit of Warriors to get behing enemy lines
- try for the Dwarf BSB if I have the option
Nick's a clever player but his normally conservative Wood Elf approach has to be totally cast by the wayside. Seeing him play ultra-aggressively with combat Dwarfs will be very entertaining.
The Green Machine - FluffyCon playtesting
There's nothing like a tragic and humbling loss (read: smashing) to get the mind focussed. Mark was able to make a game at my place tonight and lucky for me (?) was able to provide just that - the annihilation of a good portion of my army! Mark is a 'six degrees of separation opponent' - I actually teach his son at school (small world ain't it?).
I've been having issues fighting Orcs and Goblins. Yes I know they're supposed to be utter crap but somehow I consistently have enormous problems dealing with them. Mark's army is actually a real challenge to play against despite the lack of a Giant or much in the way of ItP troops that some Greenskin armies seem to depend on (and a fairly moderate 6PD magic phase) - I'm fairly certain this little lot is looking at a +3 for comp from most of the judges:
Ld 9 Orc General on Ironback Boar (NOT a Black Orc Boss)
Gobbo BSB on Wolf with Wollopa's Wun Hit Wunder
2 x L2 Gobbo Shamans - one has the Itty Ring, the other has some kit (can't remember - maybe the -3 armour save pointy stick thing)
2 x BIG units of Common Goblins with FC (like 35-40 strong)
Big unit of Boyz with 2 Choppas
Big unit of Boyz with Choppa/Shield
13 Arrer Boyz
20 Night Goblins with bows and 2 Fanatics
2 x 5 Wolf Gobbos
2 Boar Chariots
3 Trolls
Rocklobber
1 Spearchukka
2 bases of Snotlings
Turn one the Rocklobber misfired and destroyed itself. I quickly noted I would likely return the favour and Mark laughed it off. I did - the Cannon blew up turn one. Nice.
The main game revolved around a damn annoying building that stopped either of us from bringing our many units to bear. Fortunately for Mark that didn't matter as the Trolls and one chariot quickly accounted for not only my Reiksguard Knights, Priest and General (thrown away in a stupid and fruitless experiment - chariot hit their flank alone and I thought the General who was sitting on the flank might absorb the damage and break it on static res with maybe a wound into the bargain - would have fled through both Orc blocks and taken the Knights into the Orc General's unit) but also the entire Spear block (with some help from the Orc General with a solo charge and some handy Gobbos for static support and cheerleading) and the Flagellents (thanks to the horrible Trolls). I went into damage control and managed to take out the Gobbos (and Shaman) with the Mortar (which spent 4 turns out of action due to misfires!) and the Trolls with the BSBs Swordsmen and Spear detachment in the flank (having already previously failed a Fear check to charge them).
Mark ended up never using an entire Orc block or a Gobbo block at all!
One unit of Wolfboyz was gunned down by Pistoliers but the other played absolute havoc in the midst of my lines, scooting between gaps, avoiding being charged or shot, and basically being a right pain in the ass.
Spell of the game was Gork'll (or Mork'll - whatever) Fix It - all rolls of a 6 become a 1. This stopped the Spearmen from hurting the chariot at all (needing 6s to wound and those 6s becoming 1s). Beyond frustrating I assure you.
Despite some quirky animosity (the Gobbos who died to the Pistoliers rolling a '1' twice for the two turns they were alive; both his Orc blocks rolling '1' in the same turn holding up much of his advance) Mark played really well and thoroughly deserved the win. To be honest I'm not sure what I was thinking going into the game - there wasn't much of a plan, I ended up with a huge infantry block traffic jam, and I needlessly gambled away my strike unit and characters (which of course I would never do in a tournament game... would I?). Bit of a write-off really and I'm sorry I couldn't give Mark a better game.
In the end a 16-4 loss to the Empire as I attempted to conserve points and break some stuff to make little gains. 34Vps away from a 15-5 and if nothing else reminds me that even a loss need not be that bad if you can manage to (eventually) play smart in the end game.
Biggest lesson - moving a 5-Crossbow detachment 2 inches in my last turn would have contested a quarter making it a 15-5 loss. Just lost my brain somewhere along the way and stopped thinking eventually. Sigh...
Venerable Nick's Dwarfs tomorrow night - tough little buggers I know from experience so sure to be an interesting and challenging game.
I've been having issues fighting Orcs and Goblins. Yes I know they're supposed to be utter crap but somehow I consistently have enormous problems dealing with them. Mark's army is actually a real challenge to play against despite the lack of a Giant or much in the way of ItP troops that some Greenskin armies seem to depend on (and a fairly moderate 6PD magic phase) - I'm fairly certain this little lot is looking at a +3 for comp from most of the judges:
Ld 9 Orc General on Ironback Boar (NOT a Black Orc Boss)
Gobbo BSB on Wolf with Wollopa's Wun Hit Wunder
2 x L2 Gobbo Shamans - one has the Itty Ring, the other has some kit (can't remember - maybe the -3 armour save pointy stick thing)
2 x BIG units of Common Goblins with FC (like 35-40 strong)
Big unit of Boyz with 2 Choppas
Big unit of Boyz with Choppa/Shield
13 Arrer Boyz
20 Night Goblins with bows and 2 Fanatics
2 x 5 Wolf Gobbos
2 Boar Chariots
3 Trolls
Rocklobber
1 Spearchukka
2 bases of Snotlings
Turn one the Rocklobber misfired and destroyed itself. I quickly noted I would likely return the favour and Mark laughed it off. I did - the Cannon blew up turn one. Nice.
The main game revolved around a damn annoying building that stopped either of us from bringing our many units to bear. Fortunately for Mark that didn't matter as the Trolls and one chariot quickly accounted for not only my Reiksguard Knights, Priest and General (thrown away in a stupid and fruitless experiment - chariot hit their flank alone and I thought the General who was sitting on the flank might absorb the damage and break it on static res with maybe a wound into the bargain - would have fled through both Orc blocks and taken the Knights into the Orc General's unit) but also the entire Spear block (with some help from the Orc General with a solo charge and some handy Gobbos for static support and cheerleading) and the Flagellents (thanks to the horrible Trolls). I went into damage control and managed to take out the Gobbos (and Shaman) with the Mortar (which spent 4 turns out of action due to misfires!) and the Trolls with the BSBs Swordsmen and Spear detachment in the flank (having already previously failed a Fear check to charge them).
Mark ended up never using an entire Orc block or a Gobbo block at all!
One unit of Wolfboyz was gunned down by Pistoliers but the other played absolute havoc in the midst of my lines, scooting between gaps, avoiding being charged or shot, and basically being a right pain in the ass.
Spell of the game was Gork'll (or Mork'll - whatever) Fix It - all rolls of a 6 become a 1. This stopped the Spearmen from hurting the chariot at all (needing 6s to wound and those 6s becoming 1s). Beyond frustrating I assure you.
Despite some quirky animosity (the Gobbos who died to the Pistoliers rolling a '1' twice for the two turns they were alive; both his Orc blocks rolling '1' in the same turn holding up much of his advance) Mark played really well and thoroughly deserved the win. To be honest I'm not sure what I was thinking going into the game - there wasn't much of a plan, I ended up with a huge infantry block traffic jam, and I needlessly gambled away my strike unit and characters (which of course I would never do in a tournament game... would I?). Bit of a write-off really and I'm sorry I couldn't give Mark a better game.
In the end a 16-4 loss to the Empire as I attempted to conserve points and break some stuff to make little gains. 34Vps away from a 15-5 and if nothing else reminds me that even a loss need not be that bad if you can manage to (eventually) play smart in the end game.
Biggest lesson - moving a 5-Crossbow detachment 2 inches in my last turn would have contested a quarter making it a 15-5 loss. Just lost my brain somewhere along the way and stopped thinking eventually. Sigh...
Venerable Nick's Dwarfs tomorrow night - tough little buggers I know from experience so sure to be an interesting and challenging game.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
When it all goes to plan... - FluffyCon playtesting
There's nothing quite like a good plan coming together. Can you actually believe most of what I said in that previous post actually worked out? Unreal I know! And here I was thinking it was all bull####!
The Flagellents ended up directly opposite the Black Guard, got the charge, killed some (didn't break them though), but more importantly kept them in combat for almost the rest of the game. Nice.
Dark Riders on the flank were dealt to very harshly by the Pistoliers (dead before the Outrider Champ could even get a shot off!).
The Cold One Knights (on the same flank) failed Stupidity in turn one (did I call it? yes I did! Making daisy chains!) and were eventually charged by the Reiksguard Knights (just in). The combat went badly for the Elves when they took four casualties (including 2 from horses!) and dealt none in return, breaking and being run down.
My General is a tank. First he failed a charge at a unit of RXBs (and their accompanying Sorceress friends). Stand-and-Shoot did nothing. Then he was shot in their turn - nothing. Then he charged, supported by the Huntsmen in their flank; stand-and-shoot - nothing. Beat them up, ran them down (taking out one Sorceress - the Huntsmen did for the other at short range while she hid behind the Black Guard/Flagellent combat). Took another round of shooting from the other RXB unit before charging them supported by a Free Company detachment in their flank. Both units caused enormous casualties, broke them, failed to catch the 4 survivors but charged/killed them in the final turns.
The Swords and their Spear detachment did for the Spearelves on the other flank.
The Empire Spearmen took an IF Black Horror (ouch) losing 1/2 their number but this was long after they had dealt with the Corsairs and DE BSB (thanks to the GW-Knights in their flank in support).
The Cannon hid from the charge of the Elf General and Harpies. The Mortar died - overall quite hopeless with the two shots it managed to get off.
There were only two big issues:
- the scary Elf General who can charge 18" with a 3+ save and Pendant dishing out 4 str6 attacks. Yikes. Not sure what to do about this - he can take small unit and warmachines with ease and could hold a ranked unit up quite nicely (Ld10 proving very valuable).
- I muppeted in my last turn, charging the Black Guard in the front with the Reiksguard/Priest. By this point the Black Guard were buddied with the Elf General. It was a gamble to reduce the Black Guard to below 1/2 (120pt gain). I lost combat by ONE and of course broke giving Ray the unit's banner and also returning the Cold One banner. And of course I couldn't rally so counted as destroyed. The brain-fart was not moving my BSB into range for the break test reroll (which I easily could have done). The Black Guard/General were the only things left on the board and admittedly in a tournament I wouldn't have taken the risk but it was fun to try anyway in a practice game.
In the end I lost the Mortar, 10 Crossbows, 9 Handgunners, the Flagellents, 1/2 the Spears, Reiksguard and Priest and had 1/2 wounds on the Wizard. Had 3 quarters (one contested) and 3 banners (Corsairs, Spears and BSB). We didn't do the maths but with 240 for the Black Guard and likely around 200 for the General I was up in kills. The Black Guard had a captured banner.
Looked pretty convincing to me. Might have been a 16-4 or 17-3?
For those who are not aware - Black Guard are feckin' horrible. And these one's DIDN'T have the ASF banner or killy gear on the champ. Yuck.
Ray has a good list - no Rares, decent shooting and magic, combat blocks, bait, warmachine hunters, an anvil (the Black Guard obviously) and a hammer (Cold One Knights) that causes Fear to boot. Hopefully we meet at FluffyCon where I'm sure he'll play a tight game. Ray's a gentleman gamer - thanks for having me over to your house mate :-)
The Flagellents ended up directly opposite the Black Guard, got the charge, killed some (didn't break them though), but more importantly kept them in combat for almost the rest of the game. Nice.
Dark Riders on the flank were dealt to very harshly by the Pistoliers (dead before the Outrider Champ could even get a shot off!).
The Cold One Knights (on the same flank) failed Stupidity in turn one (did I call it? yes I did! Making daisy chains!) and were eventually charged by the Reiksguard Knights (just in). The combat went badly for the Elves when they took four casualties (including 2 from horses!) and dealt none in return, breaking and being run down.
My General is a tank. First he failed a charge at a unit of RXBs (and their accompanying Sorceress friends). Stand-and-Shoot did nothing. Then he was shot in their turn - nothing. Then he charged, supported by the Huntsmen in their flank; stand-and-shoot - nothing. Beat them up, ran them down (taking out one Sorceress - the Huntsmen did for the other at short range while she hid behind the Black Guard/Flagellent combat). Took another round of shooting from the other RXB unit before charging them supported by a Free Company detachment in their flank. Both units caused enormous casualties, broke them, failed to catch the 4 survivors but charged/killed them in the final turns.
The Swords and their Spear detachment did for the Spearelves on the other flank.
The Empire Spearmen took an IF Black Horror (ouch) losing 1/2 their number but this was long after they had dealt with the Corsairs and DE BSB (thanks to the GW-Knights in their flank in support).
The Cannon hid from the charge of the Elf General and Harpies. The Mortar died - overall quite hopeless with the two shots it managed to get off.
There were only two big issues:
- the scary Elf General who can charge 18" with a 3+ save and Pendant dishing out 4 str6 attacks. Yikes. Not sure what to do about this - he can take small unit and warmachines with ease and could hold a ranked unit up quite nicely (Ld10 proving very valuable).
- I muppeted in my last turn, charging the Black Guard in the front with the Reiksguard/Priest. By this point the Black Guard were buddied with the Elf General. It was a gamble to reduce the Black Guard to below 1/2 (120pt gain). I lost combat by ONE and of course broke giving Ray the unit's banner and also returning the Cold One banner. And of course I couldn't rally so counted as destroyed. The brain-fart was not moving my BSB into range for the break test reroll (which I easily could have done). The Black Guard/General were the only things left on the board and admittedly in a tournament I wouldn't have taken the risk but it was fun to try anyway in a practice game.
In the end I lost the Mortar, 10 Crossbows, 9 Handgunners, the Flagellents, 1/2 the Spears, Reiksguard and Priest and had 1/2 wounds on the Wizard. Had 3 quarters (one contested) and 3 banners (Corsairs, Spears and BSB). We didn't do the maths but with 240 for the Black Guard and likely around 200 for the General I was up in kills. The Black Guard had a captured banner.
Looked pretty convincing to me. Might have been a 16-4 or 17-3?
For those who are not aware - Black Guard are feckin' horrible. And these one's DIDN'T have the ASF banner or killy gear on the champ. Yuck.
Ray has a good list - no Rares, decent shooting and magic, combat blocks, bait, warmachine hunters, an anvil (the Black Guard obviously) and a hammer (Cold One Knights) that causes Fear to boot. Hopefully we meet at FluffyCon where I'm sure he'll play a tight game. Ray's a gentleman gamer - thanks for having me over to your house mate :-)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Nasty, stabby, hatey Elves - pre-game FluffyCon playtesting
Have a game booked against Ray tonight and his fluffy Dark Elves. I've only played Ray once - an enjoyable game and a hard lesson for me at the Tin Solider tournament last year. He's a lovely chap not entirely averse to kicking your ass if the opportunity arises (in the niecst possible way).
A little sneaky research (sorry Ray) revealed what was in his list and got me thinking. For your amusement (at my lack of knowledge and tactical acumen) here's a breakdown:
Lord on Cold One (or horse - this was tricky to establish - either way the bugger moves) - Pendant (FluffyCon eh Ray? :-)) and Crimson Death (which sounds awfully nasty)
BSB - 1+ armour save and Great Weapon
2 x level Sorceresses with a scroll each - one might have the Seal
20 Corsairs - FC, champ has shooty handbows or something
20 Spears - FC
2 x 10 RXB Warriors
5 Dark Riders - musician (I assume), probably shooting and spears and whatnot
5 Harpies
6 Cold One Knights - FC, Warbanner
20 Black Guard - FC, Null Talisman
So how is it shaping up?
Well the first thing that strikes me is magic is pretty much out - 4PD and a bound won't cut it against that defense. It will also seriously (seriously) stretch my own meagre defense to breaking point. Key - one or both of these tarts need to die in the opening 1/2 of the game! (suicide Knights for the win!)
The Flagellents have a pretty clear goal - motor straight up the guts towards the Black Guard and tie them down for the whole game! Hopefully with judicious use of annoying detachments I can get the charge on the ItP, Stubborn blighters. I imagine the BSB will cower here and a Sorceress might too until they look like they are going to hit combat. Might even try a weak flank charge (GW-Knights) to stall them or better yet lure them sideways with a Hatred-inspired pursuit. In terms of actually killing the unit - that's way down the priority list.
There's a good shooty core to the list - 20 repeater bows is a LOT of shots (especially when you're toughness 3 with not much armour)! Even the Knights aren't safe due to the sheer amount of firepower coming out. Might try for a ranged duel as the Crossbows have the range over them. Except the Crossbows are a bit worried about letting the Dark Riders wander down a flank and hitting me where it hurts.
The Mortar - as always - is going to be a very powerful tool and could be the key to a win. Toughness 3 no likey Mortar pie-plate! The opening targets are the Spears or Corsairs - whichever one is closer to the flank I want to strike down (and/or furthest from the Elf General). I imagine the Black Guard will be in the middle flanked by the other two blocks or the Black Guard will hinge a refused flank (so I have no option but engage them and be tied up). The Mortar will cower between two of my blocks enough room to see its target but hopefully not enough to get charged by those annoying fliers.
The Cannon will sit out by itself on a lonely flank doing it'd best to be an inviting target for Harpies or Dark Riders - the Mortar must survive!
So that just leaves the blasted Cold One Knights. Urg. Aside from the Cannon obviously wanting to have a go I'm not terribly sure what to do about these. The biggest issue is the fear - I can't rely on my Knights being able to charge them. Of course if I do I'll only be up by one (outnumber - if I place a character in the Knights) and with Hatred and the Cold Ones not sucking in the manner of horses... it'll be a close run thing.
So to summarise my ingenious and totally flawless plan is:
- engage the Black Guard with Flagellents, trying to get the charge by baiting using a detachment, kill front rank and with a shedload of luck break them, run them down and panic the rest of the army off the board (the last half of that being a tad optimistic)
- shoot the bejeebus out of the Spears or Corsairs (Corsairs sound more expensive so might end up being them)
- Crossbow a unit of RXB Warriors without fear of imminent shooting reprisal
- hide the Mortar between some blocks
- assassinate a Sorceress if the opportunity arises (even if they are in a block - they'll get dragged out of the line unsupported thanks to Hatred if I'm fortunate)
- hope the Cold Ones are Stupid for the whole game and sit out on a flank making daisy chains
Actually it also occurs to me that with a 24" range on the RXBs Ray will have to come to me to engage so might hold back and make him jostle a bit.
Of course - Ray might very well have read this by the time we play and be wise to my tricks so it's probably all out the window anyway :-)
A little sneaky research (sorry Ray) revealed what was in his list and got me thinking. For your amusement (at my lack of knowledge and tactical acumen) here's a breakdown:
Lord on Cold One (or horse - this was tricky to establish - either way the bugger moves) - Pendant (FluffyCon eh Ray? :-)) and Crimson Death (which sounds awfully nasty)
BSB - 1+ armour save and Great Weapon
2 x level Sorceresses with a scroll each - one might have the Seal
20 Corsairs - FC, champ has shooty handbows or something
20 Spears - FC
2 x 10 RXB Warriors
5 Dark Riders - musician (I assume), probably shooting and spears and whatnot
5 Harpies
6 Cold One Knights - FC, Warbanner
20 Black Guard - FC, Null Talisman
So how is it shaping up?
Well the first thing that strikes me is magic is pretty much out - 4PD and a bound won't cut it against that defense. It will also seriously (seriously) stretch my own meagre defense to breaking point. Key - one or both of these tarts need to die in the opening 1/2 of the game! (suicide Knights for the win!)
The Flagellents have a pretty clear goal - motor straight up the guts towards the Black Guard and tie them down for the whole game! Hopefully with judicious use of annoying detachments I can get the charge on the ItP, Stubborn blighters. I imagine the BSB will cower here and a Sorceress might too until they look like they are going to hit combat. Might even try a weak flank charge (GW-Knights) to stall them or better yet lure them sideways with a Hatred-inspired pursuit. In terms of actually killing the unit - that's way down the priority list.
There's a good shooty core to the list - 20 repeater bows is a LOT of shots (especially when you're toughness 3 with not much armour)! Even the Knights aren't safe due to the sheer amount of firepower coming out. Might try for a ranged duel as the Crossbows have the range over them. Except the Crossbows are a bit worried about letting the Dark Riders wander down a flank and hitting me where it hurts.
The Mortar - as always - is going to be a very powerful tool and could be the key to a win. Toughness 3 no likey Mortar pie-plate! The opening targets are the Spears or Corsairs - whichever one is closer to the flank I want to strike down (and/or furthest from the Elf General). I imagine the Black Guard will be in the middle flanked by the other two blocks or the Black Guard will hinge a refused flank (so I have no option but engage them and be tied up). The Mortar will cower between two of my blocks enough room to see its target but hopefully not enough to get charged by those annoying fliers.
The Cannon will sit out by itself on a lonely flank doing it'd best to be an inviting target for Harpies or Dark Riders - the Mortar must survive!
So that just leaves the blasted Cold One Knights. Urg. Aside from the Cannon obviously wanting to have a go I'm not terribly sure what to do about these. The biggest issue is the fear - I can't rely on my Knights being able to charge them. Of course if I do I'll only be up by one (outnumber - if I place a character in the Knights) and with Hatred and the Cold Ones not sucking in the manner of horses... it'll be a close run thing.
So to summarise my ingenious and totally flawless plan is:
- engage the Black Guard with Flagellents, trying to get the charge by baiting using a detachment, kill front rank and with a shedload of luck break them, run them down and panic the rest of the army off the board (the last half of that being a tad optimistic)
- shoot the bejeebus out of the Spears or Corsairs (Corsairs sound more expensive so might end up being them)
- Crossbow a unit of RXB Warriors without fear of imminent shooting reprisal
- hide the Mortar between some blocks
- assassinate a Sorceress if the opportunity arises (even if they are in a block - they'll get dragged out of the line unsupported thanks to Hatred if I'm fortunate)
- hope the Cold Ones are Stupid for the whole game and sit out on a flank making daisy chains
Actually it also occurs to me that with a 24" range on the RXBs Ray will have to come to me to engage so might hold back and make him jostle a bit.
Of course - Ray might very well have read this by the time we play and be wise to my tricks so it's probably all out the window anyway :-)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Dirty Dogs Take Two - FluffyCon playtesting
The night was young and Antony was keen to make amends for his poor generalship by giving me the pleasure of an immediate rematch. Full of heady confidence and with a head swollen with self-importance and egomania I gladly accepted.
This turned out to be a MUCH closer game - a draw in fact!
Antony took out a unit of Duellists and replaced them with heavy armour for the blocks and bulked up the other Duellist units a bit (2 x 10 in this game). He refused flank with the blocks and barded knights on his left, shooting in the centre and some annoyance Duellists and unbarded Knights on the right. I worked hard to hold back on my right (his left) with the Swords and Reikguard while the Spears and Flagellents sped around an intervening forest.
In turn one our Generals were in combat - his failing a charge against the Huntsmen and accompanying Wizard and taking the charge from mine. Even flanked by some Duellists my brave General hung in there, gradually allowing the Spears and Flaggies to close. Then Ant killed him with a Steal Soul (failed to dispel on 3 dice) and Rule of Burning Iron (FAQ'd and now allowed to be cast into combat). Dammit. I knew his cheesey 6PD magic phase would give me trouble :-)
The right flank turned to custard, the Swords eventually run down by the Barded Knights after they were flanked by some Pikes (couldn't break the Knights quickly enough). The Knights scored the unit banner and Battle Standard but in their pursuit almost met the Flagellents. They fled the subsequent Flagellent charge, failed to rally (needing 10) and hit the Reiksguard who had eventually charged the Paymasters Bodyguard in the front (having previously fled their charge). Excellent.
But there was better to come. In a challenge (over three rounds of combat) my Reiksguard Champion killed the Paymaster - woo! The Mercenary General legged (yay!) but rallied in the last turn (boo!). The Bodyguard lost combat and broke, the victorious Reiksguard, having reclaimed the fallen banners of their comrades, were only too happy to collect the enemy unit's standard and Battle Standard.
In the end I was up by about 70VPs, clearly a draw. At one point I had more units running away than standing so it was nice to recover from a few disasters along the way!
Hoping to catch up with The Big Man's (Ray) Dark Elves this week and of course Big Nick (lots of big around at the moment...) and his Dwarfs on Friday.
What it is to still be on holiday (just)!
This turned out to be a MUCH closer game - a draw in fact!
Antony took out a unit of Duellists and replaced them with heavy armour for the blocks and bulked up the other Duellist units a bit (2 x 10 in this game). He refused flank with the blocks and barded knights on his left, shooting in the centre and some annoyance Duellists and unbarded Knights on the right. I worked hard to hold back on my right (his left) with the Swords and Reikguard while the Spears and Flagellents sped around an intervening forest.
In turn one our Generals were in combat - his failing a charge against the Huntsmen and accompanying Wizard and taking the charge from mine. Even flanked by some Duellists my brave General hung in there, gradually allowing the Spears and Flaggies to close. Then Ant killed him with a Steal Soul (failed to dispel on 3 dice) and Rule of Burning Iron (FAQ'd and now allowed to be cast into combat). Dammit. I knew his cheesey 6PD magic phase would give me trouble :-)
The right flank turned to custard, the Swords eventually run down by the Barded Knights after they were flanked by some Pikes (couldn't break the Knights quickly enough). The Knights scored the unit banner and Battle Standard but in their pursuit almost met the Flagellents. They fled the subsequent Flagellent charge, failed to rally (needing 10) and hit the Reiksguard who had eventually charged the Paymasters Bodyguard in the front (having previously fled their charge). Excellent.
But there was better to come. In a challenge (over three rounds of combat) my Reiksguard Champion killed the Paymaster - woo! The Mercenary General legged (yay!) but rallied in the last turn (boo!). The Bodyguard lost combat and broke, the victorious Reiksguard, having reclaimed the fallen banners of their comrades, were only too happy to collect the enemy unit's standard and Battle Standard.
In the end I was up by about 70VPs, clearly a draw. At one point I had more units running away than standing so it was nice to recover from a few disasters along the way!
Hoping to catch up with The Big Man's (Ray) Dark Elves this week and of course Big Nick (lots of big around at the moment...) and his Dwarfs on Friday.
What it is to still be on holiday (just)!
Dirty Dogs Take One - FluffyCon playtesting
So Antony turned up for a couple of games as planned. We popped out for Fush and Chups for dinner and discussed his list. My apologies, the earlier list in the previous post was somewhat outdated. His list was (and this is still "ish" and from memory) thusly:
Mercenary General (Lord character) - barded warhorse, flail, shield
Paymaster (which as it turns out I was right - a BSB, makes the Bodyguard Stubborn, Panic check if he dies - excellent!) - Enchanted Shield
2 x Level 2 Hired Mages with a Scroll each
2 x 20 Pikes - FC, light armour
2 x 8 and 1 x 9 Duellists - musicians
6 Knights - FC, barding
6 Knights - FC
2 x 10 Crossbows
Baby Cannon
19 or so Paymasters Bodyguard - FC, light armour, Warbanner
It's a pretty soft list unless you charge the Pikes in the front. Then you die.
I'd like to spare Antony the nostalgia of this game by simply saying the Empire won and he capitulated at the end of turn 5 so we could play another game. I played awesome, he played like poo. My dice skills were beyond compare, he couldn't roll his way out of a wet paper bag.
Etc.
Sorry that's not much of a report. It was a pretty brutal game. I came away with this:
I learnt that if you kill the Paymaster (say by forcing the Bodyguard to charge your Swordsmen and counter-charging with a detachment and then hitting the other flank with a unit of... oh I don't know... let's say Flagellents... then you kill BUCKETS of Bodyguard models and he fails Stubborn on 8 twice. Oh and let's also say he charged his General into the combat too - solo - and he broke and ran) then most of the army will just run away.
I also confirmed that Duellists are the huge pain in the ass that I thought they would be. Bah.
Huntsmen (when you actually deploy them) can make a difference!
Panic sucks. Ok, I already knew this but it kind of hurts to watch someone else lose a unit of Knights off the board to a failed Panic check.
20-0. 'Nuff said.
Mercenary General (Lord character) - barded warhorse, flail, shield
Paymaster (which as it turns out I was right - a BSB, makes the Bodyguard Stubborn, Panic check if he dies - excellent!) - Enchanted Shield
2 x Level 2 Hired Mages with a Scroll each
2 x 20 Pikes - FC, light armour
2 x 8 and 1 x 9 Duellists - musicians
6 Knights - FC, barding
6 Knights - FC
2 x 10 Crossbows
Baby Cannon
19 or so Paymasters Bodyguard - FC, light armour, Warbanner
It's a pretty soft list unless you charge the Pikes in the front. Then you die.
I'd like to spare Antony the nostalgia of this game by simply saying the Empire won and he capitulated at the end of turn 5 so we could play another game. I played awesome, he played like poo. My dice skills were beyond compare, he couldn't roll his way out of a wet paper bag.
Etc.
Sorry that's not much of a report. It was a pretty brutal game. I came away with this:
I learnt that if you kill the Paymaster (say by forcing the Bodyguard to charge your Swordsmen and counter-charging with a detachment and then hitting the other flank with a unit of... oh I don't know... let's say Flagellents... then you kill BUCKETS of Bodyguard models and he fails Stubborn on 8 twice. Oh and let's also say he charged his General into the combat too - solo - and he broke and ran) then most of the army will just run away.
I also confirmed that Duellists are the huge pain in the ass that I thought they would be. Bah.
Huntsmen (when you actually deploy them) can make a difference!
Panic sucks. Ok, I already knew this but it kind of hurts to watch someone else lose a unit of Knights off the board to a failed Panic check.
20-0. 'Nuff said.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Kitson's Dogs of War - pre-game FluffyCon playtesting
With the wife (and kids - yes!!!!) away, the husband shall play! I have a number of games organised this week while Jenni is away down in central Shebangabang (South Island) and the kids are at Nana's place (sometimes Mothers-in-Law are worth it!).
Game one is tonight against Antony Kitson's "fluffy" Dogs of War.
2 x 20 pikes - FC, heavy armour
2 x 10 Xbows
2 x 10 duelists with pistols and musos
2 x 6 cav, FC, 1 with barding
19 bodyguard, FC, heavy armour, Warbanner
Baby cannon
Mounted general
Paymaster on foot
2 x lvl 2 mage, 2 x scrolls, 1 x powerstone
There are some details left out on the characters of course. I've got to have some surprises!
Now for Kitson this probably really is rather fluffy. Compare if you will the list above to his Dark Elf list which he's been bullying people with for the last wee while (and hasn't lost a game for ages I believe). This might be a little inaccurate, but you get the picture:
Boss on Dragon with Pendant and killy lance/sword thing
BSB on horse with Seal and killy lance thing
L2 Sorceress with probably a couple of scrolls
An RXB unit of two
Maybe some Spears...
Blackguard
6 Cold One Knights with FC and Hotek
2 Chariots
2 x 5 Dark Riders
5 Shades (maybe GWs)
Now compared to that abomination his DoW are uber-flufftastic!
I don't often get the chance to seriously look at a game before I see my opponent's list so this provides some interesting opportunities.
2 x 20 pikes - FC, heavy armour
Charging this little lot is akin to suicide. Pikes strike in 4 (count 'em) ranks against chargers with ASF (and I think str4 against cav and chariots). Damn. So it's a manouever game to force him to charge me. This ability of course doesn't work against units charging the flank - key. Wonder if they really don't have shields or if he just casually forgot to mention...
2 x 10 Xbows
Good shooting core - Kitson loves his damn Crossbows. This trumps my meagre shooting base fair effectively - goodbye Crossbows and Handgunners. Handgunners will probably be placed for counter fire on a flank against Cav or to lure in infantry placed behind a forest/hill. We'll have short Crossbow-on-Crossbow duel which he will win. Lots of str4 shooting will hurt my infantry.
2 x 10 duelists with pistols and musos
Huge pain in the ass for sure. These little bastards pack a punch with pistols (mustn't forget stand-and-shoot!). A decent charge will send them off but of course they will be bait/fleeing all over the show. God I hope they can't Scout too! Argh! I generally hate playing against Skirmishers (shocking I know after using all those Skinks in the Lizardmen army :-) ).
2 x 6 cav, FC, 1 with barding
With full command these guys have to be respected. One has a slightly longer reach which I should forget at my peril. Flanks are at a premium but I suspect these guys will be held back to force my engagement with the nasty blocks. This won't actually happen because Antony, like any good Brettonian, will just put them on a flank and run them at me fast, forcing the issue and problem onto me. Or up the centre. He's a pretty aggressive player.
Game one is tonight against Antony Kitson's "fluffy" Dogs of War.
2 x 20 pikes - FC, heavy armour
2 x 10 Xbows
2 x 10 duelists with pistols and musos
2 x 6 cav, FC, 1 with barding
19 bodyguard, FC, heavy armour, Warbanner
Baby cannon
Mounted general
Paymaster on foot
2 x lvl 2 mage, 2 x scrolls, 1 x powerstone
There are some details left out on the characters of course. I've got to have some surprises!
Now for Kitson this probably really is rather fluffy. Compare if you will the list above to his Dark Elf list which he's been bullying people with for the last wee while (and hasn't lost a game for ages I believe). This might be a little inaccurate, but you get the picture:
Boss on Dragon with Pendant and killy lance/sword thing
BSB on horse with Seal and killy lance thing
L2 Sorceress with probably a couple of scrolls
An RXB unit of two
Maybe some Spears...
Blackguard
6 Cold One Knights with FC and Hotek
2 Chariots
2 x 5 Dark Riders
5 Shades (maybe GWs)
Now compared to that abomination his DoW are uber-flufftastic!
I don't often get the chance to seriously look at a game before I see my opponent's list so this provides some interesting opportunities.
2 x 20 pikes - FC, heavy armour
Charging this little lot is akin to suicide. Pikes strike in 4 (count 'em) ranks against chargers with ASF (and I think str4 against cav and chariots). Damn. So it's a manouever game to force him to charge me. This ability of course doesn't work against units charging the flank - key. Wonder if they really don't have shields or if he just casually forgot to mention...
2 x 10 Xbows
Good shooting core - Kitson loves his damn Crossbows. This trumps my meagre shooting base fair effectively - goodbye Crossbows and Handgunners. Handgunners will probably be placed for counter fire on a flank against Cav or to lure in infantry placed behind a forest/hill. We'll have short Crossbow-on-Crossbow duel which he will win. Lots of str4 shooting will hurt my infantry.
2 x 10 duelists with pistols and musos
Huge pain in the ass for sure. These little bastards pack a punch with pistols (mustn't forget stand-and-shoot!). A decent charge will send them off but of course they will be bait/fleeing all over the show. God I hope they can't Scout too! Argh! I generally hate playing against Skirmishers (shocking I know after using all those Skinks in the Lizardmen army :-) ).
2 x 6 cav, FC, 1 with barding
With full command these guys have to be respected. One has a slightly longer reach which I should forget at my peril. Flanks are at a premium but I suspect these guys will be held back to force my engagement with the nasty blocks. This won't actually happen because Antony, like any good Brettonian, will just put them on a flank and run them at me fast, forcing the issue and problem onto me. Or up the centre. He's a pretty aggressive player.
19 bodyguard, FC, heavy armour, Warbanner
Are these guys Stubborn with the Paymaster still alive? Ick. Surely they also have shields making them a headache in combat (against all my stuff which of course mostly str3). This will be run forward in the centre flanked by the Pike blocks on each side and the Cav maybe stacked on one flank. Crossbows will fit around this for maximum Paymaster effect.
Baby cannon
A D3 wounds job - on anti-Knight duty, probably on an extreme flank to look for the enfilade shots. Worth bugger all points I imagine making going after it a painful and annoying distraction.
Mounted general
Gear? Potential issue if not for just the leadership. Will probably hand out with a Knight unit (whichever one is closest to the blocks) for temporary leadership and some extra hittiness in combat. I expect an Enchanted Shield to be here (or on the Paymaster) along with a Sword of Might.
Paymaster on foot
Don't know my DoW rules too well but I reckon this guy has the effect of a BSB and makes the bodyguard unit Stubborn or somesuch. Geez - where's a nice big unit of Skeletons when you need them?! :-) Might have some toys but less likely. Priority is to keep him alive (Panic check for the army if he's killed?).
2 x lvl 2 mage, 2 x scrolls, 1 x powerstone
Goodbye magic phase. Gah. I hate being outmagicked. All that antimagic (4DD and 2 scrolls) and a boosted spell (powerstone) will cause some pain. Will probably be holding my scroll for the uber-cast. Antony will go for Death, trying for Doom and Darkness with both guys and happy to take pretty much anything else (some good missiles in there, Fear-causing big units would be handy etc). Will be hard-pressed to hold this off. Each Pike unit will probably get a Wizard buddy.
So what's the plan? Well the Duellists have to go - they are devastating and easily underestimated. Whoever is furtherest from the General will get some magic missile love and maybe even some shooting if I don't feel like having a go at the Crossbows. The Mortar will be handy here. Cannon will look for Knights or character sniping if a Wizard decides to go for a wander and picnic in the woods. The Huntsmen will be looking for the Cannon.
I've spent a couple of games now screwing around with my deployment. I'll be looking force the charge on the Pikes but the presence of the Warbanner/BSB in the Bodyguard and the lurking Knights will make this tricky. Magic will be decisive, especially if he gets the spells (spell) he's after. Leadership 8 is already difficult enough - nevermind being leadership 5!!! There's a lot of fairly tough (for me) static res there. I'll also have to advance or risk losing rank bonus to the enemy Crossbows which is annoying. Flagellents will be important and might even end up charging a Pike unit (they will probably end up having to) if only to keep them out of the way. They'll get butchered but should hold for a crucial turn or (with poorer rolling) two or three (bit hopeful there). Might try using the 9-man Crossbow detachment as a meatshield.
Anyway, Antony's going to try and get here early-ish so hopefully we'll get a couple of games in and you can all learn twice from my mistakes :-)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Hunted Man - FluffyCon playtesting
Asian Nick is out for my blood - he wants the win and last night (Wednesday) he damn near almost got it. Our rematch from Monday ended up being a draw 93VPs in his favour - a really close game indeed!
As is becoming habit I'm using the playtesting games to try new (for me) and usually stupid things with the Empire. This time I weighted one flank with the infantry and the other with the cavalry and artillery. Yeah - that'll work. In fact it might have gone ok if my Reiksguard Knights (and General) hadn't panicked right off the board when the Hunstmen fled through them. That's right, I finally remembered to deploy the Huntsmen and look what it got me! The Pistoliers survived long enough to take out the Jezzails (just) before dying to poisoned globes of green gassy death but the eventual death of the Huntsmen left the Great Cannon facing off against the full strength Plague Monks and Plague Censer Bearers. On the positive side, with the additional sacrifice of the GW-Knight unit it kept the awful Plague Monks out of the centre.
Combined with some good luck and the quite frankly awesome Mortar of Impending Panic Checks I managed to turn the game. This time the Rat Ogres panicked away (thank-you Burning Head) along with almost two Clanrat units (the BSBs unit panicked but managed to rally, the other fled the board). Taking on the Flagellents the Skaven General's Clanrat unit took a right beating and broke. I failed to catch them but miraculously they also failed to rally in the last turn, panicking off the Globadiers into the bargain and essentially securing me the draw.
On the other flank the Swordsmen felt the wrath of an operational Ratling Gun, losing 10 men in one round of shooting! They eventually took a charge from the full-strength Giant Rats who fluffed trememdously, lost by one and were run down in the last turn. Nice.
Pretty much everything else survived although I lost the Wizard (fled a charge and failed to rally) and the suicidal Warrior Priest who at one point (after beating on some passing Gutter Runners) took on a unit of Slaves and the General's Clanrats (in his flank) singlehandedly. The stupid git failed both of the 2+ saves he was required to make and died to a Slave's rusty blade. Good job - loser.
Anyway, maybe next time I won't try experimenting with deployment in weird and not so wonderful ways when I play Nick. He's really getting the hang of the Ratties and I'm just pushing my luck too far with stupid play.
In the post-battle discussion Nick expressed his dismay at the difficulty he has reacting to the opponent when he encounters a scenario he's never experienced - essentially a difficulty with improvising and formulating a plan when some surprising happens. This is clearly something that one develops over time with more play and experience (I readily admit I too am learning about this still) but I thought more about this later and really, does anyone ever really improvise? If you encounter a situation in Warhammer that you've never experienced maybe you don't improvise as such but rather draw relationship to a similar experience and just alter your reaction based on that and the differences to the experienced situation.
Or not. Maybe the most experienced generals have just seen it all and nothing surprises them any more.
As is becoming habit I'm using the playtesting games to try new (for me) and usually stupid things with the Empire. This time I weighted one flank with the infantry and the other with the cavalry and artillery. Yeah - that'll work. In fact it might have gone ok if my Reiksguard Knights (and General) hadn't panicked right off the board when the Hunstmen fled through them. That's right, I finally remembered to deploy the Huntsmen and look what it got me! The Pistoliers survived long enough to take out the Jezzails (just) before dying to poisoned globes of green gassy death but the eventual death of the Huntsmen left the Great Cannon facing off against the full strength Plague Monks and Plague Censer Bearers. On the positive side, with the additional sacrifice of the GW-Knight unit it kept the awful Plague Monks out of the centre.
Combined with some good luck and the quite frankly awesome Mortar of Impending Panic Checks I managed to turn the game. This time the Rat Ogres panicked away (thank-you Burning Head) along with almost two Clanrat units (the BSBs unit panicked but managed to rally, the other fled the board). Taking on the Flagellents the Skaven General's Clanrat unit took a right beating and broke. I failed to catch them but miraculously they also failed to rally in the last turn, panicking off the Globadiers into the bargain and essentially securing me the draw.
On the other flank the Swordsmen felt the wrath of an operational Ratling Gun, losing 10 men in one round of shooting! They eventually took a charge from the full-strength Giant Rats who fluffed trememdously, lost by one and were run down in the last turn. Nice.
Pretty much everything else survived although I lost the Wizard (fled a charge and failed to rally) and the suicidal Warrior Priest who at one point (after beating on some passing Gutter Runners) took on a unit of Slaves and the General's Clanrats (in his flank) singlehandedly. The stupid git failed both of the 2+ saves he was required to make and died to a Slave's rusty blade. Good job - loser.
Anyway, maybe next time I won't try experimenting with deployment in weird and not so wonderful ways when I play Nick. He's really getting the hang of the Ratties and I'm just pushing my luck too far with stupid play.
In the post-battle discussion Nick expressed his dismay at the difficulty he has reacting to the opponent when he encounters a scenario he's never experienced - essentially a difficulty with improvising and formulating a plan when some surprising happens. This is clearly something that one develops over time with more play and experience (I readily admit I too am learning about this still) but I thought more about this later and really, does anyone ever really improvise? If you encounter a situation in Warhammer that you've never experienced maybe you don't improvise as such but rather draw relationship to a similar experience and just alter your reaction based on that and the differences to the experienced situation.
Or not. Maybe the most experienced generals have just seen it all and nothing surprises them any more.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The point of pre-tournament playtesting games - FluffyCon playtesting
As Trent said in a recent episode of A Dogs Breakfast, one of the great things about playtesting a list in a friendly game (i.e. outside of a competitive tournament envrionment when fame and pride are on the line) is you have the opportunity to try things you would otherwise not normally do. Usually this involves playing the odds attempting a risky manouevre that could pay dividends if it works but if it doesn't will most likely hamstring you for the rest of the game without significant luck or uber-generalship coming to your rescue.
I was able to implement a risky manouevre against Asian Nick* last night in what looked to be a close game but resulted in a win to me by a little over 500Vps (I'm finding most FluffyCon games to be close - rarely are we seeing 20-0 massacre wins and the reduced participation of uber-characters and units - and VCs and Daemons - is really levelling the playing field enormously). The highly experimental risk was charging a unit of Slaves with the Reiksguard Knights accompanied by the Warrior Priest (Slaves fled) and in turn allowing them to be charged by a unit of Plague Censer Bearers. Ordinarily (in fact, in this game too) this is suicide. PCBs force every model in base contact to take a toughness test which if failed results in a wound with no armour save. Then each PCB gets a terrible amount of Frenzied, Hate-filled str5 attacks. Things pretty much went pear-shaped as I lost 5 Knights but in return 3 of Nick's Bearers gassed themselves to death and the surviving Knight (Warbanner-toting Standard Bearer) and Priest accounted for 2 more. The remaining PCBs broke and were run down but unfortunately the damage was done - I had 2 cav models remaining and the whole point of the exercise was to have at least 3 leaving me with the crucial unit strength of 5 to cancel ranks. The plan was to bust through to the Skaven rear with a US5 unit and get a rear charge on either the Warlord's Clanrats or the BSBs Plaguemonks (who went on to cause horrific problems for me). Ok, the plan backfired and although the remaining models survived the game (just) I was still pleased to have given it a go - had it worked out Nick would have had major problems sorting them out and keeping his units safe. The other benefit is this would have allowed a strongish force to get at those cowardly Skaven characters hiding at the back of their units.
The Rat Ogres saw combat in this game, charging the Swordsmen with Empire General. I held just to make things interesting - usually the Rat Ogres have run away and never see combat, so I was interested to see what they could do. With a massive number of attacks the Rat Ogres only lost the opening combat by 1 but with some superior armour saving and skill lost the next round by enough to break. They rallied and took a charge from the Swords and Reiksguard/Priest, broke and were run down which carried both of my units to safety.
The Spearmen saw off a Clanrat block and two units of Slaves but Nick cleverly retreated his Jezzails to prevent them from being charged in my last turn - keeping them alive a far more valuable prospect than shooting at the full strength Spear block.
The Wizard was pretty hopeless, mostly because he was stuck on a flank away from the units I wanted to fry with magic missiles (Poison Wind Globadiers and Gutter Runners).
The MVP of the match without any doubt was the Mortar. It spent two turns raining death on Slaves before turning it's attention to two units of Clanrats who were getting close to charging it. It managed over three turns to cause BOTH units to panic and they never rallied. This also caused a nearby Ratling Gun to flee the board. Nick was beyond frustrated at my incredibly good fortune and the stunning Empire artillerymen managed to earn their points back almost 6 times. Outstanding work chaps! Compare this to the cannon - almost devoid of useful targets against a Skaven army and misfiring constantly - and this was definitely the unit of the match.
Incidentally, I forgot to deploy an entire unit. Again. Yep, the good old Huntsmen didn't see the pitch once more. Sheesh. What an embarassment!
* much like "Phils" and "Daves" there seems to be a preponderance of "Nicks" in Warhammer. To clear this up for future blog entries:
- Asian Nick - Engineering Master (Master of Thesis Extension that is) Nicholas Ng who plays Skaven (regular opponent, figures probabilities by means of an internal calculator, yet to beat me at Warhammer, given to bizarre diagulous diversions at the most inopportune moments mid-game)
- CSS Nick - Captain Soft Score Nick Irvine who plays Wood Elves (I've only played this Nick once a LONG time ago when I borrowed Antony's Dwarfs to learn how to play Warhammer. Nick's been hiding from me ever since)
- Venerable and Ancient Nick - the wise and cynical Nick Buckby who in his time may very well have played every army in existence and some that no longer exist (who I've played a couple of times - smashed his Woodies 19-1 at Fields of Blood then my Dwarfs took a pounding from his recently acquired Orcs and Gobbos at Doug's Farewell)
I was able to implement a risky manouevre against Asian Nick* last night in what looked to be a close game but resulted in a win to me by a little over 500Vps (I'm finding most FluffyCon games to be close - rarely are we seeing 20-0 massacre wins and the reduced participation of uber-characters and units - and VCs and Daemons - is really levelling the playing field enormously). The highly experimental risk was charging a unit of Slaves with the Reiksguard Knights accompanied by the Warrior Priest (Slaves fled) and in turn allowing them to be charged by a unit of Plague Censer Bearers. Ordinarily (in fact, in this game too) this is suicide. PCBs force every model in base contact to take a toughness test which if failed results in a wound with no armour save. Then each PCB gets a terrible amount of Frenzied, Hate-filled str5 attacks. Things pretty much went pear-shaped as I lost 5 Knights but in return 3 of Nick's Bearers gassed themselves to death and the surviving Knight (Warbanner-toting Standard Bearer) and Priest accounted for 2 more. The remaining PCBs broke and were run down but unfortunately the damage was done - I had 2 cav models remaining and the whole point of the exercise was to have at least 3 leaving me with the crucial unit strength of 5 to cancel ranks. The plan was to bust through to the Skaven rear with a US5 unit and get a rear charge on either the Warlord's Clanrats or the BSBs Plaguemonks (who went on to cause horrific problems for me). Ok, the plan backfired and although the remaining models survived the game (just) I was still pleased to have given it a go - had it worked out Nick would have had major problems sorting them out and keeping his units safe. The other benefit is this would have allowed a strongish force to get at those cowardly Skaven characters hiding at the back of their units.
The Rat Ogres saw combat in this game, charging the Swordsmen with Empire General. I held just to make things interesting - usually the Rat Ogres have run away and never see combat, so I was interested to see what they could do. With a massive number of attacks the Rat Ogres only lost the opening combat by 1 but with some superior armour saving and skill lost the next round by enough to break. They rallied and took a charge from the Swords and Reiksguard/Priest, broke and were run down which carried both of my units to safety.
The Spearmen saw off a Clanrat block and two units of Slaves but Nick cleverly retreated his Jezzails to prevent them from being charged in my last turn - keeping them alive a far more valuable prospect than shooting at the full strength Spear block.
The Wizard was pretty hopeless, mostly because he was stuck on a flank away from the units I wanted to fry with magic missiles (Poison Wind Globadiers and Gutter Runners).
The MVP of the match without any doubt was the Mortar. It spent two turns raining death on Slaves before turning it's attention to two units of Clanrats who were getting close to charging it. It managed over three turns to cause BOTH units to panic and they never rallied. This also caused a nearby Ratling Gun to flee the board. Nick was beyond frustrated at my incredibly good fortune and the stunning Empire artillerymen managed to earn their points back almost 6 times. Outstanding work chaps! Compare this to the cannon - almost devoid of useful targets against a Skaven army and misfiring constantly - and this was definitely the unit of the match.
Incidentally, I forgot to deploy an entire unit. Again. Yep, the good old Huntsmen didn't see the pitch once more. Sheesh. What an embarassment!
* much like "Phils" and "Daves" there seems to be a preponderance of "Nicks" in Warhammer. To clear this up for future blog entries:
- Asian Nick - Engineering Master (Master of Thesis Extension that is) Nicholas Ng who plays Skaven (regular opponent, figures probabilities by means of an internal calculator, yet to beat me at Warhammer, given to bizarre diagulous diversions at the most inopportune moments mid-game)
- CSS Nick - Captain Soft Score Nick Irvine who plays Wood Elves (I've only played this Nick once a LONG time ago when I borrowed Antony's Dwarfs to learn how to play Warhammer. Nick's been hiding from me ever since)
- Venerable and Ancient Nick - the wise and cynical Nick Buckby who in his time may very well have played every army in existence and some that no longer exist (who I've played a couple of times - smashed his Woodies 19-1 at Fields of Blood then my Dwarfs took a pounding from his recently acquired Orcs and Gobbos at Doug's Farewell)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Does the first game of the year define your chances of making it to the Masters? - FluffyCon playtesting
Derick popped over for dinner and a game last night which was great because:
- Derick's a great guy
- Derick's army is a lot of fun to play
- Derick thrashed me last time we played and I've been looking for the opportunity for REVENGE!
Fortunately I've fluffed my list up even more since our last game and as we all know, he with the fluffiest list will always win in the end. Yeah right.
There were a couple of key moments in this game which led to a close win (by around 500VPs) to me:
- The Reiksguard Knights and accompanying Warrior Priest got a sweet flank charge off on the Orc General's unit of Savage Orc Boar Boyz. The Orcs lost by 3 and fled, getting run down and allowing me an overrun in the Savage Orc L4 Shaman sitting in a forest next to them. He got taken out in short order and the Knights took a charge from the remainder of the other SO Boar unit (the Champion and a character) who failed to make a dent and were crossfired by some conveniently placed Pistoliers.
- My inability to deal with the Giant quickly and cheaply cost me two blocks. I hate Giants. Passing Terror and then a Fear check my Spearmen led by the General charged into the lumbering brute and caused 2 wounds (Sword of Might for the win!). The Giant promptly rolled up 'Yell and Bawl' (wins the combat by 2). Of course I failed the break check and was cut down. The Swordsmen took a beating a few turns later and were wiped out - fortunately the BSB saw it coming and bailed at the last moment.
The GW-Knights proved their fluffiness dying to a Goblin chariot after running out of room to run away from it. After all my worrying about the accursed Squig Herd I managed to kill the eventual survivors off completely thereby negating their expected explosion, which was a pity as they were placed nicely to obliterate two Spider Rider units in their death throes.
I completely forgot to deploy an entire unit (Huntsmen). Newb syndrome. Ugh.
I'm having a great deal of trouble with Orcs and Goblins at the moment and despite the fact I triumphed in this game and had a lot of fun my confidence is not wholly bouyed by my recent success.
I've started thinking further afield about the Empire army - beyond FluffyCon to what else is on offer this year. The plan is to make at least one Wellington tournament so a 2250pt list will eventually need some close consideration. Derick proved his awesomeness by giving me a swag of Empire stuff he's just brought back from Oz including 30 Swordsmen, 4 Knights and a smattering of bits to make up some detachments (and a bag of other stuff too! Legend!) so it's time to look at painting up some more stuff (another block of 25 Swords and buffing up the current unit to 25 would be sweet). Problem is I just can't see what I would add and I really dont want to cheese up the army to compete in a regular tournament environment having worked so hard with the comparitively "toned down" list.
I'm wondering if it might be possible to win with a Captain-led Ld8 army in a standard tournament? With no Rares.
Not kidding myself too much though. I'll definitely be taking another Great Cannon!
EDIT - woot! First post of 2009! Does anyone still read this rubbish? :-)
- Derick's a great guy
- Derick's army is a lot of fun to play
- Derick thrashed me last time we played and I've been looking for the opportunity for REVENGE!
Fortunately I've fluffed my list up even more since our last game and as we all know, he with the fluffiest list will always win in the end. Yeah right.
There were a couple of key moments in this game which led to a close win (by around 500VPs) to me:
- The Reiksguard Knights and accompanying Warrior Priest got a sweet flank charge off on the Orc General's unit of Savage Orc Boar Boyz. The Orcs lost by 3 and fled, getting run down and allowing me an overrun in the Savage Orc L4 Shaman sitting in a forest next to them. He got taken out in short order and the Knights took a charge from the remainder of the other SO Boar unit (the Champion and a character) who failed to make a dent and were crossfired by some conveniently placed Pistoliers.
- My inability to deal with the Giant quickly and cheaply cost me two blocks. I hate Giants. Passing Terror and then a Fear check my Spearmen led by the General charged into the lumbering brute and caused 2 wounds (Sword of Might for the win!). The Giant promptly rolled up 'Yell and Bawl' (wins the combat by 2). Of course I failed the break check and was cut down. The Swordsmen took a beating a few turns later and were wiped out - fortunately the BSB saw it coming and bailed at the last moment.
The GW-Knights proved their fluffiness dying to a Goblin chariot after running out of room to run away from it. After all my worrying about the accursed Squig Herd I managed to kill the eventual survivors off completely thereby negating their expected explosion, which was a pity as they were placed nicely to obliterate two Spider Rider units in their death throes.
I completely forgot to deploy an entire unit (Huntsmen). Newb syndrome. Ugh.
I'm having a great deal of trouble with Orcs and Goblins at the moment and despite the fact I triumphed in this game and had a lot of fun my confidence is not wholly bouyed by my recent success.
I've started thinking further afield about the Empire army - beyond FluffyCon to what else is on offer this year. The plan is to make at least one Wellington tournament so a 2250pt list will eventually need some close consideration. Derick proved his awesomeness by giving me a swag of Empire stuff he's just brought back from Oz including 30 Swordsmen, 4 Knights and a smattering of bits to make up some detachments (and a bag of other stuff too! Legend!) so it's time to look at painting up some more stuff (another block of 25 Swords and buffing up the current unit to 25 would be sweet). Problem is I just can't see what I would add and I really dont want to cheese up the army to compete in a regular tournament environment having worked so hard with the comparitively "toned down" list.
I'm wondering if it might be possible to win with a Captain-led Ld8 army in a standard tournament? With no Rares.
Not kidding myself too much though. I'll definitely be taking another Great Cannon!
EDIT - woot! First post of 2009! Does anyone still read this rubbish? :-)
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