Stomp Em Flat...

So i have been off the radar for quite some time I apologize for that, I have been busy at work keeping the girlfriend happy and toiling at work. Always a lethal combination when it comes to anything hobby related as both activities require time and attention.

Through peer pressure Cash has managed to sign me up for the Apocalypse League for the Game Room store, it is a 5k running league with a few additions/changes posted on his site. I immediately called for help from my group to pony up some ork models for me to field enough things for the games. Amazingly I found out between my personal collection of orks and what i have borrowed that i have more than enough to make quite a few different army lists.

I played a practice game against Mike our resident Imperial Guard player in a test game. Our group is still pretty new to this 5th edition thing so the game went a little slower than usual games. Still the game was GREAT fun, we played outside on a sunny Saturday afternoon while drinking beer and BBQ'ing... Can it really get any better?

The lists (roughly):

Mine (Orks)
Big Mek x7, assorted gear including 3 Kustom Force Fields, 2 Shokk Attack Guns and 2 with just Burnas
Warboss w/ combi skorcha and power klaw
Wyrdboy Warpheads x2

Killa Kan x9 w/ assorted gear
Looted Wagon x2 w/ boom guns
Battle Wagon x2
Lootas 10 x 2
Boyz Mob 25 x 5-6
Tankbustas x9
Grots 2 x 20
Mega Armored Nobs x9
Big Mek Stompa

Mike (Imperial Guard)
Command HQ
Inquisitor
Independent Commissar x3
Calidus Assassin

Conscript Platoon 50 x2
Guard Platoon x2 with 5 squads each and 3 heavy weapon squads each.
Stormtroops 10 x 2
Leman Russ x4
Veterans 10 x 2
Penal Legion

Sentinels x3
Leman Russ Demolisher x2
Basilisk x3
Colossus x2
Punisher


Here are a few pics with a small description of what was going on...





Here we have deployment where i bid the max time thinking for some odd reason that i would need it. Well i was sorely wrong and mike pummeled my stompa leaving it with a single structure point.. he also left huge gaps in my infantry by firing multiple blasts from leman russes and basilisks.





Here you can see some neat holes punched through a mob of grots near the front of my line. Along with a nice template outline on a mob of boys on the right flank.. damn artillery.



The general orky advance! forward! I must say that the Lifta Droppa that the Stompa is armed with.. pure fun! Nothing like lifting tanks into the air and tossing them about causing havoc on everything!





About a turn later a bunch of holes are starting to form in the guard lines, mainly from a few moved infantry lines.. Guard advancing? well some of them!




Some very clear damage among both lines the destroyed husks of leman russ tanks shows that the right flank is definitely in peril to fall.




The last turn was pretty much a mop up operation for my orks i stopped moving some of my infantry as i was eating while playing. I'll admit i was a lazy son of a bitch as the battle drew to a close.



Last picture of the battle, the Imperial Guard casualty pile. These boys won't be returning home in anything but a wooden suit case. The group tried to guess how many casualties in total the game would reach. With about 400-500 infantry models being the result. Some of the highlights in the the game were two Killa Kans charging a conscript squad killing about 2-3 of them while the Commissar uses a powerfist to blow a Kan apart killing 21 conscripts... yup! Also despite the fire that Mike poured into the Stompa the first turn I thought it would surely fall the second turn.. This was not to be as Mike continued to pour fire into it and could do nothing but fail to roll the 5 or 6 needed to destroy it.

General Update..

WHFB:
Sorry for the lack of update guys so far my "Mongorcs" are doing good in the league getting two victories over Orcs and a victory over High Elves. Though I did have a close fought defeat against Vampire Counts (i misjudged the distance between one of my units...) before a unit of black knights and wraiths mopped up most of my line. But other than that I am quite satisfied on how my new army is doing.

My dark elves were mostly a shooting type of army with some quick counter assault units to mop up depleted units. With the orc army I tend to be more aggressive using anti-magic to make things 'more fair' lol. I found out just how amazing goblin wolf riders are, when the points jump happens I plan to put quite a few units in.

Painting wise I am copying what I see online as far as 'nomadic hordes' so lots of blue/turquoise with brownish/red pants, the skin I painted graveyard earth giving them a very muted skin tone. The first few models I cranked out look quite good despite being far from finished.

AE WWII/Secrets of the Third Reich:
Other projects on my table are AE WWII American sci-tech force, a little bit difficult to put together but good minis with lots of detail none the less. I hope to get the force painted up quickly to demo it to the Game Room (a semi-local store). I have people have shown interest in non-GW skirmish games, especially of the "Weird War II" variety. Secrets of the Third Reich seems like a solid game with some cool mechanics I will definitely look into the game in the next month or two.

Pulp City:
I eagerly await to get an order big enough to get some of the new villain supremes they have released. They are quite nasty and help expand the game way beyond what just came in the 'starter' box. Now sporting an assortment of over 22 miniatures split between hero's and villains the game now has more range and variety and that is always a good thing. This is also one of the games that my group wants to formally introduce to the game room... after all who doesn't like hero's and villains?

Well that's about it for now I have a bunch of 'party' pictures on my camera as soon as I clear them out I want to snap a few pictures of my work. Till then!

From the Mountain Pass... Part 1

The sun had rose up from the earth, the morning light giving life to what was once dead casting away the shadow of the night. Mongke steadied his steed taking in the beautiful sight as the sun rose into the sky. His bravest warriors had followed him on an expedition to claim a land that they might call their own. His goblin scouts had told them of a nearby camp of orcs and goblins, their camp fires and raucous behavior giving them away.

Mongke had sent an envoy but it had not returned yet he worried for the safety of his men under his command. His worst fears were confirmed one of his riders came riding in on his wolf bruised and beaten. The goblin tried to speak but was having great difficulty Mongke put his hand upon the goblin's head and said "have no fear brother we march out against these savages.." as he soberly donned his helmet and marched to war.


Well this was my first game of the escalation league starting at 1000pts I was wondering how many games I could get into this bracket seeing as I had no reliable way of getting to the store but I later found out I would have nothing to worry about..

My list:

Mongke (orc big boss) w/ spear, light armor, boar, enchanted shield and boss best 'at
Bartan (orc big boss w/ spear light armor, boar, bsb and mork's spirit totem

Orcs x25 w/ shields and full command
Orcs x25 w/ shields and full command
Goblin Wolf Riders x5 w/ spears and musician
Goblin Wolf Riders x5 w/ spears and musician

Goblin Squig Hoppers x5
Orc "knights/heavy lancers" (boar boys) x5 w/ spears and musician

Enemy List:
Goblin Big Boss w/ ?
Goblin Shaman w/ lvl 2 and ?

Night Goblins x20 w/ full command fanatic
Night Goblins x20 w/ full command fanatic
Night Goblins x20 w/ full command archers fanatic
Night Goblins x20 w/ full command archers
Goblin Spider Riders x10 w/ full command

Black Orcs x10 w/ full command
Troll

To be fair my opponent was limited by funds/time and the skulls pass set though i'm glad to see that the next points jump he had more freedom and money to make a more effective and fun list for himself.

The armies were arrayed against each other and the mountains were crawling with hundreds of robed goblins forming a rather ragged battle line. They were bolstered by some black orcs they must of bribed of coerced to join their army. On the other side of the battlefield stood Mongke's army forming a solid center line with their fast elements on their flanks ready to harry the enemy.

Mongke spoke in a controlled but loud booming voice to his men "Do not worry men! Their numbers seem inexhaustible but they lack discipline and martial prowess! Onwards to victory!". His army responded by marching solemnly forward heedless to the goblin's superior numbers ready to fight and die for their Khan.

The lack of goblin discipline showed early in the battle as their line advanced haphazardly towards Mongke's army. The brave goblin wolf riders and squig hoppers were given the order to draw out any fanatics and give ground to any enemy that opposed them to separate units from their battle line. This worked wonderfully as fanatics flew out of their units far from the main battle line wrapping their chains around their necks and crashing into trees before they could do any discernible damage.

The spider riders decided a head long charge into Mongke's regiment realizing their folly too late as the orcs simply shrugged off their blows. Several died before they called for a rout despite the swiftness of their steeds they were run down by the orcs. Who were then harassed by bow fire from the hilltops above, despite their torrent of fire few orcs fell as they covered their advance with their large shields.

In the center the Bartan and his regiment smashed through the black orc mercenaries running them down as their courage faltered. The shaman was caught off guard and could not stammer the words of power to stop the advance as Bartan ran through his own unit and drove them to the ground.

Elsewhere the orc heavy lancers were beleaguered by the goblin general and his massive cohort. Despite their best efforts cleaving down foe after foe their enemies were too numerous and they retreated. The goblin general laughed for his cronies to see but soon stopped when the field of battle was as silent as the grave. Most of his army had been destroyed their bodies laying all over the field and with that he called retreat.

This was a relatively fast game as far as thinking went for me, I set out to not be mangled by his fanatics using my squig hoppers and wolf riders as bait. After drawing them out I waited a turn for them to either crash into terrain or move out of the way as I reformed my battle line. Almost everything went to plan except my heavy lancers (boar boys) bouncing off the generals unit! I figured between 10 attacks (boars and riders) hitting and killing on 2+'s I would get the 5-6 kills I would need. Instead I believe i only killed about 4? or so and ran from combat for shame.

In this battle despite him having a level 2 magician his unit squabbled 3 turns in a row! He didn't squabble a fourth turn because Bartan and his unit charged them and ran straight through them. I was lucky that he did not get a chance to cast anything, despite me having 5 dispel dice you never know when you aren't going to roll like crap..

At the end of the battle he had:
goblin general w/ 20 night goblins full command
night goblin archers x20 w/ full command
night goblins x20 w/ spears

I had:
Mongke w/ Orcs x25 full command
Bartan w/ Orcs x25 full command
I also captured 3 banners and we contested on table quarters

Mongke looked out at the countless bodies of goblins that littered the ground there were few survivors that would retreat into the mountains. It did not have to come to this but their misguided greenskin cousins could never understand. As night drew campsites were set up and fires were lit in preparation for the long journey to new lands... a land they would call their own.

Graveyard Summoning!

A week or two ago Jon and myself played a game of Pulp City, a game where super heros and villains clash in the city streets of the 1980's. We picked up this game last year in Gencon Indy, as always I scouted the game months ahead of time and simply led my two friends (Jon and Hoj) to their table. It took a whole miniature or so before Jon and Hoj were already trying to think up how to split up the starter sets.

Though we have had the game for a fair few months our group tends to be quite diversified and there are always more than a handful of gaming systems being played at any one time. This is an account of my 3rd game(?).

It was a level 5 encounter, in pulp city a supreme (hero/villain) is given a number value based on their abilities. So far there are only level 1's and 2's out but soon level 3's will be released. Level 1 supremes tend to be small blitzer or support type of characters, most of the time they have few abilities that can't take a punch too well. Level 2 supremes tend to be greatly varied in their abilities, some are the traditional bruisers while others tend to be better at range using blasts of energy to win the day.

My "team" consisted of..

Hellsmith, Level: 2 Supreme - think something of a fallen/forgotten greek god with a runic hammer and you aren't that far off.

Nuke, Level: 2 Supreme - is a powerful melee opponent made up of nuclear energy held together by a suit of experimental armor.

Mourn, Level: 1 Supreme - hailing for the necroplane or the realm of nightmares/death i'm not quite sure how to use him to be honest but he is an awesome model.

For their resources/equipment I gave hellsmith his "hell hammer", nuke his "reinforced suit" and mourn "hired guns"

Jon had:

Solar, Level: 2 Supreme - a german superhero who uses the power of the sun.


Ace of Wraiths, Level: 2 Supreme - an old gunslinger who won a lot more than he bargained for when he bested the devil in a hand of poker.

Red Riding Hoodoo, Level: 1 Supreme - mix little red riding hood and voodoo you can't be that far off!

Jon's Resources were: solar's "tiara", ace of wraiths "deck of cards" and red riding hoodoo's "zombie wolf"


The Scenario:



We both took a good look at the terrain and decided that the game took place in a run down neighborhood by a cemetery. The villians need to gain access to the crypt for some nefarious purpose while the heros would try and hold them off.

We placed the 5 civilians and said they were worth scenario points (1 for each heros would try and keep them alive villians wanted to kill them) holding the cemetery would be worth 3 points also. Whoever won the initiative for the turn was allowed to move d6 civilians and his opponent would move the rest if any.

The Game!

Hellsmith wastes no time charging forward with such bravado! Nuke decides to creep up slowly avoiding any direct fire from Solar or Ace of Wraiths while Hoodoo decides to hide in the cemetery for protection.



Mourn takes his hired guns and hides among the ruins careful to alert the zombie wolf or Ace of Wraiths suspicions...



Hellsmith approaches the car attempting to take some cover knowing full well the deadly energy blasts that both Solar and Ace of Wraiths have at their disposal...



Solar rushes to the car that Hellsmith was hiding behind and lifts it over his head throwing it at the colossal Hellsmith who simply shrugs off the damage and tosses aside the car.



Nuke decides to dash forward between Ace of Wraiths and Solar and claps his hands unleashing a apocalyptic wave of radiation! Which hurts both heros and kills a civilian!



Nuke's victory was short lived as both Solar and Ace of Wraiths combined their powers to send Nuke away for good. His body dissipating in a nimbus of nuclear energy and a bright flash. Hellsmith smashed down his ornate hammer sending tremors through the ground which knocked Solar off his feet! Next he assaulted Ace of Wraiths and knocked him out of action after he was severely wounded by Mourn's hired guns.



Solar then managed to get up and easily handle the two hired guns before Hellsmith's war bellow caught him off guard. Hellsmith seemed all but unstoppable knocking out Solar and Hoodoo's zombie wolf! But even the mightiest villain must fall as Hoodoo used all her power to put an end to Hellsmith's bloody reign!



I had a lot of fun during the game as my villains tried to gain access to the graveyard but the lowliest of hero's took down the bruiser which was Hellsmith! The only thing I would have liked to change was either use twilight or gentlemen as my level 1 supreme as I am still looking how to properly use mourn.. but other than that i'm glad that my favorite figure (Hellsmith) managed to carry the day for the villains till the very end!

Invasion of the Coasts: Part 9

Such a small town harbored a terrible secret or so Goethe was told from one of the marauder horsemen who was abandoned on the field from the last battle. It had seemed a charismatic leader had risen through the ranks claiming himself a prophet. A garrison of foolhardy empire troops fell prey to his fiery oratories and were now on the road to damnation to the ruinous powers... humans thought Goethe such simple beasts...

Apparently the garrison had marched into the capitol under friendly flags massacred the city militia and offered the peasants as a sacrifice to their gods. Letting roving bands of chaos warriors and demons to roam the country side as they finished their rituals involving some of treasures that Goethe had been so desperately seeking. The marauder had more to say but Geothe grew tired of the captive and simply cleaved him in two with a powerful swipe of his halberd.

"These fools meddle with powers they could not even comprehend..." Goethe could care less for the countless of innocents slain, but they sought to destroy certain magical treasures that could make more gateways for demons to flood the material plane. With grim determination Goethe donned his armor and told his personal guard "It is time to take what belongs to me! Assemble the army we march to riches!"

This was the third and final battle of the tournament and at this point I was quite tired, my last tournament was in August and it was for Dark Age/Infinity (both skirmish games). I was pretty optimistic despite visually seeing quite a few threats, when my opponent handed me his army list it looked like this:

Arch Lector w/ war alter, sword of power, shield of the gorgon and van horstman's speculum.
Warriors Priest w/ great weapon, armor of meteoric iron and icon of magnus
Battle Wizard w/ lvl 2, dispel scroll and wizards staff
Spearmen x22 w/ full command Detachments: Halberdiers x7 Halberdiers x10
Handgunners x10 w/ full command Detachments: Crossbows x5 Crossbows x5
Flagellents x16 w/prophet
Great Cannon x2
Goblin Hewer
Pistoliers x5 w/ champ
Pistoliers x5 w/ champ
Knights x5
Knights x5
Steam Tank

Looking over the army list I was quite puzzled with some choices he took but the two glaring things were mainly the Steam Tank and the War Alter two things I have never faced!

Magic: Sameth: Rule of Burning Iron, Commandment of Brass and Spirit of the Forge. Nimue rolled Chillwind and Black Horror. I believe that his Wizard rolled Commandment of Brass and another spell he never used.

Sorry guys unfortunately I did not take any pictures of this battle for a number of reasons, first it was late and I admit I was pretty tired. Second because of some scheduling error my opponent was brought in as a semi ringer with only half his army so I was facing half of a nicely painted army and some movement trays with dice... yes... So with that said the whole report will just be one flowing narrative.


The skies were a dark purple and red haze that blended into the horizon peals of lightning struck constantly and randomly. Even the air seemed thick and unnaturally humid as if reality was slowly starting to come apart one sense at a time. Goethe spat the foul magics of chaos were at work here, all along the country side the bodies of dead civilians were left there to rot strange markings carved into their skins.

Hymns of praise could be heard till finally Goethe caught a glimpse of his enemy, their skin was an unhealthy gray their once proud uniforms were covered in blood and their faces bore a blank expression as if they were drugged. At the center of the army Goethe could spot the ring leader that had started all this mess as he strode into battle among his chariot carrying a false idol of some sort of bovine creature. The impostor held up his book of flayed skin and preached to his followers hitting them with a cat nine tails as he rode by much to the delight or sometimes indifference of his followers.

* Deployment was rather simple all his fast stuff pistoliers and knights on my left flank his General in the center of the field (closer to the left flank though with the steam tank taking a slight lead) with all his infantry occupying the center. The right flank consisted of two cannons...

My deployment was Jotan facing off against his fast stuff more or less alone. Center was just about my whole army. Right flank was spearmen with Nimue, executioners, a unit of harpies and a chariot. I figured I would be able to turn a flank or at the very least detract some of his troops.

The field of battle had no hills but rather had many trees(note for some reason we didn't think they would be forests?) occupying the flanks with the center dominated by many pillars something of an alter.. how fitting..



Giving praises to their gods the misguided shuffled forward more content with casually strolling forward mutilating themselves than to get to grips with the enemy. Perhaps this led to the artillery crew to haphazardly load their guns more entertained with their own twisted visions than the enemy their shots going wildly off target. Daubed with bodily filth and ruins of horrific power the steam tank fired it's cannon as it's crew laughed maniacally as the ball went cruising through the regiment of dark elf crossbowmen.

The pistoliers once great nobles turned deviant followers of the dark powers rode through the forests firing their pistols at Jotan who simply flew higher with his pegasus avoiding the shots. Jotan gripped his lance and dove into the dumb founded pistoliers who found that their pistol's were too slow for the natural grace of an elf. Underneath his helm Jotan smiled as he gored one of the over indulgent nobles to his own mount, he drew his sword in one swift motion and set upon the other two nobles who fell off their mounts in pieces. The force of the pegasus' legs smashed in the helmet of another leaving one rather stunned survivor who attempted to flee but was cut down for his troubles.

Flying low Jotan retrieved his lance from a corpse and charged a second regiment of pistoliers who were powerless against the savagery of the elf. This time there were no survivors and all the young nobles lay in a tattered heap the price for serving the gods of chaos. Jotan laughed and flew into the dark skies to avoid retribution from the empire army, he only needed to get a bit closer to his target...

Elsewhere the knights raced down the field their once bright armor was filth encrusted and daubed with runes of devotion to their new prophet. They came across a cold one chariot who refused to move due to some pesky spell the opposing wizard cast on it. The elves jumped off the chariot just in time as the knights smashed it apart with their broadswords and continued into a unit of corsairs. Despite the ferocity of the knights the nimble elves managed to avoid the worst of it with only a few falling almost in twain. With a stern gaze Goethe made sure the corsairs did not even think of breaking the battle could be won or lost in the next few actions.

Goethe called for a charge against the foolish knight's flank despite their heavy armor the corsairs jumped and brought them down from their horses. Stabbing them in the joints of their armor till they stopped screaming their filthy armor given a new coat of blood their own.

Though the army of crazed men were without a doubt devoted to their leader they lacked the brilliance and cunning of the dark elves. In their rush to come to grips with the enemy they got in the way of their supporting artillery. The dark elves on the other hand held their center line still making the foolish humans run into the teeth of their fire paying the butcher's bill for their mistake. Bodies fell left and right punctured by the black bolts of the dark elf weapons, they hardly noticed trampling over their injured as they continued onwards.

On the right flank Nimue led the attack blasting the crossbowmen of the empire with bolts of pure energy. With all her might she fought through the magical defenses of the opposing wizard summoning a vortex of energy that sent most of the hand gunners into another dimension. Harpies came down attracted by the scent of blood and filth that filled the air. They swooped down on the cannon crew leaving a mound of half eaten flesh as they flew into the sky once more.

The prophet was too busy motivating his troops into higher depths of depravity to notice Jotan who thought it a perfect time to introduce himself. Jotan hovered a few feet from the war alter a golden calf emanated unholy energy that was getting stronger and stronger as battle raged all around. The prophet spoke in a booming voice "Unbeliever! Perish to the combined might of the pantheon of the most righteous!" Jotan reached into his bag and produced a glass orb with a liquid inside. Sameth had taken time to prepare the concoction and had instructed Jotan to use this against the source of the prophet's power.

Jotan swung his arm back menacingly as the prophet stopped talking and saw the danger to his war alter.. "NO!!! STOP HIM MY PETS!!" but it was too late Jotan had already thrown the orb at the golden calf. The prophet tried to jump and catch it but a life of gluttony has it's disadvantages. The orb hit the calf and shattered the liquid was set free in every direction even splashing the prophet himself. Within seconds smoke could be seen as it burned through the solid gold calf and the prophet who began to scream as it melted his body away. Jotan knew better than to stick around and took to the air once again as he heard reality buckle behind him within seconds there was silence again and there was no trace of the "prophet" or his golden calf.

Without their mighty prophet leading them it seemed as if many of the soldiers snapped out of the daze only to find themselves in a nightmare. Many began to wail and go crazy stabbing and slashing all those within arms length. Others began to weep and took their own lives. A teeming mass of uncontrollable emotions played at to the amusement of the dark elves who simply let the scene play out as they pushed passed and claimed their rightful prize...

This was a very interesting battle that I wish we had more time to play out, apparently we didn't notice the time and we only managed to play 2-3 turns? wow. I was deathly afraid of the steam tank but it turned out I didn't even get to face it. Since one turn he wanted to go for max steam points and was rewarded by rolling a 6 meaning it couldn't do a thing and it took a point of damage!

When we first started counting up points in my mind i thought we would draw as it didn't seem like a lot of points were scored. But when we added up the points it came up I only lost about 240 odd some points to 500+ points and an extra 100pts for a table quarter! Giving me a nice win on my record!

My scoring wasn't bad I expected to do slightly better in painting but other than that I placed in 7th or 8th I believe not bad going 1-1-1! When awards were given out they called my name and I wasn't paying attention as I didn't expect to win anything. As it turns out my opponents voted me as best sportsmen (must be all the off the cuff humor) I received a $35 gift certificate which I used to buy a battle wagon for my 40k army.

All and all a great tourney I had lots of fun and can't wait for the next fantasy tournament. On the horizon my orcs are being built for a fantasy escalation league that starts next week. I hope to post up a few pictures in a day or two stay tuned!

The black arks were still being loaded with fresh slaves and the magical treasures that he had so desperately sought. He stood looking into the horizon as the sun was setting the purple and the red meshing in the sky. A small grin was appearing on his face till a slave bumped into him, Goethe back handed the slave with his gauntlet almost knocking off his head. "Bring this sorry whelp to my chamber.. it will be many a lonely night back to the land of chill... pray you die pf my attentions on the first night".

Invasion of the Coasts: Part 8

After the last battle few survivors had made it back to camp but there were always more reinforcements on their way from the black arks. It only took a few days for his army to be back in fighting strength before Goethe gave the order to march again. It wasn't long before they heard the the clanking of full plate armor and praises to the dark gods. "The mortals of chaos think they can stop me do they... form a line the tribes of the north march against us!"

This was the second game of the tourney and I was facing one of the locals named Kyle, who is actually a fairly laid back player who plays more with what he likes rather than what would be effective at least in my opinion. His list looked like..

Khorne Lord on Juggernaut not sure what kind of gear but MR 1
Chaos Knights x5 full command
Warhounds x5
Warhounds x5
Warhounds x5
Warhounds x5
Chaos Warriors x10 w/ full command, shields and double hand weapons
Chaos Warriors x10 w/ full command, shields and double hand weapons
Marauder Horsemen x5
Dragon Ogre Shaggoth
Giant w/ Mark of Slannesh
Wulfrik w/ marauders x15 full command

Nimue rolled: Word of Pain and Bladewind. Sameth rolled: Rule of Burning Iron, Commandment of Brass and Law of Gold.


Turns 1-2:

With screams of devotion to their god Khorne the north men charged towards the dark elf lines heedless to any casualties being trampled underfoot in their dash into glorious combat. In a blink of an eye the chaos line was already past the halfway point of the field, the crossbowmen eyed each other nervously wondering if their missile fire would be enough to deter these crazed warriors.

The shaggoth roared to the skies as it galloped forward ignoring the bolts piercing it's body. A flock of harpies were brave enough to attack the shaggoth in it's weakened state flying in circles and gouging deep wounds in it's body. The shaggoth launched himself into the air and swung his great axe knocking most of the harpies out of the air, he clutched one in his hands and bit his head off scattering the rest of the harpies. It bellowed a great laugh as it fed on the harpies too late did it realize that the bolt thrower crew were merely adjusting their war machines to aim at him and he fell to the floor quite dead a giant bolt stuck in his chest.

Even the full plate chaos armor of the warriors was not a match for the keen eye sight of the shades. Who aimed at the exposed flesh between the armor plates and joints bringing down the warrior knights on foot. Sameth raised his hand and one of the warriors broke ranks screaming as his armor burned him alive.

On the other flank the massive giant stalked through the forests and assaulted the crossbowmen who despite their fire could not bring down the mighty giant. The titan swung his chain around making a few warriors fly off their feet into the distant sky in an explosion of blood and bone. To their credit the warriors braced their shields and prepared for the worst confident that reinforcements would soon come... at least they hoped..




The first two turns was the chaos army advancing while I positioned my units to get the most shots off as is the usual procedure for my army. The giant hid from most of my fire by running the far right flank. I did manage to put two wounds on him with a unit of crossbows I had left there.

Wulfrik had appeared on the flank of my spearmen on the bottom of the second turn. I knew that he would charge them so I simply turned to face him as Nimue fled the scene this could be messy...

Turns 3-4:

The Khorne lord and his much feared knights punched a whole separating the center from the left flank. In their bloody wake they left what could of been called a chariot at one point and the remains of shattered armor and crossbows. They continued their murderous parade by slamming into Goethe's corsairs. In what could be at best called a whirlwind of severed body parts the nerve of the corsairs broke and they were duly run down.

The giant laughed as he jumped up and down on the crossbowmen crushing quite literally underfoot. The crossbowmen decided that they did their duty and ran off the field tossing their weapons aside in order to run faster. The executioners managed to cut down plenty of the chaos warriors with wide arcs of their driachs but even their martial skill could not protect them for long from the frenzied warriors. Their ornate heavy blades spelled out their doom as the warriors set upon them quickly with their double hand weapons running down the rest.

Seeing the spearmen in trouble of facing the hulking brute named Wulfrik Nimue decided to make things a bit more 'even' for the spearmen. She smiled as she finished her incantations and saw the Wulfrik and his marauders howl in pain as they were greeted with a wall of spears.





As expected anything that went against the Lord and his retinue of knights were utterly crushed anything they faced. Which included crossbowmen, goethe and his corsairs and soon more victims... Nimue proved her worth by continuously casting Word of Pain on Wulfrik and his marauders, making them hit on 5+s. He would only kill 1-2 spearmen but I would return the favor by killing 3-4 marauders every turn.


Turns: 5-6


The knights victory cries could be heard around the field as they once more charged into more corsairs. Quite predictably not one survivor was left once the Lord and his mount were finished mangling the remains. They sped off into the distance their roaring laughter could be heard by all those on the battlefield a grim reminder for those who chose to stand against their lord khorne.

Wulfrik and his followers could not concentrate as they tried to clutch their ears and stop the bleeding that was coming from their eyes. Their attacks were clumsy and uncoordinated unlike the dark elves who took advantage impaling many a marauder on their spears. Seeing the battle go against his favor Wulfrik called the retreat to the longboats and his marauders broke ranks and ran away from the spearmen who cheered on the cowards as they took fled.




Jotan in a fit of bravado charged into the giant easily dodging an uprooted tree it used as a weapon. He broke off his lance in the chest of the giant who roared in defiance attempting to catch his flying nemesis. The chaos warriors charged in to give a hand to the giant throwing their axes and wounding the pegasus who was forced to land on the ground. It didn't take long for the warriors to wrestle Jotan off his steed and beat him into unconsciousness.



Their victory was short lived however as Nimue called a storm of blades upon the giant who tried in vain to swat out the hundreds of blades circling him. Little by little the giant of slannesh came apart as it screamed at the exquisite pain it was suffering before it finally fell backwards and died. Both repeater bolt throwers concentrated on the warriors leaving a heap of dead armored bodies dozens of black bolts protruding from their armored hides.

A very exciting game that turned into a draw once we tallied up points! I was but a few scant points away from claiming a minor victory, if I had only used my cloak of twilight on the assassin to fly out of the unit that the Khorne lord was charging at I would of gotten victory. But alas Sameth decided that would be a bad idea and miscast ending the magic phase, as an aside EVERY time I have miscast with Sameth and I always end the magic phase. I think it really is a conspiracy!

Credit given where credit it due Kyle is still a relatively new player still getting used to the nuances of warhammer but I think he did rather well. I made a few mistakes on part which led his unit through way more of mine I think the tally was:
Goethe + Corsairs x15 w/ full command and warbanner
Corsair x12 w/ musician AND Assassin
Crossbowmen x10 w/ musician

About 700-800+pts (counting banner and general bonus) they managed to wipe out, I knew there was nothing that I could do while fighting on their terms but I honestly wasn't focusing attention on them and I definitely paid for it.

Overview:

Goethe picked himself out of the dirt and coughed blood out as his vision slowly returned to him. Sameth as always had a smug yet unamused look on his face Goethe had started to wonder if Sameth ever changed his facial expressions. He regained his footing and looked at the sorcerer "Tell me good news demon or I will send you back to the aether where you belong...". The sorcerer looked onto the battlefield ignoring the gaze of Goethe and said "I sense activity near by... a camp of misguided men of the empire... they wish to open a portal using the artifacts you seek".

As the next pairings were up for the next round I noticed I was against an army that looked quite fierce at a glance.. it was an empire army with a war alter, plenty of artillery and it had a steam tank... to be continued..

Invasion of the Coasts: Part 7

After months of searching Goethe had finally found the province he was looking for... Platino. This small province was tucked away along the war torn lands of the border princes. Vast armies would converge on this location to gain the favor of their gods and earn riches beyond their wildest dreams. Now all Goethe had to do was actually find out where it was all hidden...


This was the first game of a three round tournament that took place in Woodbridge Mall, New Jersey on February 7th. It had a good turn out with a respectable 14 players (all of the slots filled) and a good mix of armies. I believe it was 1 High Elf, 1 Chaos Demons, 2 Chaos Warriors, 1 Orcs & Goblins, 2 Dark Elves, 1 Empire, 2 Ogres, 1 Vampire Count, 1 Chaos Beasts and 3 others I couldn't recall.

The air was thick with foul magics but Goethe urged his army forward it had all come down to this he knew now that the treasures beyond imagination were within his grasp. Sameth nonchalantly announced "it seems my misguided brethren are here to stop your advance.." Goethe shot a stare to the demon sorcerer for not addressing him by his title, but that would have to wait for later. So that would explain why there was an unearthly silence in the province of Platino... it seems the demons hungered once more for the souls of fresh prey...

A rather nice guy I played against, I already knew I was in trouble when I saw his beautifully painted demons. It is one of the armies that I have never played against so I knew that I would have trouble identifying any real threats. His list from memory:

Herald of Nurgle and Khorne
Skulltaker and Masque

Plague bearers x 10-15
Plague bearers x10-15
Furies x7
Flamers x6
Flesh hounds x5
Flesh hounds x5
Screamers x4
Screamers x4
Blood letters x15

Nimue rolled: Chillwind and Black Horror
Sameth rolled: Steed of Shadows, Creeping Death and Shades of Death


Turn 1:

Shrieks from another dimension cut through the fog as the demon army materialized in front of the dark elf line. The demons wasted no time charging forward thirsty for dark elf blood, in response the dark elves stood firm firing their missiles into the fray. Here and there a demon would simply vanish from any of the shots that connected sending them back to the aether. The Masque's wail disoriented the shade's resolve making them fear for the worst.




It was a pretty quick turn 1 for both of us, I won first turn I believe and waited to see where his units would go. I decided two or more good rounds of shooting would knock down the demons a peg or two before I could charge... well that was the plan anyway! The Masque brought down the leadership of the shades by 2 points it didn't matter the first round but the following rounds I had a feeling it could hurt..

Turn 2:

Again the center and the left flank stood still firing the crossbows and warmachines on the bloodletters who were vulnerable to the missile fire unlike their nurgle brethren who simply absorbed the missile fire. Both chariots rumbled slowly forward waiting for their chance to smash into the ranks of the infernal puppets of the chaos gods.



The right flank lead by Jotan showed no regard for Goethe's plan and decided to march forward and meet the enemy. Their folly was shown true when the flesh hounds ripped through most of the corsairs who despite the assassin's help only managed to kill a solitary hound bearing down on them. Amazingly they outran the slavering hounds were baying for their blood. The witchcraft of the Masque caused the shades veterans of countless battles to run at the sight of their comrades being torn apart by the hounds.



Well that went pear shaped quickly... I was hoping to at least kill a few hounds with the assassin popping out, at the very least hold them in place for either the shades or Jotan to charge the sides. Instead they ran and caused the Shades who were at negative 2 or 3 leadership to run away also! The screamers were on the far left flank getting ready to fly over my units but I was more afraid of the center and left flank... That khorne unit hurting was coming one way or another..

Turns 3-4:

The demons were so close now the evil flicker of demonic fire could be seen in their very eyes. One chariot was foolish enough to try and take the glory for themselves charging headlong into the bloodletters. They had even managed to take down a fair few but in the end of the brute strength of the khorne herald smashed the chariot to pieces.

With the flesh hounds and screamers threatening the right flank Jotan set about a unit of flesh hounds. He skewered one of the hounds outright with his pegasus severely injuring another. Though they stubbornly stood firm kept held at bay by the tip Jotan's lance.




With scent of blood in the air the khornate champions continued their rampage turning over the other chariot and smashing into Goethe's unit. Between skulltaker and the herald they managed to cut a bloody swathe through the corsairs whose feeble weapons could not find a weak spot on the armored behemoths. Goethe and his corsairs decided to run away from the ferocity of khorne's champions as they busied themselves beating the dead bodies of their comrades.





Oh look more hurt on my units! I had initially wanted the first chariot to do some damage and my him overrun into the second chariot which he would destroy easily and leave himself open for a double attack (from Goethe's corsair unit and the spearmen). He didn't overrun but the next turn he did charge the second chariot, everything would of been dandy if he didn't roll VERY high for his two characters (skulltaker and the herald) smashing into Goethe's unit. Predictably they slaughtered the corsair unit and either ran them down? or they held and I fled off the table.

Turns: 5-6

Screams could be heard from all across the dark elf battle line, the demons had broken through and were taking their prize. The mythical fog had obscured most of the battlefield as small pockets of resistance were fighting off the demons the best they could. On the left flank the bolt throwers kept firing into the plague bearers for little to no effect before they were overrun.

There was no center of the battle line as Skulltaker and the herald mopped up any resistance that got in their way. The spearmen were bathed in multicolored flames by the demons only a handful surviving their faces filled with burns and ash. The shades who ran earlier from the demons decided to put up a brave counterattack, they assaulted the screamers that were running rampant all over the field and managed to banish them.

On the right flank or rather what was left of it was a company of crossbowmen firing at anything that came within the distance of their weapons. Jotan held his side a wound he had received from an aerial duel earlier with the screamers. He cursed in his native tongue as he spurred his pegasus into the sky. With that the remaining dark elves called a retreat and slowly left the field.

Over these two turns the screamers proved themselves to be quite a nuisance as they sailed over my depleted corsairs and crossbowmen on the right flank. I had to keep flying Jotan in circles in order to get them to move into my lanes of fire or at the very least charge range. The shades despite their earlier cowardice managed to kill the last blood letter to score points for the unit and they managed to take out the screamers!

Sameth kept flying around staying out of trouble and failed to kill anyone or even cause wounds with creeping death. I really have to pick his lore better when I play he is continuously put to shame by Nimue. Speaking of the little vixen it was a bad idea to have her in Goethe's corsair unit as she couldn't escape later and was run down. Taking her out of the unit a turn earlier would of given me a slight advantage in the later turns with magic.

At the end of the game I had a handful of spearmen (under half), Sameth, Jotan (injured), crossbowmen, a unit of harpies and a few shades.

He had only lost a unit of screamers, bloodletters, both units of fleshhounds (it may have been one and most of another) and an odd plague bearer or two.

Overview:

A few miles down the road Goethe and what remained of his army waited till the screaming was over. Goethe unrolled the ancient map and tried to look for another way to travel deeper into Platino in vain. One of the shades stood a sword's distance away waiting to be acknowledged. If anything Goethe was quite surprised any of their kind survived that battle but the shades were quite canny if anything. He looked up at the shade as he spoke "Master my warriors have found a different route..". Goethe dismissed the shade with a casual wave of his hand, with a gleam in his eye he thought it didn't matter how many of his warriors would die he would have his treasure...


If I had to play this battle over again I would definitely have moved my casters on the far left flank, despite having plenty of fliers and the flamers he wasn't overly aggressive with them. I could of gotten away casting spells and slowing down by the plague bearer blocks and the blood letters. I also should of never taken that gamble with the chariots and waited another turn of him either marching or positioning himself. I deployed a few inches back so even if he charged he would of not hit me and the counter charge would of been more effective. Ah well thats life for you I suppose. Onward to the next battle!