The bore of court life...

Sitting on his throne of trophies Goethe sighed as he drank the last of his wine, here he was in his own keep surrounded by his court of sleeping concubines and retainers. Surrounded by wealth and success should of been more fulfilling but Goethe found civilian life even if it was a high born position menial at best. The tricks and schemes of the royal court were but a child's game compared to the raids on villages the heat of battle and the glory of riches won over blood and sweat.

As he looked down into his cup he saw the last few ruby red drops of wine almost the color of blood. Or has it been that long that he has forgotten what blood even looks like... he deftly grabbed his dagger pristine as reflective as a mirror and stared at it as if in a hypnotic daze. He stabbed the dagger into his palm and laughed as the blood gushed onto his blade. "Now that is what a blade SHOULD look like!" he said to no one in particular and looked at the blade no longer pristine but covered in his own blood. It all became clear to him in an instant he shot up out of his throne and shouted "prepare the fleet! we sail!". One of his retainers stood up as if to question his authority but before a word left his lips Goethe threw his dagger at quicksilver speed into the elf who hit the floor screaming. With a smile Goethe declared loudly "HE will lead the assault! Strap him onto the hull of the ship and make sure he is still alive when you do it!".

Without question his guards jumped up and grabbed the dark elf from the floor dragging his body away to carry out their master's orders. It was all falling into place now, no more political scheming and avoiding an assassin's blade. This mundane existence was over Goethe belonged on the seas raiding and pillaging feeding his vain glory for more. Goethe was on his way to lead his armies back to war against the lesser species. Goethe was alive again.

Well it's been quite some time hasn't it? Recently it seems a bug has been going around.. the Games Workshop bug. It seems out of nowhere a bunch of like minded individuals want to start playing both 40k and Warhammer Fantasy. I had always enjoyed playing Fantasy and just when 8th edition hit my group stopped playing any Games Workshop game and we started playing other skirmish games.

I'm not complaining the others games are a lot of fun but sometimes you just want to play on a platoon/massive army level with a bunch of random strangers. So with that said I am bringing back both my Fantasy army and I am starting/finishing my Dark Eldar army for 40k.

With Fantasy my dark elves can easily hit 2500 with the addition of a handful of troops that need to be painted. While my Dark Eldar I had 1000 points roughly assembled into a themed Wych Cult list. I hope to flesh out all of the cults up to 1k and just pick and choose units when I need them.

Don't worry everybody this doesn't mean that I am JUST going back to playing these two game systems I will still play: Warmachine/Hordes, Dark Age, Pulp City, Infinity, AE WWII, Secrets of the Third Reich, AE Bounty, Hell Dorado etc. It will just mean during the week I will most likely be playing a GW game and on the weekends the skirmish games.

In other news my group is thinking about recording our gaming sessions and making battle reports to put up on YouTube. So hopefully we can bring our group to that next level of gaming. Till then folks! stay tuned!

Goethe returns to the coast (first dark elves game 8th ed)

Dreadlord w/ halberd, armor of darkness and dawnstone

Supreme Sorceror w/ lvl 4, pendant of khaleth, screaming blade and dispel scroll

Death Hag w/ cauldron of blood

Death Hag w/ battle standard, standard of hag graef, dance of doom and cry of war

Sorceress w/ lvl 2, tome of furion and terrifying mask of eee!

Crossbowmen x12 w/ shields and musician

Crossbowmen x12 w/ shields and musician

Corsairs x20 w/ pair of handbows and musician

Corsairs x20 w/ full command

Corsairs x18 w/ full command and sea serpent standard

Witch Elves x12 w/ hag, cry of war and musician

Excutioners x12 w/ master and musician

Shades x7

Shades x6

Repeater Bolt Thrower x4

Spells:

Level 4: Shadow - Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma, The Enfeebling Foe, The Withering and Pit of Shades

Level 2: Death - Aspect of the Dreadknight, The Caress of Laniph and The Purple Sun of Xereus

Orcs and Goblins:

Goblin Shaman w/ lvl 1 and dispel scroll

Goblin Shaman w/ lvl 1 and sneaky staff of stealing

Black Orc Warboss

Black Orc Warboss w/ battle standard

Savage Orc Warboss on Boar

Night Goblin Boss on Giant Squig

Orcs x30 w/ full command and extra hand weapon

Orcs x30 w/ full command and hand weapon/shield

Black Orcs x15 w/ full command

Black Orcs x15 w/ full command

Night Goblins x55 w/ spears full command and fanatics x3

Night Goblins x55 w/ hand weapon/shield full command and fanatics x3

Goblin Wolf Riders x10

Goblin Spider Riders x10

Boar boys x5

Stone Throwers x2

Turn: 1 -2

The Orc And Goblin army advanced straight into a wall of crossbows, I have to admit that the only moving I did first turn was to get my units into better firing positions and my combat units moved slightly so that if an enemy tried to charge they would hit into them first.

With much luck I knocked out one of the stone throwers before it even got a shot off due to the bolt throwers. I even forgot to move my shades that were skirting his deployment though they did manage to harass a unit of black orcs for awhile with their shooting.

Handbow corsairs moved up slightly to gain range to goblin wolf riders which with almost 80 shots they removed them all from the table.

Turn: 3-4

Night Goblins sent out fanatics which did a good amount of damage to executioners and corsairs on both flanks. A unit of night goblins felt brave enough to charge my frenzied corsairs on a hill I caused nine casualties to his 2 (i have to admit rolling four out of six saves helped me). Despite being stubborn and a re-roll from a nearby battle standard he broke and was run down (thank you slavers rule).

In doing so the frenzied corsairs managed to set up a nice flank charge on my turn versus the battle standard unit. They happily charged the flank and won combat handily sending the orcs packing (killing both unit and battle standard bearers) across their own lines panicking black orks and shaman.

Handbow corsairs managed to obliterate spider rider unit with shooting, when they were charged by the boar boys with attached savage orc warboss their luck was up. Between their shooting reaction and hand to hand they brought the unit down to the standard and hero.

Turn: 5-6

Due to forgetting magic phases or rolling really low on the winds of magic it was only towards the end of the game that I really started getting spells off. Pit of shades claimed 6-8? orcs from the general's unit, I even managed to get off The Withering on the general's unit right before my executioners charged. I didn't think much of it when the spell went off, but then it occurred to me I would need 2+ anyway.. It's a good thing I made that little mistake because when my Death Hag battle standard attacked I removed SIX orcs one for every attack (3 base, xhw, frenzy AND cauldron). Add that to attacking on the flank and though the orcs put up a good fight and killed the few remaining executioners.. the lone Death Hag ran the rest of them to the ground!

At this point the only thing that was doing anything in my opponent's army is the Savage Orc Boss on boar along with champion boar boy going through back line. Even that would of been silenced with no real threats left on the field so we called it a game.

What I lost:

Shades x6

Crossbowmen x12 w/ musician and shields

Repeater Bolt Thrower

Executioners x12 w/ musician and champ

Corsairs x20 w/ double handbows and musician

about 600-700pts

What he had left:

Night Goblins x32/50

Savage Orc Big Boss w/ boar

Boar boy champion

Black Orcs x8?

Orcs w/ shields x 12?/20

My Impressions:

-Shooting-

-Firing in two ranks is great! I almost felt bad unloading double handbows into anything by simply walking into range and unleashing 80 shots. My regular crossbowmen got even more effective which is always a plus.

-No partials from templates is pretty devastating, a stone thrower managed to take a good chunk with just a glancing hit on both corsairs and executioners. Had it not destroyed itself it would of cause a HELL of a lot more trouble for me.

-Magic-

- the basic lores just got ten times more attractive than they have ever been, I have always been a fan of the shadow lore but now it just seems like a no brainer with the wide arrange of effects/debuffs it can do.

-Winds of magic does balance things out somewhat, so that no one gets absolutely steam rolled for not packing as many wizards as scroll caddies.

-Charging/Combat-

-Striking in initiative just makes my elves better so I guess I am biased, sure the enemy gets the "step up rule" which means unless you wipe out most of the unit you will receive attacks back.. But a smart player never fights fair and always aims for flank/rear attacks.. that could just be a dark elf saying though lol

-Random charges I believe are good, it makes the game more dynamic don't get me wrong I love the speed of my elves outdistancing my opponents and usually getting the charge on my opponents in past editions of warhammer. But I do have to admit it was fun NOT knowing if my enemy will fail his charge or not against my units. It's pretty easy to gauge distances especially after playing wargames for so many years that uncertainty brings a little "something" back.

-Battle Standard Bearers being VERY useful re-rolling just about any leadership test makes them invaluable... at the same time makes them a PRIME target for all enemies

- Frenzy isn't much a liability when you have high leadership and can avoid charging into things (say like a fanatic).

- Stepping up means you better have more models in your unit in order to survive a head to head charge. Because if you don't wipe out or severely damage the enemy you will still receive a healthy amount of attacks going against you.

-Though I haven't tested my fear/terror abilities yet I still stand firm by them, the ability to make an enemy WS 1. They changed the "to hit" charts slightly so that WS 1 models would hit WS 4 models on a 5+ making it less likely to take casualties if fear/terror pull through.

Other than that I eagerly await for my next game, I have always loved playing Warhammer Fantasy the only problem is that it isn't as popular as 40k. Now with an upcoming 'Ard Boyz for Fantasy and the new rulebook coming out it is the best time to get a few games in.

~Drew

The Woes of Warhammer - Greenskins Lose Hard

Cash Johnson with a second in a series of Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition posts. Last time I remarked on what I liked about the new rules in relation to my own greenskin horde - having actually played a large game (3000 pt 'Ard Boyz list). Unfortunately, training against Drew is a blessing and a curse in most instances; while I'm guaranteed a good challenge, it's still a hell of a challenge, and the 'Ard Boyz isn't exactly a fair fight to begin with. So what went right? What went wrong?

Well for starters, I totally forgot about the Vanguard deployment move, which would have gotten two units within a Turn 2 charge range right off the bat. Seeing as how it was the only rule I forgot that made any difference, I'm going to have to put that down as the biggest downfall. Then again, seeing as how, without an Errata or FAQ to tell us otherwise, Drew was able to Stand and Shoot with 72 handbow shots we may have to wait for an update for the rematch. XD

The twin Night Goblin Shamans also didn't work well, but that was more deployment than anything. Rather than trust them in the giant bricks, I left them on foot - both times I got magic missiles, so I felt it was better to place them where enemies were closer rather than get stuck with Animosity. They weren't as effective as I'd hoped, the scroll caddy dying on turn one, and the other constantly unable to score hits against Drew. The Staff of Sneaky Stealin', however, was the MVP item - a low roll round left Drew with 2 Power Dice to my 3 Dispels, and I had to teach him the new order of spell casting, resulting in my Dispel on a 15. The change here will most likely be upgrading from two gobbos to an Orc Shaman (or Great Shaman depending how points go).

As far as the Night Goblins themselves, they will stay. The only serious losses they sustained were due more to bad rolling than terrible armour or low Leadership - rolled an 11, then re-rolled another 11 from the BSB aura, fell back, and was eaten alive by Dark Elf Corsairs (stupid slavers). Better deployment would be the only change I make, as the meat shield has its uses.

The Boar Boyz and Savage Warboss did their job incredibly well, though. A 19" charge tore through a Corsair unit, turned around, survived a Reaper Bolt Thrower, charged that the next turn, killed the crew, overran into a Warrior unit, killed them, and would have charged into another Bolt Thrower crew if the game wasn't over. Not bad for 6 models (though the Boyz were taken down to just a Standard Bearer and Warboss). XD

The Boyz themselves also receive no changes, as they didn't really do much of anything bad to deserve punishment. A hole was broken in my right flank, and the Dark Elves poured into it as best they could. Change up deployment. That's about it - they're the heavier core of the army.

Black Orcs will receive a new change - take one less unit, bulk up the one unit to at least 20. Two units just wasn't effective at all, and only managed to take 12 casualties, chase Shades off the board, and then die to Bolt Thrower fire the next turn.

Another good option to keep will still be the Rock Lobbas - the crew receive Toughness 7, and no more partials has a greater statistic advantage. From now on, however, park them behind hills wherever possible.

As for the General and BSB, I'm going to have to see about throwing different Magic Items around, probably a Magic Standard on the BSB. The General will need something better, however, and I will have to look into what. Also, I'm not sure about where they were placed in the amy anyway. Dual Black Orc characters didn't need to Quell Animosity in the Boyz, but that doesn't mean they won't need it another time. Will have to experiment with these until I find something better.

In all, my battle plan and deployment was my biggest enemy, as well as that one fatal Leadership failure (twin 11's). Drew did excellent as always, though I think being able to double tap and Stand and Shoot may need an errata. Way too broken to be legal. While the ability to always fight in two ranks is a greater advantage for me, as well as always getting to swing back, it also means more elite enemy units can tear into my own units more effectively. Points will have to be reworked, units reformed, and Mk.2 will come about soon enough - thankfully I still have plenty of units that didn't get thrown in this time around. Maybe monsters, maybe shooting, maybe a warboss on wyvern. Good thing the 'Ard Boyz isn't for another 2 months.

- Cash

Reaction to 8th Edition Fantasy - Greenskins

First post of the series by myself, Cash Johnson, focusing on the most successful Warhammer Fantasy army I own, Orcs & Goblins. Most of what I have seen on internet forums focuses on general aspects of the new rules set, and what is going to be the most prevalent combination of units/items/rules/etc to see in every army. Well that's fine if plastic men are the only way you feel good about yourself, but I play for sport and enjoyment - it's still a game after all. Therefore, I have ignored everything other people have said about what they plan to change to have the most broken armies and concentrate entirely on my own.

The start of my Fantasy greenskins was with the Battle for Skull Pass box set. While I liked the look of the Dwarfs, I have always been a huge fan of the Waaagh, plus the starter came with a sizable number of goblins and a plastic troll, which was more than I could say for the stunties. After that, came the large army box, which filled in the rest of the horde nicely. After that, many boxes of Orcs, Black Orcs, and Night Goblins, plus Fanatics and war machines.

Which brings me to my play style - the horde press. Create walls of infantry, put bigger stuff behind it and go. Since Animosity tends to ruin the best battle plans, I opt for the simple approach. March, release Fanatics, and grind down units as they come. So after reading the 8th Edition rules, I decided to not stray from this tried and true method. Some of my strategies improved drastically, and some of the options I never considered are now open to me. Surprisingly, very little of the new rules damage my army. And so, the reactions:

Pros:
1. The Horde Rule - I already ran Night Goblin units in massive bricks, originally 46 and 50. Now both bricks are at 55 each, and one with spears - something about receiving a charge and getting 40 attacks back makes me all tingly.

2. Random Charges - Instead of a standard 8" charge, I'd get an average of 9-11", meaning opponents would have to fear my Fanatics and Animosity even more. Unexpected surges of movement can close the charge gaps quicker now with lucky rolling. On top of that, it allows me to coordinate the Waaagh better, seeing as how I will usually get an extra couple inches on a charge.

3. New Magic Rules - I never took Shamans unless I needed Dispel Dice. I relied on weight of attacks and cannon fodder to do the work for me, and didn't trust dice to choose my spells for me. Now that even a Lv 1 Shaman can cast a 10+ spell with ease, I figure on taking two Night Goblin Shamans in games, a total of 175 points for the pair. On top of that, the Staff of Sneaky Stealin' becomes the most valuable item I could have, since Power Dice are limited to dice rolls instead of stacked pools - the chance to get more Dispels than the enemy can use is another tingly feeling.

4. Indirect Fire - My Shooting phases always consisted of 4 Spear Chukkas, always. Hitting on 4's, wounding almost everything on 2's, and hitting across the table. I had killed a giant and a stegadon with them before the new rules for stone throwers came out. Now I will take the same 140 points and reinvest in two Rock Lobbas. Indirect Fire gives me two turns of twin boulders raining on the enemy as I march up, and probably stay parked out of sight in the process - in addition, there are no more partial hits, so hitting 6 is vastly improved over having to roll to wound 6 times.

5. New Cavalry Rules - Like Shamans, Cavalry were something I didn't bother with. They moved faster than the rest of the army, so they would always be vulnerable until the bulk of my horde reached the battle. However, thanks to Surestride, cav units become more lethal when used en masse - several units getting a 16-19" charge makes a combined Turn 2 push possible. On top of that, I own Spiders and Wolves, so the Vanguard movement at the start of the game GUARANTEES a Turn 2 assault. But the biggest improvement is the inclusion of the Boar Boy Big 'Unz, with Gork's Waaagh Banner - 7+3d6 (dropping lowest) plus another d6" increases the charge threat to 17-21" with a maximum of 25" for a third unit that can charge on Turn 2.

6. Premeasures - A warboss' new best friend, the ability to premeasure everything means Fanatic releases and Waaagh rolls are MUCH easier to coordinate. End of story.

7. Characters and Items - Because characters are based on points instead of slots, every unit could realistically take a Hero in addition to a Command Squad, each with a Magic Item geared towards whatever the unit needs. On top of that, Battle Standards become even more important in a low Ld army -ANY Ld-based test can be re-rolled within 12", and the number of magic banners available (and so cheap) can jack up the effectiveness of any unit.

8. Improved Giants - Thunderstomp. That's all - Thunderstomp.

9. Waaagh Miscast - With the dangers other armies have to face, I'm incredibly at ease with rolling a Miscast. On the main table, every roll is a tragedy waiting to happen. On my table, I just have to avoid rolling a 2-4 or 7 as a final result to skate around the worst. 36% is a much better risk than 100%.


Cons:
1. Fanatic Control - While increased charge range is great, my Night Goblins can never charge before releasing their Fanatics. Before, my charge range was 8", which is where my Fanatics were released from anyway. Now, I have to make the decision to attempt a charge or release them and get charged - while Fanatics would be a great start of a two part combo, I'm not guaranteed to get them into contact with the enemy unit, meaning I would take 2d6 hits per Fanatic, possibly Panic from my own charge, and Flee just like that.

2. Monstrous Cavalry - My lucky gobbo cruise missile loses 2 wounds because of the new Unit Type rules. Night Goblin Boss on Giant Cave Squig is my great random unit, and so far I am the only person I know who owns one who can use it correctly (aim it at specific, easy targets, like solos or war machines). At 94 points, and a -4 Armour Save penalty (Sneaky Skewerer), it would usually last 2-3 turns before it was killed. Now with two less wounds, and the ability for units to get extra attacks in combat just by standing there, and the fact that trees no longer block LoS, he has to be mixed in with several units to make sure he gets where he needs to go.

These are just initial impressions - the actual performance on the table will be the test, though if I stick to the original plan of marching up under artillery fire, I should be just fine.

- Cash

The Coven of Devious Intent (Mordheim)

Leader of the expedition is Fabian is magister of the "Coven of Devious Intent" sent to Mordheim by the request of his patron to search for items of power. Though he is not a full practitioner of the dark arts " " has learned how to call upon the glory of Slannesh to bless one of his warriors by mutating their body instantly.

Fabian, Master of Rituals
Magister with spear and "eye of god" spell

Once a pit fighter who brought hundreds of adoring fans to their knees with his artful skill with his mace. He was sold when his master fell upon bad times, dissatisfied when robbed of his former glories Gregol escaped bondage and came across the cult of pleasure. Instantly seduced by the promise of glory and other sinful delights, Gregol quickly earned the favor of the dark prince who blessed him with various mutations including a tentacle like arm.

Gregol
Mutant with mace and tentacle mutation

The Masques of Delight as they are known are true devotees of the prince of pleasure, relishing every sensation of combat as they battle foes that would be even those with the stoutest of heart tremble to face. Though some may balk at their gaudy costumes and their apparent lack of skill with their weaponry none can doubt their devotion in protecting their charge.

The Masques of Delight
Dark Souls with axe x2

Drawn into the cult of pleasure with dreams of great fame and glory these low born peasants follow Fabian into the very depths of the city of the damned. Armed with bows and not much else these brethren are on their road to damnation.

Initiates of Bliss
Brethren with bow x3

Attracted by the lure of rape and pillage this trio of beastmen have signed dark blood pacts with Fabian. Mutated by the powers of chaos these beasts usually wear a hood to hide their identity when traveling through the streets of Mordheim to not raise any suspicions. Too late many an opponent has confused their unnatural constitution as an elaborate costume.

Rapturous Beasts
Beastmen with mace x3

Gold Crowns: 13
Equipment: None


This is my list for an upcoming Mordheim campaign that we are planning to run at the local store. I'm taking a big gamble on my henchmen hoping that either a beastman or dark soul can roll up "Lads got talent" result for experience making one VERY talented hero.

I am using a mix of random bits and Brettonian miniatures to make my warband as it will be the precursor to my Slannesh themed Brettonian army. After all Brettonians have so much pride and appreciation of the arts I don't see why an errant lord would not be seduced by Slannesh. There are still a few things I have to work out story wise but that is the basic groundwork.

* Since I already have everything just about converted I should be posting a few pictures by the days end in which case this post will be edited. Till then!

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.

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!

Invasion of the Coasts: Part 6

The treasure was so close Goethe could feel it in his black veins the pulse of magical artifacts, fame and glory would all be his. He smiled to himself as the warriors closest to him shuffled nervously away. His shades had spotted an asur encampment not far from where they fought the dwarves, surely both races were in alliance to stop Goethe. It came of no surprise when he heard the horns of the asur as they mustered for battle, they were always one for theatrics thought Geothe as he prepared his troops. A fitting sacrifice for the blessing of Khaine these meddlesome asur would be...

It was friday night and instead of going out to erase my mind with some sweet sweet alcoholic beverages we decided to practice more for the tournament! I have fought Mike's army countless times and I knew going against four bolt throwers and a mean counter attack (swordmasters and white lions) was going to be tough.

Mike's List:
Caradryan
Mage w/ lvl 2 and annuli crystal
Mage w/ lvl 2 and ring of fury
Spearmen x21 w/ full command
White Lions x 20 w/ full command (Cara goes here)
Swordmasters x20 w/ full command and banner of sorcery
Archers x10
Dragon Princes x5
Repeater Bolt Thrower x4


spell wise Nimue received Word of Pain and Chillwind. Sameth rolled Steed of Shadows, Creeping Death and Pit of Shades. His two mages between them rolled on the high elf magic two spells that make them stubborn, 5+ ward and another spell he never cast.

Turn 1:

The gathering darkness made the dark elf army more sinister as they advanced upon the high elf lines. The high elves stood resolute veterans of thousands of battles their discipline glowed bright. The multitude of bolt throwers aimed at the crossbowmen shielding Geothe and the executioners. Leaving one very brave or rather foolish survivor in the midst of his troop.

Despite the inherent magical defenses of the high elves Nimue a bolt of energy against one of the bolt throwers freezing it's crew and warmachine. She glanced about herself and smiled as she blew a kiss to the other bolt thrower, the crew began to scream as blood poured freely from their eyes.

With blood being already shed on the field the harpies started to circle both armies looking for weak prey to feast on. Jotan himself used the harpies as a distraction darting through the dark skies on his dark pegasus waiting for the order of Goethe to strike.






As always the first turn in any game is spent jockeying for a good position from which to launch assualts. Jotan, a unit of harpies and some shades were positioned on the far left flank to deal with bolt throwers and archers.

Turn 2:

Jotan's laughter intertwined with the constant shrieking of the harpies chilled the hearts of the bolt thrower crew and archers who knew their demise would soon arrive. Like malicious shadows the shades crept from the darkness to unleash crossbow bolts into one of the bolt throwers slaying the brave defenders.




One flock of harpies flew into the remaining crewmen lifting him off the ground and tossing his body and the boulders below. They continued their rampage by attacking the high elf mage thinking him an easy target. With the grace that only an elf can possess he struck down one of the foolhardy harpies as they closed in. But the mage alone could not hope to defend himself for long as his pristine white rob was quickly turning crimson from a gaping wound.






Keeping the plan aggressive or at the very least annoying on the left flank I put the harpies and Jotan to distract the bolt thrower and archers. In a stroke of luck a unit of harpies went through a bolt thrower (admittedly only 1 crewmen the other died to chillwind last turn) then overran into the mage hiding behind the wood causing one wound but he didn't run the nerve!

Seeing his shooting gallery severely weakened Mike decided to move against my army and attempt to reach close combat. One chariot was going to go against the swordmasters, yes the chariot would die but I wanted to cause a bit of damage with the impact hits and was hoping to bring the unit down to half with the repeaters...

Turns 3-4:

The archers were helpless as Jotan came down like a lighting bolt from the sky atop his pegasus, the archers powerless to stop his rage when all was said and done not one archer was left alive. Feral instincts trumped martial prowess and finesse of the bolt thrower crew as the harpies quickly killed their opponents and feasted on the remains.

Despite losing their warmachines the high elves held their heads high and charges went all along the field. Noble dragon princes smashed a chariot and continued onto Goethe who was itching to whet his blade on their blood. They met stiff resistance in the corsairs who were fighting for the favor of Goethe who simply yawned as they dragged the princes off their horses. One prince thinking himself valiant attempted to attack who Goethe who easily side stepped his clumsy blow and sent his halberd tip through the middle of his chest ending the prince's heroics.

Nimue and Sameth tried their best to thin the ranks of the high elves but their magical blasts were held in check by the arcane protections of Caradryan protected the white lions from any real harm. Though many spearmen died frozen stiff when Nimue unleashed the chilling wind of Naggaroth upon their regiment.

The citizen levy of the spearmen encouraged by Caradryan's words repelled an attack from the corsairs with the tips of their spears. Running down the pirates and scaring off a unit of crossbowmen who decided it was not in their best interest to remain on the field to face the living legend.

The swordmasters advanced with the utmost discipline despite taking a few casualties from the chariot whose scythed wheels crushed a few of their number they continued. The dark elf bolt thrower crew could not load the machine fast enough as they spotted the swordmasters, despite their vicious salvo of fire they continued the march against them.

Seeing his comrade in danger the other elven mage charged the harpies and helped to stem the tide of the beasts. Things were almost looking up till the mage noticed the harpies were simply toying with their prey. Too late he realized it was a trap as Jotan drove his lance through the mage, the last thing he saw was his brother in arms dying of blood loss before his light was extinguished forever.

::no pictures.. apparently these two turns were vicious? and I forgot!:::

A very productive two turns though I wish I had remembered to snap more pics (doh!) the left flank had collapsed completely with the destruction of the dragon princes, archers and bolt thrower though the 'meat' of mike's army was all in the center and on my right flank.

One mage was determined not to die (having a 5+ ward i let him cast), this emboldened Mike to send another mage into combat thinking the harpies would be easily driven off. Unfortunately for him the two mages are apparently worse than one as one turn everyone whiffed or saved, the following turn Jotan just joined the combat and both mages died.

Caradryan's magical resistance made the white lions really hard to take out as bolt throwers were worried more about the swordmasters and i didn't have any really strong magical attacks that would kill them off.

Turns 5-6:

Seeing their doom the dark elves abandoned their weapon batteries instead of facing the highly skilled swordmasters in combat. Similarly the spearmen attempted to run from Caradryan and his white lion cohort, they would have gotten away for it not the cunning of wise general who had pushed his endurance to the limit and butchered them to a man with his white lions as Goethe looked on impassively.



The battlefield was slick with the blood of the dying as the vultures started to gather overhead. Caradryan called for a halt to tend to the dead and dying not wanting to let the vultures desecrate the bodies of his honored troops and with that the battle was over.





Overview:

"Goethe looked up at the sky and so flocks of vultures circling the dead when a warrior approached him. "Master should we clear the field of our dead?", Goethe swayed his head "No... Khaine is pleased with this sacrifice upon his alter.. mobolize the army we march south!"

So yes another hard fought game with a draw! lol I personally don't mind as we both enjoyed the game immensely, Mike surely didn't expect to lose his shooting superiority so early in the game. Nimue seemed to get the two most perfect spells against high elves both Chillwind and Word of Pain were instrumental early on in the game.

Going into the tournament I was pretty confident with the abilities of my troops I was getting a better handle on the army. The list itself isn't overly competitive it is quite balanced which throws people off just enough to give me an edge at certain points. One very important lesson I learned was that it is easier to bring units under half with shooting then to try and wipe them out in one be all end all round of close combat...

Invasion of the Coasts: Part 5

The roar of the fog horns that the iron clad ships signaled the arrival of the dwarven fleet to the treasure hunt. Goethe had his shades follow the ships along the coast for days plotting where they might make their beach landing. Just after they deployed Goethe would meet them in the field of battle. His army hiding just behind the tree line with bordered the sandy coast, if they were spotted in the open the great array of naval weapons would surely lead to a quick, short and bloody battle.

It only took a few hours before the dwarves unloaded their supplies and sent out a scout party, it might of well been an eternity for the psychotic Geothe whose blood thirst was growing more impatient. Almost if on cue the dwarven scouting party began to reach the crest of the hill where their naval guns no longer afforded them covering fire and with that the order was given out... "charge".

Again I was facing Hoj's dreaded anvil list the first time I fought against the list I had no idea of the capablities of any of his units (been awhile since i've played against dwarves..). This time though I had a solid grasp of the threat level of his units and attempted to plan accordingly. I took the same list as last time magic wise Sameth took Metal lore and Nimue as always took dark magic. Since it was largely ineffectual and I played 6 games this week I totally forgot what they rolled lol.

Hoj's List:

Rune Lord Anvil of Doom GW, SH, RoStone, RoSpellbrk, RoFurnace, MRoBalance
Thane BSB, MRoGrom, RoPreservation, RoFire, RoFurnace, RoStrike
Dragon Slayer
Warriors x21 FC, SH
Longbeards x21 FC, SH, Battle, Stoic
Quarrellers x10 SH
Hammerers x20 FC, SH, Stoic
Miners x10 Champ
Gruge Thrower Engineer, RoAcc, RoPen, RoBurn
Bolt Thrower Engineer, RoPen
Bolt Thrower Engineer, RoBurn
Organ Gun
Gyro
Total Point Value = 2245

A good overhead picture of my deployment that only thing missing from the picture is my bolt thrower that is far left right around where the dice lay.



Turn 1:

The dwarven army hastily formed a battle line as the dark elves rushed across the field assembling their warmachines and preparing for the inevitable charge. In an effort to buy time the dwarven runesmith hit the anvil and a bolt of lighting maimed Jotan's pegasus who kicked his steed as he dismounted disgusted with the prospect of charging across the field on foot.

The harpies screeched as they soared into the air like angels of death intent on feeding on some dwarven crewmen. Covered by the advance of harpies the rest of the dark elf army charged headlong into the dwarves. Bolt throwers rang out killing a few the stout crewmen from the grudge thrower in order to soften them up for the harpies.



The dwarven army went first the only movement coming from the gyrocopter who took cover on the other side of the hill that the shades were hiding behind. I really must of caught the dwarf army by surprise as all his warmachines managed to miss or fail to wound! The anvil amazingly knocked the pegasus out of the sky! I definitely didn't plan for it to get killed first turn!

My army just advanced as fast and as far as they could possibly go, the harpies as always flew the full 20' and waited to see what hoj would target before I made my final choice of where they would cause the most trouble.

Turn 2:

Having found their ranges the dwarven artillery let loose with the grudge thrower smashing the chariot and sending bits of wood and crew in various directions. One of the bolt throwers managed to skewer two of the crossbowmen much to the delight of the cold ones pulling the chariot behind them. Who ambled on forward to feast on the corpses disheartening the elves who beat the beasts into submission before it got out of hand.

Aiming high the organ gun managed to shoot all of the harpies out of the sky their bodies crashing into the hard earth to the amusement of both armies. Though the quarrelers tried their best they only managed to knock out a few from their flock of harpies, determined as they were the harpies decided the bolt thrower crew would make a tastier snack and flew behind the dwarf army. The gentle hum of a motor signaled the arrival of the gyrocopter to the dismay of the bolt thrower crew in the center. In an amazing show of agility one of the crewmen dodged being steamed in his light yet ornate armor.

The winds of the aether blew in the favor of the dark elves as the skies darkened above the field. Sameth muttered ancient words of power and pointed at the longbeards who chuckled at his actions, before they knew what was happening their armor began to burn and melt killing five of the dwarves who were no longer laughing.




Again I advance (see a trend going?) one unit of harpies was wiped out the other despite taking ten crossbow bolts managed to survive! better yet they actually managed not to run! The bolt thrower on my far left decided to get into a duel with my left most bolt thrower (constantly not pictured) for some reason and managed to put a wound on the machine. My bolt thrower and shades let loose on his gyrocopter but I failed to do any real damage (maybe one wound got through).

I believe the anvil either malfunctioned and was not able to use it's power this turn or it failed to wound anything. My chariot decided to go stupid and move into the crossbows slowly down the advance slightly. Any other missile fire on my part was largely ineffective as you can tell. Sameth irresistibly cast spirit of the forge on the long beards killing four or five of them.

Turn 3:

Screeching overhead the harpies dived into the bolt thrower crew ripping two of them apart but the remaining two crewmen stubbornly held on preferring death over the abandonment of their machine. The steady rhythmic beating of the anvil bolstered the morale of the dwarves but was of no material help when faced an army of elves filled with unending hatred.

The dwarven deities were surely looking over their kin as a disruption of the aether caused Sameth and Nimue to lose focus of their spells almost costing their lives as the magical power leaked from their fingertips. The assassin cursed to himself as the magical trinket around his neck failed to work.






I believe in his turn hoj failed yet again to hit with the bolt thrower on the far left flank. The anvil continued being but for some reason failed to cause any major damage on the dark elves, getting 1-2 hits resulting in no wounds. His blocks stayed in the pefect position waiting to see what units would charge where. It should be noted that the gyrocopter STILL failed to wound the lone crewman at the bolt thrower, i'm not sure why hoj didn't charge the bolt thrower. I guess he was afraid that by some fluke luke it would die, though the combat was stacked in his favor.

At this point I was positioning units for the charge that would make or break me over the next two turns. I knew that his hammerers with a re-rollable leadership of 9 (with stubborn) were going to be hard to hit so I knew I had to keep the chariot a live preparing to cause the most damage in the last two turns.

For me this is this magic phase was one of the focal points of the battle, I was expecting to send a barrage of spells at hoj and then use the cloak of twilight on the assassin to fly onto a warmachine. But alas all plans were for naught when Sameth miscasted ending the magic phase.. i would have rather he take a wound or lose a level... but NO he decided that was enough magic for that phase. It was at this point that I knew i would definitely be in for some hurting...

Turn 4:

The dwarves had drawn their battle line and dared the dark elves to charge as they locked shields and prepared themselves for the pending onslaught. The rune smith struck the anvil with such force summoning forth lightning from the heavens striking both the assassin and the quite surprised Nimue into unconsciousness. If that weren't enough the organ gun wheeled and point at the corsairs protecting Sameth, with a deafening boom the regiment lay in bloody smear on the battlefield. With a sneer Sameth decided he had enough of this battle and disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving the dying corsairs to the vultures.

Jotan led the executioners against the quarrelers who despite their best efforts could not stop the momentum of the dark elves. With practiced ease the executioners cleaved through the dwarven crossbowmen. The assault was too terrifying for the the quarrelers who tried to unsuccessfully flee to the delight of the executioners who scattered the unit.

Flying around the bolt thrower the gyrocopter avoided being hit from all it's bolts, too late the dwarven pilot would realize his folly as a company of shades had taken up positions above a hill expertly shooting down his craft in a volley of black bolts. The crossbow armed warriors decided to single out the crew manning the grudge thrower whose pure volume of bolts pinned the dwarves to their precious machine.




As expected Hoj rang the ancient power killing both Nimue and the Assassin from pulling any tricks out of their sleeves. To make his dominance total in the magic department the organ gun rolled an 8 or 10? killing just about everyone in the corsair regiment with the survivors fleeing.

The crossbowmen on the left flank managed to kill off the grudge thrower crew while the shades busied themselves with taking out the gyrocopter. My luck was holding with the steam gun not doing any damage to the last crewman! but I couldn't count on that forever so I decided to be a bit more proactive.

Jotan and the executioners messed up the quarrelers day depleting just about the whole regiment and running down the rest. I only lost three executioners to crossbow bolts as I went up the field so I was pretty happy that no more died along the way.

Turn 5:

The organ gun slowly wheeled to pick out it's new target but before it could fire one of the barrels jammed causing the crew many confused looks. Luckily for the crew they wouldn't have to search for answers, the shades perforated them in a hail of bolts from upon their perch. A torrent of fire was aimed at the longbeards both dark elf crossbow regiments firing their bolt magazines non stop. Any dwarf curious enough to poke his head from behind his shield received a final answer in the form of crossbow diplomacy.

The miners finally showed up the battle intent on flanking the bolt thrower guarding the left flank. The crewmen hastily loaded and let the crank go sending a handful of miners to the grave.



Seeing the confusion that his missile troops were causing on the enemy Goethe and his corsairs charged alongside the chariot. The combat was intense as many dwarves fell the frenzied attacks of the corsairs. To the hammerers credit despite loosing many of their brethren they were determined to fight to the bitter end.



I knew that my dark elves were too fragile to survive combat all on their own so I tried to do the sneaky thing. Deny the dwarves their superior toughness and armor save in combat by shooting at them... A LOT. If I recall correctly the lone harpy that was battling the rightmost bolt thrower either killed the last crewman this turn or last.

Goethe, his corsairs and the chariot charge was quite devastating! despite this the hammerers are stubborn and the battle standard bearer was close by so I really doubted my chances of breaking them. I went into sixth turn wondering what Hoj had up his sleeve, I knew he would use the movement rune from his anvil but I was unsure in what way...

Turn 6:

Dwarven horns sounded and the warriors changed formation to look at their flanks, seeing a dark elf noble in their grasp they tried to charge blinded by their rage to punish the evil dark elves. Unfortunately for them Jotan was but a distraction as he managed to get away leaving the warriors open for the executioner counter attack. With finese unknown in the lands of mere men the executioners charged with their draichs spinning intricate death among the dwarves who grimly stayed in the fight despite their casualties.



Knowing their range was beyond that of the dwarves the crossbowmen continued to pepper longbeards, this time even the infamous shades joining in on the slaughter. By the time their ammunition had run out the pile of dead dwarves ran high as the survivors admitted defeat and were slowly pushed back heads hung in shame.



With the sun setting the dwarven miners knew that the battle would soon come to a close and charged into the dark elf crewmen manning the bolt thrower. To their dismay they did not fight levy solders but skilled swordsmen as they failed to land any connecting blows on the dark elves who managed to impale one of the foolish miners for their mistake.




Aftermath:

Goethe's intricate armor seemed to glow from the amount of dwarf blood that covered it a smile played out on his lips as he asked "did you get the prisoner?". A bound and beaten miner was thrown at his feet by the shades who knew better than to come any closer to their master. Goethe kicked the miner over onto his back "so my little friend... I hear you know the location of a certain treasure..."

Well that turned out better than I imagined, I questioned Hoj after the game why didn't he charge his warriors into the flank of the corsairs he said that he was afraid the spearmen would just counter charge and see off two units rather than just one. So instead he tried to charge Jotan (failed) and was counter charged by executioners, luckily for him he did not lose combat that would of been quite a blow if the warriors ran!

My crossbowmen along with shades brought the longbeards with attached standard bearer to about 8 or 9 models. For some reason we totally forgot that long beards ignore panic and hoj rolled an 11 running them off the board. We later corrected this mistake and it turned out instead of me ahead 200pts for a draw it was him who was ahead 200 pts in the draw lol.

Always a fun game against Hoj's competitive dwarf army i'm slowly starting to get the hang of the dark elf army in higher point games which has been a recent problem. After this match the dark elf shooting gallery gave me a few ideas on how to bring units under half... an idea that would prove useful in the tournament...