[Archive] A tale of four gamers

Archive [Archive] Tactics, Strategy & Battle Reports
1

nilbog:

Three of my fellow gamers (as well as me!) have agreed to do a ‘tale of four gamers’ campaign, revolving around the aftermath of Tamurkhan’s failed invasion of the Empire.

Each of us are starting with an army we have under development and playing a few games until we have a 2000 point army. Obviously I’m playing with chaos dwarfs, but seeing as I already have over 2000 points worth I’m using it as a motivator to get units finished that I’m taking ages over.

As a caveat, the final army must include a big monster/character on a big monster as a ‘centrepiece’. I’m going for a prophet on a great taurus.

The other armies and their final big gribbly are:

Orcs n Goblins - arachnaraok spider

High Elves - either a prince on a dragon or a dragon mage

Chaos Daemons - bloodthirster

First game (1000 points) and the general’s rousing speech (the final general doesn’t need to take part in these first games) are next wednesday, with planned army lists in the day before.

I’ve got daemons first - I’ll let you know how I get on!

2

nilbog:

Opening statements (guess which one is by which army!):

�?oBring your machines round here! The guard will protect them while we get away from this mess. And where are your metal daemons? Send them up first to clear a path. What? Slaves? Why are they still alive? Find them some pointy sticks and shove them in the right direction I suppose.�?�

�?oWot we’ze got �?~ere is… failyure to comun…, er conimat…, er talk proper. Sum boyz you just can’t reech. So youz git wot we �?~ad �?~ere last week, wich is the way �?~e wants it… well, �?~e gits it. I don’t like it any more than youz boyz.�?�

The daemon was furious. It was always furious. The disease carrying humans had failed to breach the city gates and now it was left here to make the best of an appalling situation. Still, at least there was killing to be done. They�?Td better put up a good fight. With his anger boiling over, the daemon roared and ran forward to the mass of mortals below it.

The dragon flew high over the land of mortal men. Far below, the rider spotted what he feared; the smoking remains left by warfare. Looking closer he saw that the humans inside the city seemed well protected; outside the walls, all was chaos as the remnants of the invading army scattered. He wheeled his dragon away, deep in thought.

3

nilbog:

…and army lists for my first game:

1000 Chaos dwarf list:

Daemonsmith, fire, dispel scroll 120

28 Infernal guard, full command, lichebone pennant 383

20 hobgoblins, bows, full command 122

4 K�?Tdaai fireborn, manburner 220

Magma cannon xxx

1000 chaos daemon list

Herald of tzeentch, spellbreaker, master of sorcery (shadow) 165

20 Bloodletters, full command 270

20 Pink horrors, full command 270

3 Flamers 120

5 Flesh hounds 175

Playing tomorrow. As this is a type of escalation, we must keep units from game to the next; they can be increased in size, but not decreased; equipment and upgrades must be the same. However, any units completely destroyed in a game can be dropped from the next list (which gives us a chance to try things out a bit).

4

Vogon:

Look forward to reading this one Good luck in the game.

Cheers

Vogon

5

nilbog:

Chaos dwarfs vs chaos daemons:

This is the aftermath of Tamurkhan�?Ts failed invasion. In this first game, it is all about surviving to reach home, or in the daemons case, stay away from home for as long as possible. To that end, this is a straightforward kill-as-many-opposing-units-as-possible-while-staying-alive scenario.

Army lists as above.

Daemons deployment from my left to my right: Flesh hounds, horrors, bloodletters, flamers.

Dwarfs deployment from my left to my right: Fireborn, hobbos, infernal guard, magma cannon tucked in behind.

Turn 1:

Daemons go first. Everything marches up. In the magic phase, the herald uses 6 of his 7 dice to cast a boosted pit of shades on the infernal guard and gets irresistible force, which I presume he was banking on. Fortunately the template scatters a ridiculous number of inches and only two infernal guard are lost. The herald, however, is not so lucky and gets sucked back into the warp, which serves him right. My comment that he can�?Tt 6-dice mindrazor later is received with a rueful grin. The flamers shoot at the infernal guard but don�?Tt do any damage.

In my turn, I manoeuvre the fireborn round to block the flesh hounds from charging anything else. The winds of magic are low but I throw all four (!) dice at a boosted fireball and kill three bloodletters. The hobbos shoot at the horrors and kill one before dancing a little jig. The magma cannon shoots at the bloodletters and kills a measly six after ward saves. Six! I�?Tve killed more ogres than that with one shot.

Turn 2:

The flesh hounds charge the fireborn (and make it into combat) and the bloodletters charge the infernal guard but fail the charge. The horrors attempt some sort of magic missile thing at the infernal guard, which I don�?Tt dispel, but between armour saves and flaming ward save none die. Again the flamers shoot at the infernal guard but don�?Tt do anything. In combat, the fireborn kill one flesh hound before combat starts. The flesh hounds kill one fireborn, while the fireborn kill another flesh hound. Another flesh hound returns to the warp due to daemonic instability.

In my turn, I stay put. The fireborn fail their toughness test but only lose one wound. I don�?Tt manage to get my fireball off this time. The hobbos kill another horror and the magma cannon kills four bloodletters. In combat, a flesh hound loses a wound due to the fireborn�?Ts blazing bodies and a wound each is inflicted on both sides, so we both lose a model this round.

Turn 3:

The remaining bloodletters successfully charge the infernal guard. The horrors successfully cast the tzeentch magic missile, doing two strength seven hits. Good job the dice weren�?Tt the other way round! Needless to say, seven hobbos die. The flamers try to shoot the magma cannon, and actually cause a wound. The final flesh hound dies and the fireborn reform to face the horrors. The bloodletter champion offers a challenge, which my infernal guard champion accepts, although neither manages to inflict a wound. The other bloodletters do better, killing four infernal guard. In return, two bloodletters are slain, for a drawn combat.

In my turn, the magma cannon kills a flamer and the hobbos again kill a horror. The bloodletters lose combat and daemonic instability reduces their number to the lone champion.

Turn 4:

My opponent concedes the game, having only a unit of pink horrors, two flamers and a bloodletter (who would disappear due to combat resolution if nothing else) left.

The legion of azgorh survives to fight another day!

6

Vogon:

Interesting battle by the sounds of it.

It says you received 2 strength 7 hits but 7 Hobbos die? I assume that’s a mistype or something.

It’s nice to see that the fireborn can hold their own even against the magical attacks of daemons.

Nice victory I look forward to your next report.

Cheers

Vogon

7

nilbog:

Yes, two hobbos died, that was a typo, thanks for pointing it out.

The fireborn were lucky in some regards, but they’ve still got a 4+ ward save. I wouldn’t stick them up against their infantry units like I would for other T3 infantry (like elves or humans).

8

Marduk:

Nice battle report!

Do you take notes during the game or do you remember all these details?

9

nilbog:

Cheers! I draw diagrams of the action as it goes, with some notes e.g. PoS, X, -2IG to help me remember. For the bigger game at the end I’ll hopefully take some photos.

10

DAGabriel:

Hope you got reinforcements for BDay presents!

All the best!

11

nilbog:

Hope you got reinforcements for BDay presents!
All the best!

DAGabriel
Thank you very much! I got some reinforcements but for my space wolves.

Next battle report up soon, the game is wednesday. Here are the lists:

1500 point chaos dwarf list:

Daemonsmith, fire, dispel scroll, charmed shield 125
Infernal castellan, bsb, mask of the furnace, great weapon 200

29 Infernal guard, full command, lichebone pennant 395
25 hobgoblins, bows, full command 147

6 K�?Tdaai fireborn, manburner 340
Magma cannon xxx
Magma cannon xxx

1500 point o'n'g list

Savage orc great shaman, level 4, lucky shrunken head 255

Black orc big boss, bsb, shield, talisman of preservation 162
Night goblin shaman, level 2, dispel scroll 110

28 Savage or big �?~uns, AHW, stabba, full command 363
30 Night goblins, spears, netters, full command 215

5 Savage orc boar boys, spears, shields, full command 145
2 Spear chukkas xx
3 Trolls xxx

Mangler squig xx

We�?Tre playing the scenario from Tamurkhan in which the chaos forces are ambushed by night goblins, but seeing as this is the aftermath, the remaining night goblins have been taken over by a savage orc tribe. I can�?Tt really complain about his list at all, as it is fluffy, but I�?Tm worried about the amount of magic and the mangler squig. He�?Ts probably got some fanatics as well seeing as the points cost for the night goblin unit is higher than it should be from what he�?Ts listed.
12

nilbog:

It’s taken me ages to write this up! Anyway, onwards:

Chaos dwarves vs Orcs and goblins:

Lists as above

Deployment (from my left to my right):

Mangler squig, night goblins, savage orcs with the two orc characters, trolls, boar boyz right on the flank. One chukka on a hill, one on a ruin.

Fireborn, infernal guard, hobgoblins, magma cannons on flank with daemonsmith.

Turn 1:

I go first and move all the units except cannons up at a brisk(ish) march. Winds of magic blow low, but that suits me as I�?Tve only got one spell and any more than 6PD means that he will have more chance to dispel. I cast a boosted fireball at the mangler squig and kill it. Magma cannons kill nearly all the night goblins (huzzah for the re-rolls!) but the remaining ones hold due to the general and bsb nearby.

All his units move up (animosity doesn�?Tt affect any of his units all game!), his trolls and boar boyz moving round the flank of my hobbos for a charge next turn. In the magic phase he casts a spell to make his shaman tougher (I think �?" fists of gork?) and some sort of magic missile, both of which I let through, although the magic missile does nothing. He then casts foot of gork (I guessed he would!) which I just manage to dispel. His spear chukkas don�?Tt hit anything. They don�?Tt hit anything all game, so I�?Tll not mention them again.

Turn 2:

I manoeuvre my fireborn round (after they passed their toughness test) so that his big block of savage orcs has to come through them to get to my infernal guard. This brings them close enough to release the fanatics but they don�?Tt move far enough to contact my units. The hobbos turn to face the boar boyz and trolls. Magic sees nothing happen as he dispels my fireball easily this time, although I do dispel fists of gork. The magma cannons shoot at the nicely lined up boar boyz and trolls, leaving a model from each left; the hobbos then finish off the troll (no regeneration after the magma cannon!). The remaining boar boy wonders wot �?~appened to �?~is mates and belatedly turns to face the magma cannons.

The savage orcs charge at the fireborn. One fanatic dies due to rolling a double, the other fanatic goes towards the board edge. Trying to draw dispel dice out, both his shaman roll two dice for the first spell, but both lose concentration. Two orcs die to blazing body, another four from the fireborn�?Ts attacks. I would have done more damage if it wasn�?Tt for the pesky 5+ ward save! I lose three wounds to the frenzied attacks of the savage orcs. Stomping does nothing and I lose another wound to instability, but they�?Tre still stuck in place.

Turn 3:

I lose another fireborn from a failed toughness test so now I�?Tm down to three models. The only movement is pointing the hobbos back in the right direction. Magic does nothing again. The magma cannons can only see the lone boar boy who dies, strangely enough. Combat sees the fireborn finish off a rank of the savage orcs but being reduced to two models in return. Stomping kills one orc, so I win by one, but he is steadfast and holds.

With the fanatics out of the way (the one remaining fanatic going off the board), the night goblins charge the remaining fireborn. The orc shaman again tries foot of gork with all six of his dice, but I remember my dispel scroll this turn after he rolls - wait for it �?" 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Combat actually goes the fireborn�?Ts way after an orc and three goblins die to blazing body, leaving only the shaman and command left. The fireborn kill another two savage orcs, but the savage orcs and night goblins do no damage in return! The fireborn then stomp up and down a bit, killing another orc. Again, the orcs are steadfast and hold.

Turn 4:

Time to finish this off then! After watching the fireborn pass a toughness test, the infernal guard charge the savage orcs. The hobbos leg it around the flank of the savage orcs, aiming to get off the board and get some extra victory points. There is no magic or shooting as there aren�?Tt any targets left, except for the spear chukkas which are out of range. The big combat goes entirely my way, with extra ranks, my bsb and charging bonuses stacking up. The savage orcs flee and are cut down. The (now down to two) remaining night goblins flee.

The night goblins flee off the board in his turn. Another crushing victory for Hashut!

I was really lucky, I think, with killing off the mangler squig first turn, and the fanatics doing nothing. Magic also went my way. I knew I wouldn�?Tt do much, but I was fortunate that he didn�?Tt manage to get his big spell off, his other spells only being an irritant. The fireborn were superb �?" I didn�?Tt expect them to last so long against a horde of savage orcs. I think he made some bad decisions, like putting the trolls and boar boyz in the magma cannons firing line and charging the night goblins into the fireborn �?" that was just easy combat resolution for me as they�?Tre so easy to kill.

High elves next, I expect to see lots of dragon armour!

13

nilbog:

So on to the last game…it’s been a while, due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e. the weather), but eventually we had our battle, although it had to be in my front room, and we had to play floorhammer on account of me not having a big enough table.

Anyway, this final game was against high elves. I had the same list as above, plus a level 4 hashut sorcerer-prophet on a great taurus with an enchanted shield and talisman of preservation. He had:

Prince on moon dragon, lance, dragon armour, enchanted shield, guardian phoenix

Battle standard on barded steed, heavy armour, great weapon, dragon helm, talisman of endurance

Mage, level 2 high magic, annulian crystal, dragonbane gem

30 spears, full command, gleaming pennant

16 archers, full command

9 dragon princes, full command, amulet of light, luckstone

2 bolt throwers

2 eagles

Deployment as shown, although there is another RBT and eagle off to the right

14

nilbog:

Turn 1 and the high elves go first. The dragon princes move around the trees, with the dragon flanking. The spears move up also. The archers move forward a bit. Eagles fly off to get in the way, as eagles do. No magic gets through (he’s to far away) and shooting kills some hobbos.

The taurus charges the eagle who flees but is caught. I move the fireborn up to the wall, so they are behind an obstacle and so more difficult to hit. The infernal guard march forward a bit. Magic does nothing (unsurprisingly, seeing as he had more dd than I had pd). One of the magma cannons misfires, but I roll again for the daemonsmith…and again it misfires, and then blows up. The other magma cannon kills some archers. The hobbos don’t shoot anything, on account of them being worthless slaves.

This is the end of turn one:

15

nilbog:

Turn two and the dragon princes flank charge the fireborn, and the dragon charges into the front. The remaining eagle moves round to block the infernal guard from joining in later. Again, no spells go through (ha to your supposed magical superiority!) but shooting takes a wound off both the taurus and the sorcerer-prophet. In combat, the manburner challenges and the prince accepts but cuts him down too easily, the dragon princes killing another two. Instability finishes the rest off, but at least they can’t overrun.

I declare a charge on the spears - 11" away - with my infernal guard and make it! Huzzah! The taurus charges the archers, who stand and shoot but don’t do any damage. Again, magic does nothing, due to that damned annulian crystal. Shooting and the magma cannon manages to kill a dragon prince. The wimpy spears do hardly any damage (maybe 2?) but I kill 8 and the spears run off, to be cut down by the fast moving dwarfs. The sorcerer-prophet is challenged by the archer champion, who dies, but the end result means I am locked in combat.

Here’s the end of turn two (the dragon princes are just out of sight behind the dragon; my magma cannon and hobbos are to the left of the picture):

16

nilbog:

One more, and I’m done for today. Turn three sees the dragon princes and dragon maneuvering round to flank or rear charge the infernal guard. The eagle tries to charge the magma cannon but can’t reach it. Magic sees drain magic going through - the first spell of the game. The bolt throwers kill a couple of infernal guard. In combat, the taurus and sorcerer-prophet kill 8 archers, sending the rest (including the mage) packing only to be run down by the annoyed flying bull with an annoyed dwarf on top of it.

The infernal guard turn to face the dragon princes…I have a cunning plan. The taurus flies round to look at the dragons backside. During the magic phase, finally having more pd than he has dd, I cast ashstorm on the dragon - irrestistably. The miscast sees the sorcerer-prophet and taurus lose a wound each, although the s-p passes his T test.

I should be in a jolly good position here…

17

Abecedar:

Am enjoying this immensely. Is it only one round against each opponent or more rounds to come?

18

nilbog:

Thank you very much! Just one round each, I’ll finish off this battle report sometime this weekend and let you know the overall result.

19

Yodrin:

Great reports, and gz on your wins!!

LF to more :cheers

20

FraustyTheSnowman:

Dying to know what happens to the he dragon. Especially being new to fantasy and one of my regular opponents is going to be a high elf player…