Rootbeer:
I knew my opponent’s list before hand and he was familiar with mine. He had a level4 archmage, a level 2 mage, 5 blocks of 15 strong varoius foot troops, 2 eagles, 2 bolt throwers, with all the standards like banner of sorcerery and ring of fury.
I run Cd lord on bull taurus, hobgoblin hero with 1+ save ad St7, and 2 level 2 casters with a scroll and stone each.
3x10 hobgobs
2x10 hobgobs with bows
2x10 hobgob wolf riders
3x10 blunderbuss
20 chaos dwarfs
6 bull centaurs
4x bolt throwers
earthshaker
I was very concerned about his magic and shooting pounding me so first target was bolt throwers. I decided to go with shadow magic, despite his assuring me that was the worst thing I could take against him. Both my caster had the default fly a character spell, one had crown, one had the 3d6 St1 missle. He took metal and death to deal damage to me.
Despite his +2 to the roll to go first, which you can expect all HE to get, I rolled 6 and he 1. I moved aggresively forward and went on to magic. My sorcerer with the crown spell cast the flying move on himself on 2 dice… he decided to let it go and I flew behind his line. I then cast the crown using 3 dice with aid of power stone, and rolled well, dishing out 3-4 deaths to 5 units. I cast the 3d6St1 missle at a unit with 2 dice, he let it go and I drop 2 swordmasters. I use the powerstone one the other mage to cast flying move on the hobgoblin hero, get irresistable!! and fly chunky into a bolt thrower and later kill it. I silence his other bolt thrower with the earthshaker.
High elf turn 1… he moves defensively and sets up to slaughter my lone mage and hobgoblin hero with bows. he does a little dammage with magic missles, then miscasts his last spell and rolls a 6… I get to cast a spell free woohoo! I cast crown again (5 units in range again), and start rolling 5s and 6s for hits per unit, including 6 hits on his lone prince who moved out of a unit to shoot at my mage.
Seeing half his army is around half strength, his shooting mostly neutralized, my bull taurus lined up in a flank, and his troops aligned with blunderbusses… he throws up his arms and declares ‘that’s it! I quit, enough of this crap’ and to my astonishment denies my the joy of slowly crushing his elfyness.
Shadow magic might suck, but a flying St7 1+ save hobgoblin can equal a dead warmachine or caster first round, and suddenly they have to kill the pest in their back field while I exercise ranged superiority.