Turn 3 Winter Storm:Movement:The only charge is my Halb detachment against the Mar Horse.
My Knights rally and face towards the swamp (forcing the Skullcrushers into it if they charge). The Halb detachment with random movement moves up 6 inches.
Otherwise my Greatswords move up slightly to keep her detachments in range and my Archers move up to divert his Sorc Hellstriders. The Demigryphs reform to face south to get back into the action.
Magic:6 & 3 for Winds, no channels. 9 PD to 6 DD.
I cast a 4 dice Banishment on the Hellstriders. He thinks awhile…and decides to let it go. I get 13 hits and 7 unsaved wounds. Only the Sorc and 2 remain.
Next I cast a 5 dice boosted version of Birona’s Timewarp. IF. In range are the Greatswords, right Halb det, Wiz bunker and Archer det.
The miscast sucks- I lose 2 wizard levels and forget Net and Birona’s Timewarp. Not too good for the home team…but unless he fails his Frenzy rolls I really doubt he is going to charge this turn. Hopefully it buys me some time.
Combat:With ASF and +1A, my Halbs make short work of the Mar Horse and reform to face forward.
Turn 3 Rapturous Frenzy:Movement:The Skullcrushers declare a charge against my ICK. I hold. The Skullcrushers fail one Dangerous Terrain test, which removes one model from the unit because of previous wounds.
His Sorc leaves the Hellstrider unit and moves to put pressure on my Wizard bunker while the rest of the ‘Striders move up to block my Demis.
His other Hellstrider unit also moves up to put pressure on my Wizard bunker- effectively blocking it in.
His Khorne blocks make their Frenzy tests and they move back slightly, not wanting to get hit by the crazy Time-warped Empire to their front. I love it- I have Khorne forces moving
backwards!!!Magic:He gets a 4 and 2 for Winds. No channels.
6 PD to 4 DD.
Always one to be aggressive with magic, he tosses a 6 dice boosted Cac Choir. He gets it off, and my 4 dispel dice fall woefully short.
The Halbs suffer 4 casualties, 1 GS dies, the Archer detachments losses all but one, and my Wizard bunker loses 7! Luckily they all make their Panic tests. Unfortunately they are now all random movers….but with Time-Warp on they are 2d6 not 1d6. How crazy…insane things sure do happen during the game!
His Hysterical Frenzied Skullcrushers (it is RiP) cause another wound to themselves. I love it!
Combat:The Khorne BSB challenges and I accept with my Champion. He gets 2 wounds for CR and Overkill. Again his rolls are pretty bad and with some crazy saves, none of my Knights die. I do just as poorly in return attacks, only causing 1 unsaved wound. Again, he barely wins combat but this time I make the Steadfast Break test.
What it looked like at the end:
Turn 4 Winter Storm:Movement:The only declared charge is the Demis versus the blocking Hellstriders. They hold.
I decide to have my random movers go straight north. Hopefully the right Halbs will get in the way of the Skullcrushers, my Greatswords can keep them in range, while my Wizard bunker gets some distance away from the threats in the rear.
The right Halbs get a little too happy- and dance their way right into the Skullcrushers. My Greatswords move up 7 inches in support…but they only have the back rank of the Halbs within 3 inches. That unit is probably toast. The Wiz bunker moves up tight against the Greatswords.
Finally, my free-moving left Halb block moves up to protect the flank of the Greatswords against the Khorne Forsaken.
Magic:5 & 1 for Winds, no channels. 6 PD to 5 DD.
Bad turn for a crappy roll…I decide that defense is going to be my best bet for next turn, so I toss all 6 dice on Shield of Faith for my Greatswords and her detachments.
Not a great roll and he easily dispels it.
My lone Archer fails to hit the Sorc.
Combat:The Demigryphs make short work of the last Hellstriders, but failed a Poisoned wound armour save.
The opposite happens with my poor Halbs- the Skullcrushers annihilate them to the last man with no return strikes.
In the Skullcrushers versus my GW Knights, I manage to make an ridiculous amount of saves against the attacks from the riders. I make a couple of more armour saves versus the mounts- resulting in only 2 ICK deaths!!! Great on defense, but not on offense, I fail to wound. I take a Break test at -2…and succeed! Whew!
Turn 4 Rapturous Frenzy:Movement:His Sorc declares a charge against my Wiz bunker. I Flee! Because of the angle, they run over the lines to the northwest, make DT tests and are safe.
Of course, the Forsaken charge the Halb detachment and the Skullcrushers hit the Greatswords. His Exalted Hero charges out of the ‘Striders to hit the rear of the GS as well.
Otherwise, his last Hellstriders move quickly over to get my fleeing Wiz bunker in their LOS.
Magic:He gets a 2 and 2 for Winds. One Empire channel.
4 PD to 3 DD.
He tosses all 4 dice on Phantasmagoria on the GS. I fail to dispel. Now they must roll an extra d6 for all Leadership tests, discarding the lowest. That could hurt….
Unfortunate for the Hysterical Frenzied Skullcrushers, they cause yet another wound to themselves, removing a model (my opponent cannot believe the number of 1s he rolled trying to make those easy saves. Great for the Empire!
Combat:The Skullcrushers versus my Knights- finally the Skullcrushers live up to their name. They cause 6 unsaved wounds. My 2 remaining ICK whiff. I fail my Break test but run 10 inches! The Skullcrushers fail to catch them in pursuit.
The Forsaken get Killing blow and max attacks against the Halbs. They kill all but 3 and take no damage in return. Halbs make their Stubborn Break test.
The Slaanish Exalted Hero issues a challenge in the GS fight. My Arch Lector accepts. He causes 3 wounds, but I make 2 AS and a 6+ WS- taking no wounds. My opponent just stands there shaking his head. The AL fails to wound in response.
He directs as many attacks as he can towards my BSB- wanting to get rid of my Hold Your Ground ability and re-roll. Again- I make all my AS! My opponent can’t believe it. 9 Greatswords die to the fury of the Skullcrushers. The GS generate 16 wounds in response, but he makes all his AS but 3. I Skullcrusher dies. 2 remain.
I roll 4 dice for my Stubborn Break test and after throwing out the lowest and highest I pass the test. The GS hold. What it looked like at the end:
Turn 5 Winter Storm:Movement:My Demis finally get into some real combat and make a successful charge against the Skullcrusher flank.
My Wiz bunker rallies, but my Knights fail (don’t get double 1s) and run to within 2” of the table edge.
My lone archers moves up to shoot at the Sorc Lord.
Magic:5 & 4 for Winds, one Chaos channel. 9 PD to 6 DD.
I cast a 3 dice Net on the last Hellstriders. He lets it go.
Again, I toss a 6 dice Shield of Faith on the Greatswords. Again, he dispels it.
Combat:Nothing happens in the Exalted Hero versus Arch Lector challenge, both of us making all saves.
The Skullcrushers kill a total of 5 Greatswords. The Demis fail to impress and do not cause any unsaved wounds. The GS get 3 unsaved wounds, removing another Skull model. The unit is down to 1 remaining.
The Skullcrusher make its Break test but the Exalted Hero flees 11 inches away. The ‘Crusher loses Frenzy, but still has +1A for Hysterical Frenzy.
The Forsaken easily mop up the remaining Halbs in the detachment.
Turn 5 Rapturous Frenzy:Movement:The Forsaken charge the flank of my Greatswords.
The Hellstriders declare a charge against my Wizard bunker but fail their Net Str test. The Net kills them all and saves my Wizard Bunker!
His Exalted Hero rallies and faces north. Otherwise, his free Skullcrusher perform a swift reform and move up around the swamp so they can charge my GS next turn. The Sorc moves up to get his spells into range.
Magic:He gets a 3 and 1 for Winds. No channels. Man, the magic phases keep getting weaker and weaker!
4 PD to 3 DD.
He tosses another Cac Choir on the GS. I fail to dispel. 4 GS die and the Slaanish Sorc Lord gains +1WS, +1I, and +1A from one of the wounds (his Lore attribute)
The Hysterically Frenzied Skullcrusher doesn’t wound himself.
Combat:The Skullcrusher kills a couple of GS before it dies to Demi and GS counterattack. The Forsaken get 10 wounds….but I make a crazy five 5+ armour saves! (I think my opponent is still shaking his head after this battle…)
My Demis reform and face south. The GS make their Break test and reform to face the Forsaken. I put them 8 wide so my BSB could hang off the end, out of combat.
What it looked like at the end:
Turn 6 Winter Storm:Movement:The Demis declare a charge against the Sorc Lord. When my opponent realizes that I can declare a second charge with my lone Archer (likely pushing him off the board), he decides to take his chances in combat and holds.
My lone Archer moves over for a short range shot at the Exalted Hero and my Wiz bunker moves up to get better range for spells.
The ICK fail to rally and go off the board.
Magic:2 & 2 for Winds, no channels. 4 PD to 2 DD.
With the dice advantage now, I use all 4 dice on Shield of Faith and finally get it off successfully.
The Archer fails to wound the Exalted Hero and the Wiz bunker archers have no effect on the Skullcrushers.
Combat:The Forsaken get 6 wounds on the GS. I make four 5+ armour saves, and two 5+ Ward saves. I don’t take ANY wounds! In return, the GS kill 4 Forsaken.
The Forsaken lose combat and fail their Break test. They run 5 inches and the GS run them and hack them into pieces going 8 inches!
The Sorc Lord battle doesn’t go any better for my opponent. The Sorc gets 2 wounds between his attacks and Firebreath and doesn’t suffer any in return. Tied CR, but I have a musician. He loses by 1 and fails his Break test. He runs away 10 inches and I fail to catch him on a 9.
Turn 6 Rapturous Frenzy:Movement:The Skullcrushers charge my GS in the flank.
His Sorc Lord fails to rally and runs off the board.
Combat:The Khorne BSB issues a challenge. I accept with my GS champion. He gets 1 wound and kills him. The Skullcrushers net 6 wounds, but I make 3 Ward saves! Only 3 GS die. The GS fail to wound in return.
All I have to do is pass this Stubborn break test and the game is mine….and I easily make it on 3 dice. Not like it matters, but the GS reform to face the Skullcrushers.
Game over.
After Action:I won by a whooping 863 VPs (a massacre) but the game was a lot closer than that. Change a few rolls and it would have been a different result.
1. Chaos packs a punch. My poor Halbs were Khorne food…and my Greatswords performed well only because of my great armour saves and ward saves. Characters are not safe against Chaos…and you really have to play it smart to keep them alive. Frenzy can be liability, but if played right with lots of support, it can be mitigated.
2. I am not sold on the Hellstriders. They look cool on paper, but in several battles I have yet to see them live long enough to get all their buffs. They are great Warmachine and Wizard hunters, but they are squishy.
3. His fast cavalry heavy force cleared out my archers easy enough, but they served their purpose long enough to keep the base Griffon formation intact. I have found that if you manage the battle and only allow 2-3 turns of combat against the base of the formation, your opponent cannot bring enough combat power to take it off the board. To a certain degree, it is a great points-denial.
4. Sorry Q-beam, but I really missed my STank in this battle. The Demis perform alright but a few cannon shots and some grindage would have served me well. Of course, I could have added a cannon or HBVG, but I think his fast cav would have made short work of it. Besides, I like showing how a combat-heavy Empire force can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them and hold its own. You don’t have to have artillery with our new book.
5. My dice rolls were really hot. I think I would have still come out on top with normal rolls- especially if my offensive rolls would have been average, which they weren’t.
Hope you enjoyed the Battle Report. I look forward to your feedback and comments as always.
HHG
