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Offline Odominus

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Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« on: March 14, 2011, 08:07:44 AM »
Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn   

Death by a thousand cuts is still a death. And a damn bloody one at that.

Across the great expanse that is Reikland, for the past several years, the Emperor's supply routes have been the target of brutal raiding parties. Using guerrilla-style hit and run tactics, the bandits' plundering is happening much more frequently while never leaving a trail of evidence. It has reached a crescendo and the missing money and product is starting to gouge deep into his Lordship's treasury. The highest ranked official in the province is his Eminence Roger de Flor, Arch Lector of the Church of Sigmar. This is all happening under his watch and he can no longer tolerate failure. He commissions the aid of a legendary tracker and is able to discern that the reason no evidence is ever left at the crime scene is because the perpetrators are dissolving back into the ground after the raids! They are the denizens of the Under Empire: The Skaven!  Although de Flor is wise enough to know that these creatures are not only real, but they are getting very strong if they are brave enough to come out into the sunlight. The tracker penetrates deep within the vast underground network of caves. He reports back what he sees: the massing of an army. He saw the shape of what appeared to be 2 massive war machines being constructed with others under construction as well. Upon hearing this news, de Flor sends a message by pigeon to his superior asking for direction. In the meantime, he has great bonfires started at the entrance to the Under City. The power of Sigmar spreads the smoke into the tunnels for miles and miles.  The Skaven, afraid to approach the massive fires, suffer smoke inhalation for 5 days before the Grey Seer returns from his mission.  Representing Clan Destyn, the Grey Seer is not happy to be summoned back a week ahead of schedule. Luckily, with his excellent organizational skills, construction of his machines of war will finish early. He doesn't have time to waste as the smoke is getting very thick and is burning his lungs. Grey Seer Ook's seat on the Council of Thirteen will be concrete when he fulfills his destiny and destroys the Reikland garrison.

So it is on this day, March 13th, that Grey Seer Ook leads his coughing and sputtering forces out from newly dug exits.  Pleased with the fresh air, he can feel the momentum beginning to swing in his favor. His forces look refreshed and hungry. Perfect.  They have a grudge to settle with the humans. The white furred Skaven wishes to engage his enemy on his own terms: by surprise. Unfortunately, Grey Seers don’t always get what they wish for. Unbeknownst to Ook, the message de Flor sent had reached the Emperor himself who dispatched troops to force march, meet up with, and eradicate the Skaven.  The Empire’s forces look beleaguered and weary from the march. Yet their eyes’ are steely and do not betray any fear while looking across the field at the rat creatures. The men bang their weapons against their shields in pre-battle tradition.  The masses of rats skitter nervously and continue to look to their leaders for assurance.  Plague monks travel up and down the lines promising great riches in death, whipping the rats into a frenzy. While the humans set up their machines and gather into block formations, Seer Ook smiles. The mission he just returned from was a success. In his possession was a scroll of immense power, likened only to the Great Horned One himself. With it, his plans of greatness are at hand. The day is his to lose.

   The two forces meet on a dry parched expanse of barren land. Between them stands the remains of an Arcane Ruin (which may be the source behind this blighted landscape). The burps of the cannons from across the battlefield signals the inevitable: the battle has started.

Astorre is playing the role of Empire, while I command the Skaven forces. 3000pts. Pitched Battle. After we rolled, only one piece of special terrain: Arcane Ruin (all mages within 6" get to roll 4 dice for channelling).  He placed a unit first. He still had a +1 to go first. He rolled a 2. So did I. Empire goes first. KABOOM!

Arch Lector General Astorre Vendetti - GW, AoMI, Holy Relic, VHS
Arch Lector Roger de Flor - Armour of Silvered Steel, Dawnstone
Lv4 Life Wizard Malatesta de Verucchio - Power Scroll, Crimson Amulet (rolled spells 2, 3, 5,6)
Captain Giovanni Ordelaffi - BSB, FPA, Ironcurse Icon, Talisman of Preservation
Captain Ferrante Gonzaga - Lance, Pistol, FPA, Charmed Shield, Crown of Command, Pegasus
Warrior Priest Facino - Dragonhelm, Heavy Armour, Shield
Lv1 Shadow Wizard Alberico de Barbiano - Rod of Power (elected to have Miasma spell)
2 Engineers, Beppo & Muzio
Reikland's XIV Expeditionary Force, 50 Halberdiers - FC
Reikland's XI Expeditionary Force, 51 Halberdiers - FC
Tilean mercenaries Guiseppe's Devil Dogs, 30 Swordsmen - FC
3 Great Cannons
4 Mortars
Carroburg Greatswords, 30 GS - FC


Grey Seer Ook SBell, General, Power Scroll, DragonBane Gem, Portents of Verminous Doom (rolled Ruin spells 4,5,6 and 13th) x2 warpstone
Plague Priest Lv2, Furnace, Flail, Dispel Scroll, Ironcurse Icon (rolled Plague spells 3,6)
BSB Chieftain Storm Banner
Warlock Engineer Doomrocket
Warlock Engineer Charmed shield, Rat Hound Bodyguard
35 Stormvermin FC, Shroud of Dripping Death (which I forgot about the entire game :icon_rolleyes:), Warpfire Weapon Team
35 Plague Monks FC, Banner of Eternal Flame
x3 50 Slaves FC with shields
x2 7 Gutter Runners Slings, Poison
HPA
x2 Doomwheels
Warp Lightning Cannon
3 Rat Swarms   (put these together the night before...1st time using a "swarm")









(To be continued)



« Last Edit: March 16, 2011, 09:04:09 PM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2011, 09:41:16 AM »
Turn 1

EMPIRE
Storm Banner is activated. His Captasus decides not  to charge the flanking Gutter Runners due to not being able to fly during the storm. He moves him over to prepare to charge next turn. All 4 blocks move forward, the Swordsmen the most. This was to get a mage within 6" of the Arcane Ruins. He rolled a 3 for the magic phase. He attempted Miasma at my Plague Monks which I dispelled. He saved one die in his RoP. I started out very lucky during his shooting phase. First off, only 2 out of 7 warmachines got to shoot because of the banner. 2 cannons did shoot however and both hit my Seer/Bell. I made 4 ward saves in a row. Whoa! I hope this lucky streak doesn't come back to haunt me.

SKAVEN
Stormbanner is exausted! I move all my units out. The slaves at full speed. Getting both my Seer and Plague priest within 6" of the ruin (8 channel dice sweeet). The unpassable Ruins in the middle made me alter my plans a bit. I am going to use it to shield my Seer's unit while my slaves jump out and bog the enemy down, while I bring my big toys into play.  I roll a 5 for the magic phase and can't channel a single die. I cast Scorch on the swordsmen, but he dispels it. My Warp Lightning cannon targets a cannon...and BLOWS UP! Yep this begins a nightmare situation of bad luck for me continuing into the next turn. So first blood is mine! Er..except it was my own guy that died :icon_rolleyes:  I shoot the Doomrocket at the Swordsmen using 8 dice and it lands just a couple inches from where I wanted it: 3 swords and 6 halbs dead. My gutter runners on the far flank shoot at the outermost cannon, killing it with 4 wounds.  He makes all his many panic checks due to his general and BSB with 12". My other unit of Gutter Runners score 2 wounds on a mortar.  Both my Doomwheels make their leadership tests so no dead slaves hehe.  Yea the Stormbanner crapping out on me after 1/2 of a turn really hurts.












(To be continued)


« Last Edit: March 14, 2011, 09:44:48 AM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Fandir Nightshade

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2011, 10:39:23 AM »
Warp DRagon Warp Dragon Warp Dragon


oh well I am for empire or phillyT might think I agree with him.  :engel:

Great stuff Odi

Offline rufus sparkfire

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2011, 11:12:29 AM »
Great report so far.

That Empire army has so many characters!
Hey, I could still beat up a woman!
If I wanted to.

Offline Fandir Nightshade

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2011, 11:16:35 AM »
I like Beppo.

Offline Finlay

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2011, 01:43:36 PM »
Great report so far.

That Empire army has so many characters!
Characters, artillery, and not much else!
I don't care about the rules.

Pass the machete.

Offline Fandir Nightshade

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2011, 01:50:17 PM »
Yes...only 130 foot sloggers...no true empire army.

Offline Finlay

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2011, 01:54:02 PM »
160.
I don't care about the rules.

Pass the machete.

Offline cisse

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2011, 01:54:16 PM »
Yes...only 130 foot sloggers...no true empire army.
I count 160, unless you don't count the greatswords as footsloggers?

EDIT: Finlay was faster (or he has too much spare time to hang around on the site  :wink:)
cisse

No matter how fast you run, your ass will always be in front of me...

Offline Fandir Nightshade

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2011, 01:55:33 PM »
They are elite shinys (and I only counted halberdiers and greatswords in my first estimate so forgot the rest).

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #10 on: March 14, 2011, 06:00:37 PM »
Turn 2

EMPIRE
With the storm dissipated, the Captasus handily charges the Gutter Runners, a hail of poisonous stones glancing off his armor. The Swordsmen take the bait and charge my Gutter Runners who promptly flee as planned right through my big block of slaves. They pop out on the backside. Now the Swordsmen are exactly where I want them: ready to take a charge from my Stormvermin and Bell (impact hits).  His Halberd horde on the outer flank miraculously rolls a 10 on 2 dice and *barely* gets the charge in on the Warp Dragon (aka HPA...I'll be referring to it as the Warp Dragon from this point on). I am in the process of acquiring a HPA, only a month away from the Ard tourney so this is a stand-in hehe. So anyways, this was surprising as I did not think his halberds were wearing sneakers and channeling Jesse Owens! The Reikland's XI Expeditionary Force added to their legend today. No worries, hopefully the Warp Dragon can survive a turn, allowing me to charge in with 2 more slave units during my turn. He rolled a "1" when entering the forest so it was not dangerous.

What happens over the course of the next several rolls, demoralizes not only my troops but me as well. I *briefly* thought about whether to extend the game or not. But having played a long while, I have seen turnarounds too many times to discount them. Astorre's lv4 mage extends his arms and reads aloud from his Power Scroll and casts Dweller's Below on my Stormvermin Unit. Using the Bell's strength, I make my test. I rolled a 6. Grey Seer and his goodness are dead. Then I roll a 6 for the Bell. It's goodness is dead too. I roll a 5 for my BSB and he's gone too. 19 Stormvermin dead. I roll a 4 for panic check and stick around. OUCH!!! The miscasts puts a wound on both of Astorre's mages.  During his shooting phase he targets all warmachines on the Plague Monks. A cannon kills the Plague Priest (YIKES! no more magic phase for me :icon_cry:) and mortars kill off 17 more plague monks. That's WITH the Ironcurse Icon saving 7. I see a massacre in my future. I either better start rolling ridiculously well and/or he starts flubbing all his rolls...or I am going to be demolished. What an incredible streak of bad rolls, the likes of which I haven't seen in a while. Oh well, let's soldier on and play this out. His Captasus did 2 wounds on my Gutter Runners who rolled a 3 on their break test...they are sticking around for at least one more combat. The Warp Dragon scared the shit out of the Halberds and made itself more difficult to hit. It killed 7 Halberds and took 2 wounds from the Arch Lector . We ended up tying, he had a musician, I rolled a 6 for the break test and stuck. *WHEW* That was big.


SKAVEN
With the majority of my Leadership gone, things were about to get dicey. 2 Slaves units charged the Halbs in combat with my Warp Dragon, one in the flank. My depleted Stormvermin charge the Swordsmen in a desperate attempt to hold them up and whittle them down. My Warpfire Thrower moves behind the Ruins, preparing to shoot through them at the General's unit next turn. My Plague Monks move into position close to Astorre's horde of Halbs with his General and lv1 mage. One of the Doomwheels reaches the Greatswords, while the other Doomwheel stops just an inch short of them as well. My Slaves on the right flank move up past the Doomwheel to either give aid to the Gutter Runners or charge the warmachines on the hill.  My fleeing Gutter Runners rally.

I bypass my magic phase and move directly into the shooting phase. Out of the now priestless Furnace billows a cloud of noxious Death which I place the small end of the breath template directly over Alberico de Barbiano (his lv1 mage) in the Halb unit. He fails his LO,S! and then fails a T test. Dead dead dead and take that effin Rod of Power with you. A little victory :icon_twisted:  Over on the far flank, the Captasus takes a wound but kills 3 gutter runners who promptly flee off the table. The Captasus overcomes his urge to persue, does a free reform and turns to face the big slave unit. In my big battle, the Warp Dragon rolls a 1 to attack (FEED). No armor saves allowed. D3 wounds. Hungry must have food. And so violently ends the life of one Arch Lector Roger de Flor. May his soul ascend to heaven with the quickness :eusa_clap:  My luck began coming back in short spurts. He did 9 wounds to my Slaves and they shield parry save 6 of them (!!). He put another wound on the Warp Dragon. Overall I won by 11 and he broke. I miraculously passed my leadership tests to restrain both Slave units. The Warp Dragon lurches out and runs down the fleeing halberds, putting itself into close proximity of the mortar (within 12" of it so cannot be targeted). The Stormvermin lose by 1 but pass their break test. They attempt a combat reform but fail their check. The Doomwheel peels off 6 Greatswords but loses by 1. It too makes it's break test and sticks.  The momentum pendulum begins to barely nudge back towards the Skaven...


Top of turn 2



Bottom of Turn 2






Captasus eyeballing the Slaves, preparing to charge.



(To be continued)
« Last Edit: March 16, 2011, 09:04:49 PM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #11 on: March 14, 2011, 09:02:11 PM »
Turn 3

EMPIRE
Captain Ferrante Gonzaga is 10 feet tall. Well not actually, but it is how he feels at this very moment. Headstrong, this young buck is ready to take on the world. His family's great wealth has afforded him the best training, the best political connections, and even purchased the mighty pegasus which now bolsters him in combat. His time is now. His beard extends a full 3 inches from his chin. He has many leatherbound skulls hanging off him. Great honor will he bring to House Gonzaga. Routing the Gutter Runners has given him courage! He charges the massive block of Slaves like a Warrior of Providence from the old legends!

The lv4 Mage leaves the Swordsmen unit and moves over next to the Ruins out of all charge arcs. The Swordsmen move closer to the fleeing Stormvermin, attempting to escort them off the battlefield. Astorre rolls a 6+4 for the magic phase. He cast Throne of Vines and I dispel it. He failed to cast Regrowth.  He cast Soulfire from his Warrior Priest in the Greatswords and put the final wound on my Doomwheel, killing it. Again, my luck flashes: He targeted all his warmachines except one (which targets a slave unit and misfired) at the Warp Dragon. 2 cannonballs hit me and I pass both regeneration saves :icon_eek: One mortar over shoots but 2 others hit, each doing a single wound bringing the Dragon's wound total up to 5.

Over to our brave Stalwart doing singular glorious battle against the murderous Skaven Slaves. The Pawleader inspires his brethren by laying 2 wounds on Ferrante all by himself. The champion's nose twitches as he sweeps right past the Captain's ineptitude. The human and his neat Pegasus whiff their attacks with an awkward display of "rubber lance syndrome." But luckily, his deep pockets provided him with the Crown of Command and he can stick around like a tick. So he is stubborn on an 8. He rolls boxcars. He's fleeing. On 3 dice, he rolls a 9 to run. The Slaves roll a 9 as well. They trample the future of House Gonzaga  down into the broken bloody cracked earth. It also places the Slave unit in a optimum position to charge up the hill at the warmachines.

The Stormvermin killed a few more Swordsmen but lost by 3 and failed their break test. They fled 7 inches while the Swordsmen pursued only 2.


SKAVEN
The ragtag remains of the Plaguemonk unit charges the General's unit of Halbs. The Slaves on the left flank charge the warmachine bunker on the hill. The remaining Doomwheel smacks the mighty Carroburg Greatswords picking up where the previous Doomwheel left off! The Warp Dragon charges the Mortar and it's single remaining crew. The Stormvermin unceremoniously continued their beeline to the nearest table edge. The 2 remaining Slave units turns to the center prepared to give aid. In the shooting phase, 2 Greatswords are electrocuted by str8 zzaps. The Warfire Thrower shoots at the exposed lv4 mage and hit him. I rolled a 1 to wound :icon_rolleyes:

In the combat phase, the Slaves destroyed the warmachine crew and overrun into one the the engineering twins, Beppo, whose face is draining blood as we speak. The Doomwheel and the Greatswords trade wounds with neither of them budging. The Warp Dragon destroys the Mortar and rolls high on the pursuit dice *just* getting off the table edge. With only a single wound remaining this was important to avoid the Empire's next shooting phase. Also, the HPA can come onto the board and still get into hth which is big. The combat with General Astorre Vendetti proved to be extremely bloody with buckets of dice. I believe I rolled 34 dice plus the Furnace's attacks. I did a total of 19 wounds to his unit. He needed snake-eyes to hold. Twice he failed his break test and fled 7 inches while I rolled a 6 to pursue. Go Plague Furnace all by itself! I know I am setting up a perfect flank shot for his cannons, but killing general Astorre is much too important to pass up. A Canon's crew watched the scuffle and apparently it is frightening them something awful. They have taken up positions behind their warmachine and have fired up the Longbottom Leaf and are praying the last rites.


This is the only pic from the top of turn 3 - a single mortar targets a Slave unit - and misfires



Bottom of Turn 3 - the charges



Pursuing General Astorre!





(To be continued)



« Last Edit: March 15, 2011, 02:26:09 AM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #12 on: March 14, 2011, 10:19:25 PM »
INTERMISSION

While we catch a breath before our final 3 turns, here is a picture with a story:


Far from the cushioned seats in his office back in Nuln, Beppo was wondering why in the hell did he allow himself to become entangled with the problems of the Reikfolk? He was just an engineer dammit! Why the hell did he allow his brother to talk him into this! Why the hell is he shatting his pants! And why the hell is he looking down the barrell of a loaded gob of ratkin...




Next Round Four



« Last Edit: March 16, 2011, 08:52:54 AM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #13 on: March 15, 2011, 07:13:13 AM »
Turn 4

EMPIRE
Guiseppe's Devil Dogs charge the fleeing Stormvermin who take this opportunity to sprint right off the battlefield. They are under 25% of starting size and need snake-eyes to rally so oh well.  General Astorre gets his  scrambling halberds back under control and reforms facing the incoming Plague Furnace and Monks.  His magic phase sees the winds of magic howl as he rolls up 11 power dice. I have 6 dispel dice. He throws 3 dice at the Throne spell, I do too and come up short. I am able to dispel  Regrowth with my final 3 dice. Now casting unopposed, he freely casts Flesh to Stone on his General’s remaining Halberds using 3 dice. Using his last 2 dice, he casts the Unbreakable prayer on his General’s unit as well.

With a loud crack, the Empire cannon hurls it’s payload of death at the flank of the Plague Furnace and hits it along with many Monks who die. For number of wounds dealt to the Furnace, Astorre rolls a 6. Furnace dead.  Full points for the Priest and Furnace.  The remaining Monks fail the ensuing panic test which is particularly bad as they are under 25% of original size and only snake-eyes can rally them from here on. They are a good distance away from the table edge..maybe I can keep them on long enough to save their points.  His mortars target my Slave units. The first mortar veers off 10” and lands in a clearing. His second is a direct hit and obliterates 17 unlucky Slaves. But then again, is there such a thing as a lucky Slave? The rocked unit rolls a 4 for panic and sticks around.

The Doomwheel and the Greatswords continue in an epic struggle with grunts and squeals emerging from the cloud of sweat, fur, and feathers.  Once again, the Greatswords stubborn keeps them in the fray by rolling a 4. They do a post combat reform. Lastly, the Last Stand of Beppo is horrible to behold. The attacks he endures is dizzying. (think scene in Matrix 3 at the end where Captain Mifune gets 1000 cuts from a flurry of oncoming  sentinels and dies).  R.I.P. Beppo.  Slaves over run into a mortar crew.



SKAVEN
The far right unit of Slaves charge the cannon.  I fail to rally the Plague Monks and they continue on their merry way to the table edge. The Warp Dragon emerges from the edge and charges into the rear of the heavily ensorceled Halberd unit. My other Slave unit on my right flank marches towards the General’s unit positioning themselves to charge next turn. Also, I have forgotten to mention my 3 Rat Swarms that had slowly been moving up all game and getting into position behind the Doomwheel.  I roll 12 dice for the magic phase. I easily dispel his 2 remains in play spells (Throne and Unbreakable).  My Warpfire Thrower again scores a direct hit on his lv4 mage. Again I roll a 1 to wound :icon_rolleyes:
The Warp Dragon goes on a rampage and human bodies are being flung in all directions. The General loses this battle by 6 points. He rolls snake-eyes! This human become Arch Lector for a reason. He has proven his mettle today.  The Doomwheel and Greatswords tie and because of no musician, the Wheel takes a break test and rolls an 11. On 3 dice I roll a 5 for flee distance. So does he and runs down the Doomwheel.   The Slaves destroy the Cannon and overrun directly behind the 1 wound remaining Warp Dragon. The Slaves up on the hill munch through the Mortar and overrun into the large mustachio’ed, Muzio who looks no less shocked than his brother...


Top of Round 4 - Furnace still alive!



Not anymore.



Bottom of Round 4






Malatesta de Verucchio decides he doesn't want to tempt fate one more time against the WFT!



(To be continued)
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Delthos

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #14 on: March 15, 2011, 08:30:43 PM »
That table mat really looks great in wide shots. If it weren't for the closeups, I wouldn't be able to tell the table wasn't actually textured like it looks to be.

Nice battle report too!
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Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #15 on: March 16, 2011, 08:23:32 AM »
Turn 5

The Warp Dragon continues to live with a single wound remaining. It is my MVP by far. If it keeps this “surviving” thing up, I might have to give it a name. The Warp Dragon using the HPA rules is beautiful :::cheers:::

EMPIRE

Astorre’s Greatsword unit is down to 3 men and the Warrior Priest and BSB. The Priest leaves the unit and marches up behind my fleeing Plague Monks.  Again, this is to “escort” them off the field as I like to call it.  The Greatswords do a quick reform then move closer to the General and his remaining Halbard unit. The lv4 Mage, having escaped warp-death twice by nothing short of a miracle, joins the Greatsword unit. The Mortar, his last war machine, decides to move down the back side of the hill in an attempt to not be overrun by the Slaves about to blast through Muzio.  He moves them out of the charge arc. The magic phase is an important one with Astorre having 7 powerdice.  I have 5 dispel dice. He cast Throne of Vines with 2 dice. I try to dispel it with 2 dice but fail. He casts Regrowth with 4 dice rolling a 14. I try to dispel it with 3 dice but cannot. He gets back 3 Halberds. He uses his last single die and pleads to Sigmar and is rewarded with Unbreakable. 

Muzio, the Engineer, did about as well as you can imagine against the tidal wave of rats trampling over him. At least he and his brother can have a happy reunion in the afterlife. The Warp Dragon rolls Avalanche of Flesh and with Monster Stomp, kills 6 halberds. The handful of remaining Halberds are still unbreakable and stay. The Dragon takes no wounds. The dude endures.


SKAVEN

Lots of charges. 2 Slave units charge either flank of General Astorre’s Halberds. Behind them, the last unit of Slaves charges the mortar team who just moved off the hill. The rat swarms charge the rear of the Greatswords with the lv4 Mage. I was just hoping to tar pit them.  My Plague Monks can’t rally, roll high and sprint towards the table edge. I dispel the Unbreakable prayer.

The Warpfire Thrower targets the Swordsmen and misses.

In the combat phase, the rat swarms attack the Greatswords and Mage. I have never played Swarms before so I found out about the 8th Edition “Swarm Rules” which is kinda like undead where you lose more wounds after you calculate combat results. So they took 8 wounds lol! But they did put 1 wound on the Mage. The Warp Dragon rolls FEED again. General  Astorre stands before the great beast and pushes himself beyond his normal endurance level hacking away. Any damage he inflicts seem to regenerate right before his eyes.  Astorre swings with skilled precision, only to glance off the beast’s hide leaving himself in an unbalanced, vulnerable position. With unnatural speed, the Dragon darts it’s gigantic head around the Priest’s massive hammer and snatches the Arch Lector into his gaping maw. With a crunch heard across the battlefield, the Empire General – Arch Lector of the Church of Sigmar….is dead.  His Unbreakable spell goes away at this point (remains in play). One Halberd miraculously survives  and takes off running away from my Slave unit with the most ranks. He rolls an 11 to get away! An important moment here as I had to make a decision. That running Halberd is worth about 270 points. But that lv4 mage is worth a bunch of points too. I decide to gamble. My best chance of chasing down the Halberd is with the Warp Dragon, with it’s special movement rules, you can’t flee from it. Perfect to chase down that last Halberd. To cover my bases, I also pursue with one of the Slave units (who rolls a 2 for pusuit hehe). I was hoping to match his roll but oh well.  I know that having won combat, I get a free reform and turn my other  Slave unit towards the Greatswords and Mage.

This is it. It all hinges on this last turn. Here goes nothing..



Top of the turn before movement. Mage is outside of unit.



WP marches out of unit. Mage joins unit. Unit reforms and moves. Mortar moves behind the hill. Swordsmen turn towards the WFT.



My 4 charges.



General Astorre's unit is down to a lone runner. My Plague Monks get dangerously close to the table edge.



Bird's Eye View




 To Be Continued
« Last Edit: March 16, 2011, 08:25:37 AM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #16 on: March 16, 2011, 08:51:29 AM »
Turn 6

EMPIRE



The Swordsmen charge the Warpfire Thrower who flees.  The Warrior Priest charges the fleeing Plague Monks who roll a 10 which is just what they need to reach the table edge. Crap! Nice job with the escort Astorre :eusa_clap:  His mage attempts to casts regrowth and Flesh to Stone, I dispel them both. No taking advantage of the Life Lore bonus this round.

The Greatswords put the final 7 wounds on the Rat swarms and decide to do a free reform to accept the charge of my incoming Slaves in the front of the unit and not in the flank.  The rats, however, did manage to get another wound on the mage. The last Halberd continues to run.


SKAVEN

The Warp Dragon rolls a 7 on 3 dice which is enough to trample the last Halberdier. 270pts. The Slaves roll a 10 and charge into the Greatswords. The Warpfire Thrower rallies.

I wasn’t going to finish off the Greatswords. The Lv4 Mage has 1 wound remaining and he is my target. I have 7 attacks coming into him with rat attacks.  I do a total of 2 wounds to him. He has the Crimson Amulet so he has a 6+ ward save. He rolls one die. It’s a 6. He rolls the second die. It’s a 5. Got him. Dead mage.  Another nice little bundle of points right there.

We shake hands and call it a game at this point. The battle was extremely bloody and we both had a blast :eusa_clap: We figured up points and came out with only a 75 point spread. It’s a DRAW.  I am extremely satisfied I was able to pull out a legitimate draw after the monumental catastrophe that was my first 2 turns.  Just goes to show you, anything can happen in this game. Never give up. Astorre *almost* got a win in on the old man. I could imagine him salivating across the table. But not today holmes :icon_razz:

I will do a follow-up post after Astorre chimes in on this report. If I got anything wrong, he will let me know.  If you really paid attention to the report, you can see that he made some excellent decisions. He has been playing WHF for less than a year. So my young Padawan is learning at an accelerated rate. This bodes well for all of us around here!


Scoop up that last Halberd.




Astorre pops his mage out of the unit when he dies.



Great game! Bloody!





Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline astorre

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #17 on: March 16, 2011, 03:28:09 PM »
@fandir lol i got 161 infantry to be exact! yes my 3000pt list has a lot of characters, but i try to play into our strengths of magic & shooting. the list has worked very well, and this was a bloody hard fought battle. i think i made a few mistakes throughout the game, and got unlucky when my pegasus got ran down, when his HPA held its last wound for half the game, and when my lv4 wizard died at the bottom of turn 6. but i've been only playin warhammer for 7 months, and to pull out a draw against one of the top players in my state is something to be proud of. we probably won't have a rematch until ard boys so i look forward to our next battle odom!

Offline Jimmy Invictus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #18 on: March 16, 2011, 07:42:47 PM »
Guys, that was an awesome batrep!  :::cheers:::

In retrospect, do either of you think having more Imperial infantry on the ground would have made a difference in the outcome? (I ask, because as others have noted, for 3K Astorre's (Tilean) Empire list is light on footsloggers)

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #19 on: March 16, 2011, 08:11:49 PM »
I think the way we look at characters changes in 8th. For greatest effect, they are best used as force multipliers. All 3 Priests give Hatred to their Horde units. Combine that with the Horde and Step Up rules and its blingtastic! In addition to +5 DD, spells, and leadership boosts. The ALs still have 100pts of magic they can each bring. Characters like GotE, non-BSB/Peggy Captains, etc. are getting rarer and rarer as all they do is provide a couple extra attacks. A Grandmaster with Laurels of Victory means squat against 50 slaves with Steadfast. Both Engys increase effectiveness of WMs and Mages are casting unit enhancement spells and so forth. Characters also can carry items to give the unit 6+ wardsaves against WM, MR2, ect.

(edit!)
I like 3 big blocks of nasty and a Swordsmen unit waiting on my opponent to get across the board with whittled down units :-D


« Last Edit: March 16, 2011, 08:27:29 PM by Odominus »
Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Fandir Nightshade

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #20 on: March 16, 2011, 09:13:50 PM »
Two great armies, two greater generals and ONE incredible battle report well done gentlemen.  :::cheers:::

Offline astorre

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #21 on: March 17, 2011, 03:05:24 AM »
Guys, that was an awesome batrep!  :::cheers:::

In retrospect, do either of you think having more Imperial infantry on the ground would have made a difference in the outcome? (I ask, because as others have noted, for 3K Astorre's (Tilean) Empire list is light on footsloggers)

No I don't really think so. I tried my best to keep my character's cheap & have gone back & changed some of their items to make them cheaper (the second AL for sure, paying 70pts for a rerollable 2+? not very efficient, i just wanted to get to playin the game at the time lol.
My theory is that our artillery & dwellers is so destructive that I try to maximize their potential. Our infantry is pretty cheap & thats about all they got goin for them. It also means that with only 4 combat blocks (which I made pretty big) my life spells will be much more efficient in that its unlikely I'll direly need a flesh to stone in more than one place at any time.
It was a hard fought battle, and I think that if I could have taken down the Hell Pit in the first half of the game it would have been at least a major victory. It spent 3 full turns with only one wound! (odom is crazy with those regen rolls haha) That hell pit ate 2 of my halberd units and took out both arch lectors. I also had some very poor magic phases, 3 of them I only rolled a 2 or 3 for pd, and another one of them i rolled a 3 to cast ToV, losing out on my Lv4's spells for the turn. I did make the most of the two magic phases i got, in one i dwellered his general, bell, and BSB, and in the other one I got off a crucial flesh to stone that let my general's unit last an extra turn against the hpa.

Offline Jimmy Invictus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #22 on: March 17, 2011, 04:16:48 AM »
You both just gave me food for thought about the sea change in the way our characters interact with our units ( puts on thinking cap ) as force multipliers; its the first time Ive seen that observation put forth...

Sometimes, I love this forum.  :happy:

Offline Odominus

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #23 on: March 18, 2011, 06:35:14 AM »
Thanks guys, just testing out a couple Ard Boyz lists in preperation for next month's tourney.

Doing Monday morning quarterbacking is easy to see what to take away from this game.

- 5x10 units are unwieldy. But perfect size for reforming into a horde. And shields on the Slaves are huge. HUGE.
- Check into the Opal Amulet for my Plague Priest
- Instead of attempting to pursue the last running Halberd, that Slave unit should have done a free post-combat reform into Horde formation ready to charge the last remaining Greatswords.  Try to kill the last 3 GS and make Stubborn go away. If break test is failed, BSB dies.
- Really hot and really cold dice rolling gives me a headache
- I should have accepted the Swordsmen charge at my Gutter Runners early in the game. Focus all my attacks on his lv4 and see if I can kill him. If not, he will prolly break the GRs...placing him into position to get charged by my Stormvermin. In hth, I target the lv4 and finish him off.
- When Astorre did his turn 6 reform with his Greatswords, he could have put the mage on the far flank next to the BSB and kept him out of hth

I had fun writing this up. Starting with the Title. Which is an offering to the various Pun Lords residing on this website :icon_twisted:

Odo drops the bombs and laughs at all the clucking.

......, it would really help if you did research before spouting your opinion...

Offline Noght

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Re: Grudge Trudge 3000 Reikland vs Clan Destyn (Pic Heavy!)
« Reply #24 on: March 18, 2011, 12:15:40 PM »
Great Report!  Thanks for posting it.

I've been running my Light Wiz Lord/BSB in a bunker of 20 Swordsmen positioned behind the Horde of Halberds and 30 Flagellants for buffing purposes.  I figure if that unit is fighting (unless buffed) it's probably a bad thing.

Noght
"...the most incorrigible vice being that of an ignorance which fancies it knows everything..."  Camus.