Topic: Beast's Campaign Bat Reps - Orcs Vs Empire!

[Siberius]

My first battle of the campaign was vs Lizards, 1250pts with both of us having access to our half price generals.

We rolled a Battle for the Pass, which was actually very appropriate as he was attacking me between two mountains on the map.

Our armies:


Beasts --


L4 GBS (lore of beasts) - Talisman of Preservation, Fencers Blades, Jagged Dagger, Uncanny Senses
Savage Beast, Amber Spear, Wyssans, Curse

BSB- Beast Banner, Gnarled Hide, H.A, Sh

L1 Bray Shaman (lore of shadow) - AHW
Miasma

21 Bestigors inc com - Standard of Discipline

48 Gors inc com - AHW

5 Raiders

5 Raiders

5 Warhounds


Lizards --


Slaan (lore of life) - +1 Powerdice, Kill 6's, Loremaster

15 Temple Guard inc com - Warbanner

20 Saurus inc com

20 Saurus inc com

5 Chameleons

5 Chameleons

Salamander



And so to deployment:



I was able to use my cheap units to force him to show his hand and I was happy to see the second saurus unit away from the others. I pretty much ignored that flank and chose to focus my hard hitters against his prize unit.




Turn 1 Lizards --

The Saurus on the right flank found the river to be more of a raging torrent and before battle was even begun, three of their number were swept away.

The rest of the Lizard line crept forward cautiously, aware they were outnumbered and biding their time. The Slaan turned his gaze towards the enemy general and his unit, calling upon huge reserves of power and cast Dwellers from below. Half of the Bestigors were drug to their death and the Great Shaman himself fearfully wounded by the attack, and was hauled from the battlefield by his bodyguard.

On the right flank, the chameleon skinks skittered forward and unleashed a hail of darts at the hounds, which were all killed by the poison.




Turn 1 Beasts --

After such a dreadful start, the rest of the Beast army had to get a grip and they decided that close quarters were where this battle would be won for them. The toad must die! With that in mind they marched forward.

The remaining Shaman tried to summon his own magic but the Slaan dispelled it without lifting a webbed finger.




Turn 2 Lizards --

The Slaan once more kept his army from a full assault, preferring to use his magic to bolster their defences. Seeing the imminent threat to the leftmost Saurus, he vastly increased their toughness.

Meanwhile, the skinks were less succesful firing upon the skirmishing ungor raiders, who danced out of the way of the darts.

The salamander trotted up and spurted fire over the gors, killing most of their back rank, but not putting a great dent in their numbers.




Turn 2 Beasts --

The time for battle was now. The gors charged headlong into the Saurus whilst the Bestigors charged into the Salamander. Unsurprisingly they pasted it and pursued up far enough to block a flank charge from the Temple Guard.

This proved to be just as well. The Saurus's high toughness meant that not a single one fell, whilst they put many a gor to the sword. These Gors were made of sterner  stuff though and bolstered by their Battle Standard held their ground against all odds! (Needed a 3, rolled snake eyes  )

The ungor raiders moved up right into the rightmost Saurus, attempting to divert them.

 


Turn 3 Lizards --

The Temple Guard charged into the dwindling bestigors, confident now that their numbers could overwhelm their foes. They were not wrong, killing half their foes, but as the Bestigors broke, they were unable to catch them and ended up stuck behind the chameleons who were chasing the Shaman.



With their magically supplied toughness gone, the Saurus made a much juicier target for the Gors who laid into them with a renewed frenzy. Even the proximity of the Slaan could not keep them in the fight and they tried to break, only to be run down by the vengeful Beasts.

The other skinks had charged the ungors, but found them to be superior fighters and lost two of their own number, theit cold blooded nature holding them in place for now.




Turn 3 Beasts --

The Beast lines were scattered and they took a moment to regroup, the Bestigors rallying and turning once more to face the Slaan, whilst the Gors called a quick reform and headed back to help.

The ungors once more summoned a primal fury and struck down the remaining chameleons.




Turn 4 Lizards --

The Slaan angrily commanded the skinks to get out of their way, but it was too late to be able to charge the beleaguered Bestigors. No matter, thought the Slaan, beginning to cast multiple spells to pump his unit up. But something was horribly wrong, perhaps the close proximity to the evil shaman, who knows, but a spell backfired and even his throne of vines was able to safely channel the potent ebergy away. A calamitous detination wounded not only him but killed seven of his guard!

On the right flank, the other Saurus unit finally charged into the ungors, but the pesky raiders evaded most of the attacks and two of them left alive fled away. The Saurus ignored them now that the path was clear and turned towards the main battle.

 


Turn 4 Beasts --

The Gors could smell a chance to envelop the Temple Guard whilst they were reeling from the misscast. They tried to charge but somehow were just too far away to make it and failed to make contact. What a chance that could have been...

[Siberius]

Turn 5 Lizards --

The Slaan regained some of his composure and ordered a charge on the stranded Bestigors. The Temple Guard obeyed and to make matters worse, his magics renewed six of their number from death.

Confident that he was back in control he turned his gaze on that Shaman who had somehow stayed alive all this time and called for an awakening of the woods. The Beast was cut down by a hundred lashing branches.

The Temple Guard and Bestigors were well matched under normal circumstances, but outnumbered 2-1 and with no support, the Beasts were cut down brutally. The last two tried to flee from the combat but the lizards pursued over them.




Turn 5 Beasts --

The Gors were alas well out of range of the Temple Guard now, but the other Saurus unit had walked a little too close. The Gors broke into a run again, screaming their battle cry, but it petered out as the Lizards fled, knowing they didn't have the numbers to stay in that fight.

Bolstered by their larger cousin's bravery, the ungor raiders tried to chase the Saurus down, but the lizards obviously had plenty of energy as they outran them too, splashing back into the raging river!




Turn 6 Lizards --

With everybody remaining so far apart, there wasn't much to do but claim the battlefield. The Slaan's unit turned to face the Gors and he tried to summon one last burst of energy, but was obviously spent for the day.

The Saurus in the river rallied.




Turn 6 Beasts --

The Gors tried one last futile attempt to get into the Temple Guard, but it wasn't to be, The battle-lust had faded from all and the day was done.





-------------------------------------------

On tallying the victory points, the scores were:

Lizards - 671
Beasts - 391
            -----
            280

A win to the Lizardmen!

------------------------------------------


Conclusions and Repercussions --


Well, I felt like that wasn't too bad a trouncing from what initially felt like a lost cause. Losing my general/shaman and half one of my best units was a body blow and facing down all those Saurus and a near uncontested Slaan magic phase, I expected to be rolled up in half a game.

Things I felt went well included my first real usage of small units to redirect in the battle and dictate deployment. So worth the few points you have to spend on them. Also at some point I hit my first ever primal frenzy. Alas I have a feeling it was against T8 Saurus, but still   

My Gor horde was as per usual amazing. I can't believe how nutso these guys are. I badly want to take 2 of them. This is not the first game where my opponent has pretty much spent the battle running away from them. Even without all the buffs I had planned from magic they did a fine job.

The Bestigors had a tough time of it. Dweller sucks at the best of times and this certainly was not that. Not really a fair run for them.

The Ungors as I said were spiffy. I must take them every time. And somehow against all the odds they both survived the whole battle.

I think if I were to repick my list I would switch out my low level Shaman for something else. Maybe a chariot or something. He was a bit useless.


--------------

After the battle we rolled for my general. Alas, he lost an eye which will mean he has -1 to cast from this point on. Quite sucky yes but on the bright side he is not dead and being Beasts most of the time will mean that actually kinda evens out to no modifier!

[Darkanian]

Mage-Priest Hohpn'Mahd was greatly disappointed with the fact Warlord Dark Hand escaped. Apparently a skink priest misinterpreted a plaque of the old ones, darn I's and lower case L's all look the same to skinks. Though a chameleon skink did manage to take that eye since you were obviously no longer using it, I'll be keeping it in a jar for you.   

[Siberius]

I look forward to getting it back... 

[Darkanian]

Int he words of the Old Ones.....FInders keepers

[Lord Solar Plexus]

Haha, very nice! Thanks a lot for the great report, Siberius. Too bad you failed those critical charges. That would have imploded Darkanian's TG (sorry, Darkanian, was keeping my fingers crossed for Siberius!). 

[Siberius]

Thanks Solar  .

Another report on the way here though it won't be quite as detailed I don't think. More of an overview of one of this week's games...

[Siberius]

Beasts (+Goblin support) vs Dwarfs - 2000pts

This week's battle report is a pretty big one. Our first foray into Dwarf territory met with defeat (though we've since found out that we likely should have won - which is why we are taking a pretty mean list this time...). This time I was to lead the lion's share of the army with the goblins sending along a scouting type contingent to help. Here are the rough army lists:


Beasts

L] Great Bray Shaman L4 Shadow - Miasma, Withering, Enfeebling Foe, Pit of Shades - in bestigors
H] Wargor BSB - in bestigors
H] Shaman L1 Shadow - Miasma and Herdstone - in raiders

C] 3 x 5 Ungor Raiders
C] 2 x Tuskgor Chariots

S] 50 Bestigors - Totem of Rust
S] 3 x Razorgor

Goblins

H] 3 x Night Goblin Shaman

C] 3 x 5 Wolfriders
C] 2 x 5 Spiderriders


Dwarfs

L] Dwarf King - moves from unit to unit
H] BSB -                "                "
H] Runesmith - in Longbeards
H] Runesmith - in Ironbreakers

C] 20 Warriors
C] 20 Longbeards
C] 2 x 5 Miners

S] 20 Ironbreakers
S] 10 Rangers

R] Cannon
R] Flame Cannon
R] Boltthrower

(I really don't know dwarfs all that well so I'm being even more vague with their list!)


Deployment

We rolled lucky on the supporting army chart and the goblins were allowed to set up with my army and go straight off (if you badly you can end up coming onto the board as late as turn 3). Due to the large number of distraction units we had, we pretty much had his whole army deployed before I had to commit to where I placed my Bestigors.



He decided to castle and let us come to him. That was fine by us! I placed my bestigors to one side, hoping that I could take on his army one unit at a time as they were our only real combat threat I didn't want to get into a combo fight with multiple units. All our other units were there to buzz around and annoy whatever the Bestigors were not involved with yet. At least, that was the plan!

As you can see, our shamans huddled round the herdstone and prepared to generate some serious magical ju ju to fire at those magic hating dwarfs! Could we make enough to get past all their defences...?


An intimidating little command zone there. I assume he parked his Lord (The statue looking guy behind the flame cannon) outside his units so he could choose where to have him depending on where the bestigors ended up.


The centre of our line. Very very little in the way of anything that can actually hurt a dwarf there!


The rest of the battle to come later...!

[Siberius]

Turn 1

And so it was to turn 1. We won the roll off and decided that there was no point in hanging around getting shot up. With that in mind we scooted ahead at full speed across the board. The movement on the map includes vanguards, hence the huge arrows.

Having surrounded the Dwarfs with our light troops, I cast the Withering on the closest of them, the Warriors, lowering them to toughness 1. Then the goblins let loose a hail of arrows, killing 3 of them.

In a much more decisive move, I tried to cast pit of shades on the Iron Breakers. Amazingly, it not only went off, but hit them dead centre. 13 of them were slain, hugely diminishing their threat to me. A great blow early one!





The Dwarfs responded by sending the Ironbreakers out of formation to attack the wolfriders. We let them chargeto try and pull them into us. Unsurprisingly the wolfriders were beaten and the lone one left fled right infront of the bestigors, blocking any chance of a turn 2 charge.

On the other flank, the Dwarfs turned to face the threat of the remaining wolfriders.





Turn 2

The Spiderriders whose job it was to babysit the Rangers suffered a rush of blood to the head and charged in to their rear! Somehow, they managed enough wounds to draw the fight and were locked in for another round. The Razorgor nearby swung around to block any surprise moves from the Rangers should they win.

The rest of the army shuffled up a little closer with the Razorgors stampeding past the Dwarf's main line, ready to crash into their war machines.

The winds of magic were unsurprisingly strong and though the runesmiths were expecting it, once more they were powerless to stop the Dark Hand from casting a pit under one of their units, this time the Warriors and once more it was catastrophic, pulling down 11 of them to their graves.





The Dwarfs were in trouble already and the Ironbreakers, already down from the hill, charged after the nearest chariot, which retreated to a safe distance.

The cannon crew urgently loaded their weapon with grapeshot and fired at one of the razorgors bringing it down and leaving just one remaining. The other two war machines desperately tried to fire on it but their shots went wide of the mark and the beast continued towards them!

The spiderriders in combat with the Rangers put on a show of swordsmanship that would impress even a dwarf and cut down enough of them to force a flight that was doomed to fail and they were overrun by the eager arachnids.




Turn 3

The second Beast Chariot liked it's chances of running down the ironbreakers and charged in. As it approached, the Dark Hand lent his aid, weakening the strength of the dwarfs. Even the goblin shaman on the hill was feeling helpful and lent Gork's power to the combat. The Dwarfs never stood a chance, swinging tiredly and clumsily at the Beasts as the chariot rode them down.

The central spiderriders charged headlong into the Warriors, less affraid now that only a few remained. They were unable to break the stout dwarfs, but cut them down to 2. The Dwarf Lord and retreated by this point into the only intact regiment remaining, the Longbeards. He watched in dismay as the Razorgor jumped onto the flame cannon, killing two of it's crew.

The rest of the Beasts and Goblins closed in as they felt the wind going out of the Dwarfs sails...




The Dwarfs were determined not to give up the hill and the Miners near the cannon charged suicidally into the Bestigors and were cut down in short order by the eager Beasts.

Their fellow miners charged the wolfriders who held at first but lost their nerve fast and fled towards the battlefield's edge.

The Londbeards had a clear route to help out the flame cannon and charged into the Razorgor, cutting it down as it ate another crewman.

The cannon crew somehow held their nerve long enough to fire off a shot at the closest chariot, smashing it to kindling whilst the boltthrower sent a shot into the razorgor which, much to their horror, didn't even slow down it's charge.

[Siberius]

Turn 4

The Bestigors had been champing at the bit all battle to get into the action and finally it was their time, they charged into the Warriors still battling with the spiderriders and unsurprisingly the Dwarfs were overwhelmed and cut down. The Beasts swept on into the Flame Cannon.

The Razorgor charged at the cannon stomping over 3 of the crew but unable to get a hold of the engineer.

Elsewhere, the Wolf Riders that had been fleeing rallied, whilst their fellow unit swept past the Miners to hide behind them, shooting one down as they went.




The Dwarf Lord, enraged and filled with hate, charged into the Bestigors in one last attempt to drive them off. Unfortunately for him, the Dark Hand was at the peak of his power, and one of his runesmiths was already dead. The Great Shaman and distant shaman near the herdstone both unleashed a Miasma upon the Dwarfs lowering their WS by 6!

The Bestigor champion answered the Dwarf Lord's challenge and gave as good as he got, taking two wounds off the general before being himself cut down. The Dwarfs, weakened by magic were unable to make any kind of dent in the Beasts who struck back ferociously, cutting down all but a handful of the Dwarfs, whose armour was no match for the great weapons and totem of rust. The Dwarfs fled out of reach of the Bestigors, who surged into the Boltthrower.





Turn 5

Seeing their chance to be last minute heroes, the ungor raiders right in the centre of the battlefield charged towards the Dwarf Lord's unit, which already retreating, fled the field of battle and gave up the day to the Beastmen. Victory belonged the horned ones and their small green allies!




Conclusion

A satisfying victory indeed! The combination of the Herdstone with cheap goblins to boost it's power was what really put us in the driving seat. A mean trick perhaps, but we were owed this victory from the last battle and so I wasn't feeling too guilty.

It was an unusual feeling to have units spanning the board like that. I usually take some chaff, but the addition of the goblins was really handy as they were so mobile and their shooting was just a bonus. They did surprisingly well in close quarters too, better than I imagined they would.

The ruse of throwing a tonne of fast units at him really worked. He never once shot anything at my Bestigors who marched slowly across the field to take on what was left of his army with ease. Of course hitting Pit of Shades dead on twice was crippling and once we had done that the result was always looking way in our favour, but even had I not have got that to work, I think with all the augments/hexes the combats would have gone our way. 50 Bestis is a lot to handle!

I've not had any success with Pit up to this point, it always seems to scatter... but this was the perfect time for it to shine. I pretty much only cast it because we had so much dice. I'd much rather boost units than play kill spells that do a little damage. The hexes and buffs made combat easy though. Being able to take on one thing at a time meant we often got a couple of really nice spells onto the unit there to help them out. Lore of Shadows was wonderful. Getting off a Gork'll Fix it on the Ironbreakers was a fun bonus.

Overall, I'd have to say I was really satisfied with how it went. Our opponent threatened better magic defence next time. Anyone know what the most they can churn out is? I am tempted to take absolutely none just to throw him for a loop and waste all those points... 

[zifnab0]

The spider riders performed surprisingly well.  I especially enjoyed them charging into the rear of the rangers and barely managing to win combat.  That's usually how well mine perform.

I suspect his decision to break rank with the Ironbreakers was his downfall.  Otherwise that hill would've been a tough nut to crack.

Good report and congrats on the win!

[Warwhore]

I suspect his decision to break rank with the Ironbreakers was his downfall.  Otherwise that hill would've been a tough nut to crack.

Even if he hadn't charged with the Ironbreakers he was still at a huge disadvantage. Those bestigors would have destroy anything in their path. The Dwarf army lost the battle with out making any mistakes. Such is the effect that magic has on the game.

These are great Bat Reps Siberius! Thanks for posting.

[Siberius]

Yes, I will admit my feelings about magic are mixed. Is the potential cost of exploding shamans really a balance to the devastation they can cause. I am generally in the yes camp but a dwellers or pit  sometimes makes you wonder if they went a tad too far...

[Siberius]

Beasts vs Empire

Beastmen 2000pts

L] Beastlord - Ramhorn Helm, Gnarled Hide, Gouge Tusks, H.A, Sh

H] Gorebull BSB - Trollhide, A.H.W
H] Bray Shaman L2 (Lore of the Wild - Bray Scream, Bestial Surge)
H] Bray Shaman L1 (Lore of Beasts - Wyssans Wildform)

C] 24 Gor Herd, full command, A.H.W
C] 13 Gor Herd, musician, A.H.W
C] 30 Ungor Herd, full command
C] 10 Ungor Herd, musician
C] Tuskgor Chariot
C] 5 Warhounds

S] 6 Centigors, musician
S] 3 Minotaurs, musician
S] 17 Bestigor Herd, full command

R] Spawn


Empire 1500pts

L] General of the Empire - Sword of Anti Heroes, some armour

H] Warrior Priest - Armour of Protection
H] Battle Standard - Griffon Banner

C] 50 Halberdiers, full command
C] 25 Swordsmen (det)
C] 25 Free Company (det)
C] 5 Knights

S] Great Cannon

R] Helblaster Volley Gun



The Dark Hand's plans had been going well. The expansions into the southlands had begun to pick up speed whilst to the north, the Lizards had decided there were bigger threats. But a new foe had decided to challenge the Beastmen's territory and it was their most hated. Men. The watchtower that the Beasts had fought so hard to wrestle from the Lizardmen had been caught whilst the Beasts still revelled by an army of Humans marching down past the mountains.

The Dark Hand himself was too busy leading the campaign against the Dwarfs to the south so he sent word to his second in command to march to the valley that the tower occupied, to take it from the human imposters.

And so it was that the Spearhorn led his horde into that valley to make man pay once more...


Deployment








Turn 1 Beasts

As the Spearhorn growled the order to advance, the ungors stepped into the river, which ran red with blood, perhaps from the battles before. He took this is a fine omen and picked up the pace of their march. Magical energies flickered around one of his shamans and he felt a surge of furious energy, shared by his close-by troops and they moved with unnatural speed. Even from across the valley he reveled in the looks of fear on the humans' faces.

Behind the Imperial line and unbeknownst to them, a small band of ungors crept from the trees to ambush them...






Empire Turn 1

The humans, recovering from their shock, kicked into action. The knights were first to gather themselves and charged at full pelt into the frighteningly fast wolves. Though vicious, the wolves were no match for the armour and discipline of the knights who thundered over them and into the strange hulking Spawn which held it's ground roaring at them.

The impetuous swords detachment charged out of formation and into the unit of Gors who had been goading them. Spearhorn could see the look of disgust on the Imperial general's face as he ordered the rest of his line to move up alongside to lend assistance. The Gors fought with a fury unknown to man pulling down a whole rank of the swordsmen, but the proud men of the Empire knew that it was fight or die and gave as good as they got. Both units held their ground as the melee continued.

Behind the Free Company, the Imperial War Machines fired at the approaching minotaurs but perhaps the energy being desplayed by the monsters shook their aim as the helblaster jammed and the cannon overshot it's mark.




Beasts Turn 2

The Spearhorn let out a savage cry and his Bestigors charged into the seemingly endless ranks of the Halberdiers. The men of the Empire were quick and proficient with their weapons, cutting down many of the first to reach them. But the Bestigor weapons were far larger and far more deadly, slaying droves of the brave men. The Spearhorn snarled a challenge at the Imperial General who stepped up bravely, trying to stir his men to great feats. His swordwork was exemplary,  slashing the muscled arm of the Beast, but The Spearhorn was twice his size and after battering the general with his axes, lowered his head and gouged him deeply with his horns, much to the horror of the men around him. Even with all the blood spilt and their general dead though, the Battle Standard Bearer waved his banner aloft and the men who looked upon it were filled with an almost unnatural stubbornness.

The Minotaurs wasted no time either and slammed into the Free Company. These were a hodgepodge unit of men and their training woefully insufficient to block the charge. More than two thirds of them were savaged by the bloodthirsty Minotaurs who trampled yet more of them spitefulyl under their feet. Somehow though, perhaps emboldened by the Halberdiers, they managed to hold their ground.

The knights and spawn continued their struggle on the flank, just beneath the foot of the cliffs. The Spawn managed to lash out and strangle one of the knights but as it did, two more got in penetrating jabs at it's body. Neither gave way though and their fight continued.





Empire Turn 2

Things already looked grim for the men of the Empire, but the Warrior Priest now leading the halberdiers had a faith that the Spearhorn could not understand and was determined to crush. The Priest began to chant and all of a sudden flames leapt from him and onto the blades of the halberdiers, engulfing one of the bestigors who had strayed too close. With his weapon aflame, the halbderdier sergeant stepped forward to challenge the Beastlord but the Spearhorn was older, confident and more than a match for him. The sergeant was cut down before he even swung and Spearhorn laughed as the other men looked on.

Once more casualties on both sides were great. The Bestigor numbers were dwindling but such was their ferocity that it didn't seem to matter to them. With time though, the greater numbers of halberdiers were sure to overwhelm them...

The Minotaurs continued their slaughter of the Free Company and slew them all before they could run with only one minotaur laying dead. They feasted on the flesh and then turned, ready to join the bestigors.

The swordsmen had been holding their own against the gors but they did not have the superiority of numbers that the beasts did and their nerve was beginning to falter.

The Spawn beneath the cliffs was finally brought down by the cautious knights, who turned back to the battle only to find themselves surrounded by gors and a chariot picking up speed heading right for them.




Beast Turn 3

The net was most certainly closing in and with a sudden rush the Beast army charged what was left of the survivors. As the combats raged, attention was turned to the battle in the centre, joined by the blood-frenzied minotaurs.

The huge beasts were merciless, hacking into the flank of the halberdiers and what had moments before been a well organized defense against a smaller foe became a desperate and hopeless struggle to stay alive.

Even the brave battle standard bearer furled up his banner and signaled the retreat to what was left of the Imperial army. The Spearhorn ordered pursuit but there was very little need as the Beastmen were focused on death and soon dinner and gave chase with a feral energy.

He had won back the tower and hopefully given the rest of the human armies something to think about... The Dark Hand would be pleased...







Epilogue

Beastmen Turn 4

Tuskstump had been leading his raiders around the cliffs for the best part of two hours. Much complaining and bickering had been endured but finally he was sure he had found the right path to lead what he was sure would be the glorious ambush that won the Beasts a great victory. The raiders hunkered down low and crept up to the ridge. With a gestured signal the raiders burst onto the field, calling out their battlecries, but their cries were cut short as they surveyed the scene before them. Somehow they had come out behind their own lines and the battle clearly was over... Tuskstump looked fearfully into the distant face of the Spearhorn who along with the rest of the Beast army had turned to look at the sound... this was not going to be a good night for Tuskstumps raiders at all...

[Siberius]

Ok, so a few things to note about this game.

First off, I had more points to use as I sent in a supporting army so his task was always going to be tough. Second point is that we agreed a couple of things. We were not going to play watchtower again as we were bored of that. And we were going to use reasonably friendly armies. The kind one might see in a White Dwarf bat rep rather than a highly competitive style.

So comments on bizarre selections need not be made so much as we basically played for fun!

As to how the game went, I was pleased with how my beasts performed. It was to be expected as I outnumbered him badly, but I've seen things go horribly wrong before!

The griffon banner was a nasty surprise that almost had my Bestigors running away. If he had been a bit luckier getting one or two of his prayers off or getting a couple more attacks go through things might have been a bit tougher.

As it was, my minotaurs were outrageous, racking up a whooping 8 attacks each by battle end and we were only on turn 3! I wish they were more durable so I could take them more often!

My centigors were seriously hung over so sadly I didn't get to see much from them.

We kept rolling just to see when my ambushers would finally come on for fun. It was just so amusing that they managed to miss the whole battle! 

Hopefully I will get to fight my brother again during the campaign on more even terms but it could be a little while as he was really out of position map wise and we just did it for an excuse to play each other!

(Also Claus, your surprise did well killing a general of the empire and unit champ in his first outting!) 

[Claus79]

(Also Claus, your surprise did well killing a general of the empire and unit champ in his first outting!) 

He continues to make me ever so proud!

Love the Battlesreport!!!

Kind regards

Claus Heldal

[SevenSins]

Campaigns always makes for good games, nice reps all, and enjoyed the fluff aswell

[Siberius]

2000pt Beastmen vs Dwarfs

Well, those Dwarfs refused to let me hold their city. They were straight back at me. Because I had a garrison in the city and an army there too, I was at 2000pts for this one. He took two armies against me, putting him also on 2000pts, though he would have to assign some of them as reinforcements...

The armies were roughly as follows:

Beasts

Doombull (flying carpet, 4+ ward armour)   The Black Bull
Wargor General (blackened plate, ASF sword, ironcurse icon)  The Scourge   - in Bestigors
Wargor BSB (beast banner, gnarled hide)    - in Gors

50 Gors
30 Bestigors
3 x Tuskgor Chariots
3 x Razorgors
3 x Ungor Raider units


Dwarfs

Dwarf Lord (his overall campaign Warlord)
BSB
2 x Runesmiths  - in Longbeards & Warriors

20 Ironbreakers
20 Longbeards
20 Warriors
10 Rangers
5 Miners

3 x Boltthrowers
Cannon
Organ Gun
Flame Cannon


And so to deployment. He kept his Ironbreakers, Lord and BSB off the table and they rolled to come on at Turn 2.
As per usual with Beasts (and especially so with so much of his army in warmachines and reserves) I got to deploy most of my army once he was already set up!


I'm not entirely sure why he pushed his cannon and boltthrower so far forward with his short range machines, but there you go. With the terrain funneling my army somewhat, I abandoned my original idea to concentrate down one flank and just went straight across from him. I figured the chariots could take the flank and if they got lucky, join in later.




I got the roll for first turn and with so much long ranged death on his side of the table gladly took it!


Beast Turn 1

The Scourge sounded his horn and the Beasts army rumbled forward. The dwarfs calmly loaded their war machines and prepared to fire...





Dwarf Turn 1

The artillery let rip and across the beastmen line wounds were taken. The Black Bull took a bolt to the leg but shrugged off the pain whilst 3 of the Bestigors were burnt to a crisp by the flame cannon.

In support, the Dwarf units marched up, wary of the imminent threat.




Beast Turn 2

Whilst the main body of the Beast army marched on, the faster elements were already in range to charge and charge they did.

The two chariots on the left flank slammed into and then through the Dwarf Rangers who sold their lives dearly.

A pair of razorgors converged on the organ gun, dashing aside the crew and continuing their frenzied pursuit, one of them crashing into the Longbeards.

The Black Bull raced from behind the house at the Flame Cannon. Needless to say, whilst the crew put up a brave fight, they were taking on a monster of demonic proportions and crumbled beneath his assault.








To be continued... the Dwarf Reserves come to try and even up the fight...!

[librisrouge]

Nice reports dude. Can't wait to see how this will turn out since his reinforcements will mean a great deal.

[Siberius]

Dwarf Turn 2

With things looking grim for the Dwarfs, their King and his Ironbreaker bodyguard finally stormed onto the battlefield. He detached from the unit to march towards the Black Bull, intent on personal combat whilst the Ironbreakers prepared to back up the Warriors who had just charged into the Gor Horde.



There were few casualties on either side, both races being particularly tough and they remained locked in deadly combat.

The Dwarven Battle Standard Bearer strode purposely towards the Razorgor that had broken through the Dwarf lines, ready to tackle it by himself.

The Razorgor that had stampeded into the Longbeards swung it's tusked head this way and that, killing three of them.

The Dwarven artillery was presented with almost too many targets and all it was able to really achieve was a bolt wounding the chariot crew.




Beast Turn 3

The Scourge was not to be perturbed by the reinforcements and called his Bestigors to charge into the Longbears which they did gladly cutting down whole ranks of the stout warriors who nevertheless stood their ground and hacked down a few of the beasts.

The Black Bull could not resist the bellowed challenge by the Dwarf King and slammed into him. The two were well matched and were only able to wound each other. No fatal blows were struck.



Alongside, the Razorgor charged the Dwarf Banner Bearer who was more than a match for the snarling boar.

The Gors numbers finally told in their combat with the Dwarf Warriors and broke them, easily trampling them as they turned.

The rest of the Beast army closed in around the remaining Dwarf defences...




Dwarf Turn 3

The Dwarf King and Black Bull continued their mortal duel in the centre uninterrupted by anyone else. Though the Minotaur towered over him, the King was a fearsome fighter and was beginning to gain the upper hand wounding the bull again.

The Dwarf Battle Standard, inspired by his Lord's courage, charged in to help the Longbeards in their melee with the Bestigors. His prowess was a great boon, but the Bestigors are the cream of the beast's crop and they cut down half the Longbeard numbers leaving them teetering.

The Dwarf Cannon boomed out a shot at one of the chariots that threatened the dwarf flank and much to their joy, obliterated it in a shower of splinters.




Beast Turn 4

The Beast army was shaken as a great cry of anguish went up from the Black Bull who had just been cut down by the Dwarf King. These Dwarfs were made of sterner stuff than they had realised.

In response, they upped their intensity and the Bestigors finally finished off the Longbeards and whilst the Razorgor gleefully pounced on the fleeing Runesmith, the Bestigors trampled the Battle Standard and turned towards the Ironbreakers.

The Gors meanwhile had charged over the cannon which had offered little resistance and were now locked in combat with the Ironbreakers, just feet from where the exhausted Dwarf King was regrouping.

The third razorgor finally got through the squash of battle in the middle and charged the bolt thrower.

[Siberius]

Dwarf Turn 4

The Dwarf King hefted his axe once more and charged into the Gors. Between him and the Ironbreakers, huge numbers of the Beasts fell. Even with their magically enhanced strength they were unable to get much back through the Dwarf's hardy armour. Neither unit was ready to give up though.

In an effort to protect their King, the boltthrower crew gave up shooting and moved their machine out infront of the menacing Bestigors whilst on the other side, the Miners showed up at last, blocking the route from the chariot to the Ironbreaker flank.




Beast Turn 5

Just as the battle seemed won for the beasts, the unthinkable happened.

The combat between the Gors and Ironbreakers seemed doomed to last until the last dwarf or beast fell, but the Dwarfs, under the leadership of their King fought like they were possesed and drove the Gors back. Perhaps it was the lingering memory of the Black Bull falling, or just the relentless stoism of the Dwarfs, but the Gor's nerve faltered and they tried to flee, caught by the Ironbreakers they were cut down!

The Bestigors, led by the Scourge had just charged and trampled the boltthrower, but upon seeing the huge Gor herd broken like this, began to lose their nerve too and continued to run towards the battlefield's edge!

The remaining boltthrower, still tangled up with a razorgor, raised their axes high in salute and brought it down.

A huge swing in fortune, but the chariots were undaunted and unstoppable, one riding through the miners whilst the other took down another of the dwarven war machines behind the bestigors.
 



Dwarf Turn 5

Whilst the Ironbreakers and their King had put on an awesome display of resilience and determination, little else of the Dwarf army survived. The King joined up with his unit and they consolidated into the middle of the field.




Beast Turn 6

Tuskstump looked meaningfully round at his fellow raiders.

"We've done nothing all day! Sneaking out of Spearhorn's army ain't gonna do us no good if we can't impress here... let's try something at least."

His ungors glanced round at each other uncertainly. He sighed and notched another arrow to his bow string, aiming it at the pesky Boltthrower that had just defeated a huge razorgor. Only one crew member survived and he was saluting his king with his axe held high, oblivious to the raiders sneaking up behind him. The arrow soared shakily through the air. The ungors shaded their eyes against the sun watching it arc down out of the sky. At the last second the Dwarf must have sensed something wrong and looked up. This was the last mistake he would ever make as at the exact same time the arrow pierced him right between the eyes and he fell in a lifeless slump.

Tuskstump took a moment to register what had happened, as did his unit, before throwing down their bows and beginning to jump around in celebration. Maybe they would survive another week!

The Scourge soon took control of the Bestigors and turned them around back to face the Dwarf King. Surrounded on all sides by Beasts though, the Lord angrilly called his men to retreat. They would have to postpone the retaking of their city yet again. The Dark Hand would have much in the way of rewards for the Scourge though, who had narrowly held their new settlement....

Final Victory Points:
Beasts - 1510
Dwarfs - 1187

Victory to the Beasts!





Conclusions...

Well, a highly unusual battle this in that there was no magic phase at all! I did this on purpose really in an attempt to throw him off as I know he invests in a bit of magic protection. It was a scary ride though as Beasts without magic can start to fail you pretty fast if things start to go wrong, as my Gors proved.

Of course they had to fail a rerollable Ld 9 test to do that, which my Bestigors then repeated. Some bad luck that could have undone all the solid work they had done all battle. But I still pulled out a narrow victory thanks to the devastation done on the rest of his army. I knew it would be a bloodbath one way or the other. I think his lack of concentrating his artillery was a big help. He wounded a lof of stuff rather than killing anything in particular which meant I still had a very intact army on reaching him.



Some unit rating, just for fun now...

Doombull 6/10. Yes he is nasty and hard to kill and had arguably the most cinematic moment of the battle, but his lack of hatred and fact he got stuck on the King meant he never got to fulfil his true potential. Plus, he died!

Wargors 6/10. These guys did ok. They were there for support first and foremost as BSB and General. My general almost died in a challenge with a runesmith which was embarrasing, but aside from that they helped me hold when I was losing combat a lot!

Gors 6/10. Even with the Beasts banner they struggled to do their normal devastation. I miss Wyssans and Miasma on these guys most of all. They were getting beat around by both dwarf units. If they had held until the end of the battle they might have got 7 or 8 but as it is...

Bestigors 8/10. Yes they had a moment of madness and almost fled off the table. But they handled everything else nicely and I was happy with how they chopped up the Londbeards with no magical support.

Chariots 9/10. I haven't run these much lately but for 80 points a piece they did a great job of drawing fire and distracting him, as well as finishing off his more chaffy stuff. I really wanted to use them as combo chargers but wide units and small passages make that tricky.

Razorgors 8/10. Their inability to take on a dwarf machine by themselves knocked them down from 9, but they tied up or defeated a lot of potential firepower and one of them really helped the bestigors take down the Beards. Toughness 5 is pretty nifty too.

Raiders 6/10. Totally ignored the whole battle by him, but earned their 6/10 by last turn killing a boltthrower! Didn't really need their distraction tactics this game as he had very few units.


Overall though a fun game that looked like I had it in the bag before my Gors pulled their little disappeaing trick, just to keep things interesting. Before we tallied points, we were thinking either draw or close victory.


I get the feeling I will be taking this guy on weekly until either I push him out of his territory altogether or lose this city...

[Siberius]

Two-Part Beasts & Orcs vs Empire!

So this being the last battle of the campaign and against my brother, we decided to mix things up a bit with a two-part linked battle. In part one, the Orc allies of my Beasts would attempt to break through an Imperial rear guard to reach the main battle. 750pts a piece and whatever survived would go on to join battle 2 (1500pts) as reinforcements from a random table edge.

In order to even things up slightly, anybody who died in battle one would be healed and able to take part in battle 2 on the roll of a 1 or 2 on a d6.


So on to the first game...

Orcs vs Empire 750pts

Orcs:

Orc Big Boss
30 Orc Boyz: ahw
30 Night Goblin Bows (fanatic)
40 Goblin Spearmen
2 Trolls
6 Wolfriders

Empire:

Warrior Priest
30 Halberdiers
10 Free Company (detachment)
15 Handgunners (detachment)
Helblaster Volley Gun
10 Huntsmen


Deployment




Orc Deployment


Empire Deployment


The Imperial troops pretty much castled up around the tower whilst the Orcs lined up ready to charge across the field...


Turn 1 Orcs

With the usual "waaaaagh"ing, the Orcs and Goblins sped towards the tower, whilst the trolls stumbled forward stupidly. The wolfriders zipped around the woods and launched an unsuccesful volley into the huntsmen.




Turn 1 Empire

Wanting to delay combat as long as possible, the Empire troops near the tower backed up slightly whilst the huntsmen turned to face the wolfriders. The Volley Gun let off an ineffective shot towards the orcs.






Turn 2 Orcs

The trolls got their act together and marched full steam ahead. Not to be outdone, the night goblins suffered a bout of animosity which made them heft up their skirts and break into a sprint at the tower.

Across the field, the wolfriders lowered their spears and plowed into the huntsmen, who were no match for the snarling wolves, were broken and run down.




Turn 2 Empire

Whilst the Imperial combat troops shuffled back discreetly, the handgunners and helblaster opened up on the advancing greenskins. A whole rank of goblins and one of the trolls fell to the guns.




Turn 3 Orcs

The nightgoblins had lost none of their impetus and charged the tower, loosing their fanatic at the volley gun en route, though it wasn't up to speed yet and didn't make contact. The goblins were blocked from the tower edge by the volleygun crew who somehow fended them off. Inspired, the Orcs and Wolfriders were so determined to show up the night goblins that they couldn't wait to get to the enemy line and instead turned and beat on each other!




Turn 3 Empire

The helblaster crew continued their valiant defence and pushed back the goblins again, allowing the handgunners another shot which they used to bring down a few of the infighting orcs.




Turn 4 Orcs

Apparently the greenskins had got their senses back. The wolfriders sped up beside the free company loosing arrows and a few of the militia fell.

The Orcs and goblin spears pushed up to charging range of the halberdiers whilst the night goblins finished the last valiant crewman. Whilst the goblins whooped their celebrations they failed to hear the fanatic come up behind them. It plowed right through them killing 3 or 4 of them and quieting their yells.






Turn 4 Empire

Taking the Orcs by surprise, the halberdiers sounded their horns and charged in to the goblin spears, their free company detachment hitting the orcs themselves.

The halberdiers, pumped up by their warrior priest's prayers made short work of killing goblins left and right. The greenskins fled just out of reach of the vengeful humans.

The Orcs, though by far outsizing their opponents were unable to make much of a dent in the militia who stood their ground.






Turn 5 Orcs

The nightgoblins finally charged into the tower and the handgunners were unable to hold against their numbers and fled the battlefield, allowing the goblins to hold the tower itself.

The Orc numbers began to tell against the militia who were killed to a man, the big greenskins turning towards the halberdiers. The lone troll decided this was the time to get some lunch and charged the halberdiers by himself. Despite the warrior priest himself stepping up to fight, the beast was able to hold it's ground, and more importantly hold the Empire where they were.




Turn 5 Empire

At last the troll was brought down by the halderdiers from whom no cheer was heard. Alone surrounded by green, they braced for the charge...




Turn 6 Orcs

Inevitably, the halberdiers were charged front and flank by the orcs and goblins. Surprisingly, the wolfriders succumbed to another bout of animosity and decided to show the infantry how it was done. They wheeled their wolves around and smashed into the other flank!

Though the caualties were dire for the humans, they were able to do a lot of damage themselves and steadfastly held their ground. If they could just hold a short time more they might survive long enough to have done their job...






Turn 6 Empire

Alas for them it was not to be. The weight of numbers of the greenskins became too much and they were run from the field!





Conclusion

Well, decisive in the end but those Empire troops all sold their lives dearly, often holding a turn or two longer than expected. The goblins were a joy whilst the orcs were slightly disappointing in their damage output. Overall a fun little skirmish and though all his troops were slain at the end, we had healing rolls to be done. In the end, our reinforcements for battle 2 would be as follows...

Orcs -

Orc Big Boss
25 Orcs
15 Goblin  Spears
20 Night Goblins (with fanatic intact!)
1 Troll
2 Wolfriders

Empire -

4 Huntsmen
Helblaster Volley Gun
10 Halberdiers
5 Free Company
7 Handgunners


So definitely harder on the Empire, but they have at least a presence coming into game 2. Be prepared for that to hit soon... it turned out to be a bit of a classic....!!

[librisrouge]

The big thing will be getting that Hellblaster back. Could seriously alter the course of battle.