Original Battle Report

Empire Army: 1000 Points
Warrior Priest, Armour of Meteoric Iron, Great Weapon
Warrior Priest, Heavy Armour, Shield, Sword of Might
25 Spearmen with detachments of 9 Free Company and 5 Handgunners
25 Spearmen with detachments of 9 Free Company and 5 Handgunners
10 Archers
10 Crossbowmen
Great Cannon

Ogre Kingdoms: 1000 Points
Bruiser, with Great Weapon in unit of 5 Ironguts
Butcher, in unit of 3 bulls
4 Bulls
20 Gnoblars
20 Gnoblars
Slave Giant

Empire Initial Plan

I’d swapped the Mortar I normally take for 10 handgunners, as I thought they would be more effective against the Ogres. The archers normally act as detachments to screen my spearmen, however as I thought I’d be facing limited ranged attacks I planned to use them to try and march block or flank some of Ogre units. The terrain was set up by a colleague at our gaming club and I was concerned that the building would hamper my line of sight for shooting. I won the toss for selecting table edge

Deployment

Empire:
I deployed the archers on my left flank, then the Crossbowmen in the centre, facing the building. The 2 Spearmen units were placed either side of the cannon, which was occupying the hill on my right flank.

Ogres:
Pete deployed his unit of Bulls with the Butcher on his left flank, The Bruiser with Ironguts and the other Bull unit, along with a Goblar unit take the centre, while the Giant and other Gnoblars deploy on his right flank.

Ogre Turn 1

Pete advances his units at full speed towards the Empire lines. The Bull unit in the centre move into contact with the building. In the magic phase, both Braingobbler and Bonecruncher are dispelled but the Butcher successfully casts Toothcracker on his unit.

Empire Turn 1

The archers move into the woods,  while on my right flank the spearmen move close enough to receive the Butcher’s charge, but avoid a bull charge. The Other spearman unit repositions towards the threatened left flank.

In the magic phase, both priest’s prayers are dispelled, and I forget to use my power dice to try and remove the Toothcracker spell still in play on the Butcher and his unit. The cannon targets the Butcher’s unit, however the shot lands just short. Both hand gunner detatchments open fire on the same unit, causing 3 wounds in total and taking an ogre down.
The crossbowmen and archers both target the Giant, each unit taking 1 wound from it.

Ogre Turn 2

The Butcher’s unit charge the Spearmen and are in turn counter charged by the Free Company detachment, which successfully pass their fear test. The Giant charges the archers in the woods, who flee. The Bruisers unit is too wide to fit between the woods and building so needs to move the woods at reduced rate.  The other Bull unit occupy the building. The Gnoblars move within range to throw sharp stuff at the spearmen but are unable to because they’re in combat.
In combat the Free Company cause 1 wound, while the Butcher and Bulls kill 3 spearman. In response, the Warrior Priest causes 1 wound. The Ogres lose combat by 5. They fail the unmodified break test and flee 7 inches, which is enough to outrun the Free Company who pursue on a 6 and the Spearmen who roll a 5.

Empire Turn 2

The Free Company declare a charge against the Ogres who automatically flee but are not caught.  The archers rally.  The Spearmen reposition to intercept the Gnoblars on my right flank.
I remember to use my power dice but fail to dispel the remains in play spell on the Butcher’s unit.
The cannon is able to target the Giant, and the shot lands directly on target. Unfortunately 1 wound is inflicted but the bounce also kills 3 Gnoblars in the unit behind the Giant.
The crossbowmen cause 1 wound on the advancing Irongut unit.

Ogres Turn 3

The Ironguts declare a charge on the Crossbowmen, who being just under 6 inches away can’t stand and shoot.  The Gnoblars charge the spearmen while the Butcher’s unit fail to rally and flee off the board.
In the movement phase the Giant moves around the edge of the wood while the Bulls occupying the building move out towards the Empire line.
Both combats are predictably one sided as the Gnoblars get 3 hits causing 1 wound, and in return the Spears cause 2 wounds while the Warrior Priest manages another 2 wounds, causing the Gnoblars to lose the combat by 6 – they flee and are caught.
In the other combat the Ironguts inflict 4 wounds while the Bruiser also kills another 4 of the Crossbowmen. The remaining 2 flee while the Ironguts hold, aware of the Spearmen threatening their flank.

Empire Turn 3

The Spearmen charge the flank of the Ironguts (the unit is still unbreakable so doesn’t need a fear test)  while their detachment are able to hit the rearn of the unit after a successful test.. In the magic phase, the Priest in the unengaged unit attempts to cast the unbreakable prayer which is dispelled using both of Peter’s dispel dice. I then realise that this leaves the Priest in combat free to cast Soulfire causing 2 wounds on the Ironguts.
In the shooting phase, the cannon targets the Giant, and the shot again lands directly on target inflicting 4 wounds and felling the monster. The Giant falls towards the Free Company and Ironguts causing 1 wound on each unit.  The Handgunners cause a wound on the Bull unit in front of them.
The Charging Spearmen and Free Company both cause a wound on the Ironguts in combat, and the warrior priest fails to hit even with re-rolls for hatred. In reply, the Ogres cause a wound on each unit but lose combat by 8. They flee 6 inches and are run down  by the Free Company who pursue 11 inches and hit the flank of the Gnoblar unit. The spearmen pursue 10 inches and end up in the wood.

Ogre Turn 4

The remaining Bull unit charge a handgunner detachment who cause them a wound with a stand and shoot response. The Ogres cause 2 wounds with their Bull Charge and wipe the hand gunners out with their remaining attacks. The Bulls then overrun an extra 6 inches.
In the combat with the Gnoblars, the Free Company cause 3 wounds to none in reply, causing the Gnoblars to flee. They flee 3 inches while the Free Company pursue with a whopping 12 inches, destroying the unit and leaving the board.

Empire Turn 4
The Spearmen reposition while in the shooting phase the cannon elects to fire grapeshot at the remaining Bull unit. One Ogre is fully under the template and the other 3 are hit on partial rolls, causing 3 wounds on the unit. The Bulls fail their panic check and  flee from the board.

Conclusion

I originally deployed the Crossbowmen with the intent of taking the building, however after checking the rules following deployment I realised that they wouldn’t have much chance of holding it against the Ogres. I was concerned that they weren’t in a good position to fire however they did a great job of drawing the Ironguts into a favourable combat for me later on, and as such I think they went a long way to helping me win.

My cannon, combined with some really lucky guesses was able to remove the Giant and panic the Bull unit.  I was also able to successfully pass my Fear tests when

The terrain really hampered my opponent during this battle, splitting his force so I could deal with each individual unit at a time. I think if he’d weighted the offence on one flank I would have had a much harder time dealing with the Ogres.

>Spiky