It's been quite some time since last I wrote here and trust me when I say I've missed it. It turned out that keeping up a gaming blog while you're in grad school for gaming proved too much for me. However, I'm back in Sweden but no longer in the wonderful city of Umeå. Instead I've moved myself and the missus south to Stockholm, because that's where videogames are made.
So as my first test of the local gaming scene here, I went down to a place called the Dragon's Lair that apparently has a thriving Warhammer scene. I was happy to find a High Elf opponent willing to suffer my smelly Greenskins at 2500 points. I was a little bit surprised to see an Elven list containing two maxed out (at 450 points give or take) units of White Lions, one of them carrying the Banner of Sorcery, backed by not one but two Archmages wielding the Lores of Life and Death, alongside a Noble with the Battle Standard. Rounding off the force was a massive unit of Spearmen (around 35), 12 Archers and a small unit of 10 Spearmen. Four Great Eagles were flying overhead.
Now, at first glance, two Archmages and two big units of White Lions might seem extremely powerful, but the more I looked over the enemy forces I couldn't help but feel like the army lacked synergy. No offense to my opponent who was a great guy and one I'd happily fight again, but it felt like if someone had looked over the High Elf special choices and reached the conclusion that White Lions were the best choice, so therefore two units of them would be even better than one. It made for an army of two stubborn troops, with nothing to assist them if they did lose a combat and held on. Likewise, I was not high on the use of Death Magic either. Lore of Life is fine for elves, but Death seemed unnecessary. With S6 on your combat units, does lower my T really help that much? Are there a lot of fear causers in the high elf army where lowering my leadership is key? Or is it just the Sniping spells that are critical, but does taking out my Shaman quickly really power up the elven magic phase that much, after they've already paid a fortune to bring two Archmages to the battle? There was nothing to counter the weaknesses of the High Elves; nothing to take out chariots, or pressure war machines aside from the eagles who would be busy redirecting anyway.
Anyway, not having played for close to a year, I brought my favorite units to the fight, wanting more than anything a fun and enjoyable game where hopefully I wouldn't lose that terribly. I brought my Orc Warboss sporting the Armor of Fate and the Sword of Bloodshed for a total of 7 attacks. I also brought a Savage Orc Great Shaman with the Shrunken Head and the Fencer's Blade, as well as an Obsidian Amulet. Finally, a Black Orc BSB with an Amulet of Preservation wrapped up the Orc heroes, who in this battle all marched in a mob of 26 Savage Orc Big 'Uns to increase their resistance against the Death magic spells.
Leading a mob 40 Night Goblins with shields was a Level 2 Night Goblin Shaman with a Dispel Scroll. Another 20 Night Goblins with short bows stood next to them, with a Mangler Squig to the side and 6 Squig Hoppers bouncing up the right flank.The Gobbos were also represented by 5 Wolf Riders and 3 individual Wolf Chariots, while a Rock Lobber and Doom Diver had been set up at the back of the battlefield.
My two special units consisted of a mob of 20 Black Orcs with the Banner of Discipline to allow them to operate away from my Warboss' influence, as he would be busy barking at a mob of 8 Trolls, as well as two single trolls walking on their own.
With the Night Goblins setting up straight across from the two White Lion regiments, my Savage Orcs took up the left flank while my Trolls and Black Orcs went to the right. The High Elves put their Spearmen protecting their Archmages behind the White Lion line, while their Archers set up on a hill to have a shoot-out with the Bow Goblins in the forest.
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| The armies after deployment. The Wolf Riders make a vanguard move on the western flank. Turn 1 |
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| The High Elves take the initiative and their entire army move forward across the field. |
Things of note:
- Lore of Life: Proves successful as I fail to dispel a five dice casting of Dwellers Below targeted on my Shieldgobbos, as I am too greedy to use my Dispel Scroll early, figuring I would need it more later. 20 gobbos are dragged to their deaths, which matters little, but ironically one of those happens to be my Gobbo Shaman, carrying said Dispel Scroll. Curses!
- Wolf Chariots: With the White Lions both bravely (or foolishly) marching across the field, I unleash two of my Wolf Chariots to crash into them. Moments later 12 of the 24 White Lions are dead, at the mere cost of two chariots. My Trolls, straight across the Elven forces, lick their lips in anticipation.
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| The Greenskins surge forward, chariots into combat while a Doom Diver takes an Eagle out of the sky. |
Turn 2
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| The elves gather together as their forces are taking losses from war machines and chariot impacts |
Things of note:
- Lore of Death: Trying a different strategy, the other Archmage takes charge of the Winds of Magic and seeks to drain the life out of the frenzied Mangler Squig that's bouncing towards their battleline. The Orc Shaman realizes the untapped potential for mayhem there, so elects to take two wounds from another Death magic spell in favor of dispelling the Soul Drain.
- Mangler Squig: As a result, the Mangler Squig bounces through the entire Elven line, inflicting more than 25 wounds and slaying a Great Eagle in the back. Luckily for the elves, nothing panics.
- Savage Orcs: In order to protect themselves from unwanted Purple Suns, while also eventually coming out in a favorable position, the Savage Orcs with all three Orc characters elect to fortify the building.
- Squig Hoppers: Eager to get into combat, the Squig Hoppers jump up the eastern flank in search of the Elven Archers, but fall just short of reaching them. This in turn sets up a nice flank charge for a Great Eagle.
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| The Mangler Squig bounces through the White Lions and into the Spearmen behind them, taking out two Eagles as well before it dies. Turn 3 |
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| The remaining two eagles engages, one to flank charge the Squig Hoppers while the other one picks up the Mangler Squig. Blood goes everywhere. |
Things of note:
- Squig Hoppers: Seizing the opportunity, the small Spearmen unit charges into the Squig Hoppers while a Great Eagle swoops in from the flank. Sadly, the elves must have underestimated the Squigs, who takes two casualties but in return take out 6 elves and wounds the Eagle, therefore winning the combat. In the second round of combat, the remaining elves get eaten.
- Trolls: Meanwhile, with only half a unit still standing, the Trolls eagerly charge into one of the White Lion units, take two wounds for their trouble, before stomping the elves into bloody pulps. As the Savage Orcs have now exited the building on the other side, drawing the attention of the Spearmen and forcing them to turn towards them, it opens up the possibility for the Trolls to overrun right into their exposed flank!
- Black Orcs: Having been stuck out of combat for the entire battle, the Black Orcs are finally picked up by the Hand of Gork itself and plucked down on the other side of a blocking boulder, ready to engage a pitiful unit of 10 Archers.
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| The final Wolf Chariot charges into the second White Lion unit, as the Trolls devours the first one. Turn 4 |
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| The Greenskins, led by the Trolls, clean up the Elven forces. |
Things of note:
- White Lions: Sensing a final chance of turning the tide of the battle, the White Lions dispose of the final Wolf Chariot that crashes into them, leaving around 15 standing, and reform into the flank of the Savage Orcs. They charge in and cut into the Savages with their heavy axes, but Gork or possibly Mork seems to protect the warpainted bastards, as 8 wounds end up causing but 3 casualties. In return, the Warboss makes his way over to the flank, kills 7 elves in one round, and lets the remaining Orcs stomp the rest, wiping the unit from the field in a single round of combat.
- Trolls: This might seem obvious, but Spearelves being charged in the flank by 8 over-eager trolls can only end one way - slaughter!
So as the 3 remaining Squig Hoppers kill off the pesky Eagle, and the Black Orcs sharp up their weapons to charge into the only remaining 10 Archers, we decide to call the match right there. Having lost only a Mangler Squig and my three Wolf Chariots, as well as a single stupid Troll, the victory was a convincing one. Damn it's good to be back playing Warhammer!
