O&G vs Dark Elves, 2600 pts

So I went into town for a friendly game against a player I hadn't faced before. My opponent had decided to field a Dark Elf army led by a Dreadlord on a Black Dragon. Because of his, he was only able to field a level 2 Sorceress of Shadow and a Master BSB on foot.

The list looked pretty aggressive, with a unit of 10 Cold One Knights, a Cold One Chariot, 5 Dark Riders and a Hydra, but at the same time somewhat defensive with a large unit of 50 Spearelves, 2x10 Crossbows and 6 shades. The potential symbiosis between the Black Dragon and the Hydra or the Cold Ones scared me a little bit, although I would have probably tried to find the points to put my Master on a Cold One for the additional punch to the Cold One Knights.

To make sure I wasn't going to surrender an early flank charge to his faster moving force I deployed with my Trolls on the right flank and my Night Gobbos on the left flank, while my two Orc mobz went in the center. Meanwhile, my Giant joined the Night Goblins to the left to force the Cold One Knights there to be honest, as the Giant is a lot more mobile and almost as fast.

The Hydra and the chariot deployed in center opposite my Black Orcs and the Black Dragon started in the back, behind the Dark Elf army.

Rogue Trader Club Championship 2012

The club championship at Rogue Trader was a tournament played over the course of a day, with three games set at 2000 points. I brought an Orc-led Goblin army outlined in a previous post and was eager to put it to the test against some of Stockholm's finest generals.

Game 1: Dark Elves

My first game was against a Dark Elf force consisting of a Dreadlord riding a dark steed and backed up by a Dark Magic-wielding Sorceress at level 2 and a Cauldron of Blood with the Battle Standard. Two fairly large units of Executioners made up the main combat units. who were in turn supported by two large units of Corsairs with two hand weapons and a Cold One Chariot and some Dark Riders without their crossbows.

Bowgobbos deploy by the building, flanked by Wolf Chariots and Shieldgobbos on each side

O&G vs Wood Elves, 2500 pts

After disposing of a Skaven list in my first match with my Orc-heavy army, the Greenskins elected to go pranching around in the forest in search of foes, where they ended up finding some! A Wood Elf army came at them, led by a Highborn flying a Forest Dragon, flanked by two Treemen and two small units of Dryads. In the back were three units of 10 Glade Guards, joined by two Spellsingers of Athel Loren and a unit of Glade Riders. Overhead were three Eagles, two of them carrying Nobles with trinkets and great weapons. An interesting list for certain and I was curious to see how my slow-moving infantry army would be able to tackle a Monster/Skirmishing force.

The two armies after deployment

O&G vs High Elves, 2500 pts

Remember, remember the 5th of November, because that is the date Troll Tales returned!

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.

Wood Elves vs Empire, 1500 pts

This past weekend I tried out part of my Wood Elf Host against the might of an Empire army. We decided to play at a smaller point level than usual - 1500 points each - which actually makes for an enjoyable little battle, while still giving off a feel of two actual armies engaging. I definitely felt more comfortable with my MSU army at slightly less points.

I had brought a Lifeweaver with a Dispel Scroll and a Noble BSB with the Hail of Doom Arrows and Asyendi's Bane. They would run with ten Glade Guards, while two units of five Glade Riders made out the vanguard. 8 Dryads went into my forest, while three Treekins and a Treeman made out the Forest Spirits. Finally, a Great Eagle was flying above the battlefield. My spells were Awakening of the Woods, Flesh to Stone, Regrowth and Shield of Thorns. Not my most effective spellbook, for certain.

The Empire forces were led by an Archlector on foot, a Captain with the Banner of Eternal Flame imbued on the Battle Standard, possibly imbued by the Bright Wizard who was walking by their side. All three of them joined up with a grizzly unit of around 20 Greatswords, while a unit of around 30 Swordsmen marched next to them and 10 Flagellants were howling from their side. On the far flank, five Knights awaited next to a regiment of 10 Crossbowmen, protecting the artillery train consisting of a Great Cannon, a Mortar and a Rocket Battery. A Master Engineer stood nearby with a Hochland Long Rifle. The Bright Wizard knew the spells of Fireball and Fulminating Flame Cage.

O&G vs Ogre Kingdoms, 2500 pts

For one of the final games with the Orcs and Goblins (for now) it was only fitting that I pit them against their old nemesis Ogre Kingdoms, right before their new rules book come out. My opponent, in preparation for a tournament down south that allow special characters, had brought Greasus Goldtooth as his General and BSB. Thus the Gut Magic had to be handled by two Butchers instead. Greasus joined up with a big unit of Bulls, as did the two Butchers and a Bruiser with The Other Trickster's Shard to make sure Greasus' attacks weren't warded off. That massive unit of flap didn't leave much else to round off the army; a unit of six Ironguts and a unit of eight Ironguts, 20 Gnoblars and a Giant rounded off the force.

The armies after deployment

As it happened, I had decided to try out an army lacking a Warboss in favour of even more mobs of fighters; trusting instead in the leadership of my Savage Orc Great Shaman. He was leading a unit of 28 Savage Orc Big 'Uns, alongside a Black Orc BSB, and deployed straight across from the Bulls. They were flanked to their left by a unit of 40 Night Goblins, 8 Trolls, 30 Squigs with their handlers and a Mangler Squig, with the plan to take out the 8 Ironguts and sweep in for the flank on Greasus' unit of Bulls. To the right went my 3 Goblin Wolf Chariots and 21 Black Orcs to match up against the Giant and 6 Ironguts. To redirect and hit soft flanks I had brought two lone River Trolls. In the back, behind the action went my 20 Night Goblins with short bows, joined by a Night Gobbo Shaman. Sadly, I rolled up all the wrong spells of the Big Waaagh! and missed out on both the Foot of Gork and 'Ere We Go! so I had to depend on minor cantrips instead. The same thing happened for my Night Gobbo, who only got his Magic Missile (not really useful against the three big Ogre units) and Naughty Stabbin'.

Storm of Magic, O&G vs Ogres, 3000 pts

I fought my first battle in the Storm of Magic expansion yesterday, going up against Benjamin's Ogres. He had a Slaughtermaster and a Tyrant leading his force, with another Butcher and a Bruiser with the Tenderizer. His characters were equipped to be monster hunters, even the Slaughtermaster had Killing Blow to ward off any attempts on his life. His forces consisted of a huge Bull unit of 11, two Irongut units of 7, some Gnoblars and a Giant and a Carnosaur as his Monsters.  As I mentioned earlier I hadn't read through the rulebook at all, so I figured I'd just bring my Arachnarok Spider and the Giant  for my monster and magic allowance, to see how they'd do.

O&G vs Skaven, 2500 pts

The second game of the weekend turned out to be against Skaven. My opponent wanted to try out his army for an upcoming tournament down south, so I had to cut my list down to 2250 points. I dropped my Rock Lobber, Mangler Squig and second Night Goblin shaman to make out the points.

The Skaven army was led by a Grey Seer on foot, a Chieftain with the Battle Standard, three engineerers and a Plague Priest on a Plague Furnace pulled by Plague Monks. There were two crowds of 30 Clanrats, two lines of 30 Slaves, a Hellpit Abominiation, a Doomwheel, a Warplightning Canon and two Weapon Teams: Ratling Gun and Warpfire Thrower. Deploying as scouts were a unit of Gutter Runners with poisoned slings.

For a second straight game the terrain had a building in the middle, so we'd have to split up our forces, with forests and hills on the outskirts. I put the Orc Big 'Uns behind the building, so that I could march to either side of it depending on my opponent, who stacked the western side heavily. I matched that with my Squig Herd, the Savage Orcs and finally my Black Orcs, prompting the Skaven to put the Abominiation on the eastern flank in fear of potential flaming great weapons. They were joined by the Plague Furnace, meaning my Warboss and the Big 'Uns were going up more or less alone against the two most hard-hitting units of the Skaven. Would they be up to the task?

O&G vs Tomb Kings, 2500 pts

The first match on Saturday was against Tomb Kings, whom I'd yet to face since their new army book and was really looking forward to experience. My opponent had brought a fairly combat-heavy army, with 30 Tomb Guards with Handweapons and Shields anchoring the center of their line, joined by a Tomb King and his Herald with the Battle Standard. Two blocks of 40 Skeleton Warriors (also with handweapons and shields) protected each flank, one of them joined by a Liche Priest with their ancient lore, while 30 Skeleton Archers joined by the Hierophant went in the back. On one flank he put his Screaming Skull Catapult and his Casket of Souls, and two units of three Carrions were flying around in the back. A Warsphinx with fiery breath went close to the Tomb Guards, as did a unit of 4 Skeleton Chariots, while three Stalkers had burrowed beneath the sand.

A surprising amount of models, I felt, but nothing extremely scarey. I weighed my eastern flank quite heavily to match up with my opponent, with the Squig Herd, Wolf Chariots, Black Orcs and Orc Big 'Uns (joined by the Warboss) going up against the Tomb Guard, the Chariots, The Sphinx and the Skeleton Warriors. Meanwhile my Savage Orcs, joined by their Shaman were up against a second unit of Skeleton Warriors, whom they should smash quite easily before sweeping up the soft flank of the Archers and Casket of Souls.

O&G vs High Elves, 2500 pts, rounds 5&6

Now we return to the battle between Greenskins and High Elves, wrapping up the game with the final remaining rounds.

O&G vs High Elves, 2500 pts, Rounds 3&4

Continuing on with the battle report from earlier, between my Orcs and Goblins and Johan's High Elves at 2500 points. If you haven't, be sure to check out the Deployment part and the report from Turn 1 and 2.

O&G vs High Elves 2500 pts, Rounds 1&2

Here are the first two rounds of the battle report from my game against Johan's High Elves. If you missed the first post, be sure to check it out for both army lists and deployment tactics. The images have been made using the excellent Battle Chronicle software - if you haven't tried it out, you should. Also, be sure to click on the images for a larger version in order to see all the specifics illustrated. Alright, ready? Here we go.

O&G vs High Elves, 2500 pts, Deployment

I went down to the gaming club yesterday for a battle against my friend Johan and his High Elves. Usually, when I do my battle reports I tend to write a quick summary, with some war stories and particular details briefly touched upon, since it's easy to write and I do play quite a few games. However, I've been meaning to write a longer, more detailed battle report that goes through each round and touches upon every action. For this game, inspiration struck me, and so I've decided now is the time.

This account will probably span several posts and make for a longer read. I hope you'll stay with me and that you find it interesting. Make sure you click on the pictures and diagrams for close up looks of the battlefield. Also, feel free to ask questions or leave comments at each stop, and I'll make sure to answer them.

Fanatic 2011 - 5th battle vs Dark Elves

For the final game of the tournament I was slotted against a second consecutive Dark Elf player, but luckily this time I was up against a non-local player called Markus (nothing against my loveable local players, it's just good to face new opponents). Markus had only one Wizard, a Supreme Sorceress with the spells of Shadow, with a Cauldron BSB like my last enemy, but two Masters flying around on Pegasi. A unit of 40 Spearmen made for a steadfast regiment and a second one of 20 elves deployed behind the first one made for a bunker for his Sorceress. 20 Crossbowmen and two units of 7 Shades made for plenty of crossbow shots, while a Hydra, 20 Black Guards and 6 Cold One Riders together created the fighty units. The scenario was called Assassination and awarded two victory points for the first couple of characters killed in the game.

Fanatic 2011 - 4th battle vs Dark Elves

For the 4th game of the tournament I was slotted against Daniel and his gorgeous Dark Elf army on one of the top three tables. His army was led by a Supreme Sorceress with the Lore of Shadow, another Sorceress of the Lore of Death, a Cauldron BSB and a Master on Pegasus. To anchor his line was a unit of 35 Executioners, 30 Dark Elf Spearmen, a Hydra, 10 Corsairs, 20 Crossbowmen, a Cold One Chariot some Harpies. Now, I had faced this army before and was feeling confident, as every time had ended in a solid win for me. I wasn't sure what Daniel had planned to do in order to get out of this one with a win, but as he rolled up Purple Sun with his level 2 Sorceress I sort of got the hint. The scenario involved having more banners than the enemy at the end of the game (including the ones you claimed from breaking the enemy).

Fanatic 2011 - 3rd battle vs High Elves

The small loss to the Daemons set me back a little, moving me down from table 3 to table 5, where I was set to go up against High Elves. The scenario demanded us to break the enemy morale, by claiming as many banners as possible and taking down their general. If you managed to break the enemy by bringing their morale points down to 3 or less you would get 2 points, and if your own army was unbroken by the end of the game, you would get 2 more points. The remaining 16 points would be settled in familiar fashion. It was a slightly strange army of elves that I would go up against, with a surprising amount of cavalry. The elves were led by a mounted Prince and his Noble Battle Standard, both of them joining a unit of 8 Silver Helms. Next to them was a small troop of 5 Dragon Princes. An Archmage of the Lore of Life led two regiments of 30 Spear Elves into battle, joined by 10 Archers who togeter made up the core troops, while 14 Swordmasters and 10 White Lions rounded off the force and two Bolt Throwers protected both flanks.

Fanatic 2011 - 2nd battle vs Daemons of Chaos

By winning my first game so convincingly, I expected a difficult matchup for my second game. As such, I was not surprised when I came upon Björn's Daemons of Chaos as my next opponent. The scenario was a Witch Hunt, worth 4 points if you killed the enemy wizards, with the 16 remaining points being settled the old, bloody way. I hadn't faced Daemons for almost six months and was surprised to see a Bloodthirster leading the army. With a sigh I looked at my Giant and silently wished I would have gone with a Rock Lobber and a Doom Diver instead.

Fanatic 2011 - 1st battle vs Warriors of Chaos

For the first match of Fantasia Fanatic I was slotted to go up against Warriors of Chaos. I knew Robin the player since he's local and I had faced him in the past. I was feeling confident since much of my army had been designed to face the Chaos Warriors, and he had brought quite a lot of them. The first scenario was going to be Take and Hold, with the quest being to defend an objective in the very middle of the map. The player with the highest point total within 6" of the objective on each players round four would receive two additional victory points. The remaining 16 points were fought over through regular victory points.

He was led by quite a strange unit made up entirely of characters: three Exalted Heroes were riding Juggernaughts, including the Battle Standard Bearer. His Sorcerer Lord was schooled in Shadow, which I think is a dubious lore for them; you really don't need the hexes and the augments of the lore for your Chaos Warriors. Two 15-20 strong units of Chaos Warriors made up the core of his army, one of them being of Khorne and carrying Halberds while the other were blessed by Tzeentch and carrying hand weapons. A small unit of hounds and three(!) units of Marauder Horsemen made up the swiftstriding part, while in the backfield two Warshrines and a Hellcannon were deployed.

Gobbos vs Beastmen, 2500 pts

This past weekend, as usual, I went down to the gaming club for a Warhammer battle. Since my tournament list is on the painting table right now, it was time for the Goblins to show what they were made of. I went with my usual list, but with only a single unit of fast cavalry, replaced by a unit of bowgobbos, a few less chariots but replaced with some Squig Hoppers and a Cave Squig.

My opponent this time were Beastmen, an army I've rarely faced before, led by a Beastlord and a Great Bray Shaman versed in the Lore of Death. It packed a strong magic phase, with 4 more Bray Shamans trained in the Beast and Shadow lores dancing around a Herdstone for additional power dice. The mainstay of the army was a Horde of 40 Gors with additional handweapons, led by a Wargor with the Beast Banner for the extra strength. 30 Bestigors and 40 Ungors with spears rounded off the infantry, who were also supported by a two unit of Harpies, some Ungor Skirmishers and a Razorgor Chariot. I definitely did not like my chances. With my Orc list I definitely would have done well against this army, but I wasn't sure the Goblins alone would be up to the task.

O&G vs Vampire Counts, 2500 pts

For the second game this past weekend I went up against the Vampire Counts, led by a Vampire Lord on a Zombie Dragon! Wow, had never faced one of those before. What remained of the points were spent on two lesser Vampires, one of them a fighter of Red Fury, the second one a Ghoul raiser with the Helm of Commandment (gives out WS to one unit). His forces consisted of a large regiment of Grave Guards with shields and handweapons, an even larger unit of Skeletons, two regiments of Ghouls, some Dire Wolves and the Black Coach.

Combat between the Wyvern Warboss and the Black Coach, with surprising results