So like I said at the end of the last report, Game 4, table 2 (we accidentally played on table 3), Battle for the Pass, Nigel Kavanagh (friend and nemesis; everybody's out to get Nigel), Daemons of Chaos. The onset says it will be a tough game but if I can do enough damage with magic and the Hellcannon while he comes to me I should get an edge. It's a big if though. His list is below.
Tough list, not really broken, but solid. He rolled up Miasma as his sole Nurgle spell. I rolled up Miasma, Enfeebling Foe, Pendulum, and Pit of Shades. The Chosen got +1T. I went first. Deployment below; you'll see my first mistake in that it was top of the morning and I placed my first deployment down without even thinking; that's my Horsemen. I also forgot to Vanguard them behind the hill, and as you'll see in my first turn I brainfart again and forget to move them.
As a general disclaimer I play like a noob in this game, so no preconceptions yeah
Note the deployment diagram below is the only diagram this time as the length-ways diagrams don't go well with Blogger.
Turn 1
My turn was simple, restrain the Hellcannon, move the Warriors into pit range, do magic (killed 1 Plaguebearer), and shoot the Hellcannon (killed 7 Bloodletters).
Nigel's turn was simple also; move up very fast, cast magic (got up Throne of Vines and Flesh to Stone on the Bloodletters) and shoot the Horsemen I forgot to hide behind the hill (dead Horsemen).
Turn 2
This turn I backed up my units and angled to Warriors inward for a shot at the GUO. I cast Pit of Shades at the GUO which he scrolled, and I used the rest of my dice to ditch his Throne of Vines. Hellcannon shot but only killed two Bloodletters due to the Flesh to Stone.
Nigel advanced forward full pace again, hiding the Horrors behind a building so I couldn't see his wizard (to steal his spells) and put the Furies and Fiends out to either flank respectively. He got a tonne of magic dice and ended up with a choice of dispelling Flesh to Stone or Regrowth and mistakenly threw my dice at Regrowth.
His Flamers shot, got a lucky 30 shots and despite low wound numbers and high armour saves, 3 Knights died.
Turn 3
My Knights were now forced to charge the Bloodletters or suffer multiple charges next turn. Everything else shuffled in order to prepare for something; Lord joined the Marauders to get a shot at the GUO.
Magic began, got IF Pit on the GUO but he passed his I test. It must be said at this point that I had attrocious luck all game except for when I rolled scatter dice in that I got a direct hit every time. The Hellcannon shot at the Flamers, killing two.
Combat went crap. I killed few Bloodletters thanks to his Flesh to Stone, but he only got one Knight in return and however I broke and he hit the Chosen, though failed to catch the Knights.
In his turn the GUO charged in. The Fiend in charged the Knights who got to safety and everything else shuffled. No magic and no shooting. ~7 Chosen were killed in combat for a few Bloodletters in return and ran a paltry 2" and were caught along with the BSB.
Turn 4
In my turn I decided to charge the Hellcannon into the remainind Bloodletters (~11 or so). The Marauders and unfortunatly my wizard were in a situation where if they didn't charge the Plaguebearers then they would probably be contending with the GUO as well when they did get into combat, so they charged. The Warriors moved up the flank to flank charge next turn, not seeing at all what was coming. The Knights rallied, and the Shrine moved to safety.
My magic failed to do anything and the Shrine tried blessing the Marauders but gave them a useless 6+AS. In combat my Lord was forced to challenge and his Herald accepted. His attacks did nothing so he used his breath weapon, did 7 wounds, and that was the end of my general. The Marauders lost about 6 men and killed a few Plaguebearers, winning the combat. The Hellcannon did well also, taking some wounds but killing 5 Bloodletters.
A move I somehow failed to see; the Flamers charged the flank of the Marauders. I would have reformed last turn had I seen it to make his 12" charge a 15" charge. Furies went in the back also. The GUO charged the Knights, and the Fiends took up positions on either of the Knights' flanks.
Nigel got off Flesh to Stone on the Plaguebearers which took away much chance of doing significant damage to them. In combat the Marauders killed 2 Flamers, a Plaguebearer, 4 Furies, and the Nurgle Herald, but lost about 16 of their own men and broke. They got away but the Fury was right behind them (if only they had killed the last one). The rest chose to stay put and reform. The GUO killed two Knights but they held. The Hellcannon continued to grind on the Bloodletters.
Turn 5
The only move I had was to reform both the Warriors and the Shrine for charges. Unfortunately the Marauders failed to rally which meant they were doomed to be killed by a single frik'n Fury
The Shrine gave the Hellcannon +1AS and then it was straight to combat. The Knights fought the GUO to a stalemate. The Hellcannon killed all of the Bloodletters and with Thunderstomp did a wound to the BSB, but was left on a single wound of its own with no crew left to take the shot.
The Fiends charged the two flanks of the Knights and the Plaguebearers reformed hoping to get some buffing before facing the Warriors. The Flamers moved to shoot the Shrine and the Fury ran down the Marauders. Magic and shooting did nothing and combat was bloody. Unfortunately the BSB cut down the Hellcannon before it could strike, and the Knights were all killed.
Turn 6
In order to try and reclaim points the Shrine tried a long charge on the lone Fury but failed, and the Warriors hit the Plaguebearers head on. A few Plaguebearers were killed and a single Warrior.
The Daemon turn consisted of a failed long charge by the GUO on the Shrine and the remaining combat with the Warriors. The Warriors managed to get the Plaguebearers down to two men, but their proximity to the GUO along with a lucky roll mean the last two didn't evaporate and that was game.
Conclusions
I should really rename this section mistakes; 20-0 to Nigel. My obsession with killing the GUO was my major downfall here. It got my wizard killed (being caught in a fighty unit in a fight), and as a result having no magic made the remaining fights harder. I dispelled the wrong spells in the early game, made the muck ups with the Marauders, and didn't spot the Flamers' flank charge. This was also another game that showed that the Chosen need their ward save to be effective. I played my usual overall mistake of not taking my losses; once he got to my lines at the bottom of turn 2 I should have stopped trying to kill everything and started trying to mitigate what of mine he could kill; a draw would have been great. This is an area of Warhammer I sorely lack in in that I always go for the big win and it costs me sometimes; sometimes you have to accept you are going to lose and try and make that loss as small as possible. I learned a lot from this game so I can't complain too much.
The last game of the tournament was to be Blood and Glory on table 7 with James Fitzsimmons' Bretonnians.
Great Unclean One [ Level 1 ]
Balesword
Khorne Herald
BSB, ???
Nurgle Herald
Palanquin, Stream of Corruption, Noxious Vapours???
Tzeentch Herald
Spellbreaker, Master of Sorcery (Life)
~27x Bloodletters
Full Command
~16 Plaguebearers
Full Command, Standard of Seeping Decay
20x Horrors
Full Command???, Banner of Sorcery???
Fiend
Fiend
6x Flamers
Pyrocaster
Tough list, not really broken, but solid. He rolled up Miasma as his sole Nurgle spell. I rolled up Miasma, Enfeebling Foe, Pendulum, and Pit of Shades. The Chosen got +1T. I went first. Deployment below; you'll see my first mistake in that it was top of the morning and I placed my first deployment down without even thinking; that's my Horsemen. I also forgot to Vanguard them behind the hill, and as you'll see in my first turn I brainfart again and forget to move them.
As a general disclaimer I play like a noob in this game, so no preconceptions yeah
Note the deployment diagram below is the only diagram this time as the length-ways diagrams don't go well with Blogger.
Turn 1
My turn was simple, restrain the Hellcannon, move the Warriors into pit range, do magic (killed 1 Plaguebearer), and shoot the Hellcannon (killed 7 Bloodletters).
Nigel's turn was simple also; move up very fast, cast magic (got up Throne of Vines and Flesh to Stone on the Bloodletters) and shoot the Horsemen I forgot to hide behind the hill (dead Horsemen).
Turn 2
This turn I backed up my units and angled to Warriors inward for a shot at the GUO. I cast Pit of Shades at the GUO which he scrolled, and I used the rest of my dice to ditch his Throne of Vines. Hellcannon shot but only killed two Bloodletters due to the Flesh to Stone.
Nigel advanced forward full pace again, hiding the Horrors behind a building so I couldn't see his wizard (to steal his spells) and put the Furies and Fiends out to either flank respectively. He got a tonne of magic dice and ended up with a choice of dispelling Flesh to Stone or Regrowth and mistakenly threw my dice at Regrowth.
His Flamers shot, got a lucky 30 shots and despite low wound numbers and high armour saves, 3 Knights died.
Turn 3
My Knights were now forced to charge the Bloodletters or suffer multiple charges next turn. Everything else shuffled in order to prepare for something; Lord joined the Marauders to get a shot at the GUO.
Magic began, got IF Pit on the GUO but he passed his I test. It must be said at this point that I had attrocious luck all game except for when I rolled scatter dice in that I got a direct hit every time. The Hellcannon shot at the Flamers, killing two.
Combat went crap. I killed few Bloodletters thanks to his Flesh to Stone, but he only got one Knight in return and however I broke and he hit the Chosen, though failed to catch the Knights.
In his turn the GUO charged in. The Fiend in charged the Knights who got to safety and everything else shuffled. No magic and no shooting. ~7 Chosen were killed in combat for a few Bloodletters in return and ran a paltry 2" and were caught along with the BSB.
Turn 4
In my turn I decided to charge the Hellcannon into the remainind Bloodletters (~11 or so). The Marauders and unfortunatly my wizard were in a situation where if they didn't charge the Plaguebearers then they would probably be contending with the GUO as well when they did get into combat, so they charged. The Warriors moved up the flank to flank charge next turn, not seeing at all what was coming. The Knights rallied, and the Shrine moved to safety.
My magic failed to do anything and the Shrine tried blessing the Marauders but gave them a useless 6+AS. In combat my Lord was forced to challenge and his Herald accepted. His attacks did nothing so he used his breath weapon, did 7 wounds, and that was the end of my general. The Marauders lost about 6 men and killed a few Plaguebearers, winning the combat. The Hellcannon did well also, taking some wounds but killing 5 Bloodletters.
A move I somehow failed to see; the Flamers charged the flank of the Marauders. I would have reformed last turn had I seen it to make his 12" charge a 15" charge. Furies went in the back also. The GUO charged the Knights, and the Fiends took up positions on either of the Knights' flanks.
Nigel got off Flesh to Stone on the Plaguebearers which took away much chance of doing significant damage to them. In combat the Marauders killed 2 Flamers, a Plaguebearer, 4 Furies, and the Nurgle Herald, but lost about 16 of their own men and broke. They got away but the Fury was right behind them (if only they had killed the last one). The rest chose to stay put and reform. The GUO killed two Knights but they held. The Hellcannon continued to grind on the Bloodletters.
Turn 5
The only move I had was to reform both the Warriors and the Shrine for charges. Unfortunately the Marauders failed to rally which meant they were doomed to be killed by a single frik'n Fury
The Shrine gave the Hellcannon +1AS and then it was straight to combat. The Knights fought the GUO to a stalemate. The Hellcannon killed all of the Bloodletters and with Thunderstomp did a wound to the BSB, but was left on a single wound of its own with no crew left to take the shot.The Fiends charged the two flanks of the Knights and the Plaguebearers reformed hoping to get some buffing before facing the Warriors. The Flamers moved to shoot the Shrine and the Fury ran down the Marauders. Magic and shooting did nothing and combat was bloody. Unfortunately the BSB cut down the Hellcannon before it could strike, and the Knights were all killed.
Turn 6
In order to try and reclaim points the Shrine tried a long charge on the lone Fury but failed, and the Warriors hit the Plaguebearers head on. A few Plaguebearers were killed and a single Warrior.
The Daemon turn consisted of a failed long charge by the GUO on the Shrine and the remaining combat with the Warriors. The Warriors managed to get the Plaguebearers down to two men, but their proximity to the GUO along with a lucky roll mean the last two didn't evaporate and that was game.
Conclusions
I should really rename this section mistakes; 20-0 to Nigel. My obsession with killing the GUO was my major downfall here. It got my wizard killed (being caught in a fighty unit in a fight), and as a result having no magic made the remaining fights harder. I dispelled the wrong spells in the early game, made the muck ups with the Marauders, and didn't spot the Flamers' flank charge. This was also another game that showed that the Chosen need their ward save to be effective. I played my usual overall mistake of not taking my losses; once he got to my lines at the bottom of turn 2 I should have stopped trying to kill everything and started trying to mitigate what of mine he could kill; a draw would have been great. This is an area of Warhammer I sorely lack in in that I always go for the big win and it costs me sometimes; sometimes you have to accept you are going to lose and try and make that loss as small as possible. I learned a lot from this game so I can't complain too much.
The last game of the tournament was to be Blood and Glory on table 7 with James Fitzsimmons' Bretonnians.
Really nice write-up as always, I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunate what happened to your general. Really makes you want to consider fielding him on a disc and fly around on his own, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteNot in the slightest, as he cannot take Lore of Shadow when on a Disk.
ReplyDelete