Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

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Lord Drakon
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Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Greetings!

28 june I will join another Bloodstorm Mini, which is so far the most fun tournament I attended last year. The idea is simple. 1000 point lists, 5 scenario based games and heavily comped lists. No magic items, No lords, maximum 250 hero´s, minimum 400 core and max 100 rare. Bloodstorm battles are based on scoring unit objectives and secondary objectives, in this case: treasure!

Here is the Rulespack

Every game you can score 5 points, 3 scenario points, and 2 treasure points, so a total of 25 points in 5 games.

Primary Objectives (total of 15 points)
At the start of every game, before deployment but after seeing the enemy list you have to choose a scenario, of which you have 5 total

- Strategic Superiority: claim most table quarters
- Into the Breach!: get two scoring units in enemy deployment zone
- Break the Enemy!: get enemy scoring units to 2 or less
- Take the Hill!: claim the centre
- Domination!: score more than 300+ victory points then your enemy

Treasure (total of 10 points)
At the deployment of every game two treasures are placed in the middle of the table at both flanks. You can claim this treasure only with characters or champions at the end of your movement phase. You lose this treasure when your champion/hero breaks from combat, drops it voluntary or is killed. At the end of the battle you open the treasure which contains magic items, which you can use for the rest of the tournament.

Painting (total of 15 points)
Another major aspect of scoring points is the painting of the army, so that is why I start this log three months in advance

- Painted (0-4): all of your army has received a decent coat of paint, with different colours used to distinguish different areas
- Detailing (0-6): the whole model is painted with care and attention to detail. Models are painted to high standard
- Basing (0-2): all bases are painted and flocked.
- Banners (0-2): the army features eloborate and distinctive banners, with freehand painted designs
- Conversions (0-2): several character models or units are converted in some way to enhance visual theme of your army
- WOW factor (0-2): the army has impressed the jury because it is painted to very high standard

My goal is to score all 40 points, ofcourse this is not going to happen, but at least I can try! I hope you will join me in my log of building and practising with a garrison of the 13th Legion towards the tournament.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Based on the 9th age our unit names have become more Roman inspired, which I also expect will happen in our 9th age fluff, and was already happening in our late Games Workshop army books. So the host of Har Ganeth will be transformed into the Dread Elf 13th Legion with a more Roman theme. For Bloodstorm I want to build a small but robust Roman first cohort.

13th Legion, First Cohort

Oracle, Level 2, Black Magic, Cult of Yema - 105
Captain, Raptor, Battle Standard Bearer, Great Weapon, Cult of Yema - 143

20 Legionnaires, Spears, Heavy Armour, Full Command - 225
20 Legionnaires, Spears, Champion, Standard Bearer - 175

10 Gladiators of Yema, Full Command - 140
5 Praetorian Raptor Knights, Standard Bearer - 140
5 Harpies - 70

Total: 998

Newest version

Oracle, Black Magic - 70
Captain, BSB, Raptor, Heavy Armour, Great Weapon, Repeater Handbow - 140

20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command, Heavy Armour - 220
20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command - 180

10 Gladiators of Yema - 90
10 Gladiators of Yema - 90
5 Praetorian Knights, Standard Bearer - 140
5 Harpies - 65

Total : 1000

Updated version

13th Legion, First Cohort

Oracle, Black Magic, LVL2 - 95
Captain, BSB, Raptor, Heavy Armour, Great Weapon - 138

20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command, Heavy Armour - 220
20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command - 180

13 Gladiators of Yema, Champion, Standard Bearer - 152
5 Praetorian Raptor Knights, , Champion, Standard Bearer - 150
5 Harpies - 65

Total: 1000
Last edited by Lord Drakon on Sat May 14, 2016 12:24 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Greetings!

Yesterday I played my second practice game with the Legio XIII First Cohort for Bloodstorm. It was against at new player at our club and his cool Ogre Khans. As it was my first time against Ogres this was also a novelty for me, and resulted into a nice game.

We played normal 9th age rules 1000 points, so I took my Oracle (LVL2) with Black Magic, BSB with heavy armour, great weapon and cold one leading two units of twenty legionnaires (one with heavy armour), five Raptor Knights with standard, five Harpies and a unit of ten of my beloved Gladiators of Yema with full command.

The enemy brought a Khan with Great Weapon, Shaman with Butcher magic, two units of three Tribesman with full command and five Bruisers. This was accompanied by chaff of two Sabretooth Tigers, four Bombardiers and a Kin-Eater.

A balanced list, and although I feared the Bombardiers and most could take on my units with a charge (I expected) I could outmanoeuvre his units by deploying the spears in the centre and hammers on the flank. Harpies could be used to present bait for enemy charges or just be functional as scavengers. One thing to notion about my list is that they are aligned to the Cult of Yema, so they got Strider and +1 Movement, but lost Killer Instinct (besides Raptor Knights).

For magic the Oracle rolled for Bladestorm (-D3 WS) and Black Horror, but I swapped Black Horror for the signature Moreac´ś Fury (+1 STR). The enemy Shaman got Teeth Cracker which gives unit +1 Toughness normally or in a aura.

Deployment
The enemy won the roll for deployment, and deployed everything in a balanced battle line, with the Bombardiers on the hill. Therefore I deployed at the right flank with the spears central flanked by knights and gladiators. As knights were the fastest and toughest unit I got they hopefully could withstand the Bombardiers.

Image

Turn 1 - Ogre Khans
As enemy deployed the whole army he gets first turn.

The hungry Ogre force marches forwards to feed their bellies. Bombardiers move up to shoot some elves.

As the Shaman only have the signature he casts the boosted version and rolls three 6'es, but only take a wound for the miscast.

Image

The Bombardier shooting is still too far away and only manages to kill two spearelves.

Turn 1 - Dread Elves
In return the Gladiators see a possibility to take one flank an march 12" forwards, just out of reach of the big unit of 5 Bruizers and their Khan. Although they changed somehow I still absoluty love the Gladiators (old Sisters of Slaughter) in there new fashion, and my favourite 8th edition unit still perfoms very well! Both spears and knights move up a bit to make enemy charge unlikely but to be ready if opportunities arise. The harpies are send forward to confuse the enemy and hopefully bait his Bombardiers to charge them or otherwise provide a meatshield for the knights.

Image

I first cast the -D3 movement on the Sabretooth which is dispelled so I can give the Gladitors +1 strength and armour piercing. The attribute fails to inflict a wound on the Sabretooth, and as the Oracle has not lost any wounds yet she don't heal any wounds. I really like this new attribute, as it keeps my general alive from miscasts while also offensive.

Turn 2 - Ogre Khans
The tribesmen charge the powered up Gladiators and Sabretooth my harpies. Although the Bruisers try to charge the left block of spears they fail the long charge and stumble forwards. However the Bombardiers move inside the forest so they are protected from knight charge and can shoot without penalties. We were not sure if this was indeed the case but played it that way. Hmm I forgot to see that coming.

Again the Shaman 5 dice his aura spell, powering all units besides the Tribesmen in combat. By doing this the Shaman also heals a wound.

Image

The Bombardiers inflict a lot of damage and kill two knights, ouch!

In combat I use the flails for +2 strength while maintaining the +1 to hit, although the enemy also gets +1 to hit. The impact hits fail to inflict any wounds. Then the Gladiatorsge to attack. 11 attacks and 2+ to hit, of which I hit 10. Then 10 hits with 2+ to wound because of the +1 to wound and I inflict 9 wounds, enough to kill them all before they can strike! BAM! Although they lost one attack, their option to take high strength weapons with the weaponmaster rule makes them even more versatile in any combat as before. I combat reform for a flank charge next turn. The harpies fail to inflict any damage and two are eaten in return, but they easily hold their LD test.

Turn 2 - Dread Elves
This looked very good already for the Dread Elves, and I could take out the enemy force in this round! I take my chances and the knights with BSB charge the bombardiers, both spear units charge and the gladiators flank charge the sabretooth, allowing a overrun into the flank of bruisers with khan. Unfortunately the left spears fail to make the charge, but all others do. My knights are not so lucky and two die while charging through the forest, so only the standard bearer and BSB reach combat.

I again first cast -D3 on tribesmen which is dispelled and then give the Oracle and spears +1 strength.

Image

In combat the Gladiators easily kill the Sabtretooth and overrun into the flank of bruisers. The spears (now STR 4) fluff their attacks and only inflict two wounds, but the Oracle herself also inflict a wound on the enemy Shaman. In return the Ogres also fluff their attacks and only inflict one wound on the Oracle. They lose combat and run! But I fail to catch them. The BSB inflict 1 wound while standard bearer inflict another while enemy Bombardiers fail to penetrate the armour. They lose combat but hold on steadfast. As expected the harpies fail to inflict any damage and another one dies.

Turn 3 - Ogre Khans
Now the enemy Kin-Eater shows up and hastily moves towards the nearest combat, all other units are fleeing or in combat. The Shaman and Tribesmen rally to face the spears once more!

Again enemy 5-dice his signature and heals a wound, now Bombardiers don't get the +1 tougness this time because of reach.

Image

In combat the Gladiators use their flails again but without the +1 strength while enemy bruisers are +1 tougness they fail to kill that much, and inflict two wounds. Both the enemy bruiser in combat and enemy general inflict two wounds, but two are saved by the amazing 4+ ward save which makes them so bad ass in combat. The enemy loses by 4, but holds on steadfast. I now realize this was a mistake as he was in a forest, and so could never be steadfast! He combat reforms and leaves his flank open to my incoming spearelves. Bombardiers completely overkill the knight standard bearer, but BSB slays one in return. I lose combat but hold on LD 9. Another harpy dies, but keep locking the Sabretooth down for another turn.

Turn 3 - Dread Elves
The aggressive Elves continue their push and both spearelf units charge again, both making it.

With lessons learned from previous combat phases, I cast -D3 WS on the bruisers, which the enemy fails to dispell, and I also succeed in giving the Gladiators +1 strength and armour piercing again. She also heals the wound she had suffered in last combat.

Image

The BSB and his Raptor go bad ass and inflict a total of four wounds, killing another Bombardier. They again fail to penetrate the thick skin and armour and inflict no wounds. They lose combat and are not steadfast anymore (I realize again they were not steadfast in the first combat also because of forest). They run and the BSB captures them, victory! In the battle against enemy Shaman and Tribesman the spears do very well and kill the Shaman plus another Tribesmen, they fail to penetrate the 4+ armour in return and lose combat, flee and are also captured. In the big combat the Gladiators kicks total ass again with their flails and have 9 attacks, 9 (on 2+) hits, 9 (on 3+) wounds!!!! and kill three bruisers. The spearman also do well and score three sixes, killing another bruiser. In return the Khan kills one Gladiator and surviving Bruisers another two, but they lose combat big, run and are catched by the Gladiators. The sabrethooth finally eats the last harpy, but the battle is already lost at this point.

Turn 4 - Ogre Khans
As enemy least wanted revenge for the total destruction the Gladiators of Yema had inflicted on his army he sends all last troops to kill the surviving 5 gladiators, now first by charging his deadly Sabretooth in them.

Image

The now experienced Gladiators know how to take out these sort of beasts and easily kill the enemy Sabretooth with their flails before he can strike.

Turn 4 - Dread Elves
The victorious elves reform to face their last enemy, especially the Gladiators present themselves for a last deadly test.

Image

The Oracle gives the Gladiators +1 strength and armour piercing again.

Turn 5 - Ogre Khans
The hungry and desperate Kin-Eater charges the Gladiators.

Image

In combat the last remaining 5 Gladiators, of which 4 are in combat have a total of 5 attacks. Again they use their deadly flais (which I found to be very very deadly so far) and have 5 hits (2+) 4 wound (3+) and the Kin-Eater fails to regenerate any of those wounds so dies painfully leaving all Ogres slain or enslaved by the Legio XIII First Cohort!

Result
Victory Points: 1300 - 235
Massacre in favour of the Dread Elves

Post Battle Report
Wow what a massacre, especially thanks to my beloved Gladiators! They killed 3 Tribesmen, 4 Bruisers, 2 Sabrethooths, 1 Kin-Eater and the enemy Khan general while only losing 5 of their own! Their deadly skills secured me the breakthrough of the left flank which in combination of the solid legionnair blocks could defeat the enemy units. They also locked down the enemy main combat block in the flank before it could do any harm to my softer units. The BSB with Knights also died well, even while only 1 reached combat they are so difficult to kill by only some STR 4 or 3 attacks. I was satisfied with my harpies and could have used them better I think. Overall I really like this solid list and Roman themed force so not much shooting but focus on combat. I am really glad to see the Gladiators even became better than before and will take them to every battle like always. Somehow I also manage to roll very good with them, and they are just so bad ass always! :D

Thanks for reading this report! Feedback, comments and critics are always welcome and I hope you will keep following (and interacting) with this blog.
As my BSB Khaled the Collector would say: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" :twisted:
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Calisson »

Fear the gladiator girls!
That looked like an unbalanced game indeed.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by cultofkhaine »

Great write up LD - it's interesting to see 9h in action, have not had the chance to have a game of it myself yet.

How are you going painting the army - a few shots would be good to see.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Amboadine »

Nice to see a 9th age write up.
I got a message from some guys in my area the other day, so hoping to get some games soon, but have enjoying the Kings of War tourney scene too much at the moment.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Thanks for the comments, I will try get weekly reports up again playing with this army. I finished modelling the army (made the 2 x 20 legionnaires with their centurions and finally completed my BSB on raptor) and now it is time to start painting! My knights, gladiators and general are aleady done (except for their new banners) but there are still 48 models left!

So the theme for my 9th age Dark Elves is based on Ancient Rome and might be more adjusted to new work from 9th age fluff team. I love the serie Rome from 2007, so my choosing of the thirteenth legion. As our units are already Roman themed it was easy to make a traditional small Roman Cohort army. Core of legionnaires backed by some knights and some gladiators. With my army colour of red this again links to the Roman colours and especially with the banners I hope to create a Roman feeling. I also like the Spartan centurion conversions as command groups of the legionnaires.

I want to paint all new units NMM so am experimenting with the Legionnaires so all feedback is welcome!

Legio XIII, First Cohort
Image

Gladiators of Yema
Image

Harpies of Death
Image

Legionnaires with spears and Spartan Centurions
Image

Legionnaires with spears and Spartan Centurions
Image

Test model
Image

Khaled the Collector, the Battle Standard Bearer
Image

His loyal Guard, the Praetorian Knights
Image

Oracle Nabira, the General
(I only painted the cloth, bought second handed)
Image

So to score all the points of the tournament I need the following:

- Painted (0-4): all of your army has received a decent coat of paint, with different colours used to distinguish different areas
- Detailing (0-6): the whole model is painted with care and attention to detail. Models are painted to high standard
- Basing (0-2): all bases are painted and flocked.
- Banners (0-2): the army features eloborate and distinctive banners, with freehand painted designs
- Conversions (0-2): several character models or units are converted in some way to enhance visual theme of your army
- WOW factor (0-2): the army has impressed the jury because it is painted to very high standard

I can already score the 2 points for conversions and with some extra work 2 for basing. Then the next step would be to paint unit for unit saving the characters for last or as reward. Especially for the detailing, banners and WOW factor I will need the feedback of Druchii,net.

Painting Plan
1. Conversions (2)
2. Basing (2)
3. Painting (4)
4. Detailing (6)
5. Banners (2)
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Marchosias »

Thank you for the nice report! (and sorry for coming so late - but better late than never I guess :) )

I have just one small comment regarding tactics. Turn 2, it was absolutely sure the dancers reach combat with bruisers but the spearmen had a long way to go. While it ended well, it was a situation that could have ended pretty badly depending on luck (such as the dancers fluffing their attacks and fleeing, the bruisers then charging and destroying a spearmen unit and so on). Thus, I consider your charge unnecessarily risky.

What I would have done instead would have been to charge both spearmen units in the bruisers. This way, the chance at least one of them reaches combat goes up considerably. While spearmen can be a weak spot (more ogres get to strike and the new attacks go against 4+ armour and no ward instead of 4++ ward), I think the combined efforts of the two units should make it basically certain that the bruisers break. Dealing with tribesmen should then be no problem.

And a rules comment: from the diagram it appears that T3, the bruisers fled in direction right away from the dancers. Should they have not fled from the unit with the most ranks instead?

Anyway, hope you continue with the battle log, it is highly appreciated! :)
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by cultofkhaine »

Looking forward to seeing some of these painted LD - 3months is not long to get that lot done. Can you post some pics as you go?
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Marchosias and CultofKhaine thanks for the feedback, its time to continue with this blog! Marchosias you are right at both points, especially the first I will think twice about next time.

I have not painted anything in the meantime but played some more battles, with good results. I really liked the list and its different aspects. Note that the costs are from the previous version. Let me go through one by one:

Oracle Nabira (Level 2, Black Magic, Cult of Yema - 105)
I am really satisfied with my general in person and as commander. Because she has LD8 she does not add that much in her LD bubble, although it is of great use in the first turns for my harpies. Especially her magic, the Black magic has been fruitful. Black Magic provides some excellent damage spells but also combat buffs that really give me an edge in most battles. The new signature is absolutely cool, as it provides you with the aspect of Life magic I always loved most, healing up your characters. Even when you roll double 6's and take a wound, you heal it before it happens a second time. This allows her to be much more reckless than normal and I have healed a lot of wounds with it. The cool thing is that it also inflicts a STR5 hit, which can kill most low armoured 1 wound models: I killed infantry, cavarly, even wounded characters with it! I also noticed that having a LVL 2 really made the magic phase a great phase where I got the initiative by first casting the less priority (but in enemy eyes still too dangerous) spell. She being the cultist leader of Yema also gives my legionnaires +1 movement and strider which made my army faster and more flexible than most, an infantry list with movement 6, yes please! This movement means that I can capture treasure tokens in my first turn, can more easily get the charge and can keep the initiative throughout the games, while strider sometimes was of great use when there were forests. Unfortunately the cost for Oracles being part of Yema has gone up 10 points in the new version, so I have to drop this if I want to maintain the BSB.

Captain Khaled the Collector (Raptor, Battle Standard Bearer, Great Weapon, Cult of Yema - 143)
Also very satisfied with this guy! Although the Cult of Yema was more of a penalty than improvement it only costed 10 points, unfortunately it never became useful in the about 5 games I played. As usual for Dread Elves, a Battle Standard Bearer is the first thing we need, as our units are smaller and cost more, we can not afford to lose units that fail their nerves. I always played him together with the Raptor Knights, which is a great combination and I can recommend to all. Because of the 9th rules, they now get the T4 of the Raptors, which was one of the reasons so many Dark Elf general brought their masters atop pegasi which makes him tough! I also think a Great Weapon is the perfect weapon for him, as I strikes at his own initiative which is still higher than most other characters or creatures. Ofcourse a triple STR6 hit is effective, but it can be (and has been) life saving when the knights did not break the enemy unit on the charge and then couldn't use their lances anymore. I think he has been killed only once even with his low armour save (+4) because most of the time only one enemy model is able to hit him due to him being on the flank of the unit. Because of him being combined with the Raptor Knights I don't need a champion to take treasures which saves me 10 points. In every battles I played he played a crucial role in the victory.

20 Legionnaires (Spears, Heavy Armour, Full Command - 225)
These guys are my core, but they feel as heavy infantry, an armour save of 4+ can be killing against enemies with low strength attacks and their new spears also makes them much stronger than before. The armour piercing (1) really makes that difference although the Lethal Strike against enemy cavalry or chariots have not been so successful yet. Depending on the situation I make them or the lighter unit the bunker for my general. Their goal is to 1. win the objective 2. hold the line intact and 3. capture treasure which they did efficiently in all battles. They are also the cheapest soldiers we can get and are crazy cheap for 15 models (7 points with spears per model) so can provide me with something that I lacked most last tournament: numbers! Units of 20 are cheap but do their job and the great thing of many attacks is that you sometimes roll awesome and kill more than average. After all, hitting on +2 in most cases against other core infantry is something most opponents only can dream about. Together with a second unit of 20 legionnaires (but lesser armoured) I can bring a core of 40 spearman. Again really satisfied with them.

10 Gladiators of Yema (Full Command - 140)
Haha don't get me started about these. All who know me are aware they have been my favourite unit in 8th edition and they still are in 9th edition. I always used flails so far with great success as it maximizes their damage output, but there might be situations you want the other options such as T7 models and +1 AS cavarly. Their 4+ ward save in combat is what makes them so resilient as they are sooo hard to kill, even when you have 1 left you can take on and break units (I did it). Cult of Yema really improves them because you get the +1 movement, which really makes that difference. I believe the most important phase for Dread Elves is the movement phase, the chess game where you decide which units will fight each other and which you don't want to fight unit you can surround and combi-charge it. Cult of Yema really provides this, and this makes infantry lists really shine. Although the skirmish option provides with even more possibilities I will not use it for this list as I want it to remain a scoring unit. Do you know what is the craziest thing? With our official first version they are even 20 points cheaper for a total of 90, the same as a unit of 15 non-upgraded legionnaires! I think this is due nobody plays them, but I really think they are absolutely awesome and most powerful special infantry we have. In all my games they were MVP. In my last game I played against an opponent that saw his Undead Dynasty units totally wrecked by these gladiators in several battles and brought his Empire list. He was so focused to kill this unit (which I could notice from his first turn) that I used them to bait his most powerful unit while the rest of my army killed the rest of his and although he took out the gladiators (140) with his central unit with characters worth 350 points it did not play another role in the battle. Now for only 90 points I will guarantee you that there is nothing in our army book that is as good as these bad ass fighters. Because I can't take Cult of Yema anymore for my characters, and all my units have become cheaper in the new version I will take a second unit of these!

5 Raptor Knights (Standard Bearer - 140)
The bodyguard of my BSB but also a great hammer! Their high toughness and armour save makes them really hard to kill with normal STR3 missile fire or close combat attacks. Although the rest of my army is M6 due to Cult of Yema M7 with Swiftride can still reach a lot further and therefore provide a lot of protection by preventing enemy units to come too close. Although I normally use them at one of the flanks (at the other flank the Gladiators) of the battle line, I once used them at the far other flank from my battle line while the opponent deployed central. Because of their reach the opponent had to direct half his army to these guys which allowed the spearman to break through his lines. They are great in combat and they raptors also inflict some extra damage most of the time, in short, all that you expect from heavy cavalry. Because of the BSB with them I never failed Stupidity so far, and really gives them that extra punch to kill whatever the enemy can bring.

5 Harpies (70)
Oke this you might not expect, but WOW I will never leave these home! Remember what I said about the movement phase and chess game? this is the 'pawn' that you sacrifice to take out that queen or break enemy battle line. I always used Dark Riders as chaff and Dark Riders are indeed one of the best chaff in the game but you should not compare Harpies with Dark Riders. Harpies main goal is to die, to be sacrificed at the place where you want them most and the enemy want them least. Now imagine a 'pawn' that can fly 20" and is five models wide (with skirmish), there is no way they enemy will prevent you from getting there where you want. They are now only 65 points and even became insignificant! But they are more than 'pawns', they are also my 'scavengers' that roam the battlefield able to even take out the strongest deathstars that escaped combat but are still fleeing. One example, one time an empire player fled with 20 spearman from my 20 spearmen as he though easily rally them next turn, but the harpies also charged them (they were 21" away) and they fled off the table! However I used them most efficiently as 'pawns' by baiting the enemy unit into my trap or delaying his unit in order for my units to surround him.

So in short, all great units and together they really make up a great army. With some more practice I think it can become a winning list, although the new version forced me to tweak it a little:

Oracle, Black Magic - 70
Captain, BSB, Raptor, Great Weapon, Repeater Handbow - 135

20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command, Heavy Armour - 220
20 Legionnaires, Spears, Full Command - 180

10 Gladiators of Yema, Standard Bearer - 100
10 Gladiators of Yema - 90
5 Praetorian Knights, Standard Bearer - 140
5 Harpies - 65

Total : 1000


I lose two big things: +1 movement for my core and LVL 2 for my oracle, especially the last thing I fear it will greatly reduce the danger of my magic phases. Unfortunately the +1 movement by Cult of Yema is not possible anymore due to higher costs but I might give the Orcale LVL2 again after some playtesting. However, what I gain is a second unit of Gladiators, the MVP's of the list which I expect will make the costs worth it by far! I have only dreamed about playing with two units of Gladiators so I am looking forward to do this, as soon as I did, I will write another report. Also this provides me with another modelling objective (the part I like most) and this time I will try to make them look as 'real' gladiators.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Calisson »

Legionnaires are min 15, not 20.
At 9 or 11 ppm, take out 3 and you pay the 30pts your Yema upgrade, or drop 5 and get Lvl2 as well.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Calisson wrote:Legionnaires are min 15, at 9 or 11 ppm, take 19 & 18 and you pay the 30pts your Yema upgrade.

Unfortunately the limit on points for characters is 250 and I am on 248 and also core is minimal 400 which it already is :(
The only way to give them Yema is to either take away the BSB great weapon (not worth it) or the LVL2 (also not worth it). However, Gladiators are already part of Yema so don't need the general being part of the Cult! :D
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Second unit Gladiators of Yema
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Calisson »

Oops... I need to redo some army lists, I've lost the basics...

Superb unit of gladiators! Looking forwards to seeing it painted.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Calisson wrote:Oops... I need to redo some army lists, I've lost the basics...

Superb unit of gladiators! Looking forwards to seeing it painted.


No sorry for not highlighting, those are the tournament rules for list building so different from the normal 9th age rules :D
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Greetings!

Wednesday I played a Bloodstorm battle against another cunning Druchii general visiting our gaming location and I was looking forward to that battle, as I seem to find civil wars the most exciting, prestigious and bloody!

A short summary about the Bloodstorm battles, which are training battles for the upcoming tournament in June:
- 1000 points (250 heroes max, 400 core min, 400 special max, 100 rare max)
- No magical items & upgrades allowed
- Five primary objectives that can be chosen as the start of the game, achieving the objective gives 3 points
- Two treasure tokens, for each treasure you get 1 point and you receive a magical item that can be used in all other battles

Because of the new edition I changed my list and took my Oracle (LVL1) with Black Magic, BSB with great weapon and cold one leading two units of twenty Legionnaires (one with heavy armour), five Raptor Knights with standard, five Harpies and two units of ten of my beloved Gladiators of Yema (one with standard).

The enemy brought also an Oracle (LVL2) with Fire, 25 Legionnaires with FC, 15 Auxiliaries with FC and shields, 5 Raptor Knights with champion and standard, 13 Tower Guard with FC, one Reaper and also 5 Harpies.

A good balanced list with strong ranged advantage so I needed to be in combat ASAP! I had to choose between the objectives: (scoring units in centre, scoring units in quarters, scoring units in enemy deployment zone, break the enemy or victory points) and took scoring units in enemy deployment zone as I had to advance to survive this battle. By writing this report I realize taking break the enemy was a much wiser idea as I could achieve that by taking out his two core units (spearman and RXB).

I rolled 2 for my spells (-D3 Weapon Skill) but changed it for the signature (+1 STR) although I don't think this was a good idea because I got used to having a higher WS, but now my units faced enemies as skilled as themselves. The enemy got fireball (STR 4 damage) and flaming swords (+1 to wound)

Deployment
We both a balanced deployment zone and I expected his RBT to be on his hill so my focus was to deploy them central and the right flank to overrun his position. While deployed I realized the Gladiators were now without champions so one of the Legionnaires had to take the left objective and could sneak into the enemy deployment zone. The enemy deployed as expected only his knights were deployed at the left flank so this left space for my own knights to break through.

I won the roll off and got the first turn, pfew! at least one turn less shooting!

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Turn 1 - 13th Legion
The First Cohort advances forwards, careful enough to prevent dangerous charges from the enemy. As the Legionnaires with heavy armour have to take the next objective due to lack of champions they reshuffle the battle formation with the Gladiators.

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In the magic phase Oracle Nabira casts the Black Magic signature spell and draws first blood by sucking the life out one of the Tower Guards.

Turn 1 - Dread Elves
The cunning enemy advances a little and brings his Repeater Auxiliaries into short range of the Raptor Knights while his Harpies deploy behind the Reaper to prevent my Harpies taking that position or a counter-charge.

In his magic phase he gets Flaming Swords through on his Repeater Auxiliaries, hmmm, not good at all..

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As the Auxiliaries aim with their magical buffed repeater crosbows at the knights their captain Khaled the Collector urges his bodyguard to raise their shields. While the Auxiliaries shoot wave after wave of bolts into the air, blotting out the sun and inflicting 7 wounds, the heroic knights make all their saves. A multi-shot of pierced bolts of the Reaper also fail the penetrate the heavy armour and thick skins of the knights and their mounts. Nice!

Turn 2 - 13th Legion
With renewed bravery Khaled shouts CHAAAAAARGE!!! and charge with his knights into the Auxiliaries who promptly kill three of the knights with their stand and shoot but the unit makes the charge nonetheless. Hoping to take out the enemy shooting in a single turn the Harpies take a risky charge to the Reaper on a roll of 10, but fail it. The Gladiators, eager for combat, advance as fast as possible while the bunker of Oracle Nabira claims one of the objectives. The second unit of Legionnaires wait with claiming the objective for another turn as they could otherwise be charged in the flank.

Oracle Nabira cast the signature on the knights in combat, while killing another Tower Guard, but also loses her ability to cast spells in the process of a miscast. No magic for me anymore..

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In combat Khaled kills three of the Auxiliaries, while his knights kill another two. In return the Auxiliaries nearly kill Khaled, but he could save himself at the last moment. Even the last three Raptors inflict another three wounds, but the Auxiliaries hold on steadfast. Leaving Khaled vulnerable to a flank charge of 25 spearman!

Turn 2 - Dread Elves
The enemy Legionnaires with spears charge as expected Khaled in the flank, and the enemy knights charge one of the Gladiators of which I am a little surprised but I hold. Then we discover that by the " it seems to be a flank charge, resulting into a much worser matchup. The Tower Guards charge into the Harpies that flee and thus they try a long charge in the Legionnaires with Nabira, but luckily fail it. His Harpies are placed behind his Legionnaires.

The enemy Reaper aims at the right unit of Gladiators and inflict 6 hits and 6 wounds, enough 'splash' damage to make them lose their nerves and they flee even with re-roll! Nooo, my bad ass heroes, what are you doing?!

In the magic phase his Oracle succeeds in giving his Auxiliaries another Flaming Sword.

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Left with one wound and 25 spears in his flank Khaled realises he has to use his cunningness to survive these odds and orders a challenge, which is accepted by the enemy centurion as this opens the two knights for attacks from the Legionnaires. Happy his trick worked, he easily slew the enemy Centurion while his own bodyguard got massacred. He loses combat by four, but holds his break test on the second roll! Perfect, as this leaves their flank open for a counter-charge. The second combat is not so lucky for me, as always the Gladiators are tough to kill and only two die, but in return they fail to inflict any damage and break from combat. They are lucky enough to escape being eaten by the enemy Raptors, but this looks not good for the Gladiators and thus battle plan.

Turn 3 - 13th Legion
With both units of Gladiators fleeing I lost most combat advantage, as the Legionnairs at the left flank are also not able to help but this does not stop Nabira to charge her unit into the flank of the enemy unit to save Khaled. The 'splashed' Gladiators are not able to regain their nerves and keep fleeing, while the unit that escaped the raptors regroup, even the Harpies regroup.

With no magic left Oracle Nabira throws herself into the melee!

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Even though Khaled sees his beloved Nabira trowing herself into melee with her unit he realises his situation is hopeless and tries another challenge, but the Auxilary centurion refuses so he kills three enemy Legionaires. In return he and Nabira are killed together with two loyal Legionnaires, although they also kill three of their enemy Legionnaires and forces them to break combat! They run 8" and are captured and destroyed by the allied Legionnaires. This destruction panics both the Auxilaries and Harpies and they run off the table! Now close to the enemy Reaper and within the enemy deployment zone I am close to my objective! Even their characters killed, there is still hope!

Turn 3 - Dread Elves
It looks not good for the enemy, but his knights are in a position to change this and charges in the rear of the heroic Legionnaires. His Tower Guard reforms for a charge next turn.

Combined firepower of the Reaper (again 6 hits, 6 wounds) and the Oracle kill another 7 of the regrouped Gladiators who are also not able to hold their nerves after the 'splash' damage and flee!

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In combat the Raptor Knights only kill three Legionnaires while two knights are killed in return, but they still lose combat. While holding my breath I roll... 8! enough on their steadfast, pfew! I combat reform towards the knights to get more attacks.

Turn 4 - 13th Legion
Hoping to give an edge in destroying the enemy knights the Harpies charge their backs, while the Gladiators finally rally after two rounds of fleeing. The heavy armoured Legionnaires advance as fast as possible towards rear of Tower Guard and enemy deployment zone, a 5-0 is still possible!

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In combat the enemy knights champion kills my centurion so the treasure is lost. Although the brave Legionnaires kill another two knights three are killed in return. Also the Harpies go bad ass and inflict 4! wounds, but none penetrate the armour. The last knight flees and just barely escape the Harpies. The last 11 Legionnaires reform to face the Tower Guard

Turn 4 - Dread Elves
Now the enemy Toward Guard charges the heroic Legionnairs who hold their ground. The last knight rallies.

The deadly Reaper finished the rallied Gladiators with another 'spash' shot while his Oracle kills all Harpies with a single boosted fireball.

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In combat the Tower Guard show their worth and easily kill all remaining Legionnairs before they got those strike, ouch! Hmm should I have fled?

Turn 5 - 13th Legion
The last remaining Gladiators rallies, too late to make a difference. Now realizing it is a very bad match up the Legionnaires, their commanders are dead and they are still have their treausure the Centurion and his men decide to frig it and establish a new easy life somewhere in Arabia. To shuffle as far back as possible to prevent the enemy elite infantry to charge them.

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Turn 5 - Dread Elves
The Tower Guard charges the last unit and need a 8, and the enemy rolls a 7!!! YES!

He also fluffs his magic for once, so only two die

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The last Gladiatior is 'splashed' into several parts by the Reaper.

Turn 6 - 13th Legion
Dreaming of a luxury life at the coasts of Arabia commanding slaves and pillaging towns the unit Legionnaires shuffle back another 2.5"

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Turn 6 - Dread Elves
Now needing a 9 the Tower Guard charge again, but fail the charge :D :D

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All magic and shooting combined kill another 5 Legionnaires, forcing a panic test.... but they hold! Beaches of Arabia here we come!

Result
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Post Battle Report
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Phox532 »

What program are you using to show the movements in you battle rep? I often forget to take pictures, but I'd like to have visual for my own battlereps.
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Phox532 wrote:What program are you using to show the movements in you battle rep? I often forget to take pictures, but I'd like to have visual for my own battlereps.

Its called Battle Chronicle
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Oke I only got six weeks left and 51 of the 67 models are still unpainted so I need to start working structured on the army! I decided not to try NMM for the Legionnaires as I am still too unexperienced and both Dancers and Knights have also been painted with metallic paint.

The plan:
Week I: Make 5 more Dancers in unmounted knight style, decide how to paint Legionnaires
Week II: Paint Legionnaires I
Week III: Paint Legionnaires II
Week IV: Paint Harpies
Week V: Detail the Army to high standard
Week VI: Paint BSB and Banners
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by cultofkhaine »

Please post pics as you go LD - would love to see how this army progresses!
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

I think the following will be the paint scheme, with musician and normal spearman as test models

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I took several pictures from larger distance you can better try imagine a unit of 20 of these. Is it too dark or can it work?

Not sure with the front
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I think the shield is OK
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The back also seems OK
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by cultofkhaine »

After just painting 40 of these buggers, all the hard work into painting the minis and at the end of the day once the shields go on this is 80% of what you see of the unit when it hits the table.

Given that most of the model is metal armour you only have a small place to put colour (unless you colour wash the armour) being on the sleeves/arms and lower tunic.

I like the colour you have used, it's an unusual colour for dark elves but I think will work well.

Another way you could bring some colour in is some gold highlights. Also are your hands wearing gloves, or are they skin?
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Lord Drakon »

Cultofkhaine wrote:After just painting 40 of these buggers, all the hard work into painting the minis and at the end of the day once the shields go on this is 80% of what you see of the unit when it hits the table.

Given that most of the model is metal armour you only have a small place to put colour (unless you colour wash the armour) being on the sleeves/arms and lower tunic.

I like the colour you have used, it's an unusual colour for dark elves but I think will work well.

Another way you could bring some colour in is some gold highlights. Also are your hands wearing gloves, or are they skin?


Thanks for the feedback, based on it I changed the shields a bit to make the dragons NMM gold!

I now gave the first unit an undercoat of Boltgun Metal and painted the tunic with Scab Red and second layer Blood Red. The tunic with be highlighted another two paints (Wild Rider Red and finally Troll Slayer Orange) while the armour will be highlighted with Chainmail and finally edges of White Skull.

I welcome all feedback and tips to increase the painting, as its the best way to learn and improve!

WIP, the basics
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WIP. the basics
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Shield changed to add some colour to the unit
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by Calisson »

Great unit coherence! Beautiful dark tone. Like!
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Re: Bloodstorm.nl Mini 2016 practice log

Post by cultofkhaine »

Looking good - I like the command helmets!
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