Thraundils battle log game 56: UB tournament Round One!
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:36 pm
Greetings, esteemed Dreadlords and Hag Queens!
I bring you here my battle log, which, instead of overflooding the battle report subforum, I will try to post as many interesting battles here as possible. I have a decent memory, but exact numbers and exact magic items of my opponents will remain unknown, by and large :p its the big picture that counts. The first battle will be posted straight away! It was a game between my own Druchii forces and a dwarven army, the story being that my forces were out to capture dwarven slaves from their mines and villages, in order to labour in the mines of Naggaroth. However, the dwarven scouts saw my advance and escaped in time to warn the dwarves, who swiftly rallied their army for a Dawn Attack! Battle was for 1500 points, without restrictions.
Landrys Skirmishers:
Supreme Sorceress, 4++, powerstone, 6++ vs warmachines
Pegasus Master, cloak, lance, 1+.
17 Darkshards, FC, LD standard
5 Dark Riders with crossbows, shields and mus
2x5 Shades, AHW
6 Harpies
3 Reaper Bolt Throwers
5 Doomfire Warlocks
Dwarven Defenders:
Thane, great weapon, +3 attacks
Master Engineer
20 Warriors, GW, FC
20 Warriors, HW+shields, FC
16 Ironbreakers, HW+shields, FC
16 thunderers
16 quarrelers, FC
Cannon
Bolt Thrower
Terrain and Deployment:
We deployed the terrain, alternating turns at placing a piece each. The board was reasonably balanced, with forests obscuring both sides of the centre of the map. Plenty of places to hide my pegmaster from the first turn shooting.
He won the rolloff for deployment, meaning he had to deploy everything first. He placed warriors and ironbreakers first, bit of a mistake since it blocked a good position for his thunderers who also ended up in the centre. Quarellers he rolled 6 for, as with war machines, so he got to place those on nice hilltops with quarellers covering one flank.
I then had to deply all my non skirmishers. All my units rolled 3-5, except for war machines which scores a 1; left flank! Nice, there was a hilltop for them to deploy on all 3 reapers forming a nice artillery battery. Pegmaster thankfully didnt roll 2: the right flank was entirely without terrain, and he would have gotten two turns of shooting on me. When deploying my shades, I realised he had made a critical error: his cannon was just about 14" from the table corner, allowing me to squeeze in shades behind him! The other unit of shades deployed in the middle of the board, behind cover. He deployed first, and I rolled a 3 allowing him to pick who would start. He chose to go first.
Dwarves turn 1:
My vanguard saw dark riders and warlocks take point in the centre of the board, eyeing his cannon which he, due to the shades, didnt bother trying to cover; it was a hopeless situation. Warriors and ironbreakers form to block a complete flanking by my fast cavalry, thunderers take position in the forest, and quarellers move around the hill. The bolt thrower fired into the flank of my dark riders, cutting down 2 of them and forcing a panic test. They fled, the cowards! Thankfully my warlocks passed their test from seeing their friends flee... The cannon aimed for the warlocks, but bounced just 2 inches into a direct hit, falling 4 inches short of hitting them.
Dark Elves turn 1:
On my first turn, shades and warlocks combocharged his cannon to make 100% sure it was silenced on turn one. Dark riders rally and turn to face the dwarven infantry, centre shades move forward to get within short distance. Harpies move to the centre of the board, spotting the bolt thrower and covering my darkshards from his thunderers. The pegasusmaster flew just outside of 15" of his quarellers (meaning long distance), and within a 17" charge range of his bolt thrower. Also, he was not in the warrior unit's front arc, guaranteeing a safe charge next turn.
Magic phase was short, rolling 2 and 3 for winds of magic. He dispelled chillwind on the quarellers, meaning a doombolt hit the thunderers for 3 casualties. Shooting saw me trying to get a panic test on the thunderers with my crossbowmen, but they scored only 2 kills thanks to his cover. The reaper batteries let loose, hailing volley after volley at his quarellers, cutting down 4 of their numbers. They passed panic. Close combat saw his cannon crew cut to pieces by the warlocks, who reformed to spot the flank of the warriors.
Dwarves turn 2:
With his cannon destroyed, the two blocks of infantry turned to face the warlocks, preventing flank charges. His left flank warriors moved forward, and shooting saw his thunderers kill all but one harpy, who passed panic. Quarellers scored 4 wounds on the master, which he saved all of thanks to his sturdy armor. The bolt thrower hit the master thanks to the master engineer hitting on 2+, but I managed to save it with the cloak of twilight. (Also, he only rolled 1 wound, so phew!).
Dark Elves turn 2:
Not yet ready to engage in close combat, my cavalry circled around his infantry and set up on their flank again, with the shades keeping a 12" distance. My harpy moved in front of the warriors, intending to flee their charge, thus wasting a turn. Pegmaster charges his bolt thrower. Magic once again saw unfavourable winds of magic, allowing me once again to cast doombolt on his thunderers for 2 kills. Shooting sees my reaper battery kill 5 ironbreakers, and the shades and dark riders manage to do nothing with their crossbows.
In close combat, his engineer challenges, is utterly obliterated, and they fail their break test and flees. My master pursues, and fails to catch up!
Dwarves turn 3:
HIs frustrated infantry again wheels to avoid the flank charge, and his central warriors charge the lone harpy, who flees. He catches them! Now he is within charge range of my darkshards, whoops. Quarellers abandon the bolt thrower crew to their fate and moves up to obtain better targets. With both war machines disabled, things are looking bleak for the dwarven forces now! The bolt thrower crew does manage to rally, though.
Dark elves turn 3:
Landry has decided it is time. She shouts a command, and as one, the entire left wing charges the dwarven infantry. Warlocks in the front of the great weapon wielding warriors, with shades in the flank, and a double front charge by dark riders and shades onto the ironbreakers to hopefully keep them in place, preventing a flank (I should probably just have blocked with the dark riders instead of going in!) The pegasus master charges the master engineer and his crew once again.
Magic saw Landry with a large amount of power, 10 PD vs 6 DD. A massive doombolt spells the end for the thunderers, but the remaining spells were dispelled, including a soulblight attempt by the warlocks. The reaper battery slays 3 quarellers, but they pass panic. In the melee, the warlocks mercilessly cut through 7 dwarves, and the shades scoring another 3 casualties, before the warriors return blows and cut 3 warlocks from their saddles. I win combat by 8, and the dwarves flee and are run down by the warlocks, who choose to slay every last dwarf rather than enslave them. Slaanesh must be pleased this day! The ironbreakers are more sturdy though, they lose only a single model. In return, the thane singlehandedly kills every last dark rider, but the shades manage to avoid the blows of the ironbreakers and hold on to the fight. His master engineer again challenge my master, is slain brutally, and the remaining two crewmen flees off the table. The master reforms to face the main action.
Dwarves turn 4:
Deciding that he must make action, his dwarven warriors charge my crossbowmen. The stand and shoot reaction sees a few dwarves stumble and fall, but the charge is completed. Quarellers continue their advance for targets. Ironbreakers manage to save every wound the shades get through, and slays 4 shades. The final shade breaks and runs for it. The dwarven warriors takes 4 wounds from the warriors, and then manage to do 2 in return which I save! Really unlucky dice rolls from him, and he breaks and flees into the centre of the field. Last ditch effort; had he killed my sorceress, he may yet have drawn, but now it truly seems hopeless.
Dark elves turn 4:
It is time to end the battle, and move into the main village to collect slaves aplenty. My warlocks and shades set up for a charge on the ironbreakers, while the pegasusmaster charges the warriors fleeing down the centre of the board, trampling them underfoot of his dark pegasus. Magic saw both warlocks and Landry succesfully cast doombolt on the ironbreakers and quarellers, respectively, thinning their numbers massively. The darkshard shooting slew the remaining quarellers, and the bolt throwers lined up for 3 massive, point blank volleys on the ironbreakers. The first two volleys sees every last ironbreaker die, and the Thane falls to the final volley, with the knowledge that his wife, children, and kinsmen will be taken back across the sea to become slaves to the cold hearted dark elves!
I clear the table by turn 4, so we called it a massive victory for me. He only picked up a unit of dark riders and a unit of harpies, whilst also taking one of my shade units below 25%.
Postgame thoughts:
I probably had this game, barring him managing to snipe my sorceress or master with warmachines. My army was incredibly mobile so I could choose when and where to fight, and due to the dawn attack his deployment was not optimal at all. He got two rounds of shooting on his bolt thrower and only one cannoshot fired all game, and his shooters did almost nothing since they where on opposite sides of the board compared to my fast cavalry. That being said, I also had some MONSTER rolls, and often scored quite a few more casualties than I should have. (One crossbow volley saw me hit 17 of 34 shots at 5+ for example). I expected the win, but I didnt expect such a large win. I had thought he would bring more war machines and more shooters, but instead he gave me superiority in both movement, magic (of course), shooting, and allowed me to pick my close combat fights as I saw fit.
The way the game was played, I only really made two mistakes; the darkrider + shade charge on the ironbreakers. I should just have placed dark riders in front of them, blocking them from flanking. He would have run them down, sure, but that way my shade unit had remained untouched. Small thing, but worth noting. The other thing was my magic phase in turn 3. I had the game at that point, and instead of doombolting his thunderers I should have soulbligthed and word of pain'ed his great weapon warriors to limit his strike-back potential. I still won the combat hugely, but it got fairly close to me losing my warlocks.
Man of the match: warlocks and pegmaster for their extreme killyness. And, surprisingly, bolt throwers! In a battle where he had nothing to prevent me from shooting him down, they scored a LOT of casualties throughout the game, making the eventual close combat very onesided for me. In future battles I will probably still take them, though their role will drift more towards chaff clearing. Also, in any other game I probably wont deploy all 3 of them together
I bring you here my battle log, which, instead of overflooding the battle report subforum, I will try to post as many interesting battles here as possible. I have a decent memory, but exact numbers and exact magic items of my opponents will remain unknown, by and large :p its the big picture that counts. The first battle will be posted straight away! It was a game between my own Druchii forces and a dwarven army, the story being that my forces were out to capture dwarven slaves from their mines and villages, in order to labour in the mines of Naggaroth. However, the dwarven scouts saw my advance and escaped in time to warn the dwarves, who swiftly rallied their army for a Dawn Attack! Battle was for 1500 points, without restrictions.
Landrys Skirmishers:
Supreme Sorceress, 4++, powerstone, 6++ vs warmachines
Pegasus Master, cloak, lance, 1+.
17 Darkshards, FC, LD standard
5 Dark Riders with crossbows, shields and mus
2x5 Shades, AHW
6 Harpies
3 Reaper Bolt Throwers
5 Doomfire Warlocks
Dwarven Defenders:
Thane, great weapon, +3 attacks
Master Engineer
20 Warriors, GW, FC
20 Warriors, HW+shields, FC
16 Ironbreakers, HW+shields, FC
16 thunderers
16 quarrelers, FC
Cannon
Bolt Thrower
Terrain and Deployment:
We deployed the terrain, alternating turns at placing a piece each. The board was reasonably balanced, with forests obscuring both sides of the centre of the map. Plenty of places to hide my pegmaster from the first turn shooting.
He won the rolloff for deployment, meaning he had to deploy everything first. He placed warriors and ironbreakers first, bit of a mistake since it blocked a good position for his thunderers who also ended up in the centre. Quarellers he rolled 6 for, as with war machines, so he got to place those on nice hilltops with quarellers covering one flank.
I then had to deply all my non skirmishers. All my units rolled 3-5, except for war machines which scores a 1; left flank! Nice, there was a hilltop for them to deploy on all 3 reapers forming a nice artillery battery. Pegmaster thankfully didnt roll 2: the right flank was entirely without terrain, and he would have gotten two turns of shooting on me. When deploying my shades, I realised he had made a critical error: his cannon was just about 14" from the table corner, allowing me to squeeze in shades behind him! The other unit of shades deployed in the middle of the board, behind cover. He deployed first, and I rolled a 3 allowing him to pick who would start. He chose to go first.
Dwarves turn 1:
My vanguard saw dark riders and warlocks take point in the centre of the board, eyeing his cannon which he, due to the shades, didnt bother trying to cover; it was a hopeless situation. Warriors and ironbreakers form to block a complete flanking by my fast cavalry, thunderers take position in the forest, and quarellers move around the hill. The bolt thrower fired into the flank of my dark riders, cutting down 2 of them and forcing a panic test. They fled, the cowards! Thankfully my warlocks passed their test from seeing their friends flee... The cannon aimed for the warlocks, but bounced just 2 inches into a direct hit, falling 4 inches short of hitting them.
Dark Elves turn 1:
On my first turn, shades and warlocks combocharged his cannon to make 100% sure it was silenced on turn one. Dark riders rally and turn to face the dwarven infantry, centre shades move forward to get within short distance. Harpies move to the centre of the board, spotting the bolt thrower and covering my darkshards from his thunderers. The pegasusmaster flew just outside of 15" of his quarellers (meaning long distance), and within a 17" charge range of his bolt thrower. Also, he was not in the warrior unit's front arc, guaranteeing a safe charge next turn.
Magic phase was short, rolling 2 and 3 for winds of magic. He dispelled chillwind on the quarellers, meaning a doombolt hit the thunderers for 3 casualties. Shooting saw me trying to get a panic test on the thunderers with my crossbowmen, but they scored only 2 kills thanks to his cover. The reaper batteries let loose, hailing volley after volley at his quarellers, cutting down 4 of their numbers. They passed panic. Close combat saw his cannon crew cut to pieces by the warlocks, who reformed to spot the flank of the warriors.
Dwarves turn 2:
With his cannon destroyed, the two blocks of infantry turned to face the warlocks, preventing flank charges. His left flank warriors moved forward, and shooting saw his thunderers kill all but one harpy, who passed panic. Quarellers scored 4 wounds on the master, which he saved all of thanks to his sturdy armor. The bolt thrower hit the master thanks to the master engineer hitting on 2+, but I managed to save it with the cloak of twilight. (Also, he only rolled 1 wound, so phew!).
Dark Elves turn 2:
Not yet ready to engage in close combat, my cavalry circled around his infantry and set up on their flank again, with the shades keeping a 12" distance. My harpy moved in front of the warriors, intending to flee their charge, thus wasting a turn. Pegmaster charges his bolt thrower. Magic once again saw unfavourable winds of magic, allowing me once again to cast doombolt on his thunderers for 2 kills. Shooting sees my reaper battery kill 5 ironbreakers, and the shades and dark riders manage to do nothing with their crossbows.
In close combat, his engineer challenges, is utterly obliterated, and they fail their break test and flees. My master pursues, and fails to catch up!
Dwarves turn 3:
HIs frustrated infantry again wheels to avoid the flank charge, and his central warriors charge the lone harpy, who flees. He catches them! Now he is within charge range of my darkshards, whoops. Quarellers abandon the bolt thrower crew to their fate and moves up to obtain better targets. With both war machines disabled, things are looking bleak for the dwarven forces now! The bolt thrower crew does manage to rally, though.
Dark elves turn 3:
Landry has decided it is time. She shouts a command, and as one, the entire left wing charges the dwarven infantry. Warlocks in the front of the great weapon wielding warriors, with shades in the flank, and a double front charge by dark riders and shades onto the ironbreakers to hopefully keep them in place, preventing a flank (I should probably just have blocked with the dark riders instead of going in!) The pegasus master charges the master engineer and his crew once again.
Magic saw Landry with a large amount of power, 10 PD vs 6 DD. A massive doombolt spells the end for the thunderers, but the remaining spells were dispelled, including a soulblight attempt by the warlocks. The reaper battery slays 3 quarellers, but they pass panic. In the melee, the warlocks mercilessly cut through 7 dwarves, and the shades scoring another 3 casualties, before the warriors return blows and cut 3 warlocks from their saddles. I win combat by 8, and the dwarves flee and are run down by the warlocks, who choose to slay every last dwarf rather than enslave them. Slaanesh must be pleased this day! The ironbreakers are more sturdy though, they lose only a single model. In return, the thane singlehandedly kills every last dark rider, but the shades manage to avoid the blows of the ironbreakers and hold on to the fight. His master engineer again challenge my master, is slain brutally, and the remaining two crewmen flees off the table. The master reforms to face the main action.
Dwarves turn 4:
Deciding that he must make action, his dwarven warriors charge my crossbowmen. The stand and shoot reaction sees a few dwarves stumble and fall, but the charge is completed. Quarellers continue their advance for targets. Ironbreakers manage to save every wound the shades get through, and slays 4 shades. The final shade breaks and runs for it. The dwarven warriors takes 4 wounds from the warriors, and then manage to do 2 in return which I save! Really unlucky dice rolls from him, and he breaks and flees into the centre of the field. Last ditch effort; had he killed my sorceress, he may yet have drawn, but now it truly seems hopeless.
Dark elves turn 4:
It is time to end the battle, and move into the main village to collect slaves aplenty. My warlocks and shades set up for a charge on the ironbreakers, while the pegasusmaster charges the warriors fleeing down the centre of the board, trampling them underfoot of his dark pegasus. Magic saw both warlocks and Landry succesfully cast doombolt on the ironbreakers and quarellers, respectively, thinning their numbers massively. The darkshard shooting slew the remaining quarellers, and the bolt throwers lined up for 3 massive, point blank volleys on the ironbreakers. The first two volleys sees every last ironbreaker die, and the Thane falls to the final volley, with the knowledge that his wife, children, and kinsmen will be taken back across the sea to become slaves to the cold hearted dark elves!
I clear the table by turn 4, so we called it a massive victory for me. He only picked up a unit of dark riders and a unit of harpies, whilst also taking one of my shade units below 25%.
Postgame thoughts:
I probably had this game, barring him managing to snipe my sorceress or master with warmachines. My army was incredibly mobile so I could choose when and where to fight, and due to the dawn attack his deployment was not optimal at all. He got two rounds of shooting on his bolt thrower and only one cannoshot fired all game, and his shooters did almost nothing since they where on opposite sides of the board compared to my fast cavalry. That being said, I also had some MONSTER rolls, and often scored quite a few more casualties than I should have. (One crossbow volley saw me hit 17 of 34 shots at 5+ for example). I expected the win, but I didnt expect such a large win. I had thought he would bring more war machines and more shooters, but instead he gave me superiority in both movement, magic (of course), shooting, and allowed me to pick my close combat fights as I saw fit.
The way the game was played, I only really made two mistakes; the darkrider + shade charge on the ironbreakers. I should just have placed dark riders in front of them, blocking them from flanking. He would have run them down, sure, but that way my shade unit had remained untouched. Small thing, but worth noting. The other thing was my magic phase in turn 3. I had the game at that point, and instead of doombolting his thunderers I should have soulbligthed and word of pain'ed his great weapon warriors to limit his strike-back potential. I still won the combat hugely, but it got fairly close to me losing my warlocks.
Man of the match: warlocks and pegmaster for their extreme killyness. And, surprisingly, bolt throwers! In a battle where he had nothing to prevent me from shooting him down, they scored a LOT of casualties throughout the game, making the eventual close combat very onesided for me. In future battles I will probably still take them, though their role will drift more towards chaff clearing. Also, in any other game I probably wont deploy all 3 of them together