40K: Battle Report from Home (Guard vs. CSM)

Hello all, Fiberglass Demon here with another installment. I know I promised a step by step on my friends Kahrn the Betrayer model and the paintjob I am doing for it but I have gotten wrapped up in building my own brand new Imperial Guard army. These tiny little guys are a ton of fun to build and also take quite a bit of time.

In the meantime I have played two games with the loyal followers of our beloved Emperor and so far am perfect with them. What I am doing today will be a short report on the waxing my Guard gave to the foul followers of chaos that belong to the same friend for whom I am painting the Kahrn. We agreed to play a small 1000 point game at my home on the kitchen table and with the help of our local gaming store and our good friend Chris Lacross (you may know him as slick from this very website) we had a well putogether battlefield of green felt and beautiful terrain.

I palyed a very standard infantry based list the played a three man heavybolter team and an infantry platoon with lascannons in two squads. I also played a veterans squad with a lascannon, five rattlings and a leman russ battle tank. Command and platoon HQ's were both tricked out a little with power weapons and plasma pistols and a full squad of ten stormtroopers with a grenade launcher and flamer.

My poor misguided apponent feilded three squards of chaos marines in rhino's, and a demon prince (someone please tell him his demon prince needs wings and it is not over the top in the cheese department). He aslo played a squad of three marine bikers with two meltaguns.

I really thought I was in for a beating as historically I have been a terrible player as it pertains to rolling dice. This can be the bane of even the best tactical players at any given time. Dice will flat betray you to the end just like a certain ring did to Isildur in LOTR. With all this in mind we began our game.

We rolled the sieze the objective game with a full five objectives and the dawn of war deployment. I won the roll for firat turn and elected to go first and see if I could get lucky with some in the dark shots in order to slow his advance into my gun lines. As it turns out (even after my second game) my dice seem to like the guard and I was able to see all three of his rhino's on turn one with my many lascannons and imobilised one, destroyed one and crew stunned the third. The detroyed rhino also killed two passengers. My rattlings managed one wound on the demon prince as well.

His first turn included disembarking from the imobile rhino and the destroyed rhino moving those squads forward on foot with no shooting in the changing light of the early morning. He elected to stay inside the stunned rhino and hope for a less impactful shooting phase for me on the next turn. The demon prince made a move and a run in the shooting phase, and his bikers elected to make a 24 inch move to be in position to wreak havock the next turn.

As the sun began to rise on the second turn my guns were aimed and ready to do some damage. My second turn was much the same as the first with the leman russ battlecannon wiping out the remaining marines from the already shrunken squad. Iturned the stormtroopers attentionto the bikers and killed one of them. The rattlings put a second wound on the demon prince and my infantry platoons missed entirely and destroyed a second rhino respectfully. At the end of my turn two I was in solid control of three of the objectives and feeling pretty good about the whole situation.

Dan's turn two was decidedly better than his turn one. He walked forward with the squad left in the middle of the board do to my heavybolter team not being able to see on turn one and not being able to hit the broad side of a barn on turn two and quikly cut them down to one base in the shooting phase. His remaining two bikers killed two stormtroopers with bolter and melta fire, while the demon prince slogged along ever so slowly and rolled a mear two on his run dice to again be a nonfactor a second turn in a row. (wings Dan, wings) The remaing rhino held its ground near the objective farthest away from my lines to prtect what was his only asset at the time. At this point we have the beginning of the firat assault phase in this game and I cringe a little on the inside at the thought of my guard in hand to hand fights against his fowl space marines. As it turns out I only needed to be half as scared as I was. His marine squad killed the last of the heavybolter teams and advanced toward one of my infantry platoons. The bikers on the other hand were not nearly as fortunate, they killed one of my stormtroopers and were promptly wiped from the board as they avenged there fallen comrade in a flurry of chainsword slashes. Dans turn ended and again I was feeling pretty good about the status of my possition with three objectives firmly in my control.

My turn three saw the end of the marine squad that charged the heavybolter team the turn before as well as the felling of the demon prince by the rattlings (love those guys) And the succesion of the game to superior firepower by my apponent who was at a loss for dealing with so many guns and my hot dice (wierd for me I know). All in all I am very pleased with the way the army is shaping up and look forward to some larger games in the near future. Thursday this week I am playing 1500 points with our resident pro, Carlos Fernandez and am looking forward to the challenge of playing one of the best players in our area. Grey Knights are a tough game and one made tougher when being played by him.

Untill next time, keep the dice roling and share our hobby with someone every chance you get.

Your friend: The Fiberglass Demon

News: Games Workshop Newsletter #60

Hey all, here is the info from the latest GW newsletter:

Issue 60 The Games Workshop Newsletter 18.09.2009

In this issue: Imperial Guard Catachan Characters | Tank Upgrades & Accessories | New Basing Material

Imperial Guard Catachan Characters This week the armies of the Imperial Guard are bolstered by two of Catachan’s most famous heroes. Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ Straken and Gunnery Sergeant Harker both have their own special rules that lend extra weight to an aggressive, assault-focused Imperial Guard army. Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ StrakenAugmented by extensive bionics and indifferent to the darkest horrors, Straken is a powerful close combat opponent who confers the Furious Charge special rule to nearby squads. Have Straken lead the charge of your Imperial Guard army. Gunnery Sergeant HarkerGunnery Sergeant Harker is able to move and fire with his heavy bolter, and has a Ballistic Skill to match a Space Marine. Add this giant Catachan to your Imperial Guard army. Back to Top

Tank Upgrades & Accessories There are five new Bitz Packs this week and each can be used to personalise your Imperial Guard vehicles and squads. With a bit of imagination they even make great objective markers. Imperial Guard Tank Commanders This set of three Tank Commanders can be used with any Imperial Guard tank kit from the Chimera right up to a Baneblade. Imperial Guard Crew These two Imperial Guard crew can be added to your Imperial vehicles, and are also great for dioramas. Imperial AquilasThis set of Imperial Aquilas can be used to personalise your Space Marine or Imperial Guard tanks, and your Warhammer 40,000 scenery. Imperial Guard Tank Stowage Add some extra stowage to any tank with this versatile set that can also be used to create objective markers. Imperial Guard Heads Individualise your Imperial Guard squads with this selection of 10 different metal heads. Back to Top

New Basing Material There’s an old saying amongst miniature painters that ‘good bases make good armies’. Well, with the Warhammer Basing Kit and two new types of basing grass out this week, you’ll have everything you need to create evocative bases for your models.
		Warhammer Basing KitThe Warhammer Basing Kit is packed with 20mm and 25mm pieces of resin detailing, slate, and brass-etched leaf foliage. Add extra detail to the bases of your miniatures with this all-new set.
	Citadel Dead GrassIdeal for decorating the bases of evil armies, such as Vampire Counts and Warriors of Chaos, Dead Grass can also be used to add sun-bleached areas or barren desert to a Gameboard.		Citadel Burnt Grass Another new colour of basing material, Burnt Grass can be used on its own or to mark out areas of scorched or blackened ground.

Looks like the Imperial Guard are getting spoiled with some more releases. The tank crew look pretty cool as do the new Catachan special characters. The big new release is the Warhammer Basing Kit. Having bought the previous 40k one, I can say this new Fantasy one is pretty sweet. Our store just got in some copies of it and it is actually worth buying for the sheer amount of basing options you get in there! The new static grasses are also a nice addition. What do you guys think?

Battle Report: The Battle of Bloody Peaks Part III

The Battle of Bloody Peaks

A Dogs of War vs. Dwarfs Battle Report

Part III: Bloody Melee in the Fading Sun (covering turn 3)

The Dwarfs continued their march on the left flank, hoping to close with the mercenaries and break through their lines. Elsewhere, a formation of the Dwarf King’s warrior clansmen moved to support the Thunderers and Organ Gun on the left flank. Seeing the massive force of mercenaries bearing down on their clansmen, they hoped their assistance would be in time.

After several salvos, the Dwarf artillery crews began to find the range to the mercenary forces across the battlefield. The Grudgethrower crews targeted both the Republican Guard and the Leopard Company to devastating effect, crushing a grand total of nine pikemen between the two units.

An accurate hit from the Grudgethrower sends bodies flying!

More carnage as the boulder lands in the Leopard Company’s formation!

Seeing the success of their fellow clansmen, the crew of the Flame Cannon decided to increase the pressure on the cannon hoping to finally have enough power to reach the Republican Guard. An ominous grinding sound emerged from deep within the cannon’s structure seconds before it detonated in an earthshaking explosion which left but a burning wreckage. Of its crew no sign remained.

The crew of the Organ Gun and the Thunderers sent to guard it grimly watched as the mercenaries raced toward their position. As they reached a predetermined point, both the Thunderers and the Organ Gun aimed at the seemingly biggest threat – the massive Thunderlord atop his Rhinox. In a cacophonous shower of discharged gunpowder the Thunderlord and his mount were struck more than a dozen times bringing both crashing down in a tangle of Ogre and beast.


Voland watched the mighty Ogre go down from the concentrated fire of the Dwarfs surrounding the small knoll and signaled his men to gallop around to the right hoping to throw off the aim of his enemy. As they passed by the dead Ogre another of the large Dwarf bolts sailed out from the copse of trees to their right. After finishing with their immediate target he would wheel his men around for a charge to avenge his fallen comrades. He signaled his men for the traditional pre-charge drink. Voland and his knights took a long draught from wine bottles they had attached to their gear, tossed the bottles behind them, lowered their lances, and urged their mounts into a full charge! “Last one to die is a sissy,” bellowed Voland!

Limpin Creep and his Fighting Mallards took careful aim at the unit of crossbowmen near the area where he had earlier spotted that cursed Lumpin Croop and his lot. The aim of the Halflings was true as five of the mercenaries dropped to the ground clutching white-fletched arrows as they died.

The battle between the Thunderers and the mercenary Light Cavalry came to a swift end as the mercenaries cut down two more of the lightly armored Dwarfs while taking no casualties in return. This was too much for the Dwarfs and they broke from the combat running as fast as they could for the safety of the hold. The commander of the Light Cavalry signaled his men to pursue and they easily caught up to the fleeing Dwarfs and cut down the survivors. Their pursuit was so rapid it carried them well past the Dwarf lines and into the ruins outside of the hold. By the time they returned the sun was already dipping past the horizon and the sounds of battle were quieting.

Time was beginning to work against the mercenaries as the battle was entering the twilight hours. The shadows from the numerous peaks were already growing long across the battlefield like some giant maw about to feast.

A decisive breakthrough was needed, and quickly, if the mercenaries were to break through to the hold itself. Von Drachenheim and Zhur both knew that if the Dwarfs were given time to fortify their positions it would be nigh impossible to dislodge them.

Von Drachenheim spurred his Pegasus into a diving charge at the Organ Gun, hoping to silence its crew before they could wreak more havoc on his men. To their credit, the crewmen hastily took up arms as he streaked in. Von Drachenheim and his mount struck the stout crew down and wrecked the cannon, ensuring it would not see use again.

Seeing their General charge in ahead of them Voland and the Maneaters trailing them also began to ready themselves for a charge at the Dwarf defenders. The duelists of Schmeisser’s Streiters continued picking their way through the rocky crags emerging at an opening just as von Drachenheim charged the Organ Gun. They noted the bullet-riddled mound of Ogre and Rhinox close by and began scanning the area for any immediate threats to the flanks of their comrades charging up to support the general. They spied several units of Dwarfs ahead of them and a unit of Halflings off to the left in a small wood. Could these be the imposters that ‘ole Croop was going on about before the battle? Seeing a change to cash in on his wager with Croop he quickly laid out a plan for the rest of his men…

Elsewhere on the battlefield Zhur and Abraxus again tried to enhance the shooting of the nearby crossbowmen with little effect as the Dwarf magic defenses seemed to be severely affecting their ability to tap into the winds of magic. Focusing all of his skill Zhur managed to conjure up a lightning bolt at one of the Dwarf units he could see in the distance. As the bolt as about to strike the surprised Dwarfs, a magical rune flared to life, negating the bolt before it could cause any damage. The crew of the mercenary cannon took aim at Limpin Creep again, hoping to collect on that wager with Croop – their shot again overshot the lucky Halfling but two of his band were not so lucky and were dispatched by the cannonball as it crashed through the wood. The crossbowmen scanned the trees from which a shower of arrows had earlier felled several of their comrades.

They could occasionally catch glimpses of something moving in the trees after seeing their cannon fire into the wood. They decided to simply launch a volley, hoping their missiles would find a target, and indeed they did! One hobbit stumbled out of the wood clutching a bolt lodged in his throat. Lumpin Croop was also keenly watching the wood where that coward Limpin Creep was hiding. He ordered a volley into the wood and again one of the Fighting Mallards was felled. The remaining Halflings of Creep’s unit began to panic but Creep ordered them to stand hold fast, inspiring them with promises that they would eliminate Croop and his men before this battle ended.

On the left flank of the mercenary lines the Bulls charged into the Dwarf King’s unit with a loud crash. The duelists shadowing their flank moved up through a small rise and took aim at the unit of warriors behind the King’s unit. A hail of bullets was launched at the Dwarfs yet nearly all of them bounced off of coruscating runes limning the Dwarf’s armor. Despite this added protection one bullet did strike a Dwarf squarely in his face and the warrior simply collapsed, much to the surprise of his fellows.

The Bulls charge in, hoping to smash their way through these Dwarf elites! (note this unit contained both the King and a Thane holding the BSB)

The Bulls smashed their way into the King’s bodyguards with a flurry of blows from their swords and ironfists - their furious assault felled four of the King’s elite bodyguards. In return the Dwarf King as well as the champion of his bodyguard managed to cut down one of the savage Ogres.

The Ogres simply lacked the numbers to continue the fight effectively as the two remaining Bulls were facing a recovering group of the bodyguards with a very angry looking Dwarf King urging his clansmen to exact revenge for their fallen comrades. The Bulls broke from the combat with the Dwarfs hot in pursuit.

The Dwarf King ordered a halt as he spotted a unit of ranked up Dwarfs among the mercenary forces as well as a long line of crossbowmen as well as cannon atop a nearby hill taking aim at them. With the battlefield growing dim the King ordered his forces to retreat back to the hold. Von Drachenheim and Zhur also ordered their forces to regroup and encamp for the night. This battle would be far from over… (at this point the store was closing so we decided to plan for a continuation of the game at some point, perhaps turning it into a narrative campaign).

Whew, that was a lot of writing but it was fun and the game was even more fun to play. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to play the full game only getting to the halfway point. Expect some more battles focusing on this game in the near future - perhaps some skirmish games which continue the story, leading up to the decisive battle.

Battle Report: The Battle of Bloody Peaks Part II

The Battle of Bloody Peaks

A Dogs of War vs. Dwarfs Battle Report

Part II: Desperate Gambit (covering turns 1-2)

The Dwarfs were first to act and their many blocks of warriors began their march to meet the opposing mercenaries arrayed against them. Limpin Creep’s Fighting Mallards advanced to scout a rocky large hill on the left flank of the Dwarf army. The Hammerers of the Dwarf King as well as their ancient battle standard advanced on the right flank closely followed by a unit of warriors within which marched a runelord. A second unit of Hammerers containing a thane advanced as well. The Dwarf king marched with his hammerer bodyguard eager to get into combat with the greedy mercenaries, hoping to end this battle as quickly as possible in order to get on with the reclamation of their hold. After reaching a certain point along their march the musician in the hammerers blasted a series of notes which were the signal for the various Dwarf artillery pieces to unleash their fury against the mercenaries. One of the grudgethrowers targeted the unit of ogre bulls on the left flank of the Dogs of War but the sailing rock veered off their crew’s intended target, scattering onto the nearby light cavalry who deftly avoided the missile. The other grudgethrower in the Dwarf lines targeted the Republican Guard but the guess was long and the massive boulder landed with a massive thud a good twenty yards behind the pikemen. The flame cannon in the center of the Dwarf army also took aim at the Republican Guard and its flames nearly made it to the relieved pikemen. Even from this distance they could feel their intensity. Several of the men were already sweating in their heavy plate armor.

All along the Mercenary line there was a great deal of movement as the various units sprang into action, orchestrating a carefully planned strategy which the general and the various unit commanders hoped would allow the superior speed of the mercenaries to expose the flanks of the Dwarfs and quickly attack their vulnerable units.

All flanking units of the Dogs of War quickly surged forward hoping to execute the battle plan and defeat the Dwarfs so that they could collect their pay and the spoils which they were sure awaited them in the ruins of the Dwarf hold. The Republican Guard were in a difficult position staring at the large open expanse in the center of the battlefield with nowhere to avoid the various Dwarf war marchines and missile troops targeting them. They opted for a slight tactical withdrawal moving back several yards. Lumpin Croop’s advanced through the small stand of trees scouting the terrain for signs of Limpin Creep’s impostors. The nearby Leopard Company also began their advance maneuver to have some cover. On the right flank, the concentrated might of the best mercenary units leapt forward hoping to race up the flank and overwhelm the Dwarfs and break through into their lightly defended rearguard.

The winds of magic seemed favorable but the mercenary wizards could feel something robbing their power as the Dwarfs stole some of their magical energy. Nevertheless, the mercenaries manage to cast Portent of Far on the large unit of crossbowmen in right center. Zhur the Magnificent tried to bring down a Thunderbolt on the Dwarfs but a magical rune flashed to life in the Dwarf line and the spell was permanently robbed from the wizard lord.

Light cavalry, ogre bulls, duelists, and dwarfs advance on the mercenary left flank.

The hammer strike would come on the right flank as the mercenaries concentrated their most powerful troops there: a rhinox thunderlord, Voland’s Venators, Maneaters, von Drachenheim, and Schmeisser’s Streiters advance on the right flank.

As the various elements of the mercenary army moved forward, the cannon crew took aim at Limpin Creep’s but the cannonball landed just short of Limpin, sticking in the ground. The message had been sent, this would be a take no prisoners battle. The two large crossbow units holding the center for the mercenaries (including the one benefitting from Portent of Far) took aim at the advancing Dwarf Thunderer unit with both crossbow units scoring three kills each. Despite their horrendous losses the Dwarfs seemed unaffected and continued to advance.

Finally, Lumpin Croop’s took aim at Limpin and his impostor regiment, but they were unable to find their mark as their target had wisely chosen to stick to the small wooded areas dotting the Dwarf line.

The Dwarf host continued its implacable advance on the mercenaries. The severely depleted Thunderer unit in the center continued its now seemingly suicidal advance, seeking retribution for their fallen comrades. As the Thunderlord and Voland’s galloped along the flank they spotted a formation of Thunderers clustered on a small rise. Seeing this lightly defended position on the Dwarf flank they spurred their mounts onward. To their dismay however, the Dwarfs calmly marched down the hill towards them and changed their formation into a single long line, exposing a multi-barreled cannon atop the small hill whose crew was already hard at work aiming at the advancing mercenaries. Cunning little Dwarfs mused von Drachenheim, as he banked his Pegasus into a turn along a rock formation above his advancing flank.

The Dwarf war machine crews checked their calculations and made some adjustments. Their second volley was far more accurate than their first attempt. The Grudgethrowers targeted the Republican Guard as well as one of the large crossbow units occupying the center. The grudgethrower targeting the Republican Guard veered off target scattering onto the crossbows in the right center squishing one beneath the heavy boulder while the other grudgethrower was far more accurate scoring a direct hit on the same crossbow unit killing four more from the impact of the boulder. Miraculously the crossbowmen standing directly next to the boulder's impact was unharmed. He considered this a good omen and thanked Myrmidia.

As Voland’s Venators were galloping along the flank a massive steel-tipped wooden bolt sailed out from behind a small copse of trees impaling two of the galloping knights. It wouldn’t be the first time that day that Voland would curse the Dwarfs. Whether this was due to the loss of his men or the hangover he was nursing was anyone’s guess.

The other bolt thrower crew took aim at the large profile of the Thunderlord but the missile simply lacked the range and dropped to the ground well short of its target.

Seeing an opportunity the mercenary light cavalry spurred their mounts into a charge on the thunderers on the far left flank. If they could break through they would wreak havoc on the rear of the Dwarf lines. The Dwarfs took aim at the onrushing cavalry and scored three hits but miraculously the bullets failed to wound the cavalrymen as they charged into the shocked Dwarfs with a thunderous crash of man, dwarf, and horse.

The combat between the thunderers and light cavalry was a close fought battle with each side scoring a kill.

Elsewhere the mercenaries continued their advance on both flanks with the forces on the right flank in a race against time. Just how many would die from Dwarf missile fire before they could charge? Zhur and his apprentice again tried to bolster the nearby crossbow units but the winds of magic were fickle this turn and a miscast ensured that no further magic would affect the battlefield for some time.

The mercenaries continue their advance on both flanks!

The missile troops of the mercenaries continued to target the closest immediate threats. The cannon crew took aim at Limpin Creep again, overshooting the hobbit by a wide margin but killing one of the impostors as the cannonball struck the unfortunate Halfling, leaving only his shoes behind.

The crossbowmen in the left center targeted the accursed flame cannon striking the machine several times and apparently causing some slight damage the effects of which would soon manifest itself in a most unfortunate way for its crew. Both Lumpin Croop’s and the right center crossbows took aim at the depleted thunderer unit advancing in the center and felled the remaining warriors in a hail of arrows and bolts.

A cunning strategy or…

… a fatal trap?

Stay tuned as there is more exciting action to come!

Battle Report: The Battle of Bloody Peaks (Dogs of War vs Dwarfs)

The Battle of Bloody Peaks

A Dogs of War vs. Dwarfs Battle Report

High up in one of the countless valleys that crisscross the World’s Edge Mountains dark storm clouds gather, signifying but one more battle among countless others being waged in all corners of the world. It was late in the year and the mercenary company of Von Drachenheim had accepted a contract to raid a forgotten Dwarf hold. Their mysterious employer had provided them with the location and asked them to secure the site until her arrival. If necessary, that meant dealing with anyone, or anything for that matter, found occupying the forgotten hold and the surrounding area. The march up from Remas had been rather uneventful. Upon reaching the foothills the monotony of the march was broken by the occasional predations of marauding orc and goblin bands. To make matters worse they arrived at their destination expecting to find the deserted ruins of the Dwarf hold. What awaited them was a sizeable dwarf host camped outside the entrance and fortifying their position. Anselmus ordered the army to deploy for battle hoping to strike a decisive blow to dwarfs before they could completely fortify their defenses and entrench themselves among the ruins of the former hold’s outpost. Having fought the dwarfs on many occasions, Anselmus knew it would be a hard-fought battle for his mercenaries to dislodge the stubborn dwarfs. Fortunately, he had hired on several new troops for this contract. He hoped they would be enough to allow his army to prevail!

The following battle is a 3000 point battle between Dogs of War and Dwarfs and is the first in a short series of battle reports which will focus on the efforts of the Drachenheim Company to take the Dwarf hold.

An overview of the battlefield

Part I: The Armies Take to the Field!

The Dogs of War prepare to meet their stubborn Dwarf adversaries in battle!

The Dogs of War prepare a powerful flanking force

The mercenary battle line alternating between ranged and combat units is prepared to repulse any Dwarf advances while the flanking force prepares to overrun the defenders on the right flank.

The left flank of the mercenary army was centered on a large hill with a commanding view of the battlefield. The duty of holding this important part of the battle line was given to the Marksmen of Miragliano and the mercenary cannon team. A small scouting force of ogre bulls, duelists, and light cavalry were prepared to engage any enemy opposition and eventually link up with the main flanking force. Would everything go according to plan?

The view from the center of the Dwarf forces: numerous blocks of tough fighters backed by massed artillery would prove a tough nut for the mercenaries to crack!

The right flank of the Dwarf army. It would turn out that the Dwarfs concentrated a great deal of their leadership on this flank with the unit of hammerers containing the Dwarf King leading the army, supported by a Thane bearing his battle standard in the unit of warriors to his left. Together these two units hoped to be able to repel anything the mercenaries could throw at them.

The left flank of the Dwarf army: here the mercenaries hoped to launch their own flanking attack. While lacking the sheer combat power of the Dwarf right flank, this part of the battlefield was bristling with Dwarf war machines and a devastating surprise which the Dwarfs would unleash at close range.

This part of the battlefield also saw the deployment of Limpin Creep’s Fighting Mallards, a Halfling mercenary unit which had recently come to fame, impersonating the renowned Lumpin Croop’s Fighting Cocks, not only dressing similarly but also claiming to be better shots than Lumpin’s boys. Would the impostors be able to eliminate the real Lumpin and his Halflings and earn themselves the proper renown they had been seeking?

While scouting the Dwarf forces, Lumpin and his Halflings discovered their hated rivals among the enemy army. After returning from their scouting mission and relaying their information to the commanders, Lumpin and his Fighting Cocks proudly hoisted their banner, checked their bowstrings and arrows, and took their place in the battle line with determination, eager to deal with the impostors once and for all!

Massacred by Demons at 1750

Nothing much to report - just cut down my regular 2250 list vs demons which I knew would not be very effective - the damn ward saves are really a pain to get through - they should be negated by magic like in previous editions. It makes it really difficult for non-top-tier armies to compete depending on what type of army you're facing. 8 power dice and a bound item at that points value is also quite a handful to deal with.

One bright spot was a crossbow unit wiping out furies in combat .... wooo hoo

Two possible solutions:

1 run a super heavy magic list which means picking up either a truthsayer or dark emmisary - lvl 3 and lvl4 magic users respectively (which dont take up a lord slot!) and a lvl2 as support that would provide 7 or 8 power dice and 5 dispel dice - quite a lot but probably not enough vs the demons

2 eschew magic completely and focus on more hard hitting power units and more units overall to get combined charges vs demons

3 bring out asarnil which will possibly be combined with option two for some serious hard hitting

DOW vs Dwarfs 1750pts

My opponent was trying out some new things with his army - he didn't use any war machines at all :blink:
I switched my army around quite drastically, getting it tuned up for 1750pts instead of the usual 2250.
some new units I used that performed spectacularly:
DOW light cav - rear charge on a dwarf warrior unit
Ogre Bulls - front charge on same warrior unit
I did end up losing my cannon , to handgunner fire suprisingly!

Things were looking pretty even through turn 4

The battle on the left flank was quite humours - 9 Volands & 3 maneaters vs 20 warriors led by a runesmith

1st turn Voland's get a charge and kill about 2 warriors losing 1 in return, and they flee through my maneaters , so im down a banner as the dwarfs pursued , next turn the maneaters charge the same dwarfs from about 2 inches away and volands rally, the maneaters inflict about 4 casualties and take 2 wounds in return, break and outrun the dwarfs, fleeing through volands who passed their panic. the dwarfs charge volands again who take a casualty and completely whiff vs the dwarfs, needless to say volands flees through the maneaters again and the dwarfs puruse into the rallied maneaters passing their fear check. This time the warriors whiff and the maneaters inflict a massive 6 casualties, breaking the dwarfs and chasing them down, thus earning some hefty points - killing the dwarf unit + runepriest + their standard + recapturing the Venators standard

on turn 5 they charge a handgunner unit in the side who didnt flee far enough and were caught - a solid performance for the maneaters (this should be helpful for cedden ;) )
the other game deciding combat involved his thane's warrior unit which got drawn into a fail charge vs duellists who simply fled thus exposing the warrior's flank to the leopard company - the dwarf unit was charged by the leopards in the flank, my captasus in the other flank, ogre bulls to the front and light cav in the back

I ended up killing something like 14 dwarfs and he completely whiffed, even with the thane of pain

combat res ended up being 20 - 1 I believe

I only ran a captasus and paymaster for my heros

Success vs. Demons

Here are some highlights of the game

He goes first - furies advance on my right flankhe miscasts with a horror unit and wipes out 5 of them reducing their magic lvl
My first turn Volands charges them and wipe them out in combat I decide to overrun off the board as he had a unit of hounds in the vicinity

My turn 2 and then his turn 3 - Volands comes back onto the board and are then flank charged by his hound unit - rather than horribly lose the combat and likely give up the banner , Volands flee off the board - his hounds come up short which gives me shots on them for the rest of the game and eventually I took them down to 1 left - the hounds did end up eating the cannon on that flank later on

Turn 3 My captasus who had flown behind his lines suicide charges a horror unit and slays his wizard - he promplty flees off the board due to not being able to roll insane courage - mission accomplished though

Turn 4 My Maneaters charge his other horror unit and proceed to lay the smack down 9/12 attacks hit and 7 wounds go through - 5 on the horros and 2 on his other wizard who fails miserably Also this turn Leos piks charge his big plaguebearer unit with herald of nurgle - the pikes only manage to kill off 1 plaguebearer due some faulty dice - about 6 pikes die in return - Leos flees and the plaguebearers restrain pursuithis turn 5 - he charges the fleeing pikes who flee a massive 12 inches hahamy turn 5 dwarfs flank charge the plaguebearer unit - kill 1 , lose 1 in return and win pretty hefty on combat res - he rolls an 11 for his test and 5-6 more plaguebearers pop maneaters finish off the rest of the plaguebearer unitpikes rally

The real unsung heroes in this battle were my duellists who were basically all alone on the left flank - they held up a unit of 6 flamers and 6 hounds for 5 whole turns , finally being killed off in turn 5 --- an 81 pt unit holds off over 400pts of the enemy nevertheless his other flamer unit did quite a bit of damage to my xbows , killing 15/20 on one and 5/20

On the other hand Lumpins managed to kill 2 hounds throughout the game - not bad for S3 bows

Demons can be beaten :)