Adepticon – Team Event– Round 3 – Unknown – Empire/Dwarves

The Story

This group didn’t have a story.

Terrain:  All forests are mysterious.

Our forest is Abyssal.

So yeah, see that massive POS terrain piece in the center?  What is that thing?  Is the whole thing impassible?  Is it a building?  The pillars are close enough together that even if you say the pillars are impassible the gap is too small for a unit to move through so only things that can fly can go in.  In the end that’s what we decided, leaving it just for the terradons, and of course for them to shoot through.

Deployment: Blood & Glory

Special Rules

Breaking Point: 5

Alternative Fortitude determination: Overlord (3), Other General (2), BSB and Standards (1)

Overlord Trait: (1-2) 4+ Regn (reroll if already have); (3-4) 5+ Ward Save (if already have than reroll save), (5-6) Stubborn (if already have gain cold blooded).

Overlord’s Inspiring Presence is increased by 3”.

Their overlord picks up a 5+ ward save and ours picks up stubborn.

Bonus Points

+1 for killing most expensive unit with a banner.

+3 for overlord still alive

+1 for a BSB still alive

+1 for most expensive special unit still alive

The List

Runesmith, shield, rune of stone

Master engineer

Master engineer

Warrior priest, charmed shield, heavy armor

19 quarrelers, shields, banner

40 halberdiers, banner

Cannon, rune of burning, rune of forging

Cannon, rune of forging

4 Demigryphs, musician

3 Demigryphs, musician

Organ Gun

Organ Gun

Steam Tank

This is a nasty list, and one that really had us worried.  We were trying to figure out how to kill the organ guns as those should wreck a unit a turn easily.  We defiantly approached this game wrong, as if we had done the math early we would have seen it was all about killing their overlord for the win.

Magic

I take spirit leech.

Deployment

They deployed heavy on the left flank with the demi gryphs taking the center.  The organ guns went on the hill in the center while the cannons took the right corner probably both to draw us out but to also get some flank shots.

We countered their blocks with the salamanders, figuring they were looking to move into the building (correctly assuming).  We also put my unit over there to take advantage of the death magic.  The rest of the army hid around the impassible, as we had no idea how we were going to reliably take out the chickens.

We scouted and vanguarded really strong on the right as there wasn’t anything to protect the cannons and should the chickens move up we would have easy access to the much feared organ guns.  If the chickens turned we could run back behind the impassible.

They get the first turn, which is bad now that organ guns have 30” range.

Turn 1 – Empire/Dwarves

They advance strong across.

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In shooting I make my wardsaves on the steam tank cannon.  The organ guns kill 1 skink and put a wound on the terradons (phew!).  the cannons kill 2 skinks and my bolt thrower.

Turn 1 – Dark Elves/Lizards

We drop rocks on a cannon, doing 2 wounds and move up to crush both.

A 6/5 v 6 magic phase has us starting with a double sixes on the fireball ring, ending its use.  We don’t do a wound.  A 5D spirit leach at their overlord is dispelled.

Shooting kills a cannon and leaves the other with 1 wound.

Turn 2 – Empire/Dwarves

The small chickens fail to march, keeping them from pinning the doom fire warlocks in, or maybe preventing me from moving into the open behind them… who knows.

A 6 v 2/3 magic phase has him casting a 5+ ward on his warrior unit.

A doom fire warlock unit dies from the cannon.  The organ guns kill 7 skinks which panic, losing 2 more to dangerous terrain.

Turn 2 – Dark Elves/Lizards

We move most of the cannon shooting units towards the organ guns, leaving a single unit to put on the last wound.  My doom fire warlocks, about to get pinned, move up past the empire unit to confront the dwarves.  I leave the wizard behind, hiding behind the building, safe for another turn.  Knowing the empire block will move into the building next turn, the wizard should be able to run to freedom as the doom fire warlocks distract the dwarves.

I roll a 5 v 4 magic phase, roll a 5D spirit leech on the overlord, killing him.  The game then ends as they break.  I’m a little surprised, because, as noted before I was thinking blood and glory but not that they only just barely had enough to be above their breaking point.

We didn’t manage to pick up all the bonus points though, as breaking them occurred to quickly.  I’m confident it was a good call though, as a few unlucky turns could have seen us losing.