Adepticon – Warhammer Championships– Round 2 – Nameless – Warriors of Chaos

Seems I didn’t write down his name and it wasn’t on the army list he gave me.  A week after the game I couldn’t remember his name.

Terrain:  All forests are mysterious.

His forest is fungal.

Deployment: Blood & Glory

Special Rules

Hidden Mission, we both got Crossing the Line (general finish game in opponent’s deployment zone.

Standard victory conditions, not Blood & Glory

Bonus Points

+3 for making secret mission.

(Plus 3 Points for Terrain)

The List

Sorcerer Lord, Level 4, Mark/Lore/Disc of Tzeentch, Sword of Might, Enchanted Shield, Dispel Scroll, Talisman of Preservation, Third Eye of Tzeentch, Flaming Breath

Exalted Hero, Mark of Tzeentch, BSB, daemonic mount, armor of destiny, soul feeder, shield

Exalted Hero, Mark of Tzeentch, daemonic mount, dragonhelm, talisman of endurance, potion of foolhardiness

Chaos Chariot, mark of slannash

Chaos Chariot, mark of slannash

Chaos Chariot, mark of nurgle

Chaos Chariot, mark of nurgle

Chaos Chariot, mark of nurgle

5 Chaos warhounds

5 Chaos warhounds

Gorebeast Chariot, mark of nurgle

5 Hellstriders of Slaanesh, musician, banner

3 Skullcrushers of Khorne, musician, banner, banner of eternal flame

3 Skullcrushers of Khorne, musician, banner, gleaming pennant

Well, this was a list I knew I would see at the event but didn’t want to see across the table from me.  It’s not that it can reach out and touch me as it really can’t, but it is VERY hard from me to get points off this unit and the chariots really allow it to cover a lot of angles.  I also made a huge mistake.  I saw that blood & glory in the deployment type and didn’t see the win conditions were 100 points and that there was no bonus for breaking.  As such, I approached this mission completely wrong.  I really needed to read the missions more carefully, as this was the second time the weekend I messed up the missions.

Magic

I took doom and darkness and spirit leech on my death caster and searing doom on my metal caster.

His general took Treason of Tzeentch, Pink Fire, Bolt of Change and Glean magic.

We both got solid spells and have solid lists.  Now to find out if not taking a level 4 will be the end of me.

Deployment

My opponent bunkered sort of in the left corner, layering his army in a way that made me glad I wasn’t playing with flyers.  He put the dogs on the back edge, which confused me when they could have at least covered angles or distracted me.

I deployed bunker across from his army, a unit of dark riders to sneak up the left flank and the rest center/right to start setting up shooting positions and pull his army apart to make interior safe zones.

I got the first turn.

Turn 1 – Dark Elves

I start my turn by shooting the left dark rider unit all the way down the line to begin to open up on the hellstriders (want that banner right, silly not reading mission).  Also has the benefit of making him think of turning units around, which disrupts angle coverage.

A 6/5 magic phase has me drawing his scroll with a 6D big searing doom on the right skull crusher unit.

The BTs do a wound to a skull crusher and a chariot but my strength 3 shooting just can’t get through the high toughness and good armor saves.

Turn 1 – Warriors of Chaos

The warriors advance.  The hellstriders move to the corner to try to get a charge on my dark riders.

A 6/4 magic phase has me allowing a 2D treason on my big bunker.  I couldn’t figure out how he would get the panic test outside of the magic phase.  He did pick up a die with a 6 thought (7/4).  A 5D pink fire gets its double 6s but doesn’t hit the dark riders (over shoots).  Nothing happens from the miscast thanks to the sill 3++ rerolling 1s.

Turn 2 – Dark Elves

My death start charges a chariot with the hopes of over running into the skullcruchers, killing them on his turn and running away – still being silly and hunting banners.  I make it in, surprised he didn’t flee (probably because he didn’t care about the banners!).

While moving around I do lose 2 dark riders to the forest.

A 7/4 magic phase has me 6D SB onto the chariot, which he fails to dispel.  I then 1D plus power stone to searing doom and kill a chariot.  He passes panics.

In shooting I kill another 3 more hellstriders.

In combat I pop the chariot and over run into the Skullcrushers.

Turn 2 – Warriors of Chaos

I start his turn my using both my potions in the skullcrusher combat.

His army turns around to face my death star.

A 9/5 magic phase has him only really having treason to cast, but he doesn’t.

I kill 2 skullcrushers, losing only my champion.  He breaks and the last model, the banner, kills himself.

Turn 3 – Dark Elves

This is the time I figure out that we aren’t playing for banners, well right after I move.  I’m not really sure what I was thinking this turn, but my movement was a huge mistake.  For some reason, I don’t just swing my bunker back to my side of the table through his units.  Instead I move to his board edge and turn around, drawing the possible charges from more than one unit.  Moving back would have seen some charges but not nearly as many I think.  I don’t know what I was thinking as its been 3 weeks.  Anyways, stupid choice.

My dark rider unit in the forest fails its stupidity test.

I roll a 5/4 magic phase.  A 5D big searing doom fails.

In shooting I kill the hellstriders and shoot everything at the BSB in the hopes of killing him before he charges my bunker.  I manage 1 wound through the 1+ armor and 3+ non-rerolling wardsave.

Turn 3 – Warriors of Chaos

The chariot, general and non-BSB hero charges my bunker.  I put 2 wounds on the chariot from the stand and shoot.  They all make it in.  Yuck.

A 7/7 magic phase sees him rolling 6D and irresistibly casting treason on my bunker dropping their leadership to 5 due to the horses and no BSB use.  The miscast takes a wizard level and the spell, but the damage is done.

Impact kills 6 doom fire warlocks, sealing my loss in the combat.  My general does 1 wound to his hero and I kill the chariot.  His general uses the breath weapon but only does 1 wound to a master.  I lose combat and don’t make the leadership 5 test.  My unit runs off the table and he reforms.

That was 1300 points dead.  The unit did kill a unit of skull crushers and 2 chariots, so I’m really only down 800 points for the unit.  I’ve already killed another chariot and the hellstriders so this loss puts me about 600 points down.  However, it has cost me most of my ability to take on the high T, great armor saves.

Turn 4 – Dark Elves

Im casting around, trying to figure out how I’m going to pick up the points I need to come back.  I spot a unit of dark riders able to charge the dogs and declare it, hoping to pick up the points quickly and move on versus shooting him and risking him making his leadership.  I lose a dark rider for the forest.

I also see that my dark riders have a charge on the rear of the BSB, which was still turned around from facing my death star but hadn’t been in the combat and so couldn’t reform afterwards.  At WaaaghPACA, I recalled Mike Gerold had always been super careful not to allow my reevers to get a flank on his BSB, equipped the same but also having the reroll on the ward save.  At the time I thought he was crazy, but I was down 600 points, and if Mike says it’s a good play than I should at least try it – never before had the chance.  So I do, declaring the charge on the rear of the BSB with a unit of dark riders.

I roll an 8/5 magic phase.  I 4D doom bolt on a chariot doing 3 wounds.  I 4D doom and darkness on the BSB, which is dispelled.

All my shooting doesn’t do jack including missing with all 3 BTs.

In combat I manage to actually do a wound to the BSB, putting him at 1 wound.  I lose 3 dark riders for my trouble.  The BSB then fails his test to hold and kills himself.  I over run into the flank of the general.  We are both left baffled by what we just saw happen, but I’m happy as that’s another 300 points.

Oh, and I kill the dogs.

Turn 4 – Warriors of Chaos

I’m not even sure he moved anything, and if he didn’t it wasn’t much.  He skipped magic, left with kill spells that weren’t usable.

In combat neither side manages to wound, and he holds down 3 (banner, flank and charge).  He fails to reform though.

Turn 5 – Dark Elves

My turn 5 and I’m still just moving around.

A 7/6 magic phase has a 3D doombolt failing and a 4D DND dispelled.

My shooting again does nothing.

In combat I lose 2 dark riders which causes a tie.  I win by musician and he holds and reforms.

Turn 5 – Warriors of Chaos

His exalted hero joins the combat.  Together they kill the dark riders off.

Turn 6 – Dark Elves

I figure I’m already losing and charge another unit of dark riders into the flank of the general.

A 10/5 magic phase has me 6D large searing doom irresistibly on the crushers but only get 4 wounds.  I lose a doom fire warlock and put a wound on each of my wizards.  I also lose 2 power dice (8/5).  A 2D DND is dispelled.

The BTs do 2 wounds to a chariot.

In combat I still can’t wound and lose 1.  He holds but again fails to reform.

Turn 6 – Warriors of Chaos

Not much left to do, we just move onto combat.  The general kills another dark rider, but still loses combat by 1, fails his charge and gets run down finishing the swing of the game back to me and giving me a win.

Gotta say, deserved to lose that game, but glad to see that I was able to pull it out without my 1300 point death star crutch.