SAWS – Round 5 – Jeff Suess – High Elves

Bonus Objective:

Deployment: Battleline

Special Rules

Half Points!

The List

Prince, heavy armor, shield, steed, barding, giant blade, dragon helm, dawnstone

Archmage, level 4, lore of life, book of hoeth, talisman of preservation

Noble, light armor, steed, barding, sword of might, enchanted shield, golden crown of atrazar, other trickster’s shard

Handmaiden of the Everqueen, spear, light armor, flaming attacks

13 Silverhelms, full command

15 Archers, musician

5 Reavers, spears

5 Reavers, spears

27 White Lions, full command, banner of the world dragon

9 Sisters of Averlorn

Bolt Thrower

Bolt Thrower

Frostheart Phoenix

MMM… what’s the worst thing my list can play against?  Banner of the world dragon you say?  What could be worst, dwellers?  Hmm… wow.  Sad thing is, I had just been telling someone how this was the thing I didn’t want to play for the final round… right as pairings were put up.  Oh, well, for my list I’m sure I deserved this match up.  Here is a hint, Jeff took overall, as he did at both QCR and SAWS the year before (and many other events – Jeff is no slouch).

Magic

I rolled up wild form, amber spear, curse and savage beasts.

Jeff rolled up dwellers (of course), throne, flesh to stone and earth blood.

With my army bunkered I knew I was just asking to be dwellered, but with bolt throwers I couldn’t just go wild in other units.  I figured I had 3 turns of safety.  He would fail to cast once, I would scroll one and another phase wouldn’t have enough dice to cast it at long range before he would be able to push a dwellers first.  That should give me time to kill the silver helms before I scattered to the winds.

Deployment

Jeff deployed his white lions as the core of his army, with shooting on each side and split the phoenix on one side and the cavalry on the other.  I deployed with my bunker across from his knights with a shooting screen of dark riders (which could easily charge out of the way).  I then put my hydras in a position to put pressure on the rest of his army, maybe giving him pause (but why, they are only I2 with no saves?)

I vanguard strong, not really worried about a knight charge.

He gets the first turn… arg, really could have used this one.

Turn 1 – High Elves

Jeff starts his game by starting to swing his lions towards the right.

A 7/6 magic phase sees a 6D dwellers scrolled.  He then throws the last at earth blood and I dispel it.

Shooting kills 3 dark riders on right and 8 witches.

Turn 1 – Dark Elves

I charge the bolt thrower with dark riders and dark riders into white lions.  I then fail 3 charges, doom fire warlocks at reevers (which flee off the table), dark riders into white lions (flank) and witches at reevers.

A 7/5 magic phase sees a 2D amber spears killing 3 silver helms, a 2D wildform on the doom fire warlocks dispelled, a 2D soul blight on the white lions and 1D savage beasts on my general.

My shooting kills 2 sisters, 2 reavers, 3 archers and 2 silverhelms.

I kill the bolt thrower in combat.  I also manage to put 2 wounds on the wizard and kill a white lion before losing the dark riders… really could have used that 3^rd wound, would have made my game to stop his magic.

Turn 2 – High Elves

Jeff uses his potion of strength to buff his shooting.  Instead the phoenix charges the right hydra and the silver helms charge the bolt thrower killing dark riders (over run would put silver helms off the table… I flee off the table instead).  The phoenix fails.

A 10/5 magic phase starts with a 2D earth blood on white lions and a 3D throne which I allow.  I then dispel the 5D dwellers.

I lose a hydra to shooting.

Turn 2 – Dark Elves

The doom fire warlocks charge the silver helms which flee of the table.  That’s great, points scored, time to scatter unit, just have to survive another magic phase.  The witches fail frenzy and charge reavers which flee.

A 5/4 magic phase has me putting a 2D soul blight on archers and then a 3D wild form that is only dispelled due to the book reroll.

Shooting leaves just 4 archers.  The phoenix makes its ward saves against my bolt throwers.

Turn 3 – High Elves

The phoenix charges the hydra, and I flee.  He recharges with archers.  They both fail.

This is the turn of the poor magic phase! Or not.  A 6/4 magic phase has a 6D dwellers, with my failed dispel taking off 5 doom fire warlocks, my general and my level 4. Ouch.

Shooting kills 3 dark riders and 3 witches.

Turn 3 – Dark Elves

My master (with dragon helm) charges out of unit at some archers which flee.

A 6/5 magic phase puts a 3D soul blight on the phoenix and a 3D doom bold being dispelled.

Shooting kills 1 archer and again the phoenix makes all its ward saves.  I also put a wound on a bolt thrower. 

Turn 4 – High Elves

I use my potion of strength to discourage the phoenix charge, which means no charges.  The archers rally.

A 4/2 magic phase (now he gets the poor phase!) has a 4D dwellers fail to cast.

Witches die to shooting, along with another dark rider.

Turn 4 – Dark Elves

Dark riders charge bolt thrower, doom fire warlocks charge phoenix.

A 5/4 magic phase has a 5D soul blight dispelled.

Shooting kills off archers and the Handmaiden that had popped out of the unit.

In combat I kill the bolt thrower.  The BSB does 2 wounds to the phoenix, I lose 2 doom fire warlocks and he makes his leadership test.

Time is then called, ending the game.  I was in a position to clear up a few more points having finally killed his shooting, but losing my 2 lords really put me back.  I’m not really sure why this game only got 4 turns while my other games went through.  Oh well, not sure it would have been enough given my inability to kill the white lions or the characters inside it.