Dave and I had played before at the top table at SAWS last May, where we had a slug fest that saw me the winner due to the mission ending on turn 4 (on a roll of a 6). In that game I played the chaff and tank game, tying up his units while I picked on one after the other. It was a game that Dave should have won had we made it to round 6. I think round 5 would have been a draw and round 7 (the maximum for the mission) would have seen me near boarded. In this game, Dave had the Skaven (though I didn’t have his khorn daemons) and he was playing the chaff and tank game. His list was:
Warlord, general, Rat Ogre Bonebreaker, relic sword, charmed shieldWarlord, Rat Ogre Bonebreaker, shield, sword of might, warpstone armor, dawnstone, portents of verminous doom
Warlord, Rat Ogre Bonebreaker, sword of corruption, enchanted shield
Chieftain, BSB, great weapon, sacred banner of the horned rat
Chieftain, great weapon, Ironcurse Icon, Helm of Discord
Chieftain, great weapon, obsidian amulet
Engineer, Level 2, scroll of shielding
Engineer, Level 2, Dispel Scroll
Engineer
Engineer
Engineer
Engineer
36 Stormvermin, full command, Razor Standard
25 Clanrats, full command, shields
25 Clanrats, full command, shields
20 slaves, champion, musician
20 slaves, champion, musician
20 slaves, champion, musician
5 Giant Rats, 1 Packmaster
5 Giant Rats, 1 Packmaster
5 Giant Rats, 1 Packmaster
25 Giant Rats, 5 Packmasters (one of them a master mouldor with a great weapon)
9 Gutter Runners, poison, slings
9 Gutter Runners, poison, slings
Dave likes to call this a soft skaven list, and in arguing this he points to everything he doesn’t have in his list: Grey Seer, Furnace, any Rare, stormbanner, doom rocket, brass orb. That’s all true, but it doesn’t make his list soft. Let me tell you what he does have: an 1171 point death star that uses bonebreakers to put up a wall of T5, 4 wound guys with mid to low armor saves, one of which fights back if he makes it (and gets to reroll it). He also puts out 15 S5 attacks from the mounts alone, plus another 12 from the characters AND great weapons and halberds behind. He also has 10 44 points or less chaff units to ensure that his death star isn’t bothered while it does its work. The large gutter runner units do the hard lifting on any warmachines. Oh, and did I mention that when he does tank into your units he also provides a nice -2 leadership when he wins said taking? Not a soft list, or at least not as soft as Dave would have you believe. Though let’s be clear, it’s not a dick list either (except for the leadership bomb).
Anyways, back to the game. I like playing Skaven. After 3 years of this book, lots of events, including more than my fair share of wins I’d like to think I know the book well. Very well. Well enough to understand how it works, pull it apart and stomp the shit out of it, no matter what I’m playing. Then the mission went and gave me a huge advantage on top of all that.
The mission was Dawn Attack, and it did play to my advantage. Dave’s deployment ended up being the following (from left to right). A rat dart (my term for the 5 rat, 1 packmaster unit), a unit of clan rats with one of the chieftains, the stormvermin death star with all three lords (starting in a forest), the bsb, another chieftain and the scroll of shielding engineer. A unit of clanrats with the other engineer, two slave units, two rat darts in a forest, the larger giant rat unit, a rat dart and then a unit of slaves on the other side of a building. The key hurt on this deployment was the general on the left flank. Optimally the general will be in the center to maximize the time it takes me to kill his chaff, but this way the right flank was very weak.
My deployment was hydra on the left, with my general and a unit of dark riders (a some scouts joining them), a unit of dark riders in the center and then the rest clumped on the right, a unit of shades joining them. So my strong right matched his weak right. I decided that being super aggressive on the right would clear up what was otherwise looking like a solid line of rats. So on the left I vanguarded just enough to shoot if I went first but went harder on the right (though not enough that he would charge me with good odds). Dave elected to hold both of his units of gutter runners as ambushers. We roll and Dave gets the first turn.Dave rolls skitterleap and warplighting on the engineer in the tanker and warplighting and howling warp gale (ugh!) on the other engineer.
On Dave’s turn 1 he advances up the field, moving strong with his big block and the clan rats on the right and left. He also advances with the slaves across the board. He holds the rat darts back, perhaps because they are vulnerable, or perhaps to try to prevent me from getting around his flanks. He rolls a strong magic phase, (11PD, 6DD) and manages to get off one warplighting killing 4 Dark Riders and I scroll a howling warpgale.
On my turn 1 I advance aggressively on the right flank, charging the far right slave unit with two units of dark riders. Shades and dark riders move up on right and center to kill off some rat darts. Hydra advances on the right, as does my BSB. On the left I hang back to keep drawing his three strong units in. In my magic phase (10PD/5DD) I pull out the scroll of shielding, which combined with the obsidian trinket saves his general from any harm. I kill a rat dart and a unit of slaves in combat, the slaves exploding quite well and killing of some dark riders from each of the units that attacked it.
On Dave’s turn 2 Dave counters my attempts to kill his rat darts, charging 2 into one of my units and one into another. He advances further with his left most clan rat unit and tank unit towards my left general. His other clanrat unit and slave accompaniment swing towards center to try to blast with magic missiles. A unit of gutter runners comes on the back field (and kills my level 2 in a single round of shooting – I forget to roll my armor save). The giant rats don’t fare well in combat, clearing my dark riders to move on my turn.
On my turn 2 and I choose not to charge his tank unit (which he has placed into a forest). I instead walk up and drop a hydra breath weapon on him, opening the hydra’s flank to the clan rats on the right. Dave would later comment that I failed to take advantage of his mistake (not having steadfast). I on the other hand assumed he would block the hydra from fighting the unit, and so only the breath weapon would allow me to get over his static combat. I didn’t rate my chances very high. With the right side of the board already cleared (but for the gutter runners), I swing my flank to start peppering the clan rats. The hydra moves over next to the gutter runners (eliciting an ‘oh’ from Dave) and drop them by half with a breath weapon (and for 6’s on Dave’s part keeping them from just disappearing). They pass their panic. Magic is small, 3PD/2DD, but with Power of Darkness I manage to generate enough threat to pull out the Dispel scroll.
Dave’s turn 3 and the clanrats flank the hydra on the left side. The gutter runners go around the hydra on the right and try to pick off some of the smaller dark rider units. In his magic phase Dave irresistibles howling warp gale. The clanrats lose combat but hold. The tank unit swings towards the hydra to join combat on Dave’s next turn.
On my turn 3 charge the left shade unit into the rear of the clanrat/hydra combat. I move around to shoot the gutter runners on the right. In my magic 5PD/5DD, I put a Doom and Darkness on the center clan rats and then shoot a solo engineer to make them panic. I kill off the gutter runners. The clanrats die to the man. The shades reform long to maximize attacks should the hydra die/flee and the tank unit over run into them.
Skaven turn 4 and the tank unit charges into the hydra’s combat. The center units reform/rally and basically hold position. The other unit of gutter runners comes on and shoots dark riders, trying to get their points. They hydra loses combat and fleets through the shades. The tank unit fails to both catch the hydra and overrun into the shades.
My turn 4, and I’m closing up on the game. I move my shooting around to start peppering the stormvermin and line up the few remaining dark riders to escort a fleeing slave unit off the table faster. I take out the second unit of gutter runners. In my magic phase I spirit leech his general dead. The shades wrap around so not to be charged and the hydra rallies. I start moving the other hydra left. I drop the black dragon egg on the stormvermin, killing a few.
Skaven turn 5 and the tank unit, now missing a general and below half charges the wounded hydra even with the black dragon egg at leadership 6. The hydra dies in the combat.
My turn 5 and I kill off the slaves, and on at 6PD/3DD magic phase kill off another bonebreaker. At the end of my turn the tank unit consists of one bonebreaker, the BSB, the Chieftian, an engineer and two stormvermin. I continue to move the right flank hydra back towards the left.
Skaven turn 6 and the stormvermin make a break for the forest to take advantage of the -1 to shooting. Dave skitterleaps his BSB to a far corner to save him and gets off howling warp gale with a 12PD/6DD phase. I stop the magic missiles to keep my dark rider units alive, some of which are now down to one or two models.
On my turn 6 the hydra, finally having come far enough around attempts to charge the unit in the forest, but Dave flees. I then use my 8PD/4DD magic phase to snipe out first the obsidian trinket and then the last two members of the stormvermin unit, at which point Dave concedes.
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