SAWS – Round 1 – Steve Roos - Empire

The Mission: Battle for the Pass

My Objective: Eliminate over half of your opponent’s army (based on model count)

Templar Grand Master, warhorse, runefang, the other trickster’s shard

Wizard Lord, warhorse, dispel scroll, talisman of preservation, potion of toughness, level 4, Lore of Beasts

Captain of the Empire, BSB, warhorse, sword of battle, dawnstone

Captain of the Empire, Pegasus, sword of might, charmed shield, potion of foolhardiness
Warrior Priest, warhorse, obsidian lodestone
Warrior Priest, warhorse, shrieking blade, enchanted shield, obsidian amulet

10 Knights, full command, Steel Standard

10 Knights, full command
5 Knights, musician
6 Reiksguard Knights, full command, gleaming pennant
5 Pistoliers, musician
5 Pistoliers, musician

4 Demigryph Knights, full command, banner of swiftness

For spells Steve rolls up Wyssan’s Wildform, Flock of Doom, Pan’s Pelt and Savage Beasts

I deploy my general behind a tree in the center, giving me options for where to run.  Steve deploys his army along the back edge and wrap around the sides to make a kill box and prevent me from getting in front of him.  His Peg rider goes up strong in the hopes of hunting my general.  Steve does a little vanguarding in response to my playing down dig tokens.

I go first and have nothing to do – this is a common pattern.

On Steve’s turn 1 he moves in response to my tokens, lining up charges as he can.  He rolls an 8/6 magic phase and puts wild form on a unit of pistols to prevent them from being picked off when I come up.  I dispel flock of doom at my general.

On my turn 2 I have 4 units come on.  2 charge a unit of knights – 1 being forced due to the scatter, and another to support on the flank.  The other two deploy more to the back field to shot at the peg.  My general runs to avoid the Pegasus charge next turn.  In shooting I put a wound on the peg and in combat I put a wound on the level 4 and on his general but otherwise he passes his armor saves.  I then lose 4 night runners and lose combat.  The flanking unit holds, but the other unit flees, along with both weapons teams.

On Steve’s turn 2 he charges fleeing units, panicing another and its digging team.  He then charges into the rear of the flanking unit.  A 9/5 magic phase has me allowing wildform to go off.  He then miscasts pelt on the wizard, which makes me sad because I wanted to kill his wizard.  The miscast wounds the wizard and a warrior priest.  In combat he makes all of his saves, including the damn wizard.  I then get my butt kicked.  Because of dead units and redirected fleeing all the weapons teams commit suicide.

On my turn 3 1 unit of gutter runs and another unit of night runners comes on.  The night runners charge the pistoliers on the left. Both my fleeing units rally.  My last night runner unit in the back field turns to face the Pegasus and my general books it to not get charged.  In shooting the gutter runners can’t get him to roll a 1.  The combat sees me killing 3 pistols from the night runners and the last from the weapons team.  Pistols flee off the table, killing 1 night runner.  I then pursue off the table (which was an error because it was battle for the pass, oops).

On Steve’s turn 3 the knights charge the gutter runners along the back edge.  The knights and demis charge the rallied night runners.  The wizard drinks his potion as it goes into the combat.  A 7/4 magic phase doesn’t see anything of relevance.  The gutter runners kill 3 knights but still lose and live due to smoke bombs.  The night runner combat is a wash.  I wish smoke bombs also allowed them to rally and shoot like hit and run.

On turn 4 the rest of my army comes on.  The new night runners and weapons team charges knights.  The gutter runners rally.  Shooting kills a knight.  The night runners lose the combat.

On Steve’s turn 4 the peg charges the night runners, taking a second wound on the stand and shoot.  The demis then flank the same unit.  The general then rears into the surviving combat.  A 2/1 magic phase has him casting wild form on caster’s unit.  In combat I manage to do 3 wounds to the peg but he makes all his damn saves.  I then escape with the unit.  In the other combat I kill 1 in the 5 man unit and the a second with the weapons team.  The GR then flee of the table, along with the night runner unit – the weapons team later kills itself.  In the general’s combat my champ dies to the general in a challenge.  The assassin does 4 wounds but Steve makes his saves.  The gutter runners then get caught and die.

On my turn 5 the gutter runners charge the knights.  The night runners fail to rally from the Peg combat, running through my general and panicking him.  The night runners kill 2 knights in shooting.  In combat the champ on champ combat challenge does nothing.  I kill 1 which is the musician – we then tie so I don’t have to make a leadership test!

On Steve’s turn 5 the knights charge the night runners and take a wound to stand and shoot.  A 7/3 magic phase has me failing to dispel Rerolling Wounds and 5+ ward prayers.  He then casts wild form on the 2 man unit.  My champ dies in the challenge, but I kill the banner.  I do another wound but then flee off the table.

On my turn 6 the gutter runners charge the knights.  The night runners flee off table and the general doesn’t rally.  The gutter runners kill 1 knight and the combat holds.

 

 

On Steve’s turn 6 the peg pusses the general off the table.  His BSB fails to charge GR in rear.  Another unit makes it but lose 1 to dangerous terrain.  On a 6/3 magic phase I dispel pan on the wizard and he gets wildform off.  In combat that damn wizard makes all his saves.  His general kills my assassin.  I kill 1 knight.  I then flee and get caught.

 

In the end I was 4 wounds short of making my objective, 1 on the wizard, 1 on the peg and then 2 knights (or 4 knights and not characters).  That unit of 1 knight left would have been nice.  Picking up him, and the two characters wouldn’t have given me the win though.  There were also 5 pistoliers left that I could have gotten.  Oh well.  This was a rough match, what with all the 1+ armor save.  Also Steve knew how to play against it, I think more than I knew what I was doing.