Wednesday, December 11, 2013

North Star – Round 3 – Matt Mundsack - Dwarfs

Time to Go Get Hammered
Deployment: Meeting Engagement
Special Rules: Objective in center of table.  Don’t use meeting engagement deployment
Major Objective: Control Objective Marker by having most models within 3”.  Monstrous counts as 3.
Minor Objective: Buy your opponent a Beer, or other drink of their choice.


Matt wasn’t 21 so we gave each other a pass on the minor objective.


The List
Dwarf Lord, General, Runic Weapon (Cleaving, Snori Spangelhelm), Runic Armor (Master of Gromril, Iron x2), Runic Talisman (Rune of Luck)
Rune Lord, Great Weapon, Runic Armor (Rune of Iron x2), Runic Talisman (Master of Balance, Spellbreaking x2)

Thane, BSB, Runic Weapon (Cleaving), Runic Armor (Stone), Runic Talisman (Master of Spite)

10 Tunderers, music, banner
10 Tunderers, music, banner
29 Dwarf Warriors, full command, Runic Standared (Determination)

29 Ironbreakers, full command
Cannon, Run of Forging

Organ Gun
Organ Gun


Dwarves always give me a little scare.  This list isn’t the hardest I’ve ever seen, but the double organ gun gave me pause.  I also assumed flaming on the cannon, though it turned out not to.  That’s good for my hydras, but bad for my BSB.  I didn’t care much about the close combat stuff, but it was appropriately scary looking back.  I also didn’t like the +3 dispel, -1 casting each magic phase.


Magic

I rolled up searing doom and final transformation (and would hide this guy because of it all game).  My death caster go spirit leech, soul blight, doom and darkness and purple sun… a good line up…


Terrain
Same Table as the last round.  Here is what I wrote before:

This table was very open with the pillars just impassible terrain and the rocky areas as forests with hard cover.  The center item was a nehekharan spyynix.  With a successful initiative test a character could gain a bonus for the rest of the game… Devastating charge, Heroic Killing Blow or if a wizard Loremaster of Death.  Great powers… but it required you to be there at the beginning of your turn, which never came up.  Failing the test mean taking a wound.


I did get to choose sides and denied him the hill.



Deployment
Matt bunkered in the corner I gave him.  I was very surprised when he put 2 warcmachines on his left flank with no protection.  He also put his general bunker in the back and horded the warriors.  Not sure what he was thinking.

As he deployed back, I deployed on the line.  And because of the angles wasn’t afraid of counter charges and so vanguarded hard.  The shades took the left to start to swing through the warmachines.

Turn 1 – Dark Elves
Due to the vanguarding and scouting I had no charges, so I just moved (or didn’t) to optimize shooting and second turn warmaching charges.

I roll a 7/5 magic phase after all his BS.  He fails to dispel PoD for +4 (11/5).  I then double 6 a bubble soul blight and lose soulblight and doom and darkness.  I end my phase.  This loss of spells becomes very important in the later part of the game, and I sort of wish it didn’t happen, but not for the reason you may think now.


In shooting I take off 5 muskets on the right and the left most organ gun (just the shades… never even rolled the assassin).




Turn 1 - Dwarves
The diminished muskets charge harpies.

He shoots the center dark riders, killing 1.  The cannon does 3 wounds to a hydra and the organ gun does another.


The harpies kill 2 dwarves and lose 2.  I then run but escape.


Turn 2 – Dark Elves
The dark riders charge the organ gun.  The harpies charge the cannon.  The full hydra charges the muskets.  The fleeing harpies rally.

I move up aggressively, including my general into his back field.

I roll a 3/5 magic phase.  Now remember, I only have 4 spells, 2 of which are on the hiding level 2 caster.  I find myself with a choice.  I’m only getting a spell on 6s and its either going to be spirit leech or purple sun.  He is leadership 10.  My wizard has a line on the hoarded warriors.  So I chuck the three dice at purple sun and roll the 6s.  I then take off both warmachines (before they could die in combat).  I also hit the entire warrior unit and 3 harpies.  The hapries all pass.  The warrior unit is decimated.  I get 4 dice back (7/5), but I lose them all to the miscast.  I don’t’ take a wound.

The shades shoot and kill 4 more warriors.  The dark riders all kill 2 muskets.

The hydra kills off the other unit of muskets.


With only really his big block left, Matt sort of shuts down.  I can’t say I blame him.  He wasn’t a bad sport, but just sort of sat down and didn’t engage much.  He knew how the rest of the game was going to go, as did I.  It was still a little disappointing.  Matt still earned a decent sports score though, I don’t want to make him out to being negative, but sometimes one needs to just laugh.  His extreme magic defense combined with the turn 1 miscast put him and me into the position where either that purple sun thing would happen or he would own the rest of my magic phases.



Turn 2 - Dwarves
Matt starts his second turn out with a charge by the muskets.  They lose 2 to stand and shoot and fail their charge.  The warriors try to charge a unit of dark riders, but I flee.


Matt moves up with his bunker a little.



Turn 3 – Dark Elves
The hydra charges the muskets, which flee.  I redirect into the warriors.  When he was considering whether to flee I told him that if he did I was going to recharge him until I could catch him, and that is what I did.  I recharged with both harpies and the BSB to put them into a position for the harpies to catch.  I then redirected with the BSB also into the warriors.  My general then also charges the warriors to get the flank.

I do end up catching the muskets and my hydra fails the charge leaving just the characters to fight alone.

I roll another pathetic 2/5 magic phase.  This time I don’t roll the 6s on the purple sun and he dispels it.

With all my shooting having only 1 target, I kill 7 ironbreakers.

The BSB challenges and kills the champion.  My general misses but the peg does 1 and the stomp breaks steadfast.  He breaks and I restrain.


Turn 3 - Dwarves

He rallies on snakes.  SoB!


Turn 4 – Dark Elves
I don’t’ take a pic for the start of this round as he just reformed.

I use my egg and surround the iron breakers.

I roll a 10/9 magic phase, he scrolls the sun I chuck them all at.

I kill off the warriors in shooting and put a wound on the rune priest.

My circle **** on the iron breakers has the S5 breath weapon killing 10, my BSB’s killing 2 and the general shooting 2.  The dark riders and strength 1 breath weapon both fail to wound.  That really knocks the unit down.


Turn 4 - Dwarves
He passes the egg no-charge test and puts both the rune priest (flank) and ironbreakers into the hydra.


He passes his fear test.  He then makes his saves for the hander.  The lord does 1 wound to the hydra as does the rune lord.  I kill 1 iron breaker with my hydra and put another wound on the rune priest with the thunderstomp.  I hold.




Turn 5 – Dark Elves
My BSB charges the rear of his unit.

I skip magic and shooting.


The BSB and his general go into a challenge (idea being, distract from hydra as the hydra can kill the unit).  We all make all saves.  The hydra takes another and kills the priest.  I win but he holds.


Turn 5 - Dwarves
He does 2 wounds to my bsb.  I kill some more ironbreakers and he holds.


Turn 6 – Dark Elves

My BSB dies, but I kill off the unit.  I still lose the combat but he fails to catch the hydra.


Turn 6 - Dwarves
Unable to kill the hydra, the game ends.

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