It’s that time again!!!
So we met to finish taking out the paint curse on our units by having another game. We chose High Elves vs. Beastmen because the entire High Elf army got touch ups done to it, and there was a Spawn and Giant that Ashley wanted me to run. It’d have been nice if I’d have remembered that when I made the list.
We settled on Breakthrough rather quickly as we didn’t really want to do Pitched Battle too many times. We rolled off on who was the Attacker, and it wound up being the Elves.
On to the lists…
BEASTMEN
Lord: Beast Lord (Level 4) – Mark of Tzeentch, Chaos Armor, Shield, Great Fang, Crown of Horns – 328 points
Hero: Wargor (Level 2) – Mark of Tzeentch, Heavy Armor, Beast Banner – 219 points
Hero: Bray-shaman (Level 2) – Staff of Darkoth, Dispel Scroll – 160 points
Core: Beast Herd (6+12) – Full Command, Shields on Ungors, two hand weapons on Gors – 137 points
Core: Beast Herd (6+12) – Full Command, Shields on Ungors, two hand weapons on Gors – 137 points
Core: Beast Herd (6+11) – Full Command, Shields on Ungors, two hand weapons on Gors – 132 points
Core: Bestigors (19) – Mark of Tzeentch, Full Command, Flesh Banner – 328 points
Core: Bestigors (19) – Mark of Tzeentch, Full Command – 278 points
Core: Bestigors (19) – Mark of Tzeentch, Full Command – 278 points
TOTAL: 1,997 points
For spells my Bray-shaman wound up with Steed of Shadows and Pelt of Midnight from the Lore of Shadows, my Battle Standard Bearer wound up with Red Fire and Green Fire, while my Lord wound up with Red, Orange, Yellow, and Green Fire.
HIGH ELVES
Lord: Prince – Dragon, Dragon Armor, Lance, Vambraces of Defense, Enchanted Shield, Ring of Fury – 554 points
Hero: Mage (Level 2) – Annulian Crystal – 170 points
Core: Archers (10) – 120 points
Core: Archers (10) – 120 points
Core: Silver Helms (12) – Full Command, Shields, Heavy Armor – 311 points
Special: Reavers (6) – Musician, Standard – 165 points
Rare: Repeater Bolt Thrower – 100 points
Rare, Hero, Hero: Asarnil the Dragon Lord – 460 points
TOTAL: 2,000 points
Yep, you read that right. Two dragons in 2,000 points. Against an army where the highest Leadership is an 8 on my Lord.
For spells the Mage rolled up Curse of Arrow Attraction and Vaul’s Unmaking on top of the Drain Magic spell that comes with taking High Magic.
The board was a bit unique as we had a water feature in the center with a bridge going through. We chose sides and set up as so…
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TURN 1 BEASTMEN
I wheel my Bestigors on the flanks to get into position to goad some charges while also moving my center Bestigor unit up as well, mainly to prevent running off the table at the beginning of the next turn if I get terror bombed too bad.
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TURN 1 HIGH ELVES
The non-shooting units edge forward pensively, but Asarnil moves to the flank of the Right flank Bestigors to line up a breath shot.
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In the shooting phase the hot flames of the Dragon only manage to kill 1 Bestigor and land a single wound on the Bray-shaman. The Bolt Thrower follows up with 1 kill on the same unit, but the Right flank Archers cannot land a wound.
The Left flank Archers and Reavers combined only manage to kill 1 Bestigor each from the BSB’s unit
TURN 2 BEASTMEN
I start my turn with a Terror test, which I promptly fail sending my Bray-shaman's Bestigors 5" directly away from Asarnil.
Both of my remaining Bestigor units reform. The three Herds ambush in, one behind the Bolt Thrower who does not scatter, and the two in my table edge who DO scatter, sending one all the way to the right flank table edge. They move on at top speed, desperate to close the gap.
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TURN 2 HIGH ELVES
Arsenil charges the fleeing Bestigor unit which flees 11" and out of range, the Reavers charge the BSB's Bestigors who hold in response, and lastly the Prince flies his Dragon between the newly arrived Beast Herd and the now engaged Bestigors. None of the shooting units move and the Silver Helms also refuse to come forward.
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Shooting fairs MUCH better as 5 Ungors fall to the flames of the Prince's Dragon, yet stubbornly refuse to Panic. The Right flank Archers fail to wound against the Lord's Bestigors, but the Beast Herd behind the Bolt thrower loses 2 Ungors to the war machine along with 5 more Ungors from the Left flank Archers. Panicking, the Herd flees 7" which is enough to take them off the board.
Directed attacks from the Reavers finish off the BSB with the rest of the unit killing 2 Bestigors. The return attack kills 2 Reavers but does not manage to Break them.
TURN 3 BEASTMEN
The Beast Lord's Bestigors and Center Herd both pass their Terror tests. Panic on the Herd is another story, due to the proximity of the fleeing Bray-shaman's Bestigors, which sees the Beast Herd flee (Gee, it'd be nice if Ashley had jotted down the distance...). The Bray-Shaman's Bestigors then rally, followed by the Right flank Beast Herd moving toward the Dragon at top speed.
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The Lord casts Green Fire on the Silver Helms with Irresistible Force, and manages to get 1 killed. Undismayed, he then casts Red Fire on the Silver Helms killing 3 of them. Elven resolve sees them through the Panic test.
Finally, the Reavers direct attacks on the Bestigor Champ, killing him, 2 more Reavers die in return, and somehow they STILL pass their damn Break test. Oy...
I think this may be the moment I realize there's no way in Hell I'm going to win this. I check off a few quick "moral victory" goals and overall improve my mood before seeing what other absurdity awaited me.
TURN 3 HIGH ELVES
The Prince on Dragon declares a charge on the fleeing Herd which sends both of them off the board. Asarnil declares a charge on the Bray-shaman's Bestigor unit's flank, who hold but fail their Fear test meaning they will hit on 6's next turn.
The Left flank Archers do an about face to point back towards the main battle line as there was no more Herd in the back field to worry about. Nobody else moves.
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The Left flank Archers attempt to repeat their success from earlier as they take aim at the Lord's unit, but fail to wound a single model. The Bolt Thrower chases that performance with a single wound on the same unit.
The Reavers continue their competition for "Unit of the Game" by killing another Bestigor, but are finally killed to a man in this round. The Bestigors can do nothing except wait for next turn to maneuver anywhere.
Asarnil and his Dragon kill 6 (!) Bestigors who cannot answer back at all. Breaking horribly, the unit flees 12" with Asarnil rolling 13" to pursue, wiping the unit out.
TURN 4 BEASTMEN
The Left flank Bestigors reform to face the threat of the dual Dragons. The Lord's Bestigors move forward to the bridge, hoping to finally goad a charge from the Silver Helms, and the Right flank Beast Herd again moves at top speed toward the main battle line.
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TURN 4 HIGH ELVES
The Silver Helms finally come off the bridge to charge something as my Lord's Bestigors choose to Hold to receive the charge.
The Dragons reposition to both burn the Left flank Bestigors. Yep, missile troops don't move.
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The Prince's Dragon burns 6 Bestigors, but 3 make their saves, and Asarnil burns 3 more. Panic does the rest and the Bestigors flee 9". Meanwhile all three missile units each manage to kill 1 Ungor from the Beast Herd.
Both of us blurt out the word "CHALLENGE!!!!" simultaneously, his Silver Helm Champion leveling his lance toward my Beast Lord. Despite a formidable armor/ward save combo, the Champion manages to do a wound. In return, however, the Lord does 3 with no armor saves allowed. The combat around them sees the Silver Helms focus on killing the Bestigor Champion while the remaining Bestigors manage to only kill 1 of the noble Knights. Combat resolution sees the Helms losing and they promptly fail their Break test, fleeing 12". I enthusiastically scoop up my dice preparing to defy the odds and roll 3" for pursuit.
I gotta tell you, I was so pumped for this fight. Here we had that all star winning Knight unit that supposedly obliterated everything in its path against a unit that was really not built to take that charge AT ALL. I was hoping we'd see that net hyperbole result I'm always assured would happen, but no.
You know, I'm starting to think that Knight thing is a myth...
TURN 5 BEASTMEN
I start the turn by failing to rally my fleeing Bestigors who flee 5".
The Lord reforms his Bestigors to face the Dragons, hoping against for a charge. Meanwhile the final Beast Herd makes its way at top speed toward the Dragons.
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TURN 5 HIGH ELVES
The Silver Helms start the turn off by failing to rally and fleeing 16" off the board.
The Dragons move up to burn the Bestigor unit while the rest of the army unsurprisingly stands still.
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The Dragons burn 3 Bestigors to the ground. The Archers combined kill 3 Bestigors while the Bolt Thrower kills 3 more. Panic is passed.
TURN 6 BEASTMEN
My fleeing Bestigor unit finally rallies. The Lord's unit stays put while the Herd fails Unruly and heads at top speed toward the Dragons...
… which is where I intended to send them in the first place. I'm really not seeing Unruly as any sort of negative here.
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Damn...
TURN 6 HIGH ELVES
So I set up charges to get as many units in as possible, giving the Dragons multiple options. Where do they go? Yep, both into the Beast Herd. Terror is passed and I Hold in the vain hope I might have a few Spear attacks left after the initial onslaught.
The only other movement is the Mage leaving the Archers.
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All the shooting units combine shots on the Lord's Bestigors, with the Right flank Archers killing 2, the Left flank Archers killing 2, and the Bolt Thrower killing 1. Despite the barrage of death the unit passes its Panic test.
Knowing that my only shot of surviving this combat is to have enough alive to actually fight, my Herd Champion issues a challenge, which is accepted by the Prince who kills the Champ with ease and earns 4 Overkill points. Asarnil kills 4 Gors, and the Ungors left attacking wind up doing 1 wound to Asarnil! (Damn, moral victory right there...)
However, I think we all know where this fight is heading. The Herd flees 7" with the Prince pursuing 13" and Asarnil pursuing 11".
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I really wish the victory conditions would have been "most miscasts and failed Psychology tests", I would have won with ease. That reminds me, there's a poster on dakka that dismissed my Dwarfs 6.5 concerns about Longbeards by saying "Immune to Panic isn't that big of a deal." Immune to Panic may very well have saved my entire game if I had access to it.