Tuesday 20 August 2013

6K Mega-Battle!

The Saturday before last saw the first of what will hopefully be many "big battle days" at Stafford Games, and to launch we started with a Warhammer mega-battle! 

We ended up with three players per side with 2000 points each, for a total of 6000 points a side. After a quick discussion about who should side with who (we had several armies to pick from), we ended up with a "Good" alliance of Lizardmen, Ogres and Wood Elves (commanded by Paul, Raven and myself respectively) against an "Evil" muster of Dark Elves allied with two lots of Chaos Warriors (commanded by Ewan, Dayle and Jonathan). 

Forces

2000 points was convenient, as it meant I could use the Wood Elf list I've been trialing of late in preparation for the Throne of Skulls tournament. Paul and Raven's armies looked something like the following:

Slann Mage
2 x 24 Saurus Warriors
10 Cold One Cavalry
2 x 10 Skink Skirmishers
Stegadon
2 x 10 Chameleon Skinks

Ogre Tyrant
Firebelly
2 x 20? Gnoblars (not sure on the numbers of these)
7 Leadbelchers
11 Ironguts
3 Maneaters
3 Mournfang Cavalry
Ironbreaker

The Forces of Destruction lined up like this:

Dreadlord on foot
BSB on foot
Master on Cold One
2 x 15 Repeater Crossbowmen
21 Corsairs
20 Executioners
9 Cold One Knights
Hydra
5 Shades

Tzeentch Sorcerer Lord
Exalted Champion on Daemonic Mount
2 x 30 Nurgle Warriors
3 K'daii Fireborn
Hellcannon

Tzeentch Sorcerer Lord
3 x 21 Khorne Warriors
10 Khorne Knights

Deployment

As myself and Paul were the first to arrive (by quite some time...), we were the ones who got to set up the table. Terrain was randomised as per the rulebook (although we made an impromptu ruling that we would only have a single river - we must have rolled four or five in total, but we didn't fancy fighting in a swamp...)

The table set up. The Coke bottle counted as hard cover (jus' kidding...)
In the end, Paul and myself ended up on the same side, along with Raven, and got to pick table edge (I promise there was no foul play!) To help speed things up a little, as we were already running late, we decided to have each army deploy a unit at a time (so each side deployed three units at a time). It soon became clear that the Good team had a lot more units than the Team Evil did - in fact, my 2000 points of Wood Elves nearly matched the number of units for the whole 6000 points of Evil!

The table following deployment - the Wood Elves take the right flank, facing off against Ewan's Druchii, while the Lizardmen take the centre and the Ogres cram themselves onto the left flank, opposite the two Chaos armies.

The view from the Asrai camp - from here it all looks like a relatively straightforward battle!

Unsurprisingly, Team Evil finished deploying first and gained the +1 for first turn. Jonathan promptly rolled a 1, to which I responded with a casual "Even I can beat that!" Naturally, my dice also came up a 1, and Team Evil chose to take the first turn.

Evil T1

With the armies so far apart, there was little for the Evil armies to do but advance as fast as they could across the table. The only action of note was Dayle managing to roll IF with his first spell on 2d6, and then promptly causing his Sorcerer Lord to lose three Wizard levels and forget three spells! Not a bad start to the game for Team Good! On the plus side, Ewan and Jonathan somewhat made up for Dayle's atrocious luck by chasing away both of Paul's units of Chameleon Skinks (who had been placed to be an early nuisance on either flank).
Evil T1 Movement

Good T1

Buoyed by Dayle managing to cripple his own wizard, the Good armies were mostly happy to sit back and let the Bad Guys continue to blow themselves up. The Lizardmen surged up the middle, while the Ogres and Wood Elves mostly held back to draw Team Evil onto their potentially devastating shooting. In an attempt to show Dayle how things were done, Raven's Firebelly successfully cast Fulminating Flame Cave on one of Dayle's Nurgle Warrior units, promptly slaying fourteen of the spiky ones and forcing them to flee!

Good T1 Movement
Evil T2

Team Evil's second turn carried on much the same as their first, although Dayle managed not to blow his own sorcerer up this time. On the right flank, the Frenzied Corsairs were forced to charge the first of my Suicide Pigeons, who duly fled and left the Corsairs stranded in a Blood Forest. 

Good T2

Time to take the fight to the Evil Ones! Raven's Mournfang Cavalry thundered into the front of Jonathan's Khorne Knights, hoping to break the spiky horsemen and carry on down the left flank. Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan and the Mournfangs were promptly slaughtered and run down by the crazed followers of the Blood God. Elsewhere, my Pigeons began their aerial display with the ol' Switcheroo, with the second Eagle taking over suicide duties from the now-rallied first Eagle. Paul's Skinks threw all caution to the wind and sprinted into the sights of Ewan's Repeater Crossbowmen (while my Dryads decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and remained safely ensconced in the nearby Venom Thicket, awaiting the opportune moment). The rest of the Lizardmen continued their slog forward, with the Saurus splitting to either side of the central tower ready to take on the encroaching Chaos Warriors.

Good T2 Movement
Good T2 Left Flank
Evil T3

Following on from his earlier dice rolling, Dayle once again managed the seemingly impossible - needing to roll 4 or greater on 2d6 for his K'daii to charge into Raven's Leadbelchers, Dayle managed to pull out a...3, failing the charge by an inch and leaving his K'daii to stumble forwards into lethal range of the Ogre's cannons. To compound Team Evil's bad luck, Ewan's Cold One Knights chose this as the moment to go Stupid, although he still managed to charge the Shades into Paul's Skinks as Dayle's Chaos Lord ploughed into the Maneaters and the Chaos Knights continued their path of destruction into the flank of the Ironbreaker.

Just to add insult to injury, in the Shooting phase Dayle's Hellcannon proceeded to land a shot right on the Firebelly's head, only to roll a 1 to wound and fail to do any damage at all! After all the bad rolls that had plagued Team Evil so far, it was almost unsurprising when none of their chargers had much success either - the Shades were held up by the Skinks, the Chaos Lord of Killy-death failed to break the Maneaters and the Ironbreaker stubbornly refused to give before the Knights of Khorne.

Evil T3 Movement Left Flank
Evil Movement T3
Good T3

With the Evil army on the back foot, the Forces of Order chose this moment to launch their attack. My Dryads finally emerged from the Venom Thicket to smack into the Corsairs while Raven's Ironguts ploughed into the first of Jonathan's Chaos Warrior units alongside a flanking Gnoblar unit.

Good T3 Movement
Magic saw my Spellweaver finally get into the action, as she Flock of Doom'ed one of Ewan's Repeater Crossbow units and forced them to flee the table. Paul's Slann finally cast something and killed eight Executioners with Fiery Convocation.
The Wood Elf perspective
In combat, the heroic Skinks again managed to hold the Shades (on Insane Courage!). The Dryads soundly thrashed the Corsairs, but failed to catch them by an inch (that would come back to haunt me later...). On the other side of the board, the Ironbreaker finally succumb to the Chaos Knights, but the Ironguts absolutely hammered Jonathan's Chaos Warriors and smacked into the second unit of Warriors behind them (although they failed to catch the fleeing first unit...)

The Good Left Flank
The Ironguts surge through the ranks of the Chaos Warriors, cheered on by the Gnoblars!
Evil T4

In an opportunity gifted to them by careless positioning, Dayle charged his Nurgle Warriors into Paul's first Saurus unit and managed to drag the Slann into the combat as well, who promptly fled. Elsewhere, Ewan's Executioners charged the Skinks in their way, while the Chaos Knights charge into the flank of the Ogre Maneaters, running down the fleeing Ironbreaker in the process.

Evil T4 Movement
Finally, the Hellcannon managed to land a shot on target as it killed six of the unengaged Saurus unit. The main action was in combat, however. Unsurprisingly, the Executioners cut their way through the Skinks with ease but then chose to reform rather than overrun. The Nurgle Warriors performed a similar feat against the Saurus, slicing and dicing the unit into chunks, and then pursuing into the Slann and running the toad down (although the few living Saurus managed to escape). The Khorne Knights and the Chaos Lord finally managed to chop down the last of the Maneaters, but in return the Ironguts continued their rampage through the Chaos ranks as they made mincemeat of the second Khorne Warriors unit and pursued back into the newly-rallied first unit (again failing to catch the fleeing unit they'd just beaten!)

The Nurgle Warriors catch the Slann off guard
Good T4

With the centre collapsing, things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse for the Forces of Order. In an attempt to rescue the situation, the Suicide Pigeons performed a stunning (and somewhat baffling) manoeuvre that saw them blocking off the potential Druchii charges as the Eternal Guard and Treekin rearranged themselves to deal with the inevitable aftermath. Elsewhere, the Stegadon finally trundled into gear as it smacked into the exposed flank of Jonathan's third unit of Chaos Warriors.

Good T4 Movement - some careful manoeuvring by the Wood Elf Aerial Display Team,
plus other ground-based sacrifices
The view across the battlefield
Somewhat surprisingly, the Stegadon made an absolute mess of the Chaos Warriors and chased them down, gaining itself bonus points by running straight into Jonathan's Sorcerer Lord and chasing him down too! Continuing the combat success on the left flank, the Ironguts defeated the first Warriors unit for the second time and this time ran the spiky ones down, and this time succeeded in taking out the second Warriors unit as well!
The Wood Elf perspective again - too many Druchii left alive for comfort
The situation in the centre - the Nurgle Warriors have reformed to face back towards the main action, the Saurus manage to rally and reform to face the rear of the Nurgle Warriors, while the Leadbelchers turn to face the incoming Chaos Knights.
Evil T5

The fifth turn saw a flurry of charges that would possibly settle the game once and for all. The Nurgle Warriors, as expected, charged the rear of my sacrificial Glade Guard unit, the Cold One Knights charged one of the Eagles while the Executioners charged the other, the Corsairs charged into the exposed flank of the Dryads in the Blood Forest (which was careless of me...), while on the other flank the Chaos Knights and Chaos Lord charged into the Leadbelchers.

Evil T5 Movement
Unsurprisingly, the Nurgle Warriors cut down the Glade Guard to a man and reformed to face three potential incoming charges. The Cold One Knights easily slew the first Pigeon and more or less had to reform, due to lack of room to overrun into anything. The Executioners slew the second Pigeon just as easily, and unfortunately the charge angle meant I couldn't avoid having them overrun into the Treekin (ouch...). In the Blood Forest, the Corsairs managed to beat the Dryads narrowly, but they held and managed a combat reform to bring the whole unit into combat (what was left of the unit, anyway). On the other flank, the Knights easily managed to cut their way through the Leadbelchers and overrun into the Saurus Cavalry, while the Chaos Lord overran into the rear of the second Saurus unit

Evil T5 Movement Centre/Left
Good T5

With time quickly running out, we decided this would be the final turn of the game, and it was probably a good thing too as Team Evil were having a bit of a resurgence. In a gamble to turn the game back to the Good Guys, the Eternal Guard and recently-rallied Saurus double-teamed the Nurgle Warriors in an attempt to break them once and for all. Elsewhere, my much-reduced Dryad unit charged into the depleted Repeater Crossbowmen.
Good T5 Movement
Good T5 Movement Centre
Magic was my Spellweaver fail her one attempt at Amber Spear-ing the Hydra, before casting Wyssan's with IF on the Treekin, and blowing up her bodyguard unit of Scouts in the process. 

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go to plan for Team Good - both Dryads were beaten by the Corsairs and Crossbowmen respectively (but importantly manage to hold....), the Treekin were mercilessly cut down by the Executioners, and the Eternal Guard and Saurus failed to break the Nurgle Warriors (with the Saurus being nearly cut down to a man in the process). On the upside though, the Saurus Cavalry finally managed to do something useful as they killed off the Chaos Knights (their one and only contribution to the game).

 ~ ~ ~

With the game over, it was time to tot up the scores. All told, Team Evil had 3489 points left on the table (Dayle 1845, Ewan 1344, Jonathan 300) compared to Team Good's 3611 (Raven 1038, Paul 920 and myself 1653). The Good Guys had claimed four unit standards plus one enemy general (all Jonathan's for 200VPs), while the Bad Guys could claim one banner and one enemy general (all Paul's, for 125VPs) 

The total VPs then were 2711VPs for Team Good, and 2514VPs for Team Evil - a difference of 197VPs; just enough to call it a narrow Victory for Team Good!

All in all though, the overall result didn't really matter - we all had a whale of a time playing the game, and it swung both ways at one point or another, which is what a good game is all about! If we had had time to play the final turn, I think Team Evil would have managed to pull out a win of their own, as they were in a much stronger position at the end of the fifth turn than us Good Guys were. Still, there's plenty of opportunities for a rematch!

Monday 19 August 2013

More Trees!

Time for more Wood Elves, and the third finished unit of the army so far. Six Treekin, now all fully sculpted and painted (you can see some WiP pics of the back rankers here). This leaves me 60 days to paint the remaining 69 models - certainly achievable. The downside is that this is now all the "easy" stuff out of the way, and the forthcoming elven units will take considerably longer to paint, due to all the added detail and colour variation that will be necessary (unfortunately, I can't just paint them brown and drybrush them like the Dryads and Treekin!) 

Anywho, I'll leave you with some pictures while I crack on with the elves...








The Rescue of Thrár

Scenario 3 - The Rescue of Thrár

In the aftermath of the assault on the Second Hall, Balin's scouting parties come under attack. Balin must mount a daring rescue...

Forces

Good
Balin
Dwarf Captain
8 Khazad Guard
2 Dwarf Warriors with shields

Evil
Goblin Captain
6 Moria Goblins with shields
6 Moria Goblins with spears
6 Moria Goblins with bows
Goblin Drum

Deployment

Thrár and the two Dwarf Warriors begin the game in hiding; the Good player takes three pieces of paper and writes Thrár's name on one of them. He then passes the folded pieces of paper to the Evil player, who places each piece next to some rubble or another suitable terrain feature further than 6" away from each other. This way, neither player knows exactly where Thrár is hiding, but each has a rough idea. Paul placed the pieces of paper at locations 1, 2 and 3 on the map.

Once the papers are placed, the Evil player deploys his force within the Goblin deployment area (as shown on the map, in red). Finally, the Good player deploys Balin and the Khazad Guard within their deployment area (as shown on the map, in white).

The Dwarf deployment zone in white, the Goblin deployment zone in red
and the three possible locations of Thrár's hiding place
Special Rules

Thrár
The hidden Dwarves are not deployed at the start of the game. When a model from either force comes within 6" of a piece of paper is is turned over. If Thrár's name is on the paper then the Good player may place Thrár and the two Dwarves with shields within 1" of the piece of paper. If the paper is blank, simply remove it from the game - Thrár is elsewhere.

Victory

The Good side wins if it manages to kill all of the Evil force or drive them form the field. If Balin or Thrár is slain, the Evil side wins. If both sides meet their victory conditions in the same turn, the game is a draw. 

Paul's deployed his forces with the bow-armed Goblins positioned on the hill to pepper the Dwarf advance and the remainder of his forces in the centre ready to make a dash for the nearest piece of paper. Gary stuck all his Dwarves far out on the right flank, which was the only real option if he wanted to avoid getting swamped early.

Deployment
As usual, the Good side had priority in the first turn and Gary wasted no time in rushing as far forwards as he could, as quickly as he could, all the time peppered by the Goblin archers on the hill. The main Goblin force matched the Dwarves step for step, advancing as quickly as possible towards the central hill (location 2) with the majority of their troops but sending a small party across to head off the Dwarfs.

Balin and his Khazad Guard slice their way through the few Goblins
 in their way, as Thrár and his warriors are revealed.

It wasn't long before the Goblins approached the central hill, and were close enough to reveal the paper bearing the name of Thrár. The Dwarf captain and his warriors were placed on top of the plateau, and the Goblins wasted no time in attempting the scale the slopes. With three doughty Dwarf warriors defending the slopes, it proved difficult work as the Goblins struggled to gain a foothold at the top of the climb, with the Dwarves making the most of the narrow heights to limit the number of Goblins who could make it into combat.

Thrár and his warriors fight off the swarm of Goblins at the top of the plateau
With Thrár and his warriors doing a sterling job of holding off the Goblins on the plateau, Balin and his Khazad Guard had plenty of time to cut their way through those Goblins still left on the ground., including the Drum which turned the tide of the battle once and for all.

With the Drum dead, the upper hand goes to the Dwarves

With only the Goblin bowmen left on the ground, it didn't take long for the Dwarves to begin climbing the plateau to fight alongside Thrár. 

The dwarves continue to cut their way through the Goblins on the plateau
It wasn't long before the Goblins reached breaking point, and as had happened in the previous two games, the Goblin courage didn't last long and the Dwarves quickly swarmed up onto the plateau to deliver the coup de grace to the few Goblins that remained.

Not many left now...
The Dwarves swarm over the remaining Goblins, and quickly put them out of their misery.
So we reach the halfway point of the campaign and the Dwarves are 3-0 up; the best Paul can hope for now is a draw, but he'll have to pull out all the stops to get one! Luckily, the second half of the campaign gets harder for the Dwarves. We'll resume the campaign in Scenario 4 - Kill the Goblin King

Sunday 18 August 2013

Battle for the Second Hall

It's been a long time since I posted the first part of our ongoing LotR Moria campaign - with summer in full swing though, we've had to deal with holidays, childcare arrangements, more holidays and all sorts of other conundrums that have conspired to limit the playing time we've been able to put into this campaign BUT we're now looking to resume play, and so it's about time I posted up where we are so far and got everyone up to speed! I hereby present the second game of the "Reclamation of Moria" campaign, with the score currently 1-0 to Balin's Dwarves (commanded by Gary).

Scenario 2 - Battle for the Second Hall

The second scenario introduces the main protagonists of the campaign - Balin, Lord of Moria and Durburz the Goblin King. This scenario forms the first of the pitched battles, pitching the majority of each side's forces against each other. Balin and his vanguard have been busily hewing goblins, and now find themselves standing almost alone against the bulk of the Goblin army, waiting for their own reinforcements to catch up.

Forces

Good
Balin
2 Dwarf Captains with shields
6 Khazad Guard
8 Dwarf Warriors with shields*
8 Dwarf Warriors with bows*
3 Dwarf Warriors with two-handed axes
1 Dwarf Warrior with banner

* I had to make a slight adjustment to the forces, adding in two Warriors with bows and two Warriors with shields in exchange for an additional Banner Bearer, due to not being able to get the model ready in time.

Evil
Durburz, the Goblin King
Moria Goblin Shaman
2 Cave Trolls with troll chains
8 Moria Goblins with shields
8 Moria Goblins with spears
8 Moria Goblins with bows
2 Bat Swarms

Deployment

First, Balin and up to twelve additional Good models had to set up within 6" of the board centre. The remainder of the Good force were set up within 3" of the northern board edge. The Evil player begins by deploying the two Cave Trolls within 6" of Balin (note: not within 6" of the centre, within 6" of Balin himself) and then the remaining Evil forces are set up within 3" of the southern board edge.

The white central circle denotes where Balin and his group may deploy. The red ring is not wholly accurate, as the Cave Trolls are deployed depending on the exact position of Balin himself, but gives an idea of the possible position. The white and red areas at the top and bottom of the board denote the main Good and Evil deployment zones, respectively.

Special Rules

Stygian Gloom
Due to the reduced visibility, models may not shoot at targets more than 12" away. However, because it is harder to avoid a shot in the dark, all Shooting attacks receive a +1 bonus on the roll to wound.

Victory

The winner is the side that reduces their opponent to 25% strength or less. If both sides achieve this in the same turn, the result is a Draw. If Balin is slain, the best result the Good side can achieve is a Draw, and likewise for the Evil side if Durburz is slain.

With another non-standard deployment, Gary had a few decisions to make - where to place Balin, and who to choose to accompany him in the centre of the board. In the end, Gary decided to deploy Balin in the very centre of the board, and chose to accompany him with all of the Khazad Guard as well as the Banner Bearer and one of the Captains, which he deployed in a roughly circular cordon around Balin (not knowing where the Trolls would be placed, Gary couldn't afford to leave an avenue unguarded). The rest of the Good force was deployed as close as it could possibly get, with the bowmen out on the flanks and the Dwarf combat warriors packed into the centre ready to pile into the action.

In response, Paul placed by Trolls on his own side of the table (i.e. further away from the mass of Gary's Dwarfs), on either side of the Dwarf cordon (imagine 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock, with Balin being 12 o'clock). The rest of the Goblin forces were deployed in a huge phalanx, ignoring the flanks altogether and with the Bat Swarms placed to swoop into the Trolls' combat at the earliest opportunity.

The game began with the Dwarves taking an aggressive approach and deciding to take the Trolls on head-on, with Balin and two Khazad Guard charging one and another Khazad Guard and the Captain charging the other. The rest of the Dwarves advanced as fast as their little legs could carry them. In response the Goblins did the same, with the Bat Swarms swooping close to the combat and ready to intervene in the second turn.

The first turn begins with the Trolls getting into the thick of things immediately.
Balin and his vanguard took down the first Troll in short order, with no losses in return, but the rest of the Goblin forces were now approaching (and were closer to the combats than the Dwarves, thanks to the movement of the fighting).

The fighting thickens as the Goblins and Dwarfs approach
The early advantages went mostly the way of the Goblins, but they struggled to lands the killing blows to cut through the sturdy Dwarf armour as they failed to capitalise on their streak of winning combats.
The Goblins press the attack while the main Dwarf battleline is still a couple of moves away.
With the Dwarf force within charge range the tide turned on the Goblins as Durburz was brought low by Balin himself and the second Troll collapsed in the same turn. With the collapse of their leader, the Goblins seemingly lost all will to fight as the Dwarves finally crashed into their lines and the momentum of the battle began to swing in favour of Balin's forces.

With Durburz down and the main Dwarf force arriving, the pressure is on the Goblins...
It wasn't long before the superior fighting force of the Dwarves began to tell on the Goblins, with casualties mounting up quickly (on both sides, it must be said). It looked for a moment that the Goblins might hold out, with the Dwarves two models from 50% and the Goblins three models away, but Balin picked his moment to unleash his impressive killing power again and cut down another two Goblins before ploughing into the Shaman and cutting him down too. With the magical boost of "Fury" gone and the Goblins now taking Courage tests, the game was effectively over - with a Courage value of just 2, there weren't going to be many passes and so it proved, and the Evil forces quickly crumbled as the Dwarf march continued.

The demise of the Goblin forces is soon to come...

So the score is now 2-0 to the Dwarves, as the game played out the same as in the first scenario albeit on a larger scale. The Goblins failed to take advantage of their early opportunities, Durburz was carelessly exposed to the best fighter on the Good side (indeed, one of the best fighters in the whole LotR game!) and the debilitating effect of the Bat Swarms wasn't utilised to it's best effect (they have the potential to completely cripple elite fighters like Dwarves) as Paul chose to send them off to chase the Dwarf bowmen, who realistically never formed a threat. 

So could Paul begin to turn things around in Game 3? Stay tuned to find out! 

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Can't See the Wood for the Trees...

The repainting process has finally begun! I bring you the first sixteen newly repainted models of the Wood Elf army I'm planning to take to the Throne of Skulls event in October. Two units of eight Dryads, ready and waiting for the snow effects that will be added right at the very end, once everything else is painted, so that I can get the snow consistent across the whole army. 

This takes the total models left to paint to 75, with 66 days to do it in. I've got other units underway at the moment, so I'm hoping to get the total down to at least 50 by the end of August (which is eighteen days away...)







Sunday 11 August 2013

Dinosaurs!

Last Thursday night saw my Wood Elves take on the new Lizardmen book, which was released just last weekend. Having taken on the "old" book just a couple of weeks earlier (which you can read about here) I was interested to see what had changed, and how it impacted my chances of winning! 

I took the same list I'm planning on for the Throne of Skulls. Paul's list looked something like this:

Slann
Scar Veteran on Carnosaur 
24 Saurus
10 Cold One Cavalry
Stegadon
3x10 Skink Skirmishers
2x10 Chameleon Skinks

For spells I had Wyssan's Wildform, Flock of Doom, Amber Spear and Curse of Anraheir. Paul chose to try out the 'new' Lizardmen lore (which is essentially the exact same as High Magic lore, with a different attribute).

For deployment, Paul spread his army across the width of the board with Skinks on each flank and a solid centre. I elected for a refused flank deployment, hoping to quickly sweep one flank clear of Skinks and avoid the nastier bits of Paul's list for the first few turns. 

Liz Deployment - from L to R: Chameleons, Skinks, Cold Ones, Stegadon, Carnosaur, Saurus, Skinks, Skinks, Chameleons
WE Deployment - from L to R: Scouts, LH Glade Guard, Dryads, Eagle, Weaver, Eternal Guard, Treekin, big Glade Guard, RH Glade Guard, Eagle (with more Dryads way out left, out of shot)
Paul ended up winning the roll off for first turn, and elected to take it

Liz T1

Realising how out of position his units were, Paul began to move his central units between all the woods to try and get into the action. Meanwhile, the Skinks all advanced into position to hold up the bulk of my forces.

The Skinks advance to make a nuisance in front of the Wood Elves
The rest of the Lizardmen army race to reposition themselves
Magic started pretty slowly, with only 4 Power Dice generated. Hand of Glory was attempted and dispelled, followed by Drain Magic, which was subsequently swapped for Fireball courtesy of the Lizardmen's lore attribute.

First turn shooting was limited due to range, but the right-hand Chameleon Skinks managed to shoot the first Eagle out of the sky. The nearby Glade Guard nearly scarpered, but managed to hold thanks to the BSB reroll.

WE T1

Moving with as much swiftness as they could muster, the Wood Elves began their advance. The bulk of the army moved right up into the faces of the Skinks ahead of them, while the few units in the central area moved to fend off the bulk of the approaching Lizardmen army. The far-flung Dryad unit moved at full speed to block off the Cold Ones.

The Glade Guard draw a bead on the Chameleon Skinks,
while the EG and Treekin get in the faces of the Skink units

The Scouts take up position on the edge of the wood,
opposite the roadblock Dryads in the opposite wood.
Magic again achieved very little, with Flock of Doom failing to damage the Chameleon Skinks and Wyssan's being dispelled. Moving quickly on, shooting proved much more effective with the two units of Glade Guard on the right blowing away the Chameleon Skinks in their entirety. The left-hand Glade Guard and Scout tried to shoot the Cold Ones, to no effect.

First you see them, now you don't!
Liz T2

The Lizardmen turn began with a charge from the Carnosaur into the Scouts. They should have easily been able to outrun the charging dinosaur, but the dice conspired against me as I rolled snake eyes and the Scouts were run down. Attempting to follow the Carnosaur's example, the Stegadon attempted to charge the lone Dryad unit in the left-hand wood, but the dice this time turned against Paul, as he rolled a 3 for the charge distance and the Stegadon trundled forwards to stop right in front of the Cold Ones instead.

Elsewhere, the Skinks on the right advanced into the face of first the Glade Guard and then the Eagle. The Saurus continued their slow march towards the Wood Elf army, ditching the Slann on the way, while the Cold Ones had their hands (claws?) forced by the positioning of the Stegadon and simply reformed to face the nearby Dryads, while the two units of Skinks closed in around the Forest Spirits.

The Skinks march into the face of the arrow storm, trying to take
a few Glade Guard with them before they go down...
The left-hand Dryads quickly find themselves surrounded,
while the Carnosaur munches on the corpses of the Scouts
Magic was slowly increasing in potency as Paul rolled 9 Power Dice. First, he cast a big Fireball at the left-hand Dryads, which I elected to Scroll. Soul Quench was the next spell attempted, and was quickly dispelled. The final attempt was Fiery Convocation, which failed to cast and subsequently ended the Magic phase.

Shooting saw the Eagle survived the hail of blowpipe darts with a single wound remaining, while the other Skink unit missed the Glade Guard completely. On the other flank, the combined fire of two units managed to kill just a single Dryad.

WE T2

The second Wood Elf turn began with a flurry of charges. The right-hand Dryads (perhaps foolishly) charged into the flank of the Carnosaur, the remaining Eagle (also foolishly) ploughed into the Skinks in front of it, while the two Glade Guard units decided that shooting wasn't good enough for the Skinks and decided to chase them off instead, although the Skinks unfortunately managed a massive flee move that saw them escape the rampaging elves. The Eternal Guard and Treekin continued their advance over the hill, while on the other flank the lone Dryads continued moving forwards as much as possible in order to force the Cold Ones into charging.

The Glade Guard chase off the Skinks
The lone Dryads ensure that the Cold Ones can't march past them
Magic saw a modest 6 Power Dice allow me to cast Wyssan's Wildform on the Dryads fighting the Carnosaur, although Curse of Anraheir on the Carnosaur was comfortably dispelled. With two out of three of my missile units charging I only had 10 shots to fire at the Chameleon Skinks, all of which missed anyway.

In combat, the Skinks easily managed to take the last wound off the Eagle for two losses in return. The more important combat was the Dryads vs. Carnosaur, with the Dryads managing a single wound on the Scar Veteran for three losses of their own thanks to the Scar Veteran having the Sword of Swift Slaying (thereby nullifying the Dryads' Initiative 6 and their 5+ Ward Save). Thanks to being Stubborn in a wood, the Dryads held.

Liz T3

As predicted, the turn began with the Cold Ones charging the Dryads (they really had no choice...). Elsewhere, everything that wasn't in combat desperately tried to get close to the bulk of the Wood Elf army and the fleeing Skink unit managed to rally (on Ld 5!) Crucially, I had overlooked the fact that my Spellweaver would be left exposed to Skinks and Paul capitalised on this to bring them within short range in an attempt to kill my magical abilities. 

Magic was again slow, with only 3 Power Dice generated, but it was enough to cast Hand of Glory on the Carnosaur, adding 2 to their Movement, Weapon Skill and Initiative. Shooting, meanwhile, had the potential to be devastating if Paul could kill my Weaver, but luckily he fluffed his rolls and she went unscathed. Elsewhere though, the advancing Chameleon Skinks managed to kill off four of the left-hand Glade Guard, who subsequently failed their Panic test and fled back through the woods.

One unit of Skinks rallies, while the other advances menacingly on the Spellweaver
The Chameleons prepare to pepper the Glade Guard, while the Stegadon looks on menacingly
In combat, the dice abandoned me as both units of Dryads were wiped out in short order. The Cold Ones overran, although not far enough to escape the wood, while the Carnosaur reformed to face towards the Eternal Guard and Treekin.

End of Liz T3 - notice the distinct lack of Dryads...

WE T3

With the Lizardmen beginning to plough through my units, it was time to force the issue a little and start making my own mark on the game. The Eternal Guard and Treekin did just that, with the Guard advancing into the face of the Saurus (and forcing them to remain in the woods to deny them Steadfast in combat) while the Treekin advanced into position to enact the subsequent flank attack. Elsewhere, the right-hand Glade Guard remained focused on the right-hand Skinks while the big Glade Guard swift reformed to face the Skinks threatening the Spellweaver, who moved herself out of the way of the advancing Carnosaur. The fleeing Glade Guard failed a second Ld 9 test as they failed to rally and carried on fleeing until they were nearly through the woods where they started!

Magic needed to be good for me, and I got a healthy 9 Power Dice. Flock of Doom took out 5 of the Skinks immediately closest to the Weaver, with Amber Spear skewering another two by piercing along the line.

Shooting saw the right-hand Glade Guard reduce their Skinks to 5, although the suicidal lizards managed to pass another Ld 5 test and stay put, much to my annoyance. The big Glade Guard unit drew a bead on the Carnosaur and managed to score a wound on the beast.

End of WE T3 - right
End of WE T3 - left
Liz T4

The Lizards continued their advance, with the Saurus finally managing to reach combat by charging the Eternal Guard, despite the wood. The Carnosaur advanced to threaten the EG's flank (although I wasn't too worried, as I'd have two rounds of combat before it could intervene), the remaining Skinks advanced along with the Stegadon while the Cold Ones trailed behind.

Partway through the T4 moves...
The Cold Ones trailing behind...
The Slann finally managed to pull out a decent Winds of Magic roll, with 11 Power dice generated (just when I didn't need them). Soul Quench was cast on the Treekin and allowed through, for two wounds suffered. The follow-up Fireball was quickly dispelled, and Paul's attempt at Spirit Leech against the Treekin rolled Irresistible Force but failed to do any damage to either the Treekin or the Slann, and thankfully ended the Magic phase.

Shooting saw the lone Skink succeed where the whole unit had failed, causing a wound on the Weaver. The super-Skinks on the right managed to kill 3 of the Glade Guard, although the Panic test was passed.

Combat saw the Eternal Guard kill one Saurus while losing two of their own in return. The combat ended up as a draw, and the Saurus reformed to nine files wide in order to deny the Treekin their flank charge.

End of Liz T4
WE T4

This was to be the crucial turn for the Wood Elves, where everything came together for once! The Treekin began the turn by charging the already-engaged Saurus. The fleeing Glade Guard finally managed to rally, while the Spellweaver moved closer to the safety of the big Glade Guard unit.

Magic only generated 5 Power dice, but it was enough for me to throw them all into a boosted Amber Spear at the Carnosaur. Paul failed to dispel, the Spear wounded and rolled a '6' for the number of wounds. The Carnosaur crumpled to the ground in a heap, leaving the Scar Veteran to walk.

He wasn't on his feet for long though, as the big Glade Guard unleashed their fury at the Saurus Hero, managing to score a single unsaved wound that was enough to kill him. I breathed a sigh of relief! Close by, the right-hand Glade Guard killed another two Skinks, but they again managed to pass their Ld 5 Panic test and stick around again! 

The action centres around the big combat in the middle...

The crucial combat saw the BSB kill one Saurus, the EG kill another three and the Treekin causing another five casualties. In return the Eternal Guard suffered five casualties and the Treekin took a single wound. The combined combat resolution meant that the Saurus needed snake eyes to hang around, which they subsequently failed. The Treekin pursued and failed to catch them, but the Eternal Guard refused to reform towards the Stegadon and instead ran the Saurus down, leaving both the Guard and the Kin less than 6" away from the Slann. 

~ ~ ~

At this point, we debating whether to play another turn or not but decided to call the game as it was getting pretty late, which left the game in the balance (although I was ahead on VPs by a few hundred). Here's an overall view of the battle at the end of T4:


The Slann has got a problem in the shape of two relatively unscathed units within 6", and no easy way to escape them without straight-out running away. The Skinks and Stegadon could still do some damage to my unarmoured archers; it's a question of who can do more damage (before the Steg hits anyway). I probably have one chance to Amber Spear the Stegadon before it charges into the Glade Guard, but if the Steg died then the Glade Guard should have been able to win the battle with the Skinks. It would have been interesting to see how the game would have played out (especially as I think I could have cemented the win) but alas, we shall never know. We'll have to start playing quicker...

When we ended, I'd lost my Scouts, Eagles and Dryads - 377pts in all. Paul had lost a unit of Chameleon Skinks (120pts, I think), his Scar Veteran on Carnosaur (roughly 330pts) and his Saurus (294pts) which adds up to 745pts - a narrow victory for me, although the totals could easily have swung either way in the final two turns. 

So what did I think of the new Lizardmen book? Well, it's difficult to appreciate all the changes without actually reading through the book, but for the most part the Lizardmen don't appear to have changed all that much. The Predatory Fighter rule (allowing Saurus to roll an extra attack for each '6' they roll To Hit) isn't game changing, but makes an already good unit just that bit better. The Slann has taken a bit of a hit in regards to its disciplines, but they are still the best casters in the game. The change to allow Scar Veterans to ride Carnosaurs (rather than just limiting them to Oldbloods) might mean that Carnosaurs are taken slightly more often, but with the plethora of monster-hunting spells, weapons and units available these days (well, available to everyone except Wood Elves anyway...) means they will still be vulnerable to a cannon to the face, for example.

One final word for today - you might notice in the pictures that my army is now almost exclusively white. I've been working on repainting the army over the last week, with bases cleaned off and rebased, movement trays made, metal models stripped and cleaned, and everything resprayed white in preparation for the real painting to begin this week. I'll post more about the repainting process soon!