Tuesday, 26 May 2015

The Battle That Time Forgot

Vampire Counts vs Lizardmen - 1,500 points

The fifth round of the MKWGW Escalation League saw my Vampire Counts matched up against Liam McNamara's Lizardmen. I had seem Liam play against my son in April so I had a fairly good idea of what to expect.

The Forces

     Vampire Counts army


Lords

Gotred Onjur - Master Necromaner (Level 3 Lore of Vampires)
                         Dispel Scroll, Talisman of Preservation

Heroes

Vampire - Level 1 (Lore of Death), Barded Nightmare, Heavy armour
       Red Fury, Sword of Might,    Enchanted Shield, Book of Arkhan

Vampire - Level 1 (Lore of Vampires), Barded Nightmare, Heavy armour, Shield, Lance
                          Obsidian Lodestone


Core Units

20 Crypt Ghouls - Champion
15 Skeleton Warriors (Sword and shield)
30 Zombies










Special Units

10 Black Knights - Lances, Full command


Rare Units

Terrorgheist

            Total points cost: 1,500 points


   



Lizardmen army

Lords

Slaan Mage Priest - Battle Standard
                          Wandering Deliberations, Becalming Cogitations, Dispel Scroll

Heroes

Skink Priest - Level 1 (Lore of Heavens)
                          Cube of Darkness

Saurus Scar-Veteran
                          Gold Sigil Sword, Enchanted Shield

Core Units

25 Saurus Warriors - Full command
10 Skink Skirmishers

Special Units

16 Temple Guard - Full command
Bastilodon
3 Ripperdactyl Riders

            Total points cost: 1,499 points


The Battle

   Turn One

The Vampire Counts won the roll for the first turn. The Terrorgheist moved at full speed towards the
Skink Skirmishers and the Black Knight unit with the Vampires moved towards the Slaan and the Temple Guard. In hindsight, I should have deployed the Terrorgheist on the right to deal with the Ripperdactyls. The Black Knights didn't make the most of their movement, and despite a bit of pre-measuring, I didn't move them as far forward as I could have, keeping them out of range of an imagined charge from the Temple Guard instead of being more aggressive.

The Terrorgheist screamed off four Skinks, and in the Magic phase, the Master Necromancer summoned up a few more Zombies in his own unit.

In the Lizardmen's first turn, the Sauruses (or is it Sauri?) on the left (my right) advanced cautiously, keeping their options open to either deal with the advancing skeletons or counter charge the Black Knights in the flank. The Ripperdactyls flew right over the Skeleton Warriors to attack the Master Necromancer's Zombie bunker. The Skinks attempted to make a screen in front of the Slaan and his Temple Guard, but didn't quite have enough movement to completely block a potential charge from the Black Knights.

In the Magic phase, the Lizardmen had twelve power dice to my seven dispel dice. The Terrorgheist was bombarded with magic, taking the brunt of four spells before being brought down. The Skink Priest even
sucked himself into a hole casting Urannon's Thunderbolt (and put a wound on the Bastilodon). The Black Knights were also whittled down by a combination of Searing Doom and some lucky shots from the Skinks.


   Turn Two

The Black Knights had the option to charge the Skinks. If they took a Stand and Shoot, they would have most likely been wiped out and the Knights would have an easy overrun into the Temple Guard. More likely, they would have fled, in which case the Knights could have attempted to redirect into the Temple Guard. With a Leadership of 8, I didn't fancy my chances and the Knights would have been left hanging in no-man's-land and counter charged on two sides. Instead, I had the Vampires and Black Knights charge at the Temple Guard through the opening on the right side of the Skinks. Here is where I paid for my previous miscalculation and failed the charge by 1". Result: The Knights were left hanging in no-man's-land.

In the Magic phase, one of the Vampires Irresistibly cast Purple Sun of Xereus, which went right through the Saurus block and reduced them to five left out of twenty five. The miscast was a Magical Feedback, and every wizard hit made their respective armour or ward saves, but the dice gained from Spirit Leech were lost.

In the Lizardmen's turn, the Ripperdactyls charged the Zombies, but because off the building, were only able to clip onto the rear few models of the unit.

The Slaan had another blinding Magic phase (I think it was 10 dice to 5) and ended up blowing the Vampires and Black Knights away with a Searing Doom spell. The Obsidian Lodestone carried by one of the Vampires failed to make a single ward save, all my dice could roll were 3's and 2's.

   Turns Three to Five
.
Suffice to say, after the first two turns, it was all but over. The Skeleton Warriors made a valiant charge (if Skeletons have a sense of valour) into the remaining five Saurus Warriors, but couldn't make a dent and were eventually wiped out. The Crypt Ghouls moved to block the Temple Guard from advancing on the Zombie bunker, all the time being harassed by poisoned shots from the Skinks. The Master Necromancer and his Zombies actually fought their way out of combat when their numbers were reduced sufficiently and the Ripperdactyls couldn't reform sideways because of the building. Gotred Onjur, the Master Necromancer, managed to raise up a couple of small units of Zombies to slow down the advancing Temple Guard and Bastilodon. The Necromancer and his Zombie bunker reformed to face away from the bulk of the Lizardman army, but were again charged by the Ripperdactyls.

By the Vampire Counts fifth turn, the Necromancer was fighting on his own against the Ripperdactyls. He took two wounds and crumbled away. The remaining Crypt Ghouls.were then finished off by a charge from the Temple Guard.









Final Victory Points were; Vampire Counts - 95, Lizardmen - 1,600.

Despite being totally crushed, it was an enjoyable game. Also it was a learning curve for me to be more aggressive when playing Vampire Counts. It could have been an entirely different result if the Vampires and Black Knights had got into combat with the Temple Guard, and I would love to have seen how the combat would have gone, but it was not to be.

Thanks to Liam for a great game, and also for some of the pics in this blog.

The Fluff

Gotred Onjur had seen signs of the coming of the End Times, and had been sent by a mysterious (even to one as used to the Black Arts as he) hooded, semi-ethereal figure to venture to Lustria to recruit the services of Luthor Harkon, the vampire-pirate. There were also rumours that the Lizardmen were embarking on some migration to another dimension to escape the End Times. If there was indeed to be a mass invasion by the forces of Chaos, the absence of the Lizardmen from the Old World would be a crippling blow indeed. They needed to be persuaded that leaving this world was not such a good idea.

After arriving in Lustria and getting word to Luthor, a war band of Lizardmen led by a powerful Slaan was detected heading for some ruins where it was believed a portal between worlds existed. Gotred saw his arrival as timely and took the opportunity to intercept the Lizardmen before they could depart.Gotred had already sacrificed a portion of his life essence to summon a Terrorgheist,
and two of Luthor's vampires also joined his band.

Upon sighting his quarry, the land around seemed to shimmer. Rather than the Lustrian jungle that he was expecting, the battlefield looked more like some ruins of an ancient and forgotten Tilean civilisation. Gotred began to suspect that the portal that the Lizardmen were heading for did not have a physical presence as such, and that both the Necromancer's army and the Lizardmen had already begun to pass through it into another dimension.

Gotred ordered his forces forward, particularly the Terrorgheist and the Black Knights led by the Vampires, but held back with the Zombies that were protecting him. The Terrorgheist was eager to feast on the scaly things taking up position on the opposite side of the battlefield and flew out at full speed. The Vampires, however, seemed sluggish, taking an eternity to cross the sands between the two armies.

As soon as the Terrorgheist let forth a soul-rending scream which saw four Skinks fall to the ground and shimmer out of apparent existence, Gotred realised his mistake. Three Ripperdactyls on the right flank came swooping in a banking curve, right over his Skeleton Warriors assigned to protect his flank and heading towards the rear of his own Zombies which were only partially shielded by some strange acropolis.

Distracted by the flying long-beaked lizards, the Necromancer was unable to counter the volley of arcane power unleashed by the Slaan which saw the quick demise of the Terrorgheist. One of the Vampires retaliated by sending a purple vortex of death into the ranks of a troop of Saurus Warriors. Once the cloud had passed, barely a fifth of the regiment remained, the rest seeming to have just disappeared. No blood, no bodies....nothing.

Gotred sent the mental command to Luthor Harkon's vampires to engage the Slaan and his Temple Guard, but again, they were too slow and another powerful blast of magic from the Slaan melted the entourage of Knights along with the Vampires long before they could bring their lances to bear.

The Necromancer, already drained by his previous weeks efforts at summoning the Terrorgheist and the long journey to Lustria, soon found himself fighting for his unlife against the Ripperdactyls whilst what remained of his army put up some attempt at fighting off the slowly advancing reptilian battle-line. The Skeleton Warriors, having already failed to protect his flank, tried to redeem themselves by launching an attack at what was left of the Saurus Warriors that had depleted by the Vampire's last spell, but were no match for the martial skill of the lizard warriors. The Crypt Ghouls shambled around apparently aimlessly, looking for a the best spot to be harassed by poisoned darts from the Skink Skirmishers.

Gotred's own Zombies were eventually ripped to pieces, disappearing into nothing before even hitting the sand, until only Gotred was left. The last he saw of the battle was a Ripperdactyl attempting to skewer him with its beak before the strange lands around him shimmered and disappeared. He found himself alone, back in steaming Lustrian jungle. Shaking his head and dusting himself off, he began the long trek back to the harbours of the Vampire Coast. With any luck, he might be in time to get on board one of the ships of Luthor Harkon's fleet before it set sail.

Twenty Saurus Warriors suddenly found themselves back in their jungle. They knew they were miles away from where they were supposed to be. Shaking their heads in disappointment, knowing know they would not be able to catch up with the Slaan that was leading them, they headed for the nearest familiar temple, hoping to find another group setting off for the portals.

Four Skinks uncovered their ears in a vain attempt to cut out the death-scream of the Terrorgheist. Opening their eyes and uncovering their ears, they found themselves in a muddy cave, the scent of unfamiliar marshland pervading their reptilian nostrils. An opening through which daylight could be seen was largely blocked by the form of a huge muscular human screaming towards them, swinging a crude spiked club...

Saturday, 2 May 2015

Here Come the Rats Again!

Skaven vs Vampire Counts 1,250 points

In Round Four, I was drawn against Iain Wilson with his Skaven. Iain has had three straight wins out of three, so I knew that this was not going to be an easy game. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to it.

Anyway, here's the battle report as best as I can remember the details.

The Forces

     Skaven

Off the top of my head, this is what Iain had in his Skaven army.

Plague Priest (General) Level 2 - Lore of Plague
Chieftain (Battle Standard Bearer)
Warlock Engineer (Level 1 Wizard - Lore of Ruin)
Warlock Engineer (non-spell caster)

Two units of about 40 Skavenslaves
A Clanrat unit of about 25 with shields and full command
A Clanrat unit of about 25 with just full command (no upgrades)
Poisoned Wind Mortar
Warpfire Thrower

Two Warp Lightning Cannons
Plagueclaw Catapult

     Vampire Counts

The latest addition to the army.
Gotred Onjur - Master Necromancer (General - Level 4 - Lore of Vampires)
Mounted Vampire - Level 1 - Lore of Death
Vampire - Level 1 - Lore of Vampires

5 Dire Wolves
20 Skeleton Warriors with full command
20 Zombies with standard bearer
20 Zombies

7 Black Knights, fully equipped (i.e. lances and barding)
Spirit Host

Deployment

The Plague Priest got Wither and Cloud of Corruption for his spells. The Warlock Engineer took Warp Lightning.

Gotred the Necromancer had Invocation of Nehek, Vanhel's Danse Macabre, Raise Dead and Curse of Years. The Vampire on foot had Wind of Death. The mounted Vampire took Spirit Leech.

The Skaven deployed the two blocks of Skavenslaves in the centre, flanked on each side by a Clanrat unit and its accompanying weapon team. The war machines took up position near their right corner, with the Poisoned Wind Mortar nearby. A Warlock Engineer went in each Clanrat unit, and the Plague Priest and Warlord went in one of the Skavenslave units.

For the Vampire Counts, the Dire Wolves took up position on the right flank while the rest of the army was huddled partially behind a large piece of impassable terrain. The mounted Vampire and the Black Knights were fairly central but facing a swamp. To their right, just within the Master Necromancer's march bubble, were the Skeleton Warriors who were facing a forest. Gotred himself had a Zombie bunker for company. The other Zombie unit took up position to the left of the impassable terrain with the Spirit Host just behind them, ready to head towards the war machines. Into this unit went the Vampire on foot.

The Battle

     Turn One

After vanguarding my Dire Wolves towards the Clanrats and the Warpfire Thrower on the right side
of the battlefield (from the Vampire Counts perspective), the Skaven won the roll for the first turn. The Skaven chose not to advance, and were out of range for using any magic. The war machines proceeded to bombard the Zombie bunker with the Master Necromancer, being able to partially see through gaps in the impassable terrain for targeting. and reduced the unit to about eight Zombies and the Master Necromancer.

In the Vampire Counts turn, the Dire Wolves attempted a charge into the Warpfire Thrower but failed by one inch. The Skeleton Warriors marched forwards so that two of the Skeletons were in the forest, which turned out to be a Venom Thicket. Both Skeleton Warriors passed their Dangerous Terrain tests.

In the Magic phase, the mounted Vampire cast the boosted range version of Spirit Leech at the Plague Priest. The Plague Priest used all of the dispel dice to attempt to stop it but failed. In the dice off, the Plague Priest took one wound (and I forgot to roll for Life Leeching). The Master Necromancer then cast Invocation of Nehek, adding about fourteen Zombies to his unit so that it was now slightly bigger than before the bombardment.

     Turn Two

In the Skaven's Magic phase, the Warlock Engineer tried to cast Warp Lightning at the Dire Wolves

but it was easily dispelled. In Shooting, the other Warlock Engineer fired his Doomrocket towards the Black Knights, which landed appallingly short. One of the Warp Lightning Cannons misfired, spinning around and firing off the board. The other managed to hit the back of the Black Knights unit, slaying three of them. The Plagueclaw Catapult got a direct hit on the mounted Vampire but failed to cause any wounds to his unit. The Poisoned Wind Mortar fired at the advancing Zombies and was wildly off target. The Warpfire Thrower got a good range and managed to hit three of the Dire Wolves, but only managed to slay one.

The Dire Wolves charged into the Warpfire Thrower. In Magic, the Master Necromancer raised a new unit of Zombies on the edge of the marsh, with the idea of using them to divert any charges by the Skavenslaves. The Dire Wolves made short work of the Warpfire Thrower and reformed to face the nearby Clanrat unit.






     Turn Three

The Skaven were now beginning to suspect treachery in their ranks. The Plague Priest failed to cast

Wither at the Black Knights, quickly ending the Magic phase. The Warp Lightning Cannon that could fire had its shot land hopelessly short of the Black Knights, the Plagueclaw Catapult was suspiciously off target and the Poisoned Wind Mortar's shot landed nowhere. Only the Clanrats on the right achieved anything by charging and destroying the Dire Wolves that had taken out their Warpfire Thrower.

In the Vampire Counts turn, the Vampire in the Zombie unit leapt out to charge the Poisoned Wind Mortar, which took a Stand and Shoot reaction, scoring a direct hit on the Vampire, and failing to wound anything. The Vampire, having Flying Horror, easily made his charge.

In the Magic phase, the Master Necromancer attempted to cast Invocation of Nehek to bring the Black Knights unit back up, needing a 12+, but failed to cast with four dice!

In combat, the Vampire chopped up the Poisoned Wind Mortar and overran, but only rolled 5 inches for his overrun, an inch short of one of the Warp Lightning Cannons.

     Turn Four

Another poor round for the Skaven. Magic was fairly uneventful. The Plague Priest cast Wither on

the newly raised unit of Zombies, reducing them to Toughness 2 and Warp Lightning from the Warlock Engineer at the Skeleton Warriors was dispelled.

In Shooting, two of the war machines misfired, but didn't suffer any severe mishaps, being unable to fire this turn. One of the Warp Lightning Cannons managed to take out two more Black Knights, reducing the unit to just the Vampire, Hell Knight champion and the standard bearer.

The Vampire on foot charged the Warp Lightning Cannon on the right. The Spirit Host attempted a fairly long charge at the other Warp Lightning Cannon and failed, parking itself right in front of the Clanrats unit. This meant that the Zombies now had to turn to face the Clanrats to avoid being flank charged after an overrun.

In the Magic phase, the mounted Vampire cast the boosted range Spirit Leech at the Plague Priest and got Irresistible Force. The Vampire put two wounds on the Plague Priest, who failed both of his ward saves and was slain. The resulting miscast was a Calamitous Detonation, putting a wound on the Vampire (and I forgot that he had a ward save) and destroying the remaining two Black Knights.

The Vampire on foot slew two of the Warp Lightning Cannon crew and the war machine broke and was destroyed. The other Warp Lightning Cannon failed its Panic test, stopping it from firing on the Skaven's next turn.

     Turn Five

The Clanrats on the left charged into the flank of the Spirit Host. The Warlock Engineer, being the

only spellcaster left after the demise of the general, attempted to cast Warp Lightning at the Skeleton Warriors but failed to cast. The Plagueclaw Catapult launched a shot at the mounted Vampire but was suspiciously off target.

The Clanrats lost one of their number to the Spirit Host, but easily crumbled it with combat resolution and overran into the Zombies.

In the Vampire Counts turn, the Vampire on foot charged the remaining Warp Lightning Cannon. The mounted Vampire marched away to put some distance between himself and the Plagueclaw Catapult. In hindsight, it would have been better to keep him close to the Master Necromancer so that he could get healed from his Lore of Vampires spells, but I think he was looking to Spirit Leech off another character.

In Magic, the Master Necromancer raised another unit of Zombies and added to both his own unit and the newly raised unit with Invocation of Nehek.

The Clanrats whittled the Zombies they were fighting down to about nine between casualties inflicted and combat resolution. The Vampire slew the entire crew of the Warp Lightning Cannon and overran into the Plagueclaw Catapult.

     Turn Six

The Warlock Engineer had the mounted Vampire just in range to hit with Warp Lightning. He cast
the spell successfully though not Irresistibly, and, totally forgetting that I still had a Dispel Scroll, thought I could easily dispel it and failed. The Vampire took two wounding hits and armour saved one of them. Luckily, by now I remembered (or rather looked at my roster sheet) that he had a Talisman of Preservation and made the ward save.

The Clanrats took the Zombie unit down to just one remaining after combat resolution. The Vampire fighting the Plagueclaw Catapult only managed to kill one of the crew. However, the remaining crew failed to get any wounding hits, failed their Break test, and the machine was destroyed.

In the Vampire Counts last turn, the Skeleton Warriors attempted a long charge at the Clanrats unit
on the right, which they failed, needing a 12. The Zombies on the edge of the swamp charged the unit
of Skavenslaves with the Chieftain in it, hoping to get a lucky kill (yeah right).

In Magic, I had something like nine dice to five and made two channels. After seeing two 6's, I decided not to take any chances of miscasting and skipped the rest of the Magic phase.

The Zombies in combat with the Clanrats and Skavenslaves were wiped out without inflicting any casualties.

End of Game

We totted up the points and the Vampires scored 680 points to the Skaven's 357. A victory to the Vampire Counts, though not quite a crushing victory. It could easily have gone the other way, especially if the mounted Vampire hadn't made that last ward save.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the game. I have to admit that before the game I was somewhat daunted by the fact that Iain had had three straight wins so far and was expecting him to have a few tricks up his sleeve (assassins and so forth). I was even expecting to see a Grey Seer and/or a Hellpit.

My star performer in the game has to be the Vampire on foot, who single-handedly destroyed all the war machines and earned double the points he cost. Unfortunately, he is now getting a taste for rat blood.