I know in my gaming club there is a bit of a bias against using Special Characters. I think this bias springs from previous editions of Warhammer and 40k where Special characters would herohammer the entire game because they were far and away better than an entire unit. With the newer army books and codices out there, I've seen an emergence of special chars being used again. My personal philosophy is that I don't really care what you bring as long as you aren't a douche about it. I figure if you are gonna spend 500 points on a named guy, that's 500 points you aren't spending on units. Anyway - segue complete. I'm hoping this new format for battle reports is easier to read, a buddy of mine recommended leaving the images full size and posting the information below it. We'll give that a go this post and see how it works out.
I really liked the army I went up against. This was a completely Clan Pestilens list that did not have anything but Clan Pestilens (except the BSB).
My army list - The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren - it's on the blog here.
My opponent's list:
Lord
- Lord Skrolk
Hero
- Battle Standard Bearer w/ Banner of the Horned Rat
- Plague Priest riding a Plague Furnace
Core
35 Plague Monks w/ full command and some 1 use banner for plague monks
35 Plague Monks w/ full command
36 Plague Monks w/ full command
Special
10 Plague Censer Bearers
10 Plague Censer Bearers
10 Poison Wind Globadiers
1 Poison Wind Mortar
Rare
Plagueclaw Catapult
Plagueclaw Catapult
So as you can see it wasn't a bad list, plenty of neat themed units and I have to say Plague Monks are a bit of a pain in the ass.
Battle Scenario - Mission 5 - Meeting Engagement
This mission type has the board divided diagonally with a 12" neutral zone in the center. My opponent and I forgot to roll dice to see what units were in reserve at the beginning of the game but after the game we both agreed it would not have changed things much if at all.
I rolled and won the chance to deploy first. This battle mission requires you to deploy your entire army first then your opponent.
When the board was set up for us, we decided that terrain would be mysterious if we rolled a 1 when pointing to it. Out of all the terrain on the board, only 2 pieces became mysterious. A forest and one of the walls of the fort. Everything else was mundane.
Deployment
Deployment was fairly straight forward, I positioned my units to provide my army an open lane for combat and shooting. My opponent deployed and I wasn't fully sure as to what he wanted to accomplish until turn 2-3 where his deployment made sense.
Turn 1 - Wood Elves
Turn 1 I decided to go on the offensive against the Skaven army. I moved all my close combat units forward while maneuvering my ranged and flying units into optimal placment.
Shooting: Plague Monks (Unit 1) took 2 units worth of Glade Guard shooting and had their numbers reduced by 1/4th. The Plague Censer Bearers (Unit 5) were shot down by the Waywatchers and my General causing a panic test in both the Poison Wind Globadiers and the Poison Wind Mortar. The result was both units fleeing off the table.
Turn 1 Clan Pestilens
In response to my shooting of his units and the subsequent panic tests, Steven charged my Dryads with his Plague monks (unit 2) and my Treekin with this other Plague Monks (Unit 1). He managed to hit my Glade Guard with a plagueclaw catapult shot dealing some casualties.
Close Combat - Dryads die to the Plague Monks while Treekin manage to hold true to the course.
Turn 2 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elves move to get into better position while the Wild Riders move to threaten the Plague Furnace flank.
Shooting: The Waywatchers inflict 2 wounds on one of the catapults and the Glade Guard shoot up the Plague Censer Bearers (Unit 4). The Treekin managed to remove an entire rank and a half of Plague Monks but they make their panic test and stay in it!
Turn 2 - Clan Pestilens
Alrighty, the Plague Monks charge the Treekin (unit 2 Plague monks) and the Plague Censer Bearers attempt to charge the Glade Guard and are killed for their foolishness. In return the Plague Furnace hits the Wild Riders with a plague template killing 1 and the Glade Guard lose a few more to another catapult shot. The Treekin hold tight in combat.
We ran into an issue where his Banner of the Horned Rat and my Battle Standard Bearer were both within 12" of each other so we decided that in order to prevent more than one reroll for LD tests that we would just roll once and call it good.
Turn 3 - Wood Elves
The Wild Riders and Great Eagle charge the Plague Monk/Plague Furnace unit while the Glade Guard, Waywatchers and Warhawk Riders unload into the Plagueclaw Catapults. The Treekin finally fold after dishing out some seriously awesome casualties - The Battle Standard Bearer and his General both fall to the Treekin before the Plague Monks wipe them out. The Wild Riders inflict some 13 wounds on the Plague Monks manning the furnace and only take 2 wounds in return. I got really, really lucky with Toughness rolls against the Billowing Death of the furnace.
Turn 3 - Clan Pestilens
The Plague Monks (unit 1) still with a good amount of monks left charge my Glade Guard. I wish I had chosen to Stand and Shoot instead of fleeing but I wasn't sure what his other unit of Plague Monks was going to do and I didn't want to take on 2 units and risk being wiped out. Steven instead moved his other unit into flanking position and shot at my Waywatchers and Glade Guard with his catapults. Both units of Glade Guard ended up fleeing that turn which sucked. Wild Riders still hang in there taking out another 8 or 9 plague monks and inflicting another 2 wounds on the Plague Furnace. Wild Riders lose 3 and win combat but Plague Furnace sticks with it.
Turn 4 - Wood Elves
The other Great Eagle and Warhawk Riders charge the catapults while my BSB glade guard make their leadership test and turn around. The Spellweaver unit fails their leadership and continues to run. The Great Eagle battling the Plague Furnace unit dies and Wild Riders suffer another casualty and make their leadership test.
Turn 4 - Clan Pestilens
This turn I thought it was all over for the Wood Elves but it turned out pretty well. Plague Monk unit no.2 flank charges the Wild Riders causing them to flee with 2 models left. Plague Monk unit 1 charges the BSB glade guard and take horrific casualties with their stand and shoot but make it into base to base. Both catapults die to my Warhawk Riders and Great Eagle. Glade Guard hold off the Plague Monks with 3 models left!
Turn 5 - Wood Elves
Turn 5 was the turn of Sylvos making Leadership tests finally. Wild Riders roll insane courage and rally and the Spellweaver Glade Guard rally. I unload into the smaller Plague Monk unit (unit 2) and destroy it. I finally am able to get a spell off with the Spellweaver and hit Plague Monk unit 1 with a hex.
Turn 5 - Clan Pestilens
This turn ended up with Plague Monk unit 1 failing a charge against my Glade Guard and eatting a ton of arrows reducing them to 1.5 ranks and the Plague Furnace charges the remaining 2 Wild Riders and destroys them.
Turn 6 - Wood Elves
Turn six opens with my Glade Guard spellweaver unit charging the remaining Plague Monks (Unit 1) and my Waywatchers and Warhawk Riders removing enough plague monks to reduce the furnace to just the furnace. I finally pull my Ace out and get Transformation of Kadon off, turning me into a dragon. I cast it with irresistable force, causing 2 casualties and making me lose 2 wizard levels but oh well. I still turned into a friggin dragon and the Plague Monks get flattened.
Turn 6 - Clan Pestilens
The final salvo of the Plague Furnace was perhaps the most magic my opponent got off the entire game. Up to this point we had been shutting each other down every magic phase. I'd fail a spell or he'd get dispelled. With my Spellweaver in dragon form I wasn't able to use her to dispel him so he was able to get Pestilent Breath off on my Waywatchers and killed them all but the general but sadly he managed to get Vermintide off as well hitting my General with 14 hits and inflicting 8 wounds. Sylvos failed by 1 wound and died.
Final Score -
Wood Elves - 2117
Clan Pestilens - 1949
The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren was victorious!
Reflections:
This was a pretty gruesome fight, I got very lucky every round with my Wild Riders and due to the fact that magic was not an issue this game we were able to really grind units out fast. Looking back I would have changed some charge reactions and perhaps concentrated firepower more on the plague furnace rather than the plague monk units. His general was definitely a cause for concern but I feel I could have dealt with him later and maybe not pushed my Dryads out so far. I did not expect him to charge both units first turn, I was hoping to get a multi-charge off with the Treekin/Dryads but you saw how that went.
I really enjoyed this fight, I thought I was losing most of the game until turn 5 where I thought I had a chance. Skaven definitely are not an easy army to fight and while this was a themed list I know there are much worse Skaven lists out there to fight. This however was a fantastic army to go up against and look forward to fighting it again in the future.
Close Combat - Dryads die to the Plague Monks while Treekin manage to hold true to the course.
Turn 2 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elves move to get into better position while the Wild Riders move to threaten the Plague Furnace flank.
Shooting: The Waywatchers inflict 2 wounds on one of the catapults and the Glade Guard shoot up the Plague Censer Bearers (Unit 4). The Treekin managed to remove an entire rank and a half of Plague Monks but they make their panic test and stay in it!
Turn 2 - Clan Pestilens
Alrighty, the Plague Monks charge the Treekin (unit 2 Plague monks) and the Plague Censer Bearers attempt to charge the Glade Guard and are killed for their foolishness. In return the Plague Furnace hits the Wild Riders with a plague template killing 1 and the Glade Guard lose a few more to another catapult shot. The Treekin hold tight in combat.
We ran into an issue where his Banner of the Horned Rat and my Battle Standard Bearer were both within 12" of each other so we decided that in order to prevent more than one reroll for LD tests that we would just roll once and call it good.
Turn 3 - Wood Elves
The Wild Riders and Great Eagle charge the Plague Monk/Plague Furnace unit while the Glade Guard, Waywatchers and Warhawk Riders unload into the Plagueclaw Catapults. The Treekin finally fold after dishing out some seriously awesome casualties - The Battle Standard Bearer and his General both fall to the Treekin before the Plague Monks wipe them out. The Wild Riders inflict some 13 wounds on the Plague Monks manning the furnace and only take 2 wounds in return. I got really, really lucky with Toughness rolls against the Billowing Death of the furnace.
Turn 3 - Clan Pestilens
The Plague Monks (unit 1) still with a good amount of monks left charge my Glade Guard. I wish I had chosen to Stand and Shoot instead of fleeing but I wasn't sure what his other unit of Plague Monks was going to do and I didn't want to take on 2 units and risk being wiped out. Steven instead moved his other unit into flanking position and shot at my Waywatchers and Glade Guard with his catapults. Both units of Glade Guard ended up fleeing that turn which sucked. Wild Riders still hang in there taking out another 8 or 9 plague monks and inflicting another 2 wounds on the Plague Furnace. Wild Riders lose 3 and win combat but Plague Furnace sticks with it.
Turn 4 - Wood Elves
The other Great Eagle and Warhawk Riders charge the catapults while my BSB glade guard make their leadership test and turn around. The Spellweaver unit fails their leadership and continues to run. The Great Eagle battling the Plague Furnace unit dies and Wild Riders suffer another casualty and make their leadership test.
Turn 4 - Clan Pestilens
This turn I thought it was all over for the Wood Elves but it turned out pretty well. Plague Monk unit no.2 flank charges the Wild Riders causing them to flee with 2 models left. Plague Monk unit 1 charges the BSB glade guard and take horrific casualties with their stand and shoot but make it into base to base. Both catapults die to my Warhawk Riders and Great Eagle. Glade Guard hold off the Plague Monks with 3 models left!
Turn 5 - Wood Elves
Turn 5 was the turn of Sylvos making Leadership tests finally. Wild Riders roll insane courage and rally and the Spellweaver Glade Guard rally. I unload into the smaller Plague Monk unit (unit 2) and destroy it. I finally am able to get a spell off with the Spellweaver and hit Plague Monk unit 1 with a hex.
Turn 5 - Clan Pestilens
This turn ended up with Plague Monk unit 1 failing a charge against my Glade Guard and eatting a ton of arrows reducing them to 1.5 ranks and the Plague Furnace charges the remaining 2 Wild Riders and destroys them.
Turn 6 - Wood Elves
Turn six opens with my Glade Guard spellweaver unit charging the remaining Plague Monks (Unit 1) and my Waywatchers and Warhawk Riders removing enough plague monks to reduce the furnace to just the furnace. I finally pull my Ace out and get Transformation of Kadon off, turning me into a dragon. I cast it with irresistable force, causing 2 casualties and making me lose 2 wizard levels but oh well. I still turned into a friggin dragon and the Plague Monks get flattened.
Turn 6 - Clan Pestilens
The final salvo of the Plague Furnace was perhaps the most magic my opponent got off the entire game. Up to this point we had been shutting each other down every magic phase. I'd fail a spell or he'd get dispelled. With my Spellweaver in dragon form I wasn't able to use her to dispel him so he was able to get Pestilent Breath off on my Waywatchers and killed them all but the general but sadly he managed to get Vermintide off as well hitting my General with 14 hits and inflicting 8 wounds. Sylvos failed by 1 wound and died.
Final Score -
Wood Elves - 2117
Clan Pestilens - 1949
The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren was victorious!
Reflections:
This was a pretty gruesome fight, I got very lucky every round with my Wild Riders and due to the fact that magic was not an issue this game we were able to really grind units out fast. Looking back I would have changed some charge reactions and perhaps concentrated firepower more on the plague furnace rather than the plague monk units. His general was definitely a cause for concern but I feel I could have dealt with him later and maybe not pushed my Dryads out so far. I did not expect him to charge both units first turn, I was hoping to get a multi-charge off with the Treekin/Dryads but you saw how that went.
I really enjoyed this fight, I thought I was losing most of the game until turn 5 where I thought I had a chance. Skaven definitely are not an easy army to fight and while this was a themed list I know there are much worse Skaven lists out there to fight. This however was a fantastic army to go up against and look forward to fighting it again in the future.
Nice report, but maybe we need Goldilocks sized pictures? ;) Pictures of the actual armies would be cool too since that's a big part of the hobby.
ReplyDeleteIn Your maps it lookes like the plague-furnace to be able to maneuver on itself.
ReplyDeleteThis would be not according to the rules because it needs a unit of plague monks to push it.
Without it can't move and it is forbidden to place a plague-furnace without a pusher-team.
Furthermore it looks like Your opponent might have sometimes forgotten the plague-monks to be frenzy.
The must charge unless prove a moral test and must overrun.