So for the last few months I have been completing and playing my Wood Elf army - The Great Hunt. Upon their completion (and the subsequent modification of the point level we play at - grumble, grumble), I decided to turn my attention to another army that had sparked my interest, The Beastmen.
In previous posts I have provided readers my thought process behind tactics, army composition and overall playstyle. The Wood Elf army as well as the Eldar army provide me with the perfect selection of units to fit how I like to play. Both armies possess fast and hard hitting units that require you to capitalize on outmaneuvering and surgically striking your opponents army. So when I look for a second army in a game I attempt to look at the opposite spectrum in order to become a better player.
Example:
Ulthwe` Eldar - fast, fragile, precision - balanced army for both melee and shooting.
vs.
Black Templars - durable, strong, blunt - primarily a close combat army that punches you in the face.
It took me a while to figure out how to properly build a Black Templar army and even longer to learn to play it properly. I couldn't use the same tactics that my Eldar used because the Black Templar army just didn't function that way. I had to adapt and as a result I became a better player.
Now that I am fully vested into Fantasy, I find myself in the same dilemma again. I have "mastered" how I like to play my Wood Elves and have developed tactics and a completely balanced list to be able to handle just about every army effectively. So now that I am completely comfortable with my primary army, I felt it was time to branch out and learn another.
Enter the Beastmen.
The Beastmen army is rather interesting at first glance. I really liked the Minotaurs and immediately wanted to field a lot of them. I also liked the Gors, I felt they were perfect Core selections since they embodied a ruthless savagery that really communicated the overall theme for the army. The Beastmen also were a close combat army, much like the Black Templars in 40k and so the theme continues.
Here are the major issues I am having and the reason for this post:
1. Balanced army - I am having a real problem trying to actually build a balanced Beastman army. Now when I say balanced, I mean strong in every phase of the game - Magic, Shooting and Close Combat. My Wood Elves have managed to hit that perfect balance where they are effective in every phase. I still have not managed to mentally make that shift for the Beastmen. I have a feeling that I may have to concentrate primarily on ONE phase and pray that I am better at it than my opponent.
2. Themed army - I am currently juggling around several themes at the moment. Each theme radically changes the entire composition of the army and as a result alters the playstyle.
3. Obvious weaknesses that I can not overcome - Beastmen suck at shooting. No matter if you field 5 units of Ungor Raiders, they still suck. Lack of armor is also a concern, while my Wood Elves compensate for it by skirmishing the Beastmen really have to get in there and smash so that isn't an option.
4. Avoiding the character heavy lists - I am trying to avoid spending more than 1/4 of the points on the Lord/Hero selections yet I keep ending up with about 750ish total for both.
5. Really awesome units that are not feasible to use in lower point games. Rare selections for one, most of the chariots, Centigors, etc..
6. School of thought on number of models in army - Do I need to exceed 100 models in a 2000 point game? Do I need to horde up my Gors? Should I bother Ambushing?
7. Lastly, how the hell am I supposed to play these guys? My head tells me - rush forward and engage in close combat as soon as possible yet their special ability to ambush makes me wonder if I need to make 2 smaller units of Core to Ambush behind my opponent.
So as you can see I have several issues to hammer out and decide what to do. I have not been idle however in this process. So far I have managed to collect/assemble/buy the following units for my Beastmen.
2 Beastlord/Wargor Models
2 Out of Print Special Edition Wargor BSB models
Morghur
2 Bray Shaman
88 Gors (46 of them are older generation Gors, rest are the new ones)
44 Ungors (all have spears and are on 25mm bases so they need to be rebased)
4 Tuskgor Chariots
45 Bestigors (25 older metal models, 20 new plastic ones)
10 kit-bashed harpies (Daemonettes + gargoyles)
6 Minotaurs
1 Doombull model
1 Partially assembled Cygor (Giant)
3 Jabberslythe counts as (McFarlane dragons)
20 Chaos Hounds (10 metal, 10 plastic)
10 Centigors
1 Razorgor
So as you can see I have managed to amass a large collection because I thought I wanted to use this or that then after a while decided ...naw....
I will go ahead and post three lists that I have made over the last few weeks and I really welcome comments on them. While I will not bore you with listing the thoughts and reasons behind making each list, I will just say that every list is themed in one way or another. I will be doing follow up posts to these lists later on in the month after assembly has finished and I start actually playing them.
List 1
2000 Pts - Beastlord General Army Roster
Gorebull (1#, 247 pts)
1 Gorebull (Battle Standard Bearer), 247 pts (Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard Bearer; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Talisman of Protection
1 Uncanny Senses
Great Bray-Shaman (1#, 284 pts)
1 Great Bray-Shaman, 284 pts (Primal Fury; Level 4 Upgrade; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Talisman of Endurance
1 Gnarled Hide
1 Smoke and Mirrors
1 0. Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma
1 1. Steed of Shadows
1 2. The Enfeebling Foe
1 3. The Withering
1 4. The Penumbral Pendulum
1 5. Pit of Shades
1 6. Okkam's Mindrazor
Beastlord (1#, 215 pts)
1 Beastlord, 215 pts (General; Primal Fury; Hand Weapon)
1 The Steel-Claws
1 Armour of Fortune
Gor Herd (24#, 217 pts)
23 Gor Herd, 217 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Gor Herd (24#, 217 pts)
23 Gor Herd, 217 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Gor Herd (20#, 185 pts)
19 Gor Herd, 185 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Minotaurs (5#, 325 pts)
5 Minotaurs, 325 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Bestigor Herd (20#, 280 pts)
19 Bestigor Herd, 280 pts (Always Strikes Last; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Gouge-Horn (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Banner of Eternal Flame
Chaos Warhounds (5#, 30 pts)
5 Chaos Warhounds, 30 pts
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 499 (0 - 500)
Points of Heroes: 247 (0 - 500)
Points of Core: 619 (500 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 605 (0 - 1000)
Points of Rare: 0 (0 - 500)
Total Roster Cost: 2000
List 2
2000 Pts - Doombull #1 General Army Roster
Doombull (1#, 326 pts)
1 Doombull, 326 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Shield; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Armour of Fortune
1 Uncanny Senses
1 Gnarled Hide
Bray-Shaman (1#, 112 pts)
1 Bray-Shaman, 112 pts (Primal Fury; Level 2 Upgrade; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Smoke and Mirrors
1 0. Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma
1 1. Steed of Shadows
1 2. The Enfeebling Foe
1 3. The Withering
1 4. The Penumbral Pendulum
1 5. Pit of Shades
1 6. Okkam's Mindrazor
Wargor (1#, 166 pts)
1 ×Wargor (Battle Standard Bearer), 166 pts (Primal Fury; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Shield; Battle Standard Bearer)
1 The Steel-Claws
1 Talisman of Protection
Harpies (5#, 70 pts)
5 Harpies, 70 pts (Flyer; Scouts)
Ungor Raiders (7#, 42 pts)
7 Ungor Raiders, 42 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Hand Weapon; Short Bow; Skirmishers)
Ungor Raiders (7#, 42 pts)
7 Ungor Raiders, 42 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Hand Weapon; Short Bow; Skirmishers)
Gor Herd (24#, 217 pts)
23 Gor Herd, 217 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Gor Herd (24#, 217 pts)
23 Gor Herd, 217 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Gor Herd (20#, 185 pts)
19 Gor Herd, 185 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Bestigor Herd (19#, 268 pts)
18 Bestigor Herd, 268 pts (Always Strikes Last; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Gouge-Horn (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Banner of Eternal Flame
Chaos Warhounds (5#, 30 pts)
5 Chaos Warhounds, 30 pts
Minotaurs (5#, 325 pts)
5 Minotaurs, 325 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 326 (0 - 500)
Points of Heroes: 278 (0 - 500)
Points of Core: 703 (500 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 663 (0 - 1000)
Points of Rare: 0 (0 - 500)
Total Roster Cost: 2000
List 3
2000 Pts - Minotaur Heavy Army Roster
Bestigor Herd (19#, 268 pts)
18 Bestigor Herd, 268 pts (Always Strikes Last; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Gouge-Horn (Always Strikes Last; Hand Weapon; Great Weapon; Heavy Armour)
1 Banner of Eternal Flame
Minotaurs (5#, 325 pts)
5 Minotaurs, 325 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Minotaurs (6#, 384 pts)
6 Minotaurs, 384 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Shield)
Gor Herd (30#, 265 pts)
29 Gor Herd, 265 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Gor Herd (30#, 265 pts)
29 Gor Herd, 265 pts (Ambush; Primal Fury; Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
1 Foe-Render (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Extra Attack)
Doombull (1#, 326 pts)
1 Doombull, 326 pts (General; Hand Weapon; Shield; Causes Fear; Frenzy)
1 Sword of Swift Slaying
1 Armour of Fortune
1 Gnarled Hide
1 Uncanny Senses
Wargor (1#, 164 pts)
1 Wargor (Battle Standard Bearer), 164 pts (Primal Fury; Hand Weapon; Heavy Armour; Battle Standard Bearer)
1 The Steel-Claws
1 Talisman of Protection
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 326 (0 - 500)
Points of Heroes: 164 (0 - 500)
Points of Core: 530 (500 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 977 (0 - 1000)
Points of Rare: 0 (0 - 500)
Total Roster Cost: 1997
So there we have it. Once again I throw up three lists for appraisal and comments and we'll see how things work out. I'm fairly certain I will end up not using any of those and make yet another "perfect" list after a few weeks.
Thanks!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
A new beginning, The Great Hunt 2000 point Wood Elf List.
So after many days of not posting anything due to the extremely busy holiday season, I have finally pegged down exactly what I want to run for my 2000 point Wood Elf list. Why 2000? Well, if you recall from my previous post/rant the gaming club where I play will be gearing up for the yearly OFCC tournament soon and that has been the decided army point total.
This list is essentially my 2500 point list but with several minor changes. I really liked how my old list played but I had to cut out the War Hawk Riders, reduce the size of my Glade Guard units and my Dryads slightly as well as reduce my Level 4 Spellweaver with the Wand of the Wych Elm down to a Level 3 with a ward save. I did lose some offensive power but I feel that since I already know how the flow of this list works and feel confident in it that I shouldn't have too much trouble having a fun game with it. My only concern so far is that I lost 15 shots a turn going from 2500 to 2000 and my chances of getting the spells I wanted has been reduced but that's alright.
2000 Pts - The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren
Waywatcher Lord Sylvos Greystorm the Huntsman, Ranger General of Athel Loren (1#, 239 pts)
1 Wood Elf Highborn, 239 pts (General; Scout Kindred; Hand Weapon; Longbow; Extra Hand Weapon; Light Armour; Extra Attack)
1 The Bow of Loren
1 Arcane Bodkins
The Stalkers of the Silent Path (10#, 240 pts)
10 Waywatchers, 240 pts (Hand Weapon; Extra Hand Weapon; Longbow; Extra Attack; Scouts; Skirmishers)
Archdruidess Nysa Greystorm the Storm Maiden, Heirophant of Athel Loren (1#, 230 pts)
1 Spellweaver, 230 pts (Hand Weapon; Longbow)
1 Talisman of Protection
The Farstriders of Lady Dreamsinger (14#, 186 pts)
14 Glade Guard, 186 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Longbow)
The Twilight Host (14#, 186 pts)
14 Glade Guard, 186 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Hand Weapon; Longbow)
The Handmaidens of Durthu, the Verdant Rage (10#, 132 pts)
9 Dryads, 132 pts (Causes Fear; Skirmishers)
1 Branch Nymph
Scryah, the Last Shadow (1#, 50 pts)
1 Great Eagle, 50 pts (Flyer)
Gwynador, the Scion of the Sethayla (1#, 50 pts)
1 Great Eagle, 50 pts (Flyer)
The Wolfkin, Feral Knights of Durthu (6#, 390 pts)
6 Tree Kin, 390 pts (Causes Fear; Flammable; Scaly Skin)
The Outriders of Twilight, Huntsmen of Kurnous (10#, 296 pts)
9 Wild Riders of Kurnous, 296 pts (Musician Mus; Standard Bearer Std; Spear; Light Armour; Fast Cavalry; Magic Resistance (1))
1 Wild Hunter (Spear; Light Armour)
10 Elven Steed
Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 469 (0 - 500)
Points of Heroes: 0 (0 - 500)
Points of Core: 504 (500 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 686 (0 - 1000)
Points of Rare: 340 (0 - 500)
Total Roster Cost: 1999
Please feel free to leave a comment about the list, I am always interested in what people think when they see a list online. I find it interesting to see how people regard certain units and how they use them.
I will be posting my 2000 point Beastman list soon - and as soon as Forge World releases the info about the new Eldar Aspect Warriors they have I will list my 2000 point Eldar and Black Templar lists.
While the Wood Elves are played with finesse, I will be playing Beastmen the way they were intended. Run forward and smash. Occasionally eat someone and then continue to smash. (much like the way I play my Black Templars minus the eating of someone).
Monday, November 29, 2010
Army List modifications due to Army size changes.
So the news has come in that instead of the 2500 point format that everyone had suspected would be the norm, my local gaming club and area will be shifting to 2000 points. This decision I am not a fan of due to the fact that I have gotten very comfortable with 2500 point lists but as they say in football, rub some dirt on it and get back out there.
I will be retooling all my lists to fit a 2000 point format in Warhammer Fantasy, I may even retool all my Warhammer 40k army lists to also fit this format. Why not make it standard for both games?
Rather than go on a long and involved diatribe about how 2000 points severely limits the functionality of many armies in a competitive arena, especially those with older army books... I will just make a few follow up posts in the next few days detailing the following lists:
The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren - 2000 point Wood Elf Army
The Wild Hunt, Warherd of the Drakenwald - 2000 point Beastman Army
The Company of the Damned - 2000 point Ulthwe` Eldar Army
Helbrecht's IX Legion - 2000 point Black Templar Army
Anyway, dinner is ready and I've stalled as long as I dare before angering the better half.
Later!
I will be retooling all my lists to fit a 2000 point format in Warhammer Fantasy, I may even retool all my Warhammer 40k army lists to also fit this format. Why not make it standard for both games?
Rather than go on a long and involved diatribe about how 2000 points severely limits the functionality of many armies in a competitive arena, especially those with older army books... I will just make a few follow up posts in the next few days detailing the following lists:
The Great Hunt, War Host of Athel Loren - 2000 point Wood Elf Army
The Wild Hunt, Warherd of the Drakenwald - 2000 point Beastman Army
The Company of the Damned - 2000 point Ulthwe` Eldar Army
Helbrecht's IX Legion - 2000 point Black Templar Army
Anyway, dinner is ready and I've stalled as long as I dare before angering the better half.
Later!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wood Elf Tactica - Treekin
I apologize for lack of updates in the last few weeks, gaming has been on a brief sojourn and I've been terribly busy doing other things. (Composing a Dark Eldar army list that fits my playstyle for one). I will start off this next topic with the tactics I use for my Treekin. As I have said before, these are the ways that I personally use these units and I welcome the input of others on how they use them.
Wood Elf Tactica - Treekin
The Special selection for the Wood Elf army, the Treekin are arguably the best Monstrous Infantry in the game. Why? Well let's look at their stats first and foremost. They are Str 5 and Tough 5 and have 3 wounds. They are initiative 3 and boast a hefty 3 attacks each and the have both a 4+ armor save and a 5+ ward save. Now yes they are flammable but we'll address that concern later.
The Treekin unit provides the Wood Elf army with some much needed toughness, durability and strength. The majority of the Wood Elf army is not heavily armored nor especially tough or built to dig in and sustain multiple rounds of combat. The Treekin however provide you with an incredible anvil to have your opponent smash into.
Let's examine the benefits and detriments of the Treekin unit. (or as they are represented in my army as the Wolfkin, Feral Knights of Coeth Mara - teehee go go roleplaying nerdness!)
Pros:
1. The Anvil - I will march the Treekin towards what I have decided is the most threatening unit and have my opponent smash into them. The Treekin normally can hold strong against practically anything allowing me to smash into the opponent's flanks with my other melee centered units.
2. The Shield - I will place the Treekin next to my Dryads and Wild Riders and march them forward at an angle providing the other two units with cover until the entire flank of my army is able to attack with the Treekin leading the charge. This tactic is difficult to pull off if your opponent has multiple large blocks of infantry or massed shooting.
3. The Blender - Using my Wild Riders or Dryads as the initial charge unit, I will attempt to slam into the unfortunate enemy's flank and unleash the full strength of this fully operation death star upon them.
4. The Roadblock - I will park the Treekin in a spot where my opponent has to engage them first or be forced to go around and get flank charged by another unit or eat 2 full 20 man glade guard units worth of arrows. This tactic is similar to the Shield but I allow the opponent to come to me rather than me to him.
You can not be timid when using Treekin, they are tough as nails and can withstand a lot of punishment. Using synergy with the Lore of Beasts can be ultra effective with Treekin. Wyssan's Wildform can turn them into Treemen without the Thunderstop. Having Str 6/T6 monstrous infantry is a nightmare to any opponent. Lore of Life can also make them ridiculously tough giving them Tough 9! In several of my games, I've used my Treekin to draw out my opponent and force them to engage them where I want them too. This is perfect for Wood Elves since we work best when we can pick our fights rather than have them chosen for us.
The most optimal unit size for Treekin is 6. I've seen some lists where people run 4 of them with only 1 rank or will run 8 treekin 4 wide and 2 ranks deep. Honestly, for the point cost 6 give you the most bang for your buck. Also if you are able to slam into your opponent's flank, they can negate ranks. In smaller point games (sub 2000) taking more than 3 Treekin is really cost prohibitive but depending on how you support them with other units can be effective. While your Treekin are tough as ...a tree, they do need support. You need to always have another unit nearby to flank or rear charge your opponent. Not many units if any can stand up to 6 Treekin and another unit of either Dryads or Wild Riders chewing through them.
Anyway hope this has been helpful to other Wood Elf players!
I'll post more hopefully in the next few weeks.
Wood Elf Tactica - Treekin
The Special selection for the Wood Elf army, the Treekin are arguably the best Monstrous Infantry in the game. Why? Well let's look at their stats first and foremost. They are Str 5 and Tough 5 and have 3 wounds. They are initiative 3 and boast a hefty 3 attacks each and the have both a 4+ armor save and a 5+ ward save. Now yes they are flammable but we'll address that concern later.
The Treekin unit provides the Wood Elf army with some much needed toughness, durability and strength. The majority of the Wood Elf army is not heavily armored nor especially tough or built to dig in and sustain multiple rounds of combat. The Treekin however provide you with an incredible anvil to have your opponent smash into.
Let's examine the benefits and detriments of the Treekin unit. (or as they are represented in my army as the Wolfkin, Feral Knights of Coeth Mara - teehee go go roleplaying nerdness!)
Pros:
- Monstrous Infantry - They are able to rank up 3 wide and get all their attacks 2 ranks deep. They are able to utilize Stomp and a standard unit of 6 will provide you with 18 attacks.
- Scaly Skin of 4+
- Toughness, Strength and Movement of 5
- Initiative, Wounds and Attacks of 3
- Cause Fear and are Tree Spirits (Immune to Psychology and 5+ ward save)
- Their 5+ Ward Save is negated by magical attacks or spells.
- They are flammable and as a result take double the amount of wounds from flaming attacks
- They are very expensive - 65 points a piece. A unit of 6 will run you 390 points.
1. The Anvil - I will march the Treekin towards what I have decided is the most threatening unit and have my opponent smash into them. The Treekin normally can hold strong against practically anything allowing me to smash into the opponent's flanks with my other melee centered units.
2. The Shield - I will place the Treekin next to my Dryads and Wild Riders and march them forward at an angle providing the other two units with cover until the entire flank of my army is able to attack with the Treekin leading the charge. This tactic is difficult to pull off if your opponent has multiple large blocks of infantry or massed shooting.
3. The Blender - Using my Wild Riders or Dryads as the initial charge unit, I will attempt to slam into the unfortunate enemy's flank and unleash the full strength of this fully operation death star upon them.
4. The Roadblock - I will park the Treekin in a spot where my opponent has to engage them first or be forced to go around and get flank charged by another unit or eat 2 full 20 man glade guard units worth of arrows. This tactic is similar to the Shield but I allow the opponent to come to me rather than me to him.
You can not be timid when using Treekin, they are tough as nails and can withstand a lot of punishment. Using synergy with the Lore of Beasts can be ultra effective with Treekin. Wyssan's Wildform can turn them into Treemen without the Thunderstop. Having Str 6/T6 monstrous infantry is a nightmare to any opponent. Lore of Life can also make them ridiculously tough giving them Tough 9! In several of my games, I've used my Treekin to draw out my opponent and force them to engage them where I want them too. This is perfect for Wood Elves since we work best when we can pick our fights rather than have them chosen for us.
The most optimal unit size for Treekin is 6. I've seen some lists where people run 4 of them with only 1 rank or will run 8 treekin 4 wide and 2 ranks deep. Honestly, for the point cost 6 give you the most bang for your buck. Also if you are able to slam into your opponent's flank, they can negate ranks. In smaller point games (sub 2000) taking more than 3 Treekin is really cost prohibitive but depending on how you support them with other units can be effective. While your Treekin are tough as ...a tree, they do need support. You need to always have another unit nearby to flank or rear charge your opponent. Not many units if any can stand up to 6 Treekin and another unit of either Dryads or Wild Riders chewing through them.
Anyway hope this has been helpful to other Wood Elf players!
I'll post more hopefully in the next few weeks.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
REVENGE! - Battle Report Oct 27th - The Great Hunt vs. The Green Tide PART DEUX
Hello everyone, so as you know last week I had my first game against Orcs & Goblins in 8th edition. As many of you already know, I got absolutely obliterated and conceded at the bottom of turn 2. One would think that this type of how do you say ... posterior realignment by way of orcish sodomization would make someone hesitant to take on the same army again. Well folks, what can I say? I love a good challenge! My philosophy is, if you lose and lose bad - you screwed up. Your opponent was able to do EXACTLY what he wanted which means that you played his game and not yours. Last week the wood elves said "Hey dude! We're gonna go ahead and lie down so that it takes less time for our bodies to hit the floor is that cool?" This week... much better results.
Hopefully in the future I will be able to secure a video camera and just post battle report videos but in the meantime I'll be continuing to post picture and Battle Chronicler reports. Moving forward I'll be taking a notepad and writing down everything as opposed to typing everything out from memory since I'm sure I am forgetting certain moves or events that were important. That said, let's get down to business shall we?
My opponent Neil is a veteran wargamer and has been playing for about two decades. He's played every army and last year his army for the OFCC was Wood Elves. So he knows all the tricks that I would attempt to pull with my Wood Elves. He made some small changes to his list from last week in the form of reducing his Black Orcs to 32 from 42 and changing the size of his Arrer Boyz units. He downgraded his River Trolls to normal Trolls and added yet ANOTHER unit of 6 Trolls to the army.
Orcs have always been the bane of my existence. For some reason they have always provided the most challenging fights for me and the first few times I engage them they absolutely kick my ass. So I was very eager to take on Neil's orcs yet again and attempt to use what I learned from the last game in this game.
Neils' Green Tide v.2.0
Lord: Level 4 Orc Shaman
Hero: 5? Black Orc Heroes
Core: 5 units of 20 Arrer Boyz, 1 unit of 10 Arrer Boyz
Special: 32 Black Orcs, 3 Rock Lobbas
Rare: 2 units of 6 Trolls.
In the future I'll have my opponents email me their Army Builder roster so I can properly list their army. I feel that if my opponent is going to take the time to play against me I should take the time to properly post his list. After all, that's their army and it should be displayed properly. Ahem anyway.
Battle Scenario 2 - Dawn Attack
This scenario divides each deployment zone into 3 parts in which each player will roll a die to determine where their unit is placed. Left, Right, or Center. This is to represent the disorienting morning haze as the armies battle each other at the crack of dawn. The victory conditions are straight up Victory Points and the player who wins the roll off sets up first and unless his opponent rolls a 6, the first player chooses who goes first. Neil chose to go first this game.
Deployment
The deployment went fairly well, Neil was able to place most of his units where he wanted to and I didn't get screwed too badly.
Turn 1 - Orcs
The Orcs started off the game by moving forward and shooting at my Spellweaver Glade Guard with artillery. I lost 4 models to his warmachines and my General took a wound from some Orc headbutt spell. First blood to the Orcs!
Turn 1 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elf turn 1 went spectacularly well.
Movement Phase: Moved to the right of the board with every unit and attempted to secure the right flank.
Magic Phase: Amber Spear was dispel scrolled, Wild Riders were augmented with Wyssan's Wildform and the nearest Trolls were hexed with Curse of Anraheir.
Shooting Phase: This is where the the turn shined. I unloaded everything I could into the Troll unit that his general had joined. I did enough wounds to cause a panic test which resulted in both Troll units panicking and running towards the edge of the board.
Turn 2 - Orcs
The orcs continue their slow advance unloading arrows into my Treekin and Glade Guard. Neil charges his Arrer Boyz into my Wild Riders and manages to get a spell off that gives them Always Strike First. Neil also causes two wounds on my Treekin from a Direct Damage spell from his Shaman. I lose two more Glade Guard to his damn warmachines as well.
Turn 2 - Wood Elves
Turn 2 was very important since this was the point at which I conceded last game. Now this turn had some ups and some downs as you will see in the next following turns.
Movement: Treekin charge the Black Orcs, Glade Guard with Spellweaver fail their charge against the Black Orcs and the Dryads make their charge.
Magic: Black Orcs get Hexed with Curse of Anraheir, Wyssan's Wildform gets dispelled and Amber Spear fails to cast. meh...
Shooting: Again this is the highlight of the phase - I unload once again into the Troll unit with the shaman and do enough wounds to cause another panic test. This time it causes both the Troll units to flee off the table edge as well as his General and 2 of his 3 Warmachines. I was elated for a brief moment, then the close combat phase began.
Combat: My Wild Riders kill the Arrer Boyz and chase them down. The surviving members of that unit number 3. Losing 7 Wild Riders to 20 basic Orcs should tell you how bad Orcs are to fight. Now the annoying battle luck! 1 unit of Dryads, 1 unit of Treekin - the Black Orcs are hexed meaning they suffer a -1 to hit. 12 Dryads will yield 19 attacks (champion in unit) and 6 Treekin will yield 18 attacks + 3 stomp. You would think with that onslaught of attacks the Black Orcs would fold right?
1 wound - I did ONE WOUND. So I lose combat by 4 and the Treekin bolt, the Dryads being made of sterner stuff apparently stick in combat to continue fighting.
Turn 3 - Orcs
Turn 3 for the orcs opened with Neil charging the Dryads flank and maneuvering the rest of his archers into a better position. His shooting phase resulted in 1 Glade Guard dying but the close combat phase is where he scored some victory points. Dryads get wiped out and the Arrer Boyz catch them as they flee which brings them into contact with the Glade Guard.
Turn 3 - Wood Elves
The Great Eagle was also part of that previous combat in which the Treekin and Dryads were involved btw - it fled. The Treekin rally and the rest of the Wood elves army that isnt engaged gets into better position as you can see from the movement arrows. The Black Orcs have their numbers reduced by shooting. The Glade Guard combat results in a draw due to the fact that I had buffed the unit with Wyssan's Wildform in the magic phase.
Turn 4 - Orcs
The Orcs advance further shooting at the Treekin and Waywatchers. The Black Orcs fail their charge against the Glade Guard. The ensuing close combat phase results in the Spellweaver unit fleeing from combat and the Arrer Boyz only pursuing 4 inches.
Turn 4 - Wood Elves
The Treekin and Great Eagle charge the Arrer Boyz that did a number on the Glade Guard. The Warhawk Riders charge the remaining Warmachine and win. The Black Orcs take enough casualties to take a Panic test from all the shooting. They break and flee from the Waywatchers and Glade Guard. I attempt to cast Transofmration of Kadon only to have it dispelled.
Turn 5 - Orcs
The Arrer Boyz charge the Treekin and the Black Orcs rally. The Treekin remain locked in combat with the Orcs.
Turn 5 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elves begin the phase by adding the Great Eagle into the mix, Sadly the Great Eagle also gets pulped by the Black Orc hero hanging out on the corner. The Black Orcs take another brutal round of shooting. Treekin remain locked in combat.
Turn 6 - Final turn for the Orcs!
This turn could have been huge for the orcs had things worked out. He needed to kill my Treekin and overrun into my Glade Guard as well as wipe out my Waywatchers in order to tie the game. Neil fails the charge with this Black Orcs. His Arrer Boyz rally however, and his 2nd unit of Arrer Boyz flank charge my Treekin. The Treekin kill the unit and remain in combat with the now severly diminished Arrer boyz unit.
Turn 6 - Wood Elves, Retribution is at hand!
The Treekin manage to win combat and chase down the Arrer Boyz and the massed shooting destroys the last of the Black Orcs securing full victory points for that unit.
The Wood Elves are victorious!
Using the victory point rules I am estimating this VP total:
Wood Elves: 2100ish
Orks: 206
This game Neil suffered from the Leadership test bane. I also was rolling very well but fortunately my strategy of flank attack and concentrating all my firepower into one unit worked. While I doubt I'll win this big again against Ork, it felt good! I was fortunate in that I never had any units except my Great Eagle and Dryads fully destroyed. I had massive casualties in several units, only 2 units were at full strength but since you have to wipe out the entire unit to score the VP's - I was able to move the reduced units away and out of harms way.
Overall, it was a good game and I fully enjoyed it.
Thanks Neil!
Hopefully in the future I will be able to secure a video camera and just post battle report videos but in the meantime I'll be continuing to post picture and Battle Chronicler reports. Moving forward I'll be taking a notepad and writing down everything as opposed to typing everything out from memory since I'm sure I am forgetting certain moves or events that were important. That said, let's get down to business shall we?
My opponent Neil is a veteran wargamer and has been playing for about two decades. He's played every army and last year his army for the OFCC was Wood Elves. So he knows all the tricks that I would attempt to pull with my Wood Elves. He made some small changes to his list from last week in the form of reducing his Black Orcs to 32 from 42 and changing the size of his Arrer Boyz units. He downgraded his River Trolls to normal Trolls and added yet ANOTHER unit of 6 Trolls to the army.
Orcs have always been the bane of my existence. For some reason they have always provided the most challenging fights for me and the first few times I engage them they absolutely kick my ass. So I was very eager to take on Neil's orcs yet again and attempt to use what I learned from the last game in this game.
Neils' Green Tide v.2.0
Lord: Level 4 Orc Shaman
Hero: 5? Black Orc Heroes
Core: 5 units of 20 Arrer Boyz, 1 unit of 10 Arrer Boyz
Special: 32 Black Orcs, 3 Rock Lobbas
Rare: 2 units of 6 Trolls.
In the future I'll have my opponents email me their Army Builder roster so I can properly list their army. I feel that if my opponent is going to take the time to play against me I should take the time to properly post his list. After all, that's their army and it should be displayed properly. Ahem anyway.
Battle Scenario 2 - Dawn Attack
This scenario divides each deployment zone into 3 parts in which each player will roll a die to determine where their unit is placed. Left, Right, or Center. This is to represent the disorienting morning haze as the armies battle each other at the crack of dawn. The victory conditions are straight up Victory Points and the player who wins the roll off sets up first and unless his opponent rolls a 6, the first player chooses who goes first. Neil chose to go first this game.
Deployment
The deployment went fairly well, Neil was able to place most of his units where he wanted to and I didn't get screwed too badly.
Turn 1 - Orcs
The Orcs started off the game by moving forward and shooting at my Spellweaver Glade Guard with artillery. I lost 4 models to his warmachines and my General took a wound from some Orc headbutt spell. First blood to the Orcs!
Turn 1 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elf turn 1 went spectacularly well.
Movement Phase: Moved to the right of the board with every unit and attempted to secure the right flank.
Magic Phase: Amber Spear was dispel scrolled, Wild Riders were augmented with Wyssan's Wildform and the nearest Trolls were hexed with Curse of Anraheir.
Shooting Phase: This is where the the turn shined. I unloaded everything I could into the Troll unit that his general had joined. I did enough wounds to cause a panic test which resulted in both Troll units panicking and running towards the edge of the board.
Turn 2 - Orcs
The orcs continue their slow advance unloading arrows into my Treekin and Glade Guard. Neil charges his Arrer Boyz into my Wild Riders and manages to get a spell off that gives them Always Strike First. Neil also causes two wounds on my Treekin from a Direct Damage spell from his Shaman. I lose two more Glade Guard to his damn warmachines as well.
Turn 2 - Wood Elves
Turn 2 was very important since this was the point at which I conceded last game. Now this turn had some ups and some downs as you will see in the next following turns.
Movement: Treekin charge the Black Orcs, Glade Guard with Spellweaver fail their charge against the Black Orcs and the Dryads make their charge.
Magic: Black Orcs get Hexed with Curse of Anraheir, Wyssan's Wildform gets dispelled and Amber Spear fails to cast. meh...
Shooting: Again this is the highlight of the phase - I unload once again into the Troll unit with the shaman and do enough wounds to cause another panic test. This time it causes both the Troll units to flee off the table edge as well as his General and 2 of his 3 Warmachines. I was elated for a brief moment, then the close combat phase began.
Combat: My Wild Riders kill the Arrer Boyz and chase them down. The surviving members of that unit number 3. Losing 7 Wild Riders to 20 basic Orcs should tell you how bad Orcs are to fight. Now the annoying battle luck! 1 unit of Dryads, 1 unit of Treekin - the Black Orcs are hexed meaning they suffer a -1 to hit. 12 Dryads will yield 19 attacks (champion in unit) and 6 Treekin will yield 18 attacks + 3 stomp. You would think with that onslaught of attacks the Black Orcs would fold right?
1 wound - I did ONE WOUND. So I lose combat by 4 and the Treekin bolt, the Dryads being made of sterner stuff apparently stick in combat to continue fighting.
Turn 3 - Orcs
Turn 3 for the orcs opened with Neil charging the Dryads flank and maneuvering the rest of his archers into a better position. His shooting phase resulted in 1 Glade Guard dying but the close combat phase is where he scored some victory points. Dryads get wiped out and the Arrer Boyz catch them as they flee which brings them into contact with the Glade Guard.
Turn 3 - Wood Elves
The Great Eagle was also part of that previous combat in which the Treekin and Dryads were involved btw - it fled. The Treekin rally and the rest of the Wood elves army that isnt engaged gets into better position as you can see from the movement arrows. The Black Orcs have their numbers reduced by shooting. The Glade Guard combat results in a draw due to the fact that I had buffed the unit with Wyssan's Wildform in the magic phase.
Turn 4 - Orcs
The Orcs advance further shooting at the Treekin and Waywatchers. The Black Orcs fail their charge against the Glade Guard. The ensuing close combat phase results in the Spellweaver unit fleeing from combat and the Arrer Boyz only pursuing 4 inches.
Turn 4 - Wood Elves
The Treekin and Great Eagle charge the Arrer Boyz that did a number on the Glade Guard. The Warhawk Riders charge the remaining Warmachine and win. The Black Orcs take enough casualties to take a Panic test from all the shooting. They break and flee from the Waywatchers and Glade Guard. I attempt to cast Transofmration of Kadon only to have it dispelled.
Turn 5 - Orcs
The Arrer Boyz charge the Treekin and the Black Orcs rally. The Treekin remain locked in combat with the Orcs.
Turn 5 - Wood Elves
The Wood Elves begin the phase by adding the Great Eagle into the mix, Sadly the Great Eagle also gets pulped by the Black Orc hero hanging out on the corner. The Black Orcs take another brutal round of shooting. Treekin remain locked in combat.
Turn 6 - Final turn for the Orcs!
This turn could have been huge for the orcs had things worked out. He needed to kill my Treekin and overrun into my Glade Guard as well as wipe out my Waywatchers in order to tie the game. Neil fails the charge with this Black Orcs. His Arrer Boyz rally however, and his 2nd unit of Arrer Boyz flank charge my Treekin. The Treekin kill the unit and remain in combat with the now severly diminished Arrer boyz unit.
Turn 6 - Wood Elves, Retribution is at hand!
The Treekin manage to win combat and chase down the Arrer Boyz and the massed shooting destroys the last of the Black Orcs securing full victory points for that unit.
The Wood Elves are victorious!
Using the victory point rules I am estimating this VP total:
Wood Elves: 2100ish
Orks: 206
This game Neil suffered from the Leadership test bane. I also was rolling very well but fortunately my strategy of flank attack and concentrating all my firepower into one unit worked. While I doubt I'll win this big again against Ork, it felt good! I was fortunate in that I never had any units except my Great Eagle and Dryads fully destroyed. I had massive casualties in several units, only 2 units were at full strength but since you have to wipe out the entire unit to score the VP's - I was able to move the reduced units away and out of harms way.
Overall, it was a good game and I fully enjoyed it.
Thanks Neil!
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