Game 27 - Empire - 2012/06/19

Greetings!

Day 2 started with another Battle Line and this time I was to face Rowan and his heavily armored Empire. Little I knew about the fact that Rowan is actually famous JPM among Australian warhammer players and is very high ranking one too! His most recent success prior Wintercon was to win a tournament with a MSU Tomb King army. I was very happy when I found that I am going to play against such a successful and skilled player as I was sure I was about to learn a valuable lesson. I would also like to add that Rowan's army looked absolutely fantastic!

Army list and re-battle considerations

I haven't had many opportunities to play against Empire in 8th edition so far. Two games I had were quite traumatic experiences too. Now they have new army book and people are still learning how to play with and against it. It is also hard to anticipate what exactly Empire army is going to contain as different builds seem to viable at the moment. Rowan decided to bring the following list which is his army-in-progress as he told me. He plans to paint more infantry and his artillery is going to be stronger for the upcoming ETC he is going to take part in.

Empire - Army List

Grandmaster, Runefang, Potion of Foolhardiness, Charmed Shield
BSB on Barded Warhorse, Dawnstone, The Other Trickster Shard
Warrior Priest on Barded Warhorse, Crown of Command, Enchanted Shield
Wizard Lord, Level 4, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Heavens
2 x Engineer with Pigeon Bombs

12 Inner Circle Knights, Full Command, Steel Standard
5 Knights
10 Crossbowmen
10 Huntsmen

2 x 3 Demigryphs, Standards, Musicians
Cannon

Hellblaster Volleygun
Steamtank

Game 26 - Tomb Kings - 2012/06/16

Greetings!

Battle 3 and Meeting Engagement against Dale and his Tomb Kings. No changes to the rulebook scenario yet.

Army List and pre-battle considerations

 Tomb Kings do not have any army list to rule them all so in theory I could expect anything. Dale decided to bring the following:

Tomb Kings - Army List

Prince on Foot
BSB, Helm of Discord

Rhamotep - special character necrotect
High Lich Priest, Neffera's Scroll, Talisman of Preservation - Lore of Nehekhara

40 Skeleton Warriors, Full Command
25 Skeleton Warriors, Full Command
28 Skeleton Bowmen, Full Command (?)

28 Tomb Guard, Full Command

4 Chariots
Warsphinx
Hierotitan

Screaming Skull Catapult
Screaming Skull Catapult
Casket of Souls

Game 25 - High Elves - 2012/06/14

Greetings!

Second battle of the Wintercon tournament was Dawn Attack scenario exactly as it is described in the rulebook. This time I faced another High Elves army, led by Aiden.

Army List and pre-battle considerations

Aiden brought a unique army and I was very curious how this particular "pillow fight" is going to turn out. :) With our main advantage cancelled out it is always an interesting game and somehow commanders of other forces cheered up when they found out that two High Elf generals face each other.

Turquoise High Elves - Army List

Archmage, Level 4, Folariath's Robes, OAnnulian Crystal, Opal Amulet - Lore of Fire
Dragon Mage, Level 2, Talisman of Endurance, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Fire

28 Lothern Sea Guard, Full Command
28 Lothern Sea Guard, Full Command

5 Dragon Princes
Lion Chariot
15 Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Banner of Sorcery
2 Bolt Throwers
2 Great Eagles

Game 24 - Bretonnia - 2012/06/12

Greetings!

As a first opponent of Wintercon 2012 I faced Ben and his Bretonnians. We started with Battle line scenario as a warm up.

Army list and pre-battle considerations

Despite having quite outdated army book Bretonnians are force to be respected. Very tough to kill thanks to their ward save and very dangerous if you let them charge in, especially with 2+ lances with characters. What is more, thanks to special rules of Fey Enchantress who led Ben's army, they actually had a chance to start first, which is something unexpected. Ben's army was also unique because it had horde of halbardiers led by a hero and Questing Knights. I must apologize but I cannot remember the magic items Paladins had but I do remember there were no magic banners in the army.

Bretonnia - Army List

Fey Enchantress - Lore of Life
BSB
Paladin on Horse
Paladin on Horse
Paladin on Foot
Damsel, Level 1, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Beasts

9 Questing Knights, Full Command
8 Knights of the Realm, Full Command
5 Knights of the Realm, Full Command

3 Pegasus Knights, Champion

40 Men-at-Arms, Halberds, Full Command
12 Bowmen, Banner, Flaming Arrows
10 Skirmishers

Trebuchet

Game 23 - Vampire Counts - 2012/05/18

Greetings!

I finally had a chance to test my army against new VC led by Gatti-jwg20. I faced a different army than he used against Brewmaster_D or Findolfin as it was his tournament list and he was limited to the available models borrowed from his friend. But it was still true to his idea of a very fast undead host and it might have been even more dangerous than his previous army. At least that he told me after the game :)

Army Lists and pre-battle considerations

As I have already mentioned I saw Gatti's army in action and as you can see below it is quite similar force in the whole concept and definitely plays in a similar way with just different tools here and there. Let's check the army list first (I will need to check if I remember the details right and will correct them as soon as I found out if there are any mistakes):

Vampire Counts - Army List

Vampire Lord, Hellsteed, Heavy Armour, Shield, Level 4, Nightshroud, Sword of Might, Dawnstone (?), Red Fury, Quick Blood - The Lore of the Vampires
Vampire, BSB, Hellsteed, Heavy Armour, Shield, Level 1,  Quick Blood, Rod of Flaming Death, Dragon Helm - The Lore of the Vampires
Necromancer, Level 2, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Dispel Scroll, Master of the Dead - The Lore of the Vampires

42 Skeletons, Full Command
25 Ghouls
20 Zombies, Musician
2 x 5 Direwolves

3 x 2 Fell Bats
12 Black Knights, Full Command, Screaming Banner

5 Blood Knights, Musician, Standard, Banner of Eternal Flame
Vargulf

Game 22 - Daemons of Chaos - 2012/05/06

Greetings!

With a little delay (I had to postpone the game for one week) I finally had an opportunity to play against DoC led by dreaded Blood Thirster. I was playing against jwg20 (for those who visit Ulthuan) aka Gatti (for UB players :)). What was also interesting about this game was the fact we knew about our army lists before it. So no hidden aces in the sleeve. :)

Army lists and pre-battle considerations

The whole idea was to provide me with a challenge as there is an impression (and the right one!) that MSU army might have huge problems with armies with big flying monsters. I have had no opportunity so far to play against a Dragon or Blood Thirster and I was definitely curious what would be the outcome of a game against one. In general I knew it is possible as I saw SmithF doing that with his Empire MSU (against DE with Dragon and double Hydra) or with his WoC (against Ghoul King on Terrorgeist backed up by 2 more TG's). Luckily for me jwg20 spotted the discussion about MSU vs. big flying monster and offered a game to test all the ideas in practice. We didn't play with any specific rule pack or composition system. The only condition was for BT to be present. So here we go, his army list:

Daemons of Chaos - Army List

Bloodthirster, Armor of Khorne, Spell Breaker, Immortal Fury, Collar of Khorne

Herald of Khorne, BSB, Obsidian Armor, Great Icon of Despair
Herald of Slaanesh, Daemonic Robes, Siren Song

5 Furies
5 Furies
29 Bloodletters, FC, Skull Banner
29 Daemonettes, FC, Banner of Ecstasy
5 Flesh Hounds
5 Seekers, St, Siren Banner
6 Fiends

Fast Cavalry - Links to Tactics

Greetings!

Once in a while I find precious gems on the websites or blogs elsewhere. They are very inspirational articles, great read and I always learned something from them. I believe it is a good idea to collect the links to these websites and/or blogs so that I can access them anytime I would like to read them again. And they are definitely worthy doing so!

I hope that in time I will be able to collect quite a number of these fantastic articles and I would like to start with these:

Tactics

It is not often that you can find a good article on tactics in Warhammer. People prefer army list discussions because it is simply easier to do so and no one is wrong. Good tactics article requires different approach and often quite a significant amount of time to prepare. I would like to recommend two great pieces, both of which are on the role of fast cavalry. I have an honor to know both authors and I am very happy they took time to share their experience.

Hinge Hammer

Hinge is a veteran player in US as well as tournament organizer. He was motivated to write this article after seeing a discussion on wolf riders on Da Warpath.

KillerK - Dark Riders

KillerK aka Kanadian wrote this tactics quite a long time ago but I believe it didn't lose anything of its value. In fact, Hinge also linked his article to show what can be achieved with fast cavalry and fast cavalry only. 

Both authors recommend using fast cavalry as a very interesting and powerful tool. That type of the regiment is often overlooked and assigned only a sacrificial role. Light cavalry is very often an unsung hero of any army and require subtle use. They rarely have a chance to perform charges that break enemy lines and as such they almost never bask in the light of glory hard hitters do. 

But trust me, these guys are extremely useful and the above articles are really good at explaining why.

Cheers!

Game 21 - Beastmen - 2012/04/21

Greetings!

I had a re-match against Beastmen. My opponent agreed to have another go at my MSU HE with some changes to his army list.

Pre-battle considerations and army lists

After last game I knew how deadly Minobus can be if allowed to fight so I decided that this time I will avoid it, shoot it if possible and only if things elsewhere would go good and if I had enough heavy hitters left I might risk charging it and destroying it. But the priority was not to get it fight so that it does not get so many attacks as last time.

As I have mentioned the BoC army was a little different than previously and I will also try to update it as soon as I have details on magic items.

Beastmen - Army List

Doombull, Axes of Khorgor, 1+ re-rollable armor save
Great Bray Shaman, Level 4 - Lore of Beasts

Gorebull BSB, Shield, Heavy Armor, Talisman of Preservation, Ironcurse Icon
Wargor
Bray Shaman, Herdstone - Lore of Shadow
Bray Shaman, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Shadow


38 Gors, Full Command, Additional Hand Weapon
29 Ungors, Full Command
5 Ungor Raiders
Tuskor Chariot
Tuskor Chariot

7 Minotaurs, Champion, Musician, Great Weapons
Razorgor
Razorgor
Razorgor
Harpies

Game 20 - Orcs & Goblins - 2012/04/14

Greetings!

After a little break I had another opportunity to play a game. This time against Squigkikka (or Gutrippa for those who play at UB) and his all Goblin army.

Army lists and Pre-battle considerations

I have seen a few variants of his army already and it indeed does not include a single Orc. Which makes it easy to underestimate. I have also seen it wining games against tough opponents. The exact army list I faced this time is as follows:

Goblins - Army List

Goblin Warboss, Great Weapon, Glittering Scales, Talisman of Preservation, Other Tricksters Shard
Night Goblin Warboss, Great Weapon, Armor of Destiny
Night Goblin Warboss, Great Weapon
Night Goblin Warboss, Great Weapon
Night Goblin Warboss, Great Weapon

Night Goblin BSB, Great Weapon, Standard of Discipline
Goblin shaman, Level 2, Dispel scroll - Little Waaagh
Goblin Big Boss, Gigantic Spider, Shield, Light Armor, Sword of Might, Dragonhelm, Luckstone, Potion of foolhardiness
Goblin Big Boss, Wolf, Light Armor, Shrieking Blade, Enchanted Shield, Dragonbane Gem 

Goblin Big Boss, Wolf, Light Armor, Spear, Charmed Shield, Opal Amulet, Potion of Toughness

5 Wolf Riders, Spears, Shields, Light Armor, Shortbows¨
5 Wolf Riders, Spears, Shields, Light Armor, Shortbows¨
38 Night Goblins, Spears, Shields, Full Command, Nets
21 Night Goblins, Shortbows, Musician, 2 fanatics
28 Goblins, HW, Shields, Full Command, 3 Skulkers

26/9 Squig Herd
15/10 Squig Herd
6 Trolls
Wolf Chariot
Wolf Chariot

2 Doom Divers
Rock Lobba

Game 19 - Daemons of Chaos - 2012/03/24

Greetings!

I had a very interesting game against MSU DoC army led by my arch enemy Wardancer (or Eastern Barbarian for those who follow UB :)). Here is the report from that game.

Army lists and Pre-battle considerations

I have seen many MSU armies, it seems that the idea starts to be popular among players with different armies. However, I haven't seen DoC army in that form yet. Maybe it is due to the fact they are quite strong in a more traditional, horde-like build so the players do not see the reason to experiment that much. As always there are a lot of them who are also sceptical about new ideas. But when Wardancer told me he is going to try it out I was very excited and I am glad his first game was against mine MSU HE. Not exactly the proper test for a new army, since we cancel out many of MSU advantages for each other. What I knew for sure, however, is that such games are great fun :)

Daemons of Chaos - Army List

Herald of Slaanesh, Torment blade, Siren song, General
Herald of Slaanesh, Torment blade, Siren song
Herald of Tzeentch, Master of Sorcery, Winged Horror - Lore of Heaven
Herald of Khorne, BSB, Great Icon of Despair, Armor of Khorne

12 x Daemonettes, Musician, Standard, Banner of Ecstasy 

12 x Daemonettes, Musician
14 x Bloodletters, Champion, Musician
12 x Bloodletters, Musician
5 x Furies
5 x Furies

5 x Flesh Hounds
5 x Flesh Hounds
5 x Flesh Hounds

5 x Flamers
4 x Flamers
1 x Fiend
1 x Fiend
1 x Bloodcrusher
1 x Bloodcrusher

Game 18 - Beastmen - 2012/03/17

Greetings!

I had a chance to play against Beastmen of Chaos based on horde of Gors and dreaded Minobus. My friend was also testing his army for a tournament where he is allowed to take 2600 points with this army.

Pre-battle considerations and army lists

Fortunately for me I saw this army in action against my arch-enemy Wardancer and his Daemons so I tried to prepare some counter-tactics. Let's have a look at details of the army then:

Beastmen of Chaos - Army List

Doombull, Axes of Khorgor, Armour of Destiny
Great Bray Shaman, Level 4, Talisman of Endurance, Stone of Spite - Lore of Beasts

Wargor BSB, Heavy Armor, Shield, Beast Banner, Gnarled Hide
Bray Shaman, Herdstone - Lore of Shadow
Bray Shaman, Dispel Scroll - Lore of Shadow
Gorebull, Shield, Pelt of the Shadowgrave, Ironcurse Icon

38 Gors, Full Command, Additional Hand Weapon
29 Ungors, Full Command
5 Ungor Raiders
Tuskor Chariot
Tuskor Chariot

7 Minotaurs, Champion, Musician, Great Weapons, Blackened Plate
Razorgor
Razorgor
Harpies

Game 17 - Dwarves - 2012/03/10

Greetings!

We had a great re-match with Vanyon and his MSU Dwarves and I am happy to present yet another report from that unique encounter. Vanyon is still searching for his perfect army list and made some significant changes. I made some little addition too.

Army lists and pre-battle considerations

Vanyon was not happy with his Gyrocopter last game and he also mentioned that he has problems with two things: small and fast enemy units and misfiring cannons. Hence the changes to his army list were to counter that.

Dwarves - Army List

RuneLord on Anvil, Shield, Master Rune of Balance, Rune of Stone 

BSB Thane, Rune of Stone
Dragon Slayer, Master Rune of Swiftness, Rune of Speed, Rune of Fire

10 Quarrelers with Great Weapons, Shields, Musician, Standard
10 Quarrelers with Great Weapons, Shields, Musician, Standard
14 LongBeards, Great Weapons,Full Command
15 Rangers, Musician, Standard
15 Hammerers, Musician, Standard
15 Hammerers, Musician, Standard
10 Slayers, Musician
10 Slayers, Musician
15 Miners, Musician, Standard
15 Miners, Musician, Standard

Cannon, Rune of Burning, Rune of Forging
Cannon, Rune of Forging

Game 16 - Dwarves - 2012/02/29

Greetings!

I had another opportunity to play a game the very same day. This time I had a pleasure to fight against Vanyon and his MSU Dwarves!

Army lists and pre-battle considerations

As surprising as it may seem this army too can have a very interesting and successful list. I have seen MSU Dwarves in action once and it was enough to show me that they are a force to respect.

Dwarves - Army List

Rune Lord on Anvil, Shield, Master Rune of Balance, Rune of Stone
BSB Thane, Strollaz Rune
Dragon Slayer, Master Rune of Swiftness, Rune of Speed, Rune of Fire

10 Warriors with Great Weapons, Musician, Standard
10 Warriors with Great Weapons, Musician, Standard
10 Warriors with Great Weapons, Musician, Standard
14 LongBeards, Shields,Full Command
15 Rangers, Musician, Standard
15 Hammerers, Musician, Standard
15 Hammerers, Musician, Standard
10 Slayers, Musician
10 Slayers, Musician
16 Miners, Full Command, Steam Drill

Cannon, Rune of Burning
Cannon
Gyrocopter