Game 122 - Empire - 2014/10/10

Greetings!

Wardancer was very eager to have a rematch so we finally managed to synchronize our free time to play a game over UB. It looked to me that he played the same army as before but if I get his full army list with details then I will update the report. All I have already written about his army has not changed and I knew that this time he will not be that reckless with his characters in particular.

My army changed a little, I left Book of Hoeth at home and picked my trusty Earthing Rod. Bob the BSB got Ring of Fury again to see if he can support Larry in the magic phase. Other than that it is the same army I used last time. Here is the deployment:

Deployment

Deployment of the armies after vanguard

Pistoliers didn't use their vanguard move while Reavers moved back a little. EB won the roll off to determine who gets the first turn. His level 3 Wizard got the following spells: Spirit Leach, Fate of Bjuna and Soulblight

I also need to apologize for lack of details about magic phase in particular but I simply forgot to copy the chat. Thanks to Gatti I have something saved but it is not from the beginning and I will try to incorporate these information for later turns.

Empire - Turn 1

Imperial troops move slowly forward

Imperial troops moved forward. The whole flying formation moved towards the building for protection. Inner Circle knights moved steadily out of the forest to avoid any unlucky accidents.

Artillery opened fire but the cannon balls flew either too short or failed to wound. Imperial officers were not impressed at all.

Outcasts - Turn 1

High Elves move on the opposite flank

High Elves moved on the East to get closer the weaker enemy flank but also to be able to turn towards the center if the Imperial forces moved forward aggressively. Reavers looked for a better position as the Western flank was controlled by the fliers.

Nasher the Noble moved recklessly towards the house, hiding from the Imperial forces and his Knights pulled back to create dangerous landing zone for Imperial fliers.

Shooting and magic were inefficient as well and only a single Pistolier was unhorsed by the bolt from eagle claw.

Comment

It was a mistake as Imperial Death Wizard does not have to see me to cast his spells and with Spirit Leach and Fate of Bjuna he was more than well equipped to deal with lone characters without significant ward safe.

Empire - Turn 2

Death Wizard claims his first victim

General of the Empire spurs his mount. Huge Griffon roars as if it was an Emperor Dragon and Shadow Warriors decided to flee from the building before it is going to be ruined by rampaging monster. (Edit: Failed Terror test on 3d6 due to Griffon upgrade)

The rest of the army maintained formation and didn't hurry to attack the Elves. Only Death Wizard cast his spells and soon Nasher the Noble met the very same fate that was the end of Bjuna.

Outcasts - Turn 2

Outcasts strike back

The situation becomes more tense and Outcasts decided to go closer towards the center. On the West Reavers block Imperial troops and shoot at Pistoliers. They manage to kill two and survivors fail their panic check and flee the battle.

Other troops opened the path for Eagle Claw and the crew uses the opportunity to send a single bolt down to the flank of the IC Knights. Imperial BSB is saved by his companions but 2 of the knights are dead.

Shooting and Magic is also responsible for the early demise of one of the Pegasus Captains. His armor failed him when enough sharp sticks and balls of fire hit him.

Comment

I wanted to converge on the center and create a dilemma for Imperial forces. Move forward and expose the flanks or stay still and be the target of magic and shooting that at this range was much more dangerous.

However, I moved my Dragon Princes on the East too close. I also left the eagle too far away and had to sacrifice Reavers on the West to block Greatswords from attacking my cavalry.

If charged by IC I intended to flee as it would pull out the Knights forward and I could charge them next turn. Even if they reformed after catching fast cavalry.

Empire - Turn 3

Empire strikes again!

General of the Empire charges exposed Dragon Princes who have to hold. They inflict 2 wounds on the Griffon but suffer two casualties in return and survivors flee the battle. General of the Empire fails to restrain and pursues of the battle field.

Pegasus Captain decided on the long charge and attacks Sisters who try to flee but move too far and move off the board. He then redirects at Shadow Warriors but they flee as well and he fails to catch them.

Outcasts - Turn 3

The exchange of blows continues

Elves decided to strike back on the flanks. White Lions miscalculated the distance, however, and their charge failed. Swordmasters, on the other hand, got into the building with easy and there were no survivors.

Shooting and magic were again quite deadly, claiming second Pegasus Captain and wounding the Wizard twice!

Comment

Please, note, that Greatswords are not going to be able to charge as they are blocked by impassable terrain and by making a small wheel to the left they would not be able to complete the charge against WL or DP.

Turn details

Winds of Magic: 2,3
Channel: 1 for Loremaster
Power Dice vs Dispel Dice: 6-4

Ring of Fury: 3,6 --> Dispel Attempt: 2,3 --> Number of Hits: 3, 5 --> Number of Wounds: 3 --> All saved
Spirit Leach at Pegasus Captain, Boosted version: 1,5,6 --> No dispel attempt --> Loremaster wins 3:1 --> Dead Captain --> Lore Attribute: 1,2,2
Fireball at Wizard: 5 --> Dispel Attempt: 1,5 --> Number of hits: 1 --> Number of Wounds: 1 --> Ward Save Attempt: 2

Empire - Turn 4

Death Wizard claims yet another victim!

Only inner circle knights charge and reavers this time hold. (Edit: Small unit of knights didn't charge, just moved forward little bit).

In a risky move, Death Wizard flies towards the open ground among the enemy units and singles out his adversary. Loremaster is unable to deflect the spell and despite his talisman, he too meets the fate of Bjuna.

Comment

This time I decided to hold with Reavers as some of my regiments where not in good position to counter and what is most important, by doing so I would open the path to Swordmaster regiment and I didn't want to risk that.

Turn details

Winds of Magic: 3,4
Channeling: none
Power Dice vs Dispel Dice: 8-4 (+1 power dice thanks to hurricanum)

Fate of Bjuna: 1,2,5,5,5,6 --> Dispel Attempt: 1,1,2,4 --> Number of hits: 3,5 -T3 = 5 hits --> to wound (2+): 1,4,4,5,6 --> ward saves (5+): 2,3,4,5 --> Dead Loremaster --> Lore Attribute: 6,6,6
Luminarc at Eagle Claw: 2,5 --> To wound: 4 --> Number of Wounds: 1

Outcasts - Turn 4

High Elves keep fighting!

This time White Lions made it and charged the Knights. However, their attacks were completely inefficient and the combat ended in a stalemate(Edit: I was hitting on 3+, got 3 hits total, all wounded but all saved on 4+). Swordmasters tried to intercept the Knights but failed! (Edit: 10" away from IC Knights and I rolled 1,3 for distance :))

Shooting was mainly focused on the Griffon but only a single wound was inflicted upon the beast. What is more, eagle claw crew failed to finish off the Death Wizard! Their bolts wounded him only once and his talisman saved him!

Empire - Turn 5

Imperial forces attack again!

Imperial forces charge in as Elven forces are considerably weaker without their general. Inner Circle Knights completely wipe out the Swordmasters and hit the Eagle behind them. The fact that warriors of Hoeth were under the influence of Soulblight helped enormously.

The archers took the risk and didn't challenge hoping to kill the griffon before it strikes but failed to do so and the beast killed many of their numbers. Fortunately, they were still steadfast and somehow Empire General decided not to attack elven BSB.

White Lions managed to kill 3 knights this time and broke the rest of the unit but failed to restrain and were not fast enough to catch the fleeing enemy either.

Comment

I made a mistake with Lions and didn't flee from Greatswords. It was a long charge but the consequences were far more devastating.

Outcasts - Turn 5

Final attempt to change the course of battle!

Outcasts charge in the final attempt to swing the course of battle into their favor. White Lions chase away the Wizard (as he blocks the path) and then decided to attack Luminarc that also fled.

Shadow Warriors helped the Archers and they finally killed the Griffon. General of the Empire lost combat and fled only to be caught in pursuit!

Now, Swordmasters and Dragon Princes mounted double flank attack against Inner Circle Knights. Swordmasters managed to wound the priest only once (Edit: out of 6 attacks he got wounded 3 times and saved 2 wounds). The rest of the attacks were bounded by the thick armor! (Edit: I inflicted 9 wounds from Swordmasters alone and all were saved on 3+!). Only Dragon Princes inflicted some damage. In the end the combat was a draw and both units were in big trouble! Especially that Greatswords were now free to counter charge.

Comment

I have made another crucial mistake here, although due to the fact that Greatswords were free to move it mattered less. Basically, I should have charged Hurricanum with White Lions in order to prevent its counter charge next turn.

Empire - Turn 6

Killing blow

With Elven units pinned in combat Greatswords and Hurricanum had no trouble in getting to the fight. Death Wizard cast a boosted version of Soulblight and all Elven units were now even more fragile and weaker. No wonder they lost combat by a lot and all units were caught in pursuit.

It was clear that Empire won the day after bloody battle and few survivors of the Elven army had to withdraw and save their Battle Banner.

Summary

After-battle thoughts

First of all I own EB apologies for not playing the last turn. It was late and my plans didn't work so I decided to throw the towel. I should have played that last turn regardless and I am sorry I didn't take that loss well.  :(

He played much better game this time and you can see a pattern here. It was the same when I played against his double Wyvern. His first game he makes some mistakes but learns from them quickly and wins the re-match. I guess we need to play best of 3 or something like that!

I really like how he used his Death Wizard and I think he was MVP of the game. Killed noble, loremaster and made my units completely useless in combat while surviving the game on a single wound!

And to make it worse for me he did so with his artillery being completely useless! The amount of 1's he rolled for the to wound rolls was crazy.

Well done to him for a well deserved victory! 

The game started well for me and I think first half was good too. I lost Dragon Princes and a Noble (that was simply stupid move on my part) but had Griffon away from his troops and neutralized 2 Pegasus Captains too.

Then I started making more mistakes. I believe I still had a chance if I simply fled with Lions and didn't allow Greatswords to move to my back yard. Also, charging Hurricanum would keep Inner Circle Knights isolated.

From the hindsight I think I should have kept archers motionless and instead of shooting at Griffon I should have made sure that Death Wizard was dead first. Of course the odds that I would have killed him with eagle claw were good but his presence was more crucial for the following turns and I still had the means to contain Griffon.

Thanks for reading!