Game 140 - Tomb Kings - 2015/07/16

Greetings!

I had a great pleasure to play against fellow forum member and battle reporter, Loriel. We played over Universal Battle and Loriel was kind enough to let me choose which army I would like to face, High Elves or Tomb Kings. As I have played against HE recently quite often and I haven't had a chance to see new units from End Times in action, I asked for Tomb Kings! However, Loriel told me he plays old school with no benefits from End Times books whatsoever!

We agreed on a simple Battle Field with standard 2400 points armies. Loriel asked for closed lists so the one I am going to present below was not fully known to me during the game. In fact, I didn't know the composition of his force at all (I had some clues though) so please, take that into account when considering my decisions during the deployment phase.

Cursed Kings - Army List

Liche High Priest, level 4, Obsidian Lodestone, Power Stone - Lore of Nehekara - 275
Prince Apophas - 130

20 Skeleton Archers, Master of Arrows, Musician - 140
20 Skeleton Archers, Musician - 130
20 Skeleton Archers, Musician - 130
12 Skeleton Archers - 72
5 Skeleton Horse Archers - 70
5 Skeleton Horse Archers - 70

3 Necropolis Knights, Standard, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 220
3 Necropolis Knights, Standard, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 220
3 Sepulcher Stalkers, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 165
3 Sepulcher Stalkers, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 165
Tomb Scorpion, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 85
Tomb Scorpion, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 85
2 Tomb Swarms, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 80
2 Tomb Swarms, Entombed Beneath the Sands - 80

Casket of Souls - 135
Casket of Souls - 135
Screaming Skull Catapult - 90
Screaming Skull Catapult - 90

I decided to use my most recent version of MSU force:

Outcasts - Army List

Larry the Loremaster, Earthing Rod, Armor of Fortune, Obsidian Amulet - 320
Bob the Battle Standard Bearer, Griffon (Swiftsense), Dragon Armor, Lance, Talisman of Preservation, Charmed Shield - 331

16 Archers, Full Command - 190
15 Archers, Full Command - 180
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Champion, Musician, Bows, Spears - 115
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Champion, Musician, Bows, Spears - 115

5 Dragon Princes, Musician, Banner of Eternal Flame - 175
5 Dragon Princes, Musician - 155
10 Swordmasters, Bladelord, Musician - 150
10 Swordmasters, Bladelord, Musician - 150
10 Lions, Banner, Musician, Gleaming Pennant - 150

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower - 70
Great Eagle - 50
Great Eagle - 50
9 Sisters - 126

Army Total: 2397

Terrain

Hill - Blocks line of sight
Forrests - Mysterious terrain
Lake - Mysterious terrain
Pyramids - Impassable, blocks line of sight
Sphinx - Nehekeran Sphinx (as per rulebook, p. 130), blocks line of sight

I won the roll off for picking up the side and chose South. Loriel won the roll determining who is going to start deploying troops.

Deployment

Deployment, Scouts, Vanguards

Final deployment

Deployment order:

Skeleton Archers (SA1)  - Ellyrian Reavers (ER1)
Skeleton Archers (SA2)  - Ellyrian Reavers (ER2)
Skeleton Archers (SA3)  - Great Eagle (GE1)
War Machines  - Great Eagle (GE2)
Skeleton Archers (SA4)  - Archers (A1)
Hierophant  - Rest of the Army
Horse Archers (Scouts)

I won the roll off for vanguards and started:

Ellyrian Reavers (ER1) - Horse Archers (HA1)
Ellyrian Reavers (ER2) - Horse Archers (HA2)


Loriel's Hierophant got following spells:  Desert Wind, Cursed Blades,  Dessication,  Skullstorm

Loriel won the roll off as expected and proceeded to his first turn!

Cursed Kings - Turn 1

First blood for Cursed Kings

Hierophant ordered his minions forward and drew deeply from the raging winds of magic. Larry could stop only one thing and focused on shutting down the effect of one casket of souls. Thanks to that Hierophant moved his units forward faster and the second casket released its deadly cargo. The unit of Swordmasters became the target and howling souls claimed all but the Bladelord. Even the training in White Tower didn't prepare him for the horrors he has just witnessed and he went mad. Nearby White Lions were shaken too but fortunately for them magical banner calmed them down (Edit: Had to use Gleaming Pennant for failed panic check do to destroyed unit in 6", i.e. fleeing Bladelord off the table edge.).

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 6,6 --> 12:6 (no channels)
Desert Wind: 3,6 + 4 = 13 --> no dispel attempt
Casket of Souls (right): 1,3,4,5,6 = 19 --> dispelled on a roll 1,3,4,5,6,6
Casket of Souls (left): 1,3,3,4,5 = 16 --> no dispel attempt --> 3d6 Ld test for Swordmasters (S2): 5,6,6 - ld8 = 9 wounds, panic failed on a roll of 4,6 --> Bladelord fled off the table --> didn't jump to new unit due to roll of 2 to do so

Shooting Phase Details:

Horse Archers (HA2) at Reavers (ER2): 5+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 2 wounds, no saves (failed 5+)
Archers(SA2) at Reavers (ER2): 5+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 2 wounds, both saved on 5+
Archers(SA3) at Reavers (ER1): 5+ to hit (11 can shoot) --> 1 hit, 4+ to wound --> 1 wound, saved on 6+
Horse Archers (HA1) at Reavers (ER1): 5+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 2 wounds, no saves (failed 5+)
Right Catapult at Larry the Loremaster: HIT --> Look Out Sir! passed --> 2 Archers affected but no wounds --> 6 + 1 Swordmasters hit --> 4 + to wound (2+ for one) --> 3 wound (1 wound) --> 2 saved on 5+
Left Catapult at Eagle Claw (EC1): missed the target

Outcasts - Turn 1

Outcasts move forward!

Elves had to move fast to use the opportunity that ambushing elements of the enemy army (expected but not known in what quantity yet) have not joined the battle yet. Since the enemy deployed in the center outflanking seems like an invitation and it would have been rude not to oblige. Especially as a guest!

Larry tried to make undead bowmen less accurate and burn some others to dust but somehow his fireball didn't even form properly and he lost his energy completely.

The shooters picked up but although one unit of Horse Archers was destroyed, the general performance seemed not to be as efficient as expected.

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 2,6 -->  8:6 (no channels)
Miasma at Archers (SA1): 2,6 + 2 = 10 --> no dispel attempt --> -1 BS
2d6 Fireball at Archers (SA3): 1,2,3 +2 = 8 failed to cast

Shooting Phase Details:

Reavers (ER2) at Horse Archers (HA2): move, range, 4+/5+ (champ/unit) --> 2 hits, 4+ to wound --> 1 wound, no save
Sisters at Horse Archers (HA2): range, 3+ --> 6 hits, 3+ to wound --> 5 wounds, no save
Archers (A1) at Archers (SA3): move, range, 4+/5+ (champion/unit) --> 2 hits, 4 + to wound --> 1 wound
Eagle Claw (EC1) at Archers (SA3): 3+ to hit, multiple --> 4 hits, 3+ to wound --> 2 wounds
Archers (A2) at Archers (SA3): range, 3+/4+ (champion/unit) --> 10 hits, 4 + to wound --> 3 wounds
Eagle Claw (EC2) at Horse Archers (SA1): 4+ to hit, multiple --> 3 hits, 3+ to wound --> 2 wounds

Cursed Kings - Turn 2

Units start crawling out of the sands

The call to arms and to protect their King resonated through vast desert. It was answered by the creatures buried beneath the sands, small and large and each dangerous in its own way. Majority of the ambushing forces appeared behind Elven lines, where Sepulchar Stalkers, Swarms and Necropolis Knights made their presence seen. Another pack of Stalkers blocked Dragon Princes on the East and both tried to transfix as many knights as possible. There were significant casualties but the survivors were determined to hold fast and enact vengeance!

A lone Tomb scorpion lost its way, however, but fortunately showed up close it its own forces to be still of some use. At the same time Skeletons moved back as their Hierophant wanted to put extra distance in between the forces. Some of the fallen warriors stood up to fight again but unlucky magical feedback turned some of them into dust again. Elves suffered more damage again although it seemed slightly less devastating than before. Unfortunately, they could not be resurrected as the Undead warriors and each casualty was making the situation of the Outcasts worse.

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 5,5 --> 12:6 (2 power dice from casket and one channel for Elves)
Desert Wind: 1,4 + 4 = 9 (no dispel attempt)
Left Casket of Souls at BSB: 2,2,3,3,4 = 14 --> dispelled with the roll 1,3,3,4,6 + 2 = 19
Right Casket of Souls at Great Eagle (GE1): 2,4,6 = 12 --> no dispel attempt --> 2,4,6 - Ld9 = 3w --> jumps to great eagle (GE2) --> 1,3,5 - Ld 9 = 0w --> jumps to Archers --> 1,3,3 - Ld 9 = 0w --> fails to jump further
Dessication at Swordmasters (SM1): 6,6 --> Irresistible Force --> Miscast: 1,5 --> small template s10 hits --> 9 archers destroyed, hierophant wounded

Shooting Phase Details:

Horse Archers (HA2) at Reavers (ER2): 5+ to hit --> 3 hits, 4+ to wound --> 3 wounds, no saves (failed 5+)
Sepulchar Stalkers (SS2) at Dragon Princes (DP2): 6,6,8 = 20 hits, 6+ to wound --> 3 wounds, 6++ ward saves --> no saves, panic passed
Sepulchar Stalkers (SS1) at Dragon Princes (DP1): 6,6,MISFIRE (suffered 1 wound) = 12 hits, 6+ to wound --> 2 wounds, 6++ ward saves --> no saves, panic passed
Left Catapult at BSB: misses the target
Right Catapult at Eagle Claw (EC2): misses the target
Archers (SA1) at Swordmasters (SM1): 11 could shoot, 6+ to hit (due to Miasma) --> 2 hits, 3+ to wound (due to Dessication) --> 2 wounds, 1 save on 5+
Archers (SA3) at Swordmasters (SM1): 18 shots, 5+ to hit --> 11 hits, 3+ to wound (due to Dessication) --> 6 wounds, 2 saves on 5+, 1 parry on 6++
Archers (SA4) at White Lions: 12 shots, 5+ to hit --> 3 hits, 4+ to wound --> 3 wounds, 3+ save --> all saved
Archers (SA2) at White Lions: 20 shots, 5+ to hit --> 8 hits, 4+ to wound --> 4 wounds, 3+ save --> 3 saves

Outcasts - Turn 2

Elves re-arrange their formation to counter a new threat

With new players entering the stage Elves had to react fast. Their leaders noticed that the enemy bowmen pulled back and that gave them a little bit more breathing space they wanted to to use to their advantage. The new plan was quickly formulated. Cavalry on the flanks proceeded with their initial push and Reavers destroyed first catapult on the West while Dragon Princes avenged their fallen companions and attacked Stalkers.

In the meantime, the rest of the forces reformed and tried to hurt the ambushers with ranged attacks before bracing for impact. However, the magic and shooting results were a big disappointment and Elves stoically awaited incoming attacks.

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 1,1  --> 2:1 (no channels)
Burning Gaze at Necropolis Knights (NK1): 4,5 + 2 = 11 --> 1,3 = 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 1 wound, 4+ to save --> saved

Shooting Phase Details:

Eagle Claw (EC2) at Necropolis Knights (NK1): single shot, 3+ to hit --> hits, 2+ to wound --> wounds, multiplies to 1 wound, does not go further
Archers (A2) at Necropolis Knights (NK1): move, 3+/4+ to hit (champ/unit) --> 10 hits, 5+ to wound --> 2 wounds, 1 save on 3+
Eagle Claw (EC2) at Necropolis Knights (NK1): multiple shot, 3+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 4 wound, 5+ to save --> all saved
Sisters at Sepulcher Stalkers (SS1): move, distance, 4+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 2 wounds, 6+ to save --> no saves
Arches (A1) at Sepulcher Stalkers (SS1): move, 3+/4+ to hit (champ/unit) --> 6 hits, 5+ to wound --> 2 wounds, 5+ save --> no saves

Cursed Kings - Turn 3

Prince Apophas is here!

Prince Apophas made it to the battle among more swarms but he went towards the Sisters as main target. They were also attacked by vicious swarms who have just devoured eagle claw and its crew.

More Necropolis Knights emerged from beneath the sands and they joined nearby Stalkers to attack elven archers. However, those that attacked elven forces earlier didn't fare that well. First group of the Knights charged against Archers but their ranks and martial prowess of the Loremaster meant that only one knight was allowed to strike back and he crumbled to dust soon after. It was the fate of the Stalkers attacked by Dragon Princes too although only regimental standard bearer remained alive.

Hierophant and his legions of shooters stepped in but surprisingly this time they didn't claim as many casualties.

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 3,3 --> 9:3 (3 additional from Casket)
Desert Wind: 2,2 + 4 = 8 --> Dispelled on a roll of 2,3,5 + 2 = 12
Left Casket of Souls at Dragon Princes (DP1): 2,4,4 = 10 --> 2,3,6 - Ld9 = 2w --> 1 6++ ward save --> panic check passed
Right Casket of Souls at Eagle Claw (EC2): 1,4,6,6 = 17 --> 1,2,6 - Ld8 = 1w

Shooting Phase Details:

Horse Archers at Eagle Claw (EC2): 5+ to hit --> 2 hits, 6+ to wound --> no wounds
Stalkers (SS1) at Archers (A1): 8,6 = 14 hits, 6+ to wound --> 1w
Prince Apophas at Sisters: 7 hits, 5+ to wound --> 3 wounds, 6+ save --> no save
Catapult at Eagle Claw (EC2): missed the target
Archers (A3) at Dragon Princes (DP1): 12 shots, 5+ to hit --> 4 hits, 4+ to wound --> 3 wounds, all saved
Remaining Archers at White Lions: 1 wound total

Close Combat Details:

Stalker (SS2) vs Dragon Princes (DP2): DP 3+ to hit with re-roll --> 3 hits, 5+ to wound --> 2 wounds, 5+ save --> no saves; Steeds, 4+ to hit --> 2 hits, 5+ to wound --> no wounds; Stalker, 4+ to hit --> 2 hits, 2+ to wound --> 2w, 4+/6++ to save --> 1 save; Stalker crumbles
Necropolis Knights (NK1) vs Archers (A2): Archers, 4+ to hit with re-rolls --> 8 hits, 5+ to wound --> 6 wounds, 3+ to save --> 4 saves; Larry the Loremaster --> 3+ to hit --> 3 hits, 2+ to wound --> 3 wounds, 6+ to save --> no saves; Necropolis Knight, 2 attacks 4+ to hit --> 1 hit, 2+ to wound --> wounds, 5++ save --> saved; Snake Mount, 3 attacks, 4+ to hit --> 1 hit, 2+ to wound --> 1 wound, 5++ save --> no save; The Knight crumbles

Outcasts - Turn 3

Lots of explosions!

Outcasts had to push harder if they wanted to survive that tough situations. Fortunately, they had the tools to do so. Depleted squadrons of the cavalry were still dangerous and they didn't hesitate to attack. Reavers charge the scorpion and pinned it down for a while although they lost another rider. Dragon Princes charged their respective targets and while the lonely standard bearer inflicted significant damage it was his companions who had a more important task to accomplish. They spotted exposed flank of the units where the Hierophant was hiding. They hit fast, they hit hard and more than half of a unit crumbled. Now, would they be able to hack it to pieces fast enough before the reinforces would come?

In the meantime Bob the Battle Standard Bearer exploited another mistake his undead foe made. He charged at the exposed flank of the Stalkers, tore through them like hot knife and impacted into a flank of another regiment, freshly emerged Necropolis Knights.

One of the great eagles tried to aid Sisters but poisonous attacks of the vicious undead swarms were too much for him and Sisters could not hold and broke only to be run down in the pursuit.

Larry used his potent magic but anger made him careless. He drew too much of the energy, it was unstoppable balefire that evaporated Prince Apophas in an instant. However, as he exploded the feedback also resulted in another disaster. Many Archers fell and their surviving companions thought it was better to take away Larry to safety despite his vocal protests! (Edit: I made a huge mistake here. I thought charging Bob has them in range still but I didn't measure and when the explosions happened I failed panic check and was just above 18" for the re-roll!)

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 3,5 --> 8:5 (no channels attempts)
Burning Gaze at Prince Apophas: 6,6 --> 2d6 (due to lore attribute against undead) = 11, 4+ to wound --> 6w; his explosion kills 3 archers; Miscast result = 1,4 --> Loremaster wounded but saves on ward 6+ --> 7 more archers die --> failed panic check

Cursed Kings - Turn 4

Few Elves that survive try to fight back

With many fights around the battle field the balance seemed to swing towards one and then to the other side. On one hand Elves defeated their enemies in close combat (although Reavers were still destroyed by Tomb Scorpion) and were very close to get the main prize, the Hierophant now. On the other Undead were deadly with their ranged attacks, in particular Caskets reminded about their presence by destroying entire regiment of White Lions!

Larry and his few companions lost some more warriors to asp arrows and they were now interested only in trying to find a shelter and simply surviving the battle.

Magic Phase Details:

Winds of Magic: 1,5 --> 9:4 (3 dice from casket)
Dessication at Dragon Princes (DP1): 1,5,6 + 4 = 16, dispelled on the roll of 1,3,4,6 + 2 = 16 (Edit: According to my chat copy I thought I had only 4 dispel dice, I would use 5th dice for this attempt for sure)
Left Casket to White Lions: 4,5,6 = 15 --> 4,5,5 - Ld8 = 6 wounds
Right Casket to White Lions: 2,5 = 7 --> 4,6,6 - Ld8 = 8 wounds, dead unit
Cursed Blades at Archers (A1): 2,2,3 + 4 = 11 (with the use of a power stone) --> no dispel attempt, 2 models resurrected

Shooting Phase Details:

Horse Archers (HA2) at Archers (A2): 5+ to hit --> 1 hit, 4+ to wound --> no wounds
Archers (SA2) at Archers (A2): 5+ to hit --> 5 hits, 1 allocated to Larry (saved) --> 2 wounds
Catapult at Eagle Claw: missed the target

Outcasts - Turn 4

Hierophant is destroyed!

Knowing that if they get the Hierophant then there is a chance to survive the battle, Elves pushed for one more effort. Bob the Battle Standard Bearer destroyed last Knights and was scanning the field. On far East single Dragon Prince emerged victorious from the fight against Skeleton Archers. Remaining Swordmasters crushed the annoying but dangerous Swarms.

But in the most important fight, two Elven knights finished off the Hierophant and the magic that bind the walking skeletons weakened. As a result one Tomb Scorpion, Horse Archers and Catapult crumbled to dust. That relieved some pressure from the Outcasts but the battle was far from over!

Cursed Kings - Turn 5

Leaderless the army of undead slowly crumbles to dust

Without the Hierophat to lead them the undead forces were not as vigorous and some of the skeleton warriors started to crumble. But the fight continued and one regiment of Archers attacked Dragon Princes. Exhausted Knights moved away to avoid the combat.

One of the Casket of Souls was still stopped but the other one released its cargo and remaining Swordmasters were claimed by the souls of the dead.

Outcasts - Turn 5

Very few warriors remain

Larry and his few companions keep fleeing, they almost managed to reach the pyramid and while they are not yet completely safe at least they will not be attacked anymore.

Bob the Battle Standard Bearer spurred his mount and flew towards Dragon Princes but he was too late. Elven Knights were so battered they had to withdraw immediately to avoid destruction. Their lone companion in a heroic charge finally demolished the cursed Casket that claimed so many Elven lives but the resulting detonation killed brave Knight as well.

The archers tried to finish off the other Casket of Souls that suffered some damage due to weakening of the bond between realms of the dead and the living but could not make it.

Cursed Kings - Turn 6

Last strike by Cursed Kings

More units crumbled and last Casket fell apart too. Without any magic and no chance for combat, Skeleton Archers released the last arrows and got the remaining crew member of the Eagle Claw bolt thrower.

The final word belonged to Elves however.

Outcasts - Turn 6

Last combat

Larry the Loremaster climbed through the ruins and almost fell if not for a helping hand of his companion. They were exhausted, wounded and barely alive but made it to the safety and could wait for the rescue teams now.

Bob led the last attack all by himself and stormed furiously into the remnants of the Skeleton Archers. He and his griffon left no foe to fight any further.

In the meantime, Archers marched to shoot at a Tomb Scorpion. It was clear that the beast is brely animated and a single arrow would end its artificial live but the target was not easy to hit and Archers didn't deliver the final blow.

Although both armies were almost utterly destroyed, Elves carried the day as their leaders were still among them!

Summary

Turn by turn animation summary

After-battle thoughts

First of all I would like to thank Loriel for a great game! He is a great person and I highly recommend that you go and ask him for a game. The sportsmanship of your opponent is the most crucial factor in determining how much fun you get from it and Loriel is an example to follow!

I also hope that this game showed that you should never underestimate Tomb Kings. I absolutely love the army Loriel brought to the game as in my opinion it emphasizes the nature of the skeleton warriors of the Desert. In particular the huge amount of regiments that were entombed beneath the sands.

This time I go an upper hand but I am sure you could see many moments in that game were things could go much better for Loriel and he was definitely on a good path to the victory. As always, tiny details can change the course of battle! Here are the situations I think had a significant impact on our game:

1. Opening the route to the hierophant - even if didn't bring much destruction to TK army on its own it definitely helped. First of all, with the constant threat of Caskets I had a tough choice, allow them to unleash their deadly cargo or allow the TK general to move his firebase into range and resurrect fallen troops. Both situations where undesirable because both meant I was losing warriors.

Getting the hierophant and the bonus for the general was still a significant amount of points. In addition, when the crumbling occurred, Loriel lost one Casket and remaining catapult, further limiting his ability to inflict damage at the distance.  It is also important to note that killing hierophant took away horse archers who would otherwise attack fleeing Loremaster and earned Lorile 600+ points!

2. Exposing the flank of Satlkers and Knights - that simply crushed the plan Loriel had to surround and destroy my archers and I was happy to use BSB as mobile reserve for that particular purpose. I just wish I noticed I could charge with the Eagle against the Knights so that BSB could fight twice the same turn and hopefully finish the enemy earlier.

3. Not charging with Archers against Swarms attacking Eagle Claw - I considered that and acknowledging the full benefit of a hindsight I think it was a mistake not to do so. If I did I would be able to save Sisters and prevent Larry from fleeing even if he miscast anyway.

4. Not measuring the distance from charging BSB to other units - that was simply unacceptable. And if not for some luck I would have lost my general and another unit. Not to mention that the loremaster had no opportunity to redeem himself for quite miserable magic phases in the first half of the game.

I still wonder how could I deploy better, the main and always the same question I ask each time I play a game :)

I hope you enjoyed the report and we are both looking forward to reading your comments!

Cheers!