Greetings!
It's been more than two years since my first and only battle of Warhammer the Old World. The system has evolved in the meantime, with a steady stream of supplements and updates. There have been quite a few moments when I thought I can finally make it happen to play again, but life has always had different plans.
Fortunately, my amazing friend Jimmy had a very convincing argument that helped me enormously in organizing things at last and play my second ever game of Warhammer the Old World.
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| Beautiful Dragon from Highland Miniatures. |
Jimmy has mastered the art of 3d printing and surprised me with a wonderful gift in the form of a great looking High Elf Lord on Dragon (design by Highland Miniatures). What is more, he has supplied me with an airbrush, compressor and all accessories needed to start and paint this wonderful model. The photos show the results of my first ever attempts at airbrushing. I must say I really love the experience. The smooth effect and very neat layers of paint is something I have never been able to achieve with brushes. It also comes in very handy when painting large models.
Thanks to Jimmy I hope to get back to hobby, both in terms of painting and playing!
It was also quite a good timing because my brother needed a sparring partner before his local tournament as he felt quite rusty as well. As always, we played our game over Universal Battle 2 online platform.
The tournament used Squared Based Comp rules, which meant I had 2,400 points to spend on my High Elves, while my brother had 2,200 to build his Warriors of Chaos army.
The first time ever, since I have started playing games of Warhammer a few decades ago, I was about to have a dragon in my army! But which one? I decided to go with a Noble on a Sun Dragon as I still wanted to have multiple small units. Here is what I came up with for this game.
Outcasts - Army List
Characters
Noble on Sun Dragon - General, Shield, Sword of Might, Dragon Helm, Seed of Rebirth, Blood of Caledor - 317
Noble - Lance, Full plate armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, Barded Elven Steed, Reaver Bow, Pure of Heart - 165
Archmage - level 4, Talisman of Protection, Earthing Rod, High Magic - 220
Core Units
11 Elven Archers, Musician - 104
11 Elven Archers, Musician - 104
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Cavalry Spears, Shortbows, Scouts, Skirmishers, Harbinger, Musician - 119
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Cavalry Spears, Shortbows, Scouts, Skirmishers, Harbinger, Musician - 119
6 Silver Helms, High Helm, Musician - 156
Special Units
12 Swordmasters of Hoeth, Bladelord, Musician - 180
12 Swordmasters of Hoeth, Bladelord, Musician - 180
12 White Lions of Chrace, Guardian, Musician - 180
11 White Lions of Chrace, Guardian, Musician - 166
5 Dragon Princes, Drakemaster, Musician - 199
Rare Units
Great Eagle - 60
Great Eagle - 60
Eagle-Claw Bolt Thrower - 70
Total: 2,399
As it is my 2nd game, I wanted to keep things relatively simple. I knew I wanted to use a Noble on Sun Dragon, so I started with him. Since I had 2,400 points to spare I decided to get level 4 Archmage and use High magic to see if I can make it work. I also wanted a mounted BSB with Pure of Heart, so that I could use his higher Leadership to help nearby troops. And added Reaver Bow for some ranged attacks.
The rest of the army was built around Multiple Small Units concept that I hope can work under TOW rules. At the same time, I like to have units that do something in each phase of the game. Hence, some Archers, Ellyrian Reavees and Bolt Thrower for ranged attacks. Swordmasters, White Lions, Dragon Princes and to extend, Silver Helms, for close combat. And Eagles for some distraction.
Warriors of Chaos army was limited to 2,200 points under the Square Based rules.
Warriors of Chaos - Army List
Characters
Chaos Lord - General, Great weapon, Full plate armour, Shield, Mark of
Nurgle, Manticore, 2x Favour of the Gods, Crown of Everlasting
Conquest, Brazen Collar - 401
Exalted Champion - Great weapon, Heavy armour, Mark of Nurgle, Chaos
Dragon, 2x Favour of the Gods, Armour of Meteoric Iron, Talisman of the
Carrion Crow - 499
Exalted Sorcerer - Hand weapon, Light armour, Mark of Tzeentch, Level 1, Daemonic Mount, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Favour of the Gods,
Daemonology - 175
Core Units
5 Chaos Warhounds - 30
5 Chaos Warhounds - 30
16 Chaos Marauders - Hand weapons, Light armour, Shields, Close Order, Marauder Headman, Unnatural Fortitude - 151
16 Chaos Marauders - Hand weapons, Light armour, Shields, Close Order, Marauder Headman, Unnatural Fortitude - 151
5 Marauder Horsemen - Hand weapons, Light armour, Shields, Throwing axes, Open Order - 65
8 Forsaken - Heavy armour, Forsaken by Khorne - 152
Rare Units
Warpfire Dragon - 375
Gigantic Spawn of Chaos - 170
Total: 2,199
With four big monsters, three of which fly, that army would not be easy to deal with. You cannot easily pin them down, they can choose the targets much easier and are faster than majority of my units. With Toughness 6 and good save, even on un-ridden monsters, my units would need a lot of luck to inflict even a single wound. On the other hand, each monster had a lot of attacks on their own, especially combined with stomps.
My plan was to focus the shooting on Warhounds and Marauders. And eliminate the core units of the enemy as fast as possible. At the same time, I wanted to avoid fighting against the monsters, especially Dragon and Manticore when possible. In the case of Chaos Lord and Exalted Champion, I had an opportunity to slow them down by issuing challenges and make them fight against my units longer.
If that worked, I should also be able to engineer an attack of multiple units against a single monster, preferably Spawn or Warpfire Dragon, to give me a chance to win the combat. If I managed not to lose too many units of my own in the process, perhaps there was a possibility to get a narrow victory.
Before the game started we rolled for spells. Archmage ended up with Fiery Convocation, Corporeal Unmaking, Fury of Khaine and Shield of Saphery. While Exalted Sorcerer chose Signature spell, the Summoning.
Deployment
Deployment of the Armies.
Warriors of Chaos deployed in a single group, aiming to close the distance with the enemy by marching through the middle of the battle field. Chaos Lord and Exalted Champion deployed on flanks of their formation, making sure everyone obeyed the orders and maintained discipline.
Elves, on the other hand, positioned their Archers and Bolt Thrower in the middle, with the flanks occupied by their combat units. White Lions were to use their open order to move a bit faster and use nearby woods to some advantage.
Warriors of Chaos army decided to seize the initiative and moved towards Elven battle line first.
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 1
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| Opening moves and salvos. |
Warriors of Chaos moved as one in a disciplined formation under the watchful gaze of the Chaos Lord and Exalted Champion. They covered the distance fast to be in a charge range as soon as possible.
Even though this army excelled in close combat, it had some ranged attacks that proved to be very useful. First, Exalted Sorcerer used his magic ring with such force that even the Elven Archamage was not able to stop it. Suddenly exposed Ellyrian Reavers were engulfed in flames and perished.
Encouraged by this success, Warpfire Dragon aimed at the noble Elven knight, who proudly held a beautiful banner, inspiring nearby troops. To the horror of the Elven units, infernal "missile" sailed through the air right at the battle standard bearer, who failed to evade it and was killed instantly.
Outcasts - Turn 1
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| Elves fight back. |
Despite initial losses, Elves maintained formation and maneuvered to better positions on the flanks. Silver Helms charged Marauder Horsemen, who performed tactical withdrawal.
Executing the plan, Archers and Bolt Thrower started shooting at Warhounds. While Archmage managed to cast Fiery Convocation, that hit one of the marauder warbands badly. Both, Warhounds and Marauders lost their nerve and fled.
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 2
First charges.
Chaos Lord and Exalted Champion spurred their monstrous mounts and charged. However, only Chaos Lord made it and hit the enemy ranks. Brave Guardian challenged him to a single combat and although died, his White Lion companions stubbornly refused to break.
The main formation of Warriors of Chaos army kept advancing, while fleeing units rallied.
Outcasts - Turn 2
Elven attempts to counter attack.
Elves made several attempts to attack and seize the initiative. On the Western flank, Silver helms charged horse marauders again. The fight was intense but no clear winner emerged.
White Lions, isolated and without any hope for support, tried hard to land a blow at the vicious manticore. However, this time Chaos Lord managed to break a few remaining hunters and run them down mercilessly.
Closer to the centre, Swordmasters chased off the warhounds and used the momentum to hit Forsaken.
On the Eastern flank, Noble on Sun Dragon was a bit too ambitious in his plan to charge Marauders, didn't reach them in time and had to land in nearby forest. Shooters aimed at the enemy infantry instead.
The second unit of White Lions attacked Exalted Champion, hoping to pin him down for a while. And give other units time to move to safer position.
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 3
Warriors of Chaos are not slowing down.
Chaos Army was not slowing down. It looked like it has already secured the Western flank, with White Lions gone and Silver Helms pinned down.
Chaos Lord moved to a new position and so did the Warpfire Dragon, while Giant Spawn slammed into Elven Archers.
Elves had a small success thanks to Swordmasters who broke Forsaken. Unfortunately, White Lions lost their fight against Exalted Champion. Who charged surprised Elven Noble as a result of pursuit. Can young Sun Dragon have a chance against mighty Chaos beast?
Outcasts - Turn 3
More casualties on both sides.
As the fight intensified, both armies started taking more casualties. Silver Helms finally lost their fight against Marauder Horsemen aided by Exalted Champion on his Daemonic Mount.
Swordmasters finished the Forseken but Archers were devoured by the Giant Spawn. Dragon Princes failed to get enough momentum to charge the Warpfire Dragon.
And in the climatic battle between two dragon riders, Elven Noble managed to survive this round of fight and fell back in good order. Can he survive another?
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 4
Another wave of attacks from the Chaos Army
Warriors of Chaos pressed their advantage. Exalted Sorcerer once again used his magical ring to a good effect and one of the Great Eagles crashed down to the ground in flames.
Gigantic Spawn didn't slow while reducing Elven bolt thrower to splinters and hit second unit of Archers. Warpfire Dragon charged Dragon Prices but this time, the pride of Caledor didn't feel that confident and withdrew.
Fortunately for Elves, Noble on Sun Dragon miraculously won this round of combat and pushed back Exalted Champion on Chaos Dragon deeper into the forest. Larger beast was temporarily entangled between dense trees and Elven general used the opportunity to withdraw from uneven fight.
Outcasts - Turn 4
Elves still try to fight back
Elves were fighting in a tactical retreat now. Swordmasters charged Marauders and broke them to open the path to safety. That unnerved nearby Horsemen and Exalted Sorcerer who withdrew as well.
The rest of the army either changed the positions or rallied, getting ready to launch a combined attack on one of the big monsters, should the opportunity arise.
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 5
Warriors of Chaos attempt to corner Elven forces.
All four Chaos monsters converged on the South-East corner of the battle field where three strongest Elven units still remained combat ready. However, instead of committing to a fight, both dragons rained fiery death on White Lions and Dragon Princes, further reducing their numbers. Only Giant Spawn was fighting in close combat and defeated a few remaining Archers, desperately trying to hold their ground.
Outcasts - Turn 5
One last charge of the Elven forces.
With White Lions and Dragon Princes reduced in numbers and out of position for a combined attack, Elves did not commit to any heroic but doomed charges. Only Ellyrian Reavers and Great Eagle managed to catch Marauder Horsemen and did what Silver Helms couldn't.
Warriors of Chaos - Turn 6
The death of Swordmasters
Warpfire Dragon initiated the attack and first aimed at White Lions, who fled. Then cast its gaze at Swordmasters, who also lost their nerve. Unfortunately for warriors of Hoeth, Giant Spawn was also charging at them and they were not fast enough to outpace it.
In the final act, Chaos Dragon breathed fire at Dragon Princes and only Drakemaster remained out of the proud unit of knights from Caledor.
Outcasts - Turn 6
Elves conceded defeat.
Elves where in no shape to continue the fight. They withdrew whatever survivors they could and retreated. Chaos Lord decided not to pursue as while victorious, he needed to replenish the ranks with some more mortal followers.
After-battle thoughts
Well done to my brother for a well deserved victory! He seized the initiative early, kept me on the back foot whole game, did not allow me to make combined charges and capitalized on my mistakes. I think he used his big monsters well, moving them without hesitation but not recklessly. It also seems that he chose his sparring partner well because in the tournament he prepared for he played against Elven armies in all three games!
In the end, he got total of 1,232 points, which had to be modified by factor of 0.83, giving him 1,023 points.
I got 579 points, modified by 0.91 which gave me 527 points. Which means Warriors of Chaos won by 496 points.
The plan worked only partially. I managed to eliminate all core troops but lost more in the process. I was not able to get any of the necessary combined charges and did not bring down any of the big monsters. I go lucky to inflict 5 wounds on Exalted Champion on Chaos Dragon over the course of the battle. Remaining three monsters lost only a single wound each.
My initial conclusion was that I deployed a bit too close. Especially that I didn't get the first turn. In fact, I should have assumed I would be second and deploy a bit further, making sure the charges in the Warriors of Chaos 2nd turn were not possible (or at least not likely). Combined with positioning of one of the Ellyrian Reavers units in the open meant I lost one round of shooting one one fast cavalry.
As it was only my second game, it was clear I am not yet able to properly anticipate the positioning of units after they fall back in good order. It meant that I didn't place them well to support each other. The good example was with White Lions being charged by the Chaos Lord. They got pushed back a few inches and as a result, Chaos Lord was out of arch of sight of nearby Swordmasters. Who were not able to counter-attack.
One of the biggest mistakes I made was to charge Exalted Champion with White Lions. I should have waited for him to make a move. That would have bought me one more round when he is not fighting. But more importantly, I exposed my own general on Sun Dragon. I got lucky he didn't die and was even able to disengage when unexpectedly he won a round of combat. However, as a result was pinned down and was not able to assist units elsewhere.
It didn't help that I failed a few break tests where I needed to roll 8 or less to maintain formation and fall back instead. I also failed several terror tests. The most painful one was with Swordmasters in turn 6. It is not given they would have survived but at least they could try to put up a fight.
I also think I didn't make High Magic work. There were turns when I was not able to roll high enough to cast any spell. I had only one that could do damage at a distance and it did well both times it went through. I was a bit surprised, however, when I realized that other spells last only during a single phase. For some reason, I thought they would last over my opponents turn until my next one. That means I would need to rethink if that is the magic I would like to use next time.
I was quite happy with shooting. I took it to deal with light troops that would potentially interfere with my movement. From that point it worked well.
Having a dragon in the army was an interesting twist. I actually liked it, even if I didn't use it well. I am sure it would have helped greatly if I managed to send him into a fight together with at least one other unit. Something to try and do better next time. Once again, then many thanks to my awesome friend Jimmy for the gift!
So, where to from here? Well, I will definitely keep trying to find a version of Multiple Small Units army that works. I made quite a few mistakes in the deployment and positioning of the units. Hence, I would try not to make too many changes to the army list. This approach served me well in the past so I hope it will again this time.
I hope you enjoyed the battle report and until next time!
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