"So simple, even a small, easily-distracted child could follow the rules!" - with this in mind, I decided to put Age of Sigmar to the test, and challenge General Palafox to his first game.
I'll be fielding my (almost very nearly painted) Beasts of Chaos warband against Palafox's far more numerous High Elf (ahem, Highborn Aelf) army, who were getting their first outing on these shores since being completed earlier this year by Kraken.
Since pitched battles don't really seem to be the best way to play AoS, we went with a Sudden Death scenario - these dragonophile Elves would be protecting a newly-hatched creature from the predations of the Chaos Sorcerer and his bestial minions.
The great wyrms favoured Ghur to lay their clutches, which meant they belonged to the Ruinous Powers and the beasts who served them. To his left, a small pack of beastmen pawed the ground at his command. To his right, a quartet of Sceadugengan, already transformed into their wolf-like forms. Flying overheard, barely held by Arathac's will, was the baleful form of a Cockatrice.
A sudden realisation - then a rush of anger surged through Arathac, prompting a howl of bestial rage from the retinue around him. The Highborn had already found a dragon hatchling! Their infantry was screening the prize as the Aelf mage attempt to summon an escape portal. The Sorcerer kicked his heels to drive his army forward. He could not see the Aelven dragon knights, but he no longer cared. The Highborn may have trespassed into Ghur, but not one would ever leave it.
I was hoping to construct a fairly even game - the only models with the speed or the range to take out the Hatchling would be my Sorcerer Lord or Cockatrice (the latter could have done so with a first-turn surge and a lucky roll of his Petrifying Glare - but I didn't want to face that level of hissy fit from Palafox, so chose a more cautious approach).
For the Highborn forces, I played down their many ranged options, since I'm sure more archers, reavers, bolt throwers etc, would have just shot me to pieces from afar.
Palafox set up with his Spears on his right flank; the Archers in the centre, screening the Mage; the Dragon Princes on the extreme left and the Hatchling cowering behind a building in the centre.
I set up with the Gors on my left and the Skin Wolves on my right, the Sorcerer Lord splitting the difference between them. The Cockatrice went out on the extreme right, ready to swoop around the flank.
(I packed so light for this game, I actually forgot any dice. Shamefully, Palafox had none in his house either, so we ended up downloading dice simulator apps on our phones - it kind of worked, in the same way that making coffee in a microwave kind of works).
I won the first turn and raced forward with my beasts - or tried to. The Gor rolled miserably for their run move and shambled far out of charge range.
The Skin Wolves shunted up to the nearest building, and the Cockatrice flew around to the side, falling just short of Petrifying Glare range.
The Sorcerer trotted up behind the Skin Wolves, having made his decision on who his spells should benefit (I'm not sure I ever cast anything other than Daemonic Power to buff the Wolves).
Palafox wasted no time in flying his Hatchling off towards the furthest corner of the board. The Spears stayed put, screening it, and the Archers edged forward to get a better shot.
More threateningly, the Dragon Princes move right up into the beak of the Cockatrice, as I am reminded once again that AoS has no arc of sight, and effectively, two opportunities to move ...
Before that could happen, the Archers unleash against the Skin Wolves and roll too poorly to even damage them (we learn too late about their Storm of Arrows ability).
And then the Dragon Princes charge into the Cockatrice - with their doubled damage on the charge, they knock off six wounds from the birdie. I'm hopeful of lasting the round to get reinforced, but then the elven steeds (with two attacks each!) kick off its last two wounds and my big monster is gone.
I win the roll for the first turn again (thankfully, or those Dragon Princes would now be rolling up my line) and go all-out offensive. My Sorcerer casts Daemonic Power on the Skin Wolves, who then counter-charge the Dragon Princes.
Meanwhile, the Gor make a huge sprint across the centre of the battlefield and use their run+charge ability to smash into the archers.
The Skin Wolves go first, and with the ability to re-roll ones and extra damage for sixes, land a colossal amount of harm on the Dragon Princes - only to have it foiled by their armour save. Only one knight is lost, with another on half-wounds.
The retaliation from the Dragon Princes isn't so bad, and they fail to remove any Skin Wolves (though one is down to his last wound - which will slowly regenerate in the hero phase, if he can live long enough).
The Archers get to strike first against the Gor, but melee isn't their forte and only one is dropped. The Beastmen tear up three Archers in return, and a further one is lost to Battleshock (we initially thought it would be more, but Highborn abilities seem pretty resilient to it).
Despite me assuring him that he doesn't have to get bogged down in AoS, Palafox decides to grind out both combats nonetheless. The Spears angle for maximum effect, then charge into the side of the Gor.
Meanwhile the Dragon Hatchling scurries as far away as possible, and tried to lose itself among the warscroll printouts.
Then comes the decision about where to strike first: Palafox opts for the Spears, trusting the armour of the Dragon Princes to see him through.
Sure enough, they do plenty of damage to the Gor, killing all but one of them (who, you may be surprised to learn, promptly succumbs to Battleshock).
However, the Skin Wolves maximise this advantage in their combat, pulling down another two Dragon Princes for no loss at all (Palafox badly flubbed his dice rolls - and subsequently demanded the use of the dice app on my phone, as his was clearly faulty).
Moreover, I had now made enough space to pile in with all four of my Skin Wolves (previously, there was only room between building and table edge for three of them). If I could get the next turn, it could be a humdinger.
I get the next turn - the Wolves are coming off the leash!
Not much to do here (I'm already empathising with Kraken about the limited phases a Chaos army offers) but throw Daemonic Power on the Skin Wolves and let them go to work. The two remaining Dragon Princes don't stand a chance and are slaughtered before they can strike back.
More cautiously, the Sorcerer Lord hides behind building and wonders how he's going to circumvent the Highborn infantry to get at that Hatchling.
It turns out, the building offers no protection as Palafox's Mage still has sight of the Sorcerer Lord and blasts him with an Arcane Bolt (quickly renamed "Fireball - whoop whoop!") that burns off three of his wounds.
Making use of the non-formation versatility in AoS, the Spears form a protective shell around the Archers (so that the former can hold off the Skin Wolves as the latter shoot arrows into them... in theory).
In a show of remarkable synchronicity, I once again get the first turn. The Sorcerer Lord pats out the residual flames on his robes, then hides even more behind the building. The Skin Wolves do not even hesitate about charging into the Spears.
The combat is brief and brutal: ten Spear Aelfs are killed, and I'm starting to worry about just how overpowered is the unit I've brought. The survivors maybe take off a wound (but not a killing one, as the wounded Skin Wolf has been regenerating each Hero Phase) before all the Spears flee to Battleshock.
Palafox is, by this time, swearing at me fully and freely, seeing no chance at all of stopping the onslaught of the Skin Wolves (and blaming me for his army selection). However, since the Hatchling is capable of flying out of their reach indefinitely, we agree that the game now hinges on the Sorcerer Lord - the only model I have left with the speed or the ranged attack to threaten the Hatchling.
With that in mind, Palafox opts for a bold move: the Hatchling swoops back across the battlefield intent on a death-or-glory charge against the Sorcerer Lord.
For the rest of the army, the Archers shoot at the looming Skin Wolves, but once again fail to damage.
At last a turnaround in the battle order! Palafox finally wins first turn. He treats himself to a celebratory Arcane Bolt, which finally removes one of the Skin Wolves and is the cause of much excited fist-pumping.
Even more exciting, the Hatching makes the charge into the Sorcerer Lord with half an inch to spare.
That's where to good news ends: despite having extra attacks for charging, the poor wee dragon whiffs most of them and only takes one wound off the Sorcerer Lord.
In return, the Sorcerer Lord proves quite tasty in close combat: his Chaos Runestaff knocking off two wounds, his Chaos Sword taking another. I'm one wound away from killing the Hatchling and winning the battle (and feeling quite guilty about suggesting the Hail Mary Hatchling charge in the first place). Fortunately the Chaos Steed spares my blushes by not killing with its hooves.
My turn, and very likely to be my last. For some reason (put it down to grogginess caused by a surfeit of anchovies on the pre-game pizza), I don't try to Arcane Bolt the Hatchling, but instead opt to settle this in combat.
The Skin Wolves chew through the Archer regiment - there was nothing to be gained there, but I was having fun doing it. But in the main combat, the Hatchling finally claws off the Sorcerer Lord's final wound to claim victory.
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| Fictional Creatures in the Background May Appear Bigger than They Are |
I'll be fielding my (almost very nearly painted) Beasts of Chaos warband against Palafox's far more numerous High Elf (ahem, Highborn Aelf) army, who were getting their first outing on these shores since being completed earlier this year by Kraken.
Since pitched battles don't really seem to be the best way to play AoS, we went with a Sudden Death scenario - these dragonophile Elves would be protecting a newly-hatched creature from the predations of the Chaos Sorcerer and his bestial minions.
Prologue
The Highborn were coming. Arathac Déorcynn had seen them in the entrails, in the runes, and in the whisperings of the Dark Powers. He saw them from atop his painted steed, looking now with his own soot-rimmed eyes. In their eternal arrogance, the Aelfs had encroached into the Realm of Ghur, seeking one of the newly-hatched dragons that were so prized by their kind.The great wyrms favoured Ghur to lay their clutches, which meant they belonged to the Ruinous Powers and the beasts who served them. To his left, a small pack of beastmen pawed the ground at his command. To his right, a quartet of Sceadugengan, already transformed into their wolf-like forms. Flying overheard, barely held by Arathac's will, was the baleful form of a Cockatrice.
A sudden realisation - then a rush of anger surged through Arathac, prompting a howl of bestial rage from the retinue around him. The Highborn had already found a dragon hatchling! Their infantry was screening the prize as the Aelf mage attempt to summon an escape portal. The Sorcerer kicked his heels to drive his army forward. He could not see the Aelven dragon knights, but he no longer cared. The Highborn may have trespassed into Ghur, but not one would ever leave it.
Armies
Highborn
- Mage
- 5 x Dragon Princes
- 15 x Spears
- 10 x Archers
- 1 x 'Dragon Hatchling' (Great Eagle warscroll)
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| "Which way is Westeros?" |
Beasts of Chaos
- Sorcerer Lord on Chaos Steed
- 10 x Gor
- 4 x 'Skin Wolves' (Crypt Horror warscroll)
- 1 x Cockatrice
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| Semi-painted miniatures to the back, please. |
I was hoping to construct a fairly even game - the only models with the speed or the range to take out the Hatchling would be my Sorcerer Lord or Cockatrice (the latter could have done so with a first-turn surge and a lucky roll of his Petrifying Glare - but I didn't want to face that level of hissy fit from Palafox, so chose a more cautious approach).
For the Highborn forces, I played down their many ranged options, since I'm sure more archers, reavers, bolt throwers etc, would have just shot me to pieces from afar.
Deployment
Palafox set up with his Spears on his right flank; the Archers in the centre, screening the Mage; the Dragon Princes on the extreme left and the Hatchling cowering behind a building in the centre.
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| This battle was fought in the Realm of Washable Gingham |
I set up with the Gors on my left and the Skin Wolves on my right, the Sorcerer Lord splitting the difference between them. The Cockatrice went out on the extreme right, ready to swoop around the flank.
(I packed so light for this game, I actually forgot any dice. Shamefully, Palafox had none in his house either, so we ended up downloading dice simulator apps on our phones - it kind of worked, in the same way that making coffee in a microwave kind of works).
Turn 1 - Beasts
I won the first turn and raced forward with my beasts - or tried to. The Gor rolled miserably for their run move and shambled far out of charge range.
The Skin Wolves shunted up to the nearest building, and the Cockatrice flew around to the side, falling just short of Petrifying Glare range.
The Sorcerer trotted up behind the Skin Wolves, having made his decision on who his spells should benefit (I'm not sure I ever cast anything other than Daemonic Power to buff the Wolves).
Turn 1 - Highborn
Palafox wasted no time in flying his Hatchling off towards the furthest corner of the board. The Spears stayed put, screening it, and the Archers edged forward to get a better shot.
More threateningly, the Dragon Princes move right up into the beak of the Cockatrice, as I am reminded once again that AoS has no arc of sight, and effectively, two opportunities to move ...
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| Despite only having a played a few games of 8th, General Palafox proved resistant to change and insisted on ranking up his miniatures. Even when I confiscated his movement trays. |
Before that could happen, the Archers unleash against the Skin Wolves and roll too poorly to even damage them (we learn too late about their Storm of Arrows ability).
And then the Dragon Princes charge into the Cockatrice - with their doubled damage on the charge, they knock off six wounds from the birdie. I'm hopeful of lasting the round to get reinforced, but then the elven steeds (with two attacks each!) kick off its last two wounds and my big monster is gone.
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| Bye-bye Birdie. |
Turn 2 - Beasts
I win the roll for the first turn again (thankfully, or those Dragon Princes would now be rolling up my line) and go all-out offensive. My Sorcerer casts Daemonic Power on the Skin Wolves, who then counter-charge the Dragon Princes.
Meanwhile, the Gor make a huge sprint across the centre of the battlefield and use their run+charge ability to smash into the archers.
The Skin Wolves go first, and with the ability to re-roll ones and extra damage for sixes, land a colossal amount of harm on the Dragon Princes - only to have it foiled by their armour save. Only one knight is lost, with another on half-wounds.
The retaliation from the Dragon Princes isn't so bad, and they fail to remove any Skin Wolves (though one is down to his last wound - which will slowly regenerate in the hero phase, if he can live long enough).
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| The out-of-focus picture just shows how fast those wolves could move. |
The Archers get to strike first against the Gor, but melee isn't their forte and only one is dropped. The Beastmen tear up three Archers in return, and a further one is lost to Battleshock (we initially thought it would be more, but Highborn abilities seem pretty resilient to it).
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| "Your commissioned paintjobs are no match for our three-colour minimum!" |
Turn 2 - Highborn
Despite me assuring him that he doesn't have to get bogged down in AoS, Palafox decides to grind out both combats nonetheless. The Spears angle for maximum effect, then charge into the side of the Gor.
Meanwhile the Dragon Hatchling scurries as far away as possible, and tried to lose itself among the warscroll printouts.
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| One game in and Palafox has learned the art of CornerHammer. |
Then comes the decision about where to strike first: Palafox opts for the Spears, trusting the armour of the Dragon Princes to see him through.
Sure enough, they do plenty of damage to the Gor, killing all but one of them (who, you may be surprised to learn, promptly succumbs to Battleshock).
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| In the background, the battery was running low on the 'dice'. |
However, the Skin Wolves maximise this advantage in their combat, pulling down another two Dragon Princes for no loss at all (Palafox badly flubbed his dice rolls - and subsequently demanded the use of the dice app on my phone, as his was clearly faulty).
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| Damn you, 50mm bases! |
Moreover, I had now made enough space to pile in with all four of my Skin Wolves (previously, there was only room between building and table edge for three of them). If I could get the next turn, it could be a humdinger.
Turn 3 - Beasts
I get the next turn - the Wolves are coming off the leash!
Not much to do here (I'm already empathising with Kraken about the limited phases a Chaos army offers) but throw Daemonic Power on the Skin Wolves and let them go to work. The two remaining Dragon Princes don't stand a chance and are slaughtered before they can strike back.
More cautiously, the Sorcerer Lord hides behind building and wonders how he's going to circumvent the Highborn infantry to get at that Hatchling.
Turn 3 - Highborn
It turns out, the building offers no protection as Palafox's Mage still has sight of the Sorcerer Lord and blasts him with an Arcane Bolt (quickly renamed "Fireball - whoop whoop!") that burns off three of his wounds.
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| "That small green gift box will not protect you." |
Turn 4 - Beasts
In a show of remarkable synchronicity, I once again get the first turn. The Sorcerer Lord pats out the residual flames on his robes, then hides even more behind the building. The Skin Wolves do not even hesitate about charging into the Spears.
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| The Power Pack rolls on. |
The combat is brief and brutal: ten Spear Aelfs are killed, and I'm starting to worry about just how overpowered is the unit I've brought. The survivors maybe take off a wound (but not a killing one, as the wounded Skin Wolf has been regenerating each Hero Phase) before all the Spears flee to Battleshock.
Turn 4 - Highborn
Palafox is, by this time, swearing at me fully and freely, seeing no chance at all of stopping the onslaught of the Skin Wolves (and blaming me for his army selection). However, since the Hatchling is capable of flying out of their reach indefinitely, we agree that the game now hinges on the Sorcerer Lord - the only model I have left with the speed or the ranged attack to threaten the Hatchling.
With that in mind, Palafox opts for a bold move: the Hatchling swoops back across the battlefield intent on a death-or-glory charge against the Sorcerer Lord.
For the rest of the army, the Archers shoot at the looming Skin Wolves, but once again fail to damage.
Turn 5 - Highborn
At last a turnaround in the battle order! Palafox finally wins first turn. He treats himself to a celebratory Arcane Bolt, which finally removes one of the Skin Wolves and is the cause of much excited fist-pumping.
Even more exciting, the Hatching makes the charge into the Sorcerer Lord with half an inch to spare.
That's where to good news ends: despite having extra attacks for charging, the poor wee dragon whiffs most of them and only takes one wound off the Sorcerer Lord.
In return, the Sorcerer Lord proves quite tasty in close combat: his Chaos Runestaff knocking off two wounds, his Chaos Sword taking another. I'm one wound away from killing the Hatchling and winning the battle (and feeling quite guilty about suggesting the Hail Mary Hatchling charge in the first place). Fortunately the Chaos Steed spares my blushes by not killing with its hooves.
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| This chequered tablecloth ain't big enough for the both of us. |
Turn 5 - Beasts
My turn, and very likely to be my last. For some reason (put it down to grogginess caused by a surfeit of anchovies on the pre-game pizza), I don't try to Arcane Bolt the Hatchling, but instead opt to settle this in combat.
The Skin Wolves chew through the Archer regiment - there was nothing to be gained there, but I was having fun doing it. But in the main combat, the Hatchling finally claws off the Sorcerer Lord's final wound to claim victory.
The Result
Victory to the Highborn Aelfs!
In his arms, he cradled the young dragon. It was a weight, for the creature was already bigger than a mastiff, and promised to grow into a fine steed for his lord. In truth, the cohort of Dragon Princes had claimed first right to tame the beast, but Gelasius doubted any of them would ever ride again.
The portal was complete and the mage stepped through with his prize. Bathed in magic, the Hatchling stirred restlessly, letting out a low growl that promised menace despite the wounds it had endured. Gelasius allowed himself a grim smile. That Dark Sorcerer had done his best to kill the beast, only to discover that no dragon, even one so young, is easily conquered.
Epilogue
Gelasius concluded the ritual and stepped back, allowing the shimming gateway to slowly appear before him. In but a few seconds, he would escape this realm, yet he could not resist one final glance over his shoulder. Nothing. There was no sign of those giant chaos-wracked wolf-men that had so decimated their expedition. Doubtless they were still feasting on the corpses of the militia - those noble Aelfs performing one last service for their kindred, even in death.In his arms, he cradled the young dragon. It was a weight, for the creature was already bigger than a mastiff, and promised to grow into a fine steed for his lord. In truth, the cohort of Dragon Princes had claimed first right to tame the beast, but Gelasius doubted any of them would ever ride again.
The portal was complete and the mage stepped through with his prize. Bathed in magic, the Hatchling stirred restlessly, letting out a low growl that promised menace despite the wounds it had endured. Gelasius allowed himself a grim smile. That Dark Sorcerer had done his best to kill the beast, only to discover that no dragon, even one so young, is easily conquered.
Locker Room Chat
A fun game, and another plus in the Age of Sigmar column (though it's just occurred to me that I have yet to win a battle). Scenarios seem the way forward, and the rules support that - allowing for a bit of improvisation and inspiration (such as making a unit-filler dragon the object of victory).
In terms of converting a part-time player, I think Age of Sigmar should suit Palafox - certainly he was much more in control of his own forces using the warscrolls (although the attitude during the game was very much business as usual: hand-wringing despair followed by victory).
As for the first run-out of my Beasts of Chaos force:
In terms of converting a part-time player, I think Age of Sigmar should suit Palafox - certainly he was much more in control of his own forces using the warscrolls (although the attitude during the game was very much business as usual: hand-wringing despair followed by victory).
As for the first run-out of my Beasts of Chaos force:
- Sorcerer Lord - the Daemonic Power spell is a nice buff for a unit that can pump out a lot of attacks, I like the speed that a horse affords him, and he can hold his own in combat too (just need to find a model to represent him, so I can return the Beast Wizard to the Empire)
- Gor - as expected, okay for picking off weak stuff, not able to stand up to decent infantry. Their speed impressed me (when they could be bothered to run) and I like them as the rank-and-file of the warband.
- Cockatrice - didn't stand a chance, and that was my fault. I had Kraken's Monster Mash in mind when I pushed it forward, but it doesn't have the survivability of a Chimera. The best use would be in reserve, using it's Petrifying Gaze at range while the Skin Wolves led the charge. Speaking of which...
- Skin Wolves (Crypt Horrors) - the stars of the show. They got lucky as the Aelfs were flubbing both shooting and melee attacks against them, and they did benefit from the constant buff of Daemonic Power - but for all that, these boys were lethal!
Durable, fast and powerful, with the potential to churn out extra damage. They fall short with having no rend (and so armoured targets can be tough), but they're a cracking unit nonetheless. As I had no Death wizard, I didn't even get to Summon more of them (not that I needed to), but that could be really potent in an Undead army.
I only hope the real Skin Wolf warscroll (pull your finger out, Forge World) is half as good.
And so ends the first chapter of my highly-mismatched Chaos Beasts!
Nice to see the Helves out again! Sounds like it was a cheerful game, and good to see we're finally getting some battle reports out again.
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment when you're battling General Palafox.
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