The dust settles on another WoffBoot, and while the results are there for all to see, that doesn't tell the whole story. So settle in for the first of my five battle reports.
It's a Tzeentch vs Nurgle grudge match!
As the only two generals with any experience of Age of Sigmar Matched Play (however limited), it fell to myself and longtime SkypeBoot antagonist, Kraken, to play the inaugural game.
Naturally, we both picked Chaos lists, both somewhat underpowered, and from opposing factions.
Despite being thrown together at the last minute, the appearance of not one, but two behemoths concerned me, especially as the Manticore loves to chomp on other monsters. The Blightkings are good infantry, though I managed to steamroll through them in our last Ruinous Powers grudge match, so if I could preserve enough of my force then I was hopeful of doing the same.
Leaders
This force was also patched-together at short notice. I spent all my painting time getting the Ironjawz ready for battle, and so only got to paint up half my Tzeetnch guys. The Brayherd were drafted in at short notice.
Still, everyone had a job to do. The Tzaangor can hit surprisingly hard, the Chaos Warriors are solid enough to hold objectives, and even the Gor can fight decently if supported properly.
The Beastlord was just a makeweight to help with the Gor's Anarchy and Mayhem roll, while the Ogroid was for some robust magical support.
I was expecting great things from the Chimera, although I was painfully aware of how quickly its effectiveness drops once it starts taking wounds.
Leaving the Chaos Warriors to hold my objective, I raced forward with the Gor and Chimera. The Tzaangor were held slightly back, ready to counterpunch if needed.
It turns out they were not needed, as Kraken wasn't about to leave his nice fortifications, and so stayed put, only nudging forward the Maggoth Lord to get into spellcasting range.
It was just tempting enough for me to try a charge, so after blasting off a few mortal wounds with the Chimera's breath, I barrelled in with both Tzaangor and Gor.
The image below is deceiving: with its flank against the building, only a few beastmen can actually get into fighting range, and most of their attacks were disappointing. Bloab makes it through the combat without a sweat, and half my army is now within easy reach of the Rotbringers.
Sure enough, the Blightkings pile into the Gor and start to delete the unit (only the buffs I'd put onto them keep them hanging in there).
Moreover, the Manticore Lord charges into the Chimera, and proves very good at fighting large monsters (while the Chimera chooses this point to be bad at attacking). The only bright point is that the Beastlord is close enough to pile in and help with the combat (he doesn't achieve anything, but at least it's something else for Kraken to think on).
Kraken gets the priority for the third turn and curses the remaining Gor with a Plague of Flies. In combat the Tzanngor are wiped out and the Gor are seriously denuded.
The Manticore clash in the centre continues, and I think the Beastlord finds his swing (with only three attacks, his chances of wounding aren't great - but with 3 damage per hit, it pays off when then finally get through), although the Chimera isn't looking too sharp.
My turn begins well with the Fireblast spell taking out the Maggoth. Realising that five Gor aren't going to break through twice that number of Blightkings, I pull them back, as they may still be useful in securing my own objective.
I also march the Chaos Warriors upfield, as I could do with some more infantry by this point. And in the spirit of hopeless desperation, I charge the Ogroid into the Manticore fight. The Ogroid is surprisingly tasty in a scrap, and the Manticore general is now down to his last two wounds.
In a lucky break, I win initiative for the fourth turn. The Ogroid kills the Manticore with an Arcane Bolt. I now realise that, even if I can't win a major victory by claiming both objectives, I am well up on points for units destroyed and all I need to do is hold on for a minor victory.
With my leaders and monster no longer in combat, I can pull them back to my own half. The Chaos Warriors hastily retrace their steps back to the objective and the Gor run as fast as they can. Now Kraken has to take the fight to me for victory.
After a fruitless fourth turn of advancing, Kraken wins the initiative for the fifth and final round. One unit of Blightkings fails its charge, but the other one makes it into both the Gor and Beastlord.
The resulting rounds of combat don't go well for the Rotbringers. They're only able to take two wounds of the Beastlord and can't even destroy the unit of Gor.
In reply, aided by magical blasts and Chimera breath, I strike back and kill four Blightkings. The remaining one doesn't break, but I've done more than enough to win on points.
Minor victory to the Disciples of Tzeentch!
Both the Gor and the Tzaangor were less than optimum - that building prevented me from using my superior numbers to good effect, and set me up nicely for a counter-charge. I probably should have been more patient and allowed myself another turn to get into a better position, but the charge was there and I took it. Thankfully, after the dust had settled, there were enough Gor left over to retain their points.
It serves as a useful reminder to play the rules of the scenario, and not just try to fight to the end. Pulling back the Gor was a timely measure that, I think, saved my game.
Killing the Manticore Lord was another crucial point and the Ogroid proved the tipping point. For magical support and combat power, he's quite the keystone of this army. I wasn't too unhappy with the Chimera either - while not pulling up any trees, he at least lured out the big monster and didn't get killed himself. The mortal wounds breath weapon is probably his best asset. Anything in combat seems a bonus.
Looking back over this, I may have been too timid in the final round, Maybe the Chimera (who was almost on half-wounds) could have attempted a long charge into the Marauders and tried to wipe them out for the win. Mind you, the second unit of Blightkings might have been close enough to support them, and I didn't want to throw away a costly unit and rob me of my minor victory conditions.
Still, one victory down - onwards and upwards!
It's a Tzeentch vs Nurgle grudge match!
As the only two generals with any experience of Age of Sigmar Matched Play (however limited), it fell to myself and longtime SkypeBoot antagonist, Kraken, to play the inaugural game.
Naturally, we both picked Chaos lists, both somewhat underpowered, and from opposing factions.
On The Puses: Nurgle Rotbringers + Slaves to Darkness
Leaders
- Chaos Lord On Manticore - General - Blade & Runeshield - Mark of Chaos : Nurgle
- Bloab Rotspawned - Maggoth Lord
Units
- 5 x Putrid Blightkings
- 5 x Putrid Blightkings
- 10 Chaos Marauders - Mark of Nurgle
Despite being thrown together at the last minute, the appearance of not one, but two behemoths concerned me, especially as the Manticore loves to chomp on other monsters. The Blightkings are good infantry, though I managed to steamroll through them in our last Ruinous Powers grudge match, so if I could preserve enough of my force then I was hopeful of doing the same.
Coalition of Chaos: Disciples of Tzeentch/Brayherd/Monsters of Chaos
Leaders
- Ogroid Thaumaturge - General
- Beastlord - Man-render Great Axe
Units
- 20 x Gors - Two Gor-Blades
- 10 x Tzaangors - Pair of Savage Blades (4), Savage Greatblade (3), Savage Blade & Arcanite Shield (3)
- 10 x Chaos Warriors - Hand Weapon & Shield - Mark of Chaos: Tzeentch
Behemoths
- Chimera
This force was also patched-together at short notice. I spent all my painting time getting the Ironjawz ready for battle, and so only got to paint up half my Tzeetnch guys. The Brayherd were drafted in at short notice.
Still, everyone had a job to do. The Tzaangor can hit surprisingly hard, the Chaos Warriors are solid enough to hold objectives, and even the Gor can fight decently if supported properly.
The Beastlord was just a makeweight to help with the Gor's Anarchy and Mayhem roll, while the Ogroid was for some robust magical support.
I was expecting great things from the Chimera, although I was painfully aware of how quickly its effectiveness drops once it starts taking wounds.
Game 1: Take and Hold
We start off with the first scenario in the General's Handbook: Take And Hold. It's the simplest goal - seize the objective in your opponent's half, while keeping models exclusively around the one in your end.
This is trickier than it seems at 1,000pts, as you have to peel off a unit you can scarcely afford to lose to protect your objective.
And since Kraken completed set-up first, and gave me the first turn, it looked like the ball was in my court.
Leaving the Chaos Warriors to hold my objective, I raced forward with the Gor and Chimera. The Tzaangor were held slightly back, ready to counterpunch if needed.
It turns out they were not needed, as Kraken wasn't about to leave his nice fortifications, and so stayed put, only nudging forward the Maggoth Lord to get into spellcasting range.
It was just tempting enough for me to try a charge, so after blasting off a few mortal wounds with the Chimera's breath, I barrelled in with both Tzaangor and Gor.
The image below is deceiving: with its flank against the building, only a few beastmen can actually get into fighting range, and most of their attacks were disappointing. Bloab makes it through the combat without a sweat, and half my army is now within easy reach of the Rotbringers.
Sure enough, the Blightkings pile into the Gor and start to delete the unit (only the buffs I'd put onto them keep them hanging in there).
Moreover, the Manticore Lord charges into the Chimera, and proves very good at fighting large monsters (while the Chimera chooses this point to be bad at attacking). The only bright point is that the Beastlord is close enough to pile in and help with the combat (he doesn't achieve anything, but at least it's something else for Kraken to think on).
Kraken gets the priority for the third turn and curses the remaining Gor with a Plague of Flies. In combat the Tzanngor are wiped out and the Gor are seriously denuded.
The Manticore clash in the centre continues, and I think the Beastlord finds his swing (with only three attacks, his chances of wounding aren't great - but with 3 damage per hit, it pays off when then finally get through), although the Chimera isn't looking too sharp.
My turn begins well with the Fireblast spell taking out the Maggoth. Realising that five Gor aren't going to break through twice that number of Blightkings, I pull them back, as they may still be useful in securing my own objective.
I also march the Chaos Warriors upfield, as I could do with some more infantry by this point. And in the spirit of hopeless desperation, I charge the Ogroid into the Manticore fight. The Ogroid is surprisingly tasty in a scrap, and the Manticore general is now down to his last two wounds.
In a lucky break, I win initiative for the fourth turn. The Ogroid kills the Manticore with an Arcane Bolt. I now realise that, even if I can't win a major victory by claiming both objectives, I am well up on points for units destroyed and all I need to do is hold on for a minor victory.
With my leaders and monster no longer in combat, I can pull them back to my own half. The Chaos Warriors hastily retrace their steps back to the objective and the Gor run as fast as they can. Now Kraken has to take the fight to me for victory.
After a fruitless fourth turn of advancing, Kraken wins the initiative for the fifth and final round. One unit of Blightkings fails its charge, but the other one makes it into both the Gor and Beastlord.
The resulting rounds of combat don't go well for the Rotbringers. They're only able to take two wounds of the Beastlord and can't even destroy the unit of Gor.
In reply, aided by magical blasts and Chimera breath, I strike back and kill four Blightkings. The remaining one doesn't break, but I've done more than enough to win on points.
Minor victory to the Disciples of Tzeentch!
Post-match thoughts
My first battle, and that was a lot of fun. There's something about turning your fortune around mid-game that is even more satisfying that tabling your opponent (not that I've much experience in the latter).Both the Gor and the Tzaangor were less than optimum - that building prevented me from using my superior numbers to good effect, and set me up nicely for a counter-charge. I probably should have been more patient and allowed myself another turn to get into a better position, but the charge was there and I took it. Thankfully, after the dust had settled, there were enough Gor left over to retain their points.
It serves as a useful reminder to play the rules of the scenario, and not just try to fight to the end. Pulling back the Gor was a timely measure that, I think, saved my game.
Killing the Manticore Lord was another crucial point and the Ogroid proved the tipping point. For magical support and combat power, he's quite the keystone of this army. I wasn't too unhappy with the Chimera either - while not pulling up any trees, he at least lured out the big monster and didn't get killed himself. The mortal wounds breath weapon is probably his best asset. Anything in combat seems a bonus.
Looking back over this, I may have been too timid in the final round, Maybe the Chimera (who was almost on half-wounds) could have attempted a long charge into the Marauders and tried to wipe them out for the win. Mind you, the second unit of Blightkings might have been close enough to support them, and I didn't want to throw away a costly unit and rob me of my minor victory conditions.
Still, one victory down - onwards and upwards!
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