The Dwarves battle the skeleton crew to possess a landlocked warship - we're back in The Old World!
I, Stylus, am rolling out a brand new Tomb Kings army, especially for the Old World (regulation bases and everything), and so Kraken offered to command the Dwarfs and put them through their paces.
Wouldn't be too much effort, I thought - their paces are pretty short.
The Khemrical Brothers - Tomb Kings
At 1250pts, this is close to everything I have so far - mostly Core choices, so I'll acclimatise to the basics first before adding some more of the flashy stuff.
Two solid blocks of infantry (not very dangerous, but unbelievable tarpits), a couple of skirmish units (one of which in ambush), three chariots (split into two units), some horse archers and - the only unit with a bit of teeth - Sepulchral Stalkers.
To lead them, I have a Tomb King on a chariot - not many points for offensive weapons, so he's reliant on the charge - and a Lv 4 High Priest, who'll be nestled in one of the skeleton blocks to keep him safe.
I did quite well rolling the spells - two of them reduce enemy Leadership (and I believe they stack), one is a magic missile that ignores armour and the last adds a bit of extra movement to my ponderous infantry.
- Tomb King (General)
Skeleton Chariot, Cavalry spear, Heavy armour
Icon of Rulership, Enchanted Shield - High Priest (Hierophant)
Level 4 Wizard, Skeletal Steed
Warding Splint
Necromancy: Unquiet Spirits, Spiritual Vortex, Spirit Leech, Khsar's Incantation of the Desert Wind - 23 x Skeleton Warriors
Command Group. Thrusting spears, Light armour, Shields - 25 x Skeleton Warriors
Command Group. Thrusting spears, Light armour, Shields - 10 x Skeleton Skirmishers
Warbows, Ambushers - 10 x Skeleton Skirmishers
Warbows - 5 x Skeleton Horse Archers
Warbows - 2 x Skeleton Chariots
Cavalry spears, Warbows, Master Charioteer, Standard bearer - 1 x Skeleton Chariots
Cavalry spears, Warbows, Master Charioteer - 3 x Sepulchral Stalkers
Halberds, Writhing Tail, Petrifying Gaze, Heavy armour
Short Jon Silver - Dwarfs
A stubby little pirate crew, doing their best to recapture that crashed Thunderbarge before the dead get their bony little mitts all over it.
Stylus drew my attention to the twin facts that Hammerers have great weapons that don't strike last and that he had twenty of them. Hint taken - my expensive unit is twelve of them, souped up with a rune that makes them an unpleasant prospect to charge.
A Pirate King on shieldbearers, a Runelord to try and interfere with the enemy's crucial magic, then Rangers, Thunderers, Warriors and a Cannon to make up a fairly classic Dwarf throng. Even a Gyrocopter to help deal with skeletal skirmishers - it's a sort of one-of-everything approach!
- Short John the Pirate King (General)
Hand weapon, Full plate armour, Shield, Shieldbearers
Rune of Might, Rune of Speed - Squire Trelawn-Ornament, Runelord
Hand weapon, Full plate armour, Shield
Master Rune of Balance - Mr Shanks, Engineer
Hand weapon, Heavy armour - 12 x Dwarf Warriors
Hand weapons, Heavy armour, Shields, Veteran, Command Group
Rune of Courage - 10 x Thunderers
Hand weapons, Handguns, Heavy armour - 10 x Rangers
Hand weapons, Crossbows, Heavy armour, Shields - 12 x Hammerers
Great hammers, Heavy armour, Shields, Drilled, Command Group
Rune of Speed, Master Rune of Hesitation - 1 x Cannon
Hand weapons, Light armour
Rune of Reloading - 1 x Gyrocopters
Hand weapons, Brimstone guns, Full plate armour
Mission and deployment
We randomly rolled for the Lonely Tower scenario, and picked a different type of terrain to fight over: Dark Ruins (this is the shipwreck). It's an interesting one, since Dark Ruins are incredibly defensible, make their occupants immune to Fear and Terror, never Give Ground or Fall Back, but - if they fail a Break test - are utterly destroyed.
In addition to all the points gained in the usual way, there is a whopping 300VP at stake for possessing the Dark Ruins at the end of the (randomly-determined) battle, so it's all to play for!
I've gone for a pretty standard line-up - cannon on a hill with the Engineer looking after it, Thunderers behind a wall, two big blocks of infantry lead by a character each and the Gyrocopter up front, ready to use a Vanguard move.
I place both my large infantry blocks and the Sepulchral Stalkers in the centre, ready to contest the object. The High Priest settles into one of the regiments, holding them together with his sorceries.
A pair of Chariots on each flank to race forward, one of the led by the King, with a unit of Skirmishers in the trees, and the Horse Archers scouting ahead.
Finally, the other unit of Skirmishers goes into ambush - to randomly appear at some point.
The Rangers use their Scouting ability to pop up just behind the boat. My general plan is to pack the hull full of stumpy sailors and defy the skeletons to the bitter end. Being on top of it to start with is bound to help!
Dwarfs - Turn 1
Off we trot, fast as we can manage. Which isn't very fast - the Rangers climb into the shipwreck, the Gyrocopter flanks the skeletal horse and everyone else trots forward. Except the cannon, which firmly plants a cannonball several metres into the ground in front of the serried skeletal ranks, even after the Engineer smacks someone on the back of the head for poor aiming.
Tomb Kings - Turn 1
With the gauntlet laid down, the High Priest sets to work, cursing the Rangers' Ld with Spirit Leech, then sapping it even further with Spiritual Vortex. The King increases his chariot's speed with My Will Be Done, and races up the left flank.
The infantry all shuffle forward, aided by the extra movement from Khsar's Incantation of the Desert Wind. But some of my faster units are close enough to attempt a charge. The right-flank chariots charge the Gyrocopter, scoring maximum distance for charge and swiftstride, but the canny pilot elects to flee instead.
The Sepulchral Stalkers also make it into the shipwreck, which is unable to flee but shoots down one of the constructs with their crossbows.
All the ranged units move forward and pepper the Thunderers ineffectually with arrows.
The only combat is over the Dark Ruin, and the surviving two Stalkers do surprisingly well: hacking down half the Rangers for no loss themselves. Even better, the morale-sapped dwarfs fail their Break test and are destroyed utterly as they try to flee!
To put a cherry on it, the Hammerers are so unnerved by the destruction of their friends (and a little dismayed by the Spiritual Vortex), they fall back in panic - ending up where they started.
Dwarfs - Turn 2
Right, well if they're going to be like that - back in the boat, boys!
The Gyrocopter rallies, as the Hammerers march back the way they just fled looking sheepish. I flood the ship with Dwarf Warriors, led by the Runelord, who quickly dispels the lingering aura of doom outside.
Shooting goes a bit better. Between the 'Copter, the Thunderers and the Cannon's grapeshot, those pesky horsemen sneaking about in the trees get peppered to bits and my rear line can relax a bit.
Tomb Kings - Turn 2
The High Priest also uses his Arise! ability to resurrect the Sepulchral Stalkers to full strength once again.
Still no closer to cracking into that shipwreck, the High Priest heals up the Tomb King's wounds and then lines up the lone Dwarf King for the Unquiet Spirits missile - it's another good hit and the dwarf loses four wounds!
Result - 1,699 : 248
The Skeleton Chariots once more charge the Gyrocopter, who once more flees. The Skirmishers continue to shuffle forward and fail to kill anything with their warbows. At the first time of asking, the Ambushers do not turn up.
The Tomb King swings around, lining up a flank charge on the Hammerers. The High Priest shuffles his regiment sideways, getting enough of a glimpse of the Hammerer unit to cast Unquiet Spirits - a low strength magic missile, but one with the potential for a lot of shots and no armour save. To everyone's shock, four of the elite bodyguard are slain.
The battle for the ruin is a tougher prospect this time. The Stalkers do chop down half a dozen dwarfs, but they account for the same number of skeletons (the Runelord's flaming attacks denying my regeneration saves).
Without the ability to add my rank bonus to the fray, the skeletons' numbers aren't so telling, and the combat grinds on.
Dwarfs - Turn 3
It's a long and nasty-looking charge for the Hammerers, but worth a shot. If I leave them where they are, they'll take those chariots in the flank. I'll need at least one 6 to reach the Stalkers, though...
Fate is kind! The King and his Hammers lumber in.
Shooting sees the cannon pulverise the wounded chariot and bounce a shot through a pair of skeletal archers, then it's time for the central scrap.
Seems my luck got used up just getting there, though. The Hammerers put a couple of wounds in, as does the King, but the snaky creatures do a fair few back. At least the Runelord's boys are looking solid, doling out enough wounds and taking so few back that I win the combat by a single point overall.
A single skeletal spearman crumbles. I'm not so sure this is going to be over quickly...
Tomb Kings - Turn 3
As he will often do in this battle, the High Priest doles out Spiritual Vortex and Spirit Leech against the Dark Ruin. He also heals up the Sepulchral Stalkers with Arise! again.
My chariots finally get to make some charges! The right-flank pair hit the Thunderers, although one of them is shot down before it can connect. The remaining Chariot runs down a few dwarfs, and while it won't have enough to win a prolonged combat, they'll be tied up for a while.
The big charge comes from the Tomb King, who hits the flank of the Hammerers (thus circumventing their Rune of Hesitation) and readying the impact hits.
The Dwarf King issues a challenge, which the Tomb King accepts. Unfortunately, his Icon of Rulership impact hits bounce off the dwarf's armour faster than you can say 'are you sure this was a good idea?'
The challenge ends with one wound inflicted apiece. Plenty more left on both sides, since they're essentially riding mounts, but the Tomb King has lost the advantage of the charge, while the Dwarf King is just warming up.
Fortunately, his subjects help him out. The other chariot and Sepulchral Stalkers wipe out the remaining Hammerers (the other Dwarf and Skeleton Warriors chip away at each other), so the Tomb Kings win the fight.
The Dwarf King's shieldbearers are obliged to break off the fight and fall back in good order, pursued by the Chariots.
Dwarfs - Turn 4
Not much to do but hang on, but I do at least throw the Gyrocopter in against the chariots of the kings.
The Thunderers hold firm despite taking a small loss, then the Stalkers take a big whack out of the surviving Dwarves. Not as many whacks as the survivors put in themselves, though, dusting down enough skeletons that the combat remains tied.
The big scrap is the King-on-King one, though. Despicably, the Tomb one turns down the Dwarf one's offer of a challenge, passing it on to his champion instead! Who predictably loses, but that's going in the book, sunshine.
The Tomb King takes a pair of wounds off the Gyrocopter, losing one in the process, so I lose the fight overall. Dwarven leadership sees me through, though, and we stay the course.
Tomb Kings - Turn 4
He's only got one left, though I daresay he's got enough vigour left to make a note in his book of grudges.
And then the Ambushers arrive! It must have taken them longer to tunnel through thick Empire soil rather than honest Khemri sand. The jump out behind the Dwarf lines, ready to threaten either the war machine or (once they inevitably deal with the Chariot), the Thunderers.
Sure enough, the Chariot loses its last wound when it crumbles from combat resolution, and all that remains of my right flank is the aimless Skeleton Skirmishers, who have somehow learned to dodge cannonballs.
The Tomb King fails to wound the Gyrocopter, and the Stalkers are starting to tire as well. Still the Dwarf Warriors are reduced down to a champion and their Runelord, so they can't hold on much longer - which is just as well, because this battle could end next turn.
Dwarfs - Turn 5
The Dwarf King thinks about backing up the Gyrocopter (it should still be on the map right now), but realises it's still locked in a challenge that he can't interfere with. Fair enough - plenty of skeletons to kill in the ruins over there!
Alas - despite slaying a great number of them (and causing a few more to crumble), the Dwarven King runs foul of those damnable snake-things. Down he goes, and it's left to the Runelord to keep the foes off the fo'castle.
Tomb Kings - Turn 5
Things are desperate enough to put all hands on deck (so to speak). The High Priest brings back seven skeletons from the original infantry unit, and charges in his own block of troops. I also throw in the Skirmishers, since every little counts.
Having downed the Gyrocopter in the last round, the Tomb King is now free to roam, and makes a massive charge against the flank of the Thunderers. They don't even bother to hold, just run for the hills and get scythed down by the chariot.
It's just the Runelord in the ship now, and the best efforts of half my army can't dislodge him. If this ends here, that stubborn dwarf is scooping up a lot of victory points.
We roll for the end of the battle - and we fight on!
Dwarfs - Turn 6
I'm running on fumes here. Grapeshot blasts the Tomb King, and I manage a fantastic broadside. Ten autohits!
No wounds caused.
The Runelord looks on this with deep displeasure, kills a few more skeletons and resolutely refuses to take any wounds in return. He could do this all day.
Tomb Kings - Turn 6
There's mopping-up to be done on the Dwarf side of the field - the Tomb King crashes into the cannon, slaying its crew, and the Ambushers hit the Engineer, leaving him on a single wound.
But the real action is happening with the Runelord. Once the Sepulchral Stalkers fail to bring him down, my heart sinks, but the massed ranks of Skeletons, aided by a kick from the High Priest's steed, finally manages to evict the stubborn tennent.
The wreck belongs to Khemri!
Result - 1,699 : 248
Crushing Victory to the Tomb Kings!
Locker Room
That was some high drama right to the end. This was only my second outing with the Tomb Kings, and I'm enjoying the challenge of an army that can bring so many unconventional advantages, paired with a basic troop type that is (bless 'em) fairly useless.
Still, the ability to grind away at a combat saw me though to the bitter end, and a central objective was helpful to my slow army. I think the MVP was the High Priest, who was able to heal up critical units, hex the Dwarf's usually-untouchable leadership, and even pepper their King with magic missiles.
Mine was clearly that Runelord, holding the ship all by himself for so long. Let’s not think about the fact that even if he had, I’d still have lost the game and everyone else in the army.
Honourable mention to the Tomb King, as long as he stays away from characters who are better than him and uses his speed to bully the supporting units.
With hindsight, feeding dwarves into the boat one unit at a time probably didn’t help me. If I’d hung back for longer, using my hefty missile troops to whittle those bones down before committing to a late rush, maybe I’d have done better. The Hammerers were also really tooled for defence, throwing them forward didn’t work wonders. Dwarves don’t run, remember?
Lots of potential in this army - I look forward to expanding it!
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