Weekend at Burnies Old World - Tomb Kings vs Warriors of Chaos

In the grim darkness of the Old World, there is always time for literature.

The second day of Weekend at Burnies Old World, and for first time since Weekend at Burnie's 2, my opponent would be badboybananarama!

The Khemrical Brothers - Tomb Kings

After much searching of my unquiet soul, I had decided to ditch the Elementalism spells and lean into Necromancy. This was entirely for the reason that the Necromantic deck had a spell that dropped enemy Ld, and might actually let me use my Casket of Souls for once. Given that these spells are randomly generated, it was a bit of a risk, but it paid off, and Spirit Leech was tucked away into my spell book - open the casket!

• Tomb Prince (General)
  Skeleton Chariot, Cavalry spear, Light armour
  Phakth's Blades of Justice
• Tomb Prince (General)
  Skeleton Chariot, Cavalry spear, Light armour, Shield
  Icon of Rulership
• High Priest (Hierophant)
  Level 4 Wizard
  Serpent Staff, Hieratic Jar
  Necromancy: Usekhp's Incantation of Desiccation, Unquiet Spirits, Curse of Years, Spirit Leech
• Necrotect
  Whip, Light armour
• 24 x Skeleton Warriors
  Command Group. Thrusting spears, Light armour, Shields
• 23 x Skeleton Warriors
  Command Group. Thrusting spears, Light armour, Shields
• 10 x Skeleton Skirmishers
  Warbows, Ambushers
• 3 x Skeleton Chariots
  Cavalry spears, Warbows, Master Charioteer, Standard bearer, Musician
• 3 x Sepulchral Stalkers
  Halberds, Writhing Tail, Petrifying Gaze, Heavy armour
• 3 x Carrion
  Beaks and talons
• Tomb Scorpion
  Decapitating Claws, Envenomed Sting, Heavy armour, Ambushers
• 3 x Tomb Swarms
  Venomous bites and stings, Ambushers
• 3 x Tomb Swarms
  Venomous bites and stings, Ambushers
• Khemrian Warsphinx
  Wicked claws, Fiery Roar, Cavalry spears, Shortbows, 2 extra Tomb Guard
• Casket of Souls
  Great weapons, Light armour

Galruch's Air Attack - Warriors of Chaos

Joe's Warriors of Chaos army was refreshingly familiar: a murderous Lord on a monster, some intimidating blocks of infantry, an elite force of knights, a swarm of marauders and some hound chaff.

The expected treat was an old metal Galrauch - a two-headed dragon of Tzeentch with a tendency to disagree with himself. Apparently he hadn't been covering himself in glory this weekend, so this could be his chance for redemption.

• Chaos Lord on Manticore (general)
• Galrauch
• Exalted Champion (battle standard)
  War banner
• 19 x Chaos Warriors
  Command group, shields
• 20 x Chaos Warriors
  Command group, extra hand weapons
• 20 x Chaos Marauders
  Command group, light armour
• 5 x Chaos Hounds
• 5 x Chaos Hounds
• 5 x Chosen Chaos Knights
  Command group

Deployment

We were playing 'capture the tower' (actually a small cottage, but I'm sure it was worth fighting over), which awarded 200VP to whoever was controlling it at the end of the game. As we had all day to play this game, we decided ditch the four-turn limit and randomly end the game (which might add extra suspense).

The Warriors of Chaos went for a refused flank, heavily weighting the right with Galrauch, the Manticore Lord and a pack of Chaos Hounds.

Both blocks of Chaos Warriors deployed centrally (technically in marching columns, but since neither of us realised this, we just treated them as normal), with the Chaos Knights held back, and the Marauders on their flank. The final pack of Chaos Hounds held down the left flank.

The Casket of Souls grabbed the only hill, naturally, with a unit of Skeleton Skirmishers ready to shamble forward and screen it.

In the centre went the two Skeleton Warrior blocks, and the Sepulchral Stalkers.

Facing the chaos monsters were both units of Tomb Swarms, the Tomb Scorpion and Warsphinx. I've played Chaos armies enough to know they don't leave much of a backline, so I didn't trouble myself to put anything in ambush.

On my left flank were the Carrion, and way off to the left (desperately searching for a bit of flat ground) was the Tomb Prince and his Chariots.

Turn 1

The Tomb kings get the first turn, but with no desire to close the distance, most of the spells out of range, and any missile fire totally ineffective, it's a quiet start.

There is some movement along the flanks, as the Tomb Swarms and Carrion move forward to screen the chaos army. With a creak of wheels, the Skeleton Chariots begin their long trundle around the flanks (this progress wasn't helped by their continual failure to be impressed by their Tomb Prince, so his My Will Be Done rolls weren't adding any movement to them).

The Warriors of Chaos army rolled out with singular determination. Except for Galrauch, who failed his Spirit of Galrauch test and got a bit distracted.

Both Chaos Hounds raced ahead, the Warriors of Chaos marched forward. The Chosen Knights held back, and the Marauders swept over to protect the left flank.

Turn 2

The Tomb Kings centre decided that standing still last turn was far too aggressive, and the whole line shuffled backwards.

I did get to test out my newly-improved Casket of Souls and cast Spirit Leech on the Exalted Champion's unit, before hitting them with Light of Death. Sadly, even with denuded Leadership, the Exalted Champion passed his test, and only a few Chaos Warriors succumbed to the Casket.

I had better luck by combining Incantation of Desiccation (which lowers toughness) with Unquiet Spirits - a low-strength, high volume attack that saw me roll a ridiculous number of 5+ and removing two whole ranks of Chaos Warriors!

On the flanks, the desert creatures were showing their masters how it was done: the Carrion charged into the Chaos Hounds and enjoyed the rare feeling of winning a fight.

The desiccated vultures tore through the pups, then overran into the Chaos lines, threatening the Chaos Marauders.

On the other flank, one unit of Tomb Swarms had engulfed the other pack of Chaos Hounds, nibbling away until only one hound was left.

In the face of this magical maelstrom, the Chaos army pressed forward. The Marauders ran off to deal with the Carrion and the Warriors moved down the centre (although the westward one hung back, not wanting to be caught disordered in the woods).

The Chosen Knights swung around behind the central cottage, both securing it and ready to counter-charge the Chariots (when the eventually turned up).

Galrauch managed to behave himself this turn, blasting away at one of the Tomb Swarms with his magic and fiery breath. Although the Manticore Lord rolled Damned by Chaos on his Gaze of the Gods and would have to test for Stupidity for the rest of the game. So there was that.

Turn 3

The Tomb Kings centre still held firm - they might have even edged forward a little, but that was mainly to ensure they were in range of spellcasting, since the High Priest seemed to be onto a good thing there.

The Carrion also decided to be evasive and flitted around the flanks of the Chaos Marauders (although since they were also skirmishers, that wasn't going to be too much of a problem).

The Warsphinx and Tomb Scorpion decided to be bold and charge Galrauch. The Tomb Scorpion was unable to pull off his Killing Blow trick again, so they fought each other to a draw.

Having overrun the final Chaos Hound, the Tomb Swarms moved into the woods to pester the flanks of the largest Chaos block.

In the Warriors of Chaos turn, the Manticore Lord, plagued with both Stupidity and Frenzy, decided to split the difference and charge the Tomb Scorpion. It easily crushed the beastie and overran into the rearmost unit of Tomb Swarms.

That left Galrauch facing the Warsphinx, although the chaos dragon evened the odds by failing his Spirit of Galrauch test, so lost a few wounds when one head bit the other.

The denuded block of Chaos Warriors tried to charge the reticent Skeleton lines, but fell short and were left ever-so slightly out of position.

The Marauders had the advantage over the Carrion, tearing one down in their initial charge, with no losses taken.

Turn 4

Even the Skeleton Warriors could not pass up such an easy charge, and the Tomb Prince led his block into combat, backed up by the Sepulchral Stalkers. They were denied any combat advantage, since the Necrotect had yet to pass any of his Eternal Taskmaster rolls all weekend, so no extra attacks or hatred for them.

Still determined to make the Casket of Souls work, the High Priest cast Spirit Leech on the Chosen Knight unit, but then had the Light of Death countered by a Fated Dispel.

The surviving unit of Tomb Swarms hit Galrauch (who was still biting himself) in the flank, hoping that poison could finish the job.

In the centre, the Exalted Champion issued a challenge, which was answered by the humble unit champion. Clearly, this was beneath the Chaos Warrior's dignity, as he missed all of his attacks and took a wound in return!

Even so, this challenge saved his life, as the rest of his unit was cut down by the Tomb Prince and Sepulchral Stalkers. The Exalted Champion gathered up his banner and fell back in good order, pressed by the Tomb Prince, while the Sepulchral Stalkers overran into the fresh unit of Chaos Warriors.

Between insect bites and his own self-loathing, Galrauch was down to a single wound, and was forced to give ground. Trusting the bugs to finish the job, the Warsphinx restrained from following up and reformed to face the Manticore Lord.

In its own turn, the Manticore Lord failed its Stupidity test, and so was left exposing its rear to the Warsphinx. The Exalted Champion was called out in a challenge by the Tomb Prince (who was feeling more confident now the hard work had been done) and the battle standard was immediately cut down.

The Sepulchral Stalkers didn't favour so well, fighting the Chaos Warriors to a standstill and losing one of their number.

On the far left flank, the Marauders finally cut down the last Carrion, and reformed just in time to face the Skeleton Chariots.

And finally, despite a determined effort at bug-stomping, Galrauch lost its last wound to the poison of the Swarms and keeled over, probably still arguing with itself.

Turn 5

This could be the final turn and, despite their losses, the Warriors of Chaos still held the central cottage.

The Warsphinx charged into the Manticore Lord, and quickly regretted it when the monster quickly tore it to pieces. The Manticore then overran the entire length of the battlefield, ending up pretty much where it started.

After its four-turn flanking odyssey, the Tomb Prince finally led his Skeleton Chariots in a charge. It proved to be worth the wait, as they scythed through more than half the unit and chased the others down.

Undaunted by the experience of every preceding turn, the High Priest cast Spirit Leech on the Chosen Knights and then the Casket of Souls unleashed Light of Death upon them. And then, finally, they failed their leadership test. The elite warriors took a huge amount of high-strength hits with no armour save - the whole unit was destroyed. It finally worked!

The last unit of Chaos Warriors were able to grind away at the Sepulchral Stalkers, removing one in the Tomb Kings' turn, and the other in their own.

Carrying on their moment, the Skeleton Chariots inflicted a fresh batch of impact hits on the Marauders, wiping them out and overruning to secure the central cottage (along with the Tomb Prince's infantry block, who was also securing it.

We rolled for a random game length - and the game was over! With the majority of destroyed units, plus a number of captured standards and the main objective in their possession, the Tomb Kings had grabbed a convincing win in the final turn - 1655 : 761

Back at the Crypt

That was a fantastic game - lots of carnage and absolutely crazy dice results. It's a great example of how fun Old World can be and thanks to my opponent badboybananarama for leaning into the Chaos theme (not only bringing the liability that is Galrauch, but also voluntarily making Gaze of the Gods rolls every turn - ending up with a twice-stupid general).

Reflecting on how my army performed, I think I was very lucky that this is the battle where everything did what it was supposed to do. The Chariots took an age to get into position, but made their devastating charge, the chaff units screened and redirected perfectly, and the Casket of Souls finally worked. I think I'll persist with it, since it makes a lovely centrepiece, and it's high risk / high reward adds a nice bit of drama.

I'd probably do better to drop one of my Tomb Princes and just have a Tomb King properly kitted-out. My Warsphinx isn't really suited to fighting big monsters and kept getting beaten up by them (its alternative, the Necrosphinx, is more suited for that). And while my High Priest was always protected by a block of Skeleton Warriors, they never saw combat and he often found himself out of range to resurrect units.

All in all, a great weekend of gaming. Three games may not seem much, but it kept everything at a relaxed pace. I'd want the four-turn limit upped to five (or even better, random) as that makes things more interesting for what happens after the initial charges.

Off to paint more skeletons!