Vengeance Rising - Battle 29 - High Elves vs Bretonnia

Ok so it was the second game with my brother over the long weekend and I thought I'd give the Tomb Kings a break and try out a list I'd been toying with in my mind for a long time.

The 'Satellite Rain' list was a concept I'd been itching to try for nearly 18 months but had just been immersed with the Tomb Kings and trying to string some victories with them. The concept was simply to smash the opponent with dual comets from the Lore Of Heavens every turn, would it be effective? Probably not but I was determined to have fun with the list and make sure I had some 'hunters' with awesome saves against spells to enter the danger zone when required.



2500 Points - Heavenly Glory

Archmage - Loremasters Cloak, Robes, Jewel
Mage - Seerstaff
BSB - 1+ re-rollable, Sword of Might
30 Archers - FC, Flaming
13 Archers
10 Archers
7 Dragon Princes - FC, BOS, Potion of Strength
20 Swordmasters - FC, Razor Standard, Loec (More of a fluff choice)
20 Phoenix Guard - FC, Banner of Arcane Protection
2 Eagles

2500 Brets

Lord - HKB Peg
Level 4 - Life
Damsel - Icon
BSB
Paladin - On foot
50 Men @ Arms - FC
2 x 10 Bowmen
8 KOTR
2 x 5 Mounted Yeomen
4 Pegasus Knights
4 Grail Knights
2 x Trebuchets

Spells:

Archmage - Comet, Iceshard Blizzard, Harmonic Convergence, Thunderbolt
Mage - Comet, Iceshard Blizzard
Level 4 - Throne, Flesh to Stone, Dwellers, Regrowth
Damsel - Tranformation, Wildform

Deployment:

I won the roll off for sides and picked my chosen side as there was only really a single place my brothe could put down his horde effectively. Straight away I knew where that would go and most of the other units would go to support it. With a tower in my deployment zone I could really force him to come to me if he wanted a victory whilst dodging comets.

High Elves Turn 1

PG run down flank, as do Dragon Princes and Swordmasters. 12 Dice magic phase sees me miscast comet with the level 2 killing 6 archers and doing a wound to the mage. I only lost 1 dice luckily enough and proceeded to cast Harmonic Convergeance on the archers whilst my further attempts at Comet and Icechard Blizzard were dispelled.

Shooting sees me take out the Mounted Yemon however all panic tests are passed. Lastly a single knight is plucked from his steed as a member of the KOTR drops.

Bretonnia Turn 1

Everything screams down the flank whilst the Men at Arms horde reforms to face the oncoming threat of the Dragon Princes.

The Comet smashes down but rather unexcitedly just takes out the Mounted Yeomen, hardly worth the miscast!! Pegs are hit however pass all the saves required.

Throne is cast in the magic phase as is flesh to stone on the KOTR. I was holding my dice for a dwellers or transformation! As usual though my opponent miscasts (doing no damage to his army) and dwellers goes through on my small unit of Archers. 6 Archers dive down to the dwellers and run away and in usual mortal fashion the archers nearby decide to take a hike aswell - consistency is key to victory I've always said!

Bowmen take aim at the Dragon Princes however can't hit much. Treb misfires and the second scatters from the Swordmasters.

High Elves Turn 2

Archers rally to meet their doom. Great Eagles shift to cause some Turn 3 dramas. Left flank get's the push to cause some problems for the horde shortly.

12 Dice magic phase but there was only so many miscasts I could cop! With all the dice though and 2 comet attempts and my opponent matching my roll of 19 for zapping the Peg lord with thunderbolt I could only manage Iceshard Blizzard on the Treb and dispel the Throne of Vines. Very dissapointing! Certainly hoping in further turns I could improve on that!

Shooting drops 7 Bowmen causing no panic. Not a very productive turn unfortunately!

Bretonnia Turn 2

KOTR charge into the unit of Archer who stand and shoot in retaliation but against T5 there was no damage. The volley proved enough to undo the Knights morale who faultered in their charge luckily enough for the now sweating Ulthuan bowmen.

The Damsel activates the prayer icon giving the Men at Arms a ward save.

The winds of magic blow 9 PD to the Ladies representing the magic phase of the Brets with their high gluten snacks. Throne of vines is thrown with a low number so I choose todispel that. Regrowth sees 4 bowmen resurrect from their deaths and re-join the ranks.

Dwellers goes off IF on the swordmasters causing the Level 4 to lose dwellers. 8Swordmasters succumb to the dwellers along with the Archmage. Drats, it was now an uphill battle! Then I promptly remind myself Direct damage spells need to have a valid target in the forward arc and put all my models back. My opponent resolves the spell against the Archers instead.

Shooting drops a stone on the Swordmasters and bowmen drop a few more leaving only 6 remaining. I had whispers in my head about warriors of Chrace right about now. Pass panic test. Also the eagle about to stick the Treb was dropped by sudden accurate Bretonnian fire.

High Elves Turn 3

Dragon princes level their lances and charge into the Trebuchet. The Swordmasters follow suit into the Bowmen who can't hit any of them.

In the magic phase I manage to cast Iceshard Blizzard onto the Men at Arms horde and a single comet. Harmonic is dispelled on the Dragon Princes.

I do a single wound to a Peg knight with the archers.

Dragon Princes skewer the Treb Crew however the Horde passes the panic test. They over run into the Horde. Swordmasters cut up the Bowmen before reforming to face the flank of the horde as well.

Bretonnia Turn 3

KOTR charge into the Archers and the Peg Knights follow suite. Lord and Grail Knights move into the horde combat.

Comet comes down doing a wound on the Peg Lord, nothing on the Treb, 7 casualties on the Men at arms, and finally it drops 2 Grail Knights.

Wildform onto the Men at Arms is dispelled and the next spell attempted by the Ladies is Transformation of Kadon turning the Damsel into a Mountain Chimera.

Treb scatters from the intended target of Swordmasters and hits the Men at Arms and dragon Princes felling one Dragon Prince (and taking the Chimera out of base to base contact!) and dropping a further 3 plebs (9 hits and 6 ward saves made!!).

In combat the archers take down a Peg Knight however 4 are mutilated in return. The Elves flee in panic however the Peg knights fail to run them down running 2" short of the target.

KOTR kill the archers and reform.

My BSB challenges the Bret BSB and cuts him down. 8 men at arms drop to the dragon princes charge. In reply the Men at Arms with Iceshard Blizzard manage a single wound before breaking on 10. The dragon princes pursue easily and reform to face the Lord.

High Elves Turn 4

Dragon Prince charge into Grail Knights. Great Eagle charges into the flank of the Peg Lord but only moves 4", the Swordmasters charge the front of the Peg Lord.

Archers fail to rally and move back to Caledor.

I only manage to get off Iceshard Blizzard on the Grail Knights, I fail to cast comet with the level 2, a further attempt is dispelled on another comet and Harmonic Convergence.

I pop the loec but fail miserably only doing a wound and the Peg lord kills one in return and hangs around. Damn.

Dragon princes destroy the Grail Knights and take no casualties in return cutting them down on the over run and getting to safety.




Bretonnia Turn 4

KOTR charge into eagle. Peg Knights move into centre.

Magic phase of only 3 power dice and one caster. Op attempts a Flesh to Stone on the Peg lord however I manage to dispel this.

Dragon Princes are targetted by the nearby Bowmen however all missiles are deflected. Treb misfires targetting Dragon Princes.

Eagle takes out the champion before going poof in a cloud of feathers. KOTR over run into the nearby Phoenix Guard who keenly observe the Level 4 now in the front rank.

Swordmasters take out the Lord and reform to face the Treb.

High Elves Turn 5

Swordmasters charge into Trebuchet. Dragon Princes charge into Bowmen.

Magic phase sees my attempt at Harmonic Convergence on the Phoenix Guard dispelled however I get two Iceshard Blizzards through onto the KOTR and my attempt at Comet goes off sitting behind the KOTR.

Dragon Princes and Swordmasters both win combats and reform to face the Peg Knights.

Phoenix guard only manage a single wound on the Level 4 but take no casualties and my opponent passes his Ld 6 test!




Bretonnia Turn 5

Peg Knights move to support the KOTR next turn. Comet comes down failing to do any damage to the Knights. The lone lady attempts Throne successfully (fail to dispel) and then 4 dice are thrown at Flesh to stone healing the level 4 of all her damage as well.

In combat the Phoenix Guard drop a single Knight of the Realm but it proves to be enough and they flee 9" with the PG 1" on their tail.



High Elves Turn 6

Phoenix Guard charge KOTR who flee, Swordmasters charge in as well and destroy.

Magic sees Thunderbolt dispelled on Peg Knights however two Comet come down in anticipation of the charge. (Yes I should have spread these out...)

Shooting reduces the Peg Knights to a single model.

Bretonnia Turn 6

Peg Knight does the smart thing and moves away whilst one comet strikes the ground taking out 2 Swordmasters (Loremasters Cloak) and a single Phoenix guard (2+ ward).

Result - High Elves victory.

Conclusion:

So the Heavenly glory list....I'm not sure if I'd use that in a game again unless I was teaching someone how to play.

Firslty after playing Tomb Kings for more than 20+ games and then coming back to High Elves you certainly learn to appreciate a simple to hit roll and that thing called Weapon Skill. It becomes a case of Weapon Skilless with High Elves because most of the time with the re-rolls it makes it sure fire you're going to hit. Not complaining at all, just remembering how good we've got it. 

First and foremost the aim of this game was to take a concept that I'd been toying with, apply it and have fun with it, did I succeed in that regard? Absolutely. Although I would have liked bucket loads more comets coming in for the kill I got a few off with some cool results:

Total Comets Attempted: 10
Total Comets dispelled: 4
Total Comets failed to cast: 2
Total Comet wounds: 18 (3 were High Elves)

So there you have it.

On the army it was mainly for fluff purposes. A High Elves force from Saphery with contigents around the place. The BSB was accompanying the Dragon Princes for a speed element and the champion had the potion of strength for taking out big monsters or mainting high strength attacks in later rounds to support the BSB. Obviously Bretonnia don't have big monsters to deal with, my opponent was equally as frustrated when no big gribblies presented themselves for his HKB lord.

I did have two units that could enter the fray or the comet zone but there wasn't really a requirement. In the last turn I should have seperated the Comets to box the Peg in but it was getting late in the day by that stage. 

I really feel outside of the Dragon Princes and BSB this list would struggle to take out a monster list or anything high toughness. Ogres and Tomb Kings perhaps could prove to be problematic. I think I was pretty lucky to get 6 comets through but if you look at the averages and stats each comet was netting around 3 wounds, hardly worthwhile I think. Anyway I got the list out of the way in my head and I'm glad I visited it and it was very nice to get back to playing with the High Elves and get the dust off them.

Clearly the Men at Arms horde didn't work very well for my brother, it was unlucky for them to break however these things happen and I don't think that the current Bret list is designed to have this as a viable option. I'm certainly helping him out though in regards to finding a list that suits his play style whilst still playing to the advantages of the Brets in the current edition.

Anyway, back to the Tomb for me and perhaps its time to try out some special characters and throw them into the mix? 

Vengeance Rising - Battle 28 - Tomb Kings vs Bretonnia

It was time to have another game against Brets and I took a list that certainly wasn't optimal (no idea why I did this).

Level 4 - Rod
King - Mask, Scales, Dragonbane gem, GW
Death Priest - Scroll
20 Archers - Std, Mus
6 Chariots - Std Mus, Flaming
2 x 5 Horse Archers
38 Tomb Guard - FC, +1 Movement
2 x Warsphinx - FB
2 x SSC
Casket
Hierotitan

My opponents list from memory:

Lord - Grail Shield, HKB, +1A
Level 4 - Feedback Scroll, Crown of Command
Level 2 - Silver mirror
BSB
10 Skirmishing Bowmen
10 Bowmen
6 KOTR
12 KOTR - FC - Warbanner
8 Grail Knights
4 Peg Knights
2 Trebuchets

Spells:

Hierophant - Cursed Blades, Desert Wind, Desiccation, Protection
Death Priest - Spirit Leech
Prophestess - Comet, Harmonic Convergence, Iceshard Blizzard, Thunderbolt
Damsel - Wissans Wildform, Amber Spear

Deployment:

The Brets dismount and pray to their lady of the steamy Oasis a few clicks away. Without my go to spell Vengeance I was going to be hard pressed to control the magic phase so I'd really have to put my Horse archers to good use early but again with only two of them available it was going to be tough. A lot of armour sat across from me but I guess I had over 45 KB attacks available before spells. The main thing was to delay elements of the lances and take them out piecemeal. I deployed one of the SSC's right out on the left flank to entice him to take it out with his Peg Knights and the bait was taken, this would keep them out of the game for a few turns and it was 90 points I was willing to live without.

Tomb Kings Turn 1

Everything on the right flank shuffles up a little in preperation for his Grail Knights making a push up to support the main bus. I roll a very low magic phase and I think a Light of Death gets through onto the Peg Knights however my opponent makes the required rolls. In shooting the SSC hits the Bowmen taking out 6 of their number and they flee also causing the Trebuchet crew to hide under their machine for a turn. Not a bad start.

Bretonnia Turn 1

The Bowmen flee from the table. The Peg Knights zoom down the flank as predicted whilst the lances very cautiously move towards the centre sensing a trap oncoming. Magic doesn't do anything however in between a shot from a Trebuchet and the shooting from the skirmishers two chariots turn into splinters.



Tomb Kings Turn 2

The Horse archers get into position to charge the Trebuchet or hold up the Grail Knights. Magic sees me get Protection off onto the chariots healing a single warmachine back to full health whilst a well timed Spirit Leech from the Priest drops the BSB from his mount throwing a sense of shock through the enemy army.

Bretonnia Turn 2

The Peg Knights charge into the SSC on the right flank wasting no time in tramping the crew into the desert sands. They reform to face the juicy bits of the army. The remaining lances once again shuffle a little forward however unwilling to commit. I wasn't entirely sure what my opponent was working to achieve here however I'm sure he was waiting for his Peg Knights to get into a better position and secondly he wanted to get as much out of the Amber Spear as possible to try and take out some big nasties. His magic phase sees me fail to dispel a comet which targets a spot right in front of my Tomb Guard.

Tomb Kings Turn 3

My Tomb Guard attempt to charge the small lance of KOTR however I promptly roll a 1 and a 2 on the dice landing me right on the comet - beautiful. Time to call my opponents hand so I start some moving some units into key positions. Chariot sit and wait for an exposed flank, Horse Archers move to block the Grail Knights from moving further, Warsphinx gets behind them in an over run position.

The Comet comes crashing down in my 12 dice magic phase destroying the Horse Archers, putting a few wounds on the Warsphinx, Taking out 10 Tomb Guard, 8 Archers and putting 2 wounds on the Hierotitan. Ouch. I cast Desert wind to recoup some of the losses and move the Warsphinx further up. I have a crack with Spirit Leech on the small KOTR unit and IF on 3 dice killing the knight but at the expense of 5 Tomb Guard and the remainder of the magic phase.

Bretonnia Turn 3

Finally the line breaks and the Bret Lord signals the charge with a raised lance. The KOTR bus slam into the Warsphinx. The Peg knights fail to make a long charge into the rear of the chariots. The other lances move slightly however the grail knights are having a headache with the Horse archers.

An Amber spear is cast putting a wound on the Hierotitan.

In combat the Warsphinx is brought down by the sheer number of attacks however the Howdah crew sneak through a killing blow dropping the enemy general before becoming part of the landscape. Opponent doens't over run as it would halt him short of the ruins however I'm sure he reformed and I haven't illustrated it.

Tomb Kings Turn 4

Time for some charges of my own. The Chariots smash into the front of the Knight Bus whilst also in the centre the Tomb Guard charge into the small lance of KOTR with the addition of the Hierotitan. They promptly fail their terror test and are cut down before they can flee too far from the battle.

The incantation of desiccation goes off on the Knight Bus whilst a Light of Death drops a single Pegasus Knight.

Impact hits drop a few casualties and I take a few in return. The Crew attack and manage 5 wounds which my opponent rolls up the following: 1,1,2,2,2 and fails his ward saves. This swings the combat in a big way but not to worry his Stubborn lady will fix everything. Up rolls a 9 for his break test. ouch. Chariots over run wiping out the unit and making it into combat with the Skirmishing Bowmen.

Bretonnia Turn 4

The Grail Knights spring into action charging the Horse Archers whilst the Pegasus Knights move into position for a Turn 5 charge on my Hierophants unit. Magic is uneventful and in combat the Chariots wreck the bowmen before reforming to face the rear of the Grail Knights. The Horse archers are predictable annihilated and over run into the fresh Warsphinx tightening the noose around Bretonnia's elite.

Tomb Kings Turn 5

The Chariots and Tomb Guard slam into the Grail Knights whilst the Hierotitan moves to counter the Peg Knights. I also reform with the Hierophants archer bunker and pull them back 2" to increase the range. I get a big magic phase off with Light of Death dropping another Pegasus Knight causing them to Panic. I then move onto buffing the Tomb Guard with Cursed Blades and Protection bringing the unit back to full strength. Finally Desiccation is attempted onto the Grail Knights however my opponent reveals his Silver Mirror and my Hierophant takes a wound for his troubles.

Between Impact Hits, Statues and blades with enchantments of cursing on them Bretonnian blood soaks the desert sands in a large pool and they're crushed underfoot with no survivors.

Bretonnia Turn 5

The Peg Knights rally determined to avenge their army.

Tomb Kings Turn 6

The chariots charge into the Trebuchet. Shooting and magic drop another Pegasus Knight. The Trebuchet is turned into dust.

Bretonnia Turn 6

The remaining Peg Knights undeterred kicks the mounts into gear towards the towering Hierotitan however the determination of the Pegasus waivers and fails to carry them far enough.

Result - Tomb King Massacre.

Conclusion:

On deployment. I think the only error I made was deploying the left hand SSC too close to my lines, I should have deployed even further right into the corner but lesson learned. There was more terrain involved in the game but it didn't impact at all so I didn't worry about putting it in Battle Chronicler. These reports take long enough to create without dragging out the process.

The army. I really don't know about Warsphinx. After using Knights successfully for so long it's hard to drop them from the lists. The only advantage they have is they've got such a smaller footprint in comparison, had I had knights this game I'm not sure where they would have ended up as a really tight deployment was key to pulling the lances apart. Knights have a better save, more wounds and I beleive they can put out more damage. I guess the key with the knights is they become wrecking balls when buffed correctly where as the Warsphinx is very capable of operating on its own without being augmented in anyway (although it sure does help).

The 60 point mask on the King didn't do a thing but that's not to say it's not valuable. My spirit leech did take out the BSB early negating the armies use of its Stand Your Ground rule and the Warsphinx crew slotted the Lord which left the Inspiring Presence out of the question so I'm on the fence about it. I can see how some armies it would be incredible against however for the most part I'm left thinking these points could be better spent elsewhere. That's practically the only reason I included a King in the list was to access that piece of kit. I could downgrade to a prince and save some points there and invest into more special units or even double my spirit leech potential with another death priest.

The magic setup worked so there isn't anything to say there.

On core the new addition for me was the chariots as I haven't used them in nearly a 20 games. I was hoping to see some S5 impact hit action but getting them to survive any incoming fire is a big ask. All the opponent has to do is score 3 wounds and then your rank is pretty much wasted. By that stage they're generally out of augment range to be healed so I really feel these units won't see much more days in my list. A unit of 3-4 would have achieved the exact same result as the unit of 6 netting me some more points to spend on other core choices (More archers and another unit of Horse archers). I'm keen to hear from Veritas in regards to how he makes them work so well as his two units of 6 always seem to make it into fray without so much as chipped paintwork.

Special units - the Tomb guard horde was new for me. If anything I've been playing the dual knights list for a long time now and it's almost a counter punch army, I think I was trying the same thing here up until I realised it wasn't going to work and I really a. didn't want to take a lance charge & b. can't afford to sit back with a movement 5 unit. I need to use these guys much more aggressively and get them into combat ASAP. Just a shame they only saw one combat. Warsphinx - see comments above. I think I'd rather a unit of Stalkers and a unit of Knights.

Rare setup - nothing changes here.

On the opponents list and deployment. He had the right tools for the job but just couldn't get his timing right and unit placement. If I were him I would have been nearly tempted to ignore the SSC on the flank and get the Peg knights involved in the centre combats and use the Trebs to take out my fire support.

Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed this and perhaps I'll write up another from today's game if it happens.