Monday, January 24, 2011

Fantasy Battle Report

My brother and I got together for a game of Fantasy on January 11th.
We decided to play the first mission in the book, at 2000 points. Sadly, most of my fantasy terrain was at a friends house, so we made due with minimal terrain.
I brought the Dark Elves. (consisting of the only models I own)

Supreme Sorceress w/Extra Level, Talisman of Preservation, Sacrificial Dagger, Ironcurse Icon, Lore of Death

Sorceress w/Extra Level, Dispel Scroll, Lore of Shadow
Sorceress w/Extra Level, Tome of Furion, Seal of Ghrond, Lore of Metal
Master w/Heavy Armor, Shield, Sea Dragon Cloak, Black Dragon Egg, Great Weapon, Battle Standard

10 Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen w/Musician
10 Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen w/Musician
10 Dark Elf Repeater Crossbowmen w/Musician
30 Dark Elf Warriors w/Shields, Full Command

19 Black Guard w/Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame, Crimson Death
19 Black Guard w/Full Command, Banner of Murder, Relic Sword

Bryan bought Skaven (all models are from Island of Blood)

Warlord w/Hand Weapon, Warpstone Armor, Talisman of Preservation, Poison Attacks, Tail Weapon

Chieftain w/Halberd, Battle Standard
Warlock Engineer w/Extra Level, Warp Energy Condenser
Warlock Engineer w/Extra Level, Doom Rocket
Warlock Engineer w/Extra Level, Feedback Scroll
Warlock Engineer w/Dispel Magic

20 Clanrats w/Shields, Full Command
Warpfire Thrower
20 Clanrats w/Shields, Full Command
Warpfire Thrower
20 Clanrats w/Shields, Full Command
Warpfire Thrower
20 Clanrats w/Spears, Shields, Full Command
Poisoned Wind Mortar
20 Clanrats w/Spears, Shields, Full Command
Poisoned Wind Mortar
20 Clanrats w/Spears, Shields, Full Command
Poisoned Wind Mortar

2 Rat Ogres, Beastmaster
2 Rat Ogres, Beastmaster

I deployed first and finished first. We basically lined up across from one another.
Two pictures of the deployment.


I win the roll to go first.
Turn 1:
Me: I move everyone basically forward. In my magic phase, I kill 3 rats with the Purple Sun of Xereus. I hit the Battle Standard Bearer (BSB) with Mystifying Miasma.
In my shooting phase I kill 4 rats from the BSB unit and 4 from the generals unit.

Bryan: The Rat Ogres move up on Bryan's right. On his left, the 3 Skaven blocks move forward Warp Lightning kills 4 Black Guard. The mortars kill 2 more Black Guard from each unit. (ouch)

Two pictures from the bottom of turn 1:




Turn 2:
Me: I move up and move a unit of Black Guard into the Tower.
In the Magic Phase, I use the Fate of "Bjunda" and kill off the BSB. I use "Soulblight" on every enemy unit within 24 inches. In the process, I suffer 2 miscasts. Due to this, I wound every sorceress and lose 4 Spearmen. In my shooting phase, I manage to kill a Mortar and a warpfire thrower.

Bryan: The skaven on the right charge a unit of Crossbowmen. In his magic phase, he miscasts a "Scorch", killing 4 Spearmen and a Crossbowmen. He then fails to cast "Death Frenzy".
In the shooting phase, both Warpfire throwers misfire, and then, a mortar misfires (for the "Hat Trick"). The other mortar kills a few models.
In close combat, the Dark Elves lose 3 and kill 2 Skaven, losing by 5. I roll snake eyes. Game on!

Two pics from the bottom of turn 2:


Turn 3:
Me: I charge the Black Guard at a Skaven unit, they flee. I charge another unit with the Spearmen (BSB and Supreme Sorceress) they Hold.
In my magic phase, I miscast something, killing the Shadow Sorceress and 5 Crossbowmen.
My shooting then kills no one. Crap.
In close combat, I kill 3 Skaven, lose 1 Crossbowmen and tie the combat.
In the other combat, I kill 7 Skaven, lose 4 Spearmen and break the Skaven (who are run down)
Their destruction causes 2 nearby spear units to break (poor Skaven Leadership!!)

Bryan: My BSB eats her Black Dragon egg, party time. The rat ogres charge the side of the Spearmen block. One Skaven unit rallies, the other runs 3 inches. Warpfire goes off and kills 6 from one Black Guard squad and 7 from the other. (ouch)
In close combat, the Skaven kill the Crossbowmen. The Rat Ogres and Mortar that I charged both die. I lose a warrior. The lone Beastmaster breaks.

Two pics from the bottom of Turn 3:



Turn 4:
Me: I charge with both units of Blackguard and the Spearmen group. Hold, Stand and shoot, and Hold are the charge reactions. I lose no black guard to the shooting. My Magic phase fails epically. My shooting kills a mortar.
In Close combat the Black guard lose 3 (including champion) but kill 7 (including champion)
The Skaven break and get away. The Spearmen wipe out the Skaven spear block.

Bryan: No charges. The Rat ogre unit marches. The packmaster continues running, the spears run off the board. The General and his friends rally. In his magic phase he attempts "Death Frenzy" but I dispel it.
The warpfire thrower kills 6 Black Guard. The Black Guard beat down the cannon they overran into.

In our haste to refuel our beer, I forgot to get pictures of turn 4.

Turn 5:
Me: I charge the Warpfire cannon and the Generals unit.
In my magic phase, I miscast but am able to put the generals unit at -1 S, -1 T.
I have epic shooting and kill a Rat Ogre and his Packmaster.
The Blackguard destroy the warpfire cannon and the unit with the general, running them down.
At this point, Bryan concedes.

Here are 3 pictures showing the chaos at the end of the battle.




-Mike

Thursday, January 13, 2011

"And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them."

Demons, or more correctly, Daemons.

Having played Fantasy Chaos and 40k Chaos I amassed a collection of Daemon models.
I sold my Mortal and Chaos Space Marine armies. I have some daemons left over.
My friend Leigh intended to purchase some of the new plastic Bloodcrushers to convert into Thunderwolf Cavalry.
We decided to combine our efforts and create a Chaos Daemons army for 40k.

Through playtest we worked out a core list that revolves around the following units.
-Skulltaker on Chariot
-Herald of Khorne on Chariot
-Herald of Tzeentch on Chariot w/Bolt
-Herald of Tzeentch on Chariot w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Plaguebearers
-5 Plaguebearers
-6 Fiends of Slaanesh
-6 Bloodcrushers w/all upgrades
-6 Bloodcrushers w/all upgrades
(This fills all HQ, Troop, and Elite choices on the standard Force Org. chart)

We each seasoned the list to taste by adding Heavy Support and Fast choices.

We divided our core list between us to purchase model and paint.
I was tasked with purchasing, building/converting/painting the following:
-Herald of Khorne on Chariot
-Herald of Tzeentch on Chariot w/Bolt
-Herald of Tzeentch on Chariot w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Horrors w/Bolt
-5 Plaguebearers
-5 Plaguebearers
-6 Fiends of Slaanesh

I already acquired 3 Fiends and a box of Horrors from a "Bizarre Bazaar". I owned another box of horrors and plaguebearers. I would need to convert the Heralds and Chariots.

As I work through this, and other projects, I hope to post my progress on here. Stay tuned.

-Mike

Monday, January 10, 2011

HobbyGame: Planetstrike

My friend Jason challenged me to a game of Planetstrike. Planetstrike is a very fun game when used as such. Planetstrike is not for tournament play, but is perfectly suited for campaigns and narrative games.
We played Saturday, January 8th, 2011.
2000 points each. Jason is the Attacker, I am the Defender.
We decided to play the first mission in the Planetstrike book, Planetfall.
For those of you unaware, each fortification is an objective and the player with the most objectives (by models in Base-to-base) wins.
I decided to bring the Eldar, since they were in my car from playing the day before.

-Eldrad
-Maugan Ra
-Prince Yriel
-10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield, Defend
-10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Power Weapon and Shimmershield, Defend
-10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Diresword and Shuriken Pistol, Defend
-8 Harlequins w/8 Harlequins Kisses
-10 Striking Scorpions w/Exarch, Scorpions Claw
-5 Dark Reapers w/Exarch, Eldar Missile Launcher, Fast Shot
-Wraithlord w/Wraithsword, Eldar Missile Launcher
-Wraithlord w/Wraithsword, Eldar Missile Launcher
-Wraithlord w/Wraithsword, Eldar Missile Launcher

Jason brought his Legion of the Damned.

-Chaplain w/Terminator Armor, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs, Digital Weapons
-Chaplain w/Terminator Armor, Combi-Melta, Meltabombs, Digital Weapons
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Flamer, Heavy Flamer, Powerfist
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Flamer, Heavy Flamer, Powerfist
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Meltagun, Multi-Melta, Powerweapon
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Meltagun, Multi-Melta, Powerweapon
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Meltagun, Multi-Melta, Powerweapon
-7 Legion of the Damned w/Meltagun, Multi-Melta, Powerweapon

I set up terrain using a Fortress of Redemption and 2 Bastions with a big ruin between them. This is shown in the photo below.
For my stratagems, I put a void shield on the tower, and a power generator on the Lascannon portion of the Fortress. I had an escape hatch ready on the gray bunker and a krak attack for when Jason Deep Striked his forces.

Jason chose the long table edge as his "DZ", but it was irrelevant. I set up my forces, I put a Dire Avenger squad in each annex of the Fortress. In the tower, I placed Eldrad, Yriel, Maugan Ra, and the Dark Reapers. I placed the Scorpions in the darker Bastion and the Harlequins in the gray bastion with the Escape Hatch. I deployed my last squad of Dire Avengers in the ruins between the Bunkers manning 2 interceptor auto-cannons.
Two photos of my deployment.


Jason informed me that he was using the Stratagem, "Approaching Absolute Zero" which is a Stratagem from GW's website that reduced the Armor Save of all units by 1. It also lowers the Armor Value of all Vehicle units by 1. Ouch.
Jason then launched his Firestorm, of which he received seven shots.
He manages to put two wounds on the Yellow Wraithlord next to the Fortress.
He then commences the Planetstrike
Turn 1:

Jason: 4 of 6 units arrive from reserves. ( 3 Multi-Melta, Melta(MM/M) and a Heavy Flamer/Flamer (HF/F unit plus Chaplain).
I unleash the Krak Attack and kill 1 from one of the MM/M Squads.
The Interceptor guns manage a monstrous 6 casualties on another MM/M squad.
Jason then unleashes another of his stratagems, "Teleport Attack" on my main tower.
Maugan Ra, Yriel, and the Dark Reaper Exarch all die. (~450 points, ouch.)
Jasons Multi-Meltas then explode the Lascannon Annex, 3 Dire Avengers die in the explosion.
Another MMM squad puts the last wound on the wounded Wraithlord, he dies.
The HF/F squad and Chaplain combine to kill two more Dire Avengers.

Me: I doom 2 squads and Guide the Dark Reapers. I pop the "Escape hatch" and the Harlequins run out towards the 6-man MM/M squad. The Dark Reapers and Dire Avengers combine to kill all of the HF/F squad except for the Flamer and Chaplain, who takes a wound.
The Harlequins charge and wipe out everyone from the wounded MM/M squad except the MM model himself, the Harlequins lose 1 model.

Two pictures from the bottom of Turn 1:


Turn 2:

Jason: The last two squads of Reserves arrive for Jason (MM/M and HF/F + Chaplain)
They get excellent Deep Strike rolls.
The MM's remove the void shield from the tower and stun the tower.
The Heavy Flamer and Chaplain kill 4 Dire Avengers, only the Exarch remains.
The newly arrived unit of HF/F+Chaplain charge the Harlequins.
The Harlequins kill the final MM model out of one of the original MM/M squads, but they lose 3, break, and run off the board.

Me: The Dire Avengers hop out of the Missile Annex. The gray Wraithlord moves up towards a MM/M squad. The Dire Avengers roll awesome and kill all of the HF/F+C squad except for the HF, the Fist Sergeant, and the Chaplain (who has a wound). The wraithlord double flames the MM/M squad and kills two. He then charges in and does nothing 0-0 draw.

Two pictures from the bottom of turn 2.


Turn 3:

Jason: Jason separates his Chaplain off towards the Dire Avenger Exarch, the Fist Sergeant and HF move toward the Wraithlord. The Chaplain bolters the Exarch to death. The Fist and HF charge the Wraithlord, but miss. The Wraithlord also misses. 0-0 Draw.

Me: Eldrad fortunes his squad. He Dooms the Fist/HF unit and the MM/M unit.
The Automated weapons kill the Chaplain. The Dire Avengers kill a bolter and Melta from the MM/M squad, the Autocannons and Reapers finish off the rest.
In the assault, neither of us do anything to each other.

Two pictures from the bottom of Turn 3:



Turn 4:

Jason: The Chaplain uses his Combi-Melta to remove the Interceptor gun from the Tower. He then assaults it and Meltabombs it into a wreck. The assault is still 0-0.

Me: I guide the Dire Avengers. They kill the Chaplain. Eldrad Mind Wars the MM guy to death. The Dire Avengers assault the HF but nether do any wounds.
The second Wraithlord enters the fray. They kill the Fist and HF.

Two pics from the bottom of Turn 4:



Turn 5 and on: All of Jasons models are locked in assault. The Dire Avengers kill the HF on his turn 5. After that it is just the Wraithlords punching the Legion of the Damned, but at the end, Jason did not lose every model.

I end up controlling three objectives to Jason's zero.
Here are 3 pictures from the end of the game:




Saturday, January 8, 2011

Footdar versus Million Blood Angel March

Friday. January 7th. 2011.
My friend Chris asked for an 1850 point game, I responded...with Footdar.

The Footdar, 1850.

Avatar
Eldrad
10 Dire Avengers w/Exarch, Power Weapon & Shimmershield, Defend
10 Guardians w/Scatter Laser
10 Guardians w/Scatter Laser
10 Storm Guardians w/2 Flamers
5 Rangers
8 Striking Scorpions w/Exarch, Scorpions Claw, Striker, Shadowstrike
7 Fire Dragons w/Exarch, Firepike, Crack Shot
7 Harlequins w/6 Harlequins Kisses, Shadowseer
3 Support Weapons w/3 D-Cannons
3 Support Weapons w/3 D-Cannons
3 Dark Reapers w/Exarch, Tempest Launcher, Crack Shot

The Million Blood Angel March
Mephiston
Librarian w/Shield of Sanguinius, Fear of the Darkness
10 Tactical Blood Angels w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Powerfist
10 Tactical Blood Angels w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Powerweapon
10 Tactical Blood Angels w/Lascannon, Meltagun, Powerweapon
5 Assault Blood Angels w/Meltagun, Hand Flamer
2 Sanguinary Priests w/Meltabombs
10 Devastator Blood Angels w/4 Missile Launchers
10 Devastator Blood Angels w/2 Missile Launchers, 2 Multi-Meltas
10 Devastator Blood Angels w/4 Plasma Cannons

We roll for a Seize Ground (3 Objective) Spearhead

Chris (My Opponent) wins the roll and deploys in a rough semi-circle directly on the edge of his deployment zone. All units Combat Squad. He keeps his assault squad in reserve, it will arrive via Deep Strike I deploy more so to the left of my quarter to keep my D-Cannons behind a hill if I lose my Harlequin screen. I keep my Dire Avengers and Scorpions in reserve, the Scorpions will arrive via outflank.

Two pictures of the deployment.


I fail to seize and Chris begins.

Turn 1:
Chris: Chris begins by moving very little. He opens up on my lines. His Plasma Cannons kill 1 D-Cannon and 3 crew from my right Support Weapon squad. The Multi-Melta half of the devastators kill 2 Fire Dragons.

Me: I Fortune both D-Cannons. I move my Harlequin screen forward. I kill 2 boltguns from a 2xPlasma Cannon squad, they fail their pinning test, but will later fall back, unpinning them. The Fire Dragons move up and kill 4 from a melta tac squad, only the sergeant remains.

Two pictures from the bottom of turn 1:


Turn 2:
Chris: Chris does not get his reserves in. His Lascannons and some Missile Launchers only do one wound to the Avatar, due to some great Invulnerable saves on my part. The Fire Dragons get charged by the sergeant, but we all whiff, a 0-0 Draw.

Me: I also do not get any of my reserves in. I fortune the D-Cannons and move them forward, as they only have a range of 24". The Dark reapers kill 3 from the other 2xPlasma Cannon devastator Combat Squad. The Fire Dragons defeat the lone sergeant in Close Combat.

One pic from the bottom of turn 2:

Turn 3:
Chris: The Assault Squad arrives from reserves and Deep Strikes next to the Dark Reapers. Mephiston leaps out towards the Fire Dragons. The Lascannon and Missile Launcher force does two wounds to the Avatar. The Assault Squad kills one of the Dark Reapers. Mephiston charges and wipes out the Fire Dragons.
Me: My Dire Avengers arrive from reserves. I am only able to fortune one of the D-Cannon squads because Mephiston's psychic hood is in range, and me rolling 3 1's for those tests. Oh well. The Avengers, coupled with some other firepower, kill 3 of the 5 Assault Marines. I kill one of the 2-man 2xPlasma Cannon teams. The Dire Avengers assault the Assault Squad, they kill one and lose zero. The break test is passed. The Harlequins assault Mephiston and do four wounds while only losing one of their own.

Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of the bottom of turn 3.

Turn 4:
Chris: The Lascannon/Missile Launcher deluge finally downs the Avatar. Plasma Cannons and Frag Missiles kill a handful of guardians. One squad breaks while under half. In combat, Mephiston is joined by the Multi-Melta combat squad and Librarian. The Harlequins do no wounds, lose a few and break, with one model left. The Dire Avenger Sergeant combat ends in a 0-0 draw.

Me: I fortune the squad with Eldrad and Guide both D-Cannon squads. My Scorpions arrive from reserves and outflank behind Chris' lines. First, the Rangers do the final wound to Mephiston. The D-Cannons go nuts and kill ~12 Blood Angels from various squads. 3 units become pinned, sadly 2 fall back. The Dire Avengers finally step up and kill the Assault Marine Sergeant. The Scorpions assault a 2xMissile dev squad with 28 attacks and roll the following...
7 hits? Hell yeah. So, I kill two and lose one, but the Angels hold.

Two pics from the bottom of Turn 4:

Turn 5:
Chris: Chris shooting really does nothing due to my Epic Fortune and cover save rolls. Chris brings another Devastator squad, a 5-man Tactical w/Powerweapon, and a Sanguinary priest into the combat with the Scorpions. I kill some, lose some and lose by 1. I pass my morale test.
Me: I start moving my Storm Guardians and Guardian defenders to score the objective in my deployment zone. I move the Dire Avengers towards the midfield objective. I kill one Plasma Cannon and a handful of Blood Angels around the midfield objective. In assault, the Scorpions kill 1, lose 2, break, and are run down.

Two pictures from the bottom of Turn 5:


Turn 6:
Chris: Chris spends his turn moving his scoring units into position to secure his objective and the midfield objective.
Me: I Guide both D-Cannon squads. I move the Dire Avengers towards the midfield objective.
I begin by killing every scoring model on the midfield objective and a bunch of models on the far objective. Everyone holds. The Dire Avengers charge into the MM Devs+Librarian, win combat, and manage to have a model within 3" while there are no Blood Angels contesting.

The game ends. The Footdar have 2 Objectives and the Blood Angels have one.

Here are the final two pictures.