018: Half-Hearted Battle Report and Where I Stand with The Old World

It's another weekend which hopefully means gaming, originally I had three matches lined up but one fell through due to some personal matters. Tomorrow, as of writing, I should be playing against Bretonnians which I plan to do a proper Battle Report for, since they're very different than what I've gone against at 2000 Points, thus far. In general I'll likely go to one Battle Report per week, at least if I get in one game, and simply choose the best of the games that I played.

A few people might have seen a post I made, and then took down, regarding competitive play. While I do stand by what I said, in hindsight I didn't feel the need to put that level of negativity out there and on display. Instead, I'll just note that I am no longer pursuing The Old World as a competitive game, and will in general stick to softer lists that generally match what my opponent is bringing. I'm hoping my Vampire Counts will be up to speed soon so I can inject some variety, then I just need a few models to finish my Beastmen lists and I'm pretty much done. At this time no other armies really excite me except perhaps Orcs & Goblins but I'm waiting to see how things shake out before spending more money.

Right now TOW is really in a holding pattern, in not one but two ways. First, the community is very fractured over what kind of Comp to use, if any. NOVA Open posted their attempt at Comp, which was roundly hated by everyone I've seen discuss it. I'd be among that number too, it simply goes to far and somehow doesn't even fix the issues that it wants to. The other issue is the game needs a massive, massive FAQ and likely some Erratas. There are way too many common cases where the rules simply provide no guidance on what to do, you just have to make it up as best you can. Every single one of those needs to be addressed, and probably a balance pass or generally agreed on Comp, then I'll dip my competitive energies back in. I may still do articles on competitive topics, but they will be broad in nature and not things that are likely to change.

My focus is going to be keeping a positive mindset about the game, as best I can. It's immensely frustrating to have so many obstacles to being able to play the way I love, but that's the reality right now. Dragons and Monsters have simply made the game very boring when you're playing seriously, but as a casual product pretty much everything works fine. Perhaps I can do some narrative write-ups as well, to create a little more fun for readers. We'll see what happens.

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For my half-hearted Battle Report, I played against Dan and his Warriors of Chaos once more. This time he'd made some pretty substantial changes to his list, which I applauded. The basics were a Chaos Lord on Manticore, a Lvl 2 with the Infernal Puppet, 6 Chosen Knights, a block of Chosen with a BSB, a block of Warriors, two small units of Marauder Horsemen, a Chariot, and a block of Flail Marauders with Mark of Khorne. My list was the same as I've taken for the last few games, so you can check on it in older posts if you want specifics.

Our match came down to several major points, with me winning in the end. For one, I placed a lot of Terrain on the flanks to funnel the smaller army in. Ordinarily this can hurt a larger army, like mine, but I can move through the Forests and so on with less opportunity cost lost than anything WoC have except the Manticore. This allowed me to get several big charges off, without the threat of retaliation from anything but the Chaos Lord and his flying steed.

Second, I switched back to Elementalism because Demonology still isn't sitting right with me. I dislike having to have my Shaman in a unit to get work out of Demonic Vessel, and all the good Spells are on a quite high value so I fail them sometimes. I wanted to try and make Elementalism work again and free my Wizard up to run around and not get trapped in a fight, which feels bad since it cuts his usefulness way down. Thanks to Curses of Rust I was able to plow through the regular Chaos Warriors with my General's unit, and then fend off the Chosen Knights with another casting. Travel Mystic Pathways was also awesome, allowing a unit of Dragon Ogres to get in the rear of Dan's army and ultimately provide a lot of support. It felt good to finally use that Spell effectively, Dragon Ogres into a Rear is going to crush most any unit.

Third, I was able to get my General into a Challenge with the Chaos Lord after getting +1 Weapon Skill from Gaze of the Gods, which Dan unluckily didn't match. This meant it only hit me on 6's, and ended up doing nothing. Unfortunately this was just a mistake on Dan's part, I'd told him about the combo to start the game but he forgot about it. Ultimately the Chaos Lord needed to go off on his own and fight a block, but it was the models first game so it's natural not to play perfectly with it.

In the end I lost a unit of Chaos Ogres and killed everything but the Chaos Lord, and a few of the Marauders. A few of my units were below half Strength, but only two. This was on the top of Turn 5, so Dan didn't have much time left to do major damage and at best might have picked up another two units. For my part I've still struggled to get the Chaos Ogres to work, I think I just have such a full deployment zone that it's difficult. I might swap back to a Wargor on Chariot, in my casual list, because it's less space and I love the interaction with Ungors.

Elementalism felt much better and I think I've got the Spells just about figured out. Earthen Ramparts is great for going against a faster army, or I can put it on my Dragon Ogres and turn them into a major Anvil with a 3+/5++ and a Linear Obstacle. Curse of Rust is amazing and lets my Gors interact with better Armor Saves. Travel Mystical Pathway can let me plop a Chariot or unit of Dragon Ogres somewhere they shouldn't be able to get to, and then the last is a choice between Wind Blast, Summon Elemental Spirits, or Storm Call depending on the opponent. Demonology is amazing, don't get me wrong, but it's best for armies with fighty Wizards, like Warriors of Chaos, and that's not my style.

I'm still having a ton of fun with my Beastmen, they just fight and outnumber which is how I've always adored playing. My Vampire Counts will likely be similar, several large Anvils and then some Hammers to play good ol' Rank & Flank with. Expect to see a lot of that in my blog, and I will twiddle my thumbs to see where the game goes otherwise.

017: On the Subject of Shooting in The Old World (Competitive)

The Old World has been about for a couple months now, if you count the leaks at least, and as always there's a mad scramble to figure out "What is powerful" vs. "What is weak" with respect to factions. In my opinion this is still too early to make those kinds of conclusions: we still badly need a massive FAQ/Errata to explain numerous interactions that could have a drastic effect on power levels of units/factions, there have been no meaningful GT level events and likely won't be until Summer, and the people with the most games played are using TTS or similar which is semi-useless for real world play.

Instead of getting mired in faction vs. faction, I've continued to look at game wide systems and their overall usefulness, issues, and so on. Previously I touched on Magic and how it seems quite under-baked and unskillful, an opinion that only grows stronger as I play more and more. This time I'd like to touch on another specific topic: Ballistic Skill Shooting.

I'm separating out BS Shooting from other kinds, namely War Machines, because attacks that roll to Hit in the Shooting Phase are quite a bit different from other attacks that are also called shooting. So let's take a look at archers, gunners, and the rest with a competitive eye and see what's what.

Covered in Cover, Partially

One of the big changes for TOW is how easy it is to get Cover, of some kind, compared to other Rank and File games. Let's have a look at the verbatim rules for Partial and Full Cover before we move on:

Read that carefully, because the details matter. Note that for Partial Cover, it says "up to half of the target model...or up to half of the models within the target unit...", this is the most important bit. Taken as written, this makes Cover very rare to NOT have, especially for units. Even one model, partially obscured by Terrain or or other models, grants Partial Cover and a -1 to Hit. Now, imagine how often this will come up during normal play and you can start to see that a -1 to Hit is almost baked in for ranged attacks.

In most of my games, the opponent might get one Turn where some of their shooting can get around Cover, although not always. This is because every faction has access to Screens, if you're unfamiliar Screens are a cheap unit that runs in front of your main army and fill a variety of roles. Skirmishers are the most popular Screen but units like Chaos Warhounds, or even minimum "normal" Infantry can occupy the role.

When I play my Beastmen, I take three units of Ungors and run them as Skirmishers. This allows me to have walking Cover for my entire army, if I want to, and this same tactic is available to almost every faction. Better yet, I can position my Skirmishers depending on what I'd like my opponent to do. For example: I'm playing against High Elves with two units of Archers. I want them to target my tougher units behind the Ungors, because they'll do less damage (-1 to Skirmishers or Partial Cover, likely Long or Short Range to both). I might ensure that the units behind my Screens are only getting Partial Cover, to incentivize that as a target. On the other hand, if I'm playing against beefier BS Shooting, such as Thunderers, I'll move the Ungors to give Full Cover and force the opponent to target my Screen first.

What does all this mean? The player with BS Shooting has very little agency with regards to Cover and can be forced into shooting sub-optimal targets for fear of otherwise simply doing no damage. This is particularly bad for static shooting: units that can't move far and/or can't ignore the Move and Shoot penalty. Once deployed, moving them only makes the unit even worse at its intended role, and doesn't guarantee that the opponent can't move in kind to get Cover again.

 

Fold Our Bows in Prey-er

So why does this matter? Well, shooting in Warhammer Fantasy has rarely been particularly strong as a whole and TOW is no exception. Units are often hitting on a 3/4+ with no modifiers, with Cover that goes to a 4/5+ and that's assuming no movement, no Skirmishers, no Long Range, etc. While changes like Volley Fire have helped BS Shooting to roll more dice, in some cases, such weapons are typically Strength 3 with no AP and struggle to wound/kill even if they get a few Hits. 

Another change is that the small units that BS Shooting used to prey on have changes substantially. You see less units of things like 5 Warhounds or Dire Wolves because there's incentive to run them bigger now. Flyers interact better with Terrain so they don't need to approach in the open. Even normal Core and so on units are bigger than was once normal, except for perhaps 8th Edition Fantasy, so inflicting just a couple wounds on the approach does very little if anything.

When any unit is added to an army, that unit needs to have a defined role or its a waste of points. What is the role of BS Shooting right now? You can attack enemy units that fill the same role but that's unlikely to be decisive, awarding no VP. It's not as though you need to thin such a threat so that a melee brick can defeat it, shooters have always gotten run over by most anything that reaches them. Stripping a few models from 30-40 strong blocks also does nothing, it's valuable against smaller units but these are likely to be more elite troops, probably having better Toughness/Armor Saves as well, and they will typically be screened. BS Shooting can hardly ever target Characters so threatening Wizards isn't a thing. You're basically left with shooting the enemy screens...except that's exactly what they're for and they probably cost less than what's attacking them.

In contrast to War Machines, BS Shooting rarely has a solid target to go after. There aren't many "elite" units that fill this role either, take Waywatchers as an example. At 16ppm, base, these hit on a 2+ but only have S3 Bows. You can better those but that pushes the models to 17-18ppm, quite steep even among Heavy Infantry. Instead, Waywatchers pay for rules that don't benefit them fulfilling their role, they have defensive rules. Feigned Flight and so on is great until you realize the opponent has no reason to ever care about the Waywatchers, they can just eat a few Turns of shooting, get into Combat, and forget about them. They aren't going to be killing many Chaos Warriors or other beefy threats, on average 10 Waywatchers would kill ~1 per Turn and that's without any modifiers to their BS. At 160pts that's not a lot of work done.

I'm not intending to go after one specific unit, I picked Waywatchers because they're among the best shooting in the game that uses BS, thanks to their accuracy and options for arrows. The point is that even with all that, they won't do a ton. With upgrades and going to 180pts for 10, you're getting a bit over 2 kills a Turn for usually half the game. Did that make their points back? Did it make a huge difference in the game? Probably not.

Some Light Does Exist

While this paints a bleak picture of BS Shooting, not all is lost. My personal favorite way to run such units is as Detachments in factions like Tomb Kings and High Elves. In this role BS Shooting can really shine: Detachments are often cheap and small so the investment isn't hurting you, Stand & Shoot counts for Combat Resolution which provides the unit a role, and if shooting isn't great they can instead declare a Supporting Charge and serve as a deterrent. Unfortunately only a few factions can use Detachments but it's better than nothing.

Another way to make this kind of shooting work is to use Cavalry instead of Infantry. By having better Movement, the unit can avoid Cover much more often and also get around various LoS issues that plague static shooting. This allows for a much more versatile unit as it can stay still and shoot, move around and shoot, threaten a Flank/Rear Charge (often with Cavalry Spears or similar), force March Tests, and so on. Yes, you're getting less total attacks but the significantly expanded options for the unit make that easily worth the trade to me. Even better if the Cavalry have access to Short Bows or some other instance of Quick Shot. Skirmishers can share a similar role in this respect, they aren't as agile as Cavalry but they can get into weird places and offer a diversity of roles.

I'll provide a last example: Bretonnian Peasant Archers. These can either use Close Order, or Skirmish, but otherwise they don't change much because we all know Defensive Stakes and Braziers do nothing. While normally a very poor shooting unit, being able to Skirmish is extremely transformative. Now they can screen for Knights against an opponent of equal speed, or someone who invested heavily in shooting. It doesn't matter if their Bows are useless because they do more than just fire them.

Long Story Short

Putting this all together, I've been recommending against players taking BS Shooting units that don't bring anything else to the table. A unit of Thunderers standing around isn't going to do anything for an army, so don't bother with them. If you feel your army needs shooting, look at War Machines, Skirmishers, Cavalry, etc. because you'll get much more out of them game to game. Otherwise several hundred points could be standing around doing nothing once combat is joined and shooters are rarely even semi-competent in a fight.

Speaking of War Machines just a bit, I'd be mistaken not to look at Bolt Throwers. For me, these are one of the exceptions to static shooting, in some respects. Repeater Bolt Throwers are quite poor because they cost a lot and force a negative modifier on themselves via Multiple Shots. Normal Bolt Throwers, such as show in Dwarves or Orcs & Goblins, are worth fielding. At ~50pts, taking a pair of these to dump on either flank and forget about is fine with me. Yes, they will miss quite often but when they hit they can net kills on valuable targets like Cavalry or Heavy Infantry. As the opponent closes you can also get flank shots, doing even more damage. I'm not saying Bolt Throwers light the world on fire, they're just acceptable to take.

In every respect, TOW is not a shooting edition. War Machines and all other flavors of ranged attacks are more nerfed than buffed overall while many factions need every point they can find to field a competent army. Units that hunt shooters are mostly better than they've been in the past, and have other roles to fill so you will see them all the time. We're playing with more Terrain than other Rank and File games, impacting LoS and Cover. Panic is drastically nerfed so even the chance of forcing an enemy to flee is unlikely to ever happen. It's almost all bad for the bow boys in the back.

Embrace the game as it is and leave your ranged units on the shelf, see how it feels without them. Did you notice a major difference after a few games, were those points better spent elsewhere? My bet is the answer will be yes.

016: Yay Something Besides Warriors of Chaos! (Beastmen vs. Dark Elves | 2000 Points | Pitched Battle)

Despite an insanely busy weekend I managed to snatch two games from the jaws of no hobby time: take that adult life. One I did not do a write-up for as it was again versus Warriors of Chaos, and it was the players second game. While he learned a lot and we had a lot of fun, the game was pretty one-sided as the army was quite elite and just get gobbled up with multi-Charges.

This time I'm against Ben, a veteran of our previous 6th Edition Campaign and who is making the transition into The Old World. Eschewing his normal High Elves, this time he's gone with Dark Elves as a new project, and I was excited to play them. I decided to play one of my new-ish army lists as I'd just built some Ogres the night before and wanted to see how they'd perform.

Finally, I'll make a comment about how I'll be doing these Battle Reports moving forward. Normally I try not to comment much on my opponent's side of things because I'm not in their head and that's unfair. However, I will comment on our two army lists matching up, from now on, because that's an easier evaluation. My last few games I've gotten comments about my opponent having a "weaker" army than me, which I was aware of, so I don't want to just leave that unsaid or unexplained. Hopefully that is a happy middle ground.

Beastmen

Beastlord (General) w/ Shield, Heavy Armor, Talisman of Protection, Slug-skin, Bedazzling Helm

Great Bray-Shaman w/ Lvl 4, Lore Familiar (Demonology)

Wargor w/ Shield, Heavy Armor, Charmed Shield, Gnarled Hide

30 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, Champion

30 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, Champion

Tuskgor Chariot

Tuskgor Chariot

10 Ungors w/ Short Bows

10 Ungors w/ Short Bows

10 Ungors w/ Short Bows

4 Chaos Ogres w/ Great Weapons, Mark of Khorne, Standard, Champion

5 Harpies

5 Harpies

3 Dragon Ogres w/ Heavy Armor, Great Weapons

3 Dragon Ogres w/ Heavy Armor, Great Weapons

Dark Elves

Dreadlord (General) w/ Great Weapon, Blood Armor, Lifetaker, Talisman of Protection, Cold One Chariot

Sorceress w/ Lvl 2, Focus Familiar (Demonology)

Sorceress w/ Lvl 2, Focus Familiar (Dark Magic)

5 Dark Riders w/ Fire & Flee, Shields, Repeater Crossbow

16 Black Ark Corsairs w/ Repeater Handbows, Full Command

10 Crossbowmen w/ Standard, Champion

10 Crossbowmen w/ Standard, Champion

10 Cold One Knights w/ Full Command, Cold-Blooded Banner

5 Harpies

Reaper Bolt Thrower

18 Sisters of Slaughter w/ Full Command, Banner of Har Ganeth

Matchup Comparison

Ben is putting down a lot of what I have built to deal with: durable units with reasonable hitting power. Both the Dreadlord and Cold One Knights are serious anvils, whereas the Sisters of Slaughter can still take a charge just fine thanks to their eye-watering Initiative 6, 7 in the first round of combat. On the other hand I have three units with beefy Great Weapons, throwing a lot of attacks, and may be able to prevent the Dreadlord's rampage by getting him in a Challenge with my Beastlord.

The rest of the Dark Elf army is stuff I feel like I can deal with. The Dark Riders will run around all game and do some shooting but there's not much they can charge of mine and deal with other than Ungors. The Crossbowmen should struggle to get through my Ungor screens while my own Harpies hunt them. Lastly, the Reaper has no great targets in my army and the opposing Harpies can only really escort the Chaos Ogres around, which just means I have to have a plan to protect from them that.

Overall I feel like my army has the tools to deal with Ben's army but things could easily go sideways. The Cold One Knights and Chariot are both able to smash my Monstrous units and either out-threat or even-threat them when it comes to charge range. I was also curious how my Lvl 4 would do against a pair of Lvl 2s, I've written about this at some length so it's time to put my money where my mouth is.

Setup & Deployment

Rolling off for Terrain, I placed the first piece: the Wizard's Tower (Impassable), the ruined building (Impassable), and the Forest (Difficult). Ben placed a Hill, another Forest (Difficult) and a building in the far corner (Impassable). This would lead to a pretty open battlefield but the more central pieces could still play a big role.

Next, I also won the roll for Table Side and chose the one with the Hill. My hope was the building would split Ben up a bit, denying the Hill would hurt his shooting, and I could still use the Forest/Tower to hide behind. Moving to Spells, I chose Steed of Shadows, Gathering Darkness, Demonic Vessel, and Demonic Vigor. Ben rolled Infernal Gateway and Phantasmagoria, dropping the former for Doombolt, and Steed of Shadows with Demonic Vigor, again dropping the former for The Summoning.

Marching order went as follows:

• Crossbowmen
• Ungors
• Crossbowmen
• Ungors
• Corsairs
• Ungors
• Dark Riders
• Gors
• Reaper Bolt Thrower
• Tuskgor Chariot
• Cold One Knights
• Tuskgor Chariot
• Harpies (Non-Scouting)
• Dragon Ogres
• Sisters of Slaughter
• Gors
• Characters (Dark Magic on the right, Demonology on the left, joined to Crossbowmen)
  
• Dragon Ogres
• Chaos Ogres
• Characters (General/BSB in one Gor unit, Shaman in the other)
  
• Harpies (Scouting)
• Harpies (Scouting)

 

I've found first Turn matters MUCH less in TOW than previous Editions, because of how weak shooting is and the limited range of most offensive spells, so I prefer to set up good fights for myself. Here my hope was that the Cold One Knights would struggle to re-deploy and either charge the Dragon Ogres, or fiddle around until I could force them into my General's unit. Having the Chaos Ogres over there was my hedge against the Dreadlord. Via Steed of Shadows and controlling the Dispel Range I'd likely be able to get my second Gor Herd into some weird places, and the Dragon Ogres on the right are in case of some extreme re-deployment or just to keep the Dark Riders at bay while threatening the Corsairs and other small units on the right.

Ben indeed ran out of space in some respects, with the Sisters of Slaughter being pushed into an awkward position and behind the Harpies. I might be able to trigger their Impetuous and force a big wheel with my own Harpies, depending on what they do. I was also able to heavily reduce the effectiveness of the Repeater Crossbows/Handbows by either giving them Ungors to shoot, Full Cover, or Dragon Ogres who they'll barely scratch on average. Ben won our final roll-off and took Turn 1, time to play!

Dark Elves Turn 1

To start, Ben passed his Stupidity Tests and attempted to cast Demonic Vigor on the Cold One Knights but failed to do so. The enemy Harpies then declared a Charge on my Harpies, on the left flank, but failed badly rolling a 1 and 2, and a 2 for Swiftstride. With no other Charges to declare, the elves got busy moving.

Marching less than their full distance, the Cold One Knights and Dreadlord pushed up but well out of range of any of my Chariots, after all the Dark Elves have the shooting advantage so I can't hang around forever. The failed charge badly hurt the Sisters of Slaughter, who could only move a few inches up, which played a large role in my decision to Hold instead of Flee (the charge was a bit better than 50/50 for Ben but if I Flee he goes his full distance).

Everything else moved with both Sorceresses wanting to get into range for the future, not caring much about the penalty to shooting for now. Both the Dark Riders and Corsairs minced forward a bit, the former doing just enough to shoot my Harpies.

Shots began to rain down on me, but my positioning helped. Between the Reaper Bolt Thrower and rightmost unit of Crossbowmen I only lost a single Ungor, Partial Cover and Skirmishers did a lot of work especially with Multiple Shot units.

On the left, Ben cracked a Focus Familiar to try and get The Summoning off on my Harpies, which he did. This killed four of them on a total of 5 Hits, I failed my Panic Test and would need double 1's to Rally, bye Harpie. The remaining Crossbowmen were less effective, doing nothing. The Dreadlord loaded up Lifetaker and show down three Ungors, improving his Armor Save to a 2+ for the remainder of the game.

Lastly, the Dark Riders whiffed into my Harpies as some of them were giving Partial Cover, Skirmishers, Moved, and Multiple Shots. With that, the turn passes to Beastmen.

Beastmen Turn 1

This seemed like a game to go for Gaze of the Gods, so I rolled for both my Beastlord and Wargor, getting Apotheosis and Dark Fury, respectively. Next, I tried to cast Demonic Vigor on my General's unit, but failed. Lastly, the single Harpy failed to Rally as expected and continued to flee.

In my Movement I reasoned that I needed to give Ben some chaff to kill and then position to counter-attack. If he doesn't take the bait he can keep on ineffectively shooting while I work on the right flank alone, so that'd be fine too. To that end everything Marched, my Ungors getting right in the face of the Cold One Knights and Dreadlord. I then positioned several units: Dragon Ogres, Chaos Ogres, and a Chariot of my own, to counter-charge and avoid even a spiked Overrun. This was tricky because if I stay 12.1" away I'm just out of my own Charge range, plus the Knights have Swiftstide anyways, so some risk would need to be taken.

On the right I was more aggressive because there's no combat threat for me to worry about. My Dragon Ogres went to keep the Dark Riders in arc for now, Ben could easily fix this but then they'd have to do a long loop around and that was fine with me. This did put the Forest in my way, but I didn't have much of a choice and my Deployment Zone was already packed. My Tuskgor Chariot and Gor Herds also moved up, although I failed to cast Steed of Shadows on the Wizard's unit, keeping them stuck behind the Chariot.

Nothing left to do now but let the Ungors die and see where things end up, so I passed the turn.

Dark Elves Turn 2

Passing both Stupidity Tests yet again, Ben tried to cast Demonic Vigor on the Cold Ones but failed, I don't think they needed it against Ungors anyways. Moving to Charges, the obvious ones went out as the Dreadlord and Knights each chose a unit to execute, both Held after passing my Fear Test for the Knights.

Remaining Moves were simpler as the Dark Riders swept around and out of my arc, as expected. If I can just keep them moving and searching for a good target, they'll do almost nothing all game. The right Sorceress left her unit to try and deal with the Harpies, they also performed a full Turn to try and contribute some bolts.

Needing to get the Sisters of Slaughter going, the Harpies Marched behind my Chaos Ogres, which was fine with me since they'll bounce off and die for their trouble if they try a charge. This did free up the whip girls to March but they opted to go around the Tower, being otherwise blocked by the Dreadlord and Knights.

Shooting was much the same, I may have lost a Gor or two in total but the Combats blocked a fair bit of LoS. In a moment of success the Sorceress got Doombolt off, despite my Dispel attempt, and killed 3 Harpies but they passed their Panic, intent on doing their duty.

Finally, Combats were quick and easy with both Ungor blocks being obliterated. Looking at my setup, the Dreadlord needed a massive Overrun to clear the Chaos Ogres, and a 12 to get to the Dragon Ogres, making a normal result a disaster for him. Instead he Reformed and stayed still, while the Knights did Overrun (voluntarily) but came up short of the Dragon Ogres. The trap is sprung!

Beastmen Turn 2

Rolling for Gaze of the Gods again I got Murderous Mutation on the Beastlord and Apotheosis on the Wargor, this is almost perfect. Now the Beastlord is WS 7, same as the Dreadlord, so he'll hit me on 6's if I can get him stuck in a Challenge, a viable counter. Being out of range of my Hex, and not foreseeing either of the Gors getting into combat, I declined to cast my Enchantments as well. Predictably, the fleeing Harpy didn't come back and scooted off the table.

Charge! Starting on the right, my Tuskgor Chariot declared into the Corsairs along with the Dragon Ogres, they replied by Standing and Shooting the Chariot, doing a Wound. The Dragon Ogres failed due to the Forest and stumbled forward. My two remaining Harpies charged the Sorceress, who declared a Flee, but rolled low and was caught. Fortunately, the nearby Crossbowmen passed their Panic Test.

On the left, I put my Dragon Ogres and other Chariot (Flank) into the Cold One Knights and the Chaos Ogres into the Dreadlord. All the Charges were made, with the Dreadlord declaring Stand & Shoot, dealing 2 Wounds to an Ogre. Ow.

Moving around what didn't Charge, I maneuvered the remaining Ungors to get some shots on the Crossbowmen to my right. Both Gor Herds intended to make their presence known as I finally got Steed of Shadows off, flying up and over to land in the face of the remaining Sorceress. My General's Herd Marched up to get the Dreadlord in arc as best it could, but things were tight.

Shooting was predictably pathetic, I didn't manage to wound the Crossbowmen. Next was Combat, which proved to be quite complex. I went with the simple fight first: my Tuskgor Chariot into the Corsairs. 5 died from Impact Hits as a nice start, and then I killed another 1-2 with normal attacks. In reply the unit broke and fled, being run down by the Chariot who then failed to Reform, denying me a charge into the Bolt Thrower next turn.

Next, I make a series of horrible blunders. First, I choose the Dreadlord's combat because I expect it to be semi-even, but I forgot that the Dreadlord is WS 7! This means I hit on 5's, and am hit on 2's by the Character, who is also faster than me. This goes disastrously as I do a Wound and lose two Ogres plus a Wound back, Falling Back in Good Order. Except, oops, this allows the Dreadlord to Pursue into my Tuskgor Chariot, and a combat that hasn't been fought yet. Stupid.

Moving on to that combat, the Dreadlord predictably shattered my own Chariot but not before I got my own Impact Hits, killing a few. Ultimately the Knights rolled poorly and only did a Wound to my Dragon Ogres and lost 5 of their own between my Impact Hits and attacks. Unfortunately I still lost the combat but only Gave Ground, while the Knights successfully restrained and readied to use their lances next time. The Dreadlord also reformed, facing the flank of my Wizard's unit.

Dark Elves Turn 3

Well I've got myself in a fine situation but I think I can still claw things back. Ben begins by passing Stupidity and declining Demonic Vigor, he doesn't have a decent target. Charges again ring out, with the Dreadlord crashing into my Gor Herd's flank and the Knights pulling out their lances in the direct of the Dragon Ogres. Both make it in without even needing to roll. The Harpies feel frisky and also charge, into my Chaos Ogres.

Desperate to get the Sisters of Slaughter to do something, they make a 180 Turn and shuffle forward a bit, still blocked by the Crossbowmen. Dark Riders ride behind my army but have nothing that I care about for them to charge so that's fine. Finally, the Crossbowmen on my right Turn again, this time to face the Harpies who cut down their Sorceress.

Shooting saw the last of my Harpies downed by the Crossbowmen, the ones on the left lacked a target. Once again the Repeater tried to shoot my Dragon Ogres but didn't do anything if I recall, although the Dark Riders managed a Wound. The Summoning was Dispelled or failed to cast, I forget which.

Combats were yet again interesting. I decided to Hold with my Gors, knowing that I could Challenge the Dreadlord and his whole Chariot: Impact Hits and all. I did just that, my Champion being obliterated for five Overkill. This let the Dreadlord win the combat (7 CR to my 1 CR) but I only FBIGO, reforming to face the deadly Chariot. Ben pursued but only went 3", exposing his flank to my own General.

Moving on, the Cold One Knights do a good few Wounds, finishing a Dragon Ogre who had previously been wounded and dealing another on top. I put four Saves into the unit but Ben passed them all on a 4+, so I lose yet again and am out of range for my BSB. Fortunately the big boys only Give Ground, which Ben Follows Up on to deny me a charge and strike before the Cold Ones.

On the same side, the Harpies bounce off my Chaos Ogres and lose one of their own, also Giving Ground. This allowed the Ogres to reform and help out with the Knights in my turn, instead of wasting time on the Harpies and their 55pts.

Beastmen Turn 3

I forgot to take big pictures of the table, apologies, but bear with me. I managed to weather the storm of Ben's Turn with everything intact thanks to my heroic True-Horn. Gaze of the Gods went out again, rewarding my Beastlord with another Apotheosis and the Wargor with Dark Fury. I also cast Demonic Vigor on the Beastlord's unit, just for the Toughness on my General, and failing to cast Gathering Darkness.

Charges were to the point: Beastlord's unit into the Dreadlord who Held, Chaos Ogres into the rear arc of the Knights. All were made with ease, crucially allowing me my Ogres to go at the same time as the Cold One Knights thanks to the +4 Initiative from a Flank/Rear charge. Lastly, my Wizard's Gor Herd charges the Crossbowmen and Sorceress, who Flee, ending up popping through the Sisters of Slaughter as they pass their Panic Test. I opt to redirect, successfully, into the Dreadlord.

With little else to move I pivoted the un-engaged Gor Herd as best I could, failing to cast Steed of Shadows, and moved the Ungors a bit. My Dragon Ogres on the right just Marched through the Forest, tired of it delaying them. Lastly, the Tuskgor Chariot turns to face the Repeater Bolt Thrower.

 

My shooting was minimal, doing nothing to the opposing Crossbowmen yet again. Onto combats, my Beastlord declares a Challenge which the Dreadlord again must accept. He rolls extremely well, getting two hits and two Wounds through my Armor and Ward, although the remaining crew do nothing. This wins me the combat thanks to all my Ranks and so on, but the Dreadlord only Gives Ground and the Gors Follow Up while the Wizard's Gors Restrain successfully to face the Sisters of Slaughter.

Down in my deployment zone, my Chaos Ogres roll hot and kill 3 Knights, 1 with Impact Hits thanks to Armor Bane. The Knights wound my Dragon Ogres again but then are cut down to the man. My Ogres successfully reform to face literally anything, and the Dragon Ogres Pursue into their rear, at least having some arcs out to charge if an opportunity presents itself. The Harpies were just out of Panic Test range, curses.

Dark Elves Turn 4

A bit on the backfoot with the loss of the Knights, Ben needs to bet on killing my General over the next two turns. Demonic Vigor is tried on the Sisters of Slaughter but fails to cast. Once again the Harpies charge my Ogres, hoping to have them fail their Restraint Test and move somewhere useless for the rest of the game. The Crossbowmen on my right also charge the Ungors, losing 2 from Stand & Shoot. Lastly, the Sisters of Slaughter charge my free Gor Herd but come up a few inches short, stumbling forward. At least the Crossbowmen Rallied.

With nothing else to do but shuffle the Dark Riders a bit, Ben does some shooting. For once, the Bolt Thrower earns its keep and fires a big bolt into the Dragon Ogres, doing 6 Wounds, but the Dark Riders find no purchase with their own salvo.

Combat is extremely tense in the big fight. Once again, the Dreadlord hits twice (on 6's!) and wounds twice. I pass one Armor Save, and then pass the Ward Save, barely keeping my advantage state. To make matters worse, I do 2 Wounds back, and the Dreadlord breaks due to being outnumbered so badly. At least it ran away through the Sisters of Slaughter, who once again care not for Panic, I had declared to Restrain and did since it was likely the Chariot would make it to that unit, and if it didn't I'll just Charge it in my Turn and force another Flee move.

Wrapping up the turn, I kill a few Harpies who again FBIGO, but once again I'm able to Restrain, turning to face them since I no longer expect to need the Ogres elsewhere. I also kill a few Crossbowmen and lose 1 back, but the elves only Give Ground.

Beastmen Turn 4

This can be a nail in the coffin Turn, so I begin with Gaze of the Gods. My Beastlord is struck with Stupidity while the Wargor picks up yet another Attack. Weaving spells, the Bray-Shaman casts both Demonic Vigor and Demonic Vessel on his own unit, giving them +1 to nearly every single attribute. I get a Miscast when trying to put Gathering Darkness on the Sisters, losing 4 Gors from the 3" Template and it's Strength 6 Hits. Put your Wizards on the corner, it saves lives. Lastly, I pass Stupidity.

The souped up, demonic Gor Herd charges the Sisters of Slaughter, who Hold. I also charge with the other Herd, but can't get both in when I inspect the angles and opt for the much better overall unit so the Beastlord stays out. At last, the Dragon Ogres on my right reach combat in the flank of the Crossbowmen there, and my Chariot smashes into the Bolt Thrower.

With no shooting its pure melee. The Crossbowmen are butchered for no loss, with both the Ungors and Dragon Ogres Overrunning, getting the Dragon Ogres to the left where the action is. The Bolt Thrower dies to Impact Hits, and the Chariot Overruns after failing a Restraint Test, playing no further part in the game.

In our big fight, my Wizard declares a Challenge which is accepted by the Champion of the Sisters. I pass Primal Fury and choose to use the Bray-Shaman's staff as a Great Weapon. The Sisters are utterly powerless against my Toughness 5 Gors, losing the Champion and 6 more. This leads to an easy FBIGO, which turns to a Flee due to my numbers, and the unit is caught and cut down.

With this, Ben calls the game. He has a Fleeing General, who will probably Rally but then just has to deal with my Beastlord again and maybe stops rolling so many 6's. Otherwise there's some Dark Riders who I'll never catch, but who will also do nothing, a Crossbow unit that will get charged in my Turn and die, and a couple Harpies. As I've only lost a Tuskgor Chariot and some chaff, this results in a Crushing Victory for the Beastmen.

Post-Game

This was a game where despite some major blunders, my army impressed me with its resilience. I'd say I won through army composition, and deployment, more than any genius mid-game decisions. Let's rewind to the beginning: basically all the combats wound up going how I expected, except where I simply forgot the Chaos Ogres would hit on 5's and be hit on 2's. I should have sent them into the Cold One Knights, and then sacrificed the Tuskgor Chariot to stop the big guy for a Turn by altering his Charge angle, maybe even getting him out of the game for awhile.

Having a lot of units that don't matter, or who can move around easily (Ungors, Tuskgor Chariots) allowed me to get a major leg up on deployment. This is one of the reasons I find elite factions, and armies, to run into some issues because your opponent will dictate what they can fight. While the Cold One Knights got their preferred combat, it was often at the expense of charging so they did little damage. Yes, the Knights can and should likely be run in a wider frontage, but space was tight this match. They should have expanded their ranks the Turn they Restrained, even just a few more attacks could have changed things.

Magic went exactly as I predicted and I feel vindication that anything but a Lvl 4 Wizard (except for Undead Players) is a complete waste. This combination was more expensive than a single Lvl 4, and they constantly failed to cast Spells while also failing to Dispel mine. The damage they did manage to do felt very lucky and also came about because of me being out of range on Turn 1 combined with a Focus Familiar. There was zero opportunity to put one of the Wizards on an extreme flank, and if they did it ruins a Crossbowmen unit too or the model simply dies to my Harpies. This is a weakness of TOW because Magic has zero decisions from a list-building perspective, but it is what it is.

For my money, I really liked Ben's army and think it would benefit from only minor changes. Lvl 4 Wizard, split the Cold One Knights or run them as a unit of ~7, and try to get another lesser threat like a Cold One Chariot. This army had three big threats but one of them got bogged down in deployment, Corsairs are just fine but they don't want to fight anything of substance. If I were a Dark Elf player, I'd go all in on Dark Riders for Core as everything else seems to have severe limitations. Ballistic Skill shooting continues to be awful because of Cover: nearly every army has some throw-away unit that can screen for the things that matter and then get out of the way.

Where the game was decided for me in some respects was the frontages the Dark Elves had to use. Half the Crossbowmen were useless all game because they lack Volley Fire. Half the Cold One Knights were just wounds. The Sisters of Slaughter were similar as well: all these units want wide fronts but that will ruin deployment even without the presence of Terrain. This is why I love iteration in list design, what looks good on New Recruit may struggle on a real 6x4' table.

Besides my super-blunder, my other mistake was with the Dragon Ogres on the right. That Forest hampered them for half the game and I really needed no help on the flank. I should have put them on the far-left, either dealing with the Sisters of Slaughter or quickly getting around the Tower and threatening all kinds of things by Turn 2. S3 elves do not want to fight Dragon Ogres. I also could have entrapped the Dreadlord and Knights slightly better, but it was a fine gambit overall.

Until I get a few more games with the Chaos Ogres I'm happy with this version of my army. They were unimpressive but I also used them terribly, so that's not on the unit. I don't own any Razorgors and probably won't for awhile, so this is what I have. My focus is shifting to my Vampire Count army, which should be table-worthy soon.....

015: Interacting with Non-Interaction (Beastmen vs. Dwarven Mountain Holds | 2000 Points | Meeting Engagement)

While one game for the weekend fell through, I was able to snag a match with a "new player": Kyle and his Dwarves. Having not met Kyle before we got to chatting and he's a veteran of The 9th Age, just new to TOW, so I felt good about giving him the 2000 Point match. Ordinarily I don't think that would be a good size for a learning game because there's too much going on, rules wise.

Not wanting to proxy stuff, I switched my list to more of a Chariot focused one. I'm still trying to pin down a Beastmen roster that I really like and feel "good" about, I think the Razorgors would fulfill that but time will tell. I'm also itching to get my Vampire Counts on the table....

Beastmen

Beastlord w/ Shield, Heavy Armor, Talisman of Protection, Slug-skin, Bedazzling Helm

Great Bray-Shaman (Demonology) w/ Lore Familiar

Wargor w/ Charmed Shield, Tuskgor Chariot

Wargor w/ Heavy Armor, Charmed Shield, Gnarled Hide, BSB

32 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, Champion

32 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, Champion

Tuskgor Chariot

Tuskgor Chariot

10 Ungors w/ Shortbows

10 Ungors w/ Shortbows

10 Ungors w/ Shortbows

5 Harpies

5 Harpies

3 Dragon Ogres w/ Heavy Armor, Great Weapons

3 Dragon Ogres w/ Heavy Armor, Great Weapons

Dwarven Mountain Holds

King (General) w/ Shield, 2x Rune of Shielding, Rune of Cleaving, Rune of Might, Rune of Fury, Rune of Preservation

Thane w/ Shield, BSB, Rune of Battle, Rune of Fear

Runesmith w/ Shield, Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Passage

Runesmith w/ Shield, 2x Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Passage

14 Dwarf Warriors w/ Shields, Great Weapons, Musician, Champion

14 Dwarf Warriors w/ Shields, Great Weapons, Musician, Champion

19 Longbeards w/ Shields, Great Weapons, Full Command, Rune of Confusion

10 Thunderers

10 Thunderers

Bolt Thrower w/ Rune of Skewering

Cannon w/ Rune of Forging

14 Hammerers w/ Shields, Full Command, Rune of Confusion

Organ Gun

 

Setup & Deployment

After rolling Flank Attack, we built the table with me placing the first piece. I dropped the Forest in the Upper-Left (my perspective), the Ork Tower (Impassable) on the Left, and the Forest on the Right. Kyle placed a Building, an Impassable Treestump, and the Forest in the Upper-Right. Some of the Terrain had zero impact on the game, so I may not have amazing photos of it all.

I believe we played the Meeting Engagement special rules incorrectly, reading it now you simply roll for each Unit/Character and on a 1, they go into Reserves. We played it as you rolled for the Unit as it was deployed, including Characters that may be in it, and on a 1 the whole thing goes into Reserves. I'll make a note of this for future games, but since we both did the same thing I'm not going to fret over it.

For Reserves I got a Gor Unit with Bray Shaman, a Unit of Harpies, a Unit of Ungors, and a Unit of Dragon Ogres. Kyle got the Organ Gun, and a Unit of Dwarf Warriors with Runesmith. My Spells were Demonic Vessel, Demonic Vigor, Steed of Shadows, and Gathering Darkness.

In Deployment the Marching Order was:

• Thunderers
• Ungors
• Thunderers
• Ungors
• Warriors (on the left)
• Gor Herd
  
• War Machines
• Chariot
• Longbeards
• Chariot
• Hammerers
• Dragon Ogres
• Characters (Dwarf)
  
• Characters (Beastmen)
  
• Harpies (as Scouts)

My pregame read was that the Scenario favored me, since I will eat less shooting thanks to the 12" separation, compared to normal 24". I did roll a lot of 1's so a bunch of my army isn't on the table but maybe my +Movement Spell and Steed of Shadows can help with that. Kyle is also in a pretty wide line so my hope was to keep the stronger, right flank at bay and crush the left with my faster elements and then see what's what.

Rolling for first turn, Kyle won and took it in true shooting army fashion.

Dwarves & Beastmen Turn 1

Very little happened here so I'm going to combine the two turns. Kyle ever so slightly shuffled a unit or two, just making sure to keep his flank arcs in check. The Bolt Thrower tried to shoot my left-most Chariot but missed (Long Range, Partial Cover) and the Thunderers had similar luck (Long Range, Partial Cover). The Cannot turned and put the strike point right between my two Chariots, then bounced through one but only did a single wound.

On my turn I pulled the Harpies out from behind the tree, giving them LoS to the Cannon for next turn. Everything else Marched full speed except the Chariots/Dragon Ogres, I was content to use my Skirmisher shield for another turn.

Dwarves & Beastmen Turn 2

Again, these were fast turns so I'm bundling them. I promise things pick up on Turn 3. Once again the proper Dwarf blocks rotated a bit to keep the arcs clean as I advanced. The Organ Gun walked on in the backfield, away from my existing Harpies, with a sliver of LoS between the Thunderers and Longbeards. The Warriors came on directly behind the Cannon, assumedly to reinforce the crew or make me reconsider the charge.

Shooting was ineffective yet again as the Thunderers took aim at the Ungors this time, killing 1 in total. The Bolt Thrower flew wide yet again for the same penalties and the Cannon aimed for my Wargor Chariot but only did a single wound, at the cost of its Rune of Forging. Thus far my screens were working out very well, making up for my bad Reserves.

My Reserves all came on the far-left as we both mistakenly played that the units can March on, this favored me but didn't play out massively on the game. It's frustrating to make mistakes but they are getting less and less each game, there's just so many rules!

On my turn everything Marched again except the Harpies who charged the Cannon, leaving the Dwarves outside of charge range except for one Chariot I intentionally left within 9" of the Dwarf Warriors on the far-left. My hope was if Kyle took this charge I could just Flee and get my Reserves to fight sooner, but I didn't expect him to take the bait even if I was say, a 4 away on the charge roll.

In Combat, neither the Harpies nor the Cannon crew did any damage so we just stared at each other. I'd definitely lose the Harpies now but it stopped the Cannon from shooting once, that's all I needed.

 

Dwarves Turn 3

Going directly to Movement, the Dwarf Warriors fresh from Reserves charged my Harpies in the rear. One of the Thunderer units made a Turn and moved a bit, trying to clear more LoS for the Organ Gun. On my left, the Dwarf Warriors there moved a bit to keep my new arrivals in their front arc but otherwise largely held position.

Shooting went better as the Bolt Thrower put one of my Chariots on its last wound but the Organ Gun goes a Misfire and wasn't able to hit anything. The stationary Thunderers whiffed again as well: I said better, not ideal.

Combat was brief as I lost 3 Harpies, killed nothing, and then the rest of the Harpies were killed by the Cannon crew. Unfortunate but I'd be in combat next turn so the Cannon's time was done and we'd already played half the game.

Beastmen Turn 3

I attempted to cast Demonic Vigor on the Dragon Ogres, since they had a long charge, but it was met with a Rune of Spellbreaking. Nothing else was worth casting so I went to Movement.

Charges went off all over: the badly wounded Chariot and Dragon Ogres into the Dwarf Warriors on the left, the Harpies into the Bolt Thrower, the unharmed Chariot and Ungors into the Thunderers (through Terrain), the Gors into the Longbeards, and the Dragon Ogres into the Hammerers. All charges were made and met with Hold Reactions, except the Thunderers who put 2 wounds on the Chariot.

Remaining Movement pushed my Wargor Chariot up in case it could find a way in, the other Ungors went around the Tree Stump, and the rest Marched forward after I failed to cast Steed of Shadows. In Shooting I killed a single Warrior with my cheeky Ungors.

Starting from the left, my Harpies ate two of the crew from the Bolt Thrower and lost none, but it only Gave Ground. The Dragon Ogres mangled the Dwarf Warriors as Kyle couldn't make any Armor Saves, losing 10 (using Hand Weapons and Shields) but doing a wound back and also only Giving Ground thanks to Shieldwall. My Ungors and Chariot killed 5 Thunderers and lost an Ungor in return, but they too still Gave Ground.

In the big fight my Beastlord declared a Challenge, which was accepted by the Longbeard Champion. In some shocking dice of my own I didn't even inflict a wound and only killed 4 overall, losing a Gor in return. As expected, the unit Gave Ground. Lastly, my Dragon Ogres endured a slew of dice but only took 3 wounds somehow, killing 4 Hammerers. This led to the Dragon Ogres Giving Ground.

Looking over the table, my overall plan was working. The Hammerers sucked to charge into but it had to be done, my hope was the Toughness 4 and 3+ Save would keep me around and it did. I was hoping to punch through the Thunderers, or at least force them to FBIGO, but it wasn't to be and overall I had my good breaks than bad.

Dwarves Turn 4

Pushed back but not out of the game, the Dwarves went about shoring up their ranks. There were no charges, so the Warriors busied themselves reading to hold the line if I broke through either the Longbeards or Hammerers.

Exalting at its victory, the Cannon went to fire and promptly blew itself up. Somewhere, the corpses of my Harpies were laughing.

Our myriad of combats continued on. The Harpies slew the last of the Bolt Thrower crew and Overran, but only 3" as I declined to use Swiftstride. Kyle's Runesmith finished off my Chariot but the Dwarf Warriors were killed to a man, Runesmith included, and my Dragon Ogres successfully restrained. Finishing the left, my Chariot and Ungors did nothing and took no damage, but both only Gave Ground thanks to the General being nearby.

On the right my Beastlord, again, failed to inflict a single wound and overall I heavily whiffed. The Longbeards brought down a few models and I barely lost the combat but FBIGO. With my turn up next Kyle wisely Pursued and was successful. Finally, my Dragon Ogres rolled well and left the Hammerers on 6 models, including the King, but took 4 wounds back and Gave Ground.

Beastmen Turn 4

Most of the combats were not going as I expected but I'm not really losing anywhere so things could be worse. I was able to cast Demonic Vigor on the Dragon Ogres, helping their charge into the Forest, but quickly went to Movement.

My Dragon Ogres declared into the small Thunderer unit and the Harpies into the Organ Gun, both successfully. Once again I failed to cast Steed of Shadows and so just marched the Gors and Ungors on my right, while the Ungors on my left continued moving around to harass the Dwarf Warriors and maybe contribute a cheeky Rear Charge later. In Shooting I killed another Warrior, making them lose a Rank Bonus at least.

Combats yet again went weirdly. I crushed the Thunderers as expected, Overrunning with the Chariot into the other Thunderers (and passing Dangerous Terrain) but restraining with the Dragon Ogres and Ungors. In the big fight, my Beastlord finally killed the Champion and got a point of Overkill and then we both whiffed at each other, causing the Dwarves to lose by 1. They then Fled, even after a re-roll, but outpaced my Gors by 2". My Harpies reduced the Organ Gun to a single crew, losing a wound back, and it FBIGO but stayed on the table.

Finally, the King declared a Challenge which my Wargor was forced to accept. He was then immediately killed by 3 wounds from Impact Hits, failing all three Armor and Ward Saves! Outraged, the Hammerers then butchered my Dragon Ogres, winning the combat, and forcing my Chariot to FBIGO. The Hammerers Pursued but came up short, although this did open a flank charge for the remaining Dwarf Warriors.

Dwarves Turn 5

With the lines hopelessly shattered, Kyle quickly rallied the Longbeards and charged the flank of my Gor Herd with his Warriors. What remains of the Hammerers shifted to avoid a flank charge from any number of threats, my hope was to finish them off with the Ungors over the last turn or two if need be.

With no shooting, we went right to combat. This time, my BSB declared a Challenge after the Beastlord moved to the fighting rank, this was accepted by the Champion. This time the Champion died, but my Beastlord AGAIN failed to inflict a wound, and the Gors/Warriors/Runesmith contributed nothing either. In the end I won, but the Warriors only Gave Ground, so I restrained successfully and turned to face them.

In the little fights my Chariot got 7 Impact Hits and smashed through 6 Thunderers for no damage back, forcing them to FBIGO which I again Pursued successfully, getting out of the Forest. The last Organ Gun crew killed another Harpy and I did nothing, they Fled as we both assumed the Organ Gun would now blow itself up to join the Cannon.

Beastmen Turn 5

It's all over but the shouting now so I busied myself making sure I could get whatever Victory Points were left. Demonic Vigor was again cast on the Dragon Ogres to help them get around.

My sole charge was the Wargor Chariot into the Dwarf Warrior flank. I finally cast Steed of Shadows, marching the Gors over the Forest and to the flank arc of the Longbeards, daring them to flank my other Gor Herd. Ungors moved around to get LoS on the Hammerers and the Dragon Ogres moved to charge should they need to on Turn 6. With my few shots I somehow killed two Hammerers, forcing a Panic Test, which they failed and fled from. This put them under 25%, so rallying was unlikely and I could easily Charge them to run them down.

Our remaining combat went as expected, with the Chariot crunching a bunch of Dwarves while the Beastlord finally rolled more than a 1-2 on a d6 and contributed. The Warriors fled but outpaced me because they had a smaller Wheel around the Tree Stump compared to my larger unit. At this point Kyle conceded the game, having two units fleeing (one under 25%), a single Organ Gun crew, and a unit of Longbeards that were going to eat a Chariot and the other Gor Herd, at best.

Post-Game

First, as I touched on there were some rules issues, Reserves being the main impactful one. This let me charge the Bolt Thrower and other units on the left a turn sooner, in all likelihood, but it fortunately didn't have much of an impact on the game. Even if those units didn't come in on Turn 3, the Dwarf Warriors couldn't peel away to help the Thunderers and there was nothing for the Bolt Thrower to shoot that would have changed the game. While it's really bad that I made this mistake, I take some consolation from the fact that nothing would have played out differently with the more impactful, right flank.

Going past that, I was overall happy with how my army played and its performance, this is certainly the more "friendly" build for my Beastmen. I was glad that it gave Kyle a variety of units to see and showed some solid synergy without being so strong that it would just run a newer player over. In the past I've struggled to make armies that are a bit toned down, so I'll take that as a win.

In after-game discussion both Kyle and I agreed that Ballistic Skill shooting for Dwarves is not what it once was, although I put Bolt Throwers as an exception to that. TOW is extremely permissive with Partial Cover, and even Full Cover, so it's hard to get shots on the units that matter. While War Machines are also nerfed compared to older Editions, I find that they do more than static Bowmen/Handgunners, those units only shine when they're mounted or at least Skirmishers.

I never mentioned Gaze of the Gods because I didn't roll it early (I'm more scared of Stupidity on my units than hoping for a 4+, unless I feel the fight is bad) and later on I got nothing relevant. Once you get into the mid-game I see no reason not to roll Gaze of the Gods every time, but an early Stupidity and a failed test could easily lose a game. If only I was allowed re-rolls like the cooler Chaos boys.

On my part it was nice to feel like I played a game where all my units were used in the role I wanted them for. The Harpies got to go after War Machines for once, I screened much better with the smaller Ungor units than I have, and I was able to tie up a wide swath of the table to prevent counter-charges. The Reserves certainly screwed me over a bit, and I don't love that rule since it can have a really big impact on the game, but it's fine. If you lose a lot to Reserves you just have to deploy conservatively and wait until Turn 2-3 to be whole, I just didn't have that option against Dwarves.

Lastly, I've been worried for Dwarves since I read their rules and this game reinforced that. I know it was someone's first game and Kyle didn't play poorly at all, Dwarves just have some difficult to overcome weaknesses. Being charged is worse than ever because it can keep happening via FBIGO, which means Dwarves keep fighting last and getting few attacks with their expensive infantry. They have the worst anti-Magic in the game besides Khorne Demons and it forces the player to pay a ton of points as tax to even be "okay" at Dispelling, especially non-Hexes/Magic Missiles. War Machines and shooting also feel nerfed overall, which I love since shooting is boring, but it hurts the stunties.

I'm not saying Dwarves can't work, don't add me to the Book of Grudges. They have some premier units (Hammerers and Ironbreakers) outside of Gyrocopter Spam, it may just be that the army has to play differently than it has in the past. I'd be looking at a lot of Infantry, very War Machines, and a lot of Characters. Thanes are very cheap for their profile and Longbeards are a no-brainer over Warriors, +4pts for +1 WS, Str, Gromril Weapons, anti-Panic, and Veterans? Crazy good, take that and Rangers as the bulk of the Core. Traditionally Dwarves have played 3 blocks of Infantry and a lot of shooting but I'd be aiming for 4-5 blocks, less shooting, and something help with Magic. But I don't play Dwarves, so what do I know? Very little.