While the delays in shipping from Tennessee have prevented almost anyone in my State from getting their product, a fair few of us already have armies and have been pushing 1000 Point games to learn the rules. I was able to get another two of those matches in today, thank goodness I didn't stay home and watch the stupid Chiefs go to another Super Bowl. This time I was able to play against Orcs & Goblins, again, as well as Bretonnians.I'm only going to detail the O&G game as I forgot to take pictures through the Bretonnian one.
Beastmen
Wargor w/ Shield, HA, BSB
Bray-Shaman w/ Lvl 2
22 Ungors w/ Shortbows
25 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, True-horn w/ GW
25 Gors w/ AHW, Standard, True-horn w/ GW
5 Harpies
3 Dragon Ogres w/ HA, GWs
Orcs & Goblins - From Memory
Night Goblin Oddgit
Night Goblin Bigboss w/ GW, BSB, Armor of Meteoric Iron, Talisman of Protection
Goblin Warboss w/ Duelist's Blades, Armor of Silvered Steel
4 Snotling Mobs
10 Goblin Mob w/ Shortbows, Skirmishers
30 Goblin Mob w/ Full Command, Thrusting Spears
30 Night Goblin Mob w/ Shortbows, Full Command, 2 Fanatics
1 River Troll
Goblin Bolt Throwa
Goblin Bolt Throwa
Setup and Deployment
Before the game we setup the table, each placing two pieces of Terrain. This resulted in a Forest on my left, both near and far, a Hill to my right, and then some Dangerous Terrain on the far center-left. I won the dice off for Table Side and stayed where I was out of laziness, also having the Orcs deploy first. My Spells this game were Doombolt and Phantasmagoria while the Shaman took the Signature Spell Itchy Nuisance.
With everything said and done I had my Dragon Ogres on the right, hoping to roll up a flank thanks to the Terrain forcing the Goblins there to be a bit on their own. My Chariot went beside, eager to support or go left. The bulk of my army went on the center-left, some hiding behind the Ungors. Normally I would screen more but as this was a teaching/demo game, I don't like to play quite so seriously.
Across from me were the Goblins on my right along with a Bolt Throwers, the Shaman on his own, a single Troll in the center next to the Night Goblins, the Snotlings and another Bolt Throwers on the center-left, and then the Skirmishing Goblins on the left flank. Finally, I put my Harpies on the extreme right to go after the Bolt Thrower and avoid the enemy Bows. Having won the roll off, I take first turn and away we go!
Beastmen Turn 1
Knowing that I'm better in a fight, I moved forward aggressively without much re-positioning. Everything but the Ungors and the Gors behind them Marched, my goal is to keep a wedge between the left flank and the Goblins on the right, kill them, and then turn around to deal with the now BSB-less army. My Harpies hopped over the lines with a March, eyeing the Bolt Thrower next Turn or potentially the Shaman.
In Shooting I failed to cast Doombolt but did cast Phantasmagoria, placing it in front of the Snotlings and hoping to make the Night Goblins Impetuous (which they somehow lack?) My bows do a few Wounds to the Snotlings as I want to soften up that tarpit. With that I end my Turn, having no Combats.
Orcs & Goblins Turn 1
Looking to delay and get some shooting done, the Goblins send forward the Snotlings, Troll, and Skirmishers while the bigger blocks hang back and watch the action. The Shaman fails to cast his Spell earlier (Dispelling mine) but the greenskin shooting was extremely effective. I lost 4 Ungors to Bows and Throwing Weapons while the Bolt Throwers pierced a total of 6 Gors! The dice were certainly with the Goblins when it came to ranged attacks, I needed to try my luck in melee. Fortunately the Gors didn't Panic or I'd have been in real trouble.
Beastmen Turn 2
Time for some Charges! I put the Ungors into the Snotlings, losing none from Stand & Shoot. I figure they'll be tied up together quite a bit, but I should usually win the Combat which means if I can Restrain going into my Turn, I can use my Shortbows again plus Stand & Shoot thanks to Quick Fire. Unfortunately I'd joined my Shaman to the unit, which means he wouldn't be able to do much magically. Next I hurled the Dragon Ogres into the Goblins, this was my ideal target since it meant no Fanatics to worry about and I can hopefully scoop up the BSB.
Next, my Harpies prepared to tear into the rightmost Bolt Thrower, hopefully they'd remain on the table and harass the Goblin Shaman or act as a Charge screen. Lastly, the shot up Gors and Chariot both Charged the River Troll. I realize now this was illegal spacing on my part, I needed to split the River Troll 50/50 as best I can between the two units, so apologies for that.
With no Shooting Phase due to me wasting my Shaman, we head right into Combat. I resolve the Harpies first, who easily eat the Bolt Thrower crew but unfortunately fail their Restrain roll and carry off the table. My Dragon Ogres likewise brutalize the Goblins, killing 10, but suffering 2 Wounds back thanks in part to the BSB. Thanks to Warband the unit Gives Ground, hopefully next Turn I can thin the ranks more.
Moving over to the Snotlings, I do a few more Wounds but don't kill a base and lose an Ungor or two in return. This is probably going to be a long Combat, I should have used the Gors for this job instead because of their increased Attacks, I'm just afraid of a Flank Charge from the Night Goblins. The poor River Troll is killed on my final attack, from the True-horn. I'm able to Restrain with both and avoid a nice counter-Charge, although that's still a lot of bows.....
Orcs & Goblins Turn 2
Having suffered a few losses, the Night Goblins decide to push their Fanatics out and aim for my Gors/Tuskgor Chariot. Once again the Goblin Shaman fails to cast, fortunate since I only have a Fated Dispel now. During Movement the Skirmish Goblins swing around the forest, intent to harass me, while the Shaman enters the Deadly Terrain but doesn't suffer for it. The Fanatics get their push and one pops through my Gors, killing 3, while the other stops short of the Chariot but is annoyingly blocking me.
Shooting is far less effective this time around as the Bolt Thrower goes wide and I only lose a single Gor from the remaining Bows. In Combat my Ungors get a little punchy and finish a Snotling while heavily wounding another, this causes them to Give Ground and I'm able to Restrain, now I can get a bit more done in my Turn with that unit. Goblins continue to go squish under the Dragon Ogres as I kill another 7-8 and only suffer a single Wound back. This causes the Goblins to Fall Back In Good Order (FBIGO)but I Pursue, giving me the Initiative advantage next Turn.
Beastmen Turn 3
Feeling like I'm in a strong position, I want to see if I can break the enemies back in this Turn. My Chariot has a long Charge to the Goblin Shaman and since the Terrain can't kill it instantly, I opt to take it. This would also let me Wheel and escape the Fanatic block the Chariot from the Night Goblins. My Gors Charge there, finally tired of being shot. I think the Night Goblins have the advantage because of numbers and their General but if I can soften them up then I can finish them with something else. Both Charges are made and I lose no Gors from Stand & Shoot.
For their part, the Fanatics move and one heads for the Hill on my side while the other moves back towards my Gors. If it hits me it'll pop through and hit the Night Goblins too but I'd prefer that not happen. Finishing my moves, the Harpies come back on and move up a bit while my other Gors March to threaten the Skirmish Goblins.
My Bray-Shaman casts Doombolt and is able to kill two of the Skirmish Goblins, my only target. Phantasmagoria fails to go off, but I pour more Wounds into the Snotlings and strip another base with the third barely hanging on. Combats go well for me but I make a mistake, resolving the Dragon Ogres first. They batter the Goblins down to just five models, including the BSB, but I finally lose a model in return. Once again the Goblins FBIGO, nearly off the table.
Next, my Chariot smashes the Goblin Shaman into the ground just with Impact Attacks, Overrunning into the Goblins. If I'd swapped the order of the Combats I likely would have killed the remaining Rank and File, forcing the BSB to Break instead from being outnumbered. New Edition, new rules, new things to remember. Lastly, my Gors kill 5 Night Goblins and I only lose 2 Gors although the unit only Gives Ground. My BSB is in a Challenge with the Goblin General, but both of us flub and no damage is done.
Orcs & Goblins Turn 3
While looking dire, the game is far from over. Straight into Movement, the Snotlings Charge back into my Ungors and my Stand & Shoot does maybe a Wound. I also forgot to detach the Bray-Shaman, again, but at least the unit is almost dead. After looking at what they can do, the Skirmish Goblins just walk backwards as they can't get out of my Charge Arc, even when Marching, which they also fail to do. One Fanatic does bounce through both my Gors and the Night Goblins, I only lose a model but 4 greenskins are crushed by the ball and chain. The other spins into Terrain and dies.
With absolutely no visible targets for the Bolt Thrower we go back to Combat. My Dragon Ogres and Chariot finally finish the Goblins but I don't get to run down the Banners. My Chariot Pursues off the table while the Dragon Ogres are able to Reform and start heading to the left.
In the big fight, once again the Challenge is a slap fest but my dice let me down and I do almost nothing with the Gors. In the end I lose the fight for not having a Musician, and fail both my Break Tests on an 11! I was then cut down, losing my BSB and allowing the Night Goblins away from my Dragon Ogres. Lastly I bring the Snotlings down to their last, wounded, base but fail my Restrain and have to follow up.
Beastmen Turn 4
Despite some set-backs I'm still in a good position and can hopefully mop up this Turn. The remaining Gors Charge the Skirmish Goblins, who kill 1 from Stand & Shoot, but I make it in. My Chariot comes back on and angles to threaten the Night Goblins while the Harpies ready to Charge the remaining Bolt Thrower next Turn. Likewise, the Dragon Ogres enter the Dangerous Terrain safely and ready to Charge or pursue. The last Fanatic kills itself with a doubles.
Combat is short and sweet, my Gors gain Frenzy from their Primal Fury and go berserk, hitting every single Attack and butchering the Goblins where they stand and Reforming to enter the Forest. Unfortunately they can't have done that, because of their Frenzy, but at least this mistake had no impact on the game. I'm finally able to kill the last Snotling base, Overrunning out of the Night Goblins Charge Arc, and we call the game there. I agree with this since in Turn 5 the Night Goblins are doing to eat four Charges or March to minimize that, in which case I do it in Turn 6 instead.
Post-Game
I'm upset with my couple of rules mistakes, it's only game two for me but I put a lot of time into reading the rules and if I'm helping others with their first few games I need to give them correct information. If there's anything else I didn't catch, from the images or descriptions, please let me know.
Otherwise I really enjoyed this game and it was nice to see more theories being played out as practical application. The one that jumps out at me is how long it took the Dragon Ogres to eat through the Goblins, yes they did have a BSB with them but I got bogged down. The Character and unit actually cost more points than mine, but it's a severe mismatch in my favor that took several Turns to resolve. In a larger game, if there was a Counter-Charge unit nearby, sending the Dragon Ogres in would be a poor idea.
Surprisingly to me, I really didn't like Magic with the Lvl 1-2 Wizards. They just feel so weedy: it's hard to cast spells, and you have so few options. I didn't want to take a Lvl 4 Wizard in someone's first game where they have no defense and I'm glad I didn't, but Hero Wizards are not it for me. Nice to have that one reinforced as I've been all about Lvl 4 Wizards since I read the core rules.
Putting the Bray-Shaman in with the Ungors was stupid, that's a hold over habit from 6th Edition Warhammer Fantasy that I will break. He can be near them, but not in them, because tying up a Wizard removes so much of its power. Dropping a Doombolt or two into the Night Goblins could have really changed the game for me and Phantasmagoria was useful defense against Fanatics.
I don't really talk about my opponent's play in terms of mistakes, I do think some choices ended up working against him though. The Dangerous Terrain splitting the Goblins apart made it easier to handle them piece-meal, otherwise I'd have to send the Dragon Ogres in a bit later which means more time they're exposed to Bolt Throwers. Pushing the Troll and the Snotlings so far forward also gave me some outs for shooting by blocking the Bolt Thrower at times and also let me get up-table faster with Charges.
Performance wise my army did as I hoped it would, Gors are great against other lighter Infantry and Dragon Ogres are good into almost everything. Prolonged fights with Initiative 1 is concerning but my hope is I can get enough FBIGO to maintain the Charge and also rely on their 3+ Armor Save, pairing a Chariot instead of having a third Dragon Ogre might be the play. My Ungors are likely going to move to smaller units, I liked the idea of one big one for various buffs that are available but as I found in my second game, having a wide screen has some serious drawbacks.
Moving forward I want to practice using the Ungors to screen from shooting more effectively, moving my Wizard around to avoid being shot at and tied down, and working on more supportive charges instead of one to one's. I'm hopeful that I can play a 2000 Point game by next weekend, I have almost all the models I need and would really love to see a fuller game play out, especially with the normal 6x4' table. So far The Old World is holding up as I'd hoped and the few rules questions we had were easily solved. I've heard almost nothing but positives from other locals as well, so hopefully many more Battle Reports to come.
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