I was facing down against Ogre Kingdoms, an army that I have had a bit of experience against, so I was quietly confident in winning. Now I honestly couldn't tell you why. Perhaps it was some bravado carrying over from my first game, or perhaps just completely unwarrented confidence in my army. Regardless, my confidence was misplaced.
When my opponent deployed, I was pleasantly surprised. Firstly the army was fully painted, which always makes for an enjoyable game, despite the outcome. Secondly, there was a distinct lack of Ironguts and Ironblasters, two units that seem to be the bread and black-powder infused butter of every ogre army ever.
On his far left, a single sabre tusk sat behind a large wall that dominated that side of the board. Four Leadbelchers lurked ominously, while a Firebelly and his Bulls held the centre. He deployed three converted Man-eaters, picking poisoned attacks and Swiftstride, opting against Stubborn, which was a surprise. I think that I wrote these guys off as not being as scary for the lack of stubborn, forgetting that stubborn only matters if these mercenary killing machines lose combat. Two mournfang held down the right side of the board, and had my complete attention. My deployment was very similar to game one, operating on the concept, if it ain't broke...
I rolled up Spirit Leech and Caress of Laniph, and was very satisfied with these spells. Against other low-leadership armies, Spirit Leech can be game changing when pushed through on an unfortunate general. And after taking time to explain how lethal Slugtongue's curse was, it did a single wound to an Ogre bull. I was hoping for a dead sabre tusk, maybe even a cheeky panic check, but no luck. The scenario placed three objectives on the centre line of the board, where control of them would grant an extra 150 victory points. In this game, where where two fast, combat armies would clash in the middle of the board, those bonus VP's would swing towards whoever could drive over the top of their enemies. I planned that on being me.
Ogres began the game by making a series of aggressive advances, making their presence known. The Bulls parked themselves on the hill in the centre of the board, and the Firebelly unleashed a boosted fireball that was beyond my dispelling abilities. My left unit of trolls suffered four wounds, being deprived of their precious regeneration saves. His Leadbelchers gave me a taste of what was to come by blasted the hounds before them to pieces. Acceptable losses, I thought.
My first turn was largely uneventful. I moved up, opting not to charge, as the only easy charges were not ideal and I honestly didn't like my odds. I think this moment was my undoing. By pushing forward without being aggressive, I had given my opponent control. He could pick his charges and was very, very likely to get them. I made a few attempts to redirect, but with no conviction or plan. But I ponder on past mistakes. Onward!
The Firebelly unsuccessfully tried to fireball my chariot, not reaching the casting value, but the Leadbelchers continued their blood-soaked rampage, anhialating my final Razorgor. The game ended when I charged the chariot into his Bulls, and managing to kill two of the brutes before being cut down. The magic phase was not a negative experience, reign of chaos stripping two wounds off an unfortunate Man Eater, while Caress of Laniph removed one of the Firebelly's horrendously abundant wounds. With no shooting to speak of, I braced myself for impact.
Being handed a golden opportunity to dish out that glorious, impact-hitty death, my opponent charged his slightly damaged Man Eaters headlong into my right trolls, easily defeating them and over-running dangerously close to my Gor unit. My trolls who had pushed up to block the Bulls were met with a fireball that completely wiped them out. Meanwhile the Leadbelchers, still grinning from disintegrating five dogs with a short-ranged wall of shrapnel, decided that they enjoyed it so much that they might tear a Razorgor apart with firepower bordering on the obscene. The flank had collapsed entirely, and with four oversized gun nuts smelling blood, I couldn't see myself reclaiming it anytime soon.
At this point of the game, I realised I was in a real pickle. The Leadbelchers had completely crushed a flank almost single-handedly. If I was going to pull out a win from this, I would have to bring my A-game.
Fortune favours the brave, as they say, so with the threat of a flank charge from some very cranky Man Eaters, I decided I'd rather charge the Bulls on the hill than to them charge me (down a hill) with their impact hits (which hurt Gors a lot). I should have expected bad things when I failed my Primal Fury, missing out on those precious re-rolls, and from memory, maybe I did a wound or two but nothing significant. The Firebelly, being rather peeved from an early wound, unleashed his breath weapon, killing six before he and his regiment started swinging their oversized machetes. My Gor champ was cut down in a challenge, and after the dust settled, twelve Gors lay dead, which was enough to make them turn tail and run. Not really the result I was hoping for...
My opponents next moves were calculated and deliberate. His Bulls charged my Gors, catching and killing all of them, including my general. His mournfang, who had spent the entire game trying to dodge some pesky hounds, finally charged and overran off the table. With only a chariot and a Razorgor left on the table, strewn with dead Beastmen, I did the only thing left to do, charging both models into his Man Eaters, trying to claim some final, much needed VP's. Both man eaters fell to the onslaught.
Well, a 20-0 loss... I could go on with excuses about deployment or my mistakes in the game, but at the end of the day, I was beaten fair and square. I could not fault my opponent on a convincing win. He made no tactical errors, and used his units efficiently and effectively, gauging when to strike and doing so with force when he did. A great sportsman and an enjoyable game however, despite the utter carnage unleashed upon my army. Those Leadbelchers...
Game three and four along with a post tournament wrap up will be up in the next few days, home renovations allowing!
Thanks for reading,
Gabriel
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