#125: Daughter of Khaine Battletome Review

So, I find myself eating my words tonight.

Back in November, I wrote a whole article on why no one was playing Daughters of Khaine (#108 for those who are curious), and why other equally unsupported armies were getting more table time than the angriest ladies in all the realms. And I'd pretty much resigned myself to the fact that they were probably never going to get their own Battletome.

But, boy, did GW make me look the fool...

Not only did they get their fancy new book, but they got just a ton of releases! So, let's break this down. I'm going to try and avoid covering ground I've already covered, but a lot has changed. I'm going to review the Battletome in the same format as my Legions of Nagash review, so if you love or hate the current way I do it, let me know!

ALLEGIANCE ABILITIES:

Well, this is where it all kicks off. Daughters got some fantastic buffs with the two abilities they get from the Allegiance. The first is Fanatical Faith. This rule gives every DoK model in your army a 6+ wound negation mechanic on a 6+. Considering that most other armies have to take an artefact or a spell to gain a similar thing (Nurgle being a glaring exception to the status quo), this is pretty solid. Not broken, but solid.

The second ability is Blood Rites. Basically, as the game unfolds, the army gets an ever-increasing set of buffs and re-rolls. There's no dice or change required; the bonuses just come into effect, which is fantastic, and puts a lot of pressure on your opponent to make moves early in the game, and potentially make a mistake trying to press the advantage before the girls get too... ragey. There are, of course, ways to manipulate this table and escalate things before the allotted turn, but that's not an easy decision to make, as you'll soon see.

Next, there is the command traits (some more useful than others) and three (yes, three) tables of Artefacts; one generic set, one for priests (Slaughter Queens and Hag Queens) and one for wizards (Bloodwracks). There are just a ton of absolute kickers in here, but you can't have them all. In fact, its a really, really tough pick. The Blood Sigil and Iron Circlet are both standouts for the Queens, while it's hard to look past the Crystal Heart or Rune of Ulgu on your casters. There is a degree of risk with the Crystal Heart, but the reward is worth it!

The Queens got a fancy table of Prayers, all of which are fairly practical; naturally some will see more use than others, but I think that opinion will vary from player to player. What's really awesome to see is the Lore of Shadows make its triumphant return, complete with a few classics like Pit of Shades and Mindrazor! With limited options when it comes to Wizards, players are going to have to be resourceful and really think about their combos. Mindrazor has quickly become a fan favourite, but I don't think its going to make or break the army. It casts on a 7, so isn't always going to go off, and with few wizards, whoever has Mindrazor is quickly going to find themselves public enemy #1.

I think this section of the battletome contains the hardest decisions a player will have to make in army construction. There are so many great options and combos, but very limited availability.

TEMPLES:

For those of you who haven't yet read the book, Daughters armies can now be organised into Temples in the same manner as Kharadron Sky-Ports and the likes. While you don't HAVE to pick a Temple, or paint your army in a specific Temple's colour scheme, they can add a lot to the army. There are four in total, each giving you significant benefits to your army, but also forcing you to take either a Temple-specific artefact or command trait, whether you like it or not. Having talked to several new converts to the army, the two favourites seem to be Hagg Nar and Khailebron, and I'm inclined to agree that these seem the most versatile.

At first, Khailebron seemed like a no-brainer as the top pick. The army has a flat -1 to hit in the shooting phase... Cunning Deceiver, eat your heart out. Your General also has to take a command trait, "Mistress of Illusions" that allows you a cheeky teleport for a unit within 7" at the start of the Hero Phase. With this specifically happening at the start of the phase, this means it happens before spells and prayers, and with all of your prayers having a range of 14", it does limit just how ridiculous you can go with buffing a unit and slingshotting it across the board. There's still the 9" no-go zone around enemy units, but that's pretty standard these days. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic tool for board control and objective grabbing.

The temple also gives you the option to expand the size of your Temple Nest, making this a naturally favourable Temple for snake armies, as it allows you to fit all of your Battleline units into the Battalion. But more on that later...

But as I almost had my mind made up about the top of the Temple ladder, I started thinking more about Hagg Nar. The command trait gives your general a 7" bubble that lets units take their Fanatical Faith rolls on a 5+ instead of a 6+... considering there's a prayer that lets a unit re-roll failed Faith saves, there's a lot of practicality in this.

Units from Hagg Nar also get stronger Blood Rites, where the third tier of buffs gives them re-rolls to all missed hits (shooting and combat), instead of only re-rolling 1's. Again, you can modify the table so you don't have to wait until turn three to get this, and again, it's just a straight buff that your army gets. I genuinely believe that unless you're running a snake army, Hagg Nar may be better suited to an all-comers list. The increased Fanatical Faith and the army wide buff to hitting stuff is far more beneficial to the traditional Witch Aelf army; you can toe-tap the bubble on the general, and maximise that damage mitigation! Not all armies will try and shoot at you, but all armies will try and wound you...

And if you're hankering for some teleporting action without using Khailebron, there are Battalions in the book that let you do that, too!

BLOODSHIELD:

This rule has had a pretty significant change. Where it's old function has been pretty much replaced with Fanatical Faith, Cauldrons now emit a bubble that offers +1 to the saves of any unit wholly within range. This is a really important rule, because it's obviously a huge benefit for your army, but the range decreases the more damage it takes, and units must be wholly within. Daughters players need to make sure not to over-extend, as all it will take is one overzealous berserker lady to pile in too far to lose the bonus. That said, there's not really a downside to Bloodshield, as its basically a free Mystic Shield aura that you should make the most of, but is not mutually exclusive with actual Mystic Shields. Stack those save buffs!

TEMPLE NEST:

Now, it's not uncommon at all to see Cauldron Guard in many lists at the moment, because not only is it cheap, but it contains all the stuff you're probably going to have in your traditional Daughters list anyway.

As a side note, the most expensive warscroll battalion is 120 points; ridiculously cheap when compared to other recent Battletomes, such as Maggotkin. But I digress...

The new, shiny toys for Daughters include the Melusai, which come in two varieties. The Blood Stalkers offer a valuable source of high-quality shooting. Originally nicknamed "Slitherfires", I don't think they're even close to the obscene power of Skyfires. They are, however, going to be putting out consistent damage all game, even chipping a sneaky mortal wound off here and there.

Then there's the Blood Sisters. These reptilian ladies are a really, really solid unit. They have two wounds each, have very reliable mortal wound output, can fight in two ranks, have a ton of attacks and some cheeky rend to boot. Oh, and they're pretty fast! You can take a unit of twenty for under 500 points, which sounds like a heap, until you read what Temple Nest gives them. It essentially rolls your General and Battleline into a neat little package with some supporting fire from the Stalkers.

You only get one special rule from the Battalion, but it's a doozie. Every roll of a one for hits aimed at a unit from the battalion in the combat phase suffers a mortal wound after all it's attacks have been made. Let that sink in...

Your Blood Sisters charge in. They cause mortal wounds with their Crystal Touch attacks. They cause a bunch of wounds with their spears. Then they get hit back, and yeah, some of them will die (you're still playing Daughters of Khaine...), but the enemies will cause another batch of mortal wounds to themselves! This is all before you put any buffs or prayers on them (Catechism of Murder and Martyr's Sacrifice spring to mind). They're also Bravery 8, so there's a bit of mileage to be got out of Mindrazor. Rend -2 Damage 2 on their spears is nothing to sneeze at, and a 2" reach means they'll be fighting in two ranks, despite their base size. And to top it off, if they're the target of Mystic Shield and a Bloodshield, they're wandering around the board with a 3+ before even considering Fanatical Faith.

I think the Snake list has some serious legs to stand on (pun fully intended), and I think the primary reason we won't see it at every event is the prohibitive financial cost of said army. But I'm sure someone will drop bulk coin and do the army, and I hope they do well with it, because it's super duper cool!!

MORATHI OR NO MORATHI?

The question on every DoK player's mind... Do they take the super-snake-lady or not? If I'm honest, I don't think I would. Now, don't get me wrong... The model is mind blowing in both her forms, and she's pretty crazy on the table in both her forms, but there in lies the catch. I think it will take a very skillful player to get the full return on the investment. For her to be worth her very hefty price tag, she needs to be fully stretching her legs every phase, making use of every ability, and making sure she's where she needs to be. I have no doubt that some players will crack the code and find their groove using her, and those players will be terrifying. But I think that while she's a brutal commander and wizard in one form, and a one woman wrecking crew in the other, she can't be both at once. There's a tough decision on when to change forms. If Daughters go first and aren't careful, a double turn is going to see her taken off before she's had a significant impact, but I guess that's true of any super expensive model. I don't think she's remotely necessary for most Daughters lists in the same way that Alarielle is not in even half of the Sylvaneth lists you see at events. Not because she's bad, but because other units suit the player or the army far better.

While we're on the topic, I'd like to go on record by saying that I really, really don't like the Iron Heart of Khaine. This is for the same reason that I really, really don't like the Destiny Dice mechanic. In a game of luck, chance and probability, I feel like these are both outside the confines of the game's core foundations. There is great reward with no risk at all. You can throw the Shadow Queen into three Bloodthirsters, knowing full well that it will take four rounds of combat, at minimum, for her to be in any danger of dying. That, to me, is a bit obnoxious. There is no chance at all of her biting the dust before a certain point in the game. Now, no other unit in the game is guaranteed survival. None of the gods, goddesses, greater daemons or mighty heroes are immune to dying in a turn.  Even Kroak with his crazy wound-bravery-heal mechanic can be nuked off the board in a single turn. So, why Morathi? She's not a goddess yet; in fact, all of her power is leeched from a dead deity.

I love her story arc and her lore, I love the background behind her drawing power from the Iron Heart of Khaine from unwitting but devoted followers, and I love how she functions on the table with her two forms, but I have great reservations about that mechanic. Am I alone on this? What do you think?

THE BEST UNIT IN THE BOOK:

Ok, now that I've upset every Daughters player with my thoughts on Morathi, what's the standout for me? What's the must have unit in every Daughters of Khaine army? Easy...

Khinerai Heartrenders.

In my opinion, I think these bat-ladies are such good value for 80 points! They can be held in reserve, dropped in whenever you feel they will be of most use, throw some very high quality javelins and then have a decent chance of making a cheeky move either onto an objective, into cover or into a more favourable charging position. I can see this unit being the "fixer" assassin unit tasked with killing support characters or unprotected backfield units that are causing your Witches grief. They will die to a stiff breeze, but you don't play Daughters of Khaine for their health insurance policy. I was interested to see that they're on 40mm bases, which is larger than I was expecting, but having assembled some for a commission, it's entirely necessary to balance them on the table. Such dynamic models!

I think Hag Queens also deserve a special mention. For 60 points, and having prayers and Witchbrew, they're pretty much an auto tag along model for those big thirty strong blocks of infantry. They're such ridiculously good value, and add so much to your army!

SUMMARY:

I think Daughters of Khaine is a fantastic Battletome. There's so much variety and diversity in the model range, and the range is absolutely exquisite! I don't envy Daughters players having to write lists, as this whole army is full to the brim of very tough decisions. The book offers up a ton of options, and indeed, a plethora of play styles, but no matter what goes into your army, this force is built squarely on the shoulders of multiple combos. I don't think thirty Witches Aelves + Mindrazor is enough to win games once people are more familiar with this new foe. An army will need to have plenty of layers and tricks, and can't depend on any one unit on its own to win them the game. There are a lot of moving parts, and I love that it's another Battletome whose strength lies in player ability rather than just powerful rules.

I know that, in the Australian scene at least, there is plenty of hype around this very first Aelf Battletome, and there are a few players from around the country that will doubtless create stunning armies that will impress on and off the battlefield.

Are you excited for this release? Jumping on board? Let me know; i'm fascinated to hear other peoples thoughts on the matter.

Thanks for reading,
Gabe

#124: Festering of February Game 3 - Skaven Pestilens vs. Slaves to Darkness

After my absolute rinsing in Game Two, I was sitting level in the middle of the pack with a major win and a major loss. It was honestly anybody's guess who I would be facing, and there were a few other armies on a win and a loss that would have been very brutal matches. As fate would have it, I was drawn to face a Wildling-themed Fatesworn Warband from Slaves to Darkness.

Darkoath Warqueen (General)
Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Manticore (Chaos Talisman)
Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount
Chaos Lord on Daemonic Mount
Slaughterpriest (Allies)
Slaughterpriest (Allies)
1 Chaos Chariot (Battleline)
1 Chaos Chariot (Battleline)
1 Chaos Chariot (Battleline)
1 Gorebeast Chariot
1 Gorebeast Chariot
1 Gorebeast Chariot
1 Gorebeast Chariot
Chaos War Mammoth
5 Wrathmongers (Allies)
Fatesworn Warband

With enough chariots to make Boudica green with envy, my opponent had an very low-drop army of single models, almost completely negating the effects of Battleshock. While I was confident that I could kill just about everything in his army on its own (there was obviously a slight degree of concern about the Mammoth), I knew that if he hit my lines too hard with the Gorebeasts and Mammoth, he was going to mash my rats with impunity. I was also acutely aware of the mortal wound potential of the Slaughterpriests.

The scenario was Scorched Earth, which was great for me! I had the bodies to hold down my objectives, and if I could just hold the line, and break the wall of chariots, perhaps I could push for my opponent's objective and flood it with bodies to burn it. On the downside, there was an absolute ton of Mystical Terrain throughout the battlefield, so it was inevitable that someone's unit was going to start drooling. 

I decided to deploy my Arch Warlock on the left flank, as I knew he was probably my best shot at putting some hurt on the Mammoth. I couldn't let that thing hit my lines at full health! He was also close enough to the objective that his Balewind would zone out half of its control area. Even though he couldn't hold it, he could close off a large area near it, making it harder to grab. 

My opponent deployed his army in two main battle groups. The Warqueen and Wrathmongers offered support to the Mammoth and three chariots...

...while the Sorcerer on Manticore (converted to be riding a big ol' grizzly bear!) commanded the right side of the board. 

My opponent, knowing that he needed the charge, and potentially the double turn, gave me priority. My centre pushed forward, tripping over itself a little but also very aware of how close it was coming to the very long threat range of the chariots. The Furnace got Rabid Fever off on both 40-man units, and the catapult managed to plink a couple of wounds off the Manticore, but little else occurred on the right flank. 

 On the left flank, it was all business. I managed to pop a super-prayer with the decrepit Priest lurking in the woods, and with no enemies in range, I was content to take the bonus to prayers. The Catapult and Arch-Warlock put in work, though, taking 8 wounds off the mammoth! An excellent start.

In a terrifying burst of speed, the Mammoth slammed into my army and went to work on the Monks. Despite having a still-terrifying damage output potential, my opponent rolled the single worst round of attacks I have witnessed and killed a total of six Monks... Who then piled in and attacked before exploding, chipping yet more wounds off the towering behemoth. 

In an equally disastrous spate of bad luck (with a little help from my Bale-Chimes), several of my opponent's charges failed, leaving two of his chariots unsupported and in a real spot of bother. Aware that this was their moment for glory in the eyes of Chaos, the two chariots went to work. One managed to bump off a few monks, while the other fell painfully short of trampling a Priest. 

While the Verminlord and his underlings managed to dispatch of the chariot in their face, the double turn was upon me! Single models began to slam into my lines, dishing out damage left, right and centre, but my line held. 

The central conflict quickly turned into a wild brawl, with both sides taking a horrific amount of punishment. I was extremely lucky to have been out of range of both Slaughterpriests, and my opponent had, thanks to his low model count, left his objectives wide open, ripe for the claiming...

Retribution was swift from the Skaven horde. All three units of Monks popped their Books of Woes, with each unit having at least four enemy units in range. Mortal wounds were handed out in volume, chipping wounds off just about every chariot and character on the board. The Priest on the right hand side of the board, quietly underachieving until now, launched a Pestilent Breath at the trio of characters to the rear and rolled some of the hottest dice of his miserable life. The Sorcerer suffered yet another two mortal wounds, while both Slaughterpriests took three wounds each! 

The left flank was fairing no better for my opponent. Having suffered terrible losses, the Monks showed signs of crumbling, but the minions of Khorne fell first. The Wrathmongers had buffed not only the Mammoth, but the Monks as well, and were punished for it under a flurry of blades. The Warlock added his considerable weight to the conflict, dishing out yet more damage, as well as finally being able to use his shooting attack to melt a Wrathmonger's face off. Even with the hardest work, and best laid plans, my opponent couldn't outnumber me to control the objective.

I managed to double turn my opponent back, and this allowed me to completely swing the flow of battle to my advantage. His main charge had shattered against my army (in reality, I assume many of the chariots simply got too many monks jammed in the wheels and broke down), and my counter-offensive was brutal. Another barrage of prayers, spells and catapult fire allowed me to start removing key models from my opponent's army, and clearing whole areas of the board. 

In easily one of the most memorable moments I have been lucky enough to have in gaming, the monks finally managed to slay the Mammoth. I won the roll off to decide which way he fell, and chose to suffer more casualties by hitting my own unit. This was completely worth it, however, as the Mammoth also came crashing down on the wounded Warqueen, smashing her into oblivion in a moment of cinematic tragedy. 

With the core of my opponent's army broken, I went on to push forward, slay all in my path, and burn one of his objectives to claim the major win. 

This was a great game to finish the tournament on. I think even if I'd been bulldozed, it still would have been a great game. With the mindset that neither of us were in the running for winning the event, it allowed us to relax, have a laugh and enjoy the game in all of its comedic calamity. 

The event as a whole was a really fun, well run day, and all the armies were painted, which is always lovely. There were a few real stand outs as well, that just shone on the table.

Results wise, I came in 4th place, having landed two major wins and several Sports votes. I managed to win Best Sports, which is always a real privilege to win. Sportsmanship, I think is something that I always aspire to compete for, as I think everyone should, but to win it is a bonus! I was also in a three way tie for Coolest Army, but was beaten to the punch by a very cool Squig-heavy Moonclan Grot army (which got my vote). I cast a vote for a Stardrake in the Coolest Model category, and it cleaned up the prize; deservedly so, as it was gorgeous! 

All in all a great event, even considering the absolute massacre of Game Two. 

Next time, I'll be throwing up my review of the Daughters of Khaine Battletome. Keep an eye out.

Thanks for reading, 

Gabe

#123: Festering of February Game 2 - Skaven Pestilens vs. Disciples of Tzeentch

After coming out of Game One with a convincing win, I found myself amongst some of the strongest armies in the pool, and round two saw me face down a Disciples of Tzeentch army. The list is as follows.

Lord of Change (General)
Herald of Tzeentch
The Blue Scribes
The Changeling
Gaunt Summoner w/Chaos Familiars
10 Pink Horrors
10 Pink Horrors
10 Pink Horrors
10 Blue Horrors
10 Blue Horrors
10 Blue Horrors
30 Brimstone Horrors
Multitudinous Host
390 points in Reinforcements

Note on the list: It only came to my attention while double checking points and lists that my opponent's army was one unit of horrors short to meet the requirements of the Host. In our game, this had no impact on the end result, as he didn't end up using all of his reinforcement points and could have just as easily had a unit of 10 Brims at the back of the board with no impact on how the game went. My opponent was very apologetic upon being made aware of this, and I have no doubt that it was a mistake.

This was probably the one army at the event that I didn't want to face, for one reason and one reason alone; the Gaunt Summoner. My army has three massive units of infantry, that do a great deal of the heavy lifting and I knew how brutal the Summoner's arcane barrage of damage can be! But, the draw was the draw and I was determined to give my opponent the toughest run possible with the tools at my disposal.

The scenario was Battle for the Pass, which favoured large units for objective grabbing. If I could keep my big units above twenty, I'd be able to snatch objectives off my opponent (Brimstones aside). My Plagueclaws deployed fairly deep into my deployment zone, making sure to have enough range to hit 3" past the mid-board objectives, meaning any unit cheeky enough to try and toe-tap the objective would be in range. I kept a unit of 20 monks back to screen my Arch Warlock against the Changeling (who ended up deploying in his own zone after all), while the Corruptor held down the other flank. I made sure that my Warlock went down after the Summoner, and measured to put him just inside 36". meaning that when I popped my Balewind, I had the range to hit him (inevitably atop his own Balewind) with both of my damage spells. On my front line, my Furnace held the centre, while a unit of forty monks lined up a mid-board objective each, each supported by a Priest. 

On the other side of the board, rows upon rows of Horrors stared back at me. The council of wizards formed a tight group to benefit from each other's auras. Having beaten my on drops, my opponent took first turn and unleashed hell. The Summoner popped up on his Balewind and hit one unit of monks with Treason of Tzeentch and hit the other with Infernal Flames, just melting huge chunks of the units. Unfortunately for me (and more specifically, my Monks), we were playing under the assumption that Treason triggered on 5's instead of 6's, so when combined with the many other spells coming my way, casualties were unsurprisingly high. After the game was over, we double checked the FAQ, and discovered the mistake. On the right side, Brimstones pushed up to cap the objective, while on the left, a unit of Daemonettes materialised and laid claim to the other. 

I was bloodied, but not beaten yet, as I prepared to unleash the full strength of the crazed rat. The Warlock popped up on his Balewind, and did three mortal wounds to the Gaunt Summoner with Warpstorm. Only two to go; an Arcane Bolt should do the trick! Nope... despite the bonus to cast, I failed to get the spell off. To make matters worse, the Furnace took a mortal wound from a failed prayer and both catapults missed the Brimstones (on a 2+, mind you!). Things were not going according to plan...

 Having found myself in quite the pickle, I began to do what I do best; scrap. Pushing as hard as I could on every possible advantage to try and scrape together some momentum, I tried to make the most of a bad turn and set myself up for a possible double turn. The left hand unit of monks, having survived better than their comrades, got buffed up and launched into the Daemonettes, blitzing the ten models off the table in a heartbeat and taking the objective. The other monks fell short of the charge against the Brimstones, and would have had to kill a large number of them to cap the objective.

Lady Luck was not on my side, and I had to endure another barrage of magic from the Summoner and shooting from the horrors, further crippling my main combat units. With only a dozen models left in the unit, I shredded my way through more than a handful of Brimstone Horrors, and foolishly hit the Blue Horrors as well, opening up the opportunity for my opponent to replenish the Brimstones (back onto the objective), before healing D6 Blues in his following Hero Phase.

The other flank fared slightly better. With superior numbers, and more prayers on them, they managed to carve their way through a unit of Pinks and a unit of Blues, while also putting some hurt on the Brimstones, who healed from the Blues dying. The Priest and Censer Bearers moved up behind them to hold down the objective, and contest against any more sneaky summoning. 

Both Plagueclaws missed again. The Arch Warlock failed to cast both of his spells.

Having survived the worst I could throw at him (not the Plagueclaws... they couldn't throw anything), my opponent went to work, mopping up the rest of my army. The Horrors on the right made short work in shooting down the last few monks, while my larger left flank unit drew the unsavoury attention of the Gaunt Summoner, who unleashed both Treason and Infernal Flames and just wiped them off the board. My Corruptor also got removed from the table, after the Changeling popped up on a second Balewind, nicked the Lord of Change's spell and unleashed Tzeentch's Inferno upon him. When combined with several other spells, the sheer volume of mortal wounds was too much for even Verminous Valour to save him, and he fell. 

In a turn full of moments that felt a bit "too little too late", the Arch Warlock FINALLY took the last two wounds off the Summoner and killed him, and one of the catapults found it within themselves to actually hit something and do two wounds that were promptly replenished. My Furnace, knowing that he was on half wounds and was incredibly close to death, ploughed headlong into the Pink Horrors, but failed to do enough to have an impact. Retribution was swift, as the Lord of Change forged a path of destruction, smiting down the Furnace before carrying on and clearing the objective of the Priest and Plague Censer Bearers. With only two Plagueclaws, twenty monks, one objective and no way to claim a lead, the game ended in a major loss.

I'm not going to sugar coat it. This game was rough. In three shooting phases, one catapult hit once, and my Arch Warlock simply barely managed to dish out five wounds in three turns. This resulted in the Gaunt Summoner wreaking havoc unchecked, managing to kill over sixty Monks on his own. I think, even if Treason of Tzeentch was played correctly, the actual impact on the game would have been very similar; the tally would have still been horrific and Battleshock would have cleaned those units off the board regardless. I made a couple of mistakes attacking Blues when Rabid Fever kicked in, which fed the severely damaged Brimstones, but it was a bit of a catch twenty two, where I didn't really have anything else to attack. Multitudinous Host is very strong! Between the splitting mechanic and the replenishing that happens in the Hero Phase (and sometimes the Battleshock phase for Pinks), they're deceptively difficult to get through. 

It was a tough match up, but I was determined to give my opponent a fight, and as much as you can blame bad dice or bad match ups, I refused to accept defeat until the last hope of victory passed into darkness.

With a Major Win and a Major Loss, I found myself in the middle tables, facing down a unique Slaves to Darkness army! Keep an eye out for Game Three, results and overview of the event.

Thanks for reading,

Gabe

#122: Festering of February Game 1 - Skaven Pestilens Vs. Seraphon

The draw for the first round of the tournament was completely random and was announced the day before the event. I had never met my opponent, but saw Seraphon, and knew I was going to be up against it. Seraphon requires some finesse to play efficiently, but when put in the hands of an experienced player, they are truly something to be feared.

To read my list, check blog post #121.

My opponent ended up being one of the venue's Youngblood players, and he was fielding an intimidating list. 

Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur (General)

Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur

Lord Kroak

Engine of the Gods

40 Skinks

40 Skinks

20 Saurus Warriors

10 Saurus Knights

While the Saurus units weren't a major concern, considering how unheathly it is to be in combat with Monks, the rest of the list was a concern. I was delighted to see that Kroak didn't have a Balewind Vortex, but he was still a formidable wizard. The two massive units of skinks were going to be frustrating to whittle down, as they're incredibly hard to pin down. And two Carnosaurs is never a good thing!

The scenario was Duality of Death, so I knew I needed to kill his four big pieces if I had a hope of winning.

My deployment was pretty conventional for the most part. The bulk of my Congregation deployed on the left, with a unit of forty lining up the left hand objective, and supported by a Priest. The Arch-Warlock delpoyed far enough toward the centre so as to be in range of both objectives once he popped up on a Vortex. Then the Furnace and the other unit of forty deployed in the centre, ready to push straight up the middle and hit whatever got in their way first. 

 My right flank consisted of the last unit of monks, the Censer Bearers, a Priest and the Corruptor. My hope was that each flank could push onto an objective, with the middle force serving as reinforcements to whoever was in most dire need. Catapults sat on the back board edge, with more than enough range to hit anything that wandered outside the opposing deployment zone.

My opponent deployed in quite a conservative manner, making sure to wrap his most valuable units in bodies for fear of some unforeseen Skaven trickery. I was very happy to see Kroak as far back on the board as he was, as this meant he wouldn't really be a huge threat until later in the game. But I've faced (and used) Seraphon and their teleporting shenanigans before, and I wasn't about to lull myself into a false sense of security.

Thanks to his Command Trait, my opponent utilised a second teleport in turn to launch both Carnosaurs onto my left flank, leaving one on the objective to start racking up points, while the second slammed into my Monks! Not exactly how I envisioned turn one...

Elsewhere, Kroak and the Engine of the Gods pushed over toward the other objective, while the Seraphon infantry advanced toward the centre of the table. Luckily for me, the Carnosaur absolutely tanked his rolls and did very little damage to me. In return, I managed to put four wounds on the giant dino-rider.

I knew that if I wanted to win this game, I couldn't afford to get bogged down in my own delpoyment zone, so my first turn was pretty active. The Arch-Warlock popped up on his vortex successfully, and unleashed the arcane arsenal into the Carnosaur, chipping another three wounds off him, as well as killing a Saurus Knight as collateral damage from Warpstorm. Both my large units popped their Contagion Banners, and the central unit benefited from the Corruptor's command ability. With the Furnace successfully casting Rabid Fever on both large units, it was about to get bloody.

I made a mistake on my right side, by moving my Censer Bearers before my Corruptor, which meant that his superior movement was hampered, preventing him from reaching the objective turn one. With both objectives outside of my control, things were not looking good. Both Plagueclaws took aim at the Saurus Warriors with limited success. Guess it was down to my Monks to save the day...

And save the day, they did! While taking minimal casualties, they absolutely blended the Saurus Knights, leaving only one standing after Battleshock, while the Saurus Warriors were completely slaughtered. With four attacks each, the Contagion Banner and Rabid Fever, the monks were on a rampage!

The monks on the flank, not to be outdone by their brethren, ripped the wounded Carnosaur apart, leaving the Scar-Veteran on the objective horribly exposed and unsupported. A double turn would really swing the tide of battle, and allow me to capitalise on the momentum...

But alas, it was not to be. In fact, I failed to win a priority roll all game long! Kroak was in range of several spells now, and had begun putting the hurt on several elements of my army. My opponent made some mistakes with target priority here, as he chose Plagueclaw, the Corruptor and the Monks as his targets for Comet's Call, leaving the Priest (crucial to the scenario) completely unscathed. I also managed to use Verminous Valor to great effect on my Verminlord, passing off the high-quality damage onto the lowly (and entirely disposable in the eyes of the Corruptor) monks. Rapidly running out of units, my opponent pushed the Engine of the Gods onto the right hand objective, applying a great deal of pressure to my army to get points on the board. The Engine also pulled out some Seraphon sorcery, nuking my Furnace with a whopping 6 mortal wounds! The two massive regiments of Skinks materialised on my back corner, with one of them making a cheeky move after the jump. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the forty blowpipes managed to trim the last three wounds off my Plagueclaw.

In my turn, I was intent on claiming the objectives and putting some kind of numbers on the board. It was 4-0 in my opponent's favour, and I simply could not let him widen the gap any further. I cast Arcane Bolt with the Corruptor and put two wounds on Kroak, while the Warlock was left to cast Warpstorm at whoever was in range, crucially managing to kill the last Saurus Knight who was locking the Monks in combat.. The verminlord also put Mystic Shield on the Plague Priest, who had triggered his Plague Tome on the Engine of the Gods before making a dash for the safety of the ruins (and the glory of the objective). The forty man unit in the centre, swept around to launch an assault upon the cursed Engine, while the Verminlord and his accompanying Censer Bearers made a line for Kroak. The twenty monks at the back made the noble (and fanatically insane) choice to screen my army from the eighty Skinks. Retribution was brutal upon the Blowpipe Skinks, my surviving catapult unleashed a shower of corrosive spew that killed twelve and forced another seven to flee! Excellent. 

When combat rolled around, the odds were stacked against the Engine, and it simply couldn't withstand the onslaught of rats. It fell, and the objective was mine! The Verminlord cursed as Kroak managed to wound the Corruptor (and as a flow-on effect, kill two Censer Bearers... seriously, Verminous Valor is amazing!), suffer seven wounds, then refuse to crumble, heal and teleport away!

On the other side of the board, the second Carnosaur was overrun and slain by the bloodthirsty rats of the other massive regiment. The Furnace had manged to sneak close enough to the objective to claim it the moment the Scar-Veteran drew his last breath. 

Cowering behind his swarms of Skinks, Kroak tried his hardest to kill the Priest, but spells either failed or were out of range. He did manage to cast mystic shield upon himself, but that was little solace for the wasted damage potential. The Skinks had even less luck, failing to wound anything with their shooting. Things were beginning to look bleak for the Seraphon. 

In the dying moments of the game, My Arch-Warlock and remaining Plagueclaw unleashed an avalanche of damage upon Kroak, inflicting another seven wounds in hopes of claiming the huge chunk of victory points that would result in his death. Against all odds, he survived AGAIN, and healed back all of his wounds. My dastardly schemes were foiled. With the clock out of time, our last turn was very much just rolling out the crucial parts of the game, but in the end, I managed to win 12-4, securing a major victory, and losing less than four hundred victory points. 

I had complete control of the left hand side of the board, and managed to keep my Furnace alive (just) on only two wounds after all of the magic and Engine mayhem caused earlier in the game. 

I think my opponent had the tools to beat me. We talked briefly after the game about his list, and I think the verdict was that he was going to drop the Knights, and use the points to flesh out the Saurus and invest in a Balewind. It just makes Kroak so much scarier. As it was, I only ever really needed to worry about being in range of one or two spells, and it allowed me to ignore his damage output for the most part, which is not something you want said about a 450 point model. 

My opponent lost sight of the objective a few times, not in regards to his army, but in regards to mine. Other than the Verminlord, my heroes do not hold up well to damage, and several times, he targeted units of monks with spells and abilities that dish out mortal wounds. If he'd blasted my characters off and clawed a big enough lead, there would have been nothing for me to do but watch. But these things come with experience, and considering how long he's been playing, I think he's definitely going to be a player to watch in the future. 

This left me on a major win with a large amount of victory points, pushing me into the top bracket of players, ready to face down whatever horrific list awaited me in round two...

Thanks for reading,

Gabe