This is a view of what I was staring down! Hounds, a Daemon Prince, more Hounds, three Skull Cannons, a Bloodthirster...
...more Hounds and Skulltaker!The scenario was Gift from the Heavens, where at the start of turn two, a meteorite lands somewhere in each player's deployment zone and each turn, whoever controls the meteorite gains points! 
I went first and advanced very, very cautiously.
I didn't mind getting to grips with the enemy, but both my opponent and I were vividly aware that we really didn't know where our objectives would land, and therefore were hesitant to commit large portions of our armies to prolonged combat!
Unsurprisingly, my opponent did the same, resisting the urge to attempt the long charges that my movement had offered. 
Cannonballs started flying, and while my Great Unclean One remained relatively und amazed, the Herald responsible for keeping the Beasts under control caught one straight to the face, only just saving a single wound. Lucky! I was going to need his help in the ensuing struggle. 
Meteorites started raining! My enemy's objective lagged behind his Daemon Prince, leaving my Beasts with one job and one job alone; kill everything in their way to claim that objective! Things, however, did not start well; the Herald and left unit of Beasts failed 6" and 5" charges respectively, leaving the right unit to slog it out on their own! Far from ideal, but if there's one element of the army that I can trust to deliver, it's the Beasts. They've proven this again and again. 
My meteorite (as represented by a Nurgling base at bottom of picture) landed right at Epidemus' feet! Perfect! He is almost always on a position of being protected as it is, so there was double the incentive to keep him safe! Plaguebearers made a string across the front of terrain in order to screen my objective, while the Drones and Soul Grinder advanced quite aggressively, opting for a offensive defence; take the fight to my enemy and keep them far away from where they needed to be! Shooting did very little, but I managed to put down two Hounds. Every little bit helps!
With some frankly ridiculous charge rolls, my central battle line hit the unit of Hounds with considerable force, pinning the middle battle in place. I was confident I had the numbers to overwhelm him, but last game taught me numbers don't always save you...
Both charges were successful on the right flank, as both units slammed into the hounds. These were currently the biggest threat to Epidemus, so the sooner I could be rid of them, the better!
The Beasts, being out of range of their Herald, didn't have the impact I was hoping for, but they made up for it by taking zero damage from the furious dogs!
The right flank put work in and killed a few more dogs, while in the middle...
The GUO and company made quick work of several hounds, while losing only a few in return. 
Straight out of the gate, the counter charge was feirce! Karanak, two Skull Cannons and the towering Bloodthirster all joined the fray with bloody (pun wholeheartedly intended) results! 
The ensuing carnage saw more than twenty Plaguebearers fall and the Great Unclean One suffer several horrific wounds! I managed to keep my eye twitch under control as I started having flashbacks to Game Two. It was happening again! On the bright side, before getting punched in the throat by the Thirster, GUO managed to turn Karanak to paste with his massive flail! Moral victory!
With the Beasts getting serious about killing things, the Prince sprung into action, leaping over the swirling melee to severe the head of my Herald lurking in the shadow of the Realmgate. As the game moved forward, I realised that victory lay not in claiming the enemy objective, but simply denying my opponent the points for a turn, launching me into the lead! With a fresh unit of beasts, I knew that I had a Cannon and a Prince to get through but I was confident!
And I wasted no time in getting stuck in!
On the right side of the board, a single hound opposed me! With my Soul Grinder on a measly three wounds, he was nearly crippled to the point of redundancy, but he had managed to mash Skulltaker into the ground before he could unleash his fearsome blade!
So you know how in Game Two, my Great Unclean One had suffered a horrible and lightning fast death? Not so in this game, despite spending the first half of the game catching cannonballs. His accompanying Plaguebearers had fallen. His foe had amassed lethal combat units to go in for the kill! But he would...
I went first and advanced very, very cautiously.I didn't mind getting to grips with the enemy, but both my opponent and I were vividly aware that we really didn't know where our objectives would land, and therefore were hesitant to commit large portions of our armies to prolonged combat!Unsurprisingly, my opponent did the same, resisting the urge to attempt the long charges that my movement had offered. Cannonballs started flying, and while my Great Unclean One remained relatively und amazed, the Herald responsible for keeping the Beasts under control caught one straight to the face, only just saving a single wound. Lucky! I was going to need his help in the ensuing struggle. Meteorites started raining! My enemy's objective lagged behind his Daemon Prince, leaving my Beasts with one job and one job alone; kill everything in their way to claim that objective! Things, however, did not start well; the Herald and left unit of Beasts failed 6" and 5" charges respectively, leaving the right unit to slog it out on their own! Far from ideal, but if there's one element of the army that I can trust to deliver, it's the Beasts. They've proven this again and again. With some frankly ridiculous charge rolls, my central battle line hit the unit of Hounds with considerable force, pinning the middle battle in place. I was confident I had the numbers to overwhelm him, but last game taught me numbers don't always save you...Both charges were successful on the right flank, as both units slammed into the hounds. These were currently the biggest threat to Epidemus, so the sooner I could be rid of them, the better!The Beasts, being out of range of their Herald, didn't have the impact I was hoping for, but they made up for it by taking zero damage from the furious dogs!The right flank put work in and killed a few more dogs, while in the middle...The GUO and company made quick work of several hounds, while losing only a few in return. Straight out of the gate, the counter charge was feirce! Karanak, two Skull Cannons and the towering Bloodthirster all joined the fray with bloody (pun wholeheartedly intended) results! The ensuing carnage saw more than twenty Plaguebearers fall and the Great Unclean One suffer several horrific wounds! I managed to keep my eye twitch under control as I started having flashbacks to Game Two. It was happening again! On the bright side, before getting punched in the throat by the Thirster, GUO managed to turn Karanak to paste with his massive flail! Moral victory!With the Beasts getting serious about killing things, the Prince sprung into action, leaping over the swirling melee to severe the head of my Herald lurking in the shadow of the Realmgate. As the game moved forward, I realised that victory lay not in claiming the enemy objective, but simply denying my opponent the points for a turn, launching me into the lead! With a fresh unit of beasts, I knew that I had a Cannon and a Prince to get through but I was confident!And I wasted no time in getting stuck in!On the right side of the board, a single hound opposed me! With my Soul Grinder on a measly three wounds, he was nearly crippled to the point of redundancy, but he had managed to mash Skulltaker into the ground before he could unleash his fearsome blade!So you know how in Game Two, my Great Unclean One had suffered a horrible and lightning fast death? Not so in this game, despite spending the first half of the game catching cannonballs. His accompanying Plaguebearers had fallen. His foe had amassed lethal combat units to go in for the kill! But he would...not...
die.
He took three cannonballs to the face in one shooting phase, and shrugged almost all off, taking a single wound. Then in combat against the entire remaining centre force of my enemy, he took zero wounds. Zero! The hell blades, the hounds, even the Bloodthirster's gigantic axe could do nothing against him!
He was a sole light of pestilent optimism holding back the darkness of bloodshed and non-surgical skull removalists!
In the dying moments of the game, my Beasts got the job done, getting stuck into the Daemon Prince and successfully denying my opponent points essential to victory!
He was a sole light of pestilent optimism holding back the darkness of bloodshed and non-surgical skull removalists!In the dying moments of the game, my Beasts got the job done, getting stuck into the Daemon Prince and successfully denying my opponent points essential to victory!And with that, the game ended.
What a hilarious match! The too's and fro's of battle, Lady Luck tipping the scales one way and then the other, and non stop banter between myself, my opponent and everyone watching the game. Voting Best Sportsman to my opponent from game three was an easy choice, and he ended up winning Sports overall!
All in all, it was a very evenly matched game. I don't think either of us made major blunders. I think if my opponent had sent his Thirster behind my Drones and Soul Grinder, he would have butchered the units guarding the meteorites, and changed the outcome dramatically! While the GUO was certainly an object of pressing attention, his location and role on the battlefield had not a great deal of effect upon the outcome or objectives!
As always, thanks for reading!
Gabe
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