#82: Age of Sigmar Battle Report - "Pest Control" Khorne Bloodbound VS. Spiderfang Grots

Well, it was tournament time! And my first match up was against a beautifully painted Spiderfang Grots army! From left to right, he had fifteen Spider Riders, his Big Boss riding Giant Spider, ten Spider Riders, an Arachnarok Spider with a Shaman on board and another unit of fifteen Spider Riders. 

I had faced Spiderfangs before, and I knew the key to defeating them was to kill the Heroes ASAP to bypass the ridiculous mortal wound output! On the right hand side of the ruins, I deployed in the "Axe Turtle"; Wrathmongers flanked by Blood Warriors, and supported by the Deathbringer and Skullgrinder. The crowd of Bloodreavers took up residence in front of the two Bloodsecrators who were on objective-guarding duty (to my embarrassment, I had to resort to using a 40mm base after leaving my only objective markers at home). Being painfully aware of the huge unit of arachnids on my left flank, my Skullreapers would have to operate independently today to stop my objective being claimed! 

By moving around in its formation, the "Axe Turtle" forms a formidable fortress of death and carnage. When both Bloodsecrators plant their standards and the Deathbringer pops his Command Ability, the Blood Warriors (thanks to the rage enduring aura from the Wrathmongers) are up to six attacks each. The sheer volume of attacks dished out by the mass of red-armoured berserkers is horrific, even if they die. 

I'm not sure how much experience my opponent had fighting Bloodbound, but I had every intention of putting up a tough fight.

Having far more deployment drops than my opponent, he chose to hand me first turn, in an attempt to get a double turn and to draw me into charge range. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing for me, as it allowed me to drop both of my Bloodsecrator Totems, pop the Deathbringer's +1 attack bubble, and bubble wrap my objective with Blood Reavers to avoid the turn three major loss offered by the Take and Hold Scenario. The right-hand unit of Blood Warriors made sure to get the whole unit into the woods, making a charge against them rather undesirable for the spiders. 

The Destruction Move made for a big push, and I was bracing for some serious damage. The Arachnarok cast Mystic Shield on the right hand Spiders, while the command ability from the Big Boss went on the left hand unit. This proved to not work very well, as you're about to see.

Thanks to Cunning Deceiver, I suffered minimal damage from the pesky Gobbo bows, but I did lose a Skullreaper; acceptable losses in my mind.

 In a stroke of sheer luck, only one unit made a successful charge, and it was the smallest unit of Spiders, which had no buffs on it, into the front of my Axe Turtle, successfully dragging both units of Blood Warriors, the Wrathmongers, Skullreaper and Deathbringer into combat with predictable results. Two Wrathmongers got killed after ingesting far too much spider venom, but the retribution was swift and bloody. 

Once again, I allowed the inner Khornate Champion to make decisions for me, and I over-reached. Filled with confidence in the ability of my army, I launched an all out assault, breaking formation and slamming into the Spiders. The Skullreapers failed a 5" charge, which should have been enough of a precursor of what was to come, but caution was with the wind at this point. The Wrathmongers made it into the Arachnarok, which was fantastic, but I made the blunder of splitting my Blood Warriors, sending one unit into the Big Boss to try and stem the tide of mortal wounds, while the other unit on the right made the regrettable decision to charge the buffed, full strength Spiders in their face.

This ended with disaster, as the Blood Warriors were obliterated in a wave of venom, and caused a grand total of two wounds on the way down. It was only when they were destroyed that I realised how exposed my two heroes had become. After a fantastic start, this was going downhill fast!

 The Warriors on the left faired significantly better, putting six wounds on the Big Boss, and only losing one of their own, while the Wrathmongers did what they did. They manages to sink a few hits into the towering spider before it crushed them under its bulk, and while it did make a full round of attacks against itself, only a handful of wounds were caused. The Arachnarok was damaged but still a considerable threat!

 With my right flank in total disarray, all I could do was hope that by some sheer chance, my Heroes would survive...

 And Khorne was defiant to the last! While the Arachnarok made the wise choice to activate first and kill the truly terrifying damage-dealer that is a buffed Skullgrinder, the Aspiring Deathbringer bluntly refused to die, staggering to his feet with a single wound remaining after an onslaught of attacks!

On my left flank, the melee was short and bloody! Another Skullreaper went down to the poison-tipped arrows of the Forest Goblins. The Big Boss was hacked into bloody pulp at the hands of the Blood Warriors, but in return, the spiders unleashed vengeance upon them. Killing all but the champion proved their undoing, however, as the doomed Warriors swung their axes one last time, forcing a horrific battleshock check, and leaving a single Spider alive.

The closing moments of the game were concise and violent. The Skullreapers finally reached combat, charging through the Arachnarok, eviscerating it with their Daemonblades, before overrunning into the remaining spiders who had finally taken the last wound off my General.

My unit champion made a dash for the enemy objective, if only to deny their ability to claim it, but was cut down by a rather furious Spider Rider. Even with his Blood Glaive and No Respite, I failed to kill him in return.

And it was then that the battle reached its close.

I ended up winning this game on Victory Points, but it was certainly a lesson in the capability of my army. The Axe Turtle formation proved hugely effective, and I would definitely make use of it again. My opponent openly admitted that he had made mistakes in turn one as to which unit he buffed, but there were charges that failed to the surprise of both of us, so I certainly don't think he had made any significant blunder.

I don't know if he had much experience playing against Bloodbound either, because he was genuinely shocked when my Blood Warriors piled in with six attacks per model! Khorne can dish out some hurt. I definitely made mistakes when I broke formation. The Wrathmongers into the Arachnarok made sense and was the right thing to do, but I essentially threw away my Blood Warriors on the right, and in doing so, exposed both of my heroes. I would have been much better to hold back and shield them.

Skullreapers and Bloodsecrators were definitely the men of the match for me! After a slow start, the Skullreapers just dissected everything they touched! And Bloodsecrators were immensely powerful; having my entire army immune to Battleshock and having +2 attacks to every weapon is such a force multiplier that I'd be hard pressed to ever leave home without two in the future (although time, and a new Battletome, will tell…). And while I made some mistakes with the Blood Warriors, they continually prove to be some of the most reliable and value-for-points Battleline units in the Chaos arsenal, which is considerable!

I think I made the right move wrapping the Bloodsecrators on my objective, denying my opponent the chance for the turn three win. And this would not be the first game that Reavers won for me!

This was a fantastic game against a fantastic opponent. He had an absolutely beautiful Spider army (the photos really don't do it justice…), and he was a great sportsman! The game was tense and exciting, and i would gladly play him again.

As always, thanks for reading,
Gabe

#81: A Week in the News...

Wow.

What a week it has been in Wargamingland; news coming out of Adepticon about what to expect from 8th Edition 40K, our first look at Shadowspire, and of course, the sneaky little image of a certain Blades of Khorne Battletome. This whole week has been a bit of a glance into the near future, so let's break this bad boy down!

Firstly, we have the release of what to expect from 40k moving forward into a new edition. From what I've gathered so far from sources ranging from sketchy to GW themselves, Battleshock (as seen in AoS) will replace leadership as a mechanic, the game will follow the Three-Ways-To-Play trend, and each unit will gain its own movement value rather than having a set movement depending on unit type. I think this is great. I love that it will have multiple forms of gameplay, though I suspect that Matched Play will naturally become the most popular amongst 40k gamers. I love that they are willing to shake up core mechanics like movement and leadership. This, to me, shows a willingness to be creative and adventurous moving forward. They seem to be utilising lessons learned from Age of Sigmar, and gleaning guidance from it as to what was successful about that overhaul as well as what was not. We will not experience a 9-month wait for points as we did with AoS. I believe that while the structure of the game seems to be shifting, that it will be completely supported right from the start.

The 40k Generals Handbook (for lack of an actual name) will be a game changer (literally... Eh? EH?), and I think it will be for the best. As it stands, the game suffers from expanding upward in scope for several editions now, while remaining based on the same ruleset from years gone past; each edition has added significantly more mechanics and rules that make 40k an in depth and immersive game, but occasionally struggles to walk under its own weight. Codexes, supplements and expansions have made the barrier of entry surprisingly high, especially in comparison to AoS (where the core rules for the game and each army are essentially free). And I think that this is where we will see significant change! with movement and leadership being restructured, I think we will see publication (most likely GHB40K) that will address this change for every unit, or at least blanket changes for particular armies, so this will be an interesting opportunity to adjust whatever it is that GW choose to. I don't think they will do away with codexes for the reason that they have poured a significant amount of resources into books. It would seem crazy to just make them redundant in favour of a new game...

But perhaps that's exactly what the game needs. A ground-up overhaul.

And reading back over that, I'm reminded that they have done exactly that before. Hands up who remembers the End Times of Fantasy? There's a series of very large books that were essentially made redundant overnight. Don't get me wrong, they are some of the best lore books Games Workshop has ever written for fantasy, but their effect on the game was very, very short-lived. So, who knows. We could be looking at some changes far larger than people expect.

Now, before I begin to sound too much like a Negative Nancy, I want to say I would actually be so pleased if they did do away with codexes and move onto a digital format like the AOS app. It would reduce the cost of the game significantly, and we all know how incredibly popular the decision was to move to an App. I think that the book-keeping is a large part of what is wrong with the game at the moment. If I wanted to play Raven Guard, I would need the rule book, Space Marine codex, and Angels of Death, not to mention another book on top if I want to use the new SM flier. That's before I buy a single model.

By moving to digital, that barrier would dissolve instantly.

I am in a positive mindset about 40k. I'm excited for where the game will go. And despite all the anxiety and fear that we hold around change, I find comfort in the knowledge that despite it not being a perfect transition, they turned Warhammer Fantasy into one of the best games I have ever played,
despite it being totally different to what I originally bought into.

That's all I'm really gonna say on that. Change is needed. Change is coming. I trust GW.

Could have saved myself a couple of hundred words by opening with that...

Next comes Shadowspire, what looks like an arena death match game, and can I say I am KEEN! My hope is that it supports all current post-AoS armies on a scale of a handful of warriors, and continues to be supported with each release. I think this will be great, and while there was some disappointment from those expecting Mordheim 2.0, I can get behind a small-scale tactical game like this! If not, it's not really a loss. Those new sculpts are amazing!!

And lastly, but certainly not least, I want to address Blades of Khorne. As a Khorne player myself, I am overjoyed! I really, truly am. But there was signifcant unrest in some parts of the online community that Khorne (along with Stormcast) were getting undue love from GW while other factions were being neglected. To this, I say that is simply not the case. Stormcast and Khorne are by far the largest ranges in AoS (not counting ranges from years gone by), and it makes business sense to support your poster boys. Just look at Space Marines. These two armies are in the starter box. GW will not allow the two most accessible armies to become obsolete or outdated; they're smarter than that. Not to mention, the existing Bloodbound book is missing half the characters in the range due to its early release.

I think the most important thing to remember is that this is a page 8 release. There are no new models (oh, for plastic Flesh Hounds), and this book is not interfering with any other release schedules; no more than some race-specific dice or a game aid would. This is a repackaging and revamping of Bloodbound and Daemons of Khorne. We may see some points adjustments, but aside from the artefacts and command traits, I'm not expecting anything too crazy.

I acknowledge that I'm very fortunate to be getting an update, and I'm not taking that for granted.

For players of armies yet to get a Battletome, your time will come. It might not be soon, and it might not look how you thought it would. But it will come. I don't think many dwarf players were expecting  Sky Pirates, yet here we are, weeks away, and for the most part, Dwarf Players are over the moon.

And recruiting plenty more into the ranks of the Duardin...

I think Sigmar players have a lot to look forward to.

Well, there's my two cents. I hope my opinion hasn't been too polarising. I think there's lots to be positive about Wargaming, regardless of whether you play Sigmar or 40k.

Thanks for reading,
Gabe

#80: Yo ho, yo ho, a Pirate's Life for me...

Ok, so this was not the post I originally had scheduled for this fine Sunday evening. But considering the recent photo-drop by the team at Warhammer Community, I couldn't bring myself to publish any of my other articles! 

Because DWARF STEAMPUNK REALMFARING PIRATE FLEETS!!!

I'm gonna open this by saying that I have not been this excited about a release since the Age of Sigmar Starter Box was dropped on us! Here we all were, minding our own business, when BAM! An album of photos appeared on the interwebs, and the online Sigmar community lost their minds!

Now, I'm going to touch on the community reaction a little before I talk about the actual release, because it surprised me. Typically, there were two very different responses.

#1: Complete, unmitigated joy accompanied by excessive drooling, maybe a few happy tears, and applying for pre-approved personal loans and selling of kidneys in anticipation of what will inevitably be an incredible release. 

#2: Contempt and disgust that Age of Sigmar would pollute itself with 40k-style artwork, weaponry and design. 

I was actually very surprised with the second reaction. People who had been crying out for Duardin to get some love, support for the rumoured "Steamheads", and general thirst for new models, seemed overnight to change their whole perspective to one of negativity and disappointment. 

While I understand that this is not an army that I am emotionally invested in (as Dwarf players love nothing more than Dwarf stuff!), I see this as an incredible release. This isn't the Old World anymore; it's not a Tolkien-like medieval fantasy setting with castles and sieges and crossbows. 

This is a high-fantasy setting that spans celestial planes and includes some of the more extreme fantasy elements such as realmgates and teleporting lightning warriors (to name a few). 

Not only that, but the elements introduced, while extreme in some cases, are not new. Black-powder, steam-powered war machines, telescopes, airships and rockets have been around in the lore for quite some time, be it Dwarfs, Empire, etc. Gyrobombers and Gyrocopters got a new model in very much the same style, and they are beloved models by the Dwarf community. Grimm Burlokkson has a robotic arm and a pump-action shotgun, as well as a range finder built into his helmet. 

I know some Duardin players don't like the new range, and that's ok. Not every release will appeal to everyone. If this is you, however, I would beseech you to be patient, read the Battletome, and keep your mind open to it. Who knows, it could change your mind and inspire you to dive in and start your own fleet to pillage and plunder across the realms! I get that Kharadon Overlords may not have been what you wanted, but that doesn't mean it's not something you can enjoy! 

But I digress.

I think this release looks amazing! From what we have seen so far, there are plenty of characters, each with their own unique look, wargear, and (I assume) battlefield role. There are several units being released, ranging from pirate foot soldiers to heavy weapons experts and paratroopers drifting above the battlefield from great balloons. And then, the highlight models for me; the range of airships!!

On the table, I'm hoping that they are a relatively elite army, with their strength lying in durability and short-range firepower. I don't think this army will facilitate the "gun line" style of play. While Freeguild and Dispossessed have that playstyle down to a science, I think that the Overlords will actually have a lot of moving parts. Hopefully the learning curve is not too steep, and that they will be forgiving to new players, as this release has actually caught the attention of a lot of 40k players in my local area. 

I'm interested to see what role the airships play in the army. Obviously, there are variants of the airship that will be dedicated to blowing stuff up with their batteries of cannons, but I would love to see airships with buffing and auras as their main focus, as well as a transport capacity or mechanic. I think this is something we have not seen yet, but with summoning, tunnelling, teleporting and all manner of other movement tricks available to other forces, it seems only fair to give Overlords some way to traverse to table with a shred of haste and in relative safety... 

Maybe. I can't imagine being on board an airship as it plummets to earth is going to be the most comfortable way to get from point A to point B. 

All in all, I consider this to be a very, very solid release. The sheer variety in units and kits is exceptional, and they are so incredibly detailed! There are plenty of characters to choose from! The physical size of the models varies from foot soldiers all the way up to soaring centre piece models. It gives Order another presumably amazing faction to draw strength from. 

It's also a significantly more comprehensive release than Fyreslayers. Duardin, rejoice! 

So, the real question is "can I resist starting a new army of Duardin Pirates?".

The answer: Why would I want to resist!?

I'll be honest, I'm loving these guys, and I will be collecting a small army. These guys are enough to draw me to Order (no easy feat), but I'll probably start out with purchasing the Battletome and doing some research before I get too carried away. I planned out Pestilens in this way, and it gives me so much more direction painting up a specific list rather than buying and painting anything from the collection and cobbling together a list afterward. 

Speaking of Pestilens, before I do get too carried away with Duardin, I have about 90 monks to paint before Overlords...

Are you jumping on board the hype-airship?

Thanks for reading, 

Gabe  

#79: The Crimson Crusaders are complete!!

It's not often that I finish an army (and let's be honest, no army is ever complete, is it...), but I think I've closed the door on the army building aspect of my Khorne Bloodbound! That door isn't locked by any means, but I'm satisfied with where the army is! 

And here it is... With multiples of most units, all but one character sculpt (not counting named ones like Valkia, Skyla and so on), and at least one of every Bloodbound unit available in painted form, I'm comfortable fielding these red-clad rage monsters in any event that comes my way. I'm not saying I'll do well, but... At least I can put down a table-top ready army!

Characters are the lifeblood of an army for me. They will be the deciding factor in what I collect and how big an army will go. The Mighty Lord of Khorne is the current high commander of my army, with eight (suitable number, yes?) of his greatest champions at his side! While I have doubles of the Bloodsecrator, as any self respecting Khorne player should, the only model I am missing from the character range is the Deathbringer with Spear; one of the coolest Chaos models ever put to plastic! I will also eventually add a Khorne Lord on Juggernaut when time allows!

Two of my favourite units in the army would be Skullreapers and the Warshrine! Both are fantastic models and very imposing on the table. Both also fit the theme of the army incredibly well! I imagine Skullreapers acting as the absolute elite bodyguard of their Lord, forming the spearhead of any assault; because after all, the Lord and his retinue don't become the favoured of Khorne by letting others harvest skulls and spill blood for them. They get their hands dirty!

I'm extremely happy with how this force has turned out in finished form. It's by no means going to win Best Painted, as I've used quite basic techniques, but it's uniform and looks like a cohesive force. The simple basing, the red armour and the flashes of bleach-white bone informs at a glance that the army is a single entity!

So, now that I'm "finished" (despite having five Khorgoraths and about sixty Reavers in a box somewhere), what's next? Well, Pestilens will be my next Sigmar army, but I've only just started on the first twenty monks and I'm already prepared to slam my head in a door. I've set the bar extraordinarily high for myself. 

Do a test model, I said. Use plenty of advanced techniques and colour schemes, I said. 

BIG mistake. In my 1000 point entry level list, I have 60 monks... In the lowest points bracket...

What have I done. 

The other project I'm going to be working on is my Grey Knights! I'm painfully aware of my own lack of attention given to 40k, and with the release of Gathering Storm Pt. 3, including a brand spanking new GL character and perhaps some juicy rules in the book, I think it's time to dive back in. 

I'll be pretty transparent with you; this will be primarily a painting project and perhaps a few casual games until 8th Edition 40k (or the equivalent) arrives on the scene. While I've only been out of 40k for a very short time (Age of Sigmar got me in its grip pretty convincingly!), so much has happened and so many books and units have arrived, that it's a little daunting diving back in. 

But I love my Grey Knights, and I do love 40k! So, I'll absolutely be jumping back in. For those of you craving some 40k content, it is well and truly incoming! 

In the meantime, Bloodbound will be attending a few tournaments, the first of which is a 1250 point tournament at Games Workshop Chermside. It's a bit of a left-field tournament, as the main prize is Players Choice. As game results aren't the primary goal, and the event itself is not ranked, I decided away from some janky sorcerous combos (very un-Khorne-like), and stuck to straight Khorne. I'm treating this event as an opportunity to try out some new units and practice with my army. So, without further ado, let's take a look at what I'm taking! 

Heroes were first on the menu, and while I have always leant heavily upon the Mighty Lord, I was taking some heavy cues from a gaming role model of mine, Russ from the FaceHammer Podcast (current #1 player in the U.K. and a supremely skilled Bloodbound warlord). You'll notice that my list uses one of his very efficient lists as its framework, and while I like coming up with my own combos, I think that this event is the perfect place to field a list that has combos and synergies that I can try out with no ramifications if I make mistakes or miss certain things. 

I'm not going into this event to win it. I'm going in for experience and the opportunity to crush out four games in a day. 

The mantle of General was taken up by an Aspiring Deathbringer, for his great command ability and his price tag (only 80 points!). He was supported by two Bloodsecrators (because Khorne!) and a Skullgrinder! The Skullgrinder and Deathbringer are both new to my collection, and I'm very interested to see how they fair! The Skullgrinder (with a Chaos Runeblade and just a ton of extra attacks from buffs and auras) will hopefully be able to mash everything he touches to a bloody pulp with his flaming anvil, and will (with some luck and Favour of Khorne) empower those around him to new feats of slaughter! 

Battleline was next. My go to these days are ten-man units of Blood Warriors! These maniacs are off the chain, and so difficult to deal with in combat thanks to their No Respite pile in! It gives me a ton of wounds with great armour and several mechanics that make them a nightmare to kill. I also included twenty Bloodreavers for screening, objective camping or clogging up choke points with bodies!

This left me with only a couple of hundred points to play with, but it was the perfect amount to slot in five Wrathmongers (a must have in every Bloodbound list), and five Skullreapers, giving me some lethal threats!

Now, as you can probably already guess, this army does one thing and it does it bloody well (no pun intended).

Let's break it down! I've spread out the units in the photo below to help differentiate all the armoured red guys, but in game, this formation will be much more compact!

This will be my standard deployment. Obviously against certain opponents, this will change but I'll touch on that in a moment. 

The centre of my frontline is a spearhead of Skullreapers, flanked on either side by Blood Warriors. Casualties on the blood warriors will typically be taken from the middle, opening a lane for the Reapers to pile in! In the V of Reapers, stands my Deathbringer with his 6" +1 Attack command ability aura, tagging all units in the formation. Inside one of the Blood Warrior units, the Skullgrinder will lurk in the second rank. With his large reach on the anvil, he can easily splat an unsuspecting hero over the heads of his comrades. The Wrathmongers act as a gap-stop, counter-charging any units that look poised to break through my lines, as well as handing out their own +1 attack aura, sitting back far enough so as not to buff enemy models on my front line. Lastly, the two Bloodsecrators sit back, adding another two +1 attack auras and making my whole force immune to Battleshock. This frees up my general's command ability, and means none of my troops are going down without a fight. 

This formation is horrifically powerful if it reaches combat (crucial word being "if"), as Wrathmongers, Blood Warriors and Skullreapers all have terrifying mechanics triggered if they are killed in close combat. There's no easy way to bring them down face to face. And if I get all my combos and auras off, then my rank and file Blood Warriors will be up to six attacks each!!  

The Bloodreavers will either be screens for my front line, to avoid any nasty charges on my important units, or they will bubble wrap my Bloodsecrators, acting as a shield against flankers. 

Now, I know for a fact that Skarbrand and Archaon will be in this tournament, in which case, the Wrathmongers will play a much more significant role in leading the offensive. 

My perfect match up would be another combat army, because there are few that can out-perform Bloodbound when it comes to slaughtering wholesale. I think that the worst match ups for me are armies wth a serious shooting phase. Stormcast with their new snipers, Freeguild gun lines, Wanderers with their Arcane Bodkins; all will pose a serious challenge, as I will have to either race across the board as quickly as possible to put an axe into them, or play the scenario with complete and utter dedication and hope I survive long enough to secure victory! In those matchups, I think it is Compulsary for me to take Cunning Deceiver as my Command Trait to try and mitigate damage on turn one, allowing me to close the gap at pace and without suffering crippling casualties. 

Either way, I can't wait to roll dice and reap skulls! What do you think of the list? This will be my first tournament in a while, and I'm chomping at the bit to get some games in! 

Thanks for reading!

Gabe

#78: Catch My Disease...

Tonight's post is going to be a little bit of a check-in, so to speak, on the resolutions that I laid down to myself leading into the new year. There were to focus on two armies (Grand Alliance Death and Chaos Space Marines) for the first six months of the year. And, well...

The Word Bearers got some much needed attention, with most of my time spent going back over my old paint job and improving it. I got a little over 1000 points table ready, and then got distracted. But are we really surprised at this point? I find that if I set myself long term goals, I seem to find every obstacle or distraction and plough headlong into it at terminal velocity. While this tends to be frustrating for myself at times, it has not been in vain. 

I am mere models away from completely finishing my Bloodbound army! This is largely to blame for losing motivation with my Word Bearers, as there is only room for one red plate-armoured force on my painting desk at any one time. And on this occasion, the Crimson Crusade won out! 

When I finish the last few models of my army, I'll be doing a full showcase of the army in all its furious splendour, but I'm sure I'll add to it here and there in the future as different strategies and combos present themselves!

As for Death; I love the Death range, but I was on a roll with Khorne, and I didn't want to break my painting groove on an army that is actually getting large enough to take to big tournaments and still have options. I was keen to get Khorne done to a certain points level, so that I could focus on my next project without the urgency of needing a finished army by a certain event or deadline. 

And while the logical choice would be to leap back into Death, and give it a red hot go, my attention span doesn't operate on logic... Not one bit. 

While GA Death is a force to be reckoned with, many of the subfactions simply aren't filled out enough to be the foundation of a whole army, with some exceptions of course (FEC, Soulblight, and Nighthaunt being the only subs with enough options to be legal and effective).

I decided to have a quick meander through the App, looking for a fun, themed army that wouldn't break the bank. I would have loved to do Fyreslayers, but this was before the points adjustment, and they were a little outside the price range I was aiming to spend on the army as a whole. Someday, my red-bearded, half dressed (on a good day... Yikes) friends...

Digging through Battletomes, I came across one that was not even on my radar! 

Clan Pestilens.

These rabid, deranged evangelical rats had their own book!? That release had completely slipped past me! With very little hesitation, I dived in. I already own a significant Skaven army from 8th Edition  so I dug through the collection, scavenging (Skavenging?) any Pestilens models I could find. This ended up being a Verminlord Corruptor, a Plague Priest and a regiment of Plague Monks. It was a start...

Next time I had the chance, I picked up the Pestilens Start Collecting Box to really kick this operation off! My collection is quickly growing and I can't wait to put it on the table! The one thing I wanted with this project, however, was a start and finish line. I wanted the army to be 2000 points and not a body more. Something I can plug and play at an event, or keep in a case for social games and battle reports. So I went to work on a list. 

First thing was first. I absolutely had to have a Corruptor. I already had the model, and he makes a great centrepiece for the army! While he is not the beast in combat that his Verminlord brothers are, he makes up for it by being a very solid support character, with buffs and spells galore and the combat potential to mop up after the main hordes of robed maniacs. 

Next was a Congregation of Filth, giving me a Plague Furnace (a second, amazing centrepiece) and three big units of Plague Monks with which to flood my enemies with infectious zealotry. 

Plagueclaw Catapults look amazing on paper, and after using an army with no shooting at all, I couldn't resist picking up three of them and a Plague Priest to fill the requirements needed for the Foulrain Congregation. This gives me the ability to nuke large units in my enemy's force to establish myself with the numerical advantage. 

With the few points left, I invested in ten Plague Censor Bearers, to tackle heavily armoured does, and a second Plague Priest to give me ad other hero and a few more prayers. 

After finalising the list and sneaking in under 2000 points, I was pleasantly surprised to realise that I had at least one of every Pestilens unit available! Fantastic! 

So, with the army list done, and half of the models in my possession already, the real question was... Would this army actually work? 

It's biggest shortcoming (which is painfully obvious) is the almost complete lack of saves on my infantry. I know that I'll be losing bodies in droves, but there are certain mechanics that punish my enemies for killing en masse, such as piling in as they die, and causing mortal wounds when struck down. 

Prayers and buffs are a huge part of making the army work. Command groups in Plague Monks, Priests and the Corruptor have tons of bonuses to hand out, and I think that managing these abilities will be one of the bigger challenges in learning how to use this army. There seem to be plenty of ways to dish out mortal wounds through different abilities, and prayers, while reliable to a degree, are crucial to use successfully at the right time. 

The Catapults are ruthless, having immense range, not needing line of sight, great rend and hitting harder the bigger its target is. I'm really looking forward to using these war machines and actually participating in the shooting phase!

The other great thing about this army is that thanks to my two battalions, I get a total of three Artefacts, as well as my army being a measly five deployment drops! I'm genuinely considering taking three Crowns of Conquest (unless player packs ban multiple artefacts), which will give added protection to the hordes that will inevitably die in droves. I'll probably also take Cunning Deceiver as my command trait, to give me a little more survivability early-game. Lord of War is my go to, but I have re-rolls and buffs enough to counteract taking a different Trait, I think. 

I know one thing... After I finish this army, I'll never want to paint a robe ever again.

Are there any experienced players that use this rather uncommon armies? If so, any tips for a new general?

Thanks for reading. 

Gabe

#77: The Gold Standard...

When a new Battletome drops upon the Age of Sigmar scene, we have come to expect great things. Gone are the days of Battletomes being books about background and lore with the Warscrolls printed in the back and that would be that. Sylvaneth, BoneSplittaz, Disciples of Tzeentch have all set the bar high, and it looked like the trend was set. 

Well, not if Stormcast had anything to do with it!

The new Stormcast Eternals Battletome is absolutely jammed with content! It took the Sylvaneth/DoT level of detail and cranked it up to eleven. Not only has it rolled together Stormcast Eternals and the Extremis Chamber into one book, but it has added a ton of new warscrolls from the Auxilary Chamber in the form of the Vanguard range that is currently in the middle of dropping. 

To top it off, there are tons of new Warscroll Battalions as well as "super-battalions" for each of the main Chambers, giving them unique play styles and differentiating them from each other in ways a little more complex than simply colour scheme and perhaps in the lore. Now, if you play Celestial Vindicators (which is totally not a side project that I'm working on... Cough), they have a set of restrictions and rewards that are decidedly skewed to play a certain way. 

And I don't see that as a bad thing at all. It gives the Stormcast (which I always viewed as a bit faceless and lacking personality) a lot of character and theme, even from force to force. There is definitely a big focus on characters in these mega formations, with Vindicators needing at least six characters, with at least two of them being Knight-Heraldors. This tax is offset by the fact that Vindicator Heraldors gain bonuses that make them far more effective on the table. 

Looking past the new Chamber formations, there are plenty of new Warscroll Battalions for both new and old models! These range from impenetrable shield walls to long-ranged death dealers (but more on them later!). 

Stormcast are also the first to receive an absolute ton of options when it comes to artefacts and the likes. They have a table for weapons, talismans AND armour as well as magical standards and tables involving mounts. Like I said, jam packed!

The new Vanguard kits are exceptional, both in design and on the table. My personal favourites are Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows. These marksmen fill the same battlefield role as Jezzails, giving Stormcast a brutally efficient way to dispatch of any pesky characters or cripple Behemoths from a comfortable 30" away. They only get stronger in their formation with the Aetherwing spotters. 

There are definitely more avenues to playing Stormcast now. Astral Compasses, Scions of the Storm and many other combos will surely become pillars of dominance upon which Stormcast players build a victorious Chamber. Gone are the days of Warrior Brotherhood and Vexilor Bomb being to go to choices.

Speaking of, it is worth addressing what has become a talking point since the release, and that is the change to the Knight Vexilor's Pennant of the Stormbringer. Long has this mechanic been used to instakill half a flank with a full strength team of Paladins, but the ruling has changed from 3" away from the enemy (all but ensuring inevitable doom) to 9" away. A charge is still possible, but it is no longer a near-guarantee. Some people online have been very upset by this. But I have to say, it's a rule that needed changing. 

In my opinion, some people lent far too heavily upon this mechanic to win them games. The loss of this isn't really that bad when you consider the plethora of movement and redeployment mechanics available to Stormcast now! One flick-through of the book makes this evidently clear! 

That's not to say Vexilors are in any way redundant. This ability still allows you to claim far-off objectives, insert powerful units to threaten weak points later in the game, or even to throw up a protective screen unit to save a hero or monster from an undesirable combat. Not to mention that he has had a sixty-point cost reduction and can carry one of your brand new magic banners into combat, all of which have significant use! 

All in all, this has been a solid release. The models are fantastic, the rules are solid, but not so strong that they are stupidly over the top (at least at first glance...), and I think it is another great addition to the game. 

There are some who are disappointed that Stormcast got another update before other factions received any, and to this I say I am neither surprised, not upset. Stormcast are the poster boys of Age of Sigmar as Space Marines are to 40k. They have the largest range, the newest models, and they are only really establishing themselves at the forefront after being the new kids on the block with a point to prove. 

I know that it may feel like some other factions are not feeling the love, but trust me when I say that every race will (in due time) receive their moment in the sun! Of that I am sure. 

What are your favourite parts of the new book? Is this release enough to draw you into a new project involving Stormcast?

Thanks for reading, 

Gabe

#76: Age of Sigmar Battle Report - 1500pts Khorne Bloodbound vs. Flesh Eater Courts vs. Beastclaw Raiders vs. Wanderers

Well, the day had come. Blood would be spilt. Skulls would be claimed. And only one army could stand victorious! 

Before we go any further, details for the scenario can be found in the Feb 2017 issue of White Dwarf. Details of the armies fielded can be found on the RAW Facebook Page. Let's get into it!

We each rolled off to pick corners, and I was first to drop. With no real idea of who would be in what corner, I chose the deployment with a Realmgate (which would prove to be a regrettable mistake, but more on that later...)

Crushers fronted one edge of my deployment, while my unit of Reavers screened my characters and heavy hitters on the other edge. I was careful to park my Wrathmongers in a line behind the Reavers to give them another attack. The Bloodstoker positioned himself behind the Crushers while both Bloodsecrators deployed close to the front corner. 

Facing my Reaver flank was a horrifying force of bloody cannibals. The Ghoul King atop his dragon would pose a serious threat, as would the massive unit of Crypt Flayers. He left two Vargulf Courtiers in summoning reserve.

In the far corner, a veritable host of Wanderers; rank after rank of artful warriors prepared to unleash long-ranged death.

On my Crusher flank, the towering Beastclaw Raiders formed up to storm across the table. 

An interesting mechanic was realised and agreed upon by all players regarding priority. We would roll off each time it was time for another player to have their turn, so you never really knew when your next turn was. The other element we agreed upon was that if you won priority at any stage, you could hand it to another player who handy activated that turn already. 

This is exactly what happened to me. Flesh Eater Courts won priority, which was great because any advance by them would bring them into charge range of me. But alas, priority was handed to me in an act of Undead treachery, leaving me with very few options. My Crushers decided aggression was the best course of action (What Would Khorne Do?). My Crushers pushed into the woods to improve their armour save, and my Reavers shuffled forward, tempting a long charge from the ghouls. In a moment of stupidity, I failed to plant my banners, but my big play was a unit of Blood Warriors rushing through the Realmgate...

...and bursting through on what I thought was an unprotected flank. This turned out to be a horrible idea. One Blood Warrior was lost on the way, presumably popping out of a Realmgate in another battlefield completely. Then, naturally being the type to charge in, I unwittingly drew a total of six Mournfang and three Yhetees into the fray with predictable results.

Yep. I had kicked the hornets nest. 

Retribution was swift and bloody. Yhetees attacked from the very same Realmgate I had just used, attacking my Heroes, which, let's be honest, didn't go well for them. What really hurt was the Stonehorn and Mournfang slamming into my Crushers and dishing out some serious hurt!

Wanderers began their advance, loosing arrows while their cavalry rushed forward to keep their enemies on the back foot. 

Flesh Eater Courts, the only force not yet activated, did the unthinkable and managed to pull a double turn, launching a relentless assault. 

Fortunately, the screen of Reavers protected my important elements, and they served their purpose, despite getting  slaughtered. 

It was my turn again, and I wasted no time in retaliating. I dropped both Totems, and my Bloodstoker whipped the Mighty Lord of Khorne into a frenzy! While my Wrathmongers and Blood Warriors charged headlong into the Flayers, the Lord raced around the back of the melee and launched himself into a duel with the Ghoul King atop his rotting mount! I did everything I could to stack bonuses on my general, and it paid off! He activated first, and while he was only able to sneak a single wound through...

...and while fully empowered by Khorne, his Axe tore a hole in reality that shredded the Ghoul King's very soul! This was a crippling blow for Flesh Eater Courts for several reasons! Not only had he lost his wizard, and a huge force on the table in the form of a Zombie Dragon, but also the ability to summon his Vargulf Courtiers and replenish units. That's not to say all of my problems were solved...

There was still the matter of Crypt Flayers that tore four Wrathmongers to shreds with next to no repercussions. I was quickly running out of bodies...

The Wanderers continued their advance, causing wounds left, right and centre. They had gone largely unnoticed in the game so far, and had the good fortune to have lost next to no bodies! They would be an absolute force to be reckoned with late game!

Backing it up with a second turn, the Wanderers set their sights squarely on the Beastclaw Raiders, who had been focusing exclusively on grinding down the doomed Crushers in the woods. 

Never shying away from a fight, Sisters of the Thorn sprinted across the board and into combat with the already wounded Thundertusk!

It was at this point of the game that myself and the FEC realised that if we had any hope of surviving until the end of the game, let alone win, we didn't have to so much "join forces" as avoid the inevitable mutually assured destruction if we continued the bloody conflict. 

As it were, I took the noble (and possibly least Khorne-like action in history) by retreating from the Flayer combat in an effort to keep my two Bloodsecrators alive! The last remaining Wrathmonger stood sentry beside my right hand Secrator, while the Blood Warriors raced to form a protective screen between my left-hand Secrator and the looming threat of Beastclaw. The Mighty Lord had other plans! 

With his adrenalin pumping and fresh off the kill of the Ghoul King, he was keen to continue his slaughter spree. While he did a significant amount of damage, the roll for the Reality Splitting Axe was cocked, saving the Ogre hero's life. In return, the monster trampled the chaos lord into the ground without a moments hesitation. 

Beastclaw made their next big move, launching his Mournfang toward the advancing Wanderers (despite one dying for charging over the Deadly hill), while his wounded Thundertusk limped into the middle tile hoping to claim it and put as much distance between it and the aelven longbows! This left the unimpeded (if a little damaged) Stonehorn to go to work on the survivors of my once glorious crusade. 

The charge was not kind, and I lost four Blood Warriors as well as the Bloodsecrator they were guarding (very poorly, it would seem). This left me with a grand total of six models on the board. In a scenario where wound counts control table tiles, things were looking dire.

Honouring our pact, the Flayers chose to spare the lives of my exposed heroes and prepared to traverse the Realmgate to slaughter the Wanderers, who were quickly occupying table quarters with overwhelming numbers. 

Efficiency was paramount for the Wanderers, who (with a little help from their bowmen) laid low the Mournfang, while the last of the Sisters of the Thorn that had been relentlessly harassing the Thundertusk were crushed beneath its cumbersome hoofs. It was at this point that I realised that the Beastclaw were almost in a worse position than me. Between his two remaining models, he had a grand total of four wounds left on the board! Perhaps his tiles were for the taking if I could bring one of the beasts down!

I knew that if I didn't want to get tabled, I would have to scrape every advantage I could. This meant retreating with my Blood Warriors (Khorne would have been displeased, as were several comical spectators of the game), and counter-charging with my Wrathmonger. The reason for this is that I left my Warriors in combat, he could attack them and kill them. By only giving him one target, he ran the risk of attacking himself in a fit of rage if he killed the flail-wielding berserker. 

I backed it up with a double turn for the last turn of the game, taking another wound off the Stonehorn, who bit the bullet and killed the Wrathmonger. Thankfully for him, I rolled like trash and failed to do a single wound with all of the monster's profiles. Two damage was all I needed... Two.

The Blood Warriors, having been whipped by the Bloodstoker, charged in and made short work of the Thundertusk, who to be fair was already on his deathbed! 

Beastclaw went next, looking to secure at least one table quarter, and chose to charge both the warriors and the Bloodstoker, and it paid off. The Blood Warriors died instantly, and the Stoker was left on a single wound, handing control of the tile to the Frostlord on two wounds. This conflict was down to the wire. 

Flesh Eater Courts took the second last player turn of the game, and started by barrelling through the Realmgate to slaughter as many Wanderers as they could and hopefully claim the Beastclaw deployment tile for Death. They certainly kicked some ass, but had they done enough? The thirty Ghouls in their deployment zone made their play, spreading out to three tiles, overwhelming my five-wound Bloodsecrator to claim my home tile. 

As the lights faded on this titanic clash, the Wanderers executed the final step in their perfect plan! They made short work of dispatching the Crypt Horrors, and made use of their long strides to claim back the tile between them and the Flesh Eater Courts, outnumbering the Ghouls easily. The final score was...

Wanderers - 3 tiles

Flesh Eater Courts - 2 tiles

Beastclaw Raiders - 1 tile

Khorne Bloodbound - a big ol' zero

What a game! Full of massive moments and hilarious rolls, it was a conflict to remember! The highlight for me was, without doubt, instakilling the Ghoul King off a scratch from the Axe. But all in all, it was a highly enjoyable game against three great Generals. I was pleasantly surprised that it only took us two and a half hours from start to finish! 

Where did I go wrong? I think the Realmgate in my backfield was a result of poor deployment zone choice. It gave me a threat range far greater, but when I did use it, I used it poorly. Perhaps if I had charged a single unit instead of accidentally charging three, I would have made more of an impact and caused Beastclaw to backtrack and deal with them before launching an all out assault. I think if I wanted to really go for it, perhaps I should have put more than one unit through the gate. And forgetting to drop my Totems turn one came back to haunt me! 

Beastclaw didn't really make any significant mistakes. I think they were victims of being stuck between a hyper-aggressive combat army and an adept shooting army. If the big unit of Mournfang had stayed in support of the monsters in assaulting my deployment, I have no doubt I would have been tabled in turn three. But thanks to some bad advice (primarily from me), he redirected his efforts against an almost full-strength Aelf force with predictable results! 

Flesh Eater Courts... What can I say. He got downright unlucky. Having his very expensive general get K.O.'d by a 140 point combat character was painfully unfortunate. This crippled his offensive, as he had no way to bring his two Vargulfs onto the table late game to contest vital tiles. That said, if they had started on the board, I wouldn't have been able to withstand his assault. I only got out alive at all from some well-timed peace talks! 

That left Wanderers. They had the advantage of being the only non-combat army with a shred of shooting! I think what saved a lot of Aelf lives earlier in the game was thanks to me and my ultra aggressive stance. This naturally drew a lot of murderous attention, which can be seen on the scoreboard. By the time attention was turned to the Aelven host, it was too late! The other three armies had been so badly damaged, that they couldn't sink their teeth in with any conviction. That's not to take credit away from the Wanderers. The reason that they won is because they were always playing the mission. From the start, they were focussed completely on gaining ground and claiming land, advancing upon the armies that were drawn into the conflict in my table corner!

Well played by all, and a well deserved win by Gammie and his Wanderers. It was a hilarious game, and one I would gladly play again! Next time, I would probably add in some secret objectives or something of the likes to add another aspect to the game. As we played it, it was straight out of White Dwarf where wounds were King, naturally turning the whole affair into a bloodbath of violence and murder!

This has been by far the biggest battle report I've hosted and it was an absolute pleasure! Let me know if you're keen for a game. I'm always happy to throw some dice. 

Thanks for reading,

Gabe