Cancon 2015 Report - Part 2

This is part 2 of my report of Cancon 2015. You can find part 1 here.

Game 2 - Battle Line
Ashley Ellis, High Elves

• Archmage (Level 4, Lore of Metal) with Talisman of Preservation
• Prince on barded steed with Armour of Destiny, Ogre Blade, Shield
• Mage (Level 2, High Magic) on barded steed with Golden Crown of Atrazar
• Noble BSB on barded steed with Dragon Armour, Star Lance, Enchanted Shield
• 5 Ellyrian Reavers with spears, musician
• 5 Ellyrian Reavers with spears, musician
• 15 Lothern Sea Guard with shields, full command
• 8 Silver Helms with shields, full command
• 6 Dragon Princes of Caledor with musician
• 6 Dragon Princes of Caledor with musician
• 14 Sword Masters of Hoeth with standard bearer, musician
• 12 White Lions of Chrace with full command, Gleaming Pennant
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
• Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower

Swedish Comp: 14.5

Ashley had gone for an MSU-style High Elf list. The level 4 having metal magic worked well for me (my army lacked much in the way of armour, so some of the spells like Searing Doom were not much good), but there was still enough of a ranged threat there to concern some of my units. Fortunately he kind of messed up his deployment a bit and didn’t leave enough room for the bolt throwers, so they were hindered a little.

My deployment, anchored by a water bottle in the centre. The river was a toxic ooze, or whatever it's called - the one that is dangerous and gives poison attacks.

Ashley's flank, with bolt throwers deploying behind units and the forest.

I would regret putting those beasts there when I discovered it was a mushroom forest. I think they rolled a 10 or more for every leadership test they took all game.

The other flank of the elves, moving up in turn 1.

Sneaky reavers trying to get behind my lines...

Ashley got the first turn and moved up fairly hesitantly. His shooting was fairly ineffectual, given I had hidden some of the better targets behind the big hill in the centre. I responded by charging the reavers on my left flank with the seekers of slaanesh. He fled (as I figured he would), which left me with little choice but to redirect onto the dragon princes. I tried to improve the combat by casting Enfeebling Foe on the elves, but only knocked 1 off their strength and I swear they rolled better to wound as a result. My unit got pummelled and removed. Unfortunately the reavers rallied as well, so I had really not achieved much.

Maybe if I had knocked 2 off their strength instead of 1...

On the bright side, I did kill 1 elf!

On the other flank my horrors managed to blast the other sneaky unit of reavers off the table, as they tried to run through the gap in behind my lines.

Ha! What reavers?

Ta da! The soul grinder moves up to try to scare some elves.

The silver helms take issue with the soul grinder's behaviour and teach it some manners. I hoped to live through this and give the keeper a flank charge. Apparently that was optimistic.

I had been aggressive with my soul grinder the previous turn, marching it forward because there didn’t seem to be any worthwhile stone thrower targets. Ashley decided this was too tempting an invitation, and charged with both the white lions and the cavalry bus. Unfortunately the white lions didn’t make it, as I really needed the thunderstomp, especially after the nasty elves left me on one wound. I actually killed 3 in return, but it was not enough and I popped. He overran a huge distance, out of the arc of my keeper who was keen for a flank charge.

An 11" overrun gets them clear of the keeper. Boo-urns.

Creepy torso-less dragon princes beat up my poor daemons. And they call us horrors!

The dragon princes on my right flank charged the horrors and worked their way through them in fairly short order. The cavalry on the other flank moved around to menace my beasts, who had deployed in a forest only to discover it was full of stupid mushrooms, and they spent the next 2 or 3 turns travelling 2 or 3 inches in total - so slowly they never got out of the forest.

The fiends race forward, leaving the dragon princes out of position to respond.

The sea guard see them coming, but there's not much they can do.

With the dragon princes heading for the horrors, I had swept forward with the fiends toward the sea guard who were guarding the archmage. I got shot at a little, but there was not much Ashley could do without the cavalry for to intercept them. I charged the sea guard, killed plenty including the archmage (who very obligingly failed all 3 of his ward saves), and they only held for a turn because they were steadfast. Then they were gone, and my unit could reform. They then managed to charge the dragon princes who had killed the horrors, but it did me no good and we were stuck in combat for the rest of the game.

Nom nom nom

Curses! Bogged!

The overrunning silver helms stopped immediately in front of the bloodletters, so I of course charged them. The elves fought bravely, however I did killing blow the prince twice (just to be sure he was dead). I won combat, but not convincingly. In the end I had to send in the keeper to break the deadlock. 

The bloodletters lay the smack down on the prince, but can't break the unit.

In the end the keeper comes to lend a claw.

The dragon princes come and further humiliate my already embarrassing beasts.

My beasts got flanked and eventually killed by the dragon princes on the left flank, who then went on and charged into my daemonettes alongside the reavers. The white lions tried for a flank charge, but fell short. The reavers probably should have stayed out of it as they gave me some easy kills. One of them survived and escaped, because my unit charged after the fleeing dragon princes and caught them near the table edge as they also broke.

The daemonettes get charged by multiple units, but the white lions don't make it over the hill.

Without the white lions, the combat looks pretty promising.

Don't let the get away!

We were running out of time, and my final act was a hurried charge on the swordmasters with the keeper. I killed a ton of them, but not quite enough to eliminate steadfast and they held. When it was all said and done though, the game went pretty well for me.

An action shot as I take about 2 minutes for my final turn. Forgot I should have done magic, at least for reign of chaos. Ah well. The time warnings were coming thick and fast.

Curses, foiled again!

Result: 16-4 (after comp)