A Bloodthirster went to Cancon, and met many interesting people. There were few survivors. Cancon this year involved a 6 game Warhammer: The Old World tournament spread across 3 rather warm days in Canberra. I took Daemons of Chaos, having dabbled previously at Axemaster with Dwarfs. This is my story...
My Army (2389 points)
- Bloodthirster of Khorne with Armour Of Khorne, Bloodflail
- Daemon Prince (Level 4, Daemonology) with Æther Blade, Twin Heads, Heavy Armour, Fly
- Herald of Khorne on Juggernaut with Hellblade, Light Armour, Daemonic Locus,
- 16 Bloodletters of Khorne with Full Command
- 7 Chaos Furies of Khorne
- 7 Chaos Furies of Khorne
- 5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne with Vanguard
- 4 Bloodcrushers Of Khorne with Full Command
- 4 Fiends of Slaanesh
- 3 Flamers of Tzeentch with Exalted Flamer (Level 3, Daemonology)
I chose a daemon army for a number of reasons. I had trouble getting through my games at Axemaster, and an army that can't break from combat and can't even choose to flee from charges felt like it might be quicker to play. I had also come to the conclusion that a Bloodthirster might be one of the few things that could really scare huge models like lords on dragons (whilst being nowhere near as tough in return), so that seemed like it might be a fun place to start.
One of the things I took away from Axemaster was that it is extremely easy to get pushed around by your opponent's magic, especially when they take a whole lot of it. When my Dwarfs had a single level 1 dispeller, I had pretty much no chance of stopping anything. My Daemon army was determined to stand up better in that regard. I had a level 4 wizard in the Daemon Prince (even though that felt like a lot of character points alongside the Bloodthirster), and I was somehow able to get a backup level 3 (in case the Daemon Prince was indisposed) in the form of the heavily upgraded Flamer champion. I wasn't sure this was really a good idea (I still am not sure), but it gave me the giggles, so I went with it.
My army was fast, especially when you consider the Furies and Fleshhounds could all vanguard before the game. The Bloodletters would likely get left behind and probably wouldn't offer much in the games, but frankly I wanted to include some infantry (and some of the proper core warriors that belonged to my nominal "core" Chaos God). No, infantry are not great in The Old World. People would likely shy away from them. All the more reason to take them. (I am very contrary, and like making life hard for myself).
Did I think this army could win a tournament? Realistically probably not, and my one practice game that I found time for in between painting sessions certainly did not bode well. This didn't really bother me. Hopefully I'd just have some fun waving a Bloodthirster around.
Game 1 - Open Battle
Michael Marston - Wood Elf Realms
- Glade Lord on Forest Dragon with Great Weapon, Armour of Silvered Steel, Talisman Of Protection, An Annoyance of Netlings, A Befuddlement of Mischiefs
- Glade Captain Battle Standard Bearer (War Banner) on Great Stag with Great Weapon, Helm of the Hunt, Shield
- Spellsinger (Level 2, Battle Magic) on Elven Steed with Lore Familiar
- Spellweaver (Level 4, Battle Magic) on Warhawk with Oaken Stave, Ruby Ring of Ruin
- 8 Deepwood Scouts with Musician, Hagbane Tips
- 8 Deepwood Scouts with Musician, Hagbane Tips
- 5 Glade Guard with Hagbane Tips
- 5 Glade Guard with Hagbane Tips
- 5 Glade Riders with Musician, Reserve Move, Hagbane Tips
- 5 Glade Riders with Musician, Reserve Move, Hagbane Tips
- 5 Sisters Of The Thorn with Full Command
- 3 Tree Kin
- 7 Wardancers with Bladesinger, Additional Hand Weapons
- 5 Wild Riders with Shields, Wild Hunter, Standard Bearer, Banner of the Hunter King
The battlefield once deployment was completed and my units had vanguarded. Michael elected not to scout forward with his Deepwood Scout units, instead putting them over on my left.
