This is the third part of my report of the recent Old World tournament at Arcfest. You can find the previous part here, or go back to the start here.
Game 3: Close quarters (Strategic Locations (2), Domination)
Lachie Mulcahy - High Elves
- Prince (General) on Star Dragon with Full plate armour, Sword of Might, Dragon Helm, Opal Amulet, Seed of Rebirth, Pure of Heart
- Archmage (Level 4, Elementalism) with Sea Guard, Ruby Ring of Ruin, Silvery Wand
- 27 Lothern Sea Guard with Thrusting spears, Warbows, Light armour, Shields, Full Command, Razor Standard
- 5 Silver Helms with Lances, Heavy armour, Barding, Shields, High Helm (champion)
- 20 White Lions of Chrace with Chracian great blades, Heavy armour, Guardian [The Loremaster's Cloak], Standard bearer
- 6 Dragon Princes with Lances, Full plate armour, Shields, Barding, Drakemaster, Standard bearer
- 10 Sisters of Avelorn with Bows of Avelorn, Light armour, High Sister [Bow of the Seafarer]
I had expressed my concern going into the event that I had no way to kill a Star Dragon, and knowing that Lachie would have one. Well, here we were, and Lachie was fielding a list that was pretty similar to the one he had last time we met. Hopefully this game would go a little better. At least my list was very different...
The armies lined up, objective on either side.
The 2 Sea Guard units ended up staring across the centre at each other. The White Lions werre on the other side of the Star Dragon, with the Silver Helms lurking behind. Between the firepower of the Sea Guard and the Sisters of Avelorn, I was quite concerned about key units getting wrecked. The Merwyrm went as wide on the line as I dared, although I didn't want him fighting either the White Lions or the Dragon.
I went for a fast flank, facing off with the enemy Dragon Princes. I wanted to try to make use of the house on Lachie's side to interrupt his lines of fire.
Lachie had more ranged firepower than me, and I knew I had no real answer to the Star Dragon - I couldn't kill it. As such, I really had one plan - lunge into his army and try to kill everything before his Dragon could kill mine. I had the +1 on the roll-off for the first turn, so was a bit bummed when I lost the roll-off and Lachie took the first turn...
The White Lions marched forward as quickly as they could. The Dragon moved up toward the centre of my lines, bolstered by the Courage of Aenarion making him unbreakable.
The Sea Guard stepped up just one inch (to minimize my ability to volley fire in return), and killed a few of my own Sea Guard regiment. The Sisters fired at my Dragon Princes, and the Bow of the Seafarer took one of them down. Lachie's Dragon Princes were cagey, with so much speed available on my side of the flank
I hadn't taken too much damage in the first turn, but the Star Dragon was bearing down on me. It was my chance to respond, and I did so in the only logical way I could - my BSB flew his Sun Dragon Clean over the head of the Star Dragon, heading for the more vulnerable targets behind. My Sea Guard declined to waste their time firing back at the ones shooting at them, and instead started firing at the Star Dragon that was heading their way (I don't think they got a wound through, however). The Merwyrm turned and headed in from the flank, staying out of the Dragon's line of sight and out of reach of the White Lions.
The left saw some... aggression. I decided I didn't have time to try to engineer a clean charge on the Dragon Princes, so instead I flew the Archmage right up into their faces. Unfortunately I failed to cast Glittering Robe, but I figured she was still a pretty tough target for them, and angled her to expose the flank of the Dragon Princes if they went for the bait. My Dragon Princes were responsible for that threatened flank, but were also looking to make use of that house to shield themselves from another volley from the Sisters.
My general flew straight at the Sea Guard, as quickly as he could. The Silver Helms were right behind him, making the best time they could.
I think this particular manoeuvre triggered Lachie a bit. It just hadn't occurred to him that I might do it. And he probably could have prevented it by just being a little bit slower (and still likely made it to the Sea Guard).
After a significant amount of pondering, Lachie decided that the best course of action was for the Sea Guard to charge my general. I decided I had to hold, or he'd just be redirecting onto my BSB, and then Lachie rolled the charge distance and rolled double 1s. Given the width of the unit and the need to wheel, it was not enough. That was a stroke of luck for me, and bad news for the Sea Guard...
Inevitably, the Star Dragon charged my Sea Guard. They stood and shot before redressing into a deeper formation, and actually rolled quite well with their shots. I think they landed 3 wounds before Lachie regenerated 2 of them. The champion then issued the challenge and succumbed to the Prince's attacks, but we won the combat easily. Unfortunately an unbreakable Star Dragon doesn't care much about such things, so we just shoved him back a couple of inches. Extra unfortunately, I then failed the restraint roll and had to follow, rather than staying put, going wide, and getting more shots in.
So in the end Lachie wasn't game to try his luck against the Archmage, and the Dragon Princes instead went into column formation and marched their way through behind my lines.
If my Sea Guard were getting frustrated in combat, Lachie's were having a far worse time. Silver Helms and my general in the front, and my BSB in the flank after the Silver Helms elected to flee from his charge and he redirected.
The Merwyrm was positioned to flank the Star Dragon, and given we had failed to buy more time for shooting, this was the moment for him to try his luck. Unfortunately the distance was too great for my rolling, and he just sat there and watched.
Given the Dragon Princes hadn't wanted to play with me, it seemed only fair to leave them to enjoy their solitude... Give them some space.
The Sea Guard actually managed to beat the Star Dragon for a second time in combat, and shoved him away again. It was a good effort, but it couldn't last forever. Lachie could only roll like a potato for so long!
As I say, it was going better for my Sea Guard than Lachie's. They copped an absolute hiding (although it could have been even worse). They fell back in good order and found themselves still fighting 2 Dragons, although at least now they were both in the front.
This was where we had vanished, rather than staying to dance with the enemy Dragon Princes. The Sisters had gone into hiding, but we found them. Then we slowed them down with Miasmic Mirage, and their doom seemed pretty well assured.
My Sea Guard had been putting up a good defence, but unfortunately as they braced for a second opportunity to stand and shoot, the renewed charge of the Star Dragon for some reason proved too much for their nerve. They failed their terror test and were immediately run down. The Dragon then reformed to look at my Merwyrm, whose brave flanking plans had just gone up in smoke, and who was suddenly looking for the exits...
The White Lions had spun around when my army kind of ran past them, and they now arrived in the flank of my BSB's Dragon in an attempt to rescue (or maybe avenge) the Sea Guard.
Lachie's Dragon Princes were also chasing my units, trying to put pressure on me in case I failed to deal cleanly enough with the Sisters. Unfortunately I hadn't managed to turn the Archmage enough to cover the way I came in, or he probably wouldn't have done this. I was probably too focused on the Sisters.
I decided not to issue a challenge with the BSB, not realising that the White Lions had furious charge. So I got absolutely peppered with attacks, but in the end saves kept me mostly alive. A number of White Lions fell in return, and the Sea Guard were wiped out. Obviously I won the combat, but being stubborn, the White Lions fell back in good order. The BSB decided to go after them, whilst the other units managed to show some restraint and reformed where they were.
Having found itself face to face with the Star Dragon, the Merwyrm decided discretion was the better part of valour and turned to run. Maybe I could put enough distance between us to escape with the flee roll. Thinking about it, I think this was a mistake. I reckon I might have been able to march straight past and out of sight. Maybe. It would have been close. Anyway, my Archmage had made the decision that the Dragon Princes had the Sisters under control, so flew out and headed toward the Star Dragon. Maybe she could help with the spells at her disposal.
The Dragon Princes managed to lose one of their number to the Sisters, but killed half the unit in return. Unfortunately Lachie then managed to roll a double 1 for the break test, which meant we were stuck right in front of the enemy Dragon Princes. That was very bad. I followed up, figuring I might be able to salvage the fight even without the assistance of lances - if my armour held first...
I'm missing a photo. Of course I am. My general charged in alongside my BSB. The Silver Helms also tried to, but didn't make the distance. We won the combat handsomely, but the White Lions merely fell back in good order again. Unfortunately this exposed Lachie's Archmage, who was suddenly fighting my BSB.
This was most outrageous. Hard to imagine it going well. Looking at it now, when Lachie rolled double 1s I should have tried to restrain following up so that I could have fled through the Sisters. Of course that may have killed us anyway. So maybe not the perfect plan...
Stuck behind the Archmage and with Dragons bearing down on them, the White Lions reformed and prepared for another round of combat.
Meanwhile the Star Dragon had arrived in the area to offer support, having run down my Merwyrm who didn't flee quickly enough. You'd think a Star Dragon bearing down on you from behind would be motivation enough, but apparently not.
I don't have a photo, but the combat between the Dragon Princes and the Sisters was really weird. Somehow I didn't lose any models to the enemy attacks. Lachie didn't roll great, and I passed a few saves. Unfortunately, I then also didn't roll very well to attack the Sisters. I think I killed 2 or 3, but it was not enough to compensate for the rear charge. I lost combat narrowly, broke, fled a good distance through the Sisters, and then they promptly rolled something like 11 inches to run me down. And I had so nearly gotten away! Anyway, this now meant that I had not quite managed to wipe out the Sisters. That was very unfortunate. I really thought I had them.
At this point the equation was changing a bit. The Star Dragon was back in play, I had Dragon Princes behind my lines (given I was now heading back toward my table edge, having done the grand tour of the field), and even Lachie's Silver Helms were coming back into the centre after focusing on evasion up until that point. My BSB had killed the Archmage and carried on into the White Lions, and I sent my general in alongside him. It was time to wipe them out. But it meant I was vulnerable to the Star Dragon. I decided to flood the field with targets. I basically evacuated Lachie's half of the field, and presented everything as a target at once. The Star Dragon could only engage one, and the rest would be free to keep moving. It may not have been the right call. Looking here, it might not have been hard for the Dragons fighting the White Lions to overrun out of the enemy's arc. But rely on that, and you get punished...
As expected, the White Lions didn't survive another round of combat. My BSB carried on (I don't recall if this was a failed restraint roll, but it may have been). My general stayed where he was and spun, giving me something to potentially respond to the cavalry behind me. I probably made him the obvious target in so doing, but Lachie was going to have to pick someone anyway...
And pick me he did. You'll notice however, that we're facing each other and not where the combat started. This is because, as it turned out, the Prince on the Star Dragon had real trouble with my Noble on Sun Dragon. It helped that I had Blood of Caledor, which lifted my WS to the same as his, but my saves were keeping me in it. I lost combat repeatedly, but barely. I dropped maybe 2 wounds over the course of 3 rounds of combat. It was bizarre. And at this point, if you look into the background, I had a BSB looking at the enemy's flank...
If he couldn't beat me by more than 1 in previous rounds of combat, adding a flank and a banner should actually see him taking a break test. It was a bit of a gamble, but seemed worth it. I could even fight him with the BSB - just as tough, but with a lance for that round.
And then there was another gamble. The Dragon Princes had moved across the table at me, and with the game about to end, were just on the other side of the centre line (with Domination in play). I decided, with Glittering Robe in play, that my Archmage could handle a counter-charge from the unit.
I was wrong. I had foolishly assumed I could get something past Lachie's saves, but he chose that moment to fire up and pass everything I threw at him. I then took a wound in return, lost combat, and was lucky not to break (given how that all went). It was a near disaster.
Speaking of disasters, my BSB accepted the Star Dragon's challenge, managed to get a wound through, then... Died. I took more wounds in that round than I had in the 3 previous ones combined, all because Lachie's dice suddenly woke up and mine went to sleep. If I'd taken one less wound I would have won the combat. Instead I was the one taking a test, and I was very relieved when my general didn't just break and run off the table.
And so the game ended, with our Silver Helms back controlling their respective objective markers, and me having largely lost control of the field in terms of Domination (both of those last 2 combats had not helped there).
I had spent the whole game basically controlling the flow, and right at the end when I decided to try to push a little, the dice had betrayed me. The dice had been weird all game. Lachie couldn't cast a spell. The Sea Guard failed a short charge which cost them their chance of survival. Then the Sisters held when they should have fled, and it cost me the Dragon Princes (under slightly comical circumstances). Then the Star Dragon couldn't hurt its little baby cousin, right up to when I committed more force and then it fired up and ripped me apart. I think it was a trap. It made for a pretty entertaining game, but I think we were both a bit ragged by the end (especially with it being the third game of the day).
I largely played that game pretty well, but made an error not covering the chase from the Dragon Princes, and potentially missing ways for my units to further avoid the Star Dragon. The final result was very close, but rather frustratingly, I had fallen short at the last.
No comments:
Post a Comment