This is the fifth 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 5: Encirclement (Strategic Locations (4))
David Hauser - Orcs and Goblins
- Black Orc Warboss (General) on Wyvern with Great Weapon, Full Plate Armour, Trollhide Trousers, Grisly Trophy Rack, Talisman Of Protection
- Orc Weirdnob (Level 3, Battle Magic) on War Boar with Spelleater Axe, Lore Familiar
- Orc Bigboss (Battle Standard Bearer) on War Boar with Cavalry Spear, Heavy Armour, Shield, The Big Red Raggedy Flag
- Night Goblin Oddgit (Level 1, Illusion)
- 16 Black Orcs with Full Command, Full Plate Armour, Great Weapons, (13 with Shields) Stubborn, Monster Hunter's Tapestry
- 35 Night Goblins with Shields, Full Command, Banner Of Swirling Wind, 3 Fanatics
- 9 Night Goblin Squig Hopper Mobs with Boss
- 11 Orc Boar Boys with Cavalry Spears, Heavy Armour, Shields, Big Un's, Full Command, Da Thinkin’ Orc’s ’At, Da Banner of Butchery
- Doom Diver Catapult
- Doom Diver Catapult
- Goblin Rock Lobber
I'm not gonna lie, I was so excited to play David. His army was so beautiful and retro. I did with the best army vote at the end of the event, which was not really surprising.
His army is so small! I mean, so is mine, but he didn't exactly need the whole deployment zone, did he?
The Encirclement scenario meant this was as wide as I could deploy, and I stuffed both the Dragon Princes and a Dragon in right at the limit. The Archmage and Merwyrm were not far away.
Across the way were the Black Orc Warboss on his Wyvern, the Black Orcs and the Boar Boyz.
This unit contained by the Weirdnob and the BSB.
The war machines are spread out across the base line, trying to keep them away from me.
I got the first turn and decided I should use it, given I was facing the 3 war machines. I sent my general up aggressively on the right flank toward the Rock Lobber. The Silver Helms were slightly slower, focusing on the Night Goblins
The Merwyrm also turned toward the Night Goblins. Their magic banner made it harder to shoot them, so the Sea Guard focused instead on the Boar Boys. They seemed a better target.
My BSB flew about as far forward as he could - happily still able to hide from the Wyvern thanks to the forest. My other advances were a little more cautious, given the waiting Boars and Wyvern.
The enemy responded by advancing in a solid line.
The Wyvern flew straight over the trees, but didn't have any movement left to wheel at the end.
Rather predictably, Fanatics emerged from the Night Goblins.
They came out like they were aiming for the Silver Helms...
But that was enough to convince the Silver Helms not to get involved yet. Instead the Merwyrm went in alone, and had all 3 Fanatics slam through him before colliding with each other because David intentionally sent them in the same line. The Merwyrm at this point was mostly dead, but he could handle a mob of Night Goblins... Right? Meanwhile my general (who had already taken a couple of wounds from falling rocks) had charged the Rock Lobber, but it failed its terror test and fled the field, leaving me facing the wrong direction.
The same thing happened to my BSB on the other flank, but at least my Archmage had found an enemy who wouldn't run away.
The Black Orcs were Stubborn and immune to stomp attacks, but it still felt like a combat worth trying.
The Merwyrm had arrived alone, but the Silver Helms would surely decide the combat if it were still going the next turn.
The Block Orcs proved more of a struggle than we might have liked - they pulled out shields and shrugged off a fair bit of damage. A couple of Dragon Princes fell in return. We still won combat handily, but the stubborn unit somehow managed to only fall back 1 inch. If I had hoped to get clear from the Boar Boys, that hope was dashed.
The Merwyrm actually lost the combat against the Night Goblins, only killing 4 of them. He only gave ground however, which meant he was still within reach of the Squig Hoppers...
This was likely to hurt a lot more than the Night Goblin attacks.
Well this was predictable. At least furious charge wasn't going to be much of a thing. The Shaman was casting Oaken Shield on his unit, making them harder targets than they might otherwise have been (that's what the Heroquest dice was for).
Maybe I need some cute little indicators for spell effects. The huge card following me around is just so tasteless in comparison.
We lost combat, but not by much. I think the Boar Boy champion took the brunt of the Dragon's attacks, limiting its damage in a challenge. Both of my units gave ground, and the struggle continued.
It couldn't afford to continue for too long, however. Someone was watching...
The Squigs had a proper go at the Merwyrm, but this time their bites were only enough for a single wound, so he fought on. He took a good chunk out of those Squigs in return, too. And thanks to his desperate resilience, the Silver Helms now had a chance to charge in and save the day.
Given the Wyvern was sitting there watching the fight, it seemed only fair that my BSB should turn around and do the same.
My general had other priorities, looking to silence the last of the enemy war machines.
So what happened here? The Squigs managed to pull down the Merwyrm before he could attack again. The Silver Helm charge proved decisive against the Night Goblins however, and they broke and were run down. The Silver Helms elected to keep looking around the building rather than turning to face the Squigs. I don't recall why the Squigs were not also running away. Maybe we stuffed up, or they rolled very low and only fell back. Anyway, not turning to face them was... A decision.
I think my Dragon basically fluffed its lines this turn, because very few Orcs are dead, and my Dragon Princes had cleared out. I think the Orc BSB had challenged my Archmage, and died - but only just so. The Black Orcs gave as good as they got against the Dragon Princes, and it was enough to start me taking tests. Both of my units fell back in good order, but did so in different directions because of what they were fighting. The Dragon was therefore in the way of any pursuit of the Dragon Princes, and the overlapping Orc units meant the Boar Boys couldn't get in. It was a mess.
Rather predictably, the remaining Squigs decided to take their chances munching on the flank of the Silver Helms. This could be OK. We had a War Banner. We just needed to pass some saves.
Clearly I'm missing a photo. The Wyvern decided to charge the flank of the Archmage (and thereby rescue the Black Orcs) rather than flanking the Dragon Princes. I took a number of wounds (in fact I was almost dead), but lived and fell back in good order (I think I actually survived one of those 50-50 rolls to survive fleeing through the Boar Boys. The Wyvern then got stuck because of the Boar Boys, and somehow I was safely behind things.
Being a no-nonsense sort of idiot, I then charged everything into everything!
On a side note, the Doom Diver was dead. My general failed to restrain his overrun, and ended up hiding behind the tower like an idiot. He never bothered to re-emerge, as time was running out and he'd never get to anything in time.
This was a couple of rounds of combat later, but the Silver Helms had still not managed to actually win a round of combat against the 3 Squigs chewing on their flank. This was their last change - the Squigs were about to chew on a model that was worth 2 combat resolution on his own. I don't have any more photos of this combat, so spoiler alert: the Squigs ate the whole unit eventually.
In a show of epic heroism, the Orc Weirdnob bellowed a challenge against my Archmage to prevent her from just eating the rear of the unit. This struggle would go for some time...
The Black Orcs were less resilient, and all but one of them died to my BSB. The survivor (the standard bearer) started a long retreat for my table edge, and I carried on into the Black Orc Warboss. Sure, he had seen off my Archmage handily, but I was a fancy Noble with a lance! What could go wrong?
As it turned out, nothing really went wrong. We did beat him and he fell back in good order. The Dragon Princes chased him, whilst the BSB reformed.
I have a feeling something terrible happened to the Dragon Princes. It probably involved them not passing enough saves, although it seems they might have landed a wound on the brute before they were dispatched summarily, and the Wyvern carried on into my BSB before he could make himself useful and save my Archmage from a combat she was currently losing (you'll note the Boar Boys had turned around - a bad sign).
I think in the first round of combat neither of us hurt each other (I suspect a couple of ward saves were passed thanks to Oaken Shield), and that was how I lost the rear bonus thanks to the musician winning them the combat. In the second round, I managed to get 2 wounds through - so now we were both on a single wound. My back was to the wall, but the Sea Guard were coming. Maybe that would help...?
It turned out it did help, although I don't have the photos I would have liked. The Archmage managed to finish off the Weirdnob in the third round of their challenge, but the Sea Guard arrived and their weight of numbers made a difference. The Boar Boys fled and the Archmage ran them down. My BSB was less lucky - he was no match for the Black Orc Warboss and lost the combat. He broke despite flapping his own banner in an effort to inspire himself, and was run down as he tried to get away. A sad end.
So as the dust settled, there were not a lot of greenskins left on the field. The Black Orc Warboss was still flapping around, wiping bits of Elf Noble off his armour. The 3 Squig Hoppers were still bounding about, looking for more knights to eat. But that was it. For my part, the Archmage had barely survived on a single wound, my general was still skulking behind the tower, and the Sea Guard remained. It was not really a lot, for either of us - but slightly more for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment