Bendigo Besieged has finished, and I have finished my first 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy tournament in a few years. Really it's been my first games of 8th edition at all since Old World, except for a couple of practice games beforehand to serve as a bit of a refresher...
I've talked about my list before, but here it is again for reference:
- Prince on Ithilmar Barded Elven Steed with Heavy Armour, Enchanted Shield, Giant Blade, Talisman of Endurance
- Loremaster of Hoeth with Armour of Caledor, Great Weapon
- Mage (Level 2, Lore of Metal) with Opal Amulet
- Noble (Battle Standard Bearer) on Ithilmar Barded Elven Steed with Shield, Lance, Armour of Fortune
- 13 Silver Helms with Shields, Full Command
- 30 Spearman with Full Command
- 5 Dragon Princes of Caledor with Full Command
- 15 Phoenix Guard with Full Command, War Banner
- 15 Sword Masters of Hoeth with Full Command
- Frostheart Phoenix
Highlander Comp Score: +5
I didn't have huge expectations for how my games were likely to go. The list was not carefully tuned, my 8th edition skills were rusty, and I had basically not used High Elves in this edition. But I had played against them plenty of times, and hundreds of games of 8th ed over the years have to count for something. I figured I should have enough to make a game of it.
Game 1 - Battle Line
Jamie Kirkley - Skaven
- Grey Seer (Level 4, Lore of Ruin/Plague) on Screaming Bell with Skavenbrew, Dispel Scroll
- Chieftain (BSB) with Halberd, Shield, Grand Banner of Clan Superiority
- Plague Priest (Level 2, Lore of Plague) on Plague Furnace with Scroll of Shielding
- Warlock Engineer (Level 1, Lore of Ruin) with Death Globe, Sceptre of Stability
- 40 Clanrats with Shields, Spears, Standard Bearer, Champion
- 40 Stormvermin with Full Command, Banner of the Under-Empire, Warpfire Thrower
- 36 Plague Monks with Champion, Standard Bearer, Plague Banner
- 5 Poisoned Wind Globadiers
- 5 Poisoned Wind Globadiers
- 6 Rat Ogres with 3 Packmasters
- Warp Lightning Cannon
The forces arrayed for battle
I put my Dragon Princes hard on the flank once I decided that none of the main units were going to try to squeeze in over there. I think the Rat Ogres appeared in response to that, but that was OK. The Loremaster was at the head of the Swordmasters.
The Mage led the Phoenix Guard, and the Frostheart Phoenix set up intending to cause trouble on the other flank.
The Skaven had been printed at a larger scale (at least 32mm), so made my poor High Elves look a little small by comparison. Clearly fed too much Skavenbrew by the Grey Seer so they'd grow up big and strong (and probably crazy).
The large horde units had huge footprints because they had been based on 25mm bases for Old World, even though Jamie was an 8th edition player (the tournament had expressly stated that either base size system was fine).
I got the first turn and shuffled up toward the enemy at about the speed of the infantry.
The Phoenix had the potential to be a pest all on its own, so swung out onto the flank to try to mess with the Plague Monks.
I think the Stormvermin might have tried to charge the Swordmasters, but it was a long way and their legs weren't long enough. Still, the gap was getting thinner.
Ten of my Silver Helms perished to Curse of the Horned Rat - I was only reminded afterward that the spell can only target infantry, and obviously Jamie didn't realise. I think my BSB then took a wound from Warp Lightning (everyone else managed to shrug it off). The Warp Lightning Cannon dented the Spearmen, but not too badly.
The Plague Monks decided they couldn't hide from the Phoenix and presumably couldn't hang around in the deployment zone forever, so they advanced warily.
Being a sensible person, my next turn saw me charge with just about my whole army. 
This was a gamble, but I wasn't going to deal with the unit by ignoring it. The real concern was the Banner of the Under-Empire, which would be doing 2D6 Strength 2 hits to each of my units, which weren't that big to begin with (and were mostly quite delicate).
The combat was eventful, but didn't go well. A number of Spearmen fell, although more to attacks than the magic banner. The Swordmasters, however... I think he managed to roll 8 wounds on the unit on a 5+. My saves were not quite so impressive, so I lost a lot of muscle there (as well as the Skaven racking up cheap wounds). I did lose 1 Silver Helm, but that was not so dramatic. Unfortunately I hadn't managed to get through any spells to assist my efforts, so my attacks weren't nearly as nasty as they could have been. The Swordmasters were mostly blocked by the Screaming Bell (when they could have been carving up Stormvermin), but they made the best of it by cutting the Grey Seer off the top (Jamie was very obliging with his failed saves). All in all it was not enough. I think I lost by 6. The Swordmasters managed to hold, but everyone else fled. Note that neither of us remembered that banners (including BSBs) die when they flee in this edition. They would fight on during the battle, then be removed as casualties at the end when it was pointed out by a friend. So rusty...
The Phoenix Guard had decided not to charge the Clanrats (it was a bit far), but I had (apparently foolishly) thought the Spearmen would still be in combat with their flank exposed, so they instead stepped up to block any potential flank charge. 
The Dragon Princes had an adventure of their own. They charged the Rat Ogres, landed hits with all 11 attacks thanks to their rerolls to hit, then somehow failed to wound 8 times on 3+. Consequently a lot of attacks came back at them, and they were relatively lucky to only lose 3 of their number. In the end it was just enough, they won, the Rat Ogres fled and were caught, and the Warp Lightning Cannon saw what was going on and fled off the table in a panic. All in all it was a good outcome, though they had made hard work of it and were basically a spent force.
Half of those models should have been dead. Which I guess means, in hindsight, that they should have only been rallying on double 1s. Oh well, there would have been a lot more of them if they hadn't been culled by illegal Skaven magical trickery...
The Clanrats decided there was no point waiting to be charged by the Phoenix Guard, so charged them instead. It didn't go well for them - About 10 Clanrats fell, but they managed to drag down 2 Phoenix Guard, which was just enough for them to remain steadfast. I think the Globadiers helped too, tossing globes into combat (another illegal trick when I think about it - you're only allowed to do that when Skavenslaves are involved. It's all coming back to me now - these relatively new Skaven players are not to be trusted!).
The Loremaster and his Swordmasters were outmatched in the second round of combat and fled. The Stormvermin ran them down, carrying on far enough to wipe out the fleeing Spearmen as well.
The Phoenix had flown around the flank and now charged the Plague Monks in the rear. All sorts of weird poisony things happened (like a misfire from the Furnace). The Priest on top was wounded but survived. I won combat narrowly, but they were unbreakable thanks to the furnace and reformed to face.
The Silver Helms rallied. The Dragon Princes saw little appeal in a suicidal charge, and just circled the Stormvermin.
The Phoenix Guard were continuing to cull the Clanrats, but couldn't quite get rid of Steadfast (1 model again).
The Stormvermin tried to charge the Silver Helms, but rolled poorly and went nowhere. Even the Bell tolling and moving the unit forward wasn't enough. I then took evasive action, with the characters leaving the unit and everything moving around the enemy. At this point the Plague Monks beat and broke the Phoenix (although it finished off the Plague Priest before it went), running it down. The Phoenix Guard also finally broke the Clanrats, but didn't catch them. This also panicked one of the Globadier units (which kept running until it left the field).
With the fleeing Clanrats close in front of them, I could have finished them off with a charge from the Phoenix Guard. However, it would likely have seen their rear exposed to the Plague Monks. So I did what any sensible player who cares for their spellcasters would do, and charged out of the unit with the Mage. She saw the unit off the field, then discovered that she was just within range of the Stormvermin to cast Final Transmutation. This helped hammer down the size of the unit a little, although it did result in a miscast that caused a wound on the mage.
This was the noose closing in. My mage made a second attempt at Final Transmutation, cast it irresistibly again and died, but had the satisfaction of seeing more Stormvermin perish, along with the Screaming Bell.
I was very pointedly leaving the Plague Monks behind, over on the flank. They were too fresh to be dealt with, and I did not have a lot of Elves left.
The final stages of the game saw me charge what was left of the Stormvermin with what was left of my cavalry. The Phoenix Guard did try as well, but weren't quick enough. They finished the game fleeing, after the Plague Monks declared a charge in the last turn. They might have made it, so I abandoned dignity. Much better fleeing than dead in 8th edition.
In the final reckoning, I had saved a whole lot of points by keeping the Silver Helms and Dragon Princes alive. I didn't have much left, but it was worth some points. Jamie retained just the Plague Monks with their Furnace, so I was a little ahead.
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