Warhammer Underworlds Casual Gamenight: the last minute call-up

 Well, I didn't plan on going this week, and as they where in an even number to play anyways I would be spending time listing some second hand stuff and working on Garrek's Reavers.

 

Until in the afternoon before the gamenight, someone dropped out, and I went never the less to fill in the numbers again.  

Getting some extra games in with Skaeth's Wild Hunt was an additional bonus, as sunday it is tournament time.

 

 

But we started with a game of Nemesis first, putting my Force of Frost Cyreni's Razors versus Peter's Beastbound Assault The Exiled Dead. So a swarm of electro zombies, who all move as one, this will be a challenge.

The boards had been layed down, and the game was on.

The Exiled Dead started with forming a conga-line in order to protect their leaders aka puppeteers from my infiltrating Idoneth.

Renglaith however infiltrated the lines and took one of the zombie minions out.  But in turn, the other minions quickly surround him, and even though Alathyrr tried to reduce the number of opponents to no avail, he was overwhelmed by attacks and fell.

This ended the first round at a 4-4 each on the scoreboard.

In the second round's opening phases, Regulus is send in by Markov and he dispatches Alathyrr before she has a chance to defend herself, leaving Cyreni who moved into enemy territory prepare for a magical offensive.

This went horrible though, her Pelagic Blast, as she was now inspired, needed a lightning, and rolled two swirlies.  Then she cast Absoloth's Avalanche, needing a swirlie and rolling a lightnings, and then a Freeze-Thaw Finish needing one lightning ended up with again two swirlies, meaning she failed every casting roll with the opposite of what was needed, and to add insult to injury she fell herself by returning blows.

This left only Cephanyr on the table against a whole tide of zombies, and a 7-8 benefit for the Exiled Dead.

My third turn was based around getting the squid back to my half and chase off the zombie there, in order to hark some more glory and then equip the Chasm Key for an extra point.  To activate a whole lot of upgrades on him for defence, he did have to use a ranged attack first that gave the needed ice counter, taking out a zombie.  But there the plan ended, as Regulus immediatly took him down before he could flee and wiping out my band.

Some card cycling was as such all that could be done, but the result was an 9-12 defeat, not the greatest of differences but never the less we went down to the undead numbers.

 

 

Setting up for a second game, it was time for Skaeth's Wild Hunt to get in their last training miles against other Peter and his Skabbik's Plaguepack, both bands set to battle for glory coming sunday.   

And I made a grave playmistake in the opening rounds.  I went after Skritter who had infiltrated in my lands onto an objective, first with Althean, and as she missed with Skaeth himself.  While this took the beast down, I made the mistake of thinking while he did not give bounty, he would gain me the Run Through and Ritual Kill objectives.  Which it did not, as it doesn't go out of action but removed from game instead.

In the meantime, a combined assault by Rabidius Skench and Poxlix, together with some ploys, had already dispatched Sheoch and Lighaen, this wasn't going well at all.  

Karthaen and Skaeth went in to face the threat, Karthean wounding Rabidius as Skaeth made himself ready to attack the second in command Skaven by using Pounce.  While hit and pushed back, he threw his javelin and took down Skench, now scoring the two cards from the rat after all.

But the Plaguepack scored heavily, and where already 3-8 in the lead after the first round.

The second round began with Karthean being smacked down by Skabbik, ironically of course as I had just drawn a hand with a heap of spells for my now level 2 wizard and Karthean related objectives...

Skaeth charged round to the two minions, his scything attack wounding Rikkit but missing Poxlix. 

Althean then came into the fray, using her Rapid Shot upgrade she first hit and pushed Skabbik into a lethal hex to score an objective, then shooting the last wound of Rikkit.

But the scores didn't catch up, as I was still 6-13 behind, this was looking hopeless.

With the board looking like this at the beginning of the final round (yes, we still had to remove the counters, I know), I had objectives I had traded in (like having three members with upgrades), and some with a minimal chance (get to all objectives in one players territory).

I began by charging Althean to Skabbik.  This had a reason she came so close, as I had the ploy that increased damage if supported, for Skaeth later on if needed.  But the skaven leader also had upgrades that mitigated damage by one, and 2 wounds left, so Skaeth wouldn't be able to one shot kill him.  However, if both arrow shots for one damage each would hit... One duly did, but the second was unfortunatly blocked.

Althean payed for this brave attack with her life though, leaving Skaeth to throw his retrieved javelin and taking the enemy leader down at last.  All he could do now was charge to sneaking Poxlix and take the rat out.

Thanks to some last activation objective cycling, I scored my full objective hand, but it was not to be as even with the soldid glory, I still stranded at a 13-17 defeat against the contaminating rats.

So, that is two defeats in the pocket tonight, and while in game one it could have made a huge difference if Cyreni's casting round had went at least normal, not per se exceptional, while in the second game the early play mistake cost me dearly, and two members of my warband to boot without them doing anything.  

Now it's getting ready for the tournament sunday, the report coming afterwards, before Skaeth will retire and be replaced with something completely different (and low ambitions of actually achieving anything) for Into the Under-Ekeren, but more of that will be revealed in the next causal meet-up!