Return of the Relics

A Wood Elf vs Beastmen 1000 points battlereport - 8th edition

So the time has finally come, the very first Warhammer battle in years. Opposing (and hosting) is my nemesis, long time gamebuddy, allround cheery `Guy`.

His force didn`t require restoration, just a decent dust off, and he brought the following to battle: a unit Bestigor with his hero level general, a unit gor with a level 2 shaman, a unit ungor with spears, a tuskgor chariot and 2 small units of hounds.



I used the army list I published here earlier...

Both forces deploy, a very thin greenline versus a massive furry battlehost. Needles to say, he won both deployment and first turn rolls




Beastmen Turn 1 didn`t see much action as he didn`t have charges, no missile troops, and his spells out of range. He had Devolve, and the thing with the Breath Attack, while I had Treesinging and Fury of the Forest.
The wood elf first turn saw the wizard unresistably miscasting Fury, and a war dancer and two Dryads where blown to smithereens by the arcane explosion that caused. Fortunatly, so was the Tuskgor chariot as the spell caused 5 hits, 5 wounds, and only 1 saved...



In the shooting phase, the Glade Guard containing my general and the Waywatchers halved the Ungor unit, but they passed the resulting Panic test.



Turn 2 was more action packed, as a unit of hounds charged my Dryads, and the Ungors thundered into the Waywatchers. Both combats where very bloody for one side, my waywatchers reduced to one man, who failed his break test... and managed to actually get away. On the other side, the Dryads broke the hounds for no loss themselves, ligning up to charge the second warhound unit.




The second wood elf turn also saw various charges, the Dryads and Eagle charging into the second warhound unit, while the War Dancers charged the gor unit with the shaman... who went into a Frenzy... oh boy...



The shooting phase was the coup de grace for the Beastmen, and in essence the battle had ended here. Unleashing the Hail of Doom Arrow on the Bestigors, the shaft split into 14 arrows of which 13 hit and 6 wounded. 6 Dead Bestigor and then the Glade Guards themselves opened up with their 15 shots. Causing a further 7 hits, these wounded 6 times and the Bestigor decided that it was cosier in their own deployment zone. Being under 25% meant they could only rally on snake eyes, but more importantly they dragged the Beastmen general along...




Close combat was a blessing for the Asrai host, as for some miraculous reason, the War Dancers only lost 3 of their number and passed the -1 Break test with ease, keeping the Gors locked. The Dryads made short work of the second hound unit, even before the Eagle had a chance to strike.




Beastmen turn three only had the combat, and the Gors managed to strike down 3 further war Dancers, however at a loss of 6 of their number, and failing the breaktest they got away... and also would only be able to rally on double 1.



The game was over, but we did the last Wood Elf turn as well, which saw some charges to make the fleeing units run ever farther, and a combination of Fury of the Forest striking down 5 ungor and panicking them, only to be shot down in their flight by the glade guard.






Thus ended the very first battle for both of us in about 5 - 6 years. I nominate the Spellsinger as lass of the match, managing to channel almost each and every dispel phase and keeping the Beastmen magic more or less in check, while succeeding in casting and causing a fair amount of damage with her Fury of the Forest in two out of three casting phases...




Conclusion of the game? WFB8 plays a lot more fluently then we where used to, with all the looking up, chat breaks, and all taking slightly over 2 hours (including deployment) to fight out this engagement of old timers.

Humanity`s Darkest Hour

And the word is a go, in follow up of a massive Flames of War / Victory at Sea gridcampaign I ran a couple of years ago, finally it will get a true Far Side of the Galaxy follow up.

Using FutureWar Commander for the landbased portion and Full Thrust 2 for the space encounters, humanity is about to face invaders of about each and every creature in the neighbourhood.

With a planned run of about a year (from Crisis to Crisis up and about), anyone can drop in and be immortalised in the campaign tables, even if it is only for a single game somewhere along the line... and releaves people of a year long, no other games allowed commitment, something I found out worked with the FoW vehicle as well. Though now I`ve got the experience of running such a monstrosity under the belt and the notes of what to improve, change and sort out in front of me hehehe.

Project Asrai: part 8

And the restoration project continues at a smooth pace. With a week of holidays before the door now, I hope to complete my 2000 point tournament force by the end of the week, while completing some side projects in 6mm and 10mm as well.

Ambitious? Most definitly!

First up this week, are two more Dryads to bring the unit up to 10 strong and `completed` in the collection.



Further reinforcements to complete a unit for the tournament are the three remaining Glade Guards from the unit I started last week, with a small number of 10 they will flank the larger Glade Guard unit for combining fire on targets, possibly in a bit of an angled position in case a Panic test could be caused and the enemy runs diagonally along his own lines.



Finally, some characters join the force this week, with a champion for the Waywatcher unit, Arthrand Nightblade by Reaper Miniatures in their Warlord series, and the second spellsinger from the list, Kaylee by Eolith Miniatures



Now only a unit of scouts, a second small unit of War Dancers and a Treeman to go and the force is ready for battle.

Kraytonians vs Andrayada

Yesterday we played the last round of a small Seeds of War campaign, with forces of 250 points. We had three Andrayada players, two Kratonians and a single Pax Arcadia commander, and in the end this reflected in the crushing victory the robot team scored.

So, I planned to make a battlereport of my final battle, but the battle turned out to be anything but that. Lousy rolls on my side, extra-ordinary rolls on my opponents and my curse of SoW, failure to activate (2 out of 6 successes in turn 2)made that the game was over by the half of turn three.

To give an example, I fired with 12 TAV 9 shots vs 4 FDV 6 targets and scored a full 3 kills. My opponent fired 9 TAV 8 shots vs a 3 strong FDV 7 target and the whole unit got wiped out. And that happened three times in the first two turns...

But anyways, here are a few pictures at least, if only to show of the excellent paintjob of my opponents models.

All things small

In between elves from project asrai, I actually managed to paint some other things this week (that way, everything gets going step by step and `line work` is avoided)

First, some more Kraytonias with a squad of Kurall skirmishers and, since I`m sick and tired of loosing Arkalests to airstrikes, a squad of Gerresh AA tanks to defend the main battle tanks



Next up are three classic Eldar Wave Serpents, for use with the Future War Commander `Eldritch Host`, or even as `alternative` Gara transporters for my Kraytonians.



Finally, after all that 6mm violence, another regiment of 10mm Irish Chariots, two more of these units to go and the 1000 points Warmaster Ancients army is finally finished.

Tau commander to be...

Well, still deciding on the colour scheme of the army but prolly based on HA custom, and needing to round out some projects first, but this is the kit I have lying around for a while now to become the battlesuit of my commander.

The model is about 12 cm`s in height, so not to overbearing ont he others, and his two bodyguards will be made up out of other mobile suit models OR Forge Worlds excellent suits, not sure on that one yet. 1/144 in scale and will come `armed` with a twin linked burstcannon and a missile pod

Heavy Arms hoooooooo!



Loving the Tau for their `anime` look the day they came out, the army will feature only battlesuits, drones and Fire Warriors. No tanks, no Kroot, no Vespid etc etc etc... perhaps a few Piranha`s due to them being cool models, while the `no tanks` has nothin` to do with the image in my mind of how the force should look when finished, and everything with my not liking of painting such grand model vehicles...

Future Wars Commander

Finally got the rulebook today through my FLGS, and it`s a scifi version of BlitzkriegCommander (ww2) for which I still have a whole army (unpainted and in the box, but heck).

These rules allow you to pit armies from various ranges against each other, expanding existing universes far beyond the initial number of army lists... and since my group has
1. a lot of SoW armies around and
2. a veteran of Blitzkrieg

it might be an opportune ruleset to slowly introduce into the game.

That, and I apparently own no less then 5 armies for the scale as all the `loose end models` suddenly are enough to form whole armies.

Project Asrai part 7

So here we are again, after a quiet week on the painting front...

In order for the tournament I`m entering (and found out that it is a registred T3 tournament, see http://www.tabletoptournaments.net/be/index.php if you want to know what that is all about), I`ve been busy seeing how to paint another 1000 points in just under 2 weeks. Expensive units, trinkets for the characters and such, it won`t be an ideal battleforce, but it will have to do the job to get the new edition under the knees.

An edition I will be playing the very first time the comming friday, and (if I remember to take my digicam along) will be featured in my entry next week.

So for the painting works of this week, I started a second unit of Glade Guard which will be a small 10 man unit to defend the flank against small units of skirmishers or fast cavalry that try to race to my backlines.

So far, 4 plastic archers and the command group are finished, three more are currently in the undercoat.




After that, it`ll be the rounding out of the Dryad and Waywatcher units to the numbers they will be included in the tournament. The first will be two more Dryads so that they are totalling 10 strong, and a Shadow Sentinel chemapion for the Waywatchers.

After the tourney list is done, I`ll be doing some sideprojects to finish off forces of other systems, like finally completing my 1000 points Warmaster Historical army, or build on my Kraytonians for Seeds of War and some more 6mm scifi for use with Future Wars Commander (a system we will prolly evolve into from Seeds of War, as it is more detailed and features much more army lists from various manufacturers).

And maybe it is time I started a new forage into the 40k universe as well, I have a plan (and needed models) lying around since ages... just about time to get it to the execution phase...

Project Asrai part 6

Back so soon?

Yes, not a week between entries, as I went in a `painting tantrum` this weekend. I`ll sleep sometime later... and managed to complete the initial 1000 points of troops!

First of where some more Waywatchers and Dryads to make the units battle ready (though not completed) and a Great Eagle to harass those war machines in the back of the enemy lines.





Trip down nostalgia lane...

This model has a special place in my heart. Being the very first Wood Elf I EVER painted, he started out as a character in AD&D 2nd edition ages ago, called Loraliel Silverleaf. Now that name has stuck with various characters and games, including a bank alt in World of Warcraft, a (human) Ranger in Guild Wars, led my Wood Elves in ages past, and currently for example running around in Runes of Magic. Back then, he toted the two only unique Wood Elf magic items, the Hail of Doom Arrow and the Bow of Loren, the latter we even had to share with the High Elves. As such, it seemed only fitting he lead the army in the `reboot` I`m creating, and will hoist the Bow of Loren and Hail of Doom Arrow around once more



Loraliel`s Woodland Patrol

And so we arrive at the first army list `new style`, in order to give the 8th edition a go. I have NO CLUE at all wether it`s going to be effective, but that`s not something I`m gonna worrying about for the comming months. I paint what I like and I`ll see how to incorporate them into a fighting force...

First of is the general, Loraliel, who is a Lord choice Highborn with the aforementioned Bow of Loren and Hail of Doom Arrow. He will join the unit of Glade Guards to bring them to 16 deployed in two ranks and able to fire 19 shots a turn.

Magical support comes through Veekilya, a level 2 spellsinger without gizmo`s.

Core of the force is as normal a unit of Glade Guards, with full command and 15 men strong. Supporting them is the 10 man War dancer troupe, which with the right dance can hoist out on the charge 31 strength 4 attacks... not bad for a small heap of elves.

On the other flank there will be a unit of 8 Dryads, for a further heap of strength 4 attacks, and anchoring the line with the benefits of being Forest Spirits.

Finally are the harrassing units, a small unit of 5 Waywatchers and a Great Eagle, to, well, be a general annoyance really and to be on the look out for any opportunities (war machines, mages, etc etc) at the enemy backlines.



On to 2000 points

So that tournament I talked about yesterday... I`m gonna give it a serious shot to complete the required forces. The army above would be expanded on the existing units and characters with some magical gizmo`s, unit champions and some more troops in the small units.
Furthermore there will be a second, small unit of Glade Guards, a second small unit of War Dancers (did I say I love War Dancers), a Treeman and a Scout unit made up of models from around the time I was born...

Project Asrai part 5

The muster gathers...

It has been a good week for painting (okay, mainly thanks to it being so busy at work i couldn`t catch sleep in the evenings, but every downside has an upside hehe) and the first two units have become ready for battle in the build up to the first 1000 points force.

First of all is a unit of Glade Guards, with for the first time in like 5 years the requirement to paint a banner freehanded, as my stints the last years in various other games didn`t have standard bearers around (apart from a small pennant here or there). So out came the pencil and white paper to draw a design and paint up. Accompanying him are the musician and 6 more archers including one of the very very old first plastic archers, I believe the set was called Fantasy Regiments or something, and included a few plastic models of various armies...




This creates a nice block of 15 Archers with full command (yes, I always go for full command where possible and logicaly making sense, can`t imagine a scout unit stalking forests silently toting a huge pole around) which will deploy in 2 ranks with a character joining in.



Alors en dance

The second unit that completed this week is the first War dancer troupe, with the addition of a unit champion. The model might be a tad larger but I thought she was so full of character and flavor, I couldn`t resist buying her and incorporating her into the army. The model, called Eduhin Morningstar, is produced by Enigma Miniatures in their 30mm Heroic Scale range Massive Darkness. I bet the guy that partly accompanies her probably died with a nice view in his last moments...



She now leads a unit of 10 War Dancers, though it`ll prolly get bumped up to full 15 over time, but the unit is now `battle ready`.



The road winds onwards

In the comming week I`m going to try and finish either a small unit of Dryads or a small unit of Waywatchers, both will be in the `starting list` on minimum strength needed just to give them a go. I never played with Dryads in my previous life in Warhammer, so that`ll be some puzzling, and Waywatchers where a luxury to be taken when Scouts could be upgraded with all their traps and such, never fielded them much back then but I think they will be a mainstay in my new take on the Asrai. So to finish of this week, the second Dryad of the unit got painted...



Now only to decide how much painttime I`m going to be able to free up the comming month. The 9th of October there is a low key non `Ranking der Nederlanden` (and as such, far less killer and more fun lists) 2000 points tournament in the local youth club, and I`m tempted to give it a shot to see how the whole thing works (with a single objective when i go there: not to loose each and every battle wih a total massacre) these days... but that also means I must paint about 1300 points in less then 30 days... OUCH... even with a week of holidays comming up end of september, that`s going to be a hard effort, so I`ll see how far I get before the month ends.

Till next week

Project Asrai part 4

The hunt gathers

It has been a decent week in available painting time, with the War Dancer troupe receiving 5 more Loeth-icans to bolster the `ranks`. Next week i hope to have the unit champion completed and as such the first of the reworked units.



Normally, I should also manage to bump the first of the Glade Guard units to operational standard with the addition of the standard bearer and the musician, and of course a few more archers.

I settled already on a gaming date with the project, a 1000 point battle on the first friday (or second, depending social calendars et such) versus my arch old nemesis / long time gaming buddy and in this case his Beastmen army. He left the GW hobby around the same time as me, so it is only fitting that we both return at the same time, with painted forces (well, in his case, just a good dusting off is needed) and with two armies that are fluff wise direct enemies...

I also laid the groundwork for two of the more `special case` regiments my force will host, a Dryad unit (old school metal dryads bought for a jiffy of eBay, as everyone righly so passes them over for the many time more beautiful plastic ones of the current range) which will have a predominantly grey scheme, in order to contrast with the greens and browns of the rank and file troops (read: mass archers).



And a unit of Waywatchers, just because I love the idea and use of the `superscout` unit, even though they are hideously expensive point wise to field, especcially in small points battles like the one we have planned...



and a shot of how the cloaks will look



Lead Adventure Forum build something contest 2

The LAF, a great forum I frequent, http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php is hosting a second `build something` contest over the comming months. I decided to join in the fun after the great time I had in the Lead Painter`s league, and in order to beat two flies with one swapper, use it as an opportunity to build my `free forest` on a cd (as the dimesions are ideal)

Next week, as said, hopefully the conclusion of the first two regiments for my restyled (or, to use popular Hollywood terminology, rebooted) Sylvan elf army, and maybe the start if time permist of the unit of Spearmen / Glade Guard / Eternal Guard, depending which `slang` you use form 5th, 6th or 7th edition... and that treeman does keep watching me so expectantly...

Cheerios!