End Times Battlereport!

Entry posted by Darth Alec September 20, 2016

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So I finally had a chance to do a little Battletome: End Times playtesting! For the game, we rocked up with regular all-round armies (this wasn't planned), and picked a battleplan slightly at random. It needed to fit two regular-ish armies. So for this game, we went with the Battle of the Blighted Isle (Khaine 4 IIRC)! It's a pretty big battle, fluff wise. Malekith is racing towards the Blighted Isle to sieze his fathers blade, whilst the defenders and Tyrion race to stop him. The defenders are therefor split in two, with reinforcements arriving in the third hero phase. The goal is to sieze the Widowmaker and live.

In the place of elves stood the Undead and the Ironjaws. The Battletome is meant to be played with any army, after all! The undead decided to bunch up behind a unit of 40 skeletons, with spirit hosts taking up the flank. A single Bone Giant adds some combat punch, whilst a Necromancer and Wight King with Infernal Banner keeps the entire formation alive.

The red marker represents the Widowmaker, in lack of anything more impressive. Looking at it from here, the defensive position is formidable, but theenemy more so...

Driving home their first turn advantage, the Ironjaws charge forth! In a single hero and movement phase, nearly the entire Ironjaws force is within combat range. The defence would need to be hard-fought. The speed was unexpected, and not at all welcome!

Smashing into the skeletons, the 'Ardboyz make themselves known. Only 6 skeletons die to their onslaught though, to a pair of their Orruks. The Necromancer's Cursed Book keeps much of the damage away.

Choosing to take the defensive in their turn, the undead bunker up with plenty of spells. This allows the Ironjaws to pile in further. Nearly every unit in their army is now in combat, pounding away at the defenders. They hold up well though, suffering only another 6 skeleton casualties. This doesn't even reduce their attacks back, as the banner had healed enough models previously. The Ardboyz continue to suffer under the 90-ish attacks from the skeletons!

Disaster strikes! Tapping into the power of the failing Vortex on the Isle of the Dead, the Wierdnob vomits forth a terrible green torrent. It kills a single skeleton, and does 6 damage to the poor Wight King. The arcane power of the banner saves him though, restoring him to his last wound. Not prepared to leave killing undone, the Wierdnob shoots him down with a simple Arcane Bolt. The defence is now crippled!

As if to pile in further pain, the Megaboss takes flight! He now sits upon the Shallow Pond of Khaine, staring directly into the back of the defenders. It is a good thing the Necromancer wears dark robes this day.

All is not yet lost though! Using the power of the Great Vortex, the Undead use Bridge of Shadows (The Great Vortex Weakens special spell) to transport the blood knights to the defence. The Morghasts race down the center, closely followed by the Von Carsteins.

Unfortunately, the Ironjaws win the crucial priority roll! Moving quickly and with deadly efficiency they block off the attackers. Driving Brutes into the Blood Knights and Ardboyz into the Morghasts and Spirit Hosts.

The effect is devastating. Nearly all the reinforcements are slain. The Undead are stuck without a chance to kill the Megaboss! In a single round of combat, the Ironjaws decided the fate of the sacred blade.

With victory in hand, the Megaboss now looks to sweep the last of the defenders. There are bigger foes to slay, now that he wields the legendary sword...

The game ends with a major victory to the Ironjaws! It's a difficult scenario for the defenders! You need a good defensive core that can work without command abilities, and a strong fast secondary detachment. On the attacker side, you need to not get bogged down too much. A fast army can get in, smash up and get out before the defenders can rally, which I think is useful. Had the Ironjaws not been so absurdly fast (Ardboyz moved 14" before their own movement phase!), the battle would have been very different. Having a general that can fly and get into the backfield is very useful though. A model on foot I could have held up longer. Could have done more to block the massive base of the Megaboss though.

Minor adjustments made to the battleplan: The wielder of Widowmaker must charge if able, and complete charge if able. Battle length increased to 6 turns. Need to do further adjustments, including fixing the command abilities and victory conditions.