Hey everyone. The following is a short battle report from a practice game night held with a few friends, for the intention of readying lists for two small tournaments we plan on running, one just prior to Christmas, and one on new years day. While I normally write in story format, I instead chose today to spare you that nonsense and invest the time in drawing some diagrams, hopefully this will serve all the better for your reading enjoyment.
My army was my current tournament phalanx:
Tomb King: Flail of Skulls, Collar of Shapesh, Cloak of the Dunes, Light Armour, Shield
Liche: Skeletal Steed, Hieratic Jar, Dispel Scroll
Liche: Skeletal Steed, Dispel Scroll
Liche: Skeletal Steed, Dispel Scroll
24 Skeleton Warriors: Standard, Champion, Light Armour, Shields, Banner of the Undying Legion
20 Skeleton Warriors: Standard, Light Armour, Shields
20 Skeleton Warriors: Standard, Light Armour, Shields
13 Skeleton Warriors: Bows, Champion
3 Tomb King Chariots
3 Tomb King Chariots
3 Tomb King Chariots
5 Carrion
Tomb Scorpion
Tomb Scorpion
Screaming Skull Catapult: Skulls of the Foe
Stuart’s list was as follows:
Vampire Lord: Magic level 3, Skull Staff, Helm of Commandment, Master of the Black Arts, Forbidden Lore, Summon Ghouls
Wight King:
BSB, barded skeletal steed, lance, Drakenho Banner
Vampire (invoc): Balefire Spike, Book of Arkhan, Dread Knight, Walking Death
Necromancer: Invoc.+VHDM, Scroll, Periapt
15 Ghouls: Ghast
15 Ghouls: Ghast
10 Ghouls
9 Dire Wolves: Doom Wolf
5 Dire Wolves
5 Dire Wolves
5 Fell Bats
22 Grave Guard: Champion, Standard, War Banner
5 Cairn Wraiths, Banshee
So, reasonably hard, but nothing beyond my expectations for Vampire Counts. The Thrall rolled up Invocation for his spell. Deployment looked as follows:
Well, the fiendish Vampires won the roll for first turn, so off they went…
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 1.
En masse the ghoulish hordes of the Necrarch Vampire swept across the fields. One unit of dire wolves was denoted for sacrifice to delay the Tomb King chariots, while on the other flank the wraiths decided that instead of simply threatening one unit, they would create targets all across my flank (the SSC, the rightmost warrior unit and the chariots all would have great difficulty against the wraiths). Magic was largely concentrated on raising more ghouls. Poor rolls hurt the phase a little, but nonetheless a further eight ghouls were raised to reinforce the left most unit.
TOMB KINGS TURN 1.
To be honest, when I see an army come at me as was happening in this game, I almost feel offended. It basically says that the enemy army will just sweep me away without much difficulty, with little credibility being given to any counter play that I may have (much like the ‘150 attack’ against the Modern Defence for chess players out there). Consequently, my phalanx held firm, to draw on my opponent, forcing him to further advance in search of victory. The intention was to draw him beyond the natural shield of the forests, so that my units my encroach upon his flanks, as well all know Tomb Kings are want to do.
To that effect, chariots swept down both flanks, with the left ones moving to threaten the Dire Wolves immediately – I wanted fast counter-play and quick threats, so as to destabilize my opponent’s play in the centre. With vulnerable flanks, it would be likely unsuccessful to push with any real effort against my centre. The carrions readied themselves to drop in behind the enemy cordon, for march blocking duty.
Magic was largely irrelevant this turn, though the Catapult was urged to fire again – a small scatter still allowed it to incinerate two Grave Guards, never a bad thing. The difficulty would be keeping them down. The second shot scattered quite far, though a lucky scatter saw it land in the largish dire wolf unit, crushing four in a shower of gore and bone. The really amazing part was the Tomb King’s arrow fire power on the left flank – six chariot shots claimed four wolves with sniper like accuracy, reminiscent of Pete Scholey’s unit of archers in the inaugural Tomb King’s battle report in White Dwarf all of those years ago (and a damn good battle report it was to).
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 2.
The unlikely result of the Tomb King arrow-fire created early difficulties for the Vampire General. With two units of wolves already largely decimated, and not fancying expending his magic on resurrecting them (or whatever you do with crushed wolf gore) the Vampire decided to sacrifice both units quietly, to waylay the chariots for a turn or two. The main battle line continued its advance, the intent to quickly subjugate its overpriced and underpowered rival. The right flank wolves and fell bats readied themselves to remove the Catapult – it was probable that the Tomb Kings could remove one threat, but not both, and in any case, 100 points of threat tying down 270 points of Tomb King to the defence would certainly be something of a win (though sacrificing material for the initiative is more my style as we shall see). The wraiths went to spook the chariots.
The well renowned Vampire magic phase moved into full swing this turn, managing to not only add numbers to the rightmost Ghoul unit, increasing them to 21 models, but also to fully restore the Grave Guard. The Vampire Lord’s attempt to Dance the Cairn Wraiths into the chariots was quickly dissipated through the first declaration of my dispel scroll library. The banshee scream fell on deaf ears – actually unsurprising, given that skeletons and nightmare do not have any aural instruments.
TOMB KINGS TURN 2.
Both chariots engaged the diverting Dire Wolf road bumps – the short lived yelps would signal early victory in the auxiliary war to the Tomb Kings. The third chariot unit engaged the Wraiths for some reason…(I think at this moment, Stuart’s inner grandfather clock chimed a note of realization)…while the Tomb King landed nearby. The Liche choir advanced in support, aiming to bring their incantational influence closer to the centre, were it would be most effective in latter turns. The phalanx stood mostly still, though the rightmost warrior unit positioned itself so as to deflect any threats away from the hiding Hierophant and company. With a flutter of finality, the Carrion landed behind the oncoming enemy cordon, eyeing the Ghoul bunker with Necromancer candy.
It was obvious that the magic phase would revolve itself around one thing – whether or not the Tomb King would engage the Wraiths or not. If he would, the Vampires would have a severely difficult uphill battle for the rest of the game – what with already having lost both flanks, survival would be most difficult indeed, with the Tomb King’s having play all over the board (much like this
famous game of chess).
While the Tomb King’s efforts were quickly done away with, the Liches with great effort could not be stopped, despite the expenditure of the one and only Vampiric dispel scroll. The King eagerly moved into combat, gently starting to swing his flail. A direct hit from the Catapult, its last act of defiance before being torn asunder in the next turn, obliterated four Grave Guard.
The left flank was unceremoniously cleared of Dire Wolves. The Tomb King’s flail found no resistance in the ethereal forms of his opponent’s, sending three to a long overdue grave. While the chariots suffered some damage in return, the Wraiths were left in a gravely weakened state (bad pun I know).
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 3.
After the obvious charge of Dire Wolves into vulnerable Catapult, the Fell Bats positioned themselves to harass the Liches. I had foreseen this and had a plan, though of course the inevitable Dance would be a considerable threat. The Vampire centre, realizing the threats now potentially closing in from behind, sought to engage the Tomb King battle line as quickly as possible.
With the dissolution of undead movement magic being my prime concern, the raising spells had to be allowed – the Grave Guard was summarily reformed. The necromancer’s attempt at movement magic failed utterly, while the Lord’s effort, cast on an impressive 5-5-6, met its demise at the second issue of material from Tomb King parchment. This left just two dice to dissuade the Book of Arkhan from being employed.
With little surprise, combat was quick. The Tomb King quickly dispatched the remaining ghostly apparitions, while the Dire Wolves overcame, with consummate ease, the trying desperately to impress Catapult crew – crumbling the edifice in an explosion of bone and dust (nothing magical, I just haven’t cleaned the army in a while).
TOMB KINGS TURN 3.
With the enemy centre so far advanced, it would seem almost rude not to encircle it and pick apart the weak points. I do not like to be rude. The chariots swept in on each flank, already dreaming of turn 5 or 6 flank and rear charges. One Scorpion positioned itself to threaten the Fell Bats. With malicious intent, the Tomb King landed nearby the Ghoul Bunker. The choir advanced further, taking up a nice central position where their incantations effectively covered the area of battle. Of course, they also made a note of avoiding the remaining Vampire Count auxiliary. The rightmost skeleton unit readied itself to engage any threats.
Again, the Vampire was posed with difficult choices – it would be possible to stop the Chariot unit from flanking the ghouls, or to prevent the Tomb King from engaging and pinning down the bunker – but not both. Stuart took a long to analyze the position, and finally decided to allow the Tomb King to charge, but concentrated magics held the chariots in place, much to the disappointment of the Hierophant. Actually, the Tomb King reminded me of
Smyslov’s Queen in this instructive game . I believe this was the right choice by my opponent. Should the left flank have already been hit this early on, it would only serve to quickly undermine the support of the Grave Guard unit – and despite how insanely hard that unit was (or as is any unit that causes fear, has regenerate and killing blow, a
BSB and starts with +8
CR), even they would succumb to an attack from all fronts. However, with a smirk, I opened my Hieratic Jar, forcing the scorpion into the Fell Bats.
The Tomb King wailed on three ghouls, breaking their forms with powerful blows, attempting to part the way to the vulnerable Necromancer (and more importantly, his irritatingly mass produced magical literature), or failing that, the squishy Vampire Lord. The Tomb Scorpion made me proud, dealing two wounds to the Fell Bats and suffering none in return.
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 4.
With difficulties mounting, the main Vampire battle finally found solace in the peacefull zen state of warhammer close combat. The left most ghouls engaged their skeletal opposition, while the Grave Guard bulldozer prepared to demolish the central linchpin of the skeletal phalanx. The rightmost ghoul unit reformed, so as to hold the threatening Tomb King units in its frontal arc.
Magic this turn focused upon summoning zombies to deflect the left flank chariots. Try as I might, I did not want to allow a Wind of Death (with my three exposed Liches) so I did allow the summons, though both the Book of Arkhan and the cursed Wind were halted. Twelve zombies clawed their way from their earth (or were crafted from the bloodied remains of the Vampiric left flank) to throw themselves under the wheels of the chariots.
The ghouls clawed apart two of their rivals, losing one of their number to the finely crafted weapons of their skeletal foes. Lead by two heroes, the Grave Guard shattered an impressive seven skeletons, crumbling a further eleven, leaving the remaining half dozen to huddle around their banner, looking at it desperately, in what would be described as fear were they living creatures. The Tomb King dispatched a further two ghouls, coming closer to the prize within, while the Tomb Scorpion out did itself once more, causing four wounds to the Fell Bats, crumbling away the entirety of the unit.
TOMB KINGS TURN 4.
Both chariot units charged in unison, to remove the burden of the zombie interlopers. A scorpion charged the Ghouls in support of the skeletons. In support of their King, the Carrion engaged the remnants of the bunker, bringing ever closer the demise of the Vampire backbone. The skeletal archers moved to sacrifice themselves should the Grave Guard break through my centre – it seemed best to feed them more and more material to keep them out of position. The other scorpion moved to block the Dire Wolves and any threats they may pose to my Liches. Finally, the skeletons and chariots on the right flank started to create combinational threats against the rightmost ghoul unit.
Despite the positional advantages I had accrued, I was once more reminded of the static advantages the Vampire Counts would possess until I could remove the Lord – my attempts to force the chariots into the flank of the ghouls went completely unrewarded, although between the Banner of the Undying Legion and the other Liches, much of the largely depleted skeleton unit was recreated to give the Grave Guard more weapons practice – they were a little old and creaky, so it only seemed fair to give them a second go.
The chariots quickly dispatched the zombies. The scorpion and skeletons managed to make some headway against their ghouls, while the central skeleton unit was torn apart once more, though a mighty three skeletons survived to give up +100VPs next turn. The carrion wounded the Necromancer, but managed little else. The Tomb King killed a few ghouls, while the Vampire Lord inflicted wounds upon the Carrion. However, when the action abated for a moment for both sides to take stock, only the Vampire and Necromancer remained, in a duo that was no where near as fearsome as Batman and Robin.
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 5.
With little to do now, the Dire Wolves backed lamely away from the Scorpion. The unengaged ghouls reformed once more to keep everything threatening away from their flanks.
Wind of Death drew a dispel scroll (perhaps overkill, but I was unlikely to be needing the entirety of my carried library anymore in any case). The engaged ghoul unit had its numbers slightly bolstered.
In what had become a comedy of overkill, the remaining three skeletons with the arrogance to oppose the Grave Guard were cast down for their folly, though the Grave Guard did stoop to pick up their banner. The scorpion, skeleton and ghoul combat continued in largely even form. The King challenged the Necromancer, who bravely (or unavoidably) accepted, only to quickly remember that no, he wasn’t a Bloodthirster, but that was in fact a pleasant dream – and final thought. The Vampire Lord did some damage to the Carrion, acknowledging as his form began to falter, that soon he would meet his equal in combat face to face (probably in the next combat phase if I were to guess).
TOMB KINGS TURN 5.
It now became a matter of ensuring I scored all the victory points that I could – that begun with pinning units where possible, so as to make flank and rear charges certain. To that effect, the skeletons engaged the ghouls, while the chariots readied to hit their flank. The skeletal archers stood steadfastly to their mission statement, ‘sell our lives for time’. The Liche choir further improved its position in the centre, now that all threats were extinguished. Chariots moved to create more threats, while the Scorpion chased nimbly after the cowardly Dire Wolves.
In a last act of defiance, the Vampire Lord prevented the Tomb King’s efforts to incant the nearby chariots into combat. While the second liche was also stalled, in his weakened state the Lord could not prevent everything, and quickly enough, two chariot units found themselves in combat with two separate ghoul units. And not in the front either.
The Tomb King killed the Vampire Lord. No flourish, just something I took great enjoyment in. The Ghoul unit hit in the rear by the chariots was completely destroyed, while in the other combat, given the Ghouls were only flanked, a handful survived.
Surveying the scene, it seemed very much like my opponent had been vastly overeager in committing his forces so quickly in the beginning.
VAMPIRE COUNTS TURN 6.
Without the comforting presence of the Vampire Lord, the remaining Ghouls and Dire Wolves decided to embrace the warm embrace of death. (What?). The Grave Guard decided to show that no body, not even the fearsome archers could stand before them and charged. It was true, they could not, and a nice overrun saw the Grave Guard escape any potential last turn shenanigans.
TOMB KINGS TURN 6.
Seeking to wrap up the game, the Tomb King army dispersed to secure three table quarters, while contesting the remainder.
FINAL RESULTS:
Tomb King Victory Points: Roughly 1500 in Kills, +100 for General slain, +300 for Table Quarters = 1900
Vampire Counts Victory Points: Roughly 700 in Kills, +100 for Banner = 800
Result: SOLID VICTORY
And now, instead of any parting words of wisdom, I will simply link to what I consider to be, the
greatest chess game of all time
And now, to show that we all play for fun, a photo of the practicing players enjoying a good time afterwards
Thank you for reading, please leave any comment you wish. I hope you enjoyed the report as much as I enjoyed writing it.
1850 Mech
4000 Speed Freeks
2500
2500 Mech
