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Got in a friendly game to test my growing army, this time at 1000 against a good friend with Wood Elves.

Mission: Battleline

Terrain: 3 Forests (including his forest) a Scree Slope, a regular Hill, two Rivers (Light and Torrent), Arcane Ruins and a Wyrding Well.


Skaven:
Grey Seer

Warlock Engineer w/ warp Energy Condenser and Deathrocket
Chieftain w/ BSB and Shield

30 Clanrats
Warp Fire Thrower

50 Slaves
50 Slaves

10 Gutter Runner w/ Poison and Slings


Wood Elves:
Lvl 3 Life Wizard w/ Divination Orb

10 Dryads
13 Glade Guard w/ Musician and Banner of the Eternal Flame

3 Treekin
14 Wardancers w/ Champ and Musician


For Spells I got Warp Lightning on the Warlock and Howling Warpgale, Skitterleap, Crack's Call and Scorch on the Grey Seer. He got Throne of Vines, Regrowth and Awakening of the Wood.


Terrain was fairly scattered. The Ruins went in my deployment zone on the left flank, the woods went in his deployment on my left, his deployment center and my deployment right. The Well went dead center. The rivers went from the middle left all the way down and all the way across the table, covered almost everything. The Scree Slope went center right and the regular hill went center left.

I let him drop first to get the +1 and see where he committed. The Dryads went a bit back on my extreme left flank to deny the Arcane Ruins, the Dancers started on my left flank near a bridge. The Treekin started center in the river (Torrent) and the Glad Guard went right of them in his personal forest.

I dropped my Slaves and Clanrats center, with the Clanrats on the left and Slaves center and right. All three characters went in the Clanrats and the Fire Thrower went to it's left. My Runners Scouted near the Ruins to Sling Dancers and Dryads.

I won the roll for first turn and eagerly took it.


Skaven Turn 1
Slaves March up to the Glade Guard, possibly charging next turn. The other Slaves move to block the Treekin from eating my Clanrats. The Runners got in Sling range of the Dancers and the Fire Thrower shuffled up a few with the Clanrats.

In Magic he was very afraid of Crack's Call, even though I'd need a high roll to hit the Treekin. He dispelled Warp Lightning but Scorch went off, killing 4 dancers. Crack's Call went through but was short as I only rolled 8".

Shooting killed the Dancers down to 7, nothing else fired.


Wood Elves Turn 2
The Dryads March towards the bridge and the Dancers cross it, looking for a charge for next turn on the Clanrats. Unfortunately I couldn't block this because my other Slave block was off trying to earn some points. The Treekin moved out of the river to charge next turn and the Glade Guard held firm.

In Shooting I gave him Vines but dispelled Regrowth on the Dancers. Four Slaves died to bows but I couldn't care less.


Skaven Turn 2
The Slaves move into the river as I needed about a 10 to charge. Other Slaves move to block the Treekin further while the Clanrats backup a bit and move the Fire Thrower in front of them. Gutter Runners move to get in short range on the Dancers.

He again fears Cracks' Call, which is fine because I fear the Dryads and Dancers. He dispels Call but I scorch the Dancers again, killing them down to 1 with Gutter Runner help. Warp Lightning rolls a 1 and wounds my Warlock, as always.


Wood Elves Turn 2
The lone Dancer charges my Clanrats in the flank, not really possible to do any damage. The Treekin March to move around my Slaves, he knows charging them is stupid and only helps me. The Dryads move up to charge Clanrats next turn.

In Magic I Dispel Vines before he goes. He tosses 5 at Regrowth towards the Dancers but I dispel it by using all my dice. He than uses Awaken and shooting to kill some more Slaves but not enough for a Panic.

The Dancer kills 2 but loses to static and breaks, not dying to the river and getting Timewarp from it. I opted to hold as he needed double 1's to rally.


Skaven Turn 3
The Slaves move up more as I'm still to far to charge. The other Slaves move to block the Treekin again, showing a flank. The Runner hold still to Sling Dryads, I really need to hurt them this turn. Clanrats back up more from the Dryads.

In Magic he dispels Lightning but Scorch goes through, killing 3 Dryads. Crack's is dispelled. The Slings kill 5 while the Rocket overshoots and the Fire Thrower Misfires, blowing up. Glorious Skaven engineering! ;]


Wood Elves Turn 3
Dryads charge the Clanrats, making it easily. Treekin also charge the Slaves as he will never not be blocked. The Wardancer fails to rally but only runs 3" and the Glade Guard shuffle away, hoping I'll fail my charge.

Magic gets an unbuffed Regrowth on the Wardancers, healing them to 4. I blew all my dice on that and so did he, so he fails to kill some Slaves with bows.

In combat he does a wound to my BSB and kills the Engineer, in addition to a few Clanrats. I strike back killing 2 with the BSB and 1 more with the Clanrats and I hold. The Treekin mash some Slaves but they don't mind.


Skaven Turn 4
Slaves charge, needing a 6 and getting a 10, losing no one to Stand and Shoot. Unfortunately, I'm in the river so no rank bonus, which is a big problem. The Runners reform to face the Dancers, tired of them living.

In Magic I Skitterleap the Seer out of combat, moving him to give his Ld to the Slaves in combat with the Glade Guard but also be pretty safe. I fail to do anything else as he blocks it. Runners kill 2 Dancers with disappointing dice.

In combat I lose more Clanrats as he goes for raw CR. In return I kill 3 Dryads and he loses to my ranks and other bonuses, breaking and getting run down. I pursue into the River of Light and get the auto-rally spell. The Slaves lose 2 but kill 4 back on 4 hits with amazing luck, breaking the Glade Guard who flee off the table with the Wizard. I pursue 2". Treekin jump up and down but the Slaves are unimpressed.


Wood Elves Turn 4
For some reason we thought the Dancers had rallied so he charged the Runners with them. A lot of people were talking and things got confusing so in he went.

The Treekin repeated their dance to an uncaring Slave audience while the Dancers killed 2 Runners and lost one back thanks for the 4+ Ward save. I held much to his anger.


Skaven Turn 5
I reform the Slaves and move the Seer to shoot Call's down the Treekin unit. Clanrats stay put, I can't risk a Banishment or something else.

In Magic I kill 1 Treekin with Crack's and lose some Slaves to Scorch. The Runner finish off the last dancer for a loss in return and turn around to sling the Treekin.


Wrapup
He got the Slaves down to about 15 models over the next three combats. I got Crack's dispelled and Scorched more Slaves as the Slings did a wound.

Crushing Victory to the Skaven!

Impressive victory! I feel for the wood elf player. I have to say, though, that I don't think his list was too good. It was very balanced (although I think you were both quite magic-heavy for such a low point level, with lords for casters!) with some magic, some shooting, and some combat. I think he needed to go for more shooting and just do counter-charges, or for more combat power. At this point level, I think the balanced approach is hard to pull off, since there's not enough points to devote to any one category. Also, kudos to you for having enough rats to field that many slaves, even at 1000 points! Talk about model count!

I also think he should've charged the treekin into the slaves unit when they first had the chance to, since there was really no other choice it seems, and he needed to kill them and get them out of the way!

I'm curious about lore of life at this point level. It seems that it needs the "buff" spell to aid the others to really be devastating, and with only 3 spells, I'm not sure if it's going to be worth having such a high-points cost caster at this level. I think he would've done better just taking perhaps a branchwraith the cluster of radiants for magic defense... although perhaps against an opponent with less magic than you had, it would have been more effective.

Did you take a leadership test to refrain from chasing the wardancers? It looks like you guys are pretty on point with the new rules, which is good!

Better luck to the woodies next time, I hope . But congrats on the win!

I did test to restrain on the Dancers as I figured they'd keep running, but I later chased the Dryads down because Regrowth is so irritating.

He is actually trying a lot of different lists because he is brand new to the game, and war gaming in general. Me and a High Elf player try to give him a lot of games and he's getting a lot better. I actually quite like his list overall, although against my army it's a bad match up. If he had more shooting I probably would have won even bigger, Bows don't do much to Slaves.

I agree on Life, he was trying out the Lvl3 because he usually runs a Noble but Magic has been savaging him lately. He got a good spell combo, but Dwellers would have been really scary too. If he got that and Regrowth I think it would have been much closer.

The list was for our League that I run, were escalating to 1000 points next week so he just wanted to test, as did I. I agree on the Treein charge, he would have probably broke them if he'd charged one turn earlier. I made a lot of mistakes too, mostly with deployment but we all learn.

Thank you for the great comment!

Yes, I was just trying to think what he could have done to get a better result. I personally play a wood elf list with no shooting and imho, it's gotten a lot better under 8th edition! Certainly against that many models, shooting wouldn't make enough of a dent to be worth it... good point!

You're also right about the lore of life being great for him in some instances. Against an army like mine he probably would have gotten off any one spell he liked, which could be devastating. But you had a lord level caster to boost your dispel ability, which again makes for a bit of a bad matchup for him. I wonder what army is a good matchup for you . I do think my list would fare better, that I just tried out for 1000 points: Branchwraith with Cluster of Radiants, 35 dryads (split into 3 units), 6 Treekin, and 2 Eagles. So, not balanced at all!

We're just about to start a 1000 point escalation league, as well! I'll be starting a different army, though, since I currently play wood elves.

I don't play Wood Elves but the classic shooting and move army seems so weak now. Cover hurts you more than helps and with templates, other shooting and Magic being so good the T3 and no save really wrecks the army.

Almost all the WE fighting units Skirmish or are Trees, bother pretty resistant to a lot of threats. The only drawback is Steadfast significantly hinders the entire army, only Eternal Guard can overcome it realistically.

He's actually been putting the hurt on High Elves but that guy is also figuring out his army, so kind of a wash.

Good to hear he's having success against High Elves, at any rate! And I agree with your thoughts about the classic WE army. I think our style has had to change more than any other in this edition. Luckily, the units people seem to be getting more of (treekin!) are some that I already have, although most lists I've seen are still sporting a balanced look. I think glade guard can be nasty against certain armies still... although yours is not one of them!!

Wood Elves have always struggled against large blocks, so that's no suprise, but Steadfast does make it harder! The thing that has given me the most trouble so far is elite units, rather than the large blocks of fodder, since steadfast or no, against them dryads/treekin/treemen can often win combat. It's the more deadly warriors that are giving me nightmares... such as knights of any kind, or even something as simple as Orc Big 'Uns in horde formation. Ugh!

I think elites with staying power are worse, like Chaos Warriors. Knights can be Killing Blowed with Waywatchers and Dancers, at least in theory. Trees (not Dryads) also walk them over, especially if they don't charge.

I actually really like Wood Elves, they seemed very one dimensional and irritating to play against before but now they're more of a scalpel army. Sadly because we started at low points everyone is anti-Skaven now because I run such big blocks with Leadership help. Hopefully it'll be obvious they can be beaten at higher points.

I have had trouble with skaven, but I think you're running them in a fair way. HPAs are what make me start griping (although I don't resent you adding one in for the higher point level games, just saying!)

I've only played chaos once so far, and I think the person didn't field enough warriors in his blocks, because my dryads (and in a different combat, treekin) were able to tear through them! His knights, on the other hand, almost won the game back for him. I also got desecrated by some Empire knights yesterday, even though I got the charge with my treekin! (Albiet, there were extenuating circumstances, but 1+ armor is crazy hard for me to overcome. Killing blow is a good idea, if I had those units!)

I've watched a few games of WoC, though, and it seems to me that if they take enough numbers in their warriors units to make combat, they'll be crazy. I still get to go first with dryads, but then they bring the pain...

I agree about the wood elf style being cooler, now! Before, apparently they annoyed the hell out of people with the usual build, and now they're a bit more balanced out in what they can do.

I'm also interested- you're in Arizona, which means we're having this discussion in the middle of the night for you. Do you work a night shift?

I work two jobs on a multitude of shifts but I'm a night owl. My LGS is open 24/7 so I do my gaming by moonlight. ;]

In most games I've watched Knights get ground down quickly, even by things not as good as Treekin. S3 is a horrible drawback as is fighting at Init order, all they really have is the save. With the terrain rules and how charges changed, cavalry are unimpressive to me in most situations. Chaos Knights overcome with raw attacks and strength while Brettonians can strip Steadfast because of Lance rules and their improved staying power. Other than that, pickings are slim in my eyes. Taking 5 Knights to the flank just doesn't hurt anymore and throwing out 10+ is cost prohibitive and risky.

You don't have any Wardancers? I'd take them for painting if nothing else but they're strong under the right circumstances. A Lvl1-2 Wizard backed by a Lvl4 will usually get Tree Singing off no problem. If you put a Dancer unit in a forest they can ride it to a faster charge and as mobile shooting defense, -2 before anything else. It's only a bonus if the forest is harmful because WE usually don't care but your opponent probably does.

Unfortunately, WE is only immune to Venomous Thicket, because it specifically states that it is a "dangerous terrain test". The WE special rules were changed to grant them immunity to dangerous terrain tests in woods. Good for cavalry, and for ignoring venomous thicket... and not much else! So Blood Forest and Wildwood still hurt, but honestly it hasn't really done anything to me so far, and I've been walking in/through the woods as per usual

I agree about the knights... he had a unit of 10, so it was quite a commitment, but they did the trick! I think I got a bit unlucky, hopefully my treekin can handle knights sometimes... at least when I get the charge! I'm planning on using my treeman for it in a larger game. One thing I forgot to check was if the horses get their supporting attacks from the back rank? We were playing that they did, and I didn't have time to check, but I wasn't sure if they'd get them or not.

I did have wardancers (nicely painted ones, too, but not by me!) but I traded them. I have a pure tree list now . They were good, but you had to be super careful with them... a smart opponent doesn't let them see combat, like you did! Although they're certainly hard to shoot, with only a 6+ ward save, any magic hurts them Bad... actually, I just checked and I guess it's a 5+ vs. magic, since it also grants magic resistance. So there's that!

Ideally, that same trick of hanging out in forests should help my dryads be awesome, since they're stubborn... but it hasn't really played out that way for me so far. And both times I had it, I failed the check anyway! Anyway, looks like you've finally turned in for the night, but cool about a 24/7 LGS! I'm envious!!

Pretty sure mounts dont get supporting attacks from the back.

They don't, only riders get supporting attacks for cavalry.

Got it, thanks!

I also just remembered that his knights were strength 4 due to something, and that's what made things a bit more painful for me.

(And I guess you are not in bed, after all )

They were probably Inner Circle Knights? Bumps to strength 4, but moves them to the specials section instead of core.

That's right! Hopefully I'll be more familiar with Empire in time to play Jin's army at GamesDay! Time to read up a bit...

What is the skaven answer for cavalry / knights, then? Just lots of bodies?

warp lighning cannons and plague claw catapults...

Cata's are only strength 2 but large template and no armor!

Counter charging with censers for the gas tests can't be too shabby either...

Good battle report i have read quite a few WE battle reports lately and it seems all the lists are focused on trees!

My answer is just absorb with Slaves and see if I need to even kill them. HPA in the flank is game over for Knights, Plague Magic is very good too.

yeah skaven are actually an army that have a very easy time dealing with knights.

So many attacks, machines, etc that negate a ton of armor or just ignore it completely.

Even a S2 shot from a WLC will ignore armor.

Plague mortar, plagueclaw catapult, poisoned wind globes, furnace gas, censer gas, pretty much any lore of plague spell, jezzails are -4.