Hello out there dakka fans,
This will be my first foray into fantasy battle reports. Only have played a few games in 8th I hope we didn’t make too many mistakes. Today we have 3500 point match between Dark Elves and the Slayers of Karak Kadrin. To those of you not familiar with the slayer army their list can be found the Storm of Chaos book and there was also an
FAQ by Gav Thorpe that instructed on how to use it with the current dwarf book. It is basically an entire army of unbreakable ginger nuts determined to get them killed and take as many of the enemy as they can with them. We thought that 8th could really breathe some life back into this list. From what we read Dark Elves are still formidable and could prove a good match for slayers. Now for the lists
Slayers:
Lords
Daemon Slayer, Skaven slayer, deathblow, Master rune of Skalf Blackhammer, rune of Snorri Spangelheim
Heroes
Dragon Slayer, beast slayer, rune of speed, rune of cleaving
Dragon Slayer, Killing Blow, additional hand weapon, wards of Grimnar
Dragon Slayer, Skaven slayer, master rune of swiftness, rune of cleaving
Core
Troll Slayers (30) standard,1 giant slayer, musician
Doomseekers (3)
Troll Slayers (30) standard,1 giant slayer, musician
Doomseekers (3)
Troll Slayers (30) standard,1 giant slayer, musician
Doomseekers (3)
Special
Brotherhood of Grimnir (30) standard,1 giant slayer, musician, master rune of Grimnir
Rare
Goblin Hewer
Gotrek & Felix
Dark Elves:
Lords
Dreadlord, sea dragon cloak, shield, ogre blade, armour of fortune, Ring of Ruin, Black dragon
Sorcerer lord, level 4, talisman of endurance, tome of furion
Heroes
Master, heavy armour, sea dragon cloak, crimson death
Sorcerer, level 2, Dark Star cloak
Core
Spearmen (30) shields, standard, champion, musician
Spearmen (30) shields, standard, champion, musician
Spearmen (30) shields, standard, champion, musician, standard of discipline
Crossbowmen (10)
Crossbowmen (10)
Crossbowmen (10)
Dark Riders (5) crossbows
Special
Executioners (25) standard, champion, musician, gleaming pennant
Cold One Knights (10) standard, champion, musician, warbanner
Rare
Bolt Throwers (4)
Hydra
OK on with the show
A look at the field before we start.
Now before first turn the slayers have their special rule “Look Snorri Trolls!” For those of you who don’t know, before you roll to see who goes first each unit, except the Goblin Hewer, moves forward 2
D6 inches.
After “Look Snorri Trolls!” this is what we have
Slayers win first turn
Slayers turn 1:
Not much going on here. The army moves forward. The Goblin Hewer takes aim but misses its target.
Dark Elves turn 1:
The lord on his dragon moves up behind the tress in the center. The Hydra and the Dark Riders move around the left flank.
The level 2 wizard fails to cast a spell; the slayers dispel everything the Sorcerer lord can dish out.
Shooting fares much better, between crossbows and bolt throwers 4 of the little orange whirl winds bite it.
End of turn 1
Slayers turn 2:
Once again not much going on
The Goblin Hewer misses AGAIN!!
Gotrek & Felix fail to charge the Hydra
A Doomseeker in the center fails to make it to the crossbowmen.
And that’s it… for now.
Dark Elves turn 2:
The Hydra decides to take the initiative and charges Gotrek & Felix
Seeing the chance to hit the slayers hard the Spearmen on the left flank charge a unit of slayers.
The dragon moves over the forest to get a look at the flank of the Brotherhood of Grimnir.
The level 2 wizard can’t cast anything.
The Sorcerer lord lashes out and hits the Daemon slayers in the center with the black horror killing 5.
The Dragon manages to kill 7 with his breath attack.
Crossbows in the center kill another Doomseeker, combined fire from crossbows and bolt throwers kill 9 more slayers from the Daemon slayers unit in the center.
The bolt throwers on the right flank each take a wound off of two Doomseekers.
The best masters whiff against Felix. Gotrek hits the Hydra 3 times and then hits with 2 of his bonus attacks and causes 3 wounds. Since Gotrek’s axe causes 2 wounds for each one scored that makes 6 total and the Hydra is dead before it can even rear back its head to strike. Felix kills the stunned beast masters. Looks like the slayer will have to seek death else where.
The spearmen try to make up for the Hydra’s disappointment. However on the charge they only manage 2 wounds. The slayers whiff, but the Dragon slayer saves the day killing 3. Plus he has the beast slayer ability so each of his wounds caused count for 2 so that makes six. The slayers win and pursue the broken spearmen.
End of turn 2
Slayers turn 3:
Slayers charge the fleeing spearmen, who are destroyed. They then pass their reform test and take aim at some crossbowmen.
The Daemon Slayers unit fails to charge a unit of crossbows.
On the far right one of the surviving Doomseekers charges the Cold One Knights. Being so close to the table edge the knights have very little choice but to hold.
The Goblin Hewer takes aim on the Executioners and finally hits, killing 6 of the elite elves.
In combat the Doomseeker swings like a mad man and kill 3 Cold One Knights.
The knights in return whiff, break and flee of the table. The Doomseeker pursues but does not make it off the table.
Dark Elves turn 3:
Not wanting to face the Goblin Hewer again the Executioners charge the Brotherhood of Grimnir unit. The lord and his dragon join in on the fun.
The level 2 sorcerer manages to get a spell off and kills one slayer. The sorcerer lord is stopped cold by the slayers anti-magical energy.
The Dark Riders unleash their arrows and score a wound on the Goblin Hewer.
Combined crossbow and bolt thrower fire brings down 4 slayers from the Daemon Slayers unit.
The bolt throwers on the right pick off another Doomseeker.
In a bloody round of combat between the lord, dragon and Executioners kill 13 slayers. In return the slayers take down 5 Executioners, put 2 wounds on the lord and 3 on the Dragon. Though they loose the combat the unbreakable ginger nuts hold on.
Slayers turn 4:
On the right flank the slayers charge the spearmen.
Up on the hill a Doomseeker charges one of the bolt throwers.
The Daemon slayers unit charges a unit of crossbows in the center, they flee. Both the wizard lord and the bolt thrower pass their panic check. The slayers are out of range to charge anything else.
On the other side of the hill the other unit of slayers charges another unit of crossbows, who decided to stand and shoot killing 2.
Gotrek & Felix try to sneak up on the Dark Riders.
On target again the Goblin Hewer takes aim at the spearmen and kills 9, they hold.
In combat the crossbows mange to kill 3 slayers. In return the slayers kill 7, the crossbows break and flee.
The crossbows flee off the table; the slayers pursue them but fall short of hitting the bolt thrower.
The elves get their revenge on the Brotherhood of Grimnir. The lord kills 3, the dragon 3 and the Executioners 4. That leaves the Dragon Slayer alone, but he whiffs.
The Doomseeker only kills one bolt thrower crew. The elf does nothing in return but holds his ground.
On the right flank the spearmen kill 3 slayers; in return the dwarfs kill 6. Even though they take a beating the spearmen hold.
Dark Elves turn 4:
The spearmen in the center charge the Daemon slayer and his unit.
The fleeing crossbows rally. The Sorcerer lord decided the hill is looking a little crowded so he heads for a safer spot.
Magic is a bust the slayers dispel everything. In shooting the bolt throwers in the center kill 5 slayers that are about to roll up their hill.
On the right flank a bolt thrower kills yet another Doomseeker.
In combat over on the right spearmen kill 4 slayers; in response Giant slayer used his skaven slayer skill and kills 9. The troll slayers inflict 6 wounds, but defiantly the elves make 5 saves. It doesn’t help though, they break and the slayers run them down and stop just before the table edge.
On the hill the Doomseeker takes out the last crew of the bolt thrower.
The lord takes the honor of killing the Dragon Slayer.
In the center the master kills 2 slayers, spearmen kill 3. The Daemon slayer kills 9 with using skaven slayer, hitting on 2s and wounding on 2s. The slayers also kill 1. A bloody mess but the spear elves manage to hold.
Slayers turn 5:
The slayers charge the side of the hill to hit the bolt thrower.
The Goblin Hewer kills one Dark Rider.
During combat the dark elf master kills 1 and the spearmen kill another 1. The Daemon slayer kills 8 and the slayers take down another 2. The surviving spearman and the master flee with the slayers pursuing them.
One the hill the Giant slayer alone kills the bolt thrower crew and over run into the crossbows.
Dark Elf turn 5:
Things not looking so good
The lord and his dragon charge the Daemon slayer and his unit.
The Sorcerer lord miscasts on black horror and looses 2 levels but only kills one slayer.
Crossbows kill a Doomseeker that was heading for the Executioners.
The bolt thrower on the hill manages to kill the last Doomseeker
The Lord 2 wounds on the Daemon slayer and the dragon kills the last 3 troll slayers. Skaven slayer does not do anything against monsters, so the Daemon slayer only has his regular attacks, but he still manages to take 2 more wounds off of the dragon.
The slayers kill 2 crossbowmen and in return the poke one slayer in the eye before running for their lives. The slayers pursue into the next bolt thrower.
Slayers turn 6:
Gotrek & Felix roll and 11 and make an amazing charge to hit the Dark Riders.
The slayers on the right flank roll up the hill and charge the last bolt thrower.
The Goblin Hewer hits the Executioners again and kills 6, but they pass their panic check.
In combat the slayers blast through the bolt thrower and over run falling short of the crossbows at the bottom of the hill.
On the other hill the slayers are tired and only kill 1 of the bolt throwers crew. The crew man kills 1 slayer and passes his leadership test.
The lord on the dragon kills the Daemon slayer giving him his glorious death in combat.
Gotrek kills 3 Dark Riders, the remaining rider whiffs. Felix finishes off the last one.
Dark Elf turn 6:
The lord and his dragon charge the slayers on the hill.
The fleeing crossbows rally. Everyone else moves in on the other unit of slayers.
The lord kills 1 slayer then the dragon eats 3. The Dragon Slayer takes the last wound off of the big beast and a slayer kills the bolt thrower crew in front. The lord loses but holds.
End of the game.
Slayers win 2415pts to 1903pts. That was without counting banners and points for slayers glorious death.
What did we learn?
Slayers:
The #1 thing I learned was DO NOT F@#K with Gotrek. I have not used the old boy since 6th but he rocks. The game was a lot of fun. I did not expect how much 8th would compliment this army. In the past slow movement killed this army, if the opponent could stay out of charge range they would win. Another way to beat the slayers was to kill everyone in front rank of combat. Random charge and step up make this army awesome. They used to rely heavily on the Doomseekers to win the game. As we saw in this game that is no longer the case.
Dark Elves:
“
WTF was that…well I would say don’t rely on magic in 8th. My luck was horrible. I never managed to roll above a nine for power dice and most turns it was 7. In most turns the slayers had as many dispel dice as I had casting due to their special rule. I also could not make very many armor saves. I also thought I could count on shooting more. Bad luck aside I think my only big mistakes were holding back to much and target priority. I should have moved the COK around the flank and charged that stupid Doomseeker. I should have thought about step up more. If I would have shot more at the blocks and hit the Doomseekers in combat things may have been different. Looking forward to our next match.”
Something we both learned is when you or someone you know uses older metal spearmen it is a good idea to keep first aid nearby. We had to stop for a few minutes to find a band aid when “somebody” put their hand down on a unit of pointy elves.
So there you have it. We had fun playing hope you had fun reading.
My Chaos Space Marines showcase so far: 
I guess he was so shocked he forgot about it. I told him there was no armour save from Gotreks Axe and he said "well I guess he is dead then". I don't think either of us even thought about it. 8th is new for him as well, so I will spot him some victory points the next time we play. He'll love it when I tell him.
