High Elves Turn 1
High Elf forces move to surround and entrap their foes
Alexandra had recovered from her last battle and returned from a journey to the Chaos Void. Even better, she had used the time to ruminate on past mistakes, and she now remembered well the lessons she learned about overaggression and impetuosity. She ordered her forces to maintain a slow pace, setting up traps for the enemy and picking off their fragile units from afar. Only the frost phoenix moved forward aggressively. The ancient monster had little to fear from the enemy army and sought to use this position to control the center and thus slow down the greenskin advance.
Additionally, the keen-eyed great eagle saw an opening and swooped forward, fooling the rabid night goblins into releasing their fanatics directly in its path! The crazed goblins smashed harmlessly into an intervening wall, but to their dismay they were unable to destroy it.
**
Magic (6v6): Alexandra's caution was perhaps overmuch, and she wasn't in range for some of her most useful spells. She therefore aimed to capitalize on the disorderly enemy troops by confusing their distant general with an icy blizzard. His position in the sky above would make him especially vulnerable to such a spell! He managed to stop it, however, along with a long-range fireball Alexandra attempted to hurl at the closest unit of trolls.
On the flanks, the enemy harassing wolf riders were chased away with some well-placed bolts and arrows, and a couple of savage orc boar boyz were unhorsed (unboared?). The eastern mangler was also wounded, and a spider rider fell from his sticky saddle in the west.
Orcs & Goblins Turn 1
cautious advance from the greenskins as well.
The Great Shaman was a bit nervous seeing his troops being surrounded. Calls out to the flank for reforms had limited success--on the east, the wolf riders reined in their mounts and turned back to the battle, but on the west his cries fell on deaf ears as the goblins pretended not to hear him. A few general advance was called, with the pump wagon surging forward perhaps a bit farther than anyone expected it to!
**
Magic (6v3): The Great Shaman drew a glassy stone from his pocket and crushed it in his craggy fist. Feeling a surge of power, he called down the mighty foot of none other than Gork himself! Alexandra knew she could not draw enough power to stop the incantation--additionally, she had seen this particular spell before and was not overly concerned for her forces.
The orc Shaman pointed at the enemy magical forest archers, hoping to smash their flaming bows into matchsticks, but his aim was somewhat off! Gork was displeased and turned his wrath upon the nearby boar riders, squashing most of the regiment! Even the black orc battle standard bearer did not escape the weight of Gork. However, he miraculously survived, as did three of the six affected boar boys! They thanked their lucky warpaint and kept charging toward the smelly elves.
The Shaman, unperturbed, attempted some more magic, this time hoping to appease Gork by asking for his hands to help move some units around. Unfortunately, his pleas were not loud enough, and Gork ignored him for now.
High Elves Turn 2
another impetuous charge from the dragon princes! why?
Despite Alexandra's careful plans, the dragon princes ignored her orders and charged forward into the three remaining boar boys and the two huge orcs accompanying them. The drakemaster lowered his magical lance and aimed it directly at the black orc battle standard bearer. The scions of Caledor planned to gut the enemy leadership in one fell swoop, then turn and sweep into the nearby trolls, burning them alive with their flaming weapons! The possibility was definitely there for a quick victory, but wouldn't it have been more prudent to wait a bit for better conditions?
Seeing the somewhat premature charge of the heavy cavalry, Alexandra sighed and ordered more units into combat to cover their attack. The western skycutter hit the pump wagon, while the phoenix trampled into some spider riders, looking to overrun into the trolls behind them. The eastern reavers drew their spears and took the fight to their wolf-riding counterparts, while even the great eagle got into the action, swooping the short distance forward into another unit of spider riders.
This left the shooting base of the elves to shuffle a bit for better shots, while the lion chariot moved to the center to cover anything that made it through the elven front lines. On the west, the reavers there gingerly crossed the River of Light and looked for their enemy amongst the trees.
**
Magic (6v5): Alexandra just couldn't catch a break, with the winds of magic refusing to blow in her favor. Nevertheless, using her Book of Hoeth, she summoned just enough power to enchant the charging dragon princes with wissan's wildform. The Great Shaman, realizing the threat to his shock troops, focused intently on stopping the spell. Though he succeeded, Alexandra capitalized on his distraction by firing two magic missiles in quick succession. First, a fireball turned a rampaging mangler squig into ash, and then shem's burning gaze felled a troll and wounded another.
Several more enemies fell to the continued shooting onslaught, and even a tough eastern boar chariot was heavily damaged by mere bowfire from the eastern archers. It continued rolling forward, but it was on the verge of falling apart. The remaining mangler was wounded again, but still he raged forward, with the goblins leading him barely able to restrain him any longer!
In combat, the drakemaster called out a challenge and struck with his lance even before his black orc counterpart could draw his weapon! The blow at first seemed true, but the gleam from the enemy's Trickster Helm caught the light in a strange way, Loec the trickster god laughed, and the lance slid aside! The battle standard bearer, wounded but not slain, swung his weapon in a huge arc, smashing the drakemaster from his saddle and splintering his lance with gratuitous force. Though two more boar boys died to lances, the last one, waving his standard, saw the outcome of the duel and fought even harder! One more dragon prince was slain, and the combat was a draw, with neither side able to gain an advantage. This looked bad for the elven cavalry.
Other charges were more successful, however. The skycutter smashed the pump wagon; the reavers, waving their standard, chased away the wolf riders; and the phoenix crushed the spider riders, crashing forward into the remaining three trolls. Only the eagle was less lucky--though it struck true, its blows somehow glanced off the flimsy armor of the goblin spider riders! The spiders gleefully sank their fangs into the eagle, and it quickly succumbed to the poison.
Orcs & Goblins Turn 2
retaliation in the east, with more maneuvering in the west
The Great Shaman flew behind the western building to take command there, leaving the victorious black orc BSB to handle the east. The black orc ordered the mangler to run through the dragon princes, and they were indeed crushed quickly by the insane beast. The wounded boar chariot began a charge against the exposed skycutter, but it flew to safety, taking cover on the other side of the swamp.
With no foes left to fight, the 3-strong boar unit moved forward again, looking for a new target. On the west, the flank forces ignored the phoenix, redressed their lines, and looked to cross the river and attack the elves' shooting base.
**
Magic (11v5): The night goblin shaman showed his true potential here! Using only minute amounts of magical wind, he bestowed the gift of the spider god onto the trolls, giving them poisonous attacks! Moreover, he stole some power from Alexandra's hands and used it to cast another spell, sneaky stabbin, onto the trolls! The Great Shaman then took over, using Gork's hand to move the injured mangler forward into the elven ranks. With his remaining power, he projected a line of deadly force from his hard skull toward Alexandra. She was unable to stop the magic, and the magical 'eadbutt crashed into her! Luckily, she survived the blast with only minor injuries, but she felt very dizzy.
In combat, the poisonous trolls were very powerful! Though one troll was further injured, they dealt two telling blows to the phoenix. Though the trolls won combat, they were not able to gain any ground and the combat ground on.
High Elves Turn 3
Alexandra moved forward to support her phoenix with magic. Her flanks moved to further encircle the enemy, confident they could shoot down the mangler before it caused any further damage.
**
Magic (5v5): With another seemingly even magical wind, Alexandra chose spells which would not use much energy. Shem's burning gaze was dispelled, but she managed to cast a fireball at the western trolls! Though the flames struck home, they did no damage and the trolls continued their march forward. Alexandra then summoned a blizzard to slow the trolls fighting the phoenix, and finally she invoked her ring of fury, unleashing the fury of khaine upon the wounded chariot! Only dealt a small amount of damage was able to get through the chariot's tough frame and thick armor, but it was just enough to destroy the machine.
In shooting, the bow-wielding elves on the west did what the fireball could not and brought down two of the marching trolls, wounding a third. On the east, however, nothing seemed able to destroy the mangler squig! Even Carmen managed to hit the thing with three magical arrows at point-blank range, but it miraculously survived!
In combat, the phoenix hit the trolls hard, but their flesh simply healed and no lasting damage was done. In return, and despite the blizzard, one troll still managed to slash its poisonous claws through the phoenix's feathers, and the monster shrieked in rage as even more poison sank into its veins.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 3
On the east, the boar riders kicked their mounts into motion and charged across no-man's land into the jaws of the lion chariot, which awaited them with stubborn resolve.
The central spiders riders, seeing the phoenix heavily wounded, charged into its flank to finish the job! In the west, the cleverest of the three remaining spider-riding goblins ordered his two subordinates forward to distract the enemy light cavalry, while he rode back to the general to give his report. The two brave companions were never heard from again as a hail of arrows landed amongst them! Finally, the wounded western trolls charged across the river into the hated archers. Many arrows fell amongst them, and one or two found its mark, but both trolls made it across the river and into the safety of close combat!
The eastern trolls were too stupid to make any decisions for themselves, and the crew of the skycutter in front of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. The wounded mangler, however, crashed through the trees into the eastern archers, killing several and forcing the remainder of the unit to flee to safety!
**
Magic (5v4): The night goblin shaman once again began to chant the words for the gift of the spider god. This time, Alexandra was ready. With the help of her trusty book, she stopped the spell before it could be enchant the trolls! The Great Shaman, enraged, once again called down the Foot of Gork, this time targeting Alexandra and her honor guard! Gork was once again off-target, however.
In combat, the lions and crew members focused everything on the remaining savage orc standard bearer, dispatching him quickly. In return, the two orcish brutes dealt heavy damage to the chariot, and despite their stubbornness, the crew were forced to turn the chariot around and flee! The orcs pursued, and the chase led all of the combatants into the nearby forest, which turned out to be a wildwood! The limbs lashed out and crushed the damaged chariot. They tried to attack the orcs as well, but the brutes laughed off the attacks and swatted the woody limbs away like so many flies.
On the west, the archers once again showed their mettle by completely dispatching the trolls before the beasts even raised their arms to fight back! To the north, the phoenix crushed three of the spiders into purple ooze, but it suffered a poisonous wound in return! It was almost ready to collapse. Would it be able to hold out?
High Elves Turn 4
Seeing her chance and the enemy cavalry heroes' flanks exposed, Carmen swooped forward on her eagle, drinking her strength potion in mid-flight. The skycutter attempted to join as well but something went wrong with the mainsail and it was forced to suddenly land!
In an unexpected show of bravery, the eastern reavers covered them by charging into the trolls' flank. With a bit of luck, they'd be able to surprise the beasts and run them down. Feeling equally brave and fresh from their victory over the western trolls, the full-strength archers charged into the remaining boar chariot's flank (though they were forced to fight partially in the river, and Elves as we all know hate getting their skirts wet). The swordmasters considered joining them but, seeing the river, were not as brave as the archers and decided to keep their feet dry a bit longer.
Alexandra stepped forward again, closing in on the enemy methodically.
**
Magic (6v4): Alexandra knew it was now or never if she were to save the phoenix. She used half of the available power to channel the winds of life and heal a bit of the poison coursing through the ancient monster's veins! With her remaining strength, she attempted to engage in a mental duel with the enemy Shaman general atop his wyvern, but the Shaman blocked the spell using all of his power. Then, Alexandra attempted to summon another blizzard onto the general, but this time the night goblin read some mumbo-jumbo from a magical scroll, and the winds dissipated harmlessly.
In shooting, the mangler was finally destroyed by a bolt thrower. More amazingly, another bolt thrower made up for its earlier ineptitude by firing a surprisingly accurate volley, at long range, between the heads of some trolls and into the enemy Great Shaman! One bolt found its mark in the orcish general's ribs, and he roared in rage.
In combat, the archers dealt a bit of damage to the chariot and forced it to flee! They showed no mercy and grabbed the rails as it tried to cross the wall, climbing aboard and hacking the orcish crew apart with their pointy elven daggers.
To the east, Carmen called out a challenge, and the frenzied savage orc stepped in front of her. Unfortunately, his thick hide was no match for her immense chemical-induced strength, and her lance pierced through both of his lungs! As he collapsed, the black orc battle standard knew the battle was lost, threw his standard to the ground, and rode for the hills.
Centrally, the phoenix crushed two more of the spiders, but the final one somehow managed to spit more poison into the giant bird's eyes! It was only due to the lifebloom from Alexandra's magic that the phoenix was able to survive, and the combat raged on yet again.
At the same time, the reavers crashed into the trolls. As expected, they dealt only minimal damage, with most of the wounds they caused immediately scabbing over. Two reavers were ripped from their saddles, but the weight of their charge was heavy, and the trolls were hard-pressed to hold! Still, the eye of the Great Shaman was upon them, and the trolls summoned enough courage to hold their ground.
Orcs and Goblins Turn 4
The Great Shaman surveyed the battle and knew that all was probably lost. He fell back to behind a wall, planning his retreat and giving orders to the night goblin shaman to hold the line while the general "flew back to the camp for more weapons."
**
Magic (8v7): Gift of the spidergod on the trolls was once again stopped by Alexandra. The Great Shaman then called one final time upon Gorkzilla, who this time dutifully smashed his foot directly down upon Carmen's head! Even Carmen's charmed shield was not strong enough to deflect the blow, and she was nearly crushed! The eagle, however, softened the blow somewhat, and though she was wounded badly, Carmen somehow survived. The spell had been cast with such force that the magical winds lashed back against the orcish lines, but the Great Shaman's tough hide protected him. The night goblin shaman was not so lucky, however, and the magical feedback wounded him badly.
In combat, the eastern trolls smashed the last three reavers apart!
More importantly, the phoenix, still barely clinging to life, finally squished the last spider rider and turned its full attention on the trolls. The trolls, without magical aid, were powerless to fight it. Despite their stupidity, they somehow sensed the hopeless situation and finally fled, shouldering through the night goblins! As the phoenix ran down and ripped apart the trolls, the night goblin shaman, seeing the futility of the situation, muttered something vile and led his forces away as well.
The Great Shaman was left alone, save for his wyvern and a few trolls. Rather than surrender to the filthy elves, he spurred his mount back into the sky and flew away to go raise another army.