Midwest Rampage 3000 points, uncomped, closed lists

This forum is for the posting of reports of your famous victories and crushing defeats. It is for both single battle reports and for ongoing army diaries/blogs.

Moderators: The Heralds, The Loremasters

Post Reply
Message
Author
Toledo Inquisition
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 1:55 pm

Midwest Rampage 3000 points, uncomped, closed lists

#1 Post by Toledo Inquisition »

Okay, a few weeks late:


I went to Midwest Rampage, 3000 points, no comp, closed lists. There were 40 slots open, and it sold out pretty quick. Sadly, a bunch of people dropped out with only 3-4 weeks left. I think only 30 showed, as getting 3000 points painted (including 40mm special Rock Star) and tested can’t be done by a lot of people in short duration. Two people dropped the night before due to a physical injury (husband/wife).

We played five scenarios, excluding Battle for the Pass. The Rock Star generally had more minor effects except for game 3 Watchtower. Most of the time the Rock Star had to do things like visit all six deployment zones, kill the other rock star, counted as an extra point of Fortitude, etc. They also were worth extra battle points. Maybe it was me, but in my games, the Rock Stars weren’t too effective, as people were being more point denial relative to being aggressive with them.

In the end, I went 4-1. I didn’t win any awards, and don’t know how I did overall – the awards were announced on the Sunday evening, but unfortunately the organizer’s young daughter then crashed his lap top at home and he lost all the files.

I had a great, great time at the tournament. The organizer (John W.) was friendly and I think everyone had a fun time. One scenario not to everyone’s taste. My second time there, and I shall be back. I took Bret’s last year, and went 3-2. This year was the High Elves.


My list:

Princess on Star Dragon, dragon armor, Starlance, Great Weapon, Charmed Shield, Other Tricksters Shard, Talisman of Preservation

Caradryan on Ashtari
L2 Metal, Dispel Scroll
Noble BSB, barded mount, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Dragon Armor

10 Silver Helms, FC
10 Silver Helms, FC
5 Reavers, musician
12 Archers, standard, musician

18 White Lions, standard, musician, BOTWD (no points for a champ!)

Frostheart
Frostheart
Eagle
Eagle


Hoping to avoid:

Empire 4-5 cannon lists (tough match up)
Ogres (2600 points are the exact same for all Ogres, boring somewhat, but I have had very good luck versus them with this army)
Demons (Epidemius, Greater Nurgle Lord, all “themed” Nurgle with two cannons, seen it too much – at least 6 times this year – plus it is hard)
Skaven (I can’t remember half their rules, I hate asking “What does that do again?”)
Orcs and Goblins (I hate random non plannable stuff, and they have too many warmachines and Manglers/fanatics for my taste)

So for tough matchups, I’d like to avoid Empire, Orcs and Goblins, Nurgle Demons


Hoping to see:
Net Warriors list! Never faced them with my army.
No D6 warmachine lists



Game 1:

John W. (not the organizer, another person) – Slaanesh Warriors. Experienced tournament guy.

First timing meeting him – awesome guy, immense painter and modeler. I think he won best painted – plenty of female conversions in a Slaanesh sexual theme. He was kit bashing 5-6 kits for one model. Crazy good skills. He spent the time and effort well.



Demon Prince, Slaanesh, L4, Charmed Shield, Dragonbane Gem, Other Tricksters Shard, Chaos Familiar, Scaled Skin, Poisonous Slime, Soul Feeder (The only spell I remember him having is Choir)

Exalted BSB, Slaanesh, Warrior Bane, Dragonhelm, Talisman of Endurance, Ironcurse Icon

Sorcerer, Slaanesh, Enchanted Shield, Dispel Scroll, Chalice of Chaos, Burning Body (with a second Demon Prince model, just in case!)

29 Slaanesh Warriors, FC, HW and shields, Standard of Discipline
Slaanesh Chariot
Slaahesh Chariot
5 Warhounds, vanguard

17 Chosen, FC, Slaanesh, HW and shields, Razor Standard
6 Hellstriders, standard, musician
6 Chaos Knights, Slaanesh, standard, musician, Gleaming Pennant

Hellcannon
Dragon Ogre Shaggoth, extra hand weapon

Wanted a balanced list with some Fortitude and units to hold/take Watchtower.


Major threats – Demon Prince, Hellcannon, big blocks for combat resolution. About four months ago in a practice game, a turn 6 Choir had cost me a game with a big Choir in turn 6, costing me a sure win when I lost 1500 points to that one spell. Stop Choir.

First thoughts – I love it! Fighty army with only one D6 warmachine.


We both didn’t have much delayed off the board – I think I had an eagle only, and he had a chariot. His chosen roled a +1 Weapon Skill, so WS7 Chosen. Not too bad. One of my spells was Enchanted Blades.


Only terrain that was much of a deal were two forests in the middle of the board, one on each side. I didn’t want to mess with them in deployment.


I deployed first from my left to right: Frostheart, Stardragon, (forest), White Lions with mage, Silver Helms with BSB on left side so my Stardragon would get a reroll first turn if needed, Caradryan/Ashtari, Frostheart. Second Silver Helms in back behind the left Frostheart to cover a flank. Reavers in the middle some place to gum things up if needed. Archers in back a bit with an eagle.

He deployed from my left to right: Hellstriders, Chariot, Shaggoth, (forest), Demon Prince, Chosen with BSB, Warriors with mage, Hellcannon is back a bit more behind Knights, Warhounds

Vanguard: He sends the Hellstriders very wide, looking to go after the archers. Warhounds look to be an annoyance.


Turn 1: He likes to fight. I like to fight. Not too tricksey. I got the first turn.

Four shorter to mid-range charges. Left Frostheart and Stardragon into the Demon Prince, Caradryan/Ashtari and right Frostheart into the knights. All make it. The rest of my middle stuff stays back away from his infantry but close enough to provide the Dragon a BSB and stubborn reroll if needed. Left Silver Helms position themselves to charge the Shaggoth. To stay out of the Shaggoth’s line of sight, my left Frostheart had to land in the woods and takes a DT wound. I made sure the Dragon and left Frostheart weren’t touching (due to the OTS).

Magic, I got off the Enchanted Blades on the Dragon. Shooting, I killed a Hellstrider or two.

Combat: Demon Prince challenges, Princess and Stardragon have to accept. At least he is at -1 strength, ASL and I have Enchanted Blades on me. That was the good news. Bad news – Starlance and Dragon attacks whiff. I did zero wounds. Attacks back at Princess – three poisoned attacks hit/wound and two attacks miss. Charmed shield saves one of the poisoned hits. After ward saves (with his OTS), Princess takes a wound. Combat is a push. Sigh.

Caradryan/Ashtari and right Frostheart kill one or two knights. He doesn’t break.


Bottom of 1: It is a little fuzzy, but I don’t think his Chosen could see my Dragon. Long failed infantry charges at my center Lions or Silver Helms. Hellcannon decides it wants to surge forward. His chariot comes on board and threatens my left Silver Helms. His other chariot and Shaggoth reposition for the fight in the center. Hellstriders hide behind terrain but are setup for an archer charge next turn.

Magic: I blow the dispel scroll on Choir. I don’t want to lose my big stuff to that spell.

Combat: Princess with a great weapon does one unsaved wound. Stardragon puts down the Demon Prince straight up! He wasn’t counting on that. My Other Tricksters Shard helps do the job. Knights still hold versus Caradryan/Ashtari and the other Frostheart. Caradryan with a wound. I reform the Stardragon and Frostheart towards the Shaggoth and a chariot.


Turn 2: Stardragon charges a chariot. Left Silver Helms long charge into the Shaggoth. The rest of the middle hangs back, with an eagle/Reavers starting to position themselves to muck it up. In combat, Princess’ Starlance takes out the chariot by itself. Silver Helms take down the Shaggoth with no support! Ashtari/Caradryan and other Frostheart kill the last of the knights. Sadly, due to their positioning, they can’t reform due to the 1” rule. Both flanks exposed to the Hellcannon.

Bottom of 2: Hellstriders charge the archers, Hellcannon charges Ashtari’s flank (+2 combat resolution). I’m too close to think of fleeing. His Warhounds would catch me if his Hellcannon wouldn’t. Infantry moves up to go after my weaker center. Hellstriders die to stand and shoot/close combat versus the archers. Helcannon takes a single D3 unsaved wound from Caradryan’s blade (I roll a 3) and one from Ashtari/other Frostheart, so I actually won that round of combat.



Turn 3 and onwards: Top of the third, the Hellcannon dies in close combat. I had the game won and didn’t need to take any unnecessary chances. He was reforming and moving his infantry blocks, trying to set up angles with his two blocks, and I was moving around his blocks with my flyers and protecting my non-flyers with eagles and the Reavers. I don’t think I was ever in position to get a good charge on one of his blocks without his other block getting a rear charge in the following turn. My Silver Helms were moving away from his remaining chariot. I may have fought and killed his Warrior’s block, but I don’t think so. I know he tried to Chalice his Mage into another Demon Prince, but it didn’t work. It would make the most sense in close combat, but I forget exactly and my notes are sketchy here.

In the end, I might have lost Reavers/Eagles, while he lost at least the Demon Prince, Hellcannon, a chariot, the Hellstriders, and Knights. Big win for me. Princess and Stardragon match the fluff and kill the Demon Prince. The spell and my Frostheart helped out, but doing the math afterwards, the Demon Prince would die on average to my general and dragon with no help. Nurgle Demon Prince would die also on average.
Toledo Inquisition
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 1:55 pm

Re: Midwest Rampage 3000 points, uncomped, closed lists

#2 Post by Toledo Inquisition »

Before I get to game 2, a humorous story. All three of my first three opponents asked “Where are your Bolt Throwers?” I responded “I don’t have any.” They looked at me a little funny and said “O-kay.”

Also, looking at the top 3 results in each category (only info I have due to the computer crash), my first round opponent was tied for third in Appearance, and first in Player’s Choice.


Game 2:

Bloody and Glory, but the Rock Star counts as an extra banner.

I played Jake M., a local player who I probably play 2-3 times a year, probably a 50/50 split in our games. Very experienced, goes to more tournaments than I do; he usually finishes in the top 25%. He played Bretonnians exclusively for about 4 years, but in the last year, he has been playing Dark Elves. We both have a common philosophy – we don’t like having cookie cutter lists the same as everyone else. Excellent painter, and more importantly, a good guy.

His list:

Supreme Sorceress, L4, Metal, Power Stone,

Master, BSB, Cold One, Charmed Shield, Dragonbane Gem, Other Tricksters Shard, Lance, Sea Dragon cloak
Death Hag, Cauldron, Obsidian Blade
Sorceress, Fire, L2, Dispel Scroll

30 Witch Elves, FC, Gleaming Pennant
15 Darkshards, banner, musician, Standard of Discipline
5 Dark Riders, standard, crossbows, shields
5 Dark Riders, crossbows, shields

25 Executioners, FC
10 Cold One Knights, FC, Banner of Swiftness
4 Repeater Bolt Throwers

1 Kharibdyss
10 Sisters of Slaughter, FC, Banner of Eternal Flame (I personally love them and wonder why more people don’t take them)


My first thoughts: A real beat down combat army, with a strong shooting component. Jake is like me and loves his Strength 7 monsters.


Terrain – three forests on his side of the board. One near the midline, 2’ off my left side. Two forests touching the back side, both about 15” off the board edges. Building in my back left. A few other things that didn’t matter.

Deployment:

From my left – Frostheart, Silver Helms, White Lions with mage, Silver Helms with BSB, Stardragon, Caradryan, Archers, Frostheart. Light units set back behind other units for cover and not to get blown away by crossbows.

From my left – Dark Riders, Sisters with fire mage, Witches, Executioners, Darkshards (maybe back a bit), Cold Ones, Cauldron. Two bolt throwers behind Sisters area, in the woods (turned out normal or fear causing). Two other bolt throwers on my right side in forest area (normal or fear causing). He decided to use the Cauldron as both a defensive countermeasure to guard the right Bolt Throwers and to let them reroll wounds on my big stuff. We both thought the move had pluses and minuses, but it wasn’t a standard play.


Turn One: I won the first turn. I played defensive on my left side and didn’t get too feisty with all the Sisters/Witches/Kharibdyss. Moved an Eagle up to see if I could get something going to take out his left side Bolt Throwers. It was pretty funny – this Eagle was hiding behind units, dodging fast cavalry, etc. all game trying to get a good attack on the Bolt Throwers. I just couldn’t get anything set up for a charge. By turn 3 or 4, this Eagle had a couple of wounds on it, and it had to hide behind the building or die. Totally out of the fight. Well, it kept a unit of fast cav occupied for a turn or two if nothing else. On my right side, I got aggressive. Moved the right Frost Phoenix up for a medium charge on Bolt Throwers, but it would be a long Cauldron charge in the bottom of my turn. I moved the Stardragon, BSB/Silver Helms, Caradryan/Ashtari to an 18” charge range for a Turn 2 charge on the BSB/Cold Ones. This left an 11” charge for the Cold Ones into me (I didn’t know he had the Banner of Swiftness). I don’t remember magic or shooting doing anything for me the whole game (except dispelling and scrolling), so I won’t mention them again.

In his turn, he saw that his Cold Ones were in trouble. He tried a long charge, but failed – moved up 5” or so. His left side (Kharibdyss, the female units) moved up at an angle to put pressure on me. He moved his Cauldron to the far right side – no matter which Bolt Thrower the right Frostheart would charge, I’d get a flank Cauldron charge in response. I would need a 12” overrun to get off at that future point. Magic – honestly, nothing horrible happened to me during the game. Either I had good dice splits (5/1, 6/2, that sort of thing) and managed to stop the big spells or used my scroll to stop from getting hurt too bad. Shooting – the Stardragon took 3 wounds, and Princess took 1. A few more minor wounds here and there.


Turn Two: Stardragon, BSB/Silver Helms, Caradryan/Ashtari made successful charges on the Cold Ones, going in in that order from my left to right. Other Silver Helms and Frostheart charged the Kharibdyss, making it. White Lions hung back to avoid getting Executioner charged, but close enough to provide stubborn dragon assistance if needed. The right Frostie had a tough choice – take out a Bolt Thrower and then get a flank Cauldron charge, or go for the Cauldron directly. I think I had to risk an 18”-19” charge to get the Cauldron. I went for the Cauldron instead, figuring the combat resolution of +1 was better than getting the -2 in the next turn. Made that charge.

Combat – the Cold One champ challenges, Caradryan accepts. Princess with the Starlance kills the BSB, Stardragon kills 3 or so Cold Ones, Silver Helms kill about 3 Cold Ones, everyone whiffs in the challenge, he kills a few Silver Helms. Somehow he holds with about 4 left. The Kharibdyss fight was in a forest, so I lost a few Silver Helms to DT. But I slaughtered the monster in place, then I reformed. Right Frostie/Cauldron fight was ugly. I put zero or one wound on the Hag, Frostie took four wounds, but I held.

In his turn two, my left side was in trouble. Between a unit of his fast cav, Sisters, and Witches, I had to flee with my left Silver Helms, left Frostie, and Reavers. I generally don’t like to flee and take my chances in combat if I have anything approaching a 50/50 chance, but any of those fights would have been a slaughter. Everything escaped, and he failed all his charges. The Executioners failed a very long charge on the dragon. In shooting, he put three wounds on the fleeing Frostheart. In combat, the Hag or Cauldron put down the right Frostie. I killed the rest of his Cold Ones. All three of my units face the Executioners.

Turn Three: I declare a charge with the dragon at the Executioners. He sees that the Dragon/BSB and Silver Helm/Caradryan trifecta may do to them what they did to the Cold Ones. He flees intentionally! Shocked me, but probably a smart move. The Executioners have a huge flee roll and bounce out on the far side of the Darkshards close to the board edge. Dragon would have needed box cars to reach the Executioners. Instead I redirected into the Darkshards (frontal). Silver Helms can only flank charge the Darkshards. He had to hold because there was nowhere to run. Caradryan and Ashtari didn’t have line of sight, so they turned towards the right Bolt Throwers and Cauldron. I rallied all my fleeing stuff. I was figuring this game was definitely in my favor now. His dangerous Witches were going to be Eagle blocked by my free Eagle, so that the Stardragon wouldn’t get a potential Witch flank charge if things went bad vs. the Darkshards. Sadly, to make the overrun work properly, the Eagle would have to land in a forest. The Eagle took a DT wound. Okay – oh, but I forgot to mention this wood can make you take D6 S4 wounds? You got it, the Eagle dies landing in the woods. White Lions reposition themselves for a flank charge on the Witches if they charge the Dragon (and if the Dragon lives).

In combat, a bunch of Darkshards die, but not enough, and they hold. His L4 was outside the Stardragon’s base, and I couldn’t direct any attacks at it. Uh-oh. Exposed Dragon flank to Witches.

His turn three – Witches flank the Stardragon. Then a big thing happens – his Executioners, with musician, fail to rally. BSB is dead so no reroll. They leave the board edge. Even though they were out of position this turn, they might have been able to do something in turn four. Other things reposition themselves. In shooting, his Bolt Throwers plunk a wound or two off Ashtari. In combat, I’m killing tons of models, he is doing wounds back. His Darkshards and L4 break, Witches hold (steadfast). Dragon is stuck in combat, but the Silver Helms fail to catch the Darkshards which are fleeing to the left board edge. Unfortunately the Silver Helms will be blocked by the Dragon’s base from recharging the L4’s unit in my turn. Dragon down to two wounds left. Witches went for the dragon, which is doing most of the killing. I burned my breath weapon, but it only did a few wounds.

Woosh, my turn four. White Lions charge Witches. I made a nice move with Caradryan – I charged one Bolt Thrower, but remembered to take a partial turn while charging to set up an overrun into the other Bolt Thrower. Yes, Caradryan will get charged by that darn Cauldron, but I should be at least able to kill two Bolt Throwers. I start to bring up all the units that had fled and rallied. In combat, more wounds going back and forth, but the Witches held. Stardragon is still hanging in there. Ashtari kills the Bolt Thrower, reaches the second.

His turn four, Cauldron charges Ashtari. His Sisters charge into the White Lions/Witches/Dragon battle, hitting the White Lions’ flank. Mage and Darkshards rally. Left side Bolt Throwers picking away at BSB’s unit. In combat, I kill the Hag and Bolt Thrower. A wound to Caradryan. Cauldron holds on a break test. In the big combat, wounds are flying around. I win – the Sisters hold, sticking to the White Lions, but the Witches break. Dragon doesn’t catch them. He is still at five for Blood and Glory – general had rallied, the Sisters are still fighting, and his standard bearing Dark Riders are still alive. Rock Star was hiding somewhere.

Turn five – I think the Frostie that had fled/rallied catch the Witches. No one else can see/help the White Lions. Everyone else is repositioning themselves – Stardragon (one wound left) with Princess (one wound left) and BSB with about 4-5 Sliver Helms get ready for a T6 charge on the L4 and Darkshards. In combat, Caradryan’s blade slips in an unsaved 3 wound strike on the Cauldron, and Ashtari finishes it off. The White Lions lose but are stubborn. I’m down to two ranks, and I’m not reforming to face more Sister attacks!

His turn five – basically everything opens up and shoots at the dragon. This is the remaining two left side Bolt Throwers, Darkshards and the two fast cav units. Scary times – but two big bolts miss/bounce off the Dragon’s T7 hide, and the Princess saves a few S3 AP bolts. Sisters and White Lions still locked in a death match. Pretty sure the White Lions are getting the worse of that fight.

Top of six – Dragon charges L4 and Darkshards, he flees, I catch him. Game over – a heck of a game, we were in so many hand to hand combats, it was exhausting. Besides the Blood/Glory factor – he had lost the L4, BSB, Hag/Cauldron, Witches, Darkshards, Executioners, Cold Ones, 2 Bolt Throwers, and the Karibdyss. I had lost an Eagle, a Frostie, and I think my Reavers, but I sure had a lot of units bleeding heavily.

I can’t put enough emphasis on how important the Stardragon’s S7, T7, W7 stat line is – so good for both attacking and defending in close combat.


Both before and after the game, he told me that mine was the one army he was hoping to avoid. We had played similar lists about 8 months ago, and I had won that one also. He was happy to get it out of the way in game two. He must have rocked the rest of the tournament, because he finished second in: Player’s Choice (for painting), Best General and Overall.
Post Reply