The Eternity King and the Lord of Dragons stood eye to eye, and several seconds passed before Malekith spoke; "No, you cannot leave Athel Loren. I wish to keep the Elven armies together. The war with Chaos has greatly reduced our numbers and it is better for all remaining Elves to stay close. We don't know what the next threat to our race could be."
Imrik's eyes stayed locked on Malekith. "The sons of Caledor stood with you during the End Times, for needs were what they were. But Archaon is defeated now. This forest is ill-suited for my dragons, likewise my men. The rich air is making them weak. We desire to go to the mountains."
Malekith considered the request. "Half your dragons may go to the Grey Mountains, for a month. Next month they return to the forest and the other half may go. This will be sufficient to restore their strength."
"You misunderstand my intentions" said Imrik. "No that the End Times are over, my people no longer have any wish to bow to anyone. We wish to form a independent New Caledor. This is not a request."
"I am the Eternity King. I am the Incarnate of Shadow. You do not dictate terms to me!"
"The decision is made. We leave tonight."
Malekith's hand inched towards the reforged Asurayath. "I knew I would need to make an example of one of the Princes sooner or later. I didn't expect it to be you, but I will do as I must."
"I do not desire to fight you" said Prince Imrik. "But if we must, it is a battle you will lose. I have warriors outside, more than a match for what remains of your Shadow Guard. It is our destiny to form an independent New Caledor in the Grey Mountains and I will not let anyone stand in my way."
"You dare to threaten me? I am the equal of the Gods. You are a mere mortal, and today you will die." The Eternity King drew Asurayath and the great blade slashed at the head of Lord of Dragons. Imrik was unarmed, but he managed to roll away from the killing blow and he swung himself up a nearby tree. In a moment the sky darkened as Minaithnir swooped down, vast wings blocking the light of the sun. The Crown Prince of Caledor vaulted from the tree onto the great beasts back and the first battle for New Caledor began...
Imrik's Dragonhost:
Prince Imrik: Crown Prince of Caledor on Minaithnir
14 Sisters of the Thorn with musician and standard bearer with the Banner of Swiftness.
Lvl 4 Spellweaver (High Magic) with Dispel Scroll and Obsidian Amulet.
17 Silver Helms with full command and shields
Noble BSB with Dragon Armour, Barded Steed, Enchanted Shield, Ogre Blade.
10 Silver Helms
2 Great Eagles.
Malekith's Shadow Guard:
Malekith the Eternity King on Seraphon
23 Phoenix Guard with full command and Razor Standard
Master BSB with Heavy Armour, Sea Dragon Cloak, Enchanted Shield, Obsidian Amulet, Halberd, Brace of Repeater Handbows
24 Darkshards with musician and standard
21 Darkshards with musician
3 Reaper Bolt Throwers
Deployment:
Here is the deployment, after vanguard. Both armies are Host of the Eternity King and we are using full End Times rules with Khaine magic. It's not really a great match up for me, Malekith is one of the three models in the game that can beat Imrik in a straight fight (along with Karl Franz Ascendant and the Avatar of Khaine). However I do have Arcane Unforging, so my priority was to remove Malekith's magic items as soon as possible.
Imrik Turn One:
I advance all my units. I want to get the Sisters and Spellweaver within range of Malekith for Deadlock and Arcane Unforging and within range of of the Phoenix Guard for Dwellers. Unfortunately this puts the Sisters in the open, facing all his missile fire, which is far from ideal. But if I can get Flesh to Stone on them, enough of them should survive so I decided its worth the risk.
In the magic phase I get off Throne of Vines, then I go for Dwellers on the PG and Deadlock on Malekith, but don't get enough power dice for either. I then go for Arcane Unforging, which he dispels, but I get it through on the second attempt and manage to remove Malekith's armour. I have five power dice left. I'm tempted by Walk Between Worlds to get my mage bunker behind a building, but they were more than 10 inches from safety on both sides, so I would have needed to cast it twice. I decide that's too risky, so I instead five dice Flesh to Stone and get it off with irresistible force. I ignore the miscast thanks to Throne of Vines.
Malekith Turn 1:
He moves Malekith and the Phoenix Guard to threaten my weaker right flank. Malekith spams the Withering on my Sisters and Archmage and gets it through twice, reducing their boosted toughness from a boosted 7 to a much more Elflike 3. Then in the shooting phase his Darkshards units manage 90 shots between them - and he gets 42 hits despite needing 5's. He then gets 19 wounds, but despite having a 4+ ward that leads to 13 wounds (one of which I save with a protection counter from my earlier High magic). With 3 models left they go just below 25% of the original unit, meaning I need snake eyes on the panic check...and I fail. Disaster! To rub salt into the wound he then kills my Great Eagle on the left flank with one of his Reaper Bolt Throwers. The dice gods were not on my side this turn. They are almost certain not to rally as they will need snake eyes in the following turns, so I just lost a 694 point unit and I have no magic.
Imrik Turn 2:
Imrik charges into the Reaper, while my other units move into threatening positions, out of Malekith's potential charge arc. Sisters and Archmage need snake eyes to rally and fail. No magic phase. Imrik annihilates the Reaper crew and overruns into the Darkshards.
Malekith Turn 2:
Malekith moves to a good position to threaten my remaining units. He goes for Mindrazor on the Darkshards that are in combat with Imrik, but fails to cast. He then spams Withering on Imrik, and manages to get it through once, but Imrik at T5 doesn't make a lot of difference as the Darkshards will still need 6's to wound. In shooting the remaining Reaper only manages to take one wound off the Eagle, while the unengaged Darkshards fire multiple shots at the Silver Helms on the right, killing three. In the combat phase Imrik kills nine Darkshards, taking no wounds in return, and the Darkshards flee through the Reaper, but the crew pass their panic test thanks to Malekith's absurdly long Inspiring Presence. Imrik does not pursue, but reforms to face the Phoenix Guard.
Imrik Turn 3:
My Great Eagle charges into the fleeing Darkshards, wiping them out (my favourite Great Eagle trick). The Eagle then overruns right into the remaining Reaper Bolt Thrower. The Silver Helms charge the Darkshards on the right, losing three Helms to Stand and Shoot on the way in. Imrik and the bigger Helm unit charge the Phoenix Guard.
The Eagle kills one of the Reaper crew, and takes not wounds in return. The 5 remaining Silver Helms on the right manage to kill 4 Darkshards, but lose two in the process and the combat there is a draw. Despite Imriks fiery breath, thunderstomps and charge boosts, Imrik and the other Helms manage to kill onlu six Phoenix Guard, thanks to some insane ward save rolling. They needed one more to break the Guards steadfast, but they don't and the Guard hold firm.
Malekith Turn 3:
I really needed to drive off the Guard in the previous turn, and now things don't look good. Malekith charges into combat, hitting the flank of the Silver Helms, who pass their Terror and Fear checks. He goes for Mindrazor on the Pheonix Guard and gets it with 5 dice, but I manage an great roll on my 6 dice army dispel. He then attempts a couple of Witherings on Imrik, and I use all my remaining dispel dice to army dispel them both. He goes for another Withering but fails after only getting one power dice. He does manage to get Enfeebling Foe on the Silver Helms, giving them a strength of 1.
In combat the three remaining Silver Helms manage to kill one Darkshard, but get wiped out in the process. The Darkshards reform for a potential charge next turn on any of my units. The Eagle kills one of the Reaper crew, but the other holds. Imrik and the Silver Helms manage to kill six Phoenix Guard. Imrik is unhurt in return, but the Eternity King and Phoenix Guard kill six Silver Helms. Malekith wins the combat by a couple, but both units manage to hold.
Imrik Turn 4:
Straight to combat in my turn, nothing else to do. The Eagle kills the remaining Reaper crew member. Imrik and the Silver Helms kill five Phoenix Guard, while Malekith and the Guard kill seven Silver Helms in return and put another wound on Imrik. The Silver Helms flee from combat and are pursued and destroyed by Malekith, but Imrik, heroically, holds firm.
Malekith Turn 4:
I half expected all his units to charge Imrik together, but he holds them back. In the magic phase he gets off Mindrazor with irresistable force on the Phoenix Guard. I find a little hope when he rolls Dimensional Cascade, but he can reroll the miscast result and gets a power drain instead. The Darkshards shoot and kill the remaining Eagle. The 7 remaining Mindrazored Pheonix Guard only manage 2 hits, even after rerolls, and although both wound, Imrik ward saves one and only takes a single wound, and he has 8 wounds remaining. He is spectacular with his own hits, wiping out the remaining Phoenix Guard, as their run of lucky ward save rolls comes to an abrupt end. After careful consideration, I decide to reform to face Malekith.
Imrik Turn 5:
Imrik charges into Malekith, and this game is going to be decided in appropriately titanic style. I'm afraid of the multiple wounds from Asuyath Reforged, but Malekith has no armour or ward and at least this turn they can fight without his Shadow magic nerfing me. Imrik manages 8 wounds.. Malekith only manages 5 hits, largely thanks to Imriks Lord of Dragons rule. Two of them wound, causing 7 wounds thanks to Malekiths magic sword. Imrik manages his 5+ ward on two of them. Malekith has 2 wounds remaining and Imrik has 3. Imrik wins the combat by four, and the entire game hinges on the result of Malekith's break test. The Eternity King rolls a 4 and holds. Close...so, so close...
Malekith Turn 5:
My opponent chooses not to use any magic this turn, not wanting to risk a miscast, and instead lets the inevitable happen as Imrik and Malekith kill each other simultaneously. With only his Darkshards left on the table, he wins the game with me completely wiped out.
Post Battle Thoughts:
That was a really fun game that in the end was a lot closer than expected. I felt really confident after the first turn when I managed to Arcane Unforge Malekith's armour. However I really failed to take into account how deadly those massed Darkshards would be with the support of Shadow magic, and I was really on the back foot after losing my casting bunker. In future I need to more careful when using this unit. I should have got them behind the building on the right with a couple of Walk Between World's, then I could spam Unforging from a position of safety. I felt that I had a huge advantage in the magic phase with High, Life and Beasts magic when Malekith only had Shadow (and Drain Magic owns Shadow), but it was not meant to be.
Imrik did really well in the circumstances, and if I my rolls had been a bit better when they charged the Phoenix Guard I could have broken that unit and I felt I could have won the game from there. I also feel the game was 50/50 when Imrik defeated Malekith, and I would have won if Malekith had failed the break test on 6. My opponent felt like he took his foot off the gas a little bit after routing the Sisters and Spellweaver in turn one, this really shows how important it is to press hard whenever you have the advantage. He also didn't use Malekith's teleportation ability at any point, mainly because it was only his second game with the Eternity King, he has so many special rules that it's easy to forget one!
I'm looking forward to playing a bit more with Imrik and the Spellweaver/Sisters. I love the potential of Life and High combined healing to keep Imrik alive, although it was not a factor in this game. I like games with small, powerful armies and I enjoyed this one immensely. We played the whole game in about an hour and a half which is great for 2400 points and Khaine magic.
Both Minaithnir and Sereaphon were lying, still and bleeding from several orifices, unable to fight any further. The Eternity King and the Lord of Dragons were nearly as bad. Asurayath had cut through the back of Imrik's knees and he was unable to stand, while Malekith was bleeding profusely from a huge gash in his head. They would have both died that day. But a group of the King's elite Darkshards, the sole survivors of the battle on either side, surrounded the pair, crossbows trained on the head of the Crown Prince.
"It's over, Caledor. Surrender, pledge loyalty to your King, or die" said Malekith.
"Then I choose to die. I will never bow to you again" Imrik managed to pull himself up to a sitting position, then spat blood onto the feet of the Eternity King.
"So be it" said Malekith. He brought down Asurayath with his full might towards the exposed head of the last of the Dragon Lord's. With the blade an inch from striking true, a pale light suddenly surrounded Imrik, and the blade deflected off it, saving the life of the Prince.
"Enough!" The voice was feminine, with more than a touch of the divine. "Imrik's fate is tied to that of our race, as is yours, Malekith. There will be no more blood shed today. Alarielle moved between the two wounded warriors.
"Our dream of New Caledor will be realized, this cannot be stopped" said Imrik. "But I am willing to keep half of the forces of Caledor here in Athel Loren, and the rest will always be ready to defend the rest of the Elven Kingdom, whenever necessary. Do you accept these terms, Eternity King?"
Malekith narrowed his eyes, but it was Alarielle who spoke first. "Yes, he does. Enough of this." She surveyed the two unconscious, heavily bleeding dragons, the piles of corpses all around the forest, and the vicious wounds on Malekith and Imrik. "It looks like I have some healing to do."
