Hi All. It's been many, many years since I posted a battle report. When Games Workshop killed Warhammer Fantasy, I started playing Infinity very competitively, and that's been my main system. However, I've been jumping back into Warhammer Armies Project, both in person as well as with tabletop simulator.
I recently played a 3000 game versus Daemons. I know 2500 is still the standard, but 3000 point games allow me try out a few different list options to see what units and compositions I like in the new rule system. Without further ado:
Lord
Liselette, the Shadow Weaver
Lvl 4 Archmage (220) with Book of Hoeth (60) Ironcurse Icon (5) Guardian Phoenix (30) - 315
High Magic: Drain Magic, Soul Quench, Apotheosis, Hand of Glory, Arcane Unforging, Fiery Convocation
Eydin, Warden of Tor Galadh
Prince (125) with Sword of Ages (60) dragon armor (5) shield (3) Temakador's Gauntlets (30) Seed of Rebirth (10) rides an Ithilmar barded elven steed (27) - 260
Hero
Kurin, the Lioness
Noble (60) with battle standard (25) dragon armor (5) shield (2) Helm of Fortune (30) Ithilmar barded elven steed (18) Sword of Might (15) - 155
Core
Scions of Tor Galadh
13 Silver Helms (286) with full command (30) Banner of Defiance (50) - 366
Raven Emmissaries
5 Reaver Knights with musician - 75
5 Reaver Knights with musician - 75
Bastion Sentinels
19 Archers (228) with musician (10) - 238
Special
The Oakborn Pride
22 White Lions of Chrace (330) with full command (30) Banner of Sorcery (50) - 410
Lion Chariot - 110
The Shadow Weaver's Handmaidens
12 Sisters of Avelorn - 216
12 Sisters of Avelorn - 216
Bastion Sentinels
Bolt Thrower - 60
Bolt Thrower - 60
Total: 3000
Rare
Hearthguard
24 Phoenix Guard (384) with full command (30) Razor Standard (30)- 444
The Daemons had:
Lord
Great Unclean One (430) Level 4 (105) with Soul Hunger (30) Balesword (25) Daemonic Arrogance (20) - 610
Stream of Corruption, Curse of the Leper, Rancid Visitations, Fleshy Abundance, Plague Wind
Hero
Herald of Nurgle (Level 1) (110) Locus of Fecundity (25) Stream of Bile (30) Massive Stature (20) battle standard (25) - 210
Stream of Corruption, Blades of Putrefaction
herald of Khorne (110) Might of Khorne (20) Soul Hunger (30) Locus of Wrath (40) - 200
Core
29 Plaguebearers of Nurgle (348) with full command (30) Banner of Defiance (50) - 428
27 Bloodletters of Khorne (324) with full command (30) Razor Standard (30) - 384
5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne - 105
5 Flesh Hounds of Khorne - 105
Special
5 Beasts of Nurgle - 275
6 Flamer of Tzeentch (192) with Pyrocaster (10) - 202
Rare
Skull Cannon - 240
Skull Cannon - 240
Total: 2999
Going into deployment, I knew two things: My opponent would almost certainly get +1, much of his army would need to footslog to me, and I needed as much mutual support of my battleline as possible because Daemons need to be ground down over multiple rounds of combat.
Deployment
The Daemons won table side. They opted to deny me the two corner hills which would have made for easy castling for my ranged units, and they also had a central Forest to give their units a bit of ranged protection. We followed the usual format... His Hounds, my Reavers, his ranged, my ranged, etc but I eventually saw where his regiments would go. No surprise, they were fairly centrally deployed. I opted for something a little tricky... I set my combat regiments up on my left (the Daemon's right) with most of my ranged on my right (the Daemon's left.) My hope is that he would either break up his battleline to try and chase down both my combat and ranged wings, splitting up his force, or that he would concentrate entirely on one wing or the other, leaving my unengaged wing free to operate. The deployment of my cavalry was my biggest risk. He had relatively little chaff or support on his Right, and I thought that my Helms + Characters would be able to overwhelm and collapse that flank. The risk though is that it put my General and BSB far from the main battleline, leaving my psychologically vulnerable if combat went against me.
Daemon Turn 1
Full Daemon Advance, with a hound charge to frighten away my reavers, which I fled. Most of the Daemons rushed for the shelter of the rock wall, or lingered in the forest, hoping to deny me good shooting targets. The big event was a snake eyes in Magic actually pinged Wounds off multiple units. Most notably, both Hound units were ravaged despite being near their General, and even the Great Unclean One himself lost 2 Wounds to the fading winds. This was hugely fortunate for me. The more damage that could be done to the GUO early, the better. The Flamers responded by obliterating one of my Reaver units with their flames. The Lion Chariot was obliterated with a single cannonball.
Asur Turn 1
I mainly kept my battleline tight. A strong 3 + 2 Magic Phase, +3 from Banner of Sorcery, gave me great options. Boosted Soul Quench on the Flamers went off easily, but underperformed in damage, doing 1 pitiful Wound. However, I got off Fiery Convocation on the Bloodletters. This also underperformed with damage, killing a mere 5, but would at least force my opponent to deal with it in future magic phases. One unit of Sisters volleyed a rank off the Plaguebearers, starting to thin the numbers on that very durable and scary block. The other Sisters underperformed, a mere 1 Wound off a Skullcannon. My Archers advanced to Enfilade the Flamers behind the rock wall, shooting one off, while the bolt throwers cleared a hound pack. This shooting phase was not as focused as I would have liked... The daemons did an excellent job making use of the terrain, which resulted in me splitting my fire more than I would have done otherwise.
Daemon Turn 2
This was a key turn for the Daemons. Here was their situation at the start:
At this juncture, my battleline was coherent and arrayed for mutual support. The Lions were at their strongest, with high unit strength, a 4+ Ward Save and Stubborn, and were obviously the easiest target for the Daemons to reach. But they would likely hold versus pretty much any attack, allowing my other elements to come in and Flank. The Daemons needed to press their attack, since they didn't want to sit in No Man's Land versus my magic and firepower, but they didn't want to charge into the trap my Lions had set for them. Here's what they ultimately chose to do:
They committed the Plague Beasts in a fast advance against the Silverhelms, hoping their extreme durability (plus some magic and ranged support from the GUO and Skullcannons) would thin the Helms enough to help the Beasts hold. This would hopefully buy time for his multiple combat units to bring their force to bear on my two infantry units. Even if the Plague Beasts were eventually defeated, the GUO was Stubborn, and could potentially use a Challenge + Stubborn to maintain his durability and help hold the Daemon right flank if the Silver Helms broke through.
Following through with this Plan, the GUO committed all his Power Dice to trying to get Curse of the Leper (+Toughness) and Fleshy Abundance (+Regen) on the Plague Beasts. He was off to a promising start, 10 Power Dice vs my 6 Dispel. Fleshy Abundance results in a miscast that Siphons Dice, which I'm able to Dispel on 4 dice. The GUO throws his remaining dice on +Toughness, which I
barely Dispel thanks to a Book of Hoeth re-roll and the +1 racial to Dispel. Extremely close, and that Miscast result was huge in my favor. The winds are fickle!
Khorne showed his opinion of the magic phase with a laugh, his Skullcannons both round and grapeshotting to annihilate a whopping 8 Silver Helms. Apparently Bloodletters are Ballistic Skill 5, who knew. Tzeentch, not to be outdone, opens up with the Flamers on the Sisters of Avelorn, killing half the unit.
I think the Daemons made a key mistake here too: in their enthusiasm to buff the Plague Beasts, they ignored (or forgot) Fiery Convocation. This absolutely decimated the unit, killing nearly Half the remaining Bloodletters and dramatically reducing that unit's effectiveness.
High Elf Turn 2
The Phoenix Guard charge the Hounds intended to Speed Bump them, while the Prince led his entourage against the offered Plague Beasts. It's a good thing my opponent put those hounds there too. With the Bloodletters devastated by Magic, I'm not sure they could have held against the Phoenix Guard or White Lions, even manning the defended wall like they were. That could have allowed me to break out of the trap the Daemons were trying to close on the High Elves.
Knowing combat was imminent, my Magic Phase was all about getting Shield of Saphery up on the Lions. 3D6 Soul Quench once again disappoints, failing to do anything to the nearest Skullcannon, while the bolt throwers show what a doubtful use of points they are by failing to do anything against Skull Cannons as well. Once again, the Daemons have made good use of the stone walls to help deny me the ability to mass my fire on single targets. However, the Sisters continue to prove their worth by knocking another rank off the Plaguebearers, as well as a further Wound off the Great Unclean One.
It was the Archers who had the best contribution. The Bloodletters had underestimated them, giving them an enfilading shot from the flank. Nearly 40 shots later, and the only survivor was the Herald; the entire Bloodletter unit had been sent back to the Void, heavily changing the Daemon's prospects for the coming turn.
In combat, the Phoenix Guard wiped the 2 Hounds and neatly reformed, helping to keep the Elven battleline intact. The Prince + Helms were much more interesting. The charge was absolutely thunderous, and the Daemons just couldn't find their dice. Between the Prince, BSB, lances and impact hits, I'd outright killed two Beasts. The remainder couldn't scratch Elven armor. Despite the heavy shooting casualties, the Cavalry managed to obliterate the Plague Beasts in a single round. Neither of us expected this particular outcome, given the legendary durability of the Plague Beasts, but my opponent's terrible magic phase played a key part.
Here are the lines of the Asur, after all combats were complete. I made a key error here: I reformed the Cavalry to keep the Skullcannons in my front arc, fearing their charge. This was foolish... I should have wheeled so that they could support the infantry with a charge in future turns, risking the Cannons charging the cavalry flank/rear and simply making way with my characters and beating the chariots down if the situation called for it. This mistake would be costly.
https://iili.io/Ha5ek8J.png
Daemon Turn 3
Charge! The Daemons came barreling into combat: Plaguebearers and their Herald versus Phoenix Guard, the Great Unclean One and lone Khorne Herald versus the White Lions. The Flamers were happy to get my bolt throwers off the field, charging one for an easy overrun into the second. The two Skullcannons fanned out to open fire on the Silver Helms, hoping to deplete them to uselessness with their lethal grapeshot.
For magic, both the Level 1 Herald and GUO puke on my infantry, but the Ward Save holds on and limits the damage to 1 dead PG, 3 dead Lions. The GUO miscasts again, allowing my Archmage to immediately cast Hand of Glory on the Lions, which the Daemons have to use their remaining dice to Dispel.
Both Skullcannons opened up on the Helms, hoping to replicate their success from last turn. Apparently Khorne had second thoughts on the martial honor of such methods, because both cannons only generated a mere 8 shots between them, rolling poorly overall for a mere two Wounds off the helms. This could have been the Shooting Phase that ended the game, but simply showed that Grapeshot (while potentially powerful) is highly unreliable.
In combat, the Flamers made easy work of the first bolt thrower, overrunning into the second. My Phoenix Guard fought the Plaguebearers, and simply could not hack their way through the strong defenses of the Nurgle Daemons; zero wounds inflicted. The Daemons and their Herald had no such reservations, killing 3 Phoenix Guard. The casualties, the weight of their charge, and the presence of their battle standard tipped the odds heavily against the Phoenix Guard, breaking and fleeing. My opponent now had a very difficult decision: pursue the Phoenix Guard, netting their points and potentially also killing the Sisters of Avelorn nearby, or reforming to aid the GUO vs the Lions in future turns. Not an easy choice. But the Great Unclean One and Herald seemed perfectly comfortable in the fight, and they had plenty of time to keep grinding the Lions down since no help would be coming for the High Elves yet. They opted to pursue the Phoenix Guard, who managed a shocking escape by rolling an 11 to flee, but panicking the nearby Sisters and causing them to flee as well.
Things were now looking dire. By battle line was crumbling. The White Lions hefted their axes and prepared for the onslaught, but the Great Unclean One went straight for the Archmage. Very careful
not to issue a challenge, since he didn't want to give the Archmage the ability to hide, he swung wildly for her. Apparently his swings were a bit too wild though, only generating 3 Wounds despite the abundance of re-rolls. Knowing that each of these Wounds could be fatal, the Archmage put her faith in the Shield of Saphery... And passed all her Ward Saves. Wild.
The Lions, meanwhile, felled the Herald of Khorne like a godamn tree. Dead in one round. The Lions actually won the combat, but the GUO easily held thanks to Stubborn.
High Elf Turn 3
This is where error last turn really cost me. I could have been charging the Prince and BSB into the flank of the injured Greater Daemon, lending their significant killing power and durability to the combat. Instead, I had to waste this turn reforming to face the Daemon, even as the Archmage and Lions were fighting for their lives.
However, the Phoenix Guard rallied, turning to phase the oncoming Plaguebearers and their Herald. The Sisters, deciding they'd had enough, failed to rally and fled the field in disgrace.
My Archmage, knowing she was casting for her life, started by tossing as many small spells out as she could to help juice up Shield of Saphery. With a strong 11 to 6 Dice phase, this was done easily, with my opponent forced to hold his dice to prevent a lethal Fiery Convocation or even a Vaul's Unmaking. Sure enough, I used Vaul's Unmaking to unmake the GUO's balesword, hoping to giving my Archmage more of a fighting chance. With the Sword unmade, and her Shield of Saphery at full power, I was feeling good about my combat prospects.
Apparently I spoke too soon though: The Greater Daemon, completely unphased, Hit and Wounded with all attacks. Phasing 6 Ward Saves, I failed 3, sending the Archmage to her doom. The Lions hacked desperately at the GUO's flabby bulk, but could find no weakness, even as the Daemons stomped 5 of them into paste. The Flamers finished off the second Bolt Thrower.
Daemon Turn 4
Reveling in the death of the Archmage, the Great Unclean bellowed his laughter, ordering his Plaguebearers into the Phoenix Guard once again. Things were looking very grim for the Asur. One of the Skullcannons charged the Lions, hoping to help the GUO finish the Elven infantry now that Shield of Saphery was gone. The other Hellcannon charged the rear of the Silver Helms, hoping to bog the Cavalry down and buy time for the Great Unclean One to finish the Lions and complete its victory.
Between the Skullcannon's thunderous charge and the unstoppable bulk of the Great Unclean One, the Lions were hard pressed. They did manage to further injure the GUO, taking it very near its limit. Despite this, they were practically killed down to their Command Group.
The other Skullcannon, confident of an easy Victory, found itself stunned when its 4 impact hits failed to penetrate Elven Armor. With nearly contemptuous ease, the Prince and BSB made way and hacked the Skullcannon apart before it could even swing. The Warden of Tor Galadh and his household were now set to charge the Great Unclean One, but would it be in time?
The situation was made more precarious when the Plaguebearers easily beat the Phoenix Guard, who once again failed to make any mark at all against the Plaguebearer's unnatural hides. They broke from combat and fled the field, the Plaguebearers and their leader reforming from victory to face the few remaining Lions.
High Elf Turn 4
It would all come down to this. The Prince led his Household in their charge against the Great Unclean One. The wall of Elven steeds partially trampled the Great Unclean One, taking him to his last Wound. Calling a challenge, the Prince accepted. Wordlessly, he disemboweled the GUO in a veritable deluge of guts and offal, before burying the glittering blade between the Greater Daemon's Eyes. He'd done the necessary Wound to kill the Greater Daemon outright. Overwhelmed at this loss, the Skullcannon disintegrated from reality, but not before hacking the White Lions down to two sole survivors.
Knowing the 2 Lions would be a juicy target for the Flamers on the field, every bow I had loosed at the Flamers, massacring all... but 1, alive on a single Wound.
Remaining Turns:
Despite my incompetence with the Cavalry positioning very nearly costing me the game, my Silver Helms went on to redeem themselves, with the Prince leading his retinue in a final charge to finish off the Plaguebearers that had wrought so much havoc in his lines. My remaining ranged units eventually hunted down the last Flamer, but not before it eradicated the last two Lions, netting those points for my opponent. This was a shame... The Lions had acquitted themselves well, and I would have liked to save at least some of them.
Asur casualties:
Archmage - 315
Silverhelms (half) - 183
5 Reaver Knights - 75
5 Reaver Knights - 75
22 White Lions - 410
12 Sisters of Avelorn - 216
Bolt thrower - 60
Bolt thrower - 60
Lion Chariot - 110
24 Phoenix Guard - 444
Total: 1948
Daemon casualties:
Completely annihilated - 2999
Dead general - 100
BSB killed in combat - 100
Plaguebearer standard - 25
Total: 3224
Thoughts:
-This was a very dramatic game. Daemons are still as tough an opponent as I remember
-I was helped very early on the Winds of Magic result which knocked Wounds from several Daemon units, including the Great Unclean One. This was very strong, since the Daemons had done a very fine job making use of terrain to offset my strong shooting.
-The real tipping point came when the Daemons didn't Dispel Fiery Convocation, which cost them the Bloodletters, which could have made all the difference against the Lions. However, this was counterbalanced by my poor choice in reforming the Silver Helms, so perhaps these two errors balance each other out.
-It's important that I don't overestimate the staying power of Phoenix Guard. They can hold up to a lot, but 4++ saves can be unreliable. Phoenix Guard vs Plaguebearers is a very comparable fight, but the Phoenix Guard were soundly beaten twice. I'll need to give more thought to how they can be better supported in the future.
-The Lions were simply excellent, but I really think they need that Shield of Saphery to make them viable. Otherwise, Toughness 3 just crumbles too quickly, as we saw once the Archmage was dead.
-That Prince! What a star. His consistent damage (5 Attacks @ Strength 6, hitting almost everything on 2s, re-rolling 1s) is exactly the kind of grinding, attrition-oriented fighter that High Elves sorely miss. The Sword of Ages will go down as one of my favorite Magic Items of all time, and the final points of this game were netted firmly by his hand.
-Of the games I've played thus far, this was undoubtedly the game where my shooting underperformed the most. Part of that was simple dice, but the Daemons were also highly durable, and did a wonderful job reading my deployment and preventing me from focusing down the targets I didn't want to face in melee. I'll have to be careful of this next time.
-For trimming the list down to 2500, I really like the trio of Helms + Characters, Lions + Archmage, Phoenix Guard, all backed with shooting. I think I can lose 500 points by reducing the size of the Helms and Archers, some of the Sisters, the size of the Phoenix Guard, and dropping the bolt throwers completely. I'll have to see if losing the bolt throwers is a liability. It's great to be able to reach out at extreme ranges and apply pressure, since it allows you to completely sit in a corner against an opponent no shooting. It's really nice to have that option. Outranging your opponents is possibly the single greatest advantage you can have in a Shooty vs Shooty matchup. I'll need to think on this.
Thanks for reading.