Crossing Swords

[SpellArcher]

53F70CC7-94E2-4B3D-BD2D-DA145A6EFA7A.jpeg (607.74 KiB) Viewed 8137 times

So today I visited the esteemed Seredain of this forum. I brought 2500pts of Daemons to take on his noble High Elves. More detail soon.

[Prince of Spires]

Looking forward to the details. But those swords already look great! Impressive collection...

[SpellArcher]

But those swords already look great! Impressive collection...

Indeed Rod! The Cavalry Prince is not a man to be trifled with.

Looking forward to the details.

Daemons of Chaos

Keeper of Secrets, Lvl 4 of Slaanesh, Eternal Blade

Herald of Tzeentch, Lvl 2 of Tzeentch
Herald of Nurgle, BSB, Regen Locus, ASF Sword
Herald of Slaanesh, ASF Locus

19 Plaguebearers, Champion, Musician
14 Daemonettes, Banner of Swiftness, Musician
10 Horrors, Full Command

Beast of Nurgle
Beast of Nurgle
Beast of Nurgle
3 Fiends of Slaanesh
5 Flesh Hounds, Ambush
3 Flamers, Champion
5 Furies

Skillcannon


High Elves of the West

Prince, Heavy Armour, Barded Steed, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Enchanted Shield
Archmage, Lvl 4 High Magic, Book of Hoeth, 4+ Ward

BSB, Heavy Armour, Barded Steed, Lance, Reaver Bow, Shield
Lvl 1, High Magic, Ring of Fury, Dispel Scroll

10 Silver Helms, Standard, Musician
24 Archers, Full Command
5 Reavers, Spear and Bow

19 Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Razor Standard

4 RBT
Great Eagle
Great Eagle
Frostheart Phoenix

Thoughts?

[DrSlam]

Hi all,

Very exciting. In Seredain's army, both mages will sit with the PGs? The BSB would start with the silver helm bodyguard for the prince, or might wander around with their Reaver Bow looking for targets of opportunity? I can see how sticking them with the silver helms makes sense though. A moving block of AS2+ that can shoot is a versatile anvil that invites a charge.

SpellArcher, there's a lot of shooting in Seredain's army your army will want to deal with. I'm not across Daemons of Chaos so will see how you handle it via your battle report, but I suspect your best bet is to charge quickly and engage in hand to hand combat. Just be careful of the usual High Elf chaff of course or you risk being picked apart. Your own chaff helps with this problem of course.

[DrSlam]

Re-reading Seredain's list though, the level 1 has no ward save so it would be safer to hide them in the archer unit?

[SpellArcher]

Hi all,

Greetings Doctor!

Very exciting. In Seredain's army, both mages will sit with the PGs?

Yes they did. The unit is more solid than the Archers and often the Mage gets better positioning for his spells. Your later comment is decent though, the PG are a combat unit and the Mage will be vulnerable if that occurs.

The BSB would start with the silver helm bodyguard for the prince, or might wander around with their Reaver Bow looking for targets of opportunity?

Yes he started in the Helms, though Seredain has a fondness for roaming such characters free that I find slightly hair-raising!

SpellArcher, there's a lot of shooting in Seredain's army your army will want to deal with. I'm not across Daemons of Chaos so will see how you handle it via your battle report, but I suspect your best bet is to charge quickly and engage in hand to hand combat.

In our last game, this shooting really punished my Orcs and Goblins, so I was resolved to tackle it as early as possible. I couldn’t just take the High Elf units head-on because I didn’t have enough heavy-hitters like Plague Drones in the army. I did have several small, fast units though that could potentially get around his battle line and into the shooters.

Overall I felt this would be a difficult game but not hopeless. The solo Beasts were essential to redirect Seredain’s best units and buy my fast Slaanesh elements time to get around a flank.

[SpellArcher]

Spells and Deployment

The Keeper of Secrets generated Acquiescence, Hysterical Frenzy, Phantasmagoria and Cacophonic Choir. The first spell was the best, to mess with the High Elf movement from a safe distance. The Horrors rolled Bolt of Change which I kept, useful against the Frostheart in particular. The Herald got Blue Fire and the wonderfully destructive Infernal Gateway. The Archmage came out with Hand of Glory, Apotheosis, Fiery Convocation (the real peach) and I believe Soul Quench. Mage took Soul Quench to double up with his Ring.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures until Turn 2! Hopefully the following will become clearer when we get to that point:

The High Elves deployed Reavers on their right. Then there was a wood and the Phoenix Guard went down next to it, just right of centre. The Archers and an Eagle were in the centre. There was a small wall and hill complex centre-left which became home for the battery of RBT. Behind it sheltered the Phoenix and second Eagle. The Silver Helms plus mounted characters went down on the left.

I had more drops so aimed to frustrate my enemy's best units with redirectors whilst overlapping his right flank. On my right I deployed the Furies, followed by the three solo Beasts, mostly right of centre. The Skillcannon was in the middle with Horrors and Herald on a hill to it's immediate left. Centre left I had Flamers and Plaguebearers, behind a wood. My left wing saw Daemonettes, Fiends and finally the Keeper, hoping to use extreme distance to avoid artillery fire, at least at first.

[Prince of Spires]

Very exciting. In Seredain's army, both mages will sit with the PGs?

Yes they did. The unit is more solid than the Archers and often the Mage gets better positioning for his spells. Your later comment is decent though, the PG are a combat unit and the Mage will be vulnerable if that occurs.

While you should always have a default unit for your characters, I think there is a benefit to not tying your characters to a specific unit. Deployment and opponents lists can always throw you a curveball. And I've read a fair few battle reports where the conclusion was that some character could have been better used if he'd been deployed in a different spot, but doing so didn't occur to the player since they always went for put character X in unit Y. Seredain is actually pretty good at this kind of thinking. He's got an open mind both in deployment, but also during the battle. He's won a fair few battles with suprise charges by characters out of units for instance.

Looking forward to the rest. Should be an interesting battle. Not too familiar with chaos magic. Did you get what you were hoping for?

I think HE shooting (except for RBT) is not that effective against deamons. With their wards they save way too many shots. We'll see how it goes.

[SpellArcher]

Sorry for the delay, it's been a bit of a winter and I've had trouble recovering the photos, now achieved.

While you should always have a default unit for your characters, I think there is a benefit to not tying your characters to a specific unit. Deployment and opponents lists can always throw you a curveball. And I've read a fair few battle reports where the conclusion was that some character could have been better used if he'd been deployed in a different spot, but doing so didn't occur to the player since they always went for put character X in unit Y. Seredain is actually pretty good at this kind of thinking. He's got an open mind both in deployment, but also during the battle. He's won a fair few battles with suprise charges by characters out of units for instance.

Agreed.

Not too familiar with chaos magic. Did you get what you were hoping for?

I did Rod. Tzeentch is mostly about blasting and Gateway is key here. Slaanesh on the other hand favours disrupting enemy units. Aquiescence stymies their movement for little cost. Were that the signature, the lore would be crazy good.

I think HE shooting (except for RBT) is not that effective against deamons. With their wards they save way too many shots.

Here, 24 extra shots on top of 4 RBT is a concern. Especially since Hand of Glory can very cheaply add D3 BS.

Turn 1 coming soon!

[SpellArcher]

Turn One

Seredain won the roll-off and held back against the superior forces on my left. His cavalry bus and flyers advanced against my centre-right. Magic was fairly contained while shooting took a few wounds off the Beasts and Flamers.

In response, my left advanced swifly in echelon, the Keeper and Fiends almost reaching their full 20" march moves. On the far right the Furies flew forward to threaten the RBT but the forces on my cente-right held back. Magic achieved little but I believe the Skillcannon removed an RBT.

Turn Two

The High Elves remained in containment mode against my left, the Reavers reforming to await the arrival of the Ambushing Flesh Hounds. Silver Helms and Frostheart entered the centre of the field to threaten charges whilst an eagle preceded them to restrict my responses. Fiery Convocation went off Irresistibly, taking the back rank off the Plaguebearers, the resultant Miscast did little. Shooting took the Skillcannon down to one wound.

IMG_8349.jpg (1.99 MiB) Viewed 7556 times

[SpellArcher]

Turn Two (Continued)

The Flesh Hounds arrived and moved in from the opposing baseline to threaten a charge. Keeper and Fiends made a wide sweep into the wood, eyeing the flank of the Phoenix Guard. Daemonettes and Flamers marched forwards in support.

IMG_8353.jpg (1.73 MiB) Viewed 7532 times

One Beast charged and killed the eagle, overrunning just shy of the Phoenix. Another approached the cavalry bus to redirect. I'd wanted my dice to remove the RIP Convocation but instead aimed to blast the Frostheart from the sky. To no avail, Infernal Gateway was just barely dispelled and the poor Plaguebearers were decimated. Shooting whiffed.

IMG_8352.jpg (1.94 MiB) Viewed 7532 times

[SpellArcher]

Turn Three

IMG_8356.jpg (1.54 MiB) Viewed 7511 times

The Frostheart, unimpressed with the attempt to Gateway it off the table, charged. The Helms lowered lances and followed suit. The Reavers bravely ran in the way of the oncoming Flesh Hounds whilst the Phoenix Guard prepared a hotter reception for the Keeper and Fiends. The Archers failed a Swift Reform and simply adjusted station.

IMG_8354.jpg (1.65 MiB) Viewed 7511 times

Magic vapourised a Flamer, boosting the PG's ward to 3+. Shooting removed the eagle-killing Beast. His brother Challenged the Prince and cheekily survived the combat on a single wound. The angry Phoenix fluffed his attacks and that combat also stuck.

IMG_8355.jpg (1.49 MiB) Viewed 7511 times

[SpellArcher]

Turn Three (Continued)

The charges went in. Flesh Hounds into Reavers, whilst Keeper and Fiends engaged the PG. On the right the Furies charged an RBT. Daemonettes and Flamers moved up in support.

IMG_8357.jpg (1.31 MiB) Viewed 7413 times

Unfortunately by this stage we were criminally short of time (thank you Christmas traffic!). So we decided to resolve the big combat as a priority. Two Fiends were chopped up for little reply. The Phoenix Guard champion died gallantly to stymie the Keeper of Secrets. Daemonic Instability rolls kept Slaanesh's servants in the fight but that was all we had time for. Things were looking good for the High Elves but some uncertainty remained.

IMG_8358.jpg (1.97 MiB) Viewed 7413 times

Commentary to follow. Happily we were recently able to stage a rematch, which was played to a full six turns! More on that later.

IMG_8364.JPEG (836.41 KiB) Viewed 7263 times

[DrSlam]

Very exciting SpellArcher. I like the photos and the game mat of the rocky ground looks great.

Re the game, my view from over here is that you're in the stronger position? You have Seredain's forces split, in that his frosty is bogged down by your (horrors?) on the hill in your deployment zone, and you've got beasts chaffing up his cav, which means his PGs are holding the fort. If you can keep his frosty and cavalry occupied, you can try to roll his right flank, depending if that Keeper of Secrets can get past those 3++ PGs!

[Seredain]

Thanks for the write-up SA!

A super interesting game. My main takeaways:

1) The Beasts are the greatest of roadblocks. I knew I couldn't avoid them with my cavalry so just decided to accept my fate and get stuck in sooner rather than later. In part because...

2) Fiery Convocation neutered the plaguebearer block, making me feel pretty good about the chances of my phoenix guard holding against the Daemons' MSU left flank.

3) My frostheart actually lost combat against the horrors and had to hold on Ld 8. A major swing narrowly dodged!

4) Maintaining proper leadership coverage in the above scattered situations was difficult or impossible. My solution was to take the list in a new direction featuring a World Dragon BSB on a griffon. Also for those single entity units that always feature in the scariest armies: beasts, chariots, frosthearts. A monster with a 2++, a static +1 combat res and 18" leadership re-roll bubble? Don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

5) Placing two mages in the first rank gives the phoenix guard a certain schizophrenic quality. Particularly if you're doubled up on the magic missiles. Do you want to get in combat, or not? If the former, expect to lose the points for your hero mage. I've danced around two mages vs one for years but have settled more into trying to make do with a single archmage.

6) Regardless of what precise character combo you employ (other than the essential high magic), in 8th Ed the phoenix guard are the true heart of this list. Is the prince safer by riding in another direction, or merely getting distracted whilst the battle is won and lost elsewhere? Putting him on foot, with the guard, is an experiment worth running.

Well played to SA and roll on Round 2!

Best wishes,

S

[SpellArcher]

Very exciting SpellArcher. I like the photos and the game mat of the rocky ground looks great.

Thank you Doctor.

Re the game, my view from over here is that you're in the stronger position? You have Seredain's forces split, in that his frosty is bogged down by your (horrors?) on the hill in your deployment zone, and you've got beasts chaffing up his cav, which means his PGs are holding the fort. If you can keep his frosty and cavalry occupied, you can try to roll his right flank, depending if that Keeper of Secrets can get past those 3++ PGs!

I neglected to mention that the Keeper of Secrets was down to two or three wounds. He has to survive another round against that 3+ save and those ranks and standard. Even if he does, I doubt charging the Daemonettes in will rescue him, the PG will grind the combat out and then I'm done.

A super interesting game.

Thank you sir.

2) Fiery Convocation neutered the plaguebearer block, making me feel pretty good about the chances of my phoenix guard holding against the Daemons' MSU left flank.

True. In hindsight I believe that I actually needed Beasts in that combat to have a proper crack but the Plaguebearers would definitely have helped.

3) My frostheart actually lost combat against the horrors and had to hold on Ld 8. A major swing narrowly dodged!

Ouch! Unlucky though, odds are he grinds the Horrors down thereafter.

5) Placing two mages in the first rank gives the phoenix guard a certain schizophrenic quality. Particularly if you're doubled up on the magic missiles. Do you want to get in combat, or not? If the former, expect to lose the points for your hero mage. I've danced around two mages vs one for years but have settled more into trying to make do with a single archmage.

Point taken, though Book of Hoeth definitely gave you an edge here in the magic phases. Which pretty much requires the Mage.

[SpellArcher]

List Implications

Firstly I was concerned with the Keeper of Secrets. Whilst he is fearsome wielding the Eternal Blade, he has to get into combat to use it and against 4 RBT that is a perilous assignment, he was lucky here. Lore of Slaanesh is strong but proper use requires freedom of movement.

The Plaguebearers died horribly to Fiery Convocation, remedial action required. Fiends aren't terrible but they are lightweight, making no impression on the Phoenix Guard.

Lastly, running the Beasts solo was a reaction to our previous game where I was run over. A mistaken one though I think because a joined-up unit of Beasts is very important to having a proper go at the PG. I also feel it contributed to Seredain moving away from his potent cavalry unit, something I regret.

Philosophically, I'm a Combined Arms player not an MSU player. It is though easier to create an objectively stronger MSU list for Daemons in 8th Edition. I believe it's about time I started to build towards more of a Combined Arms approach.

[Prince of Spires]

The battle looks stunning. I really should get myself a better table and battlemat...

Also an interesting battle. I would favor the elves at this point, mainly because the PG unit is still largely intact, and they're tough buggers to deal with. And you're not in a situation where you can easily grab points elsewhere. A shame time ran out though.

What would your combined arms list look like?

[SpellArcher]

The battle looks stunning. I really should get myself a better table and battlemat...

Props to my host for that.

Also an interesting battle. I would favor the elves at this point, mainly because the PG unit is still largely intact, and they're tough buggers to deal with. And you're not in a situation where you can easily grab points elsewhere. A shame time ran out though.

Exactly. The Keeper has a chance, if the dice are kind but they have to be kind.

What would your combined arms list look like?

Well I took a small step towards it in the next game's list which I'll be posting soon. In the meantime:

Daemon MSU

Herald of Tzeentch, Lvl 2 Metal
Herald of Tzeentch. Lvl 2 Metal

10 Horrors
10 Horrors
10 Horrors
10 Horrors
10 Horrors

5 Flesh Hounds, Ambush
5 Flesh Hounds, Ambush
3 Flamers, Champion
3 Flamers, Champion
3 Beasts of Nurgle
3 Beasts of Nurgle

3 Plague Drones, Poison, Standard
3 Plague Drones, Poison, Standard
Skillcannon
Skillcannon

2500

This list has Lore of Metal which really helps with the slight weakness Daemons have against armour. Lore of Tzeentch on the Horrors complements this with blasting spells. More characters aren't really needed because the Beasts and Drones fight so well and the whole army is Immune to Psychology.

As MSU, the army excels at enveloping the enemy and this is enhanced by the Hounds threatening to come on behind him. Chariot cannon are of course broken and the Flamers are especially helpful against elves, the bane of Daemons. Arguably Furies should be taken but I'm not sure they're essential.

There are no huge points sinks for a World Dragon unit to hunt. Equally no large Plaguebearer block to target with Convocation. I still feel the right High Elf list would have an edge but this is about the best Daemons can muster for that match-up.

[Prince of Spires]

It's an interesting list for sure. It's a typical MSU type list, without any clear targets.

The double lvl2 metal mages are unusual. I'm not sure they're worth it. Somehow the lore always feels a bit "Meh" to me. Too many spells in there that are situational. Then again, in this list, magic isn't really a focus, so it matters less. And it does help deal with armored opponents somewhat.

I can see this list struggle against deathstar type lists. Especially if those lists also pack some ranged damage (either in shooting or magic). They will pick off individual units while not giving up many points itself. And against very magic heavy lists. A tooled up HE Loremaster list (though they are rare) would have a fieldday against this army I think for instance.

[SpellArcher]

The double lvl2 metal mages are unusual. I'm not sure they're worth it. Somehow the lore always feels a bit "Meh" to me. Too many spells in there that are situational. Then again, in this list, magic isn't really a focus, so it matters less. And it does help deal with armored opponents somewhat.

The point here is that Tzeentch covers most of the gaps in Metal, especially blowing things up. Not only are there two full Lores but also 7 Channels, re-rolling 1's. Any spell can be six-diced without fear over a Lvl 4 caster.

I can see this list struggle against deathstar type lists. Especially if those lists also pack some ranged damage (either in shooting or magic).

If such a foe sits in a corner, the daemons can too, popping away with the Skillcannon and long-ranged spells. That's a draw or very close to it. If a Deathstar comes forward, yes it will kill two or three units. It's support though is highly vulnerable to outflanking Beasts and Drones, not to mention Hounds coming on from behind.

A tooled up HE Loremaster list (though they are rare) would have a fieldday against this army I think for instance.

I'd be delighted to see a list supporting this bold claim Rod.

[SpellArcher]

Gateway of Doom

20230421_204035~2.jpg (1.55 MiB) Viewed 6891 times

So last month I revisited The Cavalry Prince's abode for a rematch, again at 2500pts. Adjustments had been made:

Daemons of Chaos

Lord of Change, Lvl 4 Metal, ASF Sword

Herald of Tzeentch, Lvl 2 of Tzeentch
Herald of Nurgle, BSB, Regen Locus, MR 1
Herald of Slaanesh, ASF Locus

19 Plaguebearers, Champion, Musician
14 Daemonettes, FC, Banner of Swiftness
10 Horrors, Full Command

4 Beasts of Nurgle
5 Flesh Hounds, Ambush
3 Flamers, Champion
5 Furies

Skillcannon
10 Chaos Dwarf Fireglaives, FC, Gleaming Pennant

I'd swapped Slaanesh's Greater Daemon for that of Tzeentch and more of a ranged approach with Metal. My BSB now bore the Lichebone Pennant to counter Flaming magic. The Beasts became a single unit for a real combat threat. Seredain kindly agreed to let me bring the Chaos Dwarf handgunners I'd painted in place of the Fiends.

High Elves of the West

Prince, Heavy Armour, Barded Steed, Giant Blade, Dawnstone, Dragonhelm, Foolhardiness, Shield
Archmage, Lvl 4 High Magic, Dispel Scroll, Ring of Fury, 4+ Ward

BSB, World Dragon, Heavy Armour, Griffon with Swooping Strike and ASF, Lance, Lion Cloak, Shield

10 Silver Helms, Full Command
24 Archers, Full Command
5 Reavers, Spear and Bow

23 Phoenix Guard, Full Command, Razor Standard

4 RBT
Frostheart Phoenix

These changes went deeper. The BSB swapped his horse for a Griffon! This obviously de-emphasized the Silver Helms but with World Dragon created a long-ranged threat almost immune to most of my army. This cost the Mage, who's loss required the AM to pick up the Dispel Scroll and forego his Book of Hoeth. Both Eagles went but the Phoenix Guard swelled to an impressive 3 ranks of 8, counting the accompanying Archmage.

The High Elves own the shooting phase. Magic perhaps slightly favours the Daemons because of repertoire and Channels but the Dispel Scroll mitigates this. Overall the Daemons are inferior at range and have to attack if they want to win.

Problem is they have only about half the units in the previously discussed MSU list, so can't surround their enemy. What they do have is not strong enough to mount a direct assault. The only way they're winning here is if Seredain makes a big mistake or they get really lucky.

[SpellArcher]

Spells and Deployment

The Lord of Change rolled a good spread. He had Searing Doom, Plague of Rust, Enchanted Blades and especially Final Transmutation, one of the few tools I had against the fearsome Phoenix Guard. The Horrors rolled Pink Fire which I kept to improve selection for the Herald. He got Blue Fire and Infernal Gateway, job done.

The Archmage got Fiery Convocation, his go-to versus the Regenerating Plaguebearers. I believe he also rolled Fury of Khaine, Hand of Glory and Apotheosis, useful spells all.

20230421_141834.jpg (1.44 MiB) Viewed 6838 times

Seredain deployed fairly compactly across from my centre and right but one RBT went down opposite my far left. The Phoenix Guard deployed slightly left of my centre, behind a wood. Then came the Prince and Silver Helms, in a single rank, with the Reavers in front of those. Next the Archers on a hill and then the remaining bolt shooters behind a fence. The Monsters sat behind them.

The Skillcannon went down centre-left to more easily shoot at the Monsters and was screened by the Flamers. Next came the Fireglaives and then the Furies. The Horrors and their Herald occupied the tower, to better blast the advancing High Elves with Tzeentch's magic. The Lord of Change sheltered behind this. In an attempt to wrongfoot the Phoenix Guard, my combat units went down far right. First Plaguebearers (with BSB), then Beasts and lastly Daemonettes (with Herald).

[SpellArcher]

Turn One

Seredain won the roll-off. He had Vanguarded the Reavers across the field and they now completed their journey, ending opposite my far right. The Silver Helms and Phoenix Guard Swift Reformed and wheeled to move towards the tower. The Griffon BSB, trusting in World Dragon to protect him, hopped in front of the fence.

20230421_144413.jpg (1.39 MiB) Viewed 6726 times

I believe Hand of Glory may have assisted but in any event the Archers shot three models off the Furies. The RBT took the Skillcannon down to two wounds.

IMG_7398~2.jpg (736.02 KiB) Viewed 6683 times

(Photo by kind courtesy of Seredain.)

The Flamers advanced past the Phoenix Guard's charge arc and into shooting range whilst the Skillcannon also came forwards to line up a shot. The two remaining Furies buzzed off and hid behind the tower. The rest of my forces held station.

20230421_151622.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 6726 times

The Herald threw Infernal Gateway at the Silver Helms. We estimated Seredain had around a 60% chance of stopping it with dice. Not wanting to burn his scroll he went for it but a bad Dispel roll saw it go through and six died. A cannonball hit and wounded the BSB and his mount but the Banner protected both. The PG shrugged off my remaining fire.

20230421_153458.jpg (1.62 MiB) Viewed 6724 times

[SpellArcher]

Turn Two

Unimpressed, the Phoenix Guard ground forwards toward the tower. The Archers advanced down from their hill and were joined by the Prince. That spot was now taken by the regrouping Silver Helms. Griffon BSB edged forwards to exert charge threat.

A low winds roll saw the Archmage cast a moderate spell, I believe Hand of Glory again. Shooting removed the Skillcannon and four Daemonettes.

20230421_160028.jpg (1.54 MiB) Viewed 6685 times

The Flesh Hounds arrived from Ambush to threaten the Silver Helms. The Fireglaives charged the flank of the PG. I had no illusions about breaking these but hoped to delay and perhaps draw them away in a subsequent pursuit. Flamers moved into long range.

20230421_161936.jpg (1.17 MiB) Viewed 6685 times

The Archers lost maybe 7 of their number to Gateway, the Archmage considering it more pressing to dispel Enchanted Blades on the Fireglaives. One Phoenix Guard was killed but his brothers easily passed their Steadfast break test and reformed to face the foe.

20230421_163952.jpg (1.04 MiB) Viewed 6685 times

[Prince of Spires]

I think you're in a good spot. Or at least, as good as spot as you could be. The loss of the Skillcannon hurts. But with killing the SH's you've removed a great shock-troop. And with tying up the PG, you've effectively taken the two monsters out of the game for a turn as well. They're great, but running them out on their own is risky. They're no Stardragons... Also, the hounds in the back are something to keep an eye on for him, since he doesn't want them running through his boltthrowers.

[Seredain]

Thanks for the write-up SA!

A cagey game… neither side wishes to risk a failed charge and both sides think they can win with magic. The high elf phases for Turns 1 and 2 actually both flub to successful dispels, so thus far the duel favours Tzeentch! Resolute high elf shooting compensates with its impressive accuracy. The silver helms’ destruction as an effective fighting force encourages another defensive round of covering fire whilst the phoenix guard grind their way to the daemons’ tower.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest!

Best wishes,

S

[SpellArcher]

Thanks guys.

I think the play so far is showing the importance of a main combat unit (given we're not running proper MSU). The Beasts are good but not strong enough to just push forward blindly. The PG almost are but are taking time to arrive and other combat elements largely need to wait for them.

Damaging the Helms pretty much ensures the Daemons aren't getting overrun quickly. I agree the Hounds are important too because the Frostheart has to take on sweeping duties. I can't say managing all this while under constant RBT fire was comfortable though!

[SpellArcher]

Turn Three

The Archers swift reformed to target the Flamers and more importantly to block the Hounds' path to the RBT. Across flew the Frostheart and the Silver Helms edged around the flank.

20230421_165546.jpg (1.67 MiB) Viewed 6531 times

The Winds of Magic blew strong but the Archmage had no good target for Fiery Convocation. I breathed a sigh of relief but Seredain had seen this coming. The Archers shot a Flamer dead whilst the RBT put two wounds on the Beasts and killed two Daemonettes. Combat was brutal, the PG simply wiping out the Fireglaives and reforming to face the tower once more.

20230421_171551.jpg (1.06 MiB) Viewed 6531 times

[SpellArcher]

Turn Three (continued)

20230421_172552.jpg (954.91 KiB) Viewed 6487 times

Having provided a distraction with the Flesh Hounds, I now moved up with my combat units, the Beasts in particular projecting charge threat. The Hounds moved backwards. They'd die but it would pull the Frostheart and Helms further from my push. The Furies flew in to redirect the PG while the Flamers moved away from the High Elf Shooting. I had effectively none of my own and believe that Seredain used his scroll to stop my magic this turn.

20230421_172601.jpg (1021.1 KiB) Viewed 6487 times