Southern Escalation Kicks Off! Part 2

In part 1, I presented a Battle Report of the first game of the day. Now it's time for the second! One of the players had to head off early, leaving us with 7 players. The other 4 had just started their game (ending up playing 2v2, Order vs Chaos) so I suggested I play against the other 2 players 2 on 1. I had bought some of my extras as well, so figured a larger Chaos army fighting 2 armies of Order would be a good setting. As it ended up, all the Chaos players ended up on one side of the table, while all the Order players ended up on the other. Perhaps it was just one large battle after all?

The Setting
The Chaos and Order forces had heard of hidden mystical artifacts nearby on the battlefield. Chaos obviously intending to use these artifacts for evil, while the forces of Order want to prevent this. However, one of the artifacts is just a ruse, with no real power at all! Half way through the battle, the forces will find out which of the artifacts is fake, and the fight will gravitate towards the 2 remaining artifacts.

The Armies
I had slightly more points (just 0.5) because I couldn't quite make a same pointed list. It ended up being 11.5 points to 11 points (the Seraphon player only had 5 points to play with).

The Shadowborn
Chaos Lord
Chaos Sorcerer
10 Chaos Warriors
10 Chaos Chosen
5 Chaos Knights
5 Marauder Horsemen
Chaos Gargant

Seraphon
Scar-Verteran on Carnosaur
5 Saurus Knights
10 Saurus Warriors

Noble Free People
The Fey Enchantress
5 Grail Knights
5 Mounted Yeomen
10 Men-At-Arms

Deployment
Deployment ended up with both sides seperating into two forces. Obviously the Seraphon and Free People weren't on hugely good terms with each other after clashing earlier in the day, while the Chaos Lord directed the mounted contingent of the Shadowborn to the hold the left flank against the Nobility. The infantry forces would engage the Seraphon, who were already on one of the objectives.

Deployment with Objectives highlighted

The mounted Yeomen vanguarded up near the building to engage the forces of Chaos early.

The Yeomen vanguaged up

Battle Round 1
The initiative was given to the forces of Order, which generally moved up at a steady pace. The Fey Enchantress buffed up the Yeomen who were the closest to danger while the Grail Knights moved up to the archway spanning the two buildings.
The Yeomen shot their bows at the Chaos Knights, but were unable to land any shots.
In the Chaos turn, everything launched forwards. The Chosen moved into the terrain that held the objective, with everything else moving up as well. The General inspired the Chosen, while the Chaos Sorcerer cast Mystic Shield on them to give them additional protection in case the Seraphon engaged.
On the left flank, the Marauder Horsemen scooted up to the gap in the building. Due to being near the Mystical building earlier in the Hero phase, they launched their Javelins which felled a Grail Knight and wounded another before engaging them in melee. The Chaos Knights surged forwards into the Yeomen, expecting to punish them for their aggressive movement.

The Knights charge the Yeomen, expecting easy prey...

The Horsemen being the weaker unit attacked first, bringing the Grail Knights down to 3 members. Had the lady abandoned them?

The Horsemen engage the Grail Knights

The Yeomen are unable kill any of the Chaos Knights, but the Chaos Knights find the protection of the fey is not so easy to get by, only managing to kill 3 of the Yeomen with their Glaives and steeds.

The Knights kill some Yeomen, but do take some damage in return

Things do not turn out so well for the Marauder Horsemen though. Even though they have robbed the Grail Knights of their charge and numbers, the lady favous them as they kill a Horseman and wound another.
Battle Round 2
The Chaos have stolen the initiative, and the Lord immediately decides to send the Chosen into combat. The Chosen are given Inspiring Presence, as well as the boon of visions from the Sorcerer and Mystic Shield. The Chosen engage the Seraphon Cavalry, while the rest of the army moves up onto the objective, with the Chaos Gargant sitting in cover.
In combat, the Marauder Horsemen suffer as 2 Horsemen are bought down and the remaining 2 flee due to battle shock. The Chosen slay 2 of the Saurus Knights outright, while taking a wound in return. The Chaos Knights cannot finish off the Yeomen, with 1 remaining.
In the turn of Order, the Seraphon and Nobility take action. The Fey Enchantress buffs up the Grail Knights, although her Magical Chalice fails and can no longer be used. The Seraphon leader moves up to engage the Giant, while the Saurus move through the building to assist the beleagered Saurus Knights.
In combat, the Scar-Verteran on Carnosaur goes first, but only manages to deliver 4 wounds to the Giant. In return, the Chosen deliver a huge blow to the Saurus, slaying another Saurus Knight and taking out many of the Saurus. 2 Chosen are slain in return. The Giant whacks the Carnosaur around with his club, dealing 4 wounds back but cannot manage to wound with his 'Eadbutt or Kick. The Warriors nearby are drawn into the combat, dealing a wound or two to the Carnosaur but cannot bring their numbers to fight.

The Chosen deliver a heavy blow to the Seraphon forces

On the left side of the field, the Chaos Knights have been engaged by the Grail Knights and Fey Enchantress. One of the Knights is slain by the Enchantress, while the Knights cut down the Yeoman and wound the Fey Enchantress twice. The can't managed to get past the enchantments that have been put onto the Grail Knights.

The Melee of the mounted forces

With combat over, the objective that the Saurus had originally been holding disappeared. This would be a huge problem for the Chaos forces, as the left flank was collapsing and everyone was engaged in the combat.
Battle Round 3
I believe Order got the initiative here. The Men-At-Arms who had done nothing all game, were suddenly in the right spot to take the objective. They quickly moved their way towards the objective, claiming it for the Free People. The Fey Enchantress heals her wounds with her potion, meaning the damage from the last round was basically negligible.
The fight between the Carnosaur and Giant continue, the Carnosaur unable to leverage its killing capabilities against the Giant, leaving him severely weakened. However, the Giant and Warriors make a good account for themself, and bring the Carnosaur low as well.
The fight between the Chosen and the Seraphon ends up with the Seraphon severely depleted. The Saurus Knights are wiped out, while the Saurus Warriors are down to their last few members.

The time of the Seraphon is near an end

The Knights were starting to be depleted by the Grail Knight and Fey Enchantress, but they do manage to slay a Grail Knight in return and wound the Fey Enchantress twice.

The Knights are under heavy pressure

In the Chaos turn, the Warriors retreat from the combat, needing to move towards the left side of the board to contest the Men At Arms. The Chaos Lord was eager to get his blades wet, and engaged the Carnosaur which by now was severely depleted.
In Combat, the Chaos Lord immediately fells the Carnosaur without so much as a sweat. The Chosen are able to slaughter the remainder of the Saurus Warriors.

The Chosen finished off almost all of the Seraphon army alone

On the left side, things do not look so good. The Fey Enchantress is wounded again, but the Chaos Knights are down to their last model, only the Doom Knight remaining.
Battle Round 4
With the right side of the battle in my control, I won the roll of initiative but gave it to my opponents thinking I could easily contest my own objective. This would possibly prove to be folly, as again the Fey Enchantress heals 3 wounds, putting her well out of range to be taken out. The Men-At-Arms settled on the objective in a defensive position. In combat, the Fey Enchantress and Grail Knight are finally able to take out the Doom Knight

The Doom Knight is bought down

In the Chaos turn, the game is almost wrapped up. The Chosen move back to claim the centre objective, while the Warriors move to contest the one on the left. Unfortunately, they fail their charge as they are so far away at this point.

After this, the roll is made and it is determined we will go for another turn! The Chaos forces could still win by contesting the objective!

Battle Round 5

Order are given the initiative this turn, and there is not much for them to do but wait out the inevitable.

In the Chaos Turn, the Warriors manage to launch their offensive on the Men-At-Arms. The Chaos Warriors cannot bring their numbers to fight the Men-At-Arms in the building, and cannot manage to slay any of them.

The Warriors engage the men at arms, while the Fey Enchantress and Grail Knight ride to the rescue too late

The Men-At-Arms in return, take out a Warrior to prove they have some steel in their spines. However, it is too little too late, as the scuffle over the objective this late in the game means neither side can claim the artifact at this location.

A Chaos Warrior is lain

So with the game at an end, the Chaos forces had won with 1 objective held and 1 contested.

Chaos Victory

Game Thoughts

The game was good enjoyable fun. The epic (fail) of a combat between the Carnosaur and Gargant, neither able to land their most damaging attacks. The Chosen basically going through everything as if they're a hot knife through butter. The last minute dash for objectives. It could've easily gone either way, if the game had ended earlier it would've been a drawn. Feel a bit bad for the Seraphon, who couldn't do anything to the Chosen. The double turn hurt as the Saurus Knights were caught out of position. Potentially the Scar-Veteran should've joined in as well, even if it meant fighting both the Chosen and Giant, he could've lent his might in the fight against the Chosen which perhaps would've turned the tide against the Giant with support from his ground forces.

Closing Thoughts

The Escalation league got off to a great start. Lots of great games, awesome finish to the day with the forces of Chaos prevailing on all fronts (The 2v2 game ended up with the Chaos just holding on, see Doom and Darkness' Youtube Video Report of the Action). It was great to get 8 players rock up, given I hadn't had much interest too much prior to the event.

My New Years Resolutions regarding this event and my warband are being ticked off as well! We've got people playing at the first campaign day, and while I didn't have my entire warband finished, I did have 6 points painted up (enough for a deployed force). If I had pushed myself, I could've had the entire warband painted, but I was starting to get sloppy the day before and didn't want to rush the Knights just to have everything painted.

Hope you enjoyed the write up, and until next time guys!

Southern Escalation Kicks Off! Part 1

So the Escalation League I'm running kicked off last Sunday. That's right Valentines Day. I didn't even think about it at the time, as my girlfriend is generally with her family around this time of year so we don't celebrate it too often. So in the end we had 8 players come down and play some Age of Sigmar for a couple of hours, which was a stand out effort.
Everyone seemed to have a ton of fun and seemed keen for more, so hopefully we get this many again for the next session in a months time. Since there was an almost even split between Order and Chaos, it led to some good matchups of Good versus Evil. In fact, for the second game of the day, all the Chaos players were on one side of the table, and the Order players were on the other! Talk about good setup!

For this post, I'll delve into the details of the first game. The Shadowborn were up against the Duardin in this game.

The Setting
The two armies were facing off, and both were intent on capturing the ruined building in the middle of the board. The ruined building was Mystical terrain, so obviously held some secrets that both forces wanted to claim for themselves.

The Armies
Under the first month rules, players would have lists of 9 points, but only deploy 6.
The Shadowborn
Chaos Lord (Marked Khorne because Undivided doesn't help)
10 Chaos Warriors
5 Chaos Knights
5 Marauder Horsemen
10 Chosen (In Reserve)

The Duardin
Dwarf Lord on Shieldbearers
Dragonslayer with Greataxe
10 Hammerers
5 Irondrakes
15 Slayers

Deployment
Since we had 12x4 feet of board (Each game was played on a 4x4), I decided to keep deployment simple with a basic split through the middle of the board. My Warriors went into the forest with my Chaos Lord and everything else remained nearby. The Duardin spread out a bit more, with the Irondrakes sitting up on the hill and the Slayers on the left flank.

Deployment - The Iron Drakes are on the hill with Hammerers in the Centre

The Slayers are on the Left side of the board

Battle Round 1
Since the Shadowborn finished deployment first, I gave my opponent the initiative while everything was out of range. His forces move up sounding the advance to march at double pace with the Hammerers moving up to the building.

The Hammerers and Lord move up to the building

The Slayers move towards the Gap in the buildings

The Shadowborn also march up outside of the cover. Most forces move towards the Slayers, with the Marauder Horsemen covering the flank while remaining outside of range from the Irondrakes.
Battle Round 2
The Shadowborn seize the initiative, the Chaos Lord inspiring the Chaos Warriors with his presence. The Warriors, Lord and Knights move up the left side of the board, keen to engage the Slayers while the Horsemen ride to the Right, to harass the Hammerers. In shooting, only 2 are in range and their javelins kill a Hammerer. The Duardin swear retribution.

Chaos surges forwards with the Marauder Horsemen killing a Hammerer

In the Charge Phase, both the Knights and Chaos Warriors are able to make it into the Slayers, although they don't really have enough movement to fully engage the enemy forces. The Knights strikes first, with their Glaives slaying 4 Slayers and the death blows of the Slayers cannot make it past the Chaos Runeshields.

The Knights brutally cut down four Slayers

The Slayers retaliate, launching themsleves into the frey. They manage to severely wound the Chaos Warriors cutting down 3 straight away but cannot manage to bring down any of the Knights.

3 Warriors are slain by the axes of the Slayers

The remaining Warriors lap around the Slayers, getting almost all into striking range. The punishment they dish out is severe, but the death blows of the Slayers manage to fell another Chaos Warrior.

The Casualties are piling up on both sides

This attracked the attention of the Dragon Slayer nearby, who launched himself into the fight. With his Gigantic Slayer Axe, he lops the heads off 2 Chaos Warriors immediately, leaving only 4 remaining.

The Warriors endure more punishment from the Dragon Slayer

Luckily for the Warriors, the Generals Inspiring Presence ensured they held the line.
In the Duardin turn, the Hammerers were quite upset that the Marauder Horsemen had felled one of their number. With a grunt, they marched around the building looking to engage the Horsemen while the Duardin Lord climbed into the building to get a better look at the battle below.

The Duardin Hammerers round the building

In shooting, the Irondrakes unleash a volley of hot lead on the Horsemen, felling one before the Hammerers engage.

The Horsemen are about to feel the might of the Duardin Finest

And as it so happens, the Horsemen are cut down to the man, the Hammerers deal enough damage to slay the lot of them.

Harsh punishment indeed for those who dare slay the Duardin

In the fight between the Chaos and the Slayers, the Slayers were severely depleted by the Chaos Knights. Another Warrior succumbed to the Dragon Slayer, but they dished out a wound back.
Battle Round 3
The Duardin took the initiative, with the Dwarf Lord leaping over to another section of the ruined building. The Hammerers moved into the building as well, while the Irondrakes turned towards the left flank but could not land any shots.
In the combat, the Slayers were finally cut down while the Dragon Slayer succumbed to another wound.
Things were not looking good for the Chaos forces, as the right flank had collapsed, and the Chaos Warriors were sorely depleted.  The Lord order the Warriors to retreat to the nearby ruins, while the Knights and Chaos Lord look to engage on the Dragon Slayer.

The Knights round to face the Dragon Slayer

And retribution against the Dragon Slayer was swift, as the Knights Glaives strike down the Slayer Lord.

The Dragon Slayer is cut down

Battle Round 4
The Duardin lord launches himself down from the building, engaging the remaining Chaos forces in epic combat. With quick and swift motion with his Axe, he instantly dealt a grievous blow to the Chaos Lord while the Shieldbearers finished the job, the Chaos Armour not able to withstand the assault upon the armour.

The Chaos Lord is cut down!

The Knights are unable to muster much force, as they are drawn into the combat and unable to effectively lever their Glaives against the Lord.
In the Chaos turn, with the Lord down there is not much left to do. The Warriors decide to engage the Irondrakes in combat, looking to take them out potentially while the Knights continued to engage the Lord.
Unfortunately for the Chaos forces, luck was not on their side. The Knights are unable to do much harm to the Lord, while 2 are cut down.

2 Knights are cut down by the Lord

The Chaos Warriors with so few remaining are unable to get past the Gromril armour of the Irondrakes, and in return the Irondrakes are unable to get past the Chaos Armour.

With it being the fourth battle round, the roll was made and the game would not continue for a fifth. The forces of the Duardin had prevailed, with the Hammerers in control of the mystical building.

Duardin Victory!

Game Thoughts
Slayers are pretty good against my army. Since everything has multiple wounds, it does make them very good at landing blows upon my guys.  I can't remember specifically what round I finished them off (2 or 3), but their deathblows managed to get through my Chaos Runeshields more than I would like and then the Dwarf Lord just jumped in to finish everything off.
The Knights while good, just don't deal too much damage if I can't bring their numbers to bear and if I can't get the charge.
I think it was a mistake to send the Horsemen so close, I should've measured as there's no real incentive for me to get in if I can't launch Javelins with all my guys. When I measured the range, I found my back guys were out of range. Throwing away the unit probably didn't cost me the game, but certainly I could've made better use of them.