Conquest of the Shadowborn - Claiming an Idol of Power

Hey guys,
So today I'll do something a little different. I've played 3 games in the past week, today I'll write up a report for one of them in a different style (the game was almost a week away now, so hard to remember battle rounds). So I'll give a more narrative approach this time. We'll have to see if I get time to write up the other battle reports.

But first up, lets see where my warband is at!

The Shadowborn in their glory

Shown above is the current status of my warband. It's missing a Chaos Spawn (Which may or may not make the cut next month anyway) since it's unpainted, but that's basically the models I've run with in March. The Giant still requires some detailing, but that's something I'll have to finish off after Easter (Writing this a mere hour before I need to leave for a flight).
So far I've been really happy with all the elements in the warband. The Chaos Warriors are tanky as hell, especially if I buff them with my Sorcerer Lord. The Chosen are pretty choppy, and the Knights tend to survive the grind, but certainly their Glaives occasionally turn the tide. The Horsemen add a little bit of ranged fire power to soften up units before others do the dirty close combat work. The Chaos Lord (Know he's an Exalted Hero model, but running him as a Lord for now) tends to be a bit of a glass cannon, a 4+ save with 5 wounds doesn't really go that far. He tends to output some good damage though, but does tend to die if he gets stuck into the frey. The giant has been pretty interesting so far, we'll see how he goes in the reports below. Finally the Sorcerer Lord adds some much needed magic to the force, and makes my guys even tankier with the ability to cast Mystic Shield and grant his visions.

So lets get onto the battles!
Battle 1 - Highborn Aelves
This battle took place on the Campaign day against a newcomer to the Escalation League. He was running his Highborn Aelves led by Teclis and Tyrion with a Loremaster in league with them. Obviously the name of the game was buff Tyrion.

The Shadowborn face off against Tyrion and Teclis

I was defending the objective, my Chaos Sorcerer Lord carefully extracting the Idol of Power from within. The game started off fairly interesting with the Silver Helms charging headlong into the Chaos Chosen, only to be cut down over a few rounds of combat. On the other side, the Swordmasters had made a long charge into the Chaos Knights and that battle was taking tolls on both sides until my Chaos Lord joined the fight.

With the aid of their Lord, the tide of the fight is swung in the favour of Chaos. But the Swordmasters would leave a lastimpression on the Chaos Lord

The extraction process was occurring quicker than expected, and Tyrion urged on Malhandir into the Chaos Warriors. Sunfang was devestating, laying waste to the Warriors and slicing through the Chaos armour.

Chaos armour is nothing to Sunfang

Nearby, Teclis was assaulted by the Chaos Chosen. The Chosen almost slay the mighty mage, but 2 are felled in return. Would Teclis be able to survive to aid his brother?

Teclis's sword and staff cut down 2 of the Chosen

Meanwhile, the Swordmasters had been finished off, and the Chaos Lord directed his Knights towards Tyrion. He must be stopped, and the Chaos Warriors were swiftly been depleted.

Surrounded, Tyrion must face the mighty of Chaos

And yes, he certainly can survive. The wounded Chaos Lord is cut down in swift fashion, and with the help of the Sea Guard that had arrived, the Knights and Warriors were on their last legs, even while Tyrion stood on 1 wound remaining.

Tyrion and the Sea Guard cut through the forces of Chaos

But it was all for naught! For the Chaos Sorcerer cackled gleefully as he pried the gleaming skull from the pillar it was contained in, for this was one of the mighty Idols of Power. Already, he could feel the power surging through his body. Surveying the field, he met the eye of Tyrion, let out a smirk and quickly turned to retreat back into the safety of the swamp.

The Sorcerer Lord has his prize, and makes off with it into the swamps

And the battle was over! This was great fun. Since I rolled high for the extraction almost every time, the outcome seemed a bit inevitable, but when Tyrion joined the frey after sending the Silver Helms to his death, it was a little worrying as he seemed unstoppable. I managed to get him down to 1 wound, to find out that he still has an extra life remaining! This is a difficult game for the invading force (As said by Games Workshop about the scenario - The Ritual - which this is heavily based off of). I don't think a single attacking force won the scenario all weekend, but I think everyone enjoyed themself.

Doing this style of report is quite interesting as well. I think I'm going to have to properly name at least my characters. The Chaos Sorcerer Lord deserves a name after all for stealing the Idol in the midst of the Shadowborn defeat. Tyrion and Teclis will no doubt be looking to seek him out and deliver justice.