Southern Escalation Wrap-up

Hi all,
Long time no post. Unfortunately I've been pretty busy the last two months. Still been playing in the campaign, and doing a bit of painting on the side. I've got a battle report to post for June at some point (as long as I can remember enough of what went on to write it), and 2 weeks ago we had the conclusion of the Southern Escalation campaign.

The campaign concluded with 6 people duking it out in a 3 on 3 mega battle. Those interested in the particular rules of the battle plan can read it here, but the short of it is: An Orruk mage with the last idol powered himself up, and was basically the objective of the two sides fighting to kill the Orruk and claim back the last Idol.

The forces of Order face off against the combined might of Chaos, Death and some Dark Aelves

As it so happened, nothing ever quite turns out how you'd expect. The goal was that the team who did the most damage to him would win. By default, the Orruk Shaman (Known as Udermadd) has a 3+ re-rollable save that ignores rend and a 4+ save against mortal wounds. Pretty tough, and with 20 wounds to boot. If you held more of the objectives than your opponent, he would lose some of his toughness (first the re-rolls, then the ignoring rend, and finally the ward save). As it turns out, a 3+ re-rollable save isn't actually that tough, and since he starts in the middle of the board, he is easily chargeable on the first turn as well.
So what ended up happening, is that Order won the first turn, and immediately while moving up a bit, dealt 10 wounds to Udermadd, narrowly not winning on the first turn before Chaos even got a chance to go. In return, the Chaos forces focussed their entire attention on Udermadd as well, and the Chaos Gargant with a swing of his club managed to equalise by dealing the last wound.

All the monsters beating on the poor Orruk

So at the bottom of turn 1, the game was a draw and we hadn't even hit lunch time yet! Not the way I planned the mega battle to go out! So after a bit of discussion, we all decided we'll just keep track of how many wounds each side does to the Orruk, and at the end of fourth turn, the side that did the most wounds would claim the death of the Orruk and would win the battle.
At the end of the battle, the forces of Chaos were largely diminished but the arcane firepower of their mages was enough to win the day. Not quite how I was expecting the game to play out, but everyone had a bunch of fun and was a great way to conclude the campaign.

The Orruk teleports out of the action, and the game ends

So that concludes the campaign. It was a great run, and we created a great little community of Age of Sigmar players down at the club. In the end, the campaign ticked all the boxes I had going into it. In fact, all my New Years Resolutions for running the campaign. I didn't quite tick all my boxes for my Slaves to Darkness warband. I didn't manage to write nearly as many articles as I wanted, and my entire force isn't quite painted (Be'Lakor, Chaos Warshrine, 5 Chosen and Lord on Daemonic Mount unfinished). Still, it was a good run, and it got me the majority of my stuff painted, which was one of the main reasons I wanted to run the campaign.

Anyway, that's that. What's next for Age of Sigmar at the club? Well, the Generals Handbook has just dropped (Another good reason that it was the right time to end the campaign so we can shift from community points to GW points). Another guy is pretty keen to organise and run something based on that. What it turns out as is still in discussion. Later on in the year, there's been talk about holding an Age of Sigmar tournament as well. Plenty more to look forward to in future!

Clashes against the Seraphon

Hi all,
So last campaign day we had a new player participate in the campaign. He hadn't played any Age of Sigmar before, but was keen to give it a shot and had certainly done his homework, asking all the right questions about how we played Age of Sigmar at the club. During the time available, we ended up playing 2 games back to back (As people had to take off, so weren't able to swap opponents for the second game). So here's two battle reports of my Chaos versus Seraphon.

The Armies
We are playing 15 pool points deployed this month, so I'll only list the stuff that was actually used in the game.

The Shadowborn
Chaos Lord - Zagul Darkbsoul
Be'Lakor
10 Chaos Warriors
10 Chaos Chosen
5 Marauder Horsemen
5 Chaos Knights
Chaos Gargant
Chaos Warshrine

Seraphon
Slann Starmaster
Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur
40 Saurus Warriors
Stegadon with Giant Bow
Bastiladon with Solar Engine

Very different to the lists everyone else is running. We haven't seen unit really any bigger than 10-15 models at the club so far, so 40 Saurus in one unit is a lot! Especially with their bravery of 10, and the ability to make them immune to battleshock.

The Scenario
To keep things simple, we didn't end up using the Night Rules and we just played the second scenario - Capture and Control - from the campaign pack. This is a very simple scenario that deals with controlling a few objectives to win the game.

The Battle
Both armies, Chaos and Seraphon arrived on the battleground. The dark sponsor of the Shadowborn, Be'Lakor had revealed himself, and the Seraphon Starmaster sensed a sinister purpose and personally led the Seraphon on the field.

The armies lined up, Be'Lakor hidden behind the bulk of the Warshrine

However, dark clouds invaded the Slann's mind, as he couldn't manage to manipulate the constellations while his mind was befuddled. Still, the Seraphon host marched forwards, with the Skinks crewing the Stegadon launching a volley of bolts at the Marauder Horsemen.

3 Marauder Horsemen felled from afar

Even with their dark master on the field, the Marauder Horsemen lose their nerve and the remainder flee the battle.

Alive, but will need to face their masters wrath for fleeing the field

The Shadowborn marched up the field post haste, looking to engage into the Seraphon. The Dark Master taking up cover behind the rocks in the middle of the battlefield.

The shadowborn take up position to launch an Assault

The shadowborn win the initiative, and surge forwards towards the Seraphon position, hoping an early assault will leave them unprepared. Be'Lakor bolsters the power of the Chosen, while also Enfeebling the large group of Saurus Warriors swarming the objective.
However, things fell apart for the Shadowborn quite swiftly. Miscommunication in the lines, led to stalled charges from the Chaos Knights and Chaos Chosen. However, Be'Lakor and the Chaos Gargant leapt into the frey and punished for their lone assaults. Be'Lakor's hide pierced by the swarm of Saurus spears, while the Gargant is unable to make much progress and gets battered by the twin monsters of the Seraphon.

Punished for their charges, both Be'Lakor and the Gargant are vastly outnumbered

The Seraphon swiftly mobilised their remaining forces, the Starmaster summoned a Saurus Oldblood from his memories to bolster the nearby Saurus. The Stegadon and Bastiladon easily having the Gargant in check, the Scar-Veteran makes his charge into the Chaos Knights. Things were quite swiftly unravelling for the Dark Master's plans, as both he and the Gargant fall to the savagery of the Seraphon.

The Gargant falls in the wrong direction

The Shadowborn have one last chance to make something happen in the battle. Unfortunately the dark gods must have been looking elsewhere, as the Shrinemaster's prayers go unanswered and the Chosen would need to kill on their merits alone.

The beginning of the end

The Chosen charge in, but wanting to try and take out the wounded Stegadon, they spread their numbers between the Stegadon, Bastiladon and the Saurus Warriors. Zagul himselves launches into the combat as well, hoping to make the difference while the Chaos War Shrine went to aid the beleaguered Chaos Knights. However, it just was not looking great for the Shadowborn. The Chosen are unable to slay the Stegadon, and while putting some damage on the monsters and Saurus, their focus is split.

The damage just doesn't show against the Seraphon host

And finally, the toll of the horde of angry Saurus Warriors takes it's toll. The Chosen are unable to slay any of the Beasts, and while Zagul tries to unleash his Reaperblade, he manages to miss and is slain in response. The only surviving members of the battle being the Warshrine and the Chaos Warriors holding the home objective.

The Chaos forces destroyed by the Seraphon

Closing Thoughts
Obviously, neither of us really played the scenario, and that's fine for a first game or two. So we'll put aside that. My forces got punished hard, I set up for some average rolls to get in my entire army, and I should've just pulled back when the Chosen failed and let the enemy come to me. Sending in Be'Lakor and the Gargant alone was just asking for them to die, and was a stupid call. Especially Be'Lakor into the Saurus, as it's really not where you want him at all (Given he ignores Rend, and Saurus are just going to use their vast number of attacks to get through his save). So with those thoughts in mind, off we go into the second game.

Game 2
So we moved the terrain around a bit, changed up our lists and decided to go again. Here are the revised armies for the second game.

The Shadowborn
Be'Lakor
Chaos Lord - Zagul Darksoul
Chaos Sorcerer Lord  - Argrar Darkblood
Chaos Sorcerer Lord
10 Chaos Warriors
10 Chaos Chosen
5 Marauder Horsemen
5 Chaos Knights
5 Chaos Chosen

Seraphon
Saurus Scar-Veteran on Carnosaur
Saurud Oldblood
40 Saurus Warriors
3 Kroxigors
Bastiladon
Troglodon

The Battle
Once again, the forces of the Shadowborn would clash with the Seraphon. They had remustered their armies under their Dark Master and would launch the assault while the Slann Starmaster was busy elsewhere. It was left to the Saurus Lord on the Carnosaur to lead the battle.

The armies deployed to fight again

The Shadowborn were given the initiative in the battle, and moved up cautiously to the chokepoints. The spellcasters casting protective enchantments and foresight to the other members in the army. The Seraphon in this game were even more eager to face their enemies, with the monsters in the army surging forwards while the centre moved forwards at a more cautious pace.
With the combined might of the Troglodon, Carnousaur and Kroxigors, the Marauder Horsemen were slain and removed from the battle.

The Horsemen are vastly outclassed

With the Horsemen destroyed, the Beasts were more than happy to do the same thing to the Chaos Knights. The Kroxigor however, went to tackle the Chosen in the centre of the field while the Bastiladon blasted 3 Chosen with it's Solar Engine.

While the Saurus cautiously move up, the Bastiladon turns 3 Chosen to ash

While the Kroxigor and Chosen battered at each other, the combined might of both the Troglodon and the Carnosaur were able to destroy the Chaos Knights while taking some damage in return.

The Knights wiped out, but what plans does the Dark Master have...

It was time for the Dark Master to strike. Casting dark enchantments to toughen his hide, Be'Lakor also sent a bolt of dark energy at the Carnosaur to weaken it in battle. Agrar Darkblood further enhanced Be'Lakor's daemonic prowess by casting Daemonic Power upon his master. To the centre, the Chosen were bolstered with a Mystic Shield and Oracular Visions, and with their lord nearby were Inspired not to run from the battle.
In combat, the Kroxigors took a brutal beating from the Chosen and Lord, decimating their numbers while returning almost no damage in return.

The Kroxigor are not much longer for this world

To the west of the battlefield, Be'Lakor's enhanced strength let his Sword of Shadows rip through the Carnosaurs hide. The Carnosaur and Trogolodon were battered by the combined assault of the Dark Lord and his Chosen.

Both monsters battled by the Shadowborn elite

Now the Seraphon were on the back foot in this battle, and they needed to make something happen. It was now time for the might of the Saurus Warriors, as they launched their assault on the Chosen. However, even surrounding the Chosen, they could not manage to pierce through the dark enchantments the Sorcerers had laid on them

Unable to pierce the Chosen's armour, the Saurus may have picked the wrong fight

Additionally to the west, the Seraphon general was bought low by Be'Lakor while the Troglodon was feeling the effects of its wounds, not even able to get through the Chosen's armour.

The Seraphon general falls

And ultimately, with the Seraphon general gone, the Shadowborn collapsed on the Saurus Warriors in the centre of the field. Even the Chaos Warriors, having been defending their objective all game launched themself into the fight. Without their General and facing the might of Chaos, the Saurus Warriors were cut through while the Troglodon fell. The remainder of the Seraphon faded back into the memories they were, the Dark Master having got his revenge for the prior game.

Be'Lakor remains victorious

Closing Thoughts
So again, objectives not really an objective, lets ignore them! Or we'll talk about them briefly. I think the lesson learnt here is that, in tournament games, having plainer scenarios with somewhat plain objectives is probably fine. They lead to more balance games. But I think perhaps, to get people more involved, you need more interesting objectives for the players. Without an engaging story, it's hard to just say "Sit on these objectives and try and claim your opponents", doesn't make for a very interesting battle story. Perhaps the armies were slightly too small as well, and not able to have a force that engages while also having enough units to defend the home ground. Probably also doesn't help that most of us are running fairly elite armies.

Anyway, that's more than what I thought I'd say on that, back to the game. So turns out that Be'Lakor is pretty good! Especially if you buff him. Daemonic Power is not a spell I've really used that much, for single sorcerer's it's usually always been better to cast Mystic Shield. The only times I've cast it before I think were on Chosen and a Chaos Gargant. Both times it's worked out really well, but I do find it's a spell that you use at the right time right place, not something you really cast all the time. Be'Lakor is right time right place, as it makes him extremely tanky and able to dish out damage with his attacks. Coupled with a Mystic shield, and it's back to the days of 3++ and re-rolling 1's.

Perhaps Be'Lakor caught my opponent off guard, since he performed pretty poorly in the prior game. This game he just chopped through the Carnosaur when he was able to choose the better fight. Also the Troglodon really didn't impress, the lack of rend really kills it's potential. I get the feeling my opponent thought the two of them should be able to sweep the left side of the board while the rest of his army mustered in the centre. As it turned out, neither really happened. 40 Saurus sounds awesome, but they really didn't do too much once I buffed my Chosen up a bit with Mystic Shield and the Oracular Visions.

I guess probably the most important thing was that the lists were probably better/worse in the 2nd game. I had more utility by having the Chaos Sorcerers, while my opponent lacked it without his Slann Starmaster.

Shadowborn vs Stormcast - Heralds of the Storm

Back with another battle report today. One of the members of the Escalation Campaign was up for a game, and with the club open early due to a tournament for another game, we were able to get to an early start.
We agreed the night before to play the Heralds of the Storm scenario from the South Coast GT Battleplan Pack. This scenario has the players vying for control of 4 objectives, whoever has the most will be able to push the storm into their opponents territory to win the game. We weren't using the SCGT points/comp pack though, we were sticking with the Clash Comp pool points we've been using to date.

So lets get on with the report.
The Armies
We ended up playing with 16 deployed points each. The next month will be 15 points with 5 in reserve, but my opponent Colin accidentally put down 16. So I just replaced my last deploy (a Chaos Spawn), with a group of 5 more Chosen.

The Shadowborn
Chaos Lord - Zagul Darksoul
Chaos Sorcerer Lord - Argrar Darkblood
Chaos Sorcerer Lord
10 Chaos Warriors with Hand Weapon and Runeshields
10 Chaos Chosen
5 Chaos Chosen
5 Chaos Knights with Glaives
5 Marauder Horsemen with Javelins and Shields
Chaos Gargant
Chaos Warshrine

Stormcast Eternals
Lord Celestant on Dracoth
Lord Celestant
Knight-Heraldor
Knight-Venator
5 Liberators with Warhammers
5 Judicators with Boltstorm Crossbows (and Thunderbolt Crossbow)
5 Retributors
5 Protectors
2 Concussors

The Battlefield

The battlefield

As we can see, we've got 4 objective markers that we'll need to contest (The 4 obelisks and the hut). We decided for the purpose of the Knight-Heraldor, considering that these could be represented as markers that they would not be eligible terrain for the Heraldor to use his Trumpet on. There was plenty of other terrain he'd be able to toot his horn at anyway.

The Battle
The two armies had arrived to the field, a magical storm in the brewing would not stop these forces from engaging. Chaos vs Order, these two armies would stop at nothing to tear each other limb from limb. Quickly Zagul and Argrar conversed and agreed, the storm must be controlled to support the troops on the battle. The order was sent to the two Magi to control the obelisks that could control the storm at all costs. The elite of the Shadowborn were tasked with holding the Northern Obelisk, while the foot troops bolstered by the Chaos Warshrine were tasked with holding the Southern Obelisk, while also to seek out and destroy the Stormcast nearby.

The two armies arrayed on the field of battle

While the Stormcast arrived earlier to the battle, their patience shows through as the Lord Celestant orders his men to hold fast and let the Chaos come to them. And that is what the Chaos forces intend, as the Southern forces march forwards. The Magi casts their spells to bolster the defenses of the two Chosen groups, and the foot troops storm forwards. On the Northern front the elite are more cautious, happy to stay well away from the Dracoth's and hold onto the obelisk.

The Chaos forces march forwards

While the Chaos march forwards to the Stormcast line, the Stormcast are more orderly and less eager to get to grips with the enemy. The lines move slightly to better positions, but for the most part are happy to put a defensive line up in front of both Obelisks controlling the storm.

The Stormcast move position slightly

Then the Stormcast volley is unleashed. The Knight-Venator is ordered to take out his star-fated arrow to take out the Warshrine, and the shot is on target and deals a huge blow to the Warshrine helped by his faithful star-eagle raking at the Chaos Ogors as they hold the Shrine above.

The star-fated arrow deals a substantial blow to the Warshrine

After the shot, the Stormcast again seize the initiative and again are happy to just slightly re-adjust their lines to move into better positions.

The Judicators take place behind the Liberators

The Stormcast at the Southern Obelisk are now in position

This time however, with the Stormcast leaders in position, their shooting can be bought into full force. Not only the Knight-Venator, but the Heraldor's trumpet causes rubble to crash into the oncoming Chaos horde as well as the Lord Celestant throwing in his magical hammers.

The shrine is badly crippled by the shooting while the other units take some minor damage

The Chaos forces can do nothing but surge forward to engage the enemy. The Shrine master, obviously started by the heavy damage the Shrine had taken failed his prayer to the Chaos Gods and could not bless the Chosen. Nearing the enemy lines, Argrar takes the opportunity to reduce one of the Retributors to ashes with an Arcane bolt, while the Marauder Horsemen's javelins find weakness in the Retributor armour and fell another.

Two retributors fall to a surprisingly effective magic and shooting phase by the Chaos

Yet again, the Stormcast were able to seize the initiative. While the northern flank was a standoff, the southern flank prepared for the Chaos forces enroute. The warshrine was finally toppled by the Knight-Heraldor, while Zagul Darkblood strode to close to the terrain and was blasted by the Heraldor's trumpet.

The Warshrine falls

 Still, the Stormcast would not engage the Chaos forces. Happy to stay back to protect the Obelisk. Enraged that the enemy had destroyed their Shrine, the Chaos forces were more than happy to oblige. Additionally, the Lord Celestant on the Northern flank along with his Concussors had finally come forwards somewhat complacently. The small group of Chaos Chosen towards the centre found themselves blessed with Daemonic Power coursing through their veins by the Sorcerer Lord to the North, ordered to take a suicide mission to take out the Lord Celestant.
First though, the Marauder Horsemen were again able to soften up the Retributors before the lines met, another slain by the Javelins of the Horsemen.

Marauder javelins, surprisingly effective

With the Javelins thrown, the Chaos forces enage the Stormcast. Both Warriors and Chosen charge in to engage the Stormcast elite, but a poor charge by the Chosen means they cannot bring their full numbers to bear. The small group of Chosen however, with the pent up Daemonic power urging them onwards surround the Lord Celestant towards the centre.

Chaos engage the Stormcast on their ground

The Chosen launched their attack on the Lord Celestant on Dracoth, their Chaos Glaives raking through the Dracoth's scales and Celestants armour, their muscles bulging with Daemonic energy. However, it was not enough! The Celestant had barely survived, and in return the fury of the Dracoth's was fierce. 4 Chosen were slain instantly while the last survivor fled the battlefield.

The lone surviving Chosen flees the field while the Lord Celestant is lucky to have survived

On the southern side of the battlefield, the Warriors and Chosen were getting more resistance than expected. 2 Warriors are slain by the 2 remaining Retributors, while the Chosen can only manage to slay one Protector. Obviously not too impressed by their Chosen brethren, the Warriors are unable to leave a mark on the Stormcast warriors.

The scrum over the Obelisk

Yet again, the Stormcast remain on the initiative. The Lord Celestant is able to escape, while the Concussors leap forwards on their Dracoths, spitting lightning at the Marauder Horsemen to instantly fry one and burn another.

The Marauder Horsemen are battered by lightning, and not looking forwards to the inevitable charge

Additionally to that, Argrar Darkblood had moved to far forwards and into the range of the Knight-Venator. With lightning arrow and sky-eagle claws, he was battered from afar by the Venator.

The Sorcerer-Lord is battered by Stormcast shooting

In the scrum, neither side was able to make much progress. Another Retributor falls while the Chaos Warriors and Chosen are battered further. The Horsemen though are shattered as the Dracoth's crash into their line, with the sole survivor a wounded banner bearer.

3 More Horsemen fall, while the Banner Bearer just holds on

With the Southern forces in danger of being broken through, the Chaos forces in the north mobilise into action. The Knights and Gargant surge forwards, the Gargant blessed with Daemonic Power from the Sorcerer Lord to the North. The Warriors in the South are tasked with stalling the Dracoths from engaging the wounded characters while the characters retreat back to the far side of the Obelisk.

The Chaos forces to the South in retreat, while the ones in the North go on the offensive

To the North, the Gargant goes first, swiping at the Judicators with his masonry taking out two with huge swipes while Eadbutting 3 of the Liberators in one blow!

The Gargant deals massive damage to the Stormcast infantry

To the South, the Chosen are finally able to finish off the Retributors but cannot bring their numbers to bear against the Protectors.

The last Retributor falls

The Knights swing in their Glaives, felling the remaining Liberators but unfortunately cannot deal any additional damage to the Judicators.

The liberators are destroyed by the Chaos charge

Lastly to no surprise, the remaining Horseman is wiped out by the Dracoths.

The last Horsemen is destroyed by the Dracoths

At long last the Chaos was given the initiative, but this was all to the plan of the Lord Celestant. Eager to keep the Chaos to the north engaged so they could not move after the Lord Celestant on Dracoth. Never the less, seeing the danger the other Dracoth's posed, the Chaos Gargant retreats from the combat to block off the route they might take to the north. The two characters on the Southern Obelisk retreat behind it for cover from the shooting, while the Warriors block the Dracoth's easy path through the rocks. The Chosen are able to fell 2 Protectors in combat, but their numbers are starting to be thinned by the retaliation.

The end of the final Chaos turn, time to see if the Stormcast can pull out a win

In the Stormcast turn, the Dracoths attempt to move the long path to the two Chaos characters. The Knight-Venator surged forwards on his wings, but could not shoot his bow and instead chose to charge into the Chosen. The two Dracoth's spit lightning and fry Agrar Darkblood to the ground, but instead turn to the north to face the Gargant rather than go after the long distant Zagul darkblood.
The Dracoth's easily bring down the Gargant with a combination of their Hammers and Dracoth claws and fangs, the Gargants tough hide no match for lightning forged weaponry.

The Giant falls near the Obelisk

The Chaos Knights to the north are able to crush the last of the Judicators.

The Glaives punch through the Stormcast armour

And the Chosen are battered and broken, but he Standard Bearer stands tall even while surrounded by the Stormcast.

Only the Standard Bearer remains

With both sides battered but not broken, and the storm about to reach it's peak, both sides retreat, neither side winning the day.

The final shot

The Aftermath
So both of us made plenty of mistakes that game. I made some mismeasuring with my Chaos Lord that got him pumped full of mortal wounds around the mid-game which made the game a lot closer than it could've been (Going into the opponents turn 5, both my characters to the South only had a single wound remaining). A lot hinged on me not winning the initiative after my Chosen almost chunked the Lord Celestant. A won initiative likely would've led to the demise of the Celestant, as the Marauder Horsemen could easily swoop in with their Javelins. Unfortunately I lost it, and with no long ranged weaponry he was out of my reach and therefore my chances of winning.
I had one last chance if I had won the initiative roll in the last round, I could've given my opponent the initiative, clean up the Judicators and have the Knights go after him but it was not to be. That being said, with my characters closer to the Dracoths it might've led to both of mine on the South being destroyed.
My character positioning on those guys wasn't the greatest, which led to some excess wounds which I should really be more aware of when my opponent has long ranged shooting (Think overall, they took a few from the Heraldor, a few from the Venator, and perhaps a few from the Celestants flying hammers).

It was only my second time playing against Stormcast, and first against some of the elements in his army, so definitely an interesting and learning experience.

Overall though, it was a good fun scenario and definitely interesting. We played that if the storm didn't move, then it didn't do damage. Not sure if that's how it's meant to be played, but that's what we did. Definitely a cool way to make objectives interesting.

Shadowborn vs Aelves - The Hidden Artefact

Hi guys,
So here's the first of two battle reports from the last Campaign day in the Southern Escalation league. This battle is a rematch between the Aelven forces and the Shadowborn.
So lets get into it!

The Setting
Having pursued the Shadowborn fleeing with the artefact, the Highborn Aelves and the Shadowborn find themselves in the Deadscale Wastes. The Shadowborn carrying the artefact are heading for the pass to escape pursuit.

The Armies
This month the armies are 12 deployed points in the game. The Highborn Aelves can instead of deploying a unit, send a unit to encircle the army. If the general uses the command ability, these units can appear ahead of the fleeing Chaos army to perform a pincer attack.

The Shadowborn
2 Chaos Sorcerer Lords
10 Chaos Warriors with Hand Weapon and Shields
10 Chaos Chosen
5 Chaos Knights with Glaives
5 Marauder Horsemen with Javelins and Shields
1 Chaos Gargant
1 Chaos Spawn

The Highborn Aelves
1 High Elf Prince on Steed
2 High Elf Mages
1 Lothern Sea Helm on Foot with Banner
1 High Elf Prince on Dragon (Encircling)
10 Swordmasters
10 Sea guard
5 Ellyrion Reavers
5 Silver Helms

The Battle
The Shadowborn had crested the hill, the Highborn Aelves in pursuit in the distance. Zagul Darksoul, leader of the Shadowborn hadn't been seen since the swamps. Argrar Darkblood, the Sorcerer Supreme quickly barked orders to keep the Idol safe at all costs. He quickly dispatched his Warriors to rearguard and delay the enemy, and peering into the future saw a lone Prince and Mage had wandered away from the army. Grinning evilly, he sent the warbands Chaos Gargant to add some new corpses to his bag before barking the order to head for the Pass.

The Chaos forces flee the Highborn in pursuit

The two Chaos mages quickly used their powers of wizardry to boost the defenses of the Knights, but the Aelven Mage even with the threat of the Giant looming overhead dispelled the shield over the Chosen right before he was pummelled into the ground with the Gargants masonry.

The mage is pummelled into the wasteland floor

The Chaos Warriors and Spawn moved to delay the remainder of the Highborn force, and were swiftly engaged by the Swordmasters while the Aelven Cavalry swiftly evaded to the north. The Swordmasters made short work of the Chaos Spawn, but the Chaos Warriors would put up a much tougher defense. The Aelven Prince on his mighty dragon also arrived from the north, having been sent ahead of the Highborn army to cut off the Chaos in their retreat.

The rearguard engaged while the rest of the Chaos army flees

The Chaos Gargant finished off the High Aelven Prince, who would join the Mage to be picked clean by the scavengers of the waste for their folly of being too close to the Giant. The battle between the Warriors and the Swordmasters contined, but the stronger toughed Chaos Warriors were starting to take their toll on the Aelven elite.

The Aelven Race dwindles even further under the swords of Chaos

While the rearguard was fighting off the Aelven infantry, the faster elements of the Aelven army looked to engage and stall off the retreating Chaos elements. The Aelven cavalry coming up from while the Dragon looking to engage from the north.

Aelves in pursuit of the Chaos force

The dragonfire was deflected by the Chaos Runeshields, but the Marauder Horsemen were not as lucky, one being shot down by the Ellyrion Reavers who promptly moved closer to the Chaos forces while one of the Marauder Horsemen flee the battle.

One of the Horsemen flee the battle

However, this would prove folly for the Reavers. With it being increasingly obvious who held the artefact, the Horsemen and Chosen turn swiftly to the north. While the Horsemen look to engage and stall the Silver Helms, the Reavers are slaughtered in a bloody mess of horse and Aelf by the great axes of the Chaos Chosen.

The Chosen lord over the dead bodies of the Reavers

With the Dragon being a bit too far away to engage the Chaos Knights, they take this opportunity to head towards the pass. The dragon was still very much a concern though, and could potentially ruin Argrar's plans. He swiftly weaves dark enchantments on the Chaos Knights and offers them his gifts of foresight.

The Knights head for the Pass

However, it's not enough to escape the mighty Dragonlord. The Aelven Prince orders his Dragon to cut off the Chosen, and it swoops in spewing dragon fire while attacking with lance, claws and fang. Even the protection of the Artefact cannot help as one of the Knights is slain while another wounded. The Knights in return without the charge cannot deal much damage in return, barely scathing the mighty Dragon.

The Dragonlord swoops in

Elsewere on the field, the Swordmasters were wiped out by the Chaos Warriors, the Bladelord being the last to fall.

The Sea Helm must face the Chaos Warriors alone

While the Silver Helms quickly dispatched the Marauder Horsemen, but in return were quickly torn to shreds by the Chaos Chosen.

The High Helm falls, with the Mage being the next in the Chosen's sight

But all interest in the battle was on the fight between the Dragon and the Knights. The battle was fierce, with both sides landing blows. But it was becoming evident that the fight was starting to look unfavourable for the Knights. Argrar had the gift of foresight you see, and the future looked grim, someone would need to be expended to ensure the Idol was delivered to the masters.
Quickly he screamed the orders to his Sorcerer apprentice "Delay that Dragon fool!", both of them combining their arcane powers to launch dark bolts of energy that wracked the Dragon in pain. The Knights quickly disengage from the Dragon and gallop into the pass while the two Sorcerers enter into the melee with the Dragon.

The two mages engage the Dragon

The Prince on Dragon could tell the day was lost, the Knights were too far away to catch up. In his rage and fury, he lashed out at Argrar instead of the apprentice who was holding up his beast. While wounded, Argrar smirked quickly before both mages disappear in a cloud of smoke.

The Knights escape through the pass

Finally the battle was over, the forces of Chaos had won the day. The Highborn Aelves had been bloodied, to eager to engage the forces of Chaos and had paid dearly for it.

After Game Thoughts
So my opponent made a big mistake this game was putting two of his characters right on his deployment line. This proved costly as I just plonked my Giant right down into combat with them straight away which is possible in this scenario (no minimum distance between units/territories). He quickly realised this though, and made sure that his general was the Sea Helm instead of the Prince. On the flipside though, the Giant was basically taken out of the game as well. So probably not a huge deal.

The other thing that probably cost him as well is he didn't understand the rules properly that you could have multiple units in reserve, so he only put his Dragonlord in. I think if he had put the Silver Helms also there, it may have helped him out.

Otherwise, I certainly made a mistake or two as well. I put my Chosen into a position to charge either the Reavers or Dragon depending if I made a good roll or not. A good roll on the charge to engage the Dragon would've meant the Knights would've easily got away, but alas I rolled short and they slaughtered the Reavers instead. However, I probably should've still tried to bring them back towards the Dragon to contest it and allow the Knights to escape.
Instead, the Knights had to spend time trying to put damage onto the Dragon while being whittled down themself. My opponent had some pretty poor rolls with his Dragon, and it could've swung in his favour quite easily (even if my forces were slaughtering the rest of the army).

Overall, It was definitely fun and cool to do another different style of scenario. Really enjoyed the game, and it never felt that my opponent was out of the game with the big bad dragon flying around in my backfield.