6. Adapting the Brimstone Peninsula Time of War.

Here is a rundown of the Time of War rules and whether they need adapting to suit the Campaign.

1.  FLAMING MISSILES -  I like the fact that this rule gives a bonus to wound for shooting above a certain distance.  Shouldn't be game-breaking when coupled with the fact that distances can be covered quickly, Clouds of Smoke and Steam rule, as well as the House Rule for shooting (given below). 

2.  CLOUDS OF SMOKE AND STEAM -  Another good rule that prohibits units parking in the corner of the map and shooting every turn.  Shooting is to be encouraged but should be tempered with tactical movement.  Getting into a good clear firing position every turn is the skill in using ranged firepower.  Especially now that the rules support being able to move freely and fire without penalty to hit.  Tactical movement across all types of units is positively encouraged with this rule.

3.  FIREBALL - A potentially pointless rule for the Stormcast and Khornate forces unless they manage to acquire a magic ring or two on their travels. 

4.  GEYSERS OF BOILING BLOOD -  Fantastic rule that I shall definitely be taking advantage of.  I may even go so far as to make some custom markers for this.

5.  BRIMSTONE PENINSULA TRIUMPHS -  I like the rewards as they are.  Whilst tempting to tweak and add to them I like the fact that they are all contained within a D6 table and only apply to HERO level models.

6.  LEGIONS OF CHAOS -  I dont think I am going to be using this rule, not in it's current form anyway.  I like the idea of a battle set around the Khorne controlled Realmgate having a set of rules that can potentially feed into this but for now I am considering this rule off the table. 

7.  RAIN OF SIGMAR - Again, I dont see this as being absolutely necessary.  I may introduce it as a means of subtly balancing the win/loss ratio of the Stormcast but only if it is absolutely necessary.

8.  OVERTHROW THE TYRANTS - Now we come to the biggest change.  I am not a fan of this rule being in effect every single game.  I do believe that Sigmar wouldn't drop the Stormcast into battle unsupported without a means of giving some reinforcements at some point.  Therefore, I have come up with the following system:-

5. The Goretide.

I managed to pickup a copy of the Khorne Bloodbound battletome last weekend.  I was looking for more explanation in the way a Bloodbound Warhorde would be put together.  I was also hoping it would reveal more about the Goretide in general.  I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed.  

Without further ado here is a breakdown of the unit types available to Khul's Gorechosen.

1.  Exalted Deathbringer:-  ' MORDAX SLAUGHTERTHIRST'.
              BLOODSTORM:  3 x units of WrathMongers.
              Mighty Skullcrusher unit.
              Khorgoraths.
              Fleshhounds.
              Bloodletter unit.
              Fleshhound unit.
              Bloodwarriors.

Mordax commands Khul's personal retinue of elite warriors.  Whilst Mordax's ambition knows no bounds Khul believes in keeping his more ambitious subjects as close as possible.  Mordax is cold and calculating.  It is his belief that it is only a matter of time before he commands the Goretide for himself.

2.  SlaughterPriest:-  'LAKSHAR BLOODSPEAKER'.
              DARK FEAST:  Bloodstoker.
                                         3 x units of BloodReavers.
              Chaos Giant.
              Chaos Warshrine.
              Bestigors
              Ungors
              Duardin Slayers.
              Warhounds.

Lakshar's force is almost entirely comprised of units made from subjugated races gathered during Khul's initial conquest of the Brimstone Peninsula.  Lakshar gains immeasurable pleasure from spreading the corruption of hatred in Khorne's name. 

3.  Bloodsecrator:-  'THREX SKULLBRAND'.
               Wrathmongers.
                Skullreapers.
                Blood Warriors.
                BloodReavers.
                Bound Slaughterbrute.

Carrying the Goretide's banner has attracted some of the Warband's most devoted killers.  Threx himself has no motivations beyond finding another body to slaughter in futile attempts to satiate the incessant ramblings of hate in his mind.  Khorne himself has rewarded Threx's acute single mindedness with a Bound Slaughterbrute so that the reach of his hatred has no bounds.

4.  SkullGrinder:-  'BARBARICUS KREED'.
               RED HEADSMEN:  3 x units of BloodWarriors.
                                                 Aspiring Deathbringer.

Like all SkullGrinders Barbaricus's origin and motivations are unknown.  Provided there is killing to be done in Khorne's name Barbaricus is never far away.  BloodWarriors and other aspirant champions flock to him like moths to a flame, hoping that they will be benefactors to  unique and grisly weaponry direct from Khorne's forge. 

5.  BloodStoker:-  'VEKH THE FLAYER'.
               SKULLTAKE:  Skullreapers
                                         Khorgoraths
               Chaos Spawn.
               Mutalith VortexBeast.
               Chimera.
               Chaos Giant.
               Chaos Trolls.
               Aspiring Bloodstokers.
               BloodReavers.

Vekh is constantly on the search for larger, meaner monsters with which to bring slaughter in Khorne's name.  His devotion to the cause enabled him to climb the ranks to the Gorechosen where he currently resides.  Loyalty to Khul is absolute, but to his peers less so.  He currently has his eye on a certain Skaven Abomination subjugated by a certain Karnus Gnaw.

6.  Aspiring Deathbringer:-  'JANGOS SCYTHE'.
                Bloodwarriors.
                BloodReavers.
                Aspiring BloodStoker.
                Khorgorath.
             
Jangos is desperate to cement his position within the Gorechosen.  Desperate for a higher position he will betray anyone in order to catch Khul's eye. 

7.  Aspiring Deathbringer:-  'KARNUS GNAW'.
                Bloodwarriors.
                BloodReavers.
                Aspiring BloodStokers.
                Khorgorath.
                Skaven Abomination.

Karnus was responsible for taming the Skaven North of the Brimstone Peninsula.  During his successes he acquired a Skaven Abomination to which his Aspiring Bloodstokers, against all odds, managed to tame.  The Skaven's alliance with Khorne would be described as uneasy at best, but their hatred for the carnage Karnus caused transcends their fear for Karnus's master. 

8.  Aspiring Deathbringer:-  'MANTHRAX WRATH'.
     Aspiring Bloodsecrator:-  'BENEFAX WRATH'.

Collectively known as the 'SKULL WARDENS'.

               BLOODBOUND WARBAND:  Skullreapers
                                                                   Bloodsecrator

                Bloodwarriors.

                BloodReavers.
                Aspiring BloodStokers.
                Khorgorath.

SPECIAL RULE:  TELEPATHIC LINK - A warband with the Skull Wardens counts as having two Generals.  Command Abilities can only be used once per turn as normal except that it counts as being effective from both of them at the same time. 

Khorne believes in singular absolutes.  The Wrath brothers are a problem for Khorne as he ideally needs one of them to die in order to be able to reward them properly.  Having two warriors making up a single slot of the Gorechosen is troublesome.  Problem is they work so well together.  The Skull Wardens are very effective on the battlefield but are hamstrung by each other's existence.  The brotherly loyalty they share is unquestionable, as well as their loyalty to Khorne. 

4. The Sigmarite Forces.

I have started to think about the StormCast's situation.

For the campaign, and indeed for the players, I think it is necessary to limit the forces at the player's disposal.  The warscrolls in the Age of Sigmar source book support what we have in the box and also what I feel would be deployed at this early stage of the war.

The Stormcast forces comprise of highly skilled, surgical strike troops that are small in number but high in resilience.  A forced balance in this manner will be essential.  Plus, I like the idea of Paladin's and these other more specialized troop variants turning up in later chapters in other realms.  Almost as if Sigmar is constantly refining the Stormcast sauce. 

To that end I have planned out the troops available to Noah for each of his generals.

NOTE:  the graphics represent how many models of each including whether they are a Champion, Musician etc.

First up is Vandus Hammerhand's starting forces.

 Vandus's force is interesting in that his Thunderstrike Brotherhood has already sustained casualties from the initial conflict to open the Realmgate back to Azyr.  What sets Vandus apart in terms of model and abilities is the fact that he is riding his Dracoth. 

Ionis is the main bearer of Sigmar's spiritual might.  Second in command from Vandus he plays a crucial role and has a special ability to go with it.  If a Stormcast force is on an adjacent node to Ionis then he may teleport that army to any other known node on the campaign map before that general begins his campaign turn. 

Retricus's primary role is to guard the newly captured Realmgate back to Azyr.  His force is fairly generic in role as it will be required to be adaptable.  

On the battlefield Remus has a highly mobile force of Stormcast.  Initially Deep Striked towards the top end of the map it his job to keep the mountainous region of Aqshy clear from being able to give support to Khul.  It is also worth mentioning that Andrious Stoneheart also comprises of a starting force identical to Remus.  It is his task to cover the land beyond the Obsidian bridge.

Finally we come to Jactos.  Jactos's responsibility is to provide some muscle to guard the Obsidian Bridge.  It is Khul's primary means of crossing the river Magmus and were it to fall the Stormcast would be sorely pressed from all sides.

The intention with these starting forces is that the model count is not luxurious.  It will be quite tough to actually remove models from the campaign.  Even if they are slain in battle they do not truly get beamed back to Azyr unless they roll a 2 or less on a D6, or a 1 for Heroes, at the end of the game.  Over time however,  models will die in dribs and drabs, meaning that a re-jigging of the models between armies may be necessary or a means of gathering reinforcements needs to be found.  Until the Khorne realm gate is closed, reinforcements will not be an issue for Khul's forces.

To support the possibility of moving troops from one army into another, if two Stormcast armies are in adjacent nodes then they may move models between forces before both parties campaign turn begins.  

I am hoping that the Stormcast will be torn in opposite directions keeping to their specific roles and also trying to support each other where the need arises.  

3. Introducing the Random.

Let me start by saying that where possible there will always be some basic attempt at balancing the forces in battle.  I do however, love a good random event that can turn an otherwise sure thing into a one-off memorable experience. Force composition really needs to be a seperate blog post, and is one which I will definitely address in the near future.  I really love the idea that given a basic premise of a situation a player can put a force together which they believe deals with that scenario, but then has the whole thing turned on it's head because something completely unplanned happened.

I have been thinking about ways with which I can inject this event crazyness into the campaign  In no particular order are my initial thoughts:- 

1. Terrain:  I intend most battlefields to be very terrain rich.  Even on the Igneous Delta there would undoubtedly be plenty of ruins to hide behind or utilise to one's advantage.  Nearly all of them are going to have some magical/supernatural significance that a cunning general can make use/fall foul of.
2. Scenario choices:  I intend for scenario's to be dynamically decided per battle.  Just because the first battle on a tile was essentially Pitched battle does not mean that all future visits to that same tile will be the same.  As armies suffer losses and gain wins this will have repercussions beyond simply which player controls the most tiles. 
3. Neutral Forces:  Khorne and the Stormcast are the main protagonists but there are also other races that are clinging to a meager existence.  Working these into scenarios and having them affect the narrative can send the campaign down a completely different path.
4. Dynamically generated weather system:  Bad weather could seriously put a crimp on a gunline's day.  A general who kits out a force for a battle one way could find the weather upsets every best laid plan.  The range of weather will be themed to the location.
5. Threat levels:  The notoriety of the forces can have a big impact on the campaign.  If the Stormcast are cutting a bloody swathe across the Brimstone Peninsula largely unimpeded then the enemy will be forced to take drastic measures to swing the power balance back.  
6. In-game Events:  Linked somewhat to the situation, scenario and narrative; some battles will have events that can happen at random moments.  Large or small they may drastically impact the outcome or they may be largely unnoticeable.  
 

The above are just a few examples of ways to enrich and liven up campaign battles.  Their goal is to counteract the preparation a general has at the list building level.  Most of the above I will be generating rules for as the situation arises.  For now though I am going to include the rules I have come up with for some random monster fun.  :)

2. Setting the scene and early thoughts on Interactivity.

Hi all,

I think it's necessary at this early juncture to sell the idea of where within the Realmgate storyline this Campaign begins.

'Having successfully opened the Realmgate leading back to Azyr, it was now possible for Vandus Hammerhand and his Thunderstrike Brotherhood to begin in earnest to reclaim the Fire Realm of Aqshy.  Five more Brotherhoods were teleported directly to key locations, each Lord-Celestant was given the task of assisting Vandus in removing Khul's dominion from the land. 

Though each of the brotherhoods sent from the heavens had it's own mission it was Vandus Hammerhand who faced the hardest challenge of all.  The Lord-Celestant had excelled in his task, opening the vital gateway back to Azyr.  The initial conflict to open the gate was brutal and bloody, Khul fortuitously managing to escape his own destruction in the process.  

By virtue of this previous conflict Vandus bacame privy to a unique vision.  Vandus learnt of the existence of another Realmgate close to Khul's stronghold, linking directly into the Realm of Chaos itself.  Unless this portal is closed the StormCasts will forever be fighting a losing battle of attrition as Khorne indefinitely replenishes its forces at will.  The task ahead became clear; Close the gate as soon as possible or lose Aqshy forever.'


One of the first things to think about was how the 6 StormCast forces and untold Khorne warbands would move about the Realm of Aqshy. 

 The map is organically laid out largely defined by the River Magmus carving it in two across the middle.  Realising that I wanted to try and work with the map unchanged I began to look at a standard hexagon based grid.  It didnt take long to realise that unless the map lost it's organic nature it simply wasn't going to fit.

 Instead I began to look at a linked node based system whereby the campaign tiles were not arranged like a grid but instead had a number of entry and exit points which could be tailored specifically around the map and how it might change dynamically during the campaign.

As armies moved into nodes, the next set of nodes that linked from it would become available.  Achieving a Fog of War style gameplay whereby the options for heading down certain paths were not instantly visible from the start.  I also made the decision not to show the enemy forces on the map, unless the Stormcast discovered a means of tracking them, or making them visible (initially they wouldnt). 

As long as I secretly made all my moves before Noah got to choose the tiles the Stormcast move to it will guarantee I won't gain an unfair advantage by being secretive about my choices.

Till next time.

1. A New Hope.

Hi all its Jamie (and will pretty much always be for the forseeable).

Sorry for the inactivity.

Followers of my blog are probably well aware of how I felt regarding the previous state of GW.  I made the decision to pull away and see what 9th would bring.  If it wasnt a game changer then that was definitely going to be my lot.... 

Age of Sigmar happened and it became pretty clear early on that Warhammer had evolved into a different beast.  Like many of you I wasnt sure initially exactly what this was or whether it was something I wanted.  It certainly didnt feel like it was aimed at me, the ex tourney gamer/hobbyist.

However, I do believe I have seen the light.

I have three sons.  My eldest, Noah, who is now 9 can actually play Age of Sigmar, helped massively by the great work GW have done with stripping back the rules.  To honour this sterling work I am going to be setting up and actively playing in a narrative campaign with Noah based entirely around the Stormcast Eternals initial attempts to liberate the Brimstone Peninsula from the grip of the Khorne Lord Korghos Khul. (me)

This isnt simply playing through the described scenarios within the source books.

This will be something else.

 Something far more interactive and adaptive.

There will be many challenges to designing a system that allows two people to make decisions from the start and have these decisions ramifications have a dynamic and concrete impact on the narrative generated.  It is these challenges, as well as chronicling the Campaign with it's many twists and turns, that this blog will be focused on.  Hopefully by the end it will become a comprehensive guide as to how you may be inspired to do something similar. 

For now I am going to have to sign off.


Expect another post soon.  :)

A rant, some High Elves and something new.

Hi all its Jamie.

Firstly, a rant. 

For a while now I have been feeling underwhelmed with GW and WHFB but not really sure why.  Sure, the price increases have naturally been undesirable but you kind of just accepted that that is how it is.  You wanna play you pay.  Well, the recent rumours, shock news and tidings of woe have caused me to question myself harder on what exactly it is I get out of Fantasy Battle.

Sigmar's Blood was probably the beginnings of my epiphany into disappointment.  I desperately hoped for SB to be something beyond what it was.  So much so that I probably let it influence my overview from the last blog post I made.  If you remember I was searching for an idea that would kickstart an undead army.  A cool theme or concept that would consume my mind with a desperate urge to purchase models and begin converting and painting in an orgiastic hobby flurry.  Sadly, it never came.(no pun intended.) Even looking at the Empire side of SB I dont think there was much that went beyond painting certain units in differing province colours.  Dont get me started on the Undead....  In an act of desperation I even purchased the companion Black Library novel with the fools dream that it would fill in some of the missing 'inspiration' blanks.

It didnt.

What is the point of retelling the campaign story with ill conceived fantasy stereotypes?  I am not about to start having a go at the Black Library but I would go so far as to say that the blurb in the campaign book did a better (poor) job at setting the scene.  Each source book, each novel should be a resource to stimulate the hobbyist.  Why isnt it working for me?

Thinking about it more closely it struck me that it is theming for kids.  I can remember when GW first and foremost were a creative company.  The Intellectual Property was a constant source of inspiration, for all ages. It was creative, daring, diverse and above all downright fun to read.  Now, armybook fluff tends to read like history lessons.   GW has been content to dine on diluted rehashings of it's past excellence for years now, and I think the time has come whereby I have had my fill.

8th Edition Warhammer, in terms of rules, did a lot of good for the game.  It is more inherently balanced than it has ever been.  But where did the creativity go?  Surely, if your business is in selling models then forming inspiration for reasons to buy those models is where you should be investing all your time.   Fleshing out the game world is fine, but in the 'real' world of playing the game and theming an army to create a sense of story it does little for you.  Armybooks should detail ripping yarns of the crazy, daring, downright insane characters of the Old World.  7th Edition, despite Special Characters being shunned from the tournament scene, were by and large better than todays offerings.  Special Characters broke the rules and allowed you to mix with force composition.  For the hobbyist it was something tangible for them to get their teeth into.  7th Ed suffered in that there was no consistency.  As a result GW now play it safe.  Too safe.   I get that new ideas are risky from a money stand point but GW are at the point now where they have to take risks if they are to survive.  Competitors are nipping at their heels in terms of quality of product and are free from the same logistical constraints GW have placed themselves under.

Prices have gone up and GW are feeling the effects of that...  Finally.  Maybe.  At least I hope they are.  I am sure a million and one financial reasons can be found which obfuscate the real reason with the interests of sustaining shareholder confidence.  Now should be a time for GW to take stock and ask themselves just what business they are truly in.

White Dwarf is getting a radical overhaul... On paper I like the sound of what they are trying to do.  I just doubt they can pull it off.  Imagine a weekly White Dwarf that contained rules for new units never seen before, with fluff to go with them.  Imagine a White Dwarf that wasnt afraid to give away rules content in order to 'fuel' the hobby.  Imagine a White Dwarf that could react to the demands of an ever changing game on a weekly basis with TIMELY updated FAQ'S.  Would it be so bad for GW?

I shall be keeping a close eye on the new White Dwarf.  For now, I can safely say I will be winding down my WHFB activity until things start to change.  Pastures new are calling and I need to find a different system that scratches my itch.  It's currently looking like Malifaux may fill that role.  I have been looking at a number of boxed games too, Zombicide in particular is one I am keen to get my hands on.  If things change, and I like what I see it will be a case of deal me back in.  At the current state of affairs I cant see it somehow.  I shall keep you posted.

High Elves.

I thought I would take this opportunity to show a few figures from a heavily converted High Elf army that unfortunately suffered from being a mix of finished pieces and speed painting.  It was converted such that the units could have filled a role in many different race armies.

The basic principle was that this was a High Elf force that had been 'turned' by Slaanesh into these Aphex Twin SOB's.  Being something different to Dark Elves, although they could have been used as such, they have a high level of chaos taint running through them.  Mixing Daemonette parts with High Elf models was fun and simple to do.  Sadly, until Fantasy does something to excite me again, this army wont be finished anytime soon.  For now, enjoy these 3 characters.  A lore of Fire Archmage, Shadow Mage and a BSB.

Inspiration Corner - Hearthstone.

For those that have never heard of Hearthstone it is Blizzard Entertainment's latest attempt at moving into an existing genre, redefining it in terms of quality of user experience and eventually owning it entirely. 

It's free to play and gives you the digital version of a card game like Magic The Gathering that you always dreamed Wizards of the Coast would give you in the first place.  Needless to say I am hooked for many very good reasons.

Here is the link to the official page  http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/

Why is Hearthstone so good?  Well, firstly its free.  You could in theory play the game as much as you wanted, earn ingame gold by completing daily goals and never spend a penny.  For those, with a competitive streak and those who are just plain impatient you can always buy the packs.  A pound a pack, and in bigger volume it works out even better. It is also a fair bit cheaper than any other equivilant trading card game.  Also, if you get more of a certain card than you can ever use you can disenchant them for Arcane dust which lets you cherry pick cards you do want and craft them for yourself!

But is the game any good?  Short answer is a resounding Yes.  The game is still at closed Beta but it is going to change to Open Beta very soon and has already garnered THE top players from many pro competitive gaming circuits.  Top players from Magic The Gathering and even StarCraft have all got on board and are giving Hearthstone a competitive streak to be envious of.  Blizzard being the company they are are already getting fully behind it.  However, dont go thinking that competitive has to mean unbalanced.  Blizzard are not afraid of changing card values and properties often and seamlessly. The last round of Beta changes saw Blizzard openly nerfing some card stats purely because people were always including them in their decks. Not only that but there is real strategy to the game due to the way mana works.  In Magic The Gathering it was entirely possible to be land locked and have no mana because you didnt happen to draw any in your deck.  With Hearthstone mana incrementally increases each turn so you can build your deck planning around your Early, Mid and Late game.  Do you wanna go aggro or control deck?  The 9 races are varied and have different play styles.  In short, I am hopelessly addicted and believe that this will with time completely own the digital trading card game market.  Blizzard pretty much do this with every game space they invade; Starcraft and World of Warcraft being prime examples.

The artwork is gorgeous and the cards have a further level of feedback with sound and animations.  It's a good time to get on board with Hearthstone as there wont be anymore deck wipes in Beta so anything you buy at this point is yours, even after release.  At roughly 300 cards, I believe, it is actually possible to own them all without spending a fortune.  When Blizzard do create expansion packs you will be in a position where you can dive straight in having all the core deck already. 

Dont take my word for it give it a go.  The game is now in Open Beta so anyone can join and get duelling.  Blizzard believe 100% in letting the punters game test as much as possible.  If you do join and fancy a game or two then definitely add my username to your friends list:-   Obfuscate#2547

See you on the other side.  :)

A Chaos Lord and Sigmar's Blood.

Hi all,

Jamie here.  I know it's been a bit since the last blog post.  Christmas preparations and work have slowed hobby production somewhat.  Saying that though I have not been idle.

I have finished another piece for a Warriors of Chaos army.  A mounted Chaos Lord of indeterminate alignment, Tzeentch or Nurgle at the very least.  (Are there any others?).
The colour scheme is the same palette that I used for Throgg.  The reasoning behind this was so that all of the relevant unit types I.e Characters, Core, Special and Rare each share their own slightly differing palette from each other.  The character palette has now been defined, but the other unit classes will be variations and tonal changes on the same scheme so that when the army is displayed a nice colour gradient will run throughout the whole ensemble.

Here are the pics.

I had a sneaky opportunity to try out some of the new GW special FX paints on this one.  Didn't try out the rust but I did use the blood, ooze and verdigris.  Overall I am extremely impressed with the end result and ease of application.  The Nurgle's Rot

will have to be used carefully, not that it isn't effective, but that it will be quite recognisable as an effect.   I can see this being one of those effects that people will spot a mile off, which unfortunately is going to cheapen the impact.  Playing about with mixing washes in may be the answer to getting a more unique result.  Hopefully a future model will give me a chance to experiment further.

The basing comprises of snow covered ruins with chaos elements poking through.  Not particularly clear from the pics but there is a ruined statue, PlagueBearer head and rubble chunks.  I would have had them more visible but I wanted a light base to contrast with the miniature so the snow coverage won out, plus I wanted a painted area to quickly test out the FX paints without detracting from my original plans for the mini.  The Nialakh Green (verdigris) was especially good.  Very convincing and easy to apply, although considering that you have to load up the brush like a wash you do need to make sure it cannot run onto areas you have already painted.  

Sigmar's Blood.

I purchased SB as I have been dearly looking for an excuse to start a Vampire Counts army for a while now.  

The book's production values are of the generally high standard we have come to expect from GW.  There is recycled artwork, as well as new, but ultimately it is the descriptive fluff content that I was after.

The story..  A bloodless cadaver is dropped through a stained glass skylight right into the midst of the council of Elector Counts.  Providing both a threat, taunt and diversion, as well as riling up the Empire's finest, it was all part of a master plan.  Whilst confusion erupts dark servants of Mannfred von Carstein escape with the bi-polar Crown of Command, the infamous relic that the Orc Warlord Azhag the Slaughterer wore during his reign of terror.  The Grand Theogonist Volkmar the Grimm enraged at the audacity of this intrusion leads a small force into Silvania to take down Mannfred once and for all.  Aided by a grizzled Witch Hunter, a small trio of seperate forces begin the hunt for Mannfred with disastrous consequences...

I originally bought SB with the intention of getting a leg up on some inspiration for a generic force that I could build an army from, coupled with a strong theme to do some conversion work.   By and large the book is just about successful with that goal, but I would say that they could have gone further.  The Vampire forces are given less descriptive context than the Empire troops. When they do pull out the stops it is good stuff however.  For example part of the hunt involves chasing the Necromancer Ghorst who is pulled along in a Corpse Cart by his long dead pox ridden brothers.  The characters are always given special descriptive treatment but I would dearly like to have known the history of the zombies and ghoul units.  Some information on their lives before they became undead could have really spiced things up and opened up some great conversion opportunities. As it stands there is a paragraph here or there which gives clues but ultimately they are treated like generic Undead.  A missed opportunity.

I have not played any of the scenarios yet.  From what I can tell they look like they will be fun to play.  Each part of the campaign adds new units to the fray and is a great way to start out with a Battalion box and build on it as a good basis for the rest of the army.  Rules are tweaked for certain units in subtle ways, a stat boost here or there, Shems Burning Gaze as well as Banishment on a Luminark for example, rather than entirely new unit concepts.  An interesting mechanic is the encroaching darkness.  It's effects have to be contained by the Empire achieving certain goals.  Failure to do so makes life difficult, rather than impossible for the Empire.  I shall be playing the campaign fully down the club at the earliest opportunity and will definitely chronicle the results.

Summary.  The book is clearly aimed at two people looking to start fresh armies rather than grizzled veterans.  Forces are built gradually with good resource material to draw from.  It's almost like a fun interactive way to do a 'Tale of Two Gamers'.  Hardcore Tourney players will struggle to see why they should buy this, and in its defense I really dont think it's aimed at appealing to those types of players.  

I consider the book to just about have been worth it.  Expect to see future posts showing off a newly completed unit or two.  :)  I am looking forward to playing the force as I build it and I do have the germ of an idea for a theme.  As I mentioned before; the Empire forces are described in a lot more detail than the Undead; so Vampire players will have to look harder for their army themes but it is certainly possible for the Empire side with the fluff text present.  

A final reason to buy Sigmar's Blood is the cliffhanger.  I wont spoil it but I will say that I hope they continue the story as it does leave some questions.  I really hope GW pull out the stops and do one of these for every race.  It's about time they concentrated more on the ripping yarns than the generic armies that the game's races have by and large become. 

Thats it.  All thats left is to say Happy Christmas and New Year and may your hobby be plentiful.  :)

Jamie.

EurOpen in Vienna

Hi all,

Wil here again, this time with a little post on my exploits in Vienna in the EurOpen.

For those who haven't played (what have you been doing?) or don't have much experience of Blood Bowl, I'll explain what the deal is.

The EuroBowl is the Blood Bowl ETC equivalent. It is teams of eight players from European nations competing for the EuroBowl itself.

Within those teams, all 8 play a different race and this year the tournament set up was TV105 with between six and eight skills at the start of the tournament, depending on which team you took.

Rounds are played between nations, with 1pt for a match game "win", half a point for a draw and so on.

The EurOpen was an individuals tournament run alongside the EuroBowl with the same rules set.

So I missed out on selection for England this year, but decided I'd tackle the EurOpen anyway.

I took undead, with a fairly straightforward roster. 2 mummies (both with guard), 3 ghouls (2 with block), 2 wights (one tackle, one guard), 3 zombies, 2 skeletons, 3 rerolls and 1 FF.

Here's a brief summary of my games:

Game 1: vs Norse. He had 2 ulfwereners (both block), 2 blitzers (both guard), 1 runner (sure hands), 1 thrower (leader), 6 linemen, 3 rerolls, 1 FF.

Can be a tricky matchup as norse tend to go men up quickly with all their block knocking you down regularly. I won the toss and got stuck in, but wasn't causing much damage. He also fouled one of my mummies into the KO bin, but I broke through around turn 6 and scored in the final turn for 1-0 at the half.

Second half again I wasn't causing much damage against his AV7, but I was layering off in defence in front of his players so he had to make a break through around turn 14, but couldn't get his runner safe. I knocked him over, stole the ball and looked for a second touchdown but a double skulls meant it finished 1-0 to me.

Game 2: vs Dark Elves. He had 3 blitzers (all dodge), 2 witch elves (block, wrestle), runner (leader), five linemen, 2 rerolls.

This is a difficult matchup for undead, as you are usually only given a blitz every turn as the dark elves dodge away.

I was put in to receive, got the ball and KOd a lineman and it was looking good. My opponent moved all three blitzers around my lines to put real pressure on and I had a 2 dice blitz needing just a push to get into the cage and safety, but that went wrong despite a reroll and soon afterwards the dark elf dice went hot.

I was 0-1 down at the half, and had only 6 players on the pitch and although I got the ball loose twice with 6, there was only going to be one outcome and so it was 0-2 at the end.

Game 3: vs Undead. He had the same roster, but one less guard mummy and block/sure hands/wrestle on the ghouls.

Mirror matches are never the most favourite of Blood Bowl games. This was probably the best game I had though of the weekend, a very tactical affair.

I received, moved up and knocked out a mummy which was nice. I then got a bit bogged down as my block dice cooled down and I wasn't making much progress and had to spend my rerolls bailing out underperforming mummies and zombies!

Eventually I had to break through with a ghoul, but needed a 4+ dodge with a reroll to get out of range and that went south. My opponent attempted a cheeky long pass to score against the kick, but my mummy intercepted so 0-0 at the half.

More misbehaving in the second half meant my opponent got through so I forced him to score in 13 or 14, giving me 3 to equalise. I managed it in the end, but had to rely on a skeleton (4+ catch!) and a chain push to get it.

Game 4: vs Norse. Same roster as the first game, but with 2 mighty blow berserkers.

This time my opponent received and I sat off in a layered defence as he moved from side to side. Eventually he had to break through and I could get the ball loose, but not grab it so it was 0-0 at the half.

Second half was a classic undead 8 turn drive for the winner, fouling any player that was in range to blitz from turn 13 or so. 1-0 win.

Game 5: vs Wood Elves. 2 wardancers (tackle, strip ball), Catcher (leap), Thrower (safe throw), 7 linemen (2 wrestle), 2 rerolls.

Bad matchup for undead, especially with a strip ball wardancer.

I was made to receive, and managed an 8 turn drive without too much trouble. Got a skeleton sent off for fouling a wardancer though! That said, I only had 8 to set up for turn 8, and when my opponent got a riot the 1-1 was pretty easy.

Second half, and my opponent overcommitted to the score so I could push my ghoul into range of his thrower and smack him to the ground. Lots of dodges later the wood elves are back in their half, but I manage to score for 2-1.

Again the wood elves come back, and they still have 11 players which is a nightmare. I stop 2 or 3 attempts to pass the ball through, but eventually some AG4 magic gets it done and it finishes 2-2 as my one turn attempt fails on the final block.

Game 6: vs Undead. Same roster, mighty blow wight instead of tackle.

Received again, and this time had a comfortable 8 turn drive for the score, killing a ghoul and KOing a mummy.

Second half it's all him though and he manages a comfortable 8 turn equaliser. I set up to try a one turn touchdown, but a thrown rock removes a key player so 1-1 it finished!

So finished 2-3-1 overall, disappointed with that really as I usually set myself a three win minimum. That said, I played some strong coaches and more importantly Team England won the EuroBowl by just 1.5pts from the French!! Awesome.

 Here's the board I won in a dice off against my Italian opponent in the final game!

Thanks for reading, Wil.

Daemons vs Empire

Hi all, Wil here again with another battle report for my daemons. This time I took on Adam and his Empire in a 2.4k game.

Here's the lists (as best as I can recall)

Whisperflense's Daemonic Coven

KoS - Keeper of Secrets: Lvl 4, Greater (no armour save sword), Lesser (multi wounds 2), Lesser (breath weapon), SLAANESH
Lash, Slicing Shards, Phantasmagoria, Cacophonic Choir

HoT - Herald of Tzeentch: Lvl 2, METAL
Searing Doom, Blades

HoN - Herald of Nurgle: BSB, Great Locus of Fecundity, Lesser (ASF)

P - 29 Plaguebearers: Standard, Musician, Banner of Discipline
D - 18 Daemonettes: FC, Lichebone Pennant
H - 10 Horrors: Standard
Blue Fire

BoN - Beast of Nurgle
BoN - Beast of Nurgle
BoN - Beast of Nurgle
SC - Seeker Chariot
S1 - 3 Screamers

S2 - Soulgrinder: Mark of Nurgle, Phlegm Bombardment


Empire

A - Archlector: War Altar, Grt Wpn, Charmed Shield, Talisman of Endurance

WL - Wizard Lord: Lvl 4, Talisman of Preservation, Sceptre of Stability, Van Horstman’s Speculum, DEATH
Soulblight, Caress, Purple Sun, Spirit Leech

BW1 - Battle Wizard: Lvl 1, LIGHT
Banishment

BW2 - Battle Wizard: Lvl 1, Dispel Scroll, LIGHT
Shem’s Burning Gaze

C - Captain: BSB, Pegasus, Potion of Foolhardiness, ?

H - 38 Halberdiers: FC
AC1 - 9 Archer Detachment
AC2 - 9 Archer Detachment
K1 - 5 Knights: Musician
K2 - 5 Knights: Musician
DK - 5 Demigryph Knights: Musician
GC - Great Cannon

CH - Celestial Hurricanum
ST - Steam Tank


Deployment

My initial thoughts were “uh oh” to be honest.

Lots of 1+ armour, an altar, hurricanum and light council with banishment. I felt it was going to be a tough game indeed.

After my first game I decided to put the nurgle block and soulgrinder as one, and the daemonettes and chariot as another ‘front’ to work together. Seemed to work ok as it turned out.

This time with 2 cannons and banishment I couldn’t afford to sit back, so resolved to pile straight in. Liberating!

Opponent had the +1 and won the roll off.


Empire Turn 1

The steam tank easily generates three steam points and trundles forwards.

The rest of the Empire battle line doesn’t move much. On my right, a unit of knights joins the steam tank on a hill. The other knights and demigryphs saunter forwards.

On my left, the archer detachment with light wizard without banishment moves into a building.

Magic: Ouch. Adam throws six dice at a boosted banishment at the Keeper, and gets irresistible. Whisperflense is killed.

The miscast kills 3 archers, who pass panic, and wounds the wizard.

Shooting: The Great Cannon blows up – hurray! The steam tank lines up a shot at the chariot, but the cannonball squishes into the turf.

Combat: None

Daemon Turn 1

The daemon line piles forwards. On my left a beast gribbles around a wood to threaten the unit in the building.

The plaguebearers and soulgrinder move forwards, flanked by the daemonettes and seeker chariot.

Another beast of Nurgle zooms forwards towards the knights. The other moves around a wood on my right. The horrors move up behind said wood. The screamers zip up the right flank to threaten the Empire lines.

Magic: Slaanesh shows up, a couple of sixes are rolled including the archlector, but he rolls a 5 on 3D6. A six dice searing doom on the steam tank is dispelled with the help of the Sceptre of Stability.

I cast blue fire, but it does no wounds to the knights.

Shooting: The soulgrinder scatters wide.

Combat: None


Empire Turn 2

 The right-hand unit of knights charges through the woods into the horrors. The steam tank generates another three steam points.

The other knight unit charges my central beast of nurgle.

Magic: This is where we discover Adam rolled four dice for the hits for his first banishment.  dry.gif

He rerolls the first one, which this time leaves Whisperflense still on the board with 2 wounds. But he irresistibles the spell again, and gets 15 hits this time, so he dies again.

This time the miscast kills the light wizard, wounds the lvl 4 and the other light wizard without banishment, but the archlector passes his ward. 6 dice drained from the pool so no other magic.

Shooting: The steam tank fires at the Soulgrinder, and causes 4 wounds. sad.gif

Combat: Adam’s right-hand knights kill a single horror, and I manage to drag one of them down. I win by one and the knights break, but flee clear and pop through the demigryphs who pass panic.

In the centre, the knights are unable to hurt my beast, who kills 1 of the horsemen. Adam wins by the musician, but I pass the break test.


Daemon Turn 2

The left-hand beast declares a charge at Adam’s halberdiers, but falls short.

My daemonettes charge into the knights, making it in.

The plaguebearers and soulgrinder advance. The horrors move into the woods and the beast joins them. The seeker chariot advances towards the centre and the screamers fly near the demigryphs.

Magic: Slaanesh shows up again, this time killing 3 archers who pass panic. The demigryphs also roll a 6, but an 8 on 3D6  unsure.gif

I throw another 6 dice at Searing Doom on the Steam Tank and get an irresistible. But I only cause 3 wounds.

The miscast sees me lose a level and the spell. I attempt to Blades the beast of nurgle, but it is dispelled.

Shooting: The soulgrinder misses again

Combat: No wounds are caused in the daemonette/beast vs knight combat, but the knights lose by 4 and break, fleeing clear of my beast. The daemonettes reform to face the demigryph knights.


Empire Turn 3

 

 The demigryph knights charge the daemonettes, although my opponent forgot initially.

The steam tank makes 2 steam points no problems. The level 4 and non banishment wizard ditch the halberdiers and join the archer detachment lurking behind the building.

The BSB flies over to the left flank, eyeing up the soulgrinder.

Both knight units rally.

Magic: Adam attempts to spirit leech my nurgle herald, but I’m having none of it. He then gets off soulblights the plaguebearers which I can’t dispel.

Shooting: No target for the steam tank, but the engineer misses with his pistol shots.

Combat: I lose 7 daemonettes, but am steadfast and pass leadership without causing a wound.


Daemon Turn 3

Mega charge time! The soulgrinder goes into the front of the demigryphs, beast into their flank and Seeker Chariot into the other (passing difficult terrain).

The screamers charge the flank of the now 2-strong detachment, who flee through the hurricanum, panicking it off the board as the BSB has moved out of range! They redirect into the flank of the knights.

The red beast charges the rear of the steam tank.

On my left, the beast charges the archlector and the plaguebearers pile into the halberdiers.

The horrors advance to threaten the unengaged knights.

Magic: Tzeentch shows up this time, but does no damage.

My attempt to Blades the soulgrinder fails, but a blue fire kills a knight and earns me a new horror!

Shooting: None

Combat: I cause just 2 wounds on the demigryphs, who deal a bunch back to the daemonettes but only 1 to the soulgrinder. He holds.

I chip a wound off the steam tank!

On the left, I challenge with the herald of nurgle and gut the champion. I lose 2, but batter the halberdiers. They are steadfast though and hold.

The beast challenges the archlector, and I lose a wound but the combat is a draw due to me charging.

The screamers kill a knight, but they hold.


Empire Turn 4

The archer detachment with wizards in moves around.

The BSB charges the flank of the soulgrinder and makes it in.

The knights on the right move up towards the horrors.

Magic: Lowish roll I think. I dispel soulblight on the plaguebearers and my opponent fails to cast something else.

Shooting: None

Combat: Adam smashes up the daemonettes some more, but can’t kill the soulgrinder. I kill a demigryph, but have lost the combat by three. The soulgrinder and daemonettes disappear back into the warp, but the seeker chariot has 2 wounds left as does the beast, pinning the demigryphs.

The BSB reforms towards the middle.

The central knights fail to cause any damage, as do I and they pass their break test and reform test to face me.

The halberdiers are smashed up again and break clear. I let them run, and reform to face his BSB.

The steam tank vs beast is a draw.

The arch lector causes a wound, but I sneak one through his armour and ward. Another draw.


Daemon Turn 4

 The herald of Tzeentch charges solo out of the horrors into the flank of the demigryphs for that extra plus one.

I charge the BSB with the plaguebearers, who wisely flees over the demigryph combat.

Magic: Slaanesh shows up again, clearly annoyed at the loss of the Keeper, but no one is affected.

Shooting: None

Combat: Adam directs attacks at the herald of Tzeentch, but can’t kill him. I sneak a wound through somewhere, but he is steadfast and passes.

The beast vs steam tank is another stalemate.

The screamers kill another knight, they break and I catch them as they run.

My beast in a challenge with the archlector loses 2 wounds, but passes with the BSB nearby.


Empire Turn 5

The knights charge the horrors in the woods, passing their difficult terrain test.

The BSB rallies. Nothing else moves.

Magic: Spirit leech targets my BSB, and goes off irresistibly sucking the wizard down a hole. Then I roll a 6 smile.gif

Shooting: None

Combat: The knights kill a horror, but I win with a rank and banner and the knights flee clear as I pursue.

The steam tank does 2 wounds to the beast, and I can’t hurt it. I don’t care. (rear charge)

Finally I win the combat against the demigryphs but with the BSB nearby they are not going anywhere. My seeker chariot is passing a lot of ward saves at this point.

The challenge is another draw between the archlector and the beast.


Daemon Turn 5

The screamers charge the flank of the arch lector, hoping for some lamprey’s bite fun.

The horrors charge the knights again, who flee off the board.

Magic: I roll a 3, with the random displeasure targeting my Tzeentch herald. Fortunately I pass the leadership test. No magic gets through.

Shooting: None

Combat: Nothing doing in the steam tank vs beast combat.

In the centre, I finally break the demigryphs and send my seeker chariot to run them down. The beast reforms to face the steam tank and BSB.

On the left, the screamers cause 3 wounds to the war altar, but the beast can’t get any more and loses his third wound in the challenge. The archlector is stubborn and holds.


Empire Turn 6

The archer detachment moves back into the building with the wizards. Nothing else happens.

Magic: I dispel Shem’s.

Shooting: None

Combat: Again no wounds in the steam tank vs beast combat.

The screamers can’t hurt the war altar and neither can the beast. Fortunately, the archlector misses!


Daemon Turn 6

If we can get that archlector we might be able to bag a win here I think!

Plaguebearers charge the BSB, who flees clear. Beast charges front of steam tank.

Seeker chariot charges flank of war altar.

Magic: I roll a 4 = -1 ward save for my daemons! I don’t have any targets for magic.

Shooting: None

Combat: Neither beast can damage the steam tank.

The war altar is destroyed, and I get another wound through on the arch lector, he kills my beast, but he rolls a 3 for his break test and holds!


Game over!


VPs
Daemons: 1243
Empire: 1438


Really fun game, despite the early loss of the Keeper of Secrets. To be honest, he would have had 2 banishments and 2 cannons at him so would have been lucky to survive.

I just could not get through the 1+ armour. Daemonettes failed to cause a single wound, and my opponent was passing armour saves whether they were 2+, 3+ or 4+ with those pesky demigryphs.

If I could have got them a phase or two earlier, I think I could have got a small win out of a list that is pretty difficult for daemons to beat.

Man of the match for me were the screamers, although the beasts were superb again. Screamers caused hurricanum to flee the board, killed a unit of knights and smashed the war altar to pieces. Skills.

Beasts held up archlector for 4 turns, leaving him on a wound, held up the steam tank for ever and helped kill the demigryphs (eventually).

Loss of the keeper was hard though, just one of his spells would have been handy to help me pick fights. I needed to keep the demigryphs away for just one more turn, but didn’t have the bodies to be able to do so.

Still, fun game which was pretty close despite the bad matchup for daemons. That banishment is a bit tasty against my poor daemons... thanks for reading.

A change of pace.

Hi there,

Another Pigeon Bomb missive from the gorgeous Jamie.

I have a tournament this weekend.  In fact quite a few of the Stevenage Wargamer massive do.
Bunker Brawl 20th October.
http://warhammer.org.uk/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=114722 

A small 2000 pt uncomped 1 dayer in Chelmsford.  I have decided to crack open the Empire and it will be my first tournament using them.  As a consequence of this tournament based activity I have had to do a spot of hardcore army painting.  Hellcannons unfortunately have to wait.  :(

I should make the deadline with, what I believe, is a decent standard of painting.  Definitely a cut above your average speedpaint.  I even have some kitbashing and minor conversion work to add a bit of spice.  The army as a whole doesnt really have a theme, it is more about achieving a consistent painting standard and colour scheme.  If I was pressed to say where my inspiration came from for the army then I would have to say a religious Sigmar based force.  Veteran Crusaders if you will.  I believe this is pretty much one of the only obvious concrete themes that can be done with the Empire.  I wish the book had more in the way of non-generic choices to back it up but the units by their very nature do not unfortunately.  Correct me if I am wrong but I just dont see it. 

I am not going to display the whole army on here yet.  For now, here is a Steam Tank, the idea was to go for Liberachian over the top detail.  I apologise for more snow basing but it seems to be my current 'thing'. 

The Steam Tank is particularly interesting as I have attempted to create some Sigmar based gold murals to the sides.  I originally planned to freehand paint these and try and blend into the modelled adornments that come with the kit.  I wasnt too sure how this would gel together so I opted instead to try and raid the bits box and go for something more 3d.

On one side we have the light of Sigmar burning away the Undead.  The other has a large comet/fireball as the central motif.  To achieve both of these it mainly involved slicing in half seperate elements from various sprues.  The skeleton in particular was quite fiddly.  The tiny nicks on the tips of my thumbs will testify.  :(  The paintjob blends it all together. 

If I get my shit together the next post will be a battle report.  Showing off some glimpses of the rest of the army and how it fared in my games.

Till then I best get back to painting.  :/

INSPIRATION CORNER.

http://grzegorzgwiazda.blogspot.co.uk/

A sculptor.  Not miniature based but by golly is that some impressive and expressive work.   Fantastic reference as well for Object Sourced Lighting and musculature.  Awesome stuff.  :)

Till next time.

Daemons vs Lizardmen Battle Report

Greetings all!

Will Longbottom here.

After 9+ months of painting, this was my eagerly awaited first game with my daemon army. Much of my thoughts on the army, list etc are contained in my blog at the Daemonic Legion, so check that out if you're interested in more.

The list was chosen with a few things in mind. I wanted to paint up a fairly large chunk of core models, so I would have them done for future games and a solid base to work with. I also wanted a mixture of units that I liked the look of, not fussed how good they are on the tabletop. It's also part of the Bad Dice Hobby Challenge, which needs to be completed by the end of November.

So, here is my first game, Steve kindly stepped in to play me after Jamie contracted the plague. Let's start with the lists (as far as I could tell):

Whisperflense's Daemonic Coven

KOS: Whisperflense (Keeper of Secrets)
Lvl 4, Greater (+2 attacks), Lesser (2+ ward), Lesser (ASF sword), Lore of Slaanesh
Acquiescence, Pavane of Slaanesh, Slicing Shards, Cacophonic Choir

HoT: Herald of Tzeentch
Lvl 2, Lore of Metal
Searing Doom, Plague of Rust

HoN: Herald of Nurgle
BSB, Greater Locus of Fecundity, Lesser (2+ ward)

P: 30 Plaguebearers: FC, Banner of Swiftness
D: 18 Daemonettes: FC
H: 10 Horrors
Blue Fire

BoN: Beast of Nurgle
BoN: Beast of Nurgle
BoN: Beast of Nurgle
SC: Seeker Chariot of Slaanesh
S1: 3 Screamers of Tzeentch

S2: Soulgrinder: Mark of Nurgle, Phlegm Bombardment


Lizardmen

SMP: Slann Mage Priest: Becalming Cogitations, BSB, Lore of Beasts
Curse of Anraheir, Wyssan’s Wildform, Amber Spear, Savage Beast of Horrors

SP1: Skink Priest: Lvl 2, Lore of Beasts
Flock of Doom, Transformation of Kadon

SP2: Skink Priest: Lvl 1, Dispel Scroll, Lore of Beasts
Wildform

SV1: Scar Veteran: Enchanted Shield, Light Armour, Sword of Striking
SV2: Scar Veteran: Light Armour, Great Wpn

SW1: 24 Saurus: FC
SW2: 24 Saurus: FC
SS: 10 Skink Skirmishers
SC: 21 Skink Cohort: Musician
CS: 5 Chameleon Skinks
JS: 2 Jungle Swarms
S: Stegadon
T: 3 Terradons
SHP: 2 Salamanders
AS: Ancient Stegadon


I won roll for sides, Steve won roll for first turn.

Terradons vanguarded forwards, but not far enough to be able to drop rocks on Seeker Chariot if they got first turn.

Deployment 

Turn 1 Lizards

General advance, but not too far forwards for the lizards. Ancient on to hill, salamanders and skirmishers on left, chameleons central and swarms/terradons right.

Magic: Flock of doom is let through, kills a single daemonette. Boosted amber spear on the Soulgrinder fails to cast.

Shooting: Stegadon shoots Seeker Chariot, but I make a ward save!

Combat: None


Turn 1 Daemons

Beast charges chameleons, who flee clear through the Ancient. Second beast charges swarm but fails the charge.

Seeker chariot charges the terradons, needing an 11, and makes it in   . Stand and shoot causes a single wound.

Screamers fly to flank of salamanders. Daemonettes, plaguebearers, keeper and remaining beast move up. Horrors enter building.

Magic: 5 + 1. Papa Nurgle spits on the salamanders, killing a crewman and causing two wounds to one of the beasts. He then gobs on the jungle swarms, killing one base!

Shooting: Soulgrinder misses the left-hand saurus.

Combat: Impact hits and attacks from daemonettes and seekers causes five wounds for no reply. Terradons break, but flee clear.


Turn 2 Lizards

Terradons fail to rally and run off board edge.

No charges. Stegadon pivot to face Seeker chariot flank, remaining swarm moves up behind it.

Salamanders pivot and back up to shoot screamers. Skink skirmishers advance to shoot soulgrinder. Priest leaves unit and joins the rallied chameleons. Nothing else moves.

Magic: Boosted amber spear at the soulgrinder is dispelled. Transformation goes off with irresistible force on the skink priest behind the ancient stegadon, and he becomes a mountain chimaera.

Miscast is an 8, wounding both the Slann and now mountain chimaera.

Shooting: Skirmishers miss soulgrinder. Stegadon misses Seeker chariot. Salamanders kill 1 screamer.


Turn 2 Daemons

Daemonettes charge skink skirmishers, who flee, and redirect into the salamanders. Screamers fly behind them if they flee.

Beast on right fails charge against the swarm. Central beast tries to charge the ancient, but fails.

Seeker chariot pivots and moves away from the stegadon. Soulgrinder and plaguebearers back off the mountain chimaera, Keeper moves up for some fun.

Magic: 5+1 again. Papa Nurgle kills the swarm. No magic goes off, he dispels an acquiescence attempt, and searing doom and cacophonic choir.

Shooting: Soulgrinder scatters wide again.

Combat: Daemonettes cause four wounds, lose 2 but salamanders break and flee clear through the screamers, failing a dangerous terrain test and dying.


Turn 3 Lizards

Stegadon charges rear of Seeker chariot. Mountain chimera charges the plaguebearers.

Ancient pivots and moves towards the daemonettes. Skink skirmishers rally, chameleon skinks move round right-hand saurus block to prevent beast getting in.

Skink cohort with Slann swift reforms to face screamers/daemonettes.

Magic: Curse of Anraheir is let through on the plaguebearers. Skink skirmishers are wildformed. Amber spear is let through at daemonettes, kills one.

I use all my dice to dispel Transformation of Kadon.

Shooting: Skinks leave 1 screamer with 1 wound.

Combat: Stegadon kills chariot with impact hits. Skink priest is killed by the Herald of Nurgle in a challenge.


Turn 3 Daemons

Right-hand beast charges chameleons, who flee and I fail to redirect. Next beast charges right-hand saurus, makes it, third fails, Keeper fails.

Screamer flies over wildformed skinks, and kills one with a slash to the face. Daemonettes face up to the ancient. Plaguebearers move up to charge the left-hand saurus.

Magic: 7, nothing happens. Acquiescence is dispelled, blue fire gets through but gets 2 s6 hits and kills one chameleon – no horror raised though. Cacophonic on the ancient scrolled.

Shooting: Soulgrinder misses again.

Combat: Beast challenges, causes a single wound, but pops due to a roll of 11 for the break test.


Turn 4 Lizards

Ancient charges the daemonettes. Stegadon charges right-hand beast.

Skink skirmishers and cohort move to pepper the screamer. Chameleons rally.

Magic: Curse is let through against the Keeper. Amber spear is dispelled.

Shooting: Screamer dies.

Combat: Stegadon whiffs, I cause a wound. Draw.

Ancient smashes the daemonettes and skinks cause several wounds. I fade back to the warp.


Turn 4 Daemons

Plaguebearers charge left-hand saurus. Keeper and beast charge right-hand saurus.

Magic: 8, Slaanesh time! Played it lizard units roll 4 dice, didn’t matter as he rolled three 1s on skirmishers.

Acquiescence is let off on right-hand saurus. Plague of rust on stegadon. Cacophonic dispelled on ancient.

Shooting: Soulgrinder misfires.

Combat: Beast challenges, scar veteran accepts. I cause a wound, so does he. Keeper kills 4, but takes 2 wounds. Thunder stomp wins the combat, but saurus steadfast and not going anywhere.

Plaguebearers roll poorly, although herald challenges and wounds scar veteran. I lose by 3, but pass break test with a 5.

I wound stegadon, he can’t wound me, he passes break test.


Turn 5 Lizards

Ancient charges plaguebearers. Rest move about a bit.

Magic: Low-ish roll. Curse on plaguebearers goes off, can’t dispel on 5 dice.

Shooting: None

Combat: Ancient causes 7 impact hits, killing 4 plaguebearers. Herald kills scar veteran, and plaguebearers kill a few more, but he passes 5 parry tests. I lose by 3 again, and again roll a 5 on the break test.

Beast causes 2 wounds to the stegadon, it fails stubborn check, and is caught as it runs. Beast overruns into right-hand saurus flank.

Challenge Beast kills scar veteran, keeper kills another 3 or 4, flank beast kills 1, thunder stomp kills more but they are still steadfast and hold with Slann nearby.


Turn 5 Daemons

Herald of Tzeentch moves out of building to target ancient. Soulgrinder advances to shoot the Slann unit.

Magic: Khorne makes an appearance, but I roll no 6s. Acquiescence goes off again on the right-hand saurus. Plague of rust on same unit. Cacophonic on the ancient is dispelled.

Shooting: Soulgrinder misses the Slann unit.

Combat: Keeper and two beasts leave 5 saurus alive. They pass break test with a rerolled double 1.

Plaguebearers kill more, but lose more to ancient, and pass break test.


We ran out of time, so game over!

Was an intriguing game. I was pretty rusty, and think I was too hesitant with the Keeper – he needed to get stuck in early, preferably against that poxy Ancient!

Some of my units did well, some not so much, but I’ll be sticking with the list for a while (as I have nothing else painted!).

Saurus armour saves and parries were a real bane for me, and my plaguebearer regen rolls were terrible!

Beasts did very well for me though, but I found it hard to contain the Slann with his reroll on first failed dispel and I was having to let things like Curse of Anraheir get through which made me struggle.


Result was:
Daemons – 737
Lizards – 543

Small win for the daemons! Thanks for reading.