Sigmar Arrives

I finally managed to get a game of Age of Sigmar played when home in Ireland recently.
My hometown gaming group hosted a few games and I gladly took part. We played a scenario from the Quest for Ghal Maraz pack, I believe it was an ambush style scenario but the name escapes me. I played Ogres and because I had a much lower model count that the two other players I was the defender both times I played. First up I faced off against Dwarves. The army was fairly standard with a little bit of everything included. My opponent didnt really grasp the scenario that well and deployed in a line standing off from my army allowing me plenty of time to get into an advantageous position. He definitely approached the game as if it were just a new edition of Warhammer rather than a completely new game. I enjoyed the game though there is a lot of behaviours to unlearn that are tied into previous editions of Warhammer. I think having played Warmachine and Malifaux have helped a lot with that.

I am currently painting a test Stormcast model and based on that I might start an army for Age of Sigmar. I won't post my actual thoughts on the game here. I will reserve that for another post later. I am open to playing it a few more times with enthusiatic players to see what I really think of it. I will say though, so far so good. AS to rebasing my existing collection I am unsure. I don't know how often I will get to play as there seems a paucity of local players. It wouldn't make much sense therefore to rebase anything. Especially as I would have to buy a lot of bases in that event. The first force I would consider for this treatment would be my chaos army, the one I never finished.

A Prologue to the Saga

It is pretty good to be back living in Germany. Regular thursday night gaming is a big improvement over almost no gaming in Finland. Saga has really picked up in popularity here since I left. There were four games underway at the store when I was there. I think the relatively recent publication of the rules in German has helped with that. We played the Challenge scenario from the first rulebook. I dont really like the scenario as once again my Warlord ended up far closer to the enemies starting position that Steve's did to mine. add in the fact that his troops are mainly mounted and that leaves me with a lot of distance to cover quickly. I believe I once saw an amendment where both models are set up on the centreline six inches apart. I would definitely prefer that arrangement. I believe I was down six wonds by the end of the second turn and my troops were not in a position to do anything about that until the third.

I used my Anglo-Danes for this battle. the action got fairly intense as by the third turn and the halfway point of the game I hadn't managed to inflict a single wound on the enemy Warlord and he had inflicted half of mine. Troops were now engaged between the two warlords and it was going to be very tough for me to do anything to win. I tend to not spend my opponents fatigue especially on large relatively intact units and in this battle it was definitely a winning tactic. Initially I was losing large numbers of troops but I was emerging from combat with a single fatigue while the Normans were having theirs slowly mount.

In the last two turns I was able to spend this fatigue to actually wipe out units thereby inflicting more fatigue unto surrounding allies and even the Warlord. This rapidly depleted his bodyguard and allowed me to apply my axe to his head liberally in the final turn. I luckily managed to inflict seven wounds gaining me a narrow victory.

We only got a single game in but the pub was calling to us so I won't complain. The nuances of the battleboard are completely lost on me but we had fun. It actually inspired me to quickly get some more Warriors done for my Anglo-Saxons. Iwant to be able to diversify the construction of my warband and as such I definitely need more models painted.

SAGA Campaign: The raid on Wallei

Having discussed SAGA on mondays post I actually managed to get a game in. I usually play Warmachine via VASSAL with Owen from Farfaraway.org on a Tuesday evening but he made an excellent module so we could play SAGA. I tried out the Anglo-Danes and I was quite pleased. The scenario is part of a small narrative campaign we will play. The first battle involved the Viking attack on an Anglo-Dane force escorting their Lords daughters to his Hall while nearby the rest of the Vikings try to overwhelm the Hall.

In 901AD a band of Norse-Gaels under the leadership of Harald Hvitbeinn are 'gone a viking' in Northumbria. Travelling up the river Ribble and its tributary the Calder the Vikings are attempting to reach the monastery of St. Paulinus and the village of Wallei. Having left their boats moored at the village of Langho Harald moved through the Crow Wood to arrive at Wallei before anyone could be alerted to his presence. Travelling to Wallei at the same time the family of Ivar Trätälja stumbled onto the Vikings just before they reached the relative safety of the village. Ivar's three daughters had been sent from York once the Scottish raids across the Ribble had been stopped. The countryside had been subdued for the most part with the saxons accepting the leadership of the Anglo-Danes. Unfortunately for them nobody had anticipated the Viking raid. Harald had no choice but to engage the armoured escort. Splitting his force in two he engaged the escort while the bulk of his force moved into the village before Ivar's Hucarls could form a defence.

Harald's son Rorik advanced on the escort as they hurried along the forest path. His Hirdmen held the centre with Bondi at both edges of his shieldwall to hold his flanks. Egill, the commander of the escort, quickly dispersed his force amongst the rough terrain. His Geburs moved up to harry the Vikings with bow shot. His Ceorls moved out to flanks the viking shieldwall while the Huscarls advanced on the Hirdmen. The daughters knowing they were in mortal danger split up and attempted to slip around the Vikings when they were engaged. Battle was quickly joined to the right and a great slaughter ensued. Rorik's impetuousness however led to the left flank breaking completely. As the Bondi on the right became embroiled in the fight they were slowly shoved backwards. Seeing this and and looming threat of the Huscarls Rorik sent his centre into the fray. These bogged down in front of the Anglo-Dane shieldwall and when the Huscarls did finally engage they were overwhelmed. Again Rorik overcommitted throwing himself into the fight. The shieldwall was defeated but the battle was already lost. Egill had moved cautiously up the centre. As more and more the the Vikings were forced to the right he concentrated on the right. The Bondi on the right were suffering poorly the attention of the Gebur. The final reserve of Hirdmen moved to disrupt the Gebur bowmen and reinforce their beleagured comrades. Egill took the chance to commit to the combat personally slaying three of the Hirdmen and throwing the entire flank into disarry. Two of Ivar's daughters slipped through the rapidly disintegrating Viking line. The third daughter was less fortunate and was captured by Rorik.

The battle was a victory for the Anglo-Danes as they managed to get two of the three objectives off of the board. In the next scenario these objectives can be used to generate an extra SAGA dice, up to the usual maximum of eight. The next scenario will be the meeting of Ivar and Harald at the village of Wallei in a Clash of Warlords scenario. The historical facts mentioned here aren't historical at all. The locations are real however and the events are possible. Wallei is the old name of Whalley in Lancashire and there is evidence of an early church or monastery on the site, most likely founded around 628AD. This would be a very likely target for a Viking raid from Dublin or Mann. Three to four ships could easily enough navigate the Ribble though I am unsure if the Calder was navigable at all. Therefore the Viking ships are moored at Langho. The area was probably densely forested, even today it seems to be much more forested than usual.

Battletech vs. Warmachine

So I managed to get my first real game of Battletech in this week after a fifteen year gap in playing. I have to say it was great. Now I should preface this by saying that it really does reflect some 80's game design and while that is fine there are a lot of ways to streamline this that sometime in the future should be considered. As I played I was reminded of Warmachine quite a lot. In my mind a lot of ideas for Warjacks are very similar to Mechs. The armour for instance is the exact same system but in much less detail, so are systems. However both games are attempting to emulate very different things I noticed. Battletech is a naval game, pure and simple. I was suprised I never noticed it before. Warmachine is more of a standard wargame albeit on a skirmish scale. In Battletech I find myself playing completely for position. Indeed the most important phase of the game is the movement at the start to achieve the 'weather gage' on your opponent. These opening moves determine a lot and as was seen in the game this week I had a strong advantage due to some bold moves early in the game. I rushed my opponent pinning him on a downhill slope while I was on the opposite side of the valley, also on a downhill slope but with my Mechs entrenched in a wide river providing some cover. Interestingly I committed my heavy support Mechs too far forward and having weathered their fire my opponent was able to cripple one causing me to have to abandon my position to seek safety.

Warmachine has a similar need for board control and careful positioning but it doesn't, at least for me, feel the same. The forces in Warmachine are all glass hammers. They can deal out a lot of punishment but they can't take it very well. The 'jacks will stand up to some and I mean some repeated punishment but any true application of force takes them down. In Battletech the Mechs are able to take this beating and return the compliment. It gives an interesting feeling of mighty dreadnoughts of the sea whereas the 'Jacks feel more like they are represented as six ton steampunk robots! Warmachine does a nicer job of individualising the 'jacks whereas a lot of the Mechs feel very similar. They only vary in weapons loadout whereas 'jacks have induvudual rules such as chain attacks and such that flavour them a lot better. The interaction between units, Warcasters and everything else that Warmachine has ensures that it will remain a superior game but Battletech is still rewarding to play.

So I am still looking forward to playing more Battletech. It offers me something that Warmachine doesn't that being a second gaming group. I play it in work with some colleages and it is fun even if the game takes four to five hours to resolve.

It begins anew

This is Warmachine, but not as you know it! I am about to embark on another annihilation campaign via VASSAL with Owen from farfaraway.org. This will be the third and biggest we will attempt. Owen and myslef wanted to play a few 'set-up' games for this campaign so that there would be a little more story to draw from. Also it would change the format a little from thestandard games we have been playing up until now. We came up with the idea of using a Journeyman Warcaster for our games rather than a fully fledged Warcaster. You can find these rules on the farfaraway.org blog or by clicking the previous link. Having these Warcasters presented a lot of challenges. It really changed the game around a lot and forced us to play completely differently. In general the 'jacks we used had the potential to be as powerful as normal as they could still get full focus. However a weaker Warcaster forces you hold back and really try to remain out of the way of any incoming damage. Theseguys are decidedly weak and can't take a bashing. While I wasn't able to play this weeek next week will see the menites attempting the abduction of a khadoran garrison kommander!

Annihalation Campaign: Death on the Border
Battle One:The Opening Shot
Battle Two:Conversion and Corruption
Battle Three:Battle at the Farm
Battle Four:The Wrath of Severius

Annihilation Campaign Two: The Battle of Orosk
Battle One: A chance encounter at Orosk
Battle Two:Noon at Orosk
Battle Three: Slaughter at Orosk

The Battle of Normandy

Recently a few people in work have been interested in gaming. While I will never convert them to true wargaming I can get them to play board games. So in an attempt to combine the two I introduced Memoir '44. This is an excellent game that I can't recommend highly enough. Anyway it was an instant hit. I generally don't like WWII games but this one seems abstract enough that I can still enjoy it. Although having said that I am enjoying the historical context of these battles more and more.

We have experienced enough games now to embark on a campaign. Days of Wonder have released a wonderful campaign book that detail the Battle of Normandy, Unternehmen Fall Gelb and Operation Barbarossa. So to keep it as simple as possible we started with the Battle of Normandy. This doesn't demand too much in the way of new rules or units so we could jump right in. This is a report on the first section of the campaign called Flanking Caen. No matter what happens here the Germans lose. What they are atempting to do is limit the effectiveness of the Allied advance and inflict as many casualties as possible.

Battle One: Securing the Flank
The 49th Infantry Division advanced on Fontenay Le Pesnel on the 25th of June, 1944. Their objective was to take the town and the town of Raury. This would protect 15th Divisions flank as they attempted to outflank Caen. Aarrayed against the 49th Division was the 12th SS Panzer Division and some elements of the Panzer Lehr. The Allies succeded in capturing Fontenay Le Pesnel but despite some hard fghting around Raury the heights and the german artillery there were left intact by the end of the battle.

Battle Two: Capturing the Crossing
Despite the failure of the 49th Division operation Epsom commenced the next day. The 15th Scottish Division and the 31st Tank Brigade attacked the german positions. The 11th Armoured Division was then called up to strengthen the attack. This broke through the village of Cheux which was heavily fortified by the Germans. The 12th SS Panzer Division were unable to bring their tanks to bear in time enabling the 11th to seize the initiative and push towards the crossing. The Allies spectacularly captured the bridge without too many casualties and dug in for the night across the River Odon.

Battle Three: Withdrawal from Hill 112
Operation Epsom continued and on the 29th of June the 11th Armoured Division had a tentative hold of the hill on the far side of the Odon river. However the Germans counter attacked along both banks of the river with the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisons supported by mechanised elements of the 2nd SS Division. The British called up artillery reinforcements. A hasty attack from the Germans resulted in their armoured units being cut off and wiped out forcing the battle into a stalemate. The British Commander, Lieutenant-General Dempsey was worried however and withdrew across the Odon leaving hill 112 in German hands.

Battle Four: Hill 112
The attack on Caen began on the 7th of June. The 2nd SS Panzer Corps were tasked at this point with holding hill 112, a strategic point the Germans belived was key to victory in Normandy. On July 11th the 43rd Wessex Division attacked the position. The 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Division was dug in in the area near Maltot, a small village. The British advanced into a meat grinder. Initial casualties were incredibly high almost forcing them to withdraw. Action in the fields between the village of Fontaine and hill 112 resulted in massive casualties. An armoured push through this village and its nearby neighbour of Eterville however forced the Germans back into defensive positions around Maltot. The 102nd were then able to capitalise on poor position of the forward armoured elements of the 43rd and the Churchill tanks were destroyed forcing the entire 43rd to withdraw.

Conclusion:
In the end the Axis were trounced and the Allies won a major victory. The last win games were a victory for the Axis but early casualties were devastating. The meatgrinder that was Hill 112 allowed the Axis some breathing space and instead of awarding a decisive victory to the Allies the 102nd made this only a major victory. Now we proceed to the Breakout section of the campaign. With some luck the Axis could have won the battle for Hill 112 and suffered no casualties but a late comeback from the Allies of the 43rd shattered that hope... Victory or at least a draw was almost within my hands!

The slaughter at Orosk

Smoke rose from the centre of the village. Something was burning but the Harbinger coudn't make out what. The snow swirling around had reduced visibility to the point that seeing the smoke was almost impossible. Reznik should still be circling around Orosk she thought. The smoke told her otherwise. It looked like the situation was turning, Reznik had gone in alone and now was paying the price for his impetuousness. Quickly she assembled a paltry force from what she had. The Avatar was still being repaired so he was no use, the damage from the morning had been far more extensive than initially thought. All that was left in terms of Warjacks were an old Crusader, a Revenger and a Guardian. The Crusader was a sad reflection of its former glory but the old battlehorse wasn't ready to be scrapped just yet. He had accompanied her from Sul if she remembered correctly. Back then the 'jack was fresh from the Vassal Mekaniks assembly plant. In terms of infantry should couldn't justify bringing everyone. The Templeguard would be used to hold the line on the ridge so that they could make an effective retreat if needed. The zealots wouldn't be much use in defense so she called to their leader to assemble. If only the Errants had arrived she could storm the village and wipe out the defenders. Now she needed to be cautious and tentatively test the defences in the hope she could get to Reznik in time. With the ever ready zealots and her bodyguard of Paladins she descended from the ridge to discover exactly what was transpiring in Orosk."

The Harbinger of Menoth vs. Karchev the Terrible

The deployment was interesting due to the terrain. There was a house right in the centre of my zone which would split my army a little. I aimed to load one flank and advance into the killbox on turn one. The house would protect the Harbinger until I needed to bring her out and hopefully the Khadorans would come close to me so that I wouldn't leave her exposed to the inevitable fire from the Widowmakers. The khadorans spread across their zone evenly which suited me. This means that some of the elements on the right would take a little longer to reach my army. Clicking on the screen shots will pop them up good and big so you can follow the action a little better.

My turn was nice and quick. I advanced as planned into the cover provided from the building. The zealots seized the opportunity to race up the left flank. This would give them a good flanking position if the chance arrived. Everything else also advanced along with the Harbinger.The khadoran turn was swift. The 'jacks advanced up into position a bit more hesitantly than I thought they would. I really wanted them to pile up the middle. The Widowmakers went straight forward getting into a good position for when I came out from behind the building. That was something I didn't want to do. At least until the time to strike came. I noticed that I had the paladins too far back at this point and I was going to struggle to use them effectively without some luck.

I didn't take a screen shot after my turn. I was too engrossed in the action to think of it. You can extrapolate my positions from the wreck markers! Anyway the Zealots continued up the field activating Greater Destiny this turn. This put them into a perfect flanking position. I had to keep the spread to avoid shots from the Destroyers, or at least that is what I thought. Karchev can make weapons magical so I thought they could be damaged. I realised later that they couldn't be. The Guardian ran forward towards the Great Bears. I needed his arc node! The revenger also moved out to block a charge straight into my centre. I was pretty sure he would be smashed but at least then I knew that Beast O' Nine would be right beside the wreck marker. The Paladins moved up but I was too cautious. I should have ran them to get them into positions where I could really use them. The Harbinger then cast Fear of God on the Great Bears which prevented them from using special attacks or taking orders. He then acted againas an arc node allowing the Harbinger to cast cataclysm on the Widowmakers. Sadly I was a hairs breath out of range and I missed. That nice 5" AOE should have toasted them all. Sadly on a miss the spell doesn't scatter. At this point I should have feated. Anyway the khadorans responded well. Karchev feated and with Tow he brought all his jacks forward. Turning his back on me he got them right into a great position to cause some harm! Beast O' Nine charged and failed to wreck the Revenger though he did pull the shield off. The two destroyers charged the Guardian and thanks to a nice critical managed to amputate an arm giving them just enough damage to almost wreck him. The arrival of the Great Bears sealed his fate barely. The Widowmaker Marksman then shot the Revenger and wrecked it. The rest of the widow makers moved to shot the zealots but killed none of them due to my martyring of the Harbinger.

I have to admit I thought I had won the game at this point. The Zealots were in a prime position to fire bomb Karchev. I activated them first and moved in to start throwing. A few were not in range due to the fact that I had spread so far out before. Of the five that could throw three hit. I smattered some damage on the 'caster. If that was a normal caster I think I would have been pretty close to killing them. However Karchev has thirty four damage point. So I really didn't get the result I was expecting! The Crusader charged Beast O' Nine and did some respectable damage. I was very close to removing his arm and his cortex. The Paladins then ran to get into position tieing up as much of the Khadorans as possible. The Harbinger then moved out of hiding and cast Cataclysm on Beast. A terribly low roll and bad position of damage meant neither his arm or cortex were in trouble. Once again at this point I should have feated. Now I was in more trouble than I realised. I thought I could weather what was coming. Karchev gave some focus to the Destroyers and both of them turned to shot the Harbinger. Sadly my attempt to tie one of them up didn't work and I was just short on melee range with my Paladin. The two shots hit and left the Harbinger on a single damage point. Then the Widowmakers moved up and killed her with a single shot...apt. So the lesson I learned from this: play like a muppet and you will lose!

Annihilation Campaign Two: The battle of Orosk
Battle One: A chance encounter at Orosk
Battle Two:Noon at Orosk

Noon at Orosk

"The Temple Guard had pulled back and formed up in a defensive line along the ridge overlooking the hovels that made up Orosk. A makeshift barricade had been erected from the fallen trunks of two trees, pulled into place by Crusaders. Small fires had been set up behind this in an attempt to keep the troops warm. The Harbinger suspected the Temple Guard had used some of Menoth's sacred fire but she forgave the insult. At this point staying warm was too important. The khadorans had also pulled back towards the centre of the village. With no wall surrounding the place it would be hard to defend, thought the Harbinger. A simple flanking move while engaging them lightly elsewhere should sweep them aside. The snow had picked up again and covered the tracks and remnants from the battle. Here and there some blood could still be seen, colouring the snow a disturbing pink. The Avatar had been salvaged but without the Mekaniks who were accompanying the baggage train nothing could be done to prepare it for battle. One of its legs was badly damaged as were the actuators in its shoulders. It would be days before it could be returned to action. The Idrian Scout had been sent to meet Reznik and to order him to speed up and come upon the village from the west. Her zealots had formed a screen in front of the lines ready to disrupt any response from the village. Now she just needed that damned Reznik to get here before the khadorans came at her again."

No one complained about the fiction last time so I decided to continue. It is always interesting to paint a picture of the battle afterwards. They easily lend themselves to a story and as part of the Annihilation campaign they are already linked together. The images are all thumbnails so please click on them to enlarge.

Reznik vs. Karchev

Deployment for this battle was interesting at least from a khadoran point of view. They won the roll to go first and deployed as I expected them to. I was ready for a rush down the centre but surveying the battlefield I then thought that the destroyers would form a firing position and try to take me apart from afar. I set up to ty to flank the khadorans trying to pull them into the centre and then to sweep around at least one side. This would have worked had Karchev come straight at me.Turn one gave me a suprise. The Drakhun began to swap flanks, a move I hadn't suspected. The 'jacks and Karchev moved where I suspected they would. The Widow Makers fell back again suprising me while the Men O' War ran to occupy the hill. It was a quick turn but the army was small so easily moved about the battlefield.For me the turn was also quick. I advanced up. I didn't want to begin in range of the Destroyers so I didn't advance as far as was possible. Next turn I intended to rush forward with everything to exert as much pressure as possible. The zealots moved up as far as possible on both flanks to get them in position to threaten next turn. The Temple Guard advanced and remained in shieldwall. I didn't think there was much point just yet in risking them. They could form a reserve for a later phase in the battle. The 'jacks all moved up and I cast Ignite on the Crusader and Iron Agression on the Guardian.

For the khadorans the turn was pretty short, you may notice a theme! They were definitely playing a cautious game, something I hadn't suspected though with two destroyers they could afford it! The Men O' War remained in position holding the hill and therefore the flank. The Widow Makers dug in behind the barricade. The Drakhun finished his redeployment and now threatened the centre. The Destroyers and Kharchev moved up to hold their barricades and ensure that the 'caster was in the killbox. nothing much else happened.My response was to rush forward and saturate the centre with targets. To an extent it worked but not really in my favour! I upkept the spells and gave out enough focus for everyone to run. The Zealots on the right came under Greater Destiny. They then ran forward. This would allow them to survive the Destroyers attentions. It also put them within bomb range for the next turn. On the otherflank I advanced the zealots throwing two forward to bring the Men O' War down from the hill. At least that way they wouldn't be benefitting from elevation. Int he centre the 'jacks moved up under the influence of the choir which would prevent them from being shot. I put Reznik behind the Vigilant to protect from blasts. The Temple Guard also advanced a little just to ensure that if they were needed they were available.

The game was almost finished this turn. The sneaky khadorans had a good response to my rush though it almost didn't work out for them. Kharchev cast Tow and then charged forward. This dragged the two destroyers along with him. They then activated and with two focus on each of them they were able to aim and shoot Reznik. This left him with two boxes only. I thought he would get some form of defensive bonus from being behind the Vigilant but no they could draw a direct line to him so it was just basic defense. As they both hit there was no benefit from my light warjack. However as Kharchev wasn't killed and he was out in front of his forces he was in trouble, big trouble! The Drakhun advanced to cover the two menite 'jacks and at least force me to have to deal with him. The Widowmakers advanced and the Marksman ran forward. On the left flank the Men O' War killed my two forward Zealots but brought themselves into threat range of the remaing seven.So here was by big chance! I had two heavy 'jacks ready to rumble and only a Drakhun in the way. I upkept Iron Agression but dropped Ignite. The Guardian got three focus and the Crusader got two. The Choir went first and boosted the attack and damage rolls of my warjacks by two. The Crusader moved up and threw the Drakhun. While I couldn't knock him down I could get him out of the way. I was doing the throws wrong before but having looked in the rulebook we figured out what to do. I rolled a two for my strength test meaning the Drakhun only needed a four. Thankfully he didn't get it. I tossed him back towards the zealots a nice five and a half inches. That did mean that with his reach he would still force a free strike. The damage was decent and I took a few pips off of him. Next up were the zealots. I wanted them to bomb him so that the free strike could be averted. They moved up and eventually forced a counter charge. The Drakhun didn't have a choice. Enough holy hand grenades were coming his way via the back arc that he was dead anyway and he might as well tie up the zealots to remain alive and give up the free strike on the charging Guardian. The Guardian charged for free thanks to Iron Agression and with three focus I was pretty confident. I hot with the charge and while rolling straight damage versus Kharchev I managed to get six. With four more attacks, one from the fist and three from the spear, I managed to leave him with eight boxes. Average rolls would have done exactly enough damage to kill him but it wasn't to be! I did crit with the last attack and I threw the warcaster back behind his lines. The roll to hit was a triple six, sadly that wasn't for damage. My Temple Guard then charged the Drakhun. I wasn't sure if I would have been in range but I was for three guys. The first damage roll I got came up a triple six. Damn but the dice gods were having a good laugh. This only did three pips as he was still astride his steed. When he was placed it was possible to put him so that he was out of reach of one of the others. This meant that I wasn't able to finish him off instead leaving him with a few pips! The zealots would be tied up still in the next round. On the neglected right flank my zealots for some reason lined up to pelt the khadorans with grenades. I wasn't paying attention or I would have realised how futile this was. As they were in shield wall I wasn't going to do much damage. I only realised once I threw the first grenade. Too late to go back! I managed to spread some lught damage across the Men O' War but nothing more. Reznik moved behind the Temple Guard to try and get some protection there.

I was now in a vulnerable position. The khadoran response was going to be painful. I wasn't sure but I may have had the Destroyers in melee otherwise their templates were going to take my army to pieces. They got two focus each. Kharchev upkept Tow. On the right the Men O' War engaged my Zealots taking out the majority of them. The the Widow Maker Marksman moved up to shoot Reznik. With only two boxes left it was an easy shot and Reznik went down. I was a little suprised but Owen didn't want to risk the victory as that would have cost him the campaign. He could have, and probably should have, smashed the rest of my army with two templates or tried to take out a 'jack. That would have hampered me a lot in the next battle as most of the remnants of my force were now on the table.

Annihilation Campaign Two:
Battle One: A chance encounter at Orosk

A chance encounter at Orosk

" The blizzard had finally abated. The frozen hills were no place to be stuck in the middle of a snow storm. The first snows of the season had taken the Menites by suprise and they were ill prepared for the turn in the weather. Their supplies were far behind them and the rough terrain meant it would be evening before they would catch up. In their haste to get to Orosk the Harbinger had left Reznik and half their forces with the baggage train. She regretted that now as she shivered on the ridge overlooking the village. She had paused here to survey the apparently deserted hovel. All seemed quiet, indeed not a single peasant could be spotted in the area. No fires seemed to burn in the hearths of the homes here. The only life visible were the crows congregated on the buildings and trees. Ranging ahead of the main forces the Avatar of Menoth stopped. The lone Idrian scout the Harbinger had brought north from Lael could now be seen running from the trees to the east of the village. He was waving and even from this distance it was obvious that something was wrong. Suddenly two plumes of smoke rose from the centre of the village. From behind one of the houses a Juggernaut moved. The huge Warjacks frame shuddered with the movement. Ice could be seen breaking off the oddly grey coloured hulk in huge chunks. So the village wasn't as empty as they had hoped."

You will have to excuse my poor fiction but Annihilation part two began last night and it is probably best to present it in some context. I am not sure my opponent Owen from Far Far Away had the same fluff in mind but it couldn't be far off! It was delayed a little due to some minor issues. We also changed the proposed format and will fight three battles at 35 points rather than an escalating campaign over four games. I wanted to use something different and fluffy with regard to the Northern Crusade so my army is lead by both High Executioner Servath Reznik and the Harbinger of Menoth. The list of troops I can choose from during the entire campaign is:
Devout
Revenger
Vigilant
Crusader
Guardian
Avatar of Menoth
Choir of Menoth (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Choir of Menoth (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Holy Zealots (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Holy Zealot Monolith Bearer
Holy Zealots (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Temple Flameguard (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Temple Flameguard (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Temple Flameguard Officer & Standard
High Paladin Dartan Vilmon
Paladin of the Order of the Wall
Paladin of the Order of the Wall
Paladin of the Order of the Wall
Vassal Mechanik

Battle One: A chance encounter at Orosk
Harbinger of Menoth vs. Kommander Strakhov

All the pictures are clickable to enlarge so you can see the action better. This is the game after the Menites have taken the first turn. As the scenario was killbox I guessed it was pretty important to get up and into the box. I also wanted to get behind cover as soon as possible to help improve the defence on the Harbinger. As I was using a tier list I got two walls to place. I found them more of a hinderance as I felt the Widow Makers would reach them before I ever could and then use them as a good firing position. I stuck them on the flank where I felt the Widow Makers wouldn't try to hold. Thankfully I was proved correct.The Khadorans followed my example and moved up, a little cautiously I felt. They have the armour to wither the storm so they should use it. The Widow Makers made a few shots the the Temple Guard but Martyrdom from the Harbinger kept them safe. At this point I could easily heal back the damage and so it was best to keep the troops for when I might need them. Strakhov sent a cinder bomb upfield to cover the advance. The short range and a poor scatter meant it didn't have any effect. Beast O' Nine moved up annoyingly to the right preventing my Temple Guard from having freedom on that flank. Everything else just maintained position.

Here is where it really started to get interesting! The Khadorans in my opinion were a little far back for me to really get an effective attack on them. However simply moving up into range for them to attack me wasn't going to be very good either! I used the Harbinger to improve the charge distance on the Temple Guard. They then charged the Widow Makers. I separateed them into two groups to prevent Beast O' Nine ripping through them easily. I killed the Widow Maker I was touching but I didn't have reach to attack any more sadly. I also used Iron Zeal to try to keep them alive a little longer. On the left everything milled forward. I wanted to get the Zealots out in front to tie up any chargers and have the Paladins and Avatar as a response force.So here came the punishment. I was confident I could keep the infantry alive at least in numbers where they could be effective still due to Martyrdom... Beast O' Nine had a different idea. He attempted a trample attack over the top of my Temple Guard (You will notice a theme of this if you have read the previous campaigns reports!) However his base couldn't fit. Once again their is no rule I can find for this situation. If someone out there knows please tell me! Anyway we played it as if he could declare another action. So he moved up and then threshered the entire group of six Temple Guard in front. This also took out the officer. I probably should have martyred him but I didn't think of it until too late in the turn. Actually I had thought he was in the back group but only noticed later he wasn't. Everything else moved up slowly with a few shots from the Widow Makers causing some Temple Gurad to be martyred. I really feel that looking back at the game that this was a turning point. The Khadorans were not aggresive at all and allowed me to get my force into position. If they had moved up fast I would have been pinned in position without charges or even space to move around.

Now came the fun. The Khadorans had moved into an acceptable threat range and I could get some charges that I felt would work out nicely. To prevent counter charges or at least make them risky I activated the Harbingers feat meaning anyone ending their movement closer to me would take a good hit. I then boosted the charge range on teh Avatar with a spell as I felt he could reach the Men O' War. I also healed up damage from the annoying martyrdoms. Don't get me wrong I love the ability but it really is a risk management feature in a resource management game! The Avatar charged once the zealots had moved out to flank the Devastator. With a nice roll for focus the Avatar was on four, perfect. The charge was in thanks to the boost as I had to go over an obstacle. This resulted in the killing of two Men O' War, two more on fire and one of those left with a single damage! It also opened up Strakhov. I then used the Gaze of Menoth spending my last focus to force everyone within eight to advance towards the Avatar or not move. This coupled with the Harbingers feat meant that I was in a good position. The Temple Guard charged the Drakhun, avoiding the melee range of Beast O' Nine and preventing a counter charge. I hoped to tempt the dog forward but I didn't manage it. The Drakun took some damage and was set on fire. The Paladins then advance and used impervious wall. They were in a good position to threaten in the next turn. I was feeling confident!The Harbinger had hexed Beast O Nine meaning that he couldn't use any special attacks in the next turn. This really limited his usefulness.This turn a lot of interesting things happened. Firstly fire claimed the damaged Man O' War leaving a direct line to the Khadorn Warcaster! The other Men' O War advanced towards the Avatar and one was killed due to a good roll on the feat damage from the Harbinger. This facilitated the next move. The Devastator slammed the Avatar.... once again I forgot about power attacks. The avatar went flying back and landed on his ass. Beast O' Nine packed with focus came in and smashed the downed 'jack. However thanks to some very low rolls on boosted damage the Avatar wasn't too badly damaged. Beast O' Nine also took some pain from the feat. Strakhov moved up and shot at the Harbinger, again he took damage. The Devout blocked the shot. The Widow Makers tried too but were unsuccesful in doing much.

The game could have been over this turn but it was not to be! Vilmon charged the last of the Men O'War wiping him out easily! The Zealots then got in behind the opened Devastator and wrecked it. Thats great as I hate that 'jack. They were then in a good position to threaten Strakhov. The Paladin then charged Strakhov and managed to miss. My Mekanik rushed forward and repaired the damage on the Avatar reducing it to having only two boxes marked. The Avatar had already shook off the knocked down effect and now advanced into combat. Sadly I was out of range with the choir. I advanced, survived a nasty free strike with some light damage, hit and did some good damage. If I had hit with the Paladin I dare say that would have been game over. I left Strakhov with seven boxes. However I was stupid and left Beast O' Nine completely in my back arc and ready to charge. I advanced the devout to force a free strike on the Beast. I don't have a shot of the Khadoran response... I was too tense to think of taking it. Anyway Beast charged and that was the end of the Avatar. While it was close not being able to use my shield gave Beast the damage he needed to wreck the 'Jack. This is a massive blow as thats a lot of points gone for the Campaign. Strakhov killed the Paladin but I martyred to keep him on the field. More pot shots were taken though the Harbinger had camped enough focus to weather the storm of bullets.

Again the game was in my hands. I did want some revenge however so I loaded the Devout up with focus. He charged the rear of Beast. The Drakhun then counter charged. However I was able to make a boosted defensive strike and I left the Drakhun with one damage box left. In return he took out my cortex and took of my left arm. My attack on the Beast didn't even scratch it. Vilmon then charged and did a whopping ten damage. My Mekanik again rushed forward and fixed up the Devout, restoring his arm and cortex. The Paladin then hit Strakhov and did six damage leaving the 'caster on one box. I was annoyed but I thought that I could get him with the zealots. The Paladin was safe from the blasts due to impervious wall. However after the first few attacks we realised that the damage type was fire and Strakhov was immune to that! So another turn would ensue.Beast O' Nine turned on the Devout and smashed it. It wasn't even a challenge. However he had left Vilmon who was vulnerable this turn alone. Strakhov once again killed the Paladin but I martyred him as he was my only way to reliably kill the 'caster. It also pinned Strakhov in place so that he couldn't escape to wreck havoc on the Harbinger. Fire on teh Drahkun killed the horse and thankfully reduced his movement. Not enough though to prevent him engaging and damaging the Harbinger. She was getting low on life points at this stage. The Widow Makers had advanced and shot her previous to this but a few misses meant I hadn't taken much damage. It is hard to hide a large based warcaster.

I wanted revenge. As this camapign can hinge on casualties I knew I wanted to inflict some more. I especially wanted to take down Beast O' Nine. That would have been fitting. So Vilmon attacked and again did about ten damage. This lef the 'jack in bad condition. The Zealots moved up and peppered him in the rear. This left the damned thing on three damage points. The Harbinger then moved up and blasted him with a POW 16 cataclysm. I boosted the damage and managed to roll 1,1,1. Okay I can't complain my opponent had some rough luck too. However to leave the 'jack right on the brink of destruction was annoying. As the Harbinger was in a bad position now I needed the Paladin to be effetive. Thankfully he was and he took out Strakhov. Game over and a win to Menoth!

I will sum up the battle later as this post is pretty long already! I would just like to to feel some of my bitterness by sharing this shot with you. I hope to rectify this during the next battle thats for sure. Beast O' Nine your days are numbered.

They are walking all over us

Last night saw the finale of the Annihalation campaign via VASSAL. It really turned out to be a thrilling affair. The interesting thing for me was that I had plenty of points that survived to fill my army up. As most my my 'jacks were scrapped I didn't have much choice there. Otherwise the attrition of the system didn't have much of an effect on me. On my opponent there wasn't much of an effect either. He was still able to field a full regiment of Iron Fang Pikemen along with some Men O' War and a full compliment of 'jacks. Overall I have to say the campaign system was good despite this. It often leaves you second guessing about sacrificing stuff as you may want them later in the campaign.

Hierarch Severius vs. Irusk
The screen shots of the battle can be clicked on to enlarge them. This one shows the game after the first turn. The Menites went first moving more aggresively than usual up the field. I wanted to ensure that I could get in position to threaten the central zone before Irusk put up inhospitable ground! For the Khadorans they advanced somewhat more cautiously. The Destroyer targetted the Repenter and due to superiority was able to get into range. Thankfully the damage roll was abysmal.

I then proceeded to throw my Repenter forward. I had hoped to flame the Iron Fang Pikemen to the right of the Destroyer hopefully taking the three out with the aid of the choir and boosting the damage against their shieldwall. I was a little short but clipped the front two taking them out. I knew the Repenter was doomed but it would force the Khadorans to deal with it putting them nicely in range of the Zealots who advanced into position. The Temple Flamguard moved up onto the hill maintaing shieldwall. I also cast Holy Ward unto them to give their defence a much needed boost. The Vanquisher took a shot at the Juggernaut and while hitting rolled terribly and did only a few points of damage.

The Khadorans on the left went for the bait. The destroyer almost trashed the Repenter alone but left enough systems undamaged that the Iron Fangs had to get in on the action. This scrapped the little 'jack but left my zealots in a perfect position. Irusk then moved forwards and used his feat in an attempt to keep me out of the zone. He didn't move far enough in though and I was able to eventually get regiments in. The other group of Iron Fangs moved up to occupy the hill. The Juggernaut nestled in behind these, I guess to respond to whatever threatened.

This turn was the one where the scenario kicked in. Anyone in sole posession of the central zone at the end of their turn would win. So I really needed to get guys into the zone. The Temple Flameguard advanced into position through the inhospitable ground. I then killed one of the Iron Fangs due to the effect of tough from Irusks feat. They put up Iron Zeal giving them an effective armour of 21 and with Holy Ward and Set Defence they had defence 17. I was trusting that they couldn't be dealt with too easily though I was wary of the Destroyers bombard cannon hitting them. The Vanquisher again hit the Juggernaut but only for a small amount of damage. The zealots then pelted the Destroyer with bombs with a lot of them doing damage luckily. While it was only a rather paltry amount it still adds up! The Iron Fangs were also rained upon but the feat kept them in the game. I only killed one. A scattered shot also landed amongst my zealots and killed one. I then put up the Monolith Bearers feat and make sure I didn't cause a catastrophe!

I was expecting a nasty response from the Khadorans. I hadn't been able to deal as much damage as I wanted on that turn due to Irusks feat. The Iron Fang in the front of the Templeguard fell to a free strike. The Men O' War then ran forward to get into position to threaten me. The other two Iron Fangs charged into combat but due to my really high defense were not able to do anything. Then Irusk moved forward casting Superiority on the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut then declared a trample! I really thought the game was over at this stage. Despite the fact that Severius was sitting on six focus the Juggernaut was likely to do a lot of damage. However when we measure the trample the Juggernaut was not able to get into an area where its base was free of models and have Severius in melee range. We checked the rulebook and it wasn't clear on what a failed trample does. So we moved the Juggernaut along the line and then stopped once he contacted the Templeguard. He then spent the focus to kill two of them. The Mekaniks then charged forward to prevent the Vanquisher from charging the Men O' War. The Destroyer took a shot at Severius due to arcing fire but missed. It scattered into the Iron Fangs but did no damage due to Iron Zeal.

Things were getting really tense at the start of this turn. Severius was really threatened and it was going to be almost impossible to keep him safe. He acted first giving three focus the the Vanquisher. I had a plan! He popped his feat and took control of six of the enemy. He then cast Fear of God on the Juggernaut preventing it from taking any special actions. This kept me safe from tramples for now. Sadly that was all of my focus. Somtimes I wish I could have more... The converts acted next. The three Men O' War ran into contact with the vanquisher, turned around and began to pray ferverently. The Mekanik had to move over to make room! The Iron Fangs also moved to surround the Destroyer. I wanted to pack them in so that I could get them with the blasts from the Zealots but that would have meant the Destroyer was in melee making it harder to hit. I was able to get one into the back arc. The Vanquisher went next and did a circular strike. These were boosted against the last two Men O' Wars and he managde to take out everyone touching him. That was great as now a huge chunk of the Khadoran forces were gone and the Vanquisher was free to act as he wanted. The Templeguard piled in around the Juggernaut but even with a combined attack I was only able to two a few points of damage. The zealots continued the bombardment of the Destroyer finally blowing off the left arm knocking out the movement and the cannon in the process. This meant Severius was much safer!

The Khadorans didn't have much of a response this turn.The Destroyer ambled forward now that its movement had been knocked out. The attack rolls were a little poor and he didn't manage to take out many of the Zealots. The Juggernaut got superiority cast on him and a full allocation of focus. Three Templeguard were killed as a result. The mekaniks decided to get involved and charged onto the hill. Against my defence they had no chance. Their wrenches smashed on my resolute shields.

The battle had turned into a slaughter and it seemed to come right down to attrition. Irusk was too far back to be at risk but he also couldn't contribute fully to the game. My zealots once again tried to finish of the Destroyer. I seriously damaged him but still left it functioning. I also used the lucky Monolith Bearer to take out the last Iron Fang Pikeman. I made a lot of mistakes with Severius this turn casting the wrong spells. This left him really vulnerable and I used the Choir to surround him to prevent a trample. The Vanquisher, almost filled with focus moved up and used those two precious points to absolutely smash a Mekanik into the ground. As I said it wasn't my best turn tactically. The Templeguard again failed to do much to the Juggernaut.

The last two turns seem to be bereft of screenshots despite the fact I am sure I took them... hmmm. Anyway the Juggernaut trampled forward smashed the Templeguard out of the way. He was able to get into reach thanks to a nice airburst from Irusk clearing out the Choir. He reached combat with Severius but only managed twelve damage. The Old Man survived. In my response I used the Vanquisher to charge the Juggernaut. This took it out. Now I just needed to take out what was within the zone to win. The Zealots finally wrecked the Destroyer. I would have been very happy for them to have done this a little earlier! However I can't complain. Severius then moved forward and killed the last Mekanik.This cleared the zone and left Irusk as the only surving Khadoran on the field. I had won!

Annihalation Campaign:
Battle One
Battle Two
Battle Three