This fine weather Saturday in May led to a fresco gaming in the garden! The winds of change followed chaos, however, raining out the game in the 5th turn, but it was already too late for the Quattro Croce mercenary company.
1850 points a side, the Dogs of War Company Quattro Croce were dispatched to defend a small village in advance of reports from the countryside that indicate a Storm of Chaos combined Slannesh/Dark Elf force was approaching. This allowed my friend to use the new army list for this summer's Storm of Chaos global campaign.
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Here is the initial deployment of the potent Chaos forces arranged against the Quattro Croce. |
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A shot from the other side of the table. |
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The center of the mercenary lines were held by Braganza's Besiegers, Gorfags Ogres, and the Paymaster and his bodyguards. |
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Voland's Venators anchored this flank, backed by a large unit of pikemen. Another small group of disenfranchised knights provided additional support. |
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Charge! this Chaos chosen one quickly advanced over the bridge. |
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And the remainder of the chaos forces moved steadily ahead. The Cold One knights prepared themselves to charge on the following turn. |
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At the end of turn one, the disenfranchised knights tried to charge the Cold Ones, only to fail their fear test. Turn two found them charged, in return by the Cold Ones. Voland's Venators swung around to assist the knights in case things turned sour. |
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These chaos warriors advanced straight into the mercenary lines. |
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And the champion continued to ride down the flank, safely out of line of sight of these poor crossbowmen. |
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Those same crossbowmen found their numbers horribly diminished from the Elven bolt throwers, and broke. The panic caused by their flight caused the cannon crew to also quickly depart the battlefield. |
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The disenfranchised knights held fast, and suffered no wounds from the Cold One's charge - yet they lost the combat due to a lack of a standard! They failed their leadership test, and fled off the table (a portent of what was to come). Voland swore revenge, and were prepared when the Cold Ones swung back from their pursuit |
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Trumpet's blared as Voland and the Venators passed their fear test, and charged the lizard mounted warriors, taking two down in their fury. |
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The Cold Ones broke and fled back towards their deployment zone, unfortunately faster than the Venators could wheel about. |
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In the center of the table the chaos warriors were wiped out by a combined assault by the Paymaster and his bodyguard of halberdiers, and the pikemen. Fleeing, the pikemen were able to catch and finish off the chaos warriors, leaving them in a horribly exposed position. |
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The paymaster and his guard were than assaulted by this unit of nasties; two weapons per model, and due to some Slannesh rule, cut our weapon skill and initive in half. The halberdiers fought bravely for two rounds of combat. |
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More dark elves moved into striking position. |
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Voland continued to pursue the Cold Ones, attempting to charge them, only to have them flee before him. |
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The paymaster finally fell, as his unit was overrun by the chaos spawn. His death had an immediate affect, as Gorfag and his Ogres decided that with the money gone, so were they. In a like wise decision, Braganza decided they couldn't hold without the Ogres muscle, and also decided to leave the battlefield [In a DoW army, when the paymaster dies, all units must pass an immediate leadership test - both the Ogres and the Besiegers failed theirs, collapsing the center of the table.] |
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These poor pikemen wait for the hammer to drop. |
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Still running, the Ogres almost make it to safety |
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With their back to the battle, Braganza's Besiegers don't see the hired wizard being cut down by the Chaos Chosen hero. |
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There were pikemen out there, weren't there? |
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Realizing that their heavy armor and pavases would not allow them a quick retreat, Braganza rallies his troops. |
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And Voland continued his fruitless pursuit of the Cold One's. |
Scarpia's Comments:
On turn 5, as the ogres fled the table, and the Quattro Croce only had two units left on the table, it started to pour rain, causing us to quickly pack up the battlefield. There was no doubt who won this conflict, as the Chaos/Dark Elf forces were left on the battle field in significant number.
Failed leadership tests would be a significant downfall, as the disenfranchised knights, the cannon crew, the ogres, the paymaster, and Braganza's Besiegers all failed theirs at fatal times. Such is the world of dice!
I have also learned that my most potent force, the Ogres, need to not be hidden as I had done, and instead need to be right up an in the enemies face. They represented 330 points of troops that did nothing but run off the table.
It was still a lot of fun, and playing outside was enjoyable - at least until the Storm of Choas appeared, washing us away...
'ere is dem nasty legal bits:
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