Escalation League Game Night: Crushed by WE and WoC

I am hating playing Daemons of Chaos right now. Maybe it's my list, maybe it's the people I've been playing against... who knows?

What I do know is that I've been massacred in each of the three games I've played thus far (750, 2@875). I have no hitting power, I have no way to threaten opponents and force them into coming toward me, and it is just plain frustrating. Daemons aren't mobile, they don't have the ability to be tricky (no bait-and-flee), and they suck when wielded by me.

Before I just continue with my whining, I'll share the list I'm using:

Herald of Nurgle (General), Palanquin, Staff of Nurgle
11x Plaguebearers of Nurgle, Musician
10x Bloodletters of Khorne
10x Horrors of Tzeentch, Icon Bearer, Icon of Sorcery
5x Furies
4x Seekers of Slaanesh
3x Screamers of Tzeentch

Now, I know this list isn't optimal, but I'm extremely concerned about abusing the power of the Daemon armybook. That is something that I want to avoid at all costs. But right now, this list sucks. There is no hitting power, and when I am going against opponents with shooting, I have nothing to force them to move toward me, so I just get shot to pieces.

It is not fun. I'm not providing a competitive game to my opponent. I need to up the power level, while using units I like and not cheesing out.

Whine whine whine whine.

Complain complain complain.

Okay. I'm done with the pity party. Time to figure out where to go from here.

Game Night: Eshin vs. Empire

To celebrate the completion of my Eshin army, I took the all-skirmishing force to Game Night to give them one last run. I ended up playing Tom and his Empire.

I was quite worried about his two units of Knights (one unit of 10 Inner Circle with Warrior Priest Lord, one unit of 5 vanilla with full command) when the game started, but my Jezzails absolutely destroyed them. Each unit of Jezzails was averaging 3 dead Knights per shooting phase. By the time the knights got into the midst of my army, they small enough to tolerate. One of my favorite moments came when his Inner Circle Knights trounced a speed bump unit of Night Runners, over-ran, and ended up right between my Globadiers and a unit of Jezzails. Next turn--seven dead knights! (This had to have been the first game that any of my Globadiers or Jezzails failed to kill themselves. )

My Master Assassin was Skitterleaped into combat (courtesy of Irresistible Force) on the 1st turn, and he was supposed to take out the unit of Pistoliers that were going after my Triad. Sadly, as is becoming a habit, he only killed managed to kill one member of the unit, thus getting stuck in combat. He was then charged in the rear by a unit of Flagellants. I thought that for sure he'd be struck down, but the crazed zealots only managed one wound. A unit of Night Runners then charged into the Flagellants' flank, and a nearby Eshin Sorcerer Skitterleaped the Master Assassin out of the combat and into the flank of a 30-man swordsman unit--more specifically, into the flank of his BSB. He only managed one wounding hit on the BSB, but that became five wound (thanks, Fellblade!). The combat was lost, but the Master Assassin stuck around. He held up this unit for two more turns before the combined might of Gutter Runners and his Fellblade broke the unit, and the fleet footed ninja rats ran them down. Of course, the brave Master Assassin succumbed to the poisonous Fellblade on turn 5, right before he was going to kill the enemy Warrior Priest who had hid behind his Champion the previous turn. Such is the Skaven way of life...

I really enjoyed the game. I lost two units to a cannon ball the first turn (only two models were killed, but the unit panicked and then scared off another unit directly behind them). This was problematic, because I had overloaded my left side with a plan of overrunning his right side and then moving on down the flank of the army. For the first time ever--I think--I stuck to this plan and actually saw it through. Having so many placements allowed me to wait out my opponent before tipping my hand. With deployment being something that I have wanted to work on, I was pretty proud of myself.

Tom was a great opponent, and I'd love to get a game in against him in the future.

The best part about the game was that both of us had fully painted armies. I had never experienced that before, and it really increased my level of enjoyment.

Time to get crackin' on the next army!

Monday Night Game Night: Empire

The final night of the WFB league was this past Monday, and I was matched up with Devo and his Empire army. He was rockin' some large infantry blocks supported by an Arch Lector on foot, a Wizard, a mounted BSB, and an Engineer on mechanical steed. He had a unit of handgunners, a unit of crossbowmen, a unit of Outriders, a unit of Pistoliers, a cannon, a mortor, and a rocket battery for ranged attacks.

I didn't get my patented first round Skitterleap off, but it wasn't necessary. One of my scouting Gutter Runners weathered a round of shooting from his Pistoliers and then charged them. His fast-cav then fled, but unfortunately for Devo, when they ran through his uber-unit of Halberdiers (with Arch Lector and BSB), the big unit failed their panic test and fled off the board. That's a healthy chunk o' points gone in the first turn. Good for me, bad for Devo.

In retaliation, Devo blasted a building one of my units of Jezzails were hiding in, destroying the entire unit. I shall now respect the power of a cannon against buildings.

I had some good positioning with my Night Runners that led to some advantageous combats against his infantry. I was winning combats, and he was losing. It was as simple as that.

The only character my Master Assassin was able to kill was Devo's wizard, and that wasn't due to a Skitterleap. It was just a regular old combat.

With the game already in hand at the bottom of the sixth turn, my Master Assassin was Skitterleapt into the flank of the remaining Outriders. As I began to roll his four attacks, Devo burst out with a nice "FLUFF!" And, of course, I then proceeded to roll four ones. Good times!!

It was a fun game, and the win meant that I was fortunate enough to win the league! As my prize, I got a nifty Ordo Fanaticus t-shirt.

Sadly, I'm worried that I might not be gaming with my Eshin much longer. With the new Skaven armybook around the corner, I think it is time to devote some time into getting my Dark Elves up and running.

Sunday Night Game Night: Lizardmen

I got another game in against Bard_and_Dragon and his Lizardmen.

This time he didn't have any Stegadons for me to butcher. And sadly, even though I got a first turn Skitterleap off, my Master Assassin spent 3 turns killing a unit of Sauri with his Old Blood General (I was lured into declaring a challenge that he declined and hid from).

Per usual, his Terradons took out both my Ratling Guns in one turn. Yeah! I really, really, REALLY hate those things!

My Triad butchered a unit of Kroxigors over two turns. My Jezzails shot lots of things, and didn't kill any of their own! That is a feat in and of itself. All but one of them survived until the end of the game, as well.

One of my Eshin Sorcerers Skitterleaped himself into combat with the enemy Skink mage. He then caused one wound, and caught the Skink as it fled from the combat.

Those are the high points that I can remember. I really enjoyed this game, and it ended in a near-perfect draw. Thanks for the game, Jason!

Monday Night Game Night: vs Slaanesh Warriors of Chaos

I played Raindog and his marauder-heavy Slaanesh Chaos army tonight. The game ended in a draw, and I'm very proud to have achieved that against him. He is a great general, and probably would have kicked the crap out of me on any other night. Unfortunately for him, this night saw his General and attached Chaos Trolls spend the first three turns of the game being stupid. That allowed me to actually participate in some combats without getting completely annihilated.

I didn't get a first turn Skitterleap in (my attempts were scrolled twice in the first round), but I did get it off on my second turn, and I took out one of his Chaos sorcerers and accompanying unit of Chaos Warriors. My Master Assassin then killed himself with the Fellblade.

My Jezzails did a magnificent job shooting today--meaning only one died due to misfire. I shot up a giant and whittled down a couple of units of Chaos Warriors with them.

Playing against RD is great because he does a wonderful job of baiting with his fast cavalry. It really makes me think about each charge response, and whether or not I should charge his units.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable game.

Monday Night Game Night: Blue Ogres

I hate fear. I hate Gut Magic. I hate Ogres.

If it weren't for fear and low-cost magic of panic-doom, I wouldn't mind them so much. Sadly, Ogres have these things in spades.

I played Zach and his Blue Ogres. His list was something like this:

1x Ogre Tyrant of Uber-Death-Dealing
3x Ogre Butchers
2-3x3 Ogre Bulls
2x2 Ogre Leadbelchers
2-3x4 Ogre Ironguts
1x25 Gnoblars
1x9 Gnoblar Trappers
1x Rhinox Rider
1x Ogre Maneater

Another game, another first turn Skitterleap (Zach rolled double ones in his dispel attempt). My Master Assassin, Queetik, took down one of his Butchers and a unit of Ironguts. Second turn saw him charging into the flank of an Irongut unit, butchering three Ogres and running down the fourth. Queetik then was left in charge range to his Maneater, and feeling like I could outrun him and then rally in a good position, I fled his charge, only to be caught. Oh well--them's the breaks!

My shooting took out his Rhinox Rider, but really failed to do much else. There was even one round of shooting where I managed to kill more of my own models than my opponents. Even my super-star Globadiers utterly failed me this game!

The worst moment of the game was when I had a unit of 3 Bulls on the flank surrounded with rats (two units of Gutter Runners and one unit of Night Runners). I declared charges that would have put me in his front and flank. Oh yeah, I also had an Assassin hidden in one of the units of Gutter Runners. I felt that I could have taken down this unit and then threatened his close-by Leadbelchers. Instead, I failed all three fear tests. All three. I was then charged by the Bulls, shot up by the Leadbelchers, and my great plan failed.

My units were overpowered by the strength of the Ogres, and I really don't know how to use my Clanrat blocks effectively. They are essentially a way to buy Ratling Guns, but when the damned Gut Magic takes out the guns before they can even fire... My blocks just kinda stood around, got charged, maneuvered into wierd positions, and then died. Well, only one unit died. The other survived the entire battle, but did absolutely nothing.

It was an interesting game, but I still feel like there are too many times where I am sitting there, not knowing what to do. I don't know how to use my blocks effectively, and I need to figure out how to protect my Ratling Guns better. Aside from that, my other units seemed to do what they were supposed to. Granted, my units didn't necessarily perform well, but they did what they were supposed to.

Nuts.

Eric informed me that there are two weeks left in the league, so maybe there is a chance that I stay atop the leaderboard, but I really doubt it. I think that I've been lucky with my wins thus far--gotta love the Skitterleap-O-Death--but I still like the idea of being at the top. Only time will tell if that continues!

Monday Night Game Night vs. Warriors of Chaos

So I got a game in against Stephen (Ring_of_Gyges) and his Warrior of Chaos army. I was pretty frightened of all his hard hitting Knights and Chariots, but, as has become habit with my Eshin, I negated some of his abilities by getting off a first turn charge with my Skitterleaping Master Assassin. Queetik took an Exalted Champion on Disc of Tzeentch in the side and put 14 wounds on him. I then pursued, and would have pursued into a unit of Maurauders with his general (Lord level mage), but they fled in an attempt to protect the general. Queetik would have then charged into the side of one of his chariots, but instead of taking the charge and getting destroyed (S7+ attack auto-destroy chariots), he fled with his chariot, thinking that the damage it did to the rest of his units would be negligible. Well, as he fled down his battle line, he killed 7 Maurauders from one unit, 6 from another, put 2 wounds on his 2nd chariot, and completely destroyed a unit of hounds. To top it all off, he ended up in difficult terrain, and took 6 wounds. *POOF* Dead chariot.

So... a first turn charge by Queetik turns into a dead Exalted Champion on Disc of Tzeentch, 13 dead Maurauders, 5 dead Hounds, and a dead Chariot. Not bad.

I then proceeded to shoot up his Knights and 2nd Chariot with my Jezzails and Ratling Guns. Luck and fortune were on my side this game, and not really on Ring's. One turn, when shooting with my ratling guns, I got 10 and then 11 shots when only rolling two dice each. That's pretty mean.

After all was said and done, I got the massacre and that was that. It was an enjoyable game for me, but I don't think the same can be said for Stephen.

Amazingly, I'm at the top of the leaderboard in our league. CRAZY!

Monday Night Game Night: On Tuesday!

Late post on my weekly game, but I played Brick and his Dwarfs again, and we had a nice game that ended in a draw. The victory could have been mine, but I just couldn't knock down two Dwarf units below half--instead, they were exactly half their starting size! Ugh, but it was still an interesting and fun game. Queetik took out the Throne of Power turn one, continuing his streak of badassness. My Jezzails were the most effective they have ever been, and both units survived the entire battle.

Monday Night Game Night: vs Tomb Kings

So I played Bard_and_Dragon again this week, but this time he brought his Tomb Kings.

I got owned.

There's really nothing more to say about it. He has strong magic, great shooting (always hitting on 5+), and causes fear and Terror (Bone Giant). It was ugly for me. No skitterleaps because of scrolls and dispel dice. No good combats for me because of his ability to move in the magic phase. My shooting sucked, and he took advantage of everything. I made a few mistakes in the deployment phase (not screening my ratling guns), but really, it wasn't bad luck that did me in. His army is perfect for destroying my Eshin.

Luckily, Jason is a nice guy, and he didn't rub it in as he was kicking my ass. Seriously, I think I had one unit of 7 guys left on the board at the time I conceeded in the 5th turn. Grossness.

Monday Night Game Night: vs Lizardmen

I never got around to posting this on here, but I played a game against Bard_and_Dragon's Lizardmen on Monday. Once again, I was fortunate enough to get a first turn skitterleap off, and my Master Assassin smashed into the side of an Ancient Stegadon, butchering it and sending the Chieftain riding it running for his life. The Assassin then pursued into the flank of a Saurus block, and after a turn of killing some lizards, he wiffed all his attacks and was poked to death by spears. This time, I held on to my early advantage and got a solid win. I had a unit of clanrats charge into the front of an Engine of the Gods and beat it in combat. They then chased it off the table or caught it when it fled--I can't remember which. It was a fun game for me. I just hope that I'm actually learning how to play smarter, and not just getting super lucky.

Eshin vs. Ogres

I played Sneak at Game Night tonight. He was rockin' Ogres, with lots of Ironguts and Bulls.

First turn, my Master Assassin gets skitterleaped into combat with a unit of his Ironguts that has his Tyrant (general) and one of his Butchers attached. The Master Assassin is in the flank, which puts him against a Butcher and one Irongut. The Assassin destroys the Butcher (gotta love the Fellblade!) and takes one wound from the Irongut. The Ogre unit loses combat, flees, and gets run down by the Master Assassin. Yes, that means on the first turn, my lone Assassin takes out two characters (one being the general) and a unit of Ironguts. The next turn he charged the second Butcher and butchered it.

It had to be the best start to any game of Warhammer I've ever played. Sadly, my Master Assassin was then killed by a unit of Gnoblars that were throwing crap at him, and the rest proceeded to fall to pieces over the remaining turns and flee off the table. I lost the game, after taking down 771 points in the first turn--not to mention whatever the 2nd Butcher was worth. Gotta love the game of Warhammer!

Warhammer Game Night: Monday, February 9th

The new Fantasy league started this past week, and I showed up with my Eshin. This time, I included two units of clanrats for a new twist to the army. Not only did it make the games more fun and interesting, but it provided me with the opportunity to learn how to use ranked infantry--something I'm going to need to do whenever I get my Dark Elves up and running.

I played against Brick Bungalow and his beautiful, all very OOP Dwarf army. Here are some simple highlights of the match-up:

• Throughout the game, every time the Skaven and Dwarfs were running after each other, the Skaven ended up out of range by 1". This was all due to the Skaven's +1 fleeing roll, and the Dwarfs -1" fleeing/persuing roll. It was funny to see.
• My Master Assassin ended up too close to the Dwarf cannon and took a grapeshot to the head... only to have me roll the necessary 6 on one die from the Talisman of Protection. WHEW!
• The Triad worked well this game, tying up units and turning combats in my favor. They owned the right flank--which consisted of quarrellers and thunderers--allowing my other units to march up the field unmolested.
• Poor Brick rolled all ones multiple times. There was a time when he said something to the effect of "If I were playing Blood Bowl, I'd be rolling all ones." He then rolled four dice, and, well... all of them were ones.
• Ratling guns were fun. I had three misfires throughout the game, because I was throwing three dice each time I fired. One of the misfires ended up with me blasting my own clanrat unit that was locked in a very important combat with the Dwarf Lord and BSB. Luckily, out of 9 hits, I only lost two or three rats (and ended up winning the combat, anyway).
• My proxied Ratling Guns were Eldar Shadowweavers. People got a laugh out of that.
  

It was a good time, and I'm hoping to model up another unit of clanrats so that I don't have to use a mis-matched unit of metal figures that are most definitely not clanrats.