The Warchief’s Tournament Playtest Journal

I’ve decided to use the main focus of my blog to keep a journal of my play testing to find a 2250 tournament army list I’m happy with. It’ll also include the occasional quick report on painting. Hopefully it will mean I’ll blog more often as I play more than I paint!

So without further ado….

Playtest Game 1

Points: 2250

Opponent: Luke, Wood Elves

Background Info: A game arranged at the Evesham Club, I turned up not knowing who or what I was going to face…

Army Lists: I decided to go with Version 1 Tournament list; a cavalry heavy army backed up by shooting and magic. The list was along the lines of:

Supreme Sorceress, Level 4 on Dark Steed

Sorceress, Level 2

Master BSB on Dark Steed

2 x 10 Repeater Crossbowmen

2 x 5 Dark Riders

2 x 5 Harpies

2 x 5 Cold One Knights

8 Shades

Assassin

2 x Reaper Bolt Throwers

War Hydra

Wood Elves consisted of (I think…):

2 x 10 Glade Guard

2 x 10 ish Dryads

War Dancers

Way Watchers

Treeman

Noble with nasty bow and arrows

Level 2 Mage

Level 1 Mage

And possibly some other bits…

Set up:

I set up with a long central line of Crossbowmen, 2 Bolt Throwers on a hill on the left flank supported by a unit of Harpies, with 1 unit of Dark Riders to the extreme left. On the far right flank, I placed the Hydra, 1 unit of Cold One Knights and Dark Riders. Just off right of centre went the remaining Cold One Knights and screened by a unit of Harpies. The BSB went with the central Cold One Knights, Supreme Sorceress using terrain to hide and cast using a focus familiar and the other Sorceress in with a unit of crossbows. The Shades scouted ahead and set up in a wood.

Battle Report:

I didn’t get first turn and was made to suffer. Treeman advanced towards the wood containing the shades, dryads both advanced, one unit on either flank and everything else shuffled around. WE Magic phase saw the shades take heavy causalities. WE shooting phase saw the Noble draw his magic bow and wipe out a whole unit of Cold One Knights due to wounds not allowing armour saves. Treeman shooting attack (I didn’t know they had one!) wiped out the remaining Shades and without knowing took with it the hidden assassin. Ouch!

My first turn saw a Hydra march through the now vacant wood to breath on the Treeman (surprise, Hydra’s can march through woods with no penalty!) Both units of Dark Riders flew forward and the remaining Cold One Knights moved to get a counter charge. Magic phase fizzled but managed to draw out a scroll and not much else. Shooting saw a bolt thrower do 3 wounds on the Treeman and that was about it.

I‘ll summarise the rest as it quickly spiralled into a comedy show. The second turn saw the Noble’s shooting wipe out the second unit of Cold One Knights thanks to it negating armour saves. The Hydra chased the Treeman around the wood to the background music from a Benny Hill sketch before getting bored and wandering off to eat some squishy T3 tree huggers. The Dark Riders baited and fled with the intent of leaving a charge for the now non-existent Knights. They rallied and then got charged trying to protect my Supreme Sorceress, however the overrun saw her get caught anyway. The left flank collapsed when the Dark Riders got shot to pieces and the Harpies got smashed by the Dryads and the overrun took them into my Bolt Throwers. A number of failed fear / terror / panic tests saw everything else running and wiped out before I eventually concede defeat.

Lessons learnt:

1. I’m really out of touch with Warhammer. My core rules knowledge is rusty; I am out of practice and have hardly played 7^th edition, I have no clue on any of the other army books and barely know what my own army is capable of. It’s going to many hours studying, reading online forums and playing different opponents to get my knowledge back up to tournament standard.
2. My army list needs a good work over. There was no punch to the army, no solid core. I need to work in a couple of infantry units to provide good static combat resolution and back that up with lots of support units. I’ve got some ideas in mind so will try a different list next time. Dark Elves have the ability to put out so many different types of list that it will be a process of finding my playing style with them and tailoring an army to suit. I must get out of the headlong charge with everything Orcish mindset.
3. Don’t place Shades in woods when playing against Wood Elves. This will be my lasting memory of this game. If I learn nothing else I will remember this!
4. Learn to use Harpies better to protect important units from shooting. Admittedly the Noble had a really nasty killer bow but the tactic still applies to normal ranked shooting. Harpies are a perfect screen and some practice is required
5. Hydra’s rock! They are T5, have a scaly skin save and can regenerate. They can march through woods and I shouldn’t be scared to throw it into combat. I will eventually learn its limitations…
6. Dark Elf shooting is not as good as it appears, especially against armies not containing ranked masses. My repeater crossbows in particular are a bit more miss than hit. They also are a very static element of a very mobile army. I think I’ll revise the amount I put in to the next play test. Oh and don’t put 2 Bolt Throwers on the same hill, no matter how tempting it is for line of sight…

Playtest Game 2

Points: 750

Opponent: Kris, Wood Elves

Background Info: A quick game in an hour, not a tournament sized game but I’ll take all the practice I can get…. Even if it’s against Wood Elves…. Again….

Army Lists: I should have learnt my lesson, but I went with a cavalry based theme again! Along the Lines of:

5 Dark Riders (rpt xbow, Mus)

5 Dark Riders (Mus)

5 Harpies

5 Cold One Knights

1 Cold One Chariot

Level 2 Sorceress on Dark Steed

Wood Elves consisted of:

11 Glade Guard (Ch + Mus)

Alter Noble (Helm of Hunt, GW, LA, Sh, Annoyance of Netlings)

6x glade rider (Ch + St)

Treeman

Set up:

Harpies screening the Dark Riders on the right flank, everything else in the middle with the Sorceress in the Dark Riders and refused left flank.

Battle Report:

Wood Elves got first turn and moved the Glade Riders, Treeman and Noble forward. No magic and the WE shooting was ineffective.

Dark Elves first turn, Harpies and Dark Riders moved at full pace down the right flank to threaten the Glade Guard and everything else moved up the middle to surround the advancing Wood Elves. Magic with Lore of Fire saw Conflagration of Doom cast on the Treeman and after 2 goes caused 2 wounds on the wooden, flammale beast.

Wood Elves turn 2 saw the Noble declare a charge on the Dark Riders with Sorceress and the Treeman declare against the Cold One Knights. Dark Riders opt to flee and rolled 6 inches to escape. More than enough I thought, but to my shock and horror the Noble has an 18” charge range and catches them with an inch to spare. Ouch! The Glade Guard shoots and kills 3 Harpies but they pass their panic test. Cold One Knights against the Treeman win the combat due to resolution but it holds.

Dark Elves turn 2 sees the Cold One Chariot flank charge the Treeman and the Dark Riders charge the Glade Guard whilst the remaining 2 Harpies get out of the way. The barrage of shooting sees only the Dark Rider musician get in to combat. No magic and no shooting. Combat sees the Treeman defeated, flee and run down by the Knights. The lone musician wins combat and the Glade Guard flee without being caught!

Wood Elves Turn 3 is set up for a Noble charge into the flank of the Chariot and the Glade Riders charge the Cold One Knights. The Glade Guard rally on the board edge and prepare to be charged again. Combat between the Noble and Chariot ends in a draw. The Cold One Knights and Glade Riders trade blows but also stay locked together

The battle is in the balance…..

Dark Elves turn 3 and onwards (everything moved quite quickly fro this point onwards). The battle turns on its head with a few comedy moments; the highlight of which being the lone Dark Rider musician recharging the Glade Guard with them unable to stand and shoot this time. The combat is heading for a draw, but wait, I’ve got a musician and the Glade Guard haven’t. The archers promptly fail their break test, flee and get ridden down. The Noble eventually bites the dust with a little help from 2 Harpies charging in the flank and after a few traded blows the sole surviving standard bearer of the Cold One Knights wins the battle in the centre of the board!

A win for the Dark Elves!

Lessons learnt:

1. Hatred is awesome! When you remember to use it, which I did in this game! Much to Kris’s annoyance!
2. I made better use of the Harpies as a screen this time. However the Dark Riders still got shot to pieces from a stand and shoot charge reaction.
3. Treemen aren’t that scary. A couple of wounds from fiery magic spells and overwhelming then in combat works. Negating their wards with magical weapons also helps
4. Another surprise from the Noble magic item combo. If this is what Wood Elves can put out, how many other combinations are out there to worry about….?

I’m fed up of Wood Elves now.

I’ve already got pencilled in to play Clee’s Orc and Goblin army, Conrad’s Tomb Kings and a rematch with Kris at 2250 points. Reports on those to follow….

Here be Dragons…

(Well Hydras actually – I couldn’t afford dragons)

It’s July 2009. So that makes it 2 years since I first started work on my Dark Elf army. At the time it was under the guise of the Cult of Slaanesh from the Storm of Chaos but as that’s a little outdated I am now returning to a more pure Druchii list. One with lots of shooting, evil magic, hatred fuelled infantry and lots of monstrous beasts, and I am going to get it painted in 12 months.

Why?

A few of the guys went to the Tides of Chaos tournament in Reading this year and want to go again next year and I intend to join them. In the past I’ve been rubbish at sticking to deadlines, usually due to real life getting in the way, but I now have a target to work towards.

So what now?

First off I need an army list to work towards painting up. Here in lies the first problem. Being an Orc Warchief at heart, the style and tactics of an Elf army are going to feel rather odd. I think I’m going to have to play a lot of practice games to find out what works for me before settling on the final list. So, order of the day is write a few lists, buy the models, assemble, spray and play test.

The Dark Elf army is fairly diverse and can be set up in many ways. At the moment I’m looking at two main options:

Option 1 – Monsters and Magic

A fast moving hard hitting army using small units of harpies, dark riders and shades to march block, distract and bait enemy units into prime charge       positions. Cold One Knights, Chariots, War Hydras and Manticore to make full use of their mobility to charge into combat. This army will need to win combat fast as it lacks the static combat resolution needed for protracted fights. I wanted to fit a Dragon in this list but it was coming out a little expensive point wise.

Option 2 – Stand and Shoot….Then charge!

A more balanced army still using small units of harpies, dark riders and shades  but this time to slow the enemy advance by march blocking. A static gunline of repeater xboxs and repeater bolt throwers and high levels of magic will soften enemy targets backed up by Black Guard, Cold One Knights with BSB, Chariot and Hydra to add combat punch.

I’ll probably be play testing Option 2 fist as I’ve already got most of the figures. In the meantime I’m going to start painting some of the figures that feature in both lists; probably the Dark Riders, Shades and Harpies.

I’ll report back soon and let you know how I get on! Wish me luck!

Abaddon? Abandoned more like….

So what have I been doing since my last entry? Anyway, when was my last entry? August 2007? Really? Well bugger me…

GW has kind of taken a back seat for the last year or so. In that time I’ve completed my degree (I got a 2:1), got a full time job (at Bosch), got married (to the lovely Emma), got a part time job (at the Pub) and bought a house (in Diglis)!

But what of gaming related pursuits? Well…

 After my last outing in Brecon I went a bit mad and bought loads of Magic the Gathering cards and got a few of my mates at Uni into playing. It’s a bit of a laugh after you’ve had a few beers…

 I’ve got back into playing and running D&D which happens to be an age old passion of mine and something I thoroughly enjoy

 I’ve dabbled with my GW fantasy projects. I’ve played around with some army lists to make my Cult of Slaneesh into separate Dark Elf and Slaneesh armies but I’m not up to date on the new releases of Army books and figures etc so this is still a work in progress…

 Even without an army list to work to I can carry on painting! The Witch Elves are painted with the exception of finishing the detail on the command group. In addition, I’ve got one bolt thrower painted and I’ve done plenty of work with spray undercoat! I also managed to get loads assembled during those penniless months spent in University accommodation!

So, anyway, Brecon 09 is nearly upon us and for those who didn’t know its Warhammer 40k this year. I’ll only be there till the Wednesday due to my University Graduation ceremony being on the Thursday and picking up the keys to my shiny new house on the Friday. Got to get my priorities straight apparently, or so the wife tells me anyway…

Now I’ll freely admit that 40k is not my first choice when it comes to game systems. I think I’ve played 4th edition twice and both times my army ended up with more holes in it than the Royal Bank of Scotland’s end of year accounts. So this time will be different. I have a single goal for the week. To win one, single, solitary game. That’s it. Hardly ambitious I know, but surely even I can manage that……

So what army will I be using? Well there’s a funny story there! My first choice 40k army has been on the drawing board for a couple of years now. When they released 4th edition 40k I decided to get my arse in gear, learn the rules and build an army. Well I got as far as buying the army and that was it! So I have a nearly complete, 1500pt Black Templar Space Marine army sat patiently on their sprues and in their blister packs waiting…and waiting…and waiting…

And unfortunately they will still be waiting. With all the good will in the world I planned to put them together in the run up to Christmas and use the festive period to get them painted. Black Templar’s by their very nature should be easy to paint. They’re black for sake! However, in order to afford to put furniture in my, afore mentioned, shiny new house I’ve been working my butt off instead. As well as only having the standard Christmas Bank Holidays off from Bosch, I pulled double shifts at the pub as well. So, as you may have guessed, the Templar’s will not be crusading just yet.

“So what are you using?” I hear you cry.

Well, a while ago, I bought a second hand bargain off that well known auction website. I bought a standard sized Games Workshop hard sided carry case for £70.

“Bargain?” I hear you cry.

Well yes, I know I could have bought a brand new one for £30 but this one just so happened to come with an almost fully assembled, and quite well painted, 1500pt Black Legion Chaos Space Marine army!

The army contains (with photos):

Abaddon (I thought that was a place near Oxford, but apparently not…)
Plague Marines
Khorne Berserkers
Thousand Sons
3 squads of Chaos Space Marines
Chaos Dreadnought
Predator

And an expensive carry-case

So, in my opinion, that’s a damn good start!

Not knowing whether this was an army that’s ready to go war, I’ve consulted some other 40k players. Consensus is that my army list is a bit light on Heavy Support and Fast Attack. So I’m off this weekend to spend some of my hard earned Christmas cash on:

A squad of Chaos Havocs
A couple of Obliterators
A squad of Chaos Raptors
And possibly a squad of Terminators if I can stretch the cash and / or credit card that far…

The wife will just have to wait an extra month or two for some new curtains for the guest bedroom, or doilies for the coffee table or whatever else it is she insists we need. I can feel my priorities swinging back in my favour…
However in the current economic climate in makes prudent financial sense to try and conserve cash reserves, so I think I have 2 Space Marine rhinos and possibly a Land Raider that I can convert and claim were ‘captured’. The standard additions of skulls, spikes, chains and axes should give them sufficient chaos flavouring!

These more recent additions to the army will hopefully be assembled and undercoated in time to make the trip and should give me more than enough to field approximately 2500pts. Hopefully by the end of the week through trial and error (and learning the rules) I should have a good, balanced army and have hopefully won a game!! And then probably never ever use them again……

I’ll keep you all posted!

Its not easy not being green Part 2–Slaanesh Takes Hold and the Excuses Spew Forth

Ok so the God of Pleasure has taken a firm hold and has prevented me from getting any painting done. I’d love to be able to produce photos of massed ranks of Cult followers, all neatly painted and smelling of varnish but unfortunately I can’t. And it’s all because I’ve been having too much fun!

Poker league nights at the pub got changed to a Monday, which coincided with the night I set aside for painting. I now play football (round ball, hooligan version) twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays, which is surprisingly enjoyable considering it’s technically classed as exercise. Friday nights are still pub/snooker night and Saturday is dedicated to my son. So that leaves Tuesday and Wednesday. And unfortunately I fear my missus will leave me soon if we don’t spend some ‘quality time’ together (her words not mine!).

I have also had to battle with the elements, spend time sunning myself on holiday and at various golf events and do my share of wedding organisation (apparently in the modern era of marriage the bloke has to plan, organise and pay for stuff as well!). The first of these ‘normal life’ interruptions nearly ended in disaster. During this year’s monsoon season my cellar flooded. The cellar also doubles as my painting dungeon. I nearly had a Corsair Sailing Fleet. If I’d arrived home half an hour later they would have been trying to evade Pershore.

But seriously, I exaggerate slightly. I have got my quota of 9 witch elves painted to a gaming standard but not finished to a level of detail I am happy with. It is also the second lot I have painted. The first lot came out looking like they had contracted a disease belonging to Michael Jackson. The skin tones were blotchy and uneven and I was not happy. The hair looked worse than Buzz after a trip to Dave the Night-time Hairdresser and his patio salon. And the lipstick effect I was going for looked more like they had gone down on each other at the wrong time of the month. So I stripped them down and started again. The second attempt is OK and hopefully I will improve with practice.

(Photos to follow as I’m typing this at work at the mo as my laptop is knackered. I also have a problem at home in that every time I log onto the Internet Slaanesh intervenes and has me surfing and looking at porn. (I wonder if that’s why my laptop is bust…..))

Next months target? And what will I be painting?

Well to be honest my next deadline might as well be the end of September and I’m not too sure on prices (as the online store is barred at work) so we’ll have a wild stab in the dark (“which is, incidentally, what you’ll be getting if you don’t start being a bit more helpful” Ah I like Blackadder, where did I leave that DVD? No, no, no I must paint not watch DVD’s)

Where was I? Ah yes, this month I will mostly be painting:

Command group for Witch elves/Devoted of Slaanesh
5 Dark riders

£25 for this month and I still have £4 left from before so with £29 I should be OK, if only Slaanesh would get off my back……..

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN…

Start of June, month one and here is a newbie report.  What shall I spend my money on?  A hero and some core troops would be the sensible option but unfortunately not possible.  Some big ugly Chaos blokes to add punch?  Nope out of the budget and not needed yet.  Devoted of Slaanesh are a 1+ choice therefore I need a unit in the army and a logical place to start.  Witch Elves are beautiful models, (only allowed out of the case after the 9pm – ED (You haven’t seen my “Classical” Amazon army yet… – Conrad)) and will be ideal, especially as I have some knocking around here somewhere.  However, they are expensive!  At current GW prices 9 Witch Elves will set me back £21.00 and the command unit will have to wait until next month.

Well that’s it then.  What else am I going to spend £4 on? (A couple of pots of flesh coloured paint? – Conrad)  Into the bank it goes ready for a little extra next month.  At least I’m breaking myself in gently.  Less than 3 figures a week?  Easy!

Colour scheme will be simple.  Black and purple seems traditional and if I get a bit excited maybe some splashes of turquoise.  Only downside is they don’t seem to be wearing many clothes (Sorry, don’t think I read that correctly… A whatsidenow? – Conrad). Now how do you paint flesh again? The green goes where?