Janarion strikes back - part 3 - Battle report - Rounds 7--12

This is the last part of this battle report. Click this if you want to read about the troops involved and the set up and this if you want to go throught rounds 1-6.

ROUND 7

To stop Juggo from intervening with what´s happening in the center Janarion charges him (I would regret this later...). Juggo passes his fear check and is not afraid of a spectre. The guards with Prinze charge the warriors already in combat with the shore riders.

Janarion loses his combat agains Juggo. He loses two wounds and is pushed back but stays in battle despite the following instability test. The guard sing the hymn of hatred and smash into the dwarf warriors. The dwarf hero is hacked mercilessly down by the elf general and several warriors fall too. This is too much for the survivors who turn their backs and run. The shore riders manage to restrain their horses and do not pursue but the guards in their hatred of dwarfs go after the fleeing survivors.

Both bolt throwers miss their targets but the scouts manage to take out one of the flame thrower teams advancing near them. Once again Eachotah is behind friendly troops and can´t use the lightning bolt (that was pretty much the only usefull spell I had).

In reserve phase shore riders changed their ranks to face the middle of the battle field where another unit of dwarf warriors was getting dangerously close.

Fleeing dwarf warriors ran out of board and the elf guard stopped at the table adge. They would have to spend their next movement phase reforming. Warriors and hammeres moved forward again. The warriors would be in position to charge the shore riders next turn. The hammerers would go after the elven general and his guards. The flame cannon crew makes a risky move and turns their cannon to face the elf guards now unformed at the edge of the table.

In close combat Juggo banishes Janarion back to the grave. No one is able to shoot and reserve phase sees some positioning on warriors and hammerers preparing to finally get their hands on the elves.

Round 7 - dwarf turn after movement phase. Juggo is about to

strike down Janarion and warriors are just getting in charge range of the shore riders.

ROUND 8

The guards reformed themselves at the board edge. The shore riders now directly in front of dwarf warriors decided that it was not time to take risks and trotted out of harms way. The wardancers who had been mostly playing hide and seeks with the giant slayers now emerged from the forest the threaten the dwarf warrior´s flank. Ship company reached the combat area and would be able to harrash the dwarven flanks or rear.

Remaining flame thrower crew got themselves shot by the scouts.

Now with their rank in good order guards turned to face Juggo who would be in charge range next round. A lightning bolt hit dwarf warriors charring a trooper.

Juggo was not in range of the guards but moved closer preparing sell his life with his price. The warriors wheeled and marched to the shore riders direction while the hammerers veered left to meet with the elven guards.The giant slayers tried to come out of the woods to prevent the wardancers from charging the warriors of hammerers in the back.

No shooting as flame cannon was building up pressure.

Situation on round 8 before dwarven reserve phase. (Note that some elven

horses are without riders. I really need to put magnets on them because they seem to be

falling off all the time).

ROUND 9

Elven general and his guards charge Juggo. Other elves move in better positions to attack dwarf warrior unit now in front of both shore riders and wardancers. Ship company and scouts prepare to meet the giant slayers emerging from the woods.

Juggo survives the first round of combat without losing a wound and kills two elven guards. He still loses the combat and is pushed back towards the flame cannon that is starting to be a bit too close for comfort...

One giant slayer is killed by missile fire but his comrades don´t mind.

The dwarves are desperately trying to get their hands on the elves but are now in danger of being completely circled. Some movement happens as hammerers go after elven guards and warriors head for shore riders. Giant slayers are out of the woods and turn for ship company.

Juggo survives again but is pushed back and surrounded by elves who now begin to get free hacks agains him.

End of round 9.

ROUND 10

The warriors are charged by shore riders and wardancers. Despite being charged both in the front and side/back the do not panic. Wardancers go into whirling death mode and all together three warriors are killed. The dwarf hero challeges the shore rider´s leader who is wounded once. The elves win the combat and push back the dwarves. Juggo is killed by stabbing elven spears.

Some shots are fired at giant slayers but they cause no damage.

The guards move closer to the flame cannon to get inside it´s minimum range (this was not a good time to forget about Hymn of hate as you will see later).

Expecting the guards to turn around the hammerers continued chasing them. Giant slayers charge the ship company and go into frenzy (they rolled 11).

In melee the elf hero leading the shore riders is killed as are a couple of dwarves which means that the combat is drawn. No more bonuses for following up. No wounds are caused in the combat between the giant slayers and ship company. Ship company wins the combat because of their standard and push back the dwarves.

Alone and surrounded Juggo is killed.

ROUND 11

Well - the guards were under the influence of hymn of hate and therefore hated all dwarves. And now the flame cannon crew were in their charge range which meant that they had to charge them. The crew was quick to wire the cannon and run. KABOOM! Timing was perfect. The cannon blew up just as the elves reached it´s position. Prinze Caimead and four guardsmen were blown to pieces. Unable to reach the dwarves the charge stopped and unit became unformed. But the guardsmen refused to panic even though their general was mutilated beyond recognition.

As the melee against dwarf warriors was not going as well as intented Eachotah decided it was time for him to get his hands dirty and charged in. Wardancers cut down four dwarves but two shore riders were lost. Surrounded the dwarves had no place be pushed back but their morale held.

The last two giant slayers were taken care of by ship company captain.

Seeing the disorganized elven guards in front of them the hammerers hurried closer. They would surely be able to charge next turn. On the other side of the battlefield wardancers continued to take down dwarves who now broke and were hacked to pieces.

Fiery death for Prinze Caimead as wired flame cannon blows up.

 The last dwarf warriors break and are hacked down.

ROUND 12

The elven guards reform as does allmost everyone on elf side after being in combat and pursuing the enemy.

On reserve phase ranks are reorganized and some movement happens.

The hammerers finally get to charge someone and in the following combat the slaughter now leaderless guards but can´t break them as both sides hate each other.

At this point we decided it was enough. The hammerers would decimate the guards without the elves being able to intervene. We declared the guards lost and the hammerers would be able to escape leaving the dwarf general alive.

 The situation in the beginning of the last turn. Elven guard is

just out of picture to the left.

AFTERMATH

The casualties on both sides were high but it was the dwarves who had suffered more. Of their initial force there were only the general and nine hammerers left (roughly 350 points). The elves had lost their general but there were still about 800 points of troops on the table.

I felt that I had a good battle plan. I was able to use my better mobility to attack dwarf flank and take out units one by one maintaining a local superiority. Had I been more carefull with my guard I might have been able to wipe out the dwarves. But sometimes these things happen. Hatred is a doudle edged sword... It gives you a bonus but can get you in trouble too.

IMO the dwarves suffered from their spead out set up. Next time I´m expecting to face a very tight pack of stunties in two lines with flanks protected.

 It was a fun game to play and took us just under four hours from set up to conclusion.

Next game will be in two weeks agains some skaven. Hope you enjoyed reading! 

Janarion strikes back - part 2 - Battle report - Rounds 1-6

This posting covers the battle report rounds 1-6. The back ground to the battle, troops and the set up is covered here. The report will be completed in the next posting.

"Sir, it was lord Janarion. Or it had been lord Janarion and he had been somehow brought back. But it still wasn´t him... like there was something evil in that ghastly creature".

Darcassan listened to a shore rider telling of the battle. The few riders were the first to return with the news. Both good and bad...


ROUND 1

My elves won the roll for initiative and moved first. Everyone exept the bolt throwers moved towards the dwarf lines. Shore riders started their flanking manouver going around the woods on elven far right.

Some long distance shots were fired and a single dwarf quarreler lost his life. He became the first casualty on this day.

More advancing followed on reserve phase. A second quarreler was fried by a lightning bolt cast by Eachotah.

The dwarves countered with the giant slayers advancing and crossbow armed warriors wheeling right to face the elven main assault. On far right everyone marched forward and flame cannon started building up pressure.

Quarrelers and bolt thrower opened fire and a single elf marine got shot down. Some more movement in the reserve phase and round 1 was completed.

ROUND 2

No charges were declared but the elven general advance continued. Scouts in far left reached the woods in front of them. Janarion the spectre walked steadily in ghastly silence towards dwarf center and wardancers made it to the forest in the middle of the battle field. Ship company and guards moved between two woods on right with the wizard Eachotah riding next to them. Shore riders made it past the forest and wheeled a bit to line up with quarrelers.

Shooting was quite uneffective with one dwarf warrior being killed.

More advancing on reserve phase and a lightning bolt cast with no effect but some sparks and reek of ozone.

Giant slayers headed for woods to face the wardancers. The crossbow armed dwarf warrior on the left tried to wheel backwards but failed their LD roll and halted. Hammerers and Warriors on the right hurried trying to get past the hill between them and the elf main force. Bolt thrower was turned to face left.

Flame cannon took aim on elf bolt thrower in the middle but overshot it. Another marine was killed by the quarrelers on the dwarf left but things were starting to look grim from them as coast riders were in position to charge them next turn.

Situation on the elven right flank at the end of turn 2.

Same situation from the dwarven point of view.

ROUND 3

As expected the shore riders charged the quarrelers who stood trying to buy time for their comrades. Guards advanced and ship Company wheeled to their left to better face the dwarf center. Wardancers and scouts took better positions in their forests. Janarion continued towards dwarf center.

Unsuprisingly the coast riders won the combat against the quarrelers who were pushed back but did not break despite being forced to roll as they now had lost more then 25% of their original strenght.

Bolt thrower in the middle hit the dwarf bolt thrower crew, killed two crew members and sent the other two fleeing towards safety.

More advancing by the guards, the marines and Janarion. With no usefull spells for the situation magic phase is uneventful.

As Janarion was starting to threaten the dwarf middle Juggo the giant slayer decided to leave his unit and go spectre hunting. Rest of the slayers wheeled a bit towards the woods where the wardancers were hiding and advanced. . On the right hammerers, warriors and flame throwers moved forward. Flame cannon was again building up pressure after last round´s shot. Bolt thrower crew fled the battlefield.

Quarrelers in close combat with shore riders lost another dwarf, broke and were followed by the elves. Free hacks were pretty uneffective and there were still five stunties standing.

In the dwarf center quarrelers standing on the hill took shots at elf scouts taking cover in the forest in front of them but all missed their target. Crossbow armed warriors slaughtered three marines but their morale held.

In reserve phase slayers reached the edge of the woods in front of them. Far from action hammeres, Warriors and flamers marched forward. Juggo tried to close in on Janarion.

Juggo goes spectre hunting.

They have a loooong way to go before they can help

their buddies on the other side of that hill.



Dwarf left is under heavy pressure.

ROUND 4

Janarion in his spectral for has reached the hill in dwarf center and charges the quarrelers waiting there. They hold and pass their fear check hoping that they by some miracle would not lose the combat and then Juggo would save them. You foolish foolish dorfs....

Marines stood and took aim on the Warriors in front of them. The guard wheeled and advanced to better face the dwarves. While manouvering they sang their hymn of hate promising torture and death to all stunties. A strange deadlock was developing in the forest nearby as wardancers and giant slayers did not want to close on each other.

Janarion froze two quarelleres, won the combat ans sent the rest automatically fleeing as they feared his spectral appearance. Following free hacks took care of another three dwarves. The other quarrelers were hacked by shore riders but two were still alive after this elven turn.

Both bolt thrower and the marines shot at warriors in the center leaving only 14 of the original 20 standing. But their morale was high and they passed their panic test.

Some marching took Place on reserve phase. Eachotah managed to take out two slayers with a lightning bolt.

On dwarf turn Juggo continued his hunt for the spectre now slaughtering the defenseless quarrelers. Hammerers, warriors and flamers continued their long march towards combat area. The quarrelers fleeing from shore riders left the battle field. The shore riders would spend their next movement phase reforming at the edge of board.

Crossbow armed warriors on dwarf left shot at ship company marines leaving only five standing and breaking the unit. A small relief to hard pressed flank.

Right after this the marines in the middle are shot at and break.

ROUND 5

Shore riders spent their movement phase reforming after chasing the quarrelers of the table. Ship company flees but stays on the battle field. Both the guards and the wizard move closer to the warriors getting ready to charge them in the next round. The strange stale mate between the wardancers and slayers continues in the woods.

Janarion deals death amongst the quarrelers and a single dwarf is all that is left of the unit.

The dwarf warriors from right flank are finally hit by the elf center bolt thrower that impales three on one shot.

Reserve phase sees shore riders changing front to face the dwarf warriors and the guards advancing.

The ship company rallies and is ready to do battle again. But they are pretty far from where all the action is.

The dwarf right continues to close in to the center where all the action is. The last remaining quarreler is lucky enough to escape Janarion out of the battle field. Janarion follows but stops at the edge of table and passes bound host check. He will remain on the battlefield to kill more stunties. But Juggo is closing on him.

On hard pressed dwarf left the warriors wheel to face both the shore riders and the guards.

The flame cannon manages to find it´s target hitting the scouts in the edge of the woods. Two elves are killed and the rest flee. Now there´s only the bolt thrower that can harrast the advancing warriors and hammerers.

Some more movement during the reserve phase ends round 5.

Juggo the giant slayer closing in on Janarion who sends 

the last quarreler fleeing of the table.

Elf main force prepares to charge the warriors.

ROUND 6

The shore riders charge but the guard are still too far from the enemy and just march forward. Janarion spends his movement phase getting his things together after the chase. Ship company wheel left towards the center of the battle field and scouts flee just barely managing to stay on play board.

Only one dwarf is killed in the melee between shore riders and warriors but that is enough for elves to win the combat. The warriors are pushed back but their morale holds.

So ineffective shooting by bolt throwers once again. Eachotah would love to take a shot at Juggo but his view is blocked by the melee.

And then the scouts manage to rally.

Warriors and hammerers hurry on and are slowly starting to be a threat to elven main force. Juggo goes after Janarion now moving towards the flame cannon.

The close combat between warriors and shore riders end in a draw as both sides can´t manage to kill anyone. Time for the guards to step in!

A flame thrower tries to fire at rallied scouts but the distance is too long and the shot falls short.

Dwarven left flank - situation at the end of round 6.

At the end of round six things were looking good for the elves but the strongest dwarf units were still untested. Would they be able to turn the tables? That will become clear in the next part of this report.

High Elf vs Dwarf - Battle Report

This is my first posting in english and by far the longest text yet.


This game was played 28th feb 2016 in Fantasiapelit Oulu (a local game store). Thank you Tumppi for letting us use the gaming boards and scenery pieces!

We used WFB 3rd edition rules and army lists from Warhammer: Armies book. Point limit 1200. Characters were limited to max LVL15 and no mages. Troop miminas from dwarves were removed.

SETUP
The dwarves set up first. Their main melee unit of 12 hammerers with general and army standard stood on dwarf right flank. Next to hammerers there was a team of sappers then the flame cannon and a flame thrower team. Safe distance from both on dwarf left were 20 dwarf warriors. In front of warrior and war machines in skirmish formation 10 crossbow armed dwarves too position.

Setup is ready. Elven marine bolt battery is just out of picture to the right.

High elf line was pretty spread up. Farthest to the left were warriors with their two handed swords, heading for dwarf flank around a little hillock. On the other side of that hillock, facing dwarf warmachines, stood Thabioh the giant. Behind a hegderow in the elf middle general Janarion and his merchant company were readying their longbows and next to them were the wardancers. Far to the right of anyone else the crew of the bolt battery set up their machine on a hill.

A closer look on the dwarf setup

TURN 1

The elves moved first. Warriors and Thabioh advanced towards dwarf line while wardancers jumped over the hedge and headed for woods located on the dwarf left. Merchant company took aim on skirmishing quarrelers but failed to wound any. Bolt battery fired at hammerers and missed. On reserve phase both warriors, Thabioh and the wardancers continued their forward movement.

On their first turn the dwarves held position and waited for elves to close in. The sapper team worked busily and set up a palisade to protect the flame cannon from missile fire. Quarrelers shot a the advancing giant hitting him multiple times and managed to find a weak spot in his hide. Thabioh was wounded once. First blood to dwarves. A startling hissing could be heard as flame cannon was building pressure to be able to fire next turn.

The elves advance

TURN 2
Second turn continued with the elves advancing. Warriors marched on the other side of small hillock and wheeled a bit to face the hammerers. Thabioh slowed down his pace so that warriors could keep up with him and he wouldn´t have to face the hammerers alone. Wardancers almost reached the forest on dwarf left. Merchant company was able to down one quarreler but bolt battery missed again. Reserve phase saw some more advancing with Thabioh readying himself to charge the hammerers next turn.

Having competed the palisade the dwarf sappers were out of things to do and were ordered forward by their general to slow down the approaching giant. The quarrelers moved out of the flame cannon´s line of fire but were stuck in front of the dwarf warriors who were not able to move to support the hammerers on their right. Having moved the quarrelers were unable to shoot but flame cannon had now enough pressure for their first shot. Or perhaps more than enough pressure...

Waiting for quarrelers to move out of way...

A huge explosion ripped apart the flame cannon and the crewmember who lit the charge. Two other crewmen were spilled with burning liquid and for a moment two living torches were seen stubling on charred ground. The flame cannon had misfired and was destroyed taking it´s crew with it. Not intimitated by their colleagues fate the flamethrower crew managed to hit Thabioh but failed to wound him. During reserve phase the quarrelers hurried to clear the way for warriors.

TURN 3
Turn three started with Thabioh and the wardancers charging. Thabioh went for the sapper team and wardancer moved through wood to take on the quarrelers now standing between the dwarf warriors and woods. Quarrelers decided to move out of harms way and managed to do so. Wardancers were now threatening the dwarf warriors´ left flank. On the other side the sappers stood fast as Thabioh charged them. They were told by their general to buy some time and that they would do. Shooting continued with merchant company hitting and killing the flame thrower crew. Bolt battery finally hit something and nailed two dwarf warriors together with one large projectile. In the uneven melee between a giant and two dwarves Thabioh thought it would be funny to do some midget tossing. A hapless sapper got picked up and thrown at the hammerers four of whom were hit by the living missile. The hammerers survived, the missile didn´t. The remaining sapper tried to hit back but to no avail. Even though pushed back he did not break. Elf warriors wheeled and moved closer to be able to charge the hammerers who would undoubtedly charge Thabioh on their next turn.

In the beginning to dwarf turn three things were starting to look a bit grim for the stunties. Their warmachines were out of play, hammerers were getting outflanked and warriors were in danger of getting charged to flank. Something had to be done to swing the momentum. Thus the hammerers changed the giant. The dwarf warriors reformed to face the wardancer troupe and quarrelers stopped next to the warriors. Hammerers managed to wound Thabioh twice and he was down to four wounds now. Angried by being hurt he started jumping up and down on the little bearded ones but tripped and fell on his right side. The remaining dwarf sapper was unlucky enough to crushed beneath him.

Big man down

TURN 4
As turn four begun the elves saw Thabioh trying to get back to his feet. The giant was clearly in trouble but the hammerers were now alone and exposed. It was time to act. Elf warriors charged for the hammerers flank and general Janarion with his merchant company left the cover of hedgerow and started advancing towards the middle of the battlefield. Luckily for the hammerers the elf warriors were too far away and could not charge the dwarves. They became unformed and would spend their next movement phase reforming. On elf right the wardancers decided to evade the dwarf warriors and charged the quarrelers who now readied their axes and stood. In shooting phase a single dwarf warrior was killed by the merchant company´s arrows. Bolt battery once again hit nothing. In combat phase the hammerers scored multiple hits on Thabioh but could not wound him. Despite charging the quarrelers the wardancers missed all their attacks and even lost one of their number to the dwarves´ attacks. During reserve phase merchant company continued to advance.

Charge fails and elf warriors become unformed

As wardancers were in combat with the quarrelers the dwarf warriors changed formation to face the merchant company and moved forward. In the hammerers vs. Thabioh melee the dwarf general was finally able to wound Thabioh with his degenerating sword that drained the giant´s toughness to 1. With just one wound left at that stage Thabioh jumped for last time in him life killing four hammerers before succumbing to two handed hammer blows. In wardancers vs. quarrelers brawl no hits were scored. The hammerers reformed to face the elf warriors and dwarf warriors mached forward during the reserve phase. Would the dwarves be able to take the initiative now that the giant was dead?

TURN 5
The elf warriors on the left spent this movement phase reforming after failed charge. Merchant company stopped and prepared their bows. General Janarion took an enchanted arrow from his quiver, released it and watched it turn in flight into 14 arrows. The merchant company really found their mark this time and mow down four hammerers who were now down to general, army standard bearer and three elite dwarves. With the help of generals high LD dwarves passed their panic test for losing great numbers to shooting. Bolt battery missed yet again. Wardancers performed abysmally vs. quarrelers. Wounding none and losing two of their number they broke and ran for cover in the woods.

Missile fire is super effective versus hammerers

Hammerers charged the elf warriors and the dwarf warriors started to threaten elven general and his unit. Quarrelers had no targets in range and moved forward a bit. In close combat dwarf general and hammerers managed to kill two elves, lost one of their number and lost the battle due the elves´ rank bonus. They were pushed back but their morale held.


TURNS 6-7
I´ve put these two turns together as they were pretty uneventful. The grinding melee between the elven warriors and the hammerers went on with both sides losing one or two per round, elves winning the combat with rank bonus and dwarves refusing to break despite being pushed back time and time again. Finally at turn 7 the elves remembered to wrap around the remaining dwarf general and standard bearer and started getting free hacks.

Hammerers are slowly cut down by elf warriors´ two handed swords

In the middle merchant company showed what proper training and leadership can acchive as they first wheeled backwards, then shot at dwarf warriors and finally on reserve phase marched backwards to get out of charge range on both turns. Two dwarf warriors were lost to missile fire. Wardancers failed to rally and left the battlefield.

TURN 8
Having the hedge behind them and seeing that the dwarf general was about to go down the merchant company readied themselves and charged the dwarf warriors. They would just have to hold on for two rounds and elf warriors would be able to charge the dwarves from behind. As expected the dwarf general and his stardard bearer were finally slain. A grenade tossed from the dwarf warrior unit killed two of merchant company´s elves before they charged. Not suprisingly the elves lost the combat and were pushed back. But not having lost too many of their numbers the elves did not have make a rout test. In reserve phase elf warriors reformed to face the dwarf warriors´ backside. But when trying to move closer they failed their LD check, stopped and became unformed. They would lose their next turn reforming and not be able to help merchant company.

Dwarf warriors push back the merchant company

Dwarf quarrelers took advantage of eight elf warriors milling around in front of them. They released a deadly wolley that cut down two foes. The elves however passed their panic test. Close combat between dwarf warriors and merchant company went on with elves being pushed back. Both sides lost one or two warriors but morale held.

Not a good place to be unformed

TURN 9
Elf warriors spent the turn reforming and being shot at. With their back against the hedge elves of the merchant company found new strenght, felled three dwarves without any casualties and were now able to push back the dwarves who passed their morale check.

Elven casualties on the side of gaming table

Quarrelers kept on peppering the elf warriors whos ranks were quickly thinning. They were down to five elves at this point but their morale was still high. Dwarf warriors were not impressed but merchant company´s sudden burst of inspiration and avenged the previous push back by killing three elves and pushing them back agains the hedge again.

TURNS 10-11
Elf warriors hurried to help the dwindling merchant company now in danger of being overwhelmed. During these two turns last of the elf general´s unit was slowly cut to pieces and finally in the dwarf combat phase of turn 11 was the elven general surrounded and killed. The elves had however seld their lives costly. Only the unit champion, standard bearer and three warriors were left of once 20 strong unit. One more elf warrior was killed by crossbow fire. After many rounds of missing everything the bolt battery managed to kill a quarreler.

Marine Bolt battery overlooking the battlefield

TURN 12 - THE END

The last remaining elf warriors charged the last of dwarf warriors. The dwarf hero leading the unit and a single dwarf were killed. Both armies exhausted we called it a day.

In the end there were eleven dwarves and six elves left alive on the battlefield. By looking at points the elves had won but the cost was horrible. Both sides lost their general and about 90% of their troops. Elves managed to capture dwarves´ army standard. They can be sure that the dwarves will try to get it back in the future.

All in all we had great time. Some mistakes with rules were made as we forgot a couple of fear rolls and so on. Even though the game lasted 12 rounds it was played in just over three hours as there was so few units and no magic.

Hope you enjoyed!