This week it’s once again Orcs and Goblins vs. the High elves, in another pitched battle... but don’t cry boring we have already seen it, because this time it’s at 2000 points. Yer, bet you never saw that coming. And we have a (in)famous character on the table this game, the high mage Teclis.
First off let’s not forget the lists. My list this game tried to learn from past mistakes whist trying out new ideas. I know I really should try to get a set list to experiment around before I do this but that will happen soonish. But anyway, about the past mistakes I tried to learn from. First, in my last game my general level 4 shaman died first turn to a most unfortunate circumstance which I never want to happen again. So I have tried to counteract this in two ways, Having a black orc bigboss to be my general and having an auxiliary shaman in case he dies. Normally this would be a level 2 goblin but as I'm against high elves I felt this wouldn’t be effective and got a second lord mage, a level 3 Night Goblin shaman. Expensive, yes, but I want to try it out never the less. On a poor wind roll I still have a good chance of getting off the right spell and on a good wind roll I have the opportunity to do some real damage to my opponent. The second, is no/the wrong artillery, and my answer to this is one doom diver and one rock lobber. I feel that should be more than enough artillery but only time will tell. One last note, I have been thinking why should I take any command on goblins who are never going to win combat, only hold the enemy long enough for something better to come and bash them. So by not taking any command on goblin units I'm freeing up about 40 points to spend elsewhere. What do you guys think?
Orcs and Goblin list 2001 points (my bad 1 over)
Lords
Orc Great shaman – 265 w/ boyz
Lvl 4, Fencers blades, Talisman of endurance (fists of gork, ‘Eadbutt, ‘Ere we go, Foot of Gork)
Night goblin Great shaman – 165 w/ Night goblins
Lvl 3, Dispel scroll (Vindictive gaze, gift of the spider god, Itchy nuisance)
Heroes
Black Orc Bigboss – 135 w/ boyz
Heavy armor, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Sword of Striking, General
Orc Bigboss – 129 w/ boyz
Battle standard, Armor of silvered steal, great weapon
Night Goblin Bigboss – 34
Great weapon
Core
40 Orc Boyz – 315
Full command, additional hand weapon
36 Night Goblins – 178
Nets, fanatic
40 Common Goblins – 160
Shield, 2 x Nasty skulkers
5 spider riders – 65
5 spider riders – 65
Special
6 common trolls- 210
Wolf chariot – 50
Rare
Rock lobber – 85
Doom Diver – 80
Manger spider (squig really but I use a spider instead as I will use it for my forest goblin army if it ever gets done) – 65
So there is my army, I was confident with it for once. While my past armies have had a Major flaw I feel this one had the potential to win with this army. It didn’t lack in any one region with both orcs and trolls for combat, artillery for shooting and two good mages for magic. I was quietly confident.
High elf army list – 1997
Lord
Teclis – 475
High elf lore
Heroes
Battle standard bearer – 116
Bsb, heavy armor, shield
Dragon Mage – 385
Silver wand, guardian phoenix (piercing bolts of burning, flaming sword of rhuin)
Core
25 spearmen – 240
Standard, musician
24 spearmen – 255
Standard, musician
10 archers – 110
Special
12 swordmasters – 240
Full command, trickster’s pendent
Rare
Repeater bolt thrower – 100
Repeater bolt thrower – 100
And that’s the high elf army. I don’t know why but once again I was taken by surprise by the use of a dragon. It just catches me off guard. Now I have ways to deal with the dragon this game so it doesn’t worry me as much as it could. But Teclis could be a major problem as he’s proper gay thanks to high lore master. But hopefully if I can deal with him sooner rather than later I won’t get destroyed.
Deployment
We rolled for sides with the elf winning picking to go on the side with a hill with the best line of sight. Rolling for deployment I own making him start deploying first (he was always going to finish deploying before me getting the +1 to his roll so I made his go first so I could see where he went). Using my two units of spider riders as well I got a good feel of where his army was going to be so I think I countered it ok... probably could have done better thinking about it but I was happy at the time. We roll for who goes first and I win electing to go first... let’s see if I can squash a dragon.
OnG turn 1
To begin the turn every one passes their animosity bar the spider riders on my left flank who start squabbling. And yes I did forget my vanguard move (again!) before anything mentions it. So With the majority of the boyz doing what they are supposed to, they moved forward towards the elves.
Magic phase and a very good start for my standards, none of my mages died to a miscast or exploded due to an evil dispel scroll so I'm quite happy with how it went. However, Teclis did use his scroll of Hoeth on the orc shaman when he tried to ‘eadbutt him, making him forget the spell, and then dispelled the vindictive gaze of my gobbo shaman. Not too bad. Shooting and my Doom diver (DD) misses his target and ends up in the middle of nowhere even after flapping towards the enemy. The exiting bit next as the rock lobber targets the dragon and gets a lock on!!! Rolling to see who gets the big chunk of rock, and it hits the mage... damn. I roll to wound the mage and he is wounded but his 5+ ward saves him from the rock. The dragon just shrugs off the irritating strength 3 hit. Great...
High elf 1
After getting a rock thrown at him the dragon mage decides to take the fight to the enemy swooping towards the night goblins triggering the fanatic who fails to hit so the dragon bypasses it ending its move on the goblins flank. The rest of the army stays still apart from the sword masters shuffling to the side to let the blot thrower have a better view.
Magic and a very strong wind blows giving the elf mage a chance to decimate me. Teclis starts by casting Vauls unmaking on the large or unit which got dispelled by my orc shaman. Flames of the phoenix was thrown at the large block of orcs but the goblin desperately stopped it using his dispel scroll. Fury of khaine blasted my trolls causing two wounds which failed to get regenerated. Curse of arrow attraction was also cast on the trolls and finally the dragon mage attempts to cast piercing bolts on the night goblins, attempting to dispel it and it unfortunately gets though. This causes 17 hits which ends up killing 9.
Shooting and a bolt thrower targets the trolls but gets stuck in its gut and pulled out thanks to rapid regeneration. The other bolt thrower targeted the wolf chariot but only clipped it dealing 1 wound. Finally the archers target the mangler spider but somehow manage to kill it in one volley!!! 10 shots... 1/3 hit, 1/3 wound... it should have taken about 1.1 wounds... ok looking at it, he should have lived, damn stats making me think he was safe! Finally the dragon takes a big breath and once again flames my goblins and clips a few orcs. Luckily only 5 goblins die and unfortunately 5 orcs die.
OnG Turn 2
Once again the spiders on my left fail their animosity test and just yell at each other once again (come on ladz get your act together) but what’s worse the night goblins, common goblins and orcs decide to follow suit and squabble as well. The orcs were beaten back into submission by the black orc general. The orcs and trolls continue on their march towards the elven lines, unfortunately unsupported by the goblins. The fanatic unfortunately kills himself with a roll of a double.
Magic and the orc shaman, seeing he is outmatched by a superior mage, uses 5 dice to cast warpath of gork, targeting the dragon. After the dice have stopped a double 6 appears, irresistible force. Gorks almighty foot crushes the dragon mage killing him outright, with no ward save helping him this time. Unfortunately the dragon remained unharmed from the godly foot but fails its leadership test and goes berserk on the monster reaction table gaining frenzy and hatred. Expecting the worst I rolled to see what happened next and to my surprise gork stomps the enemy again, but misses the spear men containing Teclis. He continues his warpath however hitting the other spear man unite squarely in the middle killing 12 of the unsuspecting elves. Once again I roll the die and gork decides to carry on but misses the swordmasters, gets board and wonders off. That was one hell of a warpath. Now for the miscast, thanks to the tricksters pendent I have to roll twice and pick the worst which was a strength 10 hit with a template... which fails to wound the shaman (well done you ard shaman) however 6 boyz die instead.
Shooting and the DD targets the dragon, hits but fails to wound. The rock lobber seeing the spear men unharmed by the mighty gork hurl a rock at them instead, hitting dead on including Teclis who fails to dodge out the way. Unfortunately due to bad rolling 6 regular elves die and Teclis is unharmed by the whole ordeal.
H.E turn 2
Fueled by fury the dragon charges the night goblins in front of it, but they hold. The badly wounded spear men heroically run in front of the wolf chariot to stop it being able to charge the archers next turn, ready to take its charge.
Magic and once again the elves have a ridicules number of dice compared to my small pool. Flames of the phoenix is stopped with all my dice giving the mage free rain over the battle field allowing him to cast vauls unmaking on my orcs again. The enchanted shield is destroyed. However in a lucky turn of events my opponent gets confident and rolls one die for curse of arrow attraction and gets a 1... end of magic phase.
Shooting and the archers and a bolt thrower target the wolf chariot destroying it. The other bolt thrower targets the trolls killing one outright.
Combat and the night goblins net themselves allowing the dragon to kill two goblins in combat. The end result of the combat is a draw allowing the goblins to reform to face the dragon.
OnG turn 3
The spider riders on my left finally get their act together and march towards the elves but the common goblins keep fighting amongst themselves. The spider riders on the right flank move through the ruins but two die... unfortunate.
Magic and the dice are even (damn it Teclis) but the night goblin shaman not being outdone by a pesky elf casts gift of the spider god on his own unit with irresistible force (on 2 dice!!) and once again takes no damage from the resulting miscast... my boyz know how to handle a miscast. The orc shaman seeing this casts foot of gork on the spear men with Teclis in and casts with irresistible force as well (on 3 dice) but gork once again misses. The resulting miscast is a power drain making him loose 3 levels and all of his remaining spells. He is now useless.
Shooting and the lobber misfires so it can’t fire this turn or next and the DD again misses.
Combat and the goblins net themselves again but still manage to poison the dragon twice winning the combat, but the dragon stays.
H.E Turn 3
In a most heroic effort the elves back away from the orcs... so very heroic. Teclis leaves the safety of the spear men and goes it alone. Magic and flames of the phoenix is once again stopped but vauls unmaking destroys the fencers blades carries by the orc shaman. With a terrible roll Teclis fails to cast fury of khaine ending his magic phase again. Shooting is uneventful as both bolt throwers miss and the archers fail to wound anyone. Combat and the dragon kills one night goblin, allowing the night goblins to deal 1 wound back to him. This time the dragon runs from combat, but the night goblins fail to catch him and he escapes (damn tricky dragon).
OnG turn 4
For once every unit decides to follow their commands and not fail an animosity test. With this amount of control my army moves towards the elves and is close to striking the elves. How I'm not in combat yet I don’t know.
Magic phase its 11 power dice to 10 dispel... how I hate Teclis and his ability to add dispel dice. Regardless I managed to get itchy nuisance cast on the sword masters reducing their movement and initiative down to 1 so they are unlikely to charge me next turn. Unfortunately the elf mage manages to shut down the rest of my magic... damn Teclis.
Shooting phase and the DD finally does some damage, aiming at archers the goblin scatters 4 inches but manages to flap his way back on target. He deals 3 wounds to the,, unfortunately the archers hold. A very short turn so on to the high elves.
H.E 4
The spear men charge the trolls on the right in a desperate attempt to break though the orc line. The swordmasters back off 1 inch, just behind the bolt thrower as its all they can do to protect themselves, while Teclis runs to the back field to avoid any combat. The other spear men reform to face the orc horde and the dragon continues to run from the battle field but is still on the table.
Magic phase and I'm in trouble, 10 power to my 4 dispel. Flames of the phoenix is cast on the orcs with irresistible force killing 5 boyz, wounding the general and shaman. That's one spell that I wanted to stop but damn Teclis. Fury is khaine is cast on the spiders on the right killing 2 reducing them down to one goblin. The swordmasters are then gifted with a shield, which I successfully stopped so I could damage the masters. With one final die the mage cast drain magic so I would have a more difficult time.
Shooting and the archers target the spiders on the left, only killing 1. The bolt thrower opens up a salvo at them killing the remainders. So my left flank has fallen apart, maybe I shouldn't send the squishy units against the shooting part of the enemy. Combat and the spear men deal 6 wounds to the trolls but the great beasts manage to regenerate all of them. The trolls however are more successful hitting 12 times and killing 8 of the elves. Unfortunately the elves stay in the fight.
OnG turn 5
The night goblins charge the spear men on the left in the flank while the boyz charge into the bolt thrower in order to overrun into the sword masters after combat. The common goblins just move towards the combats.
Magic and its 6 vs. 6, first gift of the spider god on the goblins is stopped in its tracks by the elves but itchy nuisance is cast on the spear elves reducing them down to initiative 1. The night goblins will be fast enough to not give the elves re-rolls now!
Shooting and the DD unable to see the arch-mage, target the archers instead but hoping for a scatter, lock on... Only killing 1. The rock lobber unable to see anything fires indirectly at the archers but scatters the full 10 and lands in the middle of the orcs and swordmasters killing one orc and two elves.
Combat and the trolls take 6 wounds from the spear men but manage to regenerate half of them. In retaliation from seeing a troll die, they kill 6 elves in return. However, once more the elves hold from the onslaught. The night goblins once again net themselves but take no damage from the elves and inflict 3 casualties on the elves. Unfortunately they elves stay thanks to a battle standard and nearby general, allowing them to reform in defeat. The orcs kill the bolt thrower crew and overrun into the swordmasters.
H.E turn 5
The dragon rallies and reforms and faces the artillery. The magic phase comes swiftly and forgetting to dispel flames of the phoenix last turn ends up killing 10 of the orcs... that's going to cost me dearly. Seeing the orcs as no more of a threat the master mage casts flames of the phoenix onto the common goblins killing 7 of them. Vauls unmaking was then cast onto the orcs removing the armor of silvered steal from the battle standard.
Shooting and nothing can see anything so it is skipped. Combat and the trolls only kill 2 elves but hold thanks to the nearby general. The night goblins net the elves and kill 3 elves to no loss of their own. Seeing that the goblins are over powering them the elves run but after a bad roll are caught and destroyed by the chasing night goblins. The Swordmasters kill the remaining orcs while the characters are too far away to attack the Swordmasters back. After such a disastrous combat the general and shaman flee leaving the battle standard to die holding up the banner as the sword master chase the general.
OnG turn 6
With only 2 units left, both goblins no animosity was about, the night goblins charge the archers and the common goblins attempt to charge the Swordmasters but fail to roll enough.
Magic and nothing is cast, all being shut down by the high elves.
Shooting and the DD finally can target the troublesome elf mage and hits him dead on, killing him. Combat and the trolls kill the remaining spear men. The night goblins kill the archers and hold on the hill.
H.E turn 6
The Swordmasters charge the fleeing general catching and killing him while the dragon charges the DD. The bolt thrower targets the night goblins on its flank killing 3. Combat and the dragon destroys the DD.
End of game and we add up victory points were very close:
High elves: 1425
Orcs and Goblins: 1348
So the end result is a draw. Well that's better than a loss I guess.
Learning points.
- Well this game I ended up with a draw, not a loss so I must have done something better than in my last few games. It’s just a question of what. And that I’m not entirely sure... if you could let me know that would be great.
- Having the backup shaman was defiantly a great idea for this game as magic was crucial this game it seemed. I am going to have to try this out more often. The level 3 night goblin shaman is very good utilising his mushroom dice on less dice after my big spell has gone off or before to try and get it to go though unhindered... if that makes sense. Either way I like it.
- Using the speedy flank failed due to animosity causing an disjointed force and very lucky roles from my opponent. I will have to try out the chariots and manger spider again to see what I feel it can do.
- Finally and most importantly the goblins. goblins, goblins, goblins... I thought they would be best used as a steadfast block but it appears this game they needed their standard, at least for the first round of combat. If nothing else the musician would have helped them and gives me the option for a fast reform if I need to. So maybe if I just try that in the next game and see what happens? it just doesn't seem likely that the banner will help them win on its own as goblins are crap in combat. I guess I will just have to see.
Anyway I think this is long enough. Thanks for reading.
Malduran
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