Forces
Circle Orboros (Bernd Freigang)
Battlegroup
-4 pts
Kromac the Ravenous
11 pts
Megalith
10 pts
Warpwolf Stalker
4 pts
Gorax
2 pts
Druid Wilder
Units
8 pts
Tharn Bloodtrackers, max
2 pts
Nuala the Huntress, UA
5 pts
Druid Stoneward & Woldstalkers
2 pts
Shifting Stones
1 pts
Stonekeeper UA
Solos
1 pts
Warwolf
Khador (Matthias Stein)
Battlegroup
-3 pts
Zevanna Agha, Old Witch of Khador
free pts
Scrapjack
1 pts
Wardog
9 pts
Devastator
8 pts
Kodiak
8 pts
Kodiak
Units
6 pts
Winter Guard, max
2 pts
Officer & Standard Bearer, UA
3 pts
3 x Rocketeer, UA
2 pts
Battlemechanics, min
Solos
2 pts
Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich
2 pts
Manhunter
2 pts
Widowmaker Marksman
The Game
Deployment
Without advance deployed models.
Turn 1
Circle Turn 1
The Bloodtrackers choose as their Prey the Winter Guard unit. They opened the game by advancing towards them into the wood, the Warwolf trailing them (obviously Bernd does not trust him anymore to take his own decisions…).
In the center, the Shifting Stones teleported forward, the Wolds ran forward.
Kromac cast Warpath, Inviolable Resolve on Megalith and Wild Aggression on the Stalker. Then he charged a Kodiak.
Megalith was forced to run and was then riled for two Fury. The Stalker warped Prowl and was forced to run. The Gorax ran as well as did the Druid Wilder.
Khador Turn 1
The Old Witch camped on Focus. The three 'jacks advanced in line. Scrapjack slighty repositioned (into Zevanna's control area, where I foolishly did not deploy him in…), then the Witch repositioned using Unseen Path. She then placed Murder of Crows into the wood to block the direct route to the Winter Guard for the Bloodtrackers. She continued to support them by granting them Iron Flesh.
Feeling confident by the efforts their commader had put in place to support them, the Winter Guardists ran forward. The Kovnik advanced behind them and gave them the speech detailing the Courage of the Forefathers.
The Wardog moved up to Zevannah, sniffing for enemies he could protect her from.
The Manhunter ran into the forest on the Khadoran left flank.
The Marksman advanced, taking cover behind the wall, and shot a Wyrd in its eye … ahem… crystal…
Turn 2
Circle Turn 2
Kromac leached all Fury and upkept all his spells.
The Bloodtrackers cautiously advanced around the whirling mass of crows and threw their spears on the Winter Guardists. From four thrown spears, one fell short, the other three hit and killed the Khadoran soldiers - but one remembered the Courage of the Forefathers Grigorovich just spoke about and refused to die. The Bloodtrackers /Reform/ed after their attacks and retreated 3".
The Warwolf did not catch the retreat direction and stupidly continued racing forward.
Megalith was forced to trample. He then Gemancied Rift on the Marksman, but missed - the nearby cottage was shaken instead.
The Wyrds ran towards the Marksman.
The Stalker again warped Prowl and ran into the wood, he was then riled for 3. The Gorax ran forward as well.
Kromac advanced and cast Bestial.
The Shifting Stones teleported forward, and finally the Wilder ran forward as well.
Khador Turn 2
The Witch did not upkeep any spells. She allocated three Focus to the right most Kodiak and kept the rest.
The Winter Guard advanced, the three Rocketeers lined up in front of the Warwolf. The first one missed him, but the rocket deviated harmlessly. The second hit him squarly in the chest, distributing Wolf chunks all over the place.
The other Guardists used Grapeshots (except one who forgot about Stealth) and killed two Bloodtrackers, one Shifting Stone and caused three points of damage on the Stalker.
The Kovnik kept reminding the Winter Guardists of the Courage of the Forefathers.
The Manhunter ran from the wood to the cottage, continuing his flanking manoeuvre.
The Marksman repositioned and shattered another crystal with a well placed bullet (and thus killed another Stalker).
Scrapjack moved slightly forward and Zevannah arc noded Gallows though him on the Warpwolf - which mist because of the Stealth gained by Prowl. I advanced the Wardog to block charge lanes, then moved Zevannah forward and popped her Feat. The attentive reader will notice, that this was her second activation - the failed Gallows somehow confused me, I considered the casting as part of Scrapjack's activation. Generously Bernd forgave me that error and allowed me to finish her activation after having activated other models in between.
Turn 3
Circle Turn 3
Kromac leached all available Fury and upkept Warpath and Wild Aggression. He let go of Inviolable Resolve.
The Bloodtrackers advanced, suffering one casualty due to Zevannah's Feat, then again threw their spears at the unit of Winter Guards. The first thrown spear killed a Winter Guard.
The one kill triggered Warpath on the the Stalker. This in turn allowed the Wardog to charge the Circle heavy (which he missed) and to return to his starting position.
The Hunters then killed another Khadoran but he remembered the Courage of the Forefathers. Nuala killed the same guy again - this time for good. The other knocked down Winter Guard was again saved by tough.
Megalith trampled towards the Wardog and was forced to use Geomany on him. He hit with a boosted to hit roll, the boosted the damage as well - rolling a triple one!
The Druid Wilder advanced a bit to far and got killed by the Feat.
The Gorax cast his animus Primal on the Stalker.
Kromac advanced, suffering 10 points of damage from the Feat. He cast Rift on the Wardog with a boosted hit roll, and a boosted damage roll (1, 1, 2 this time), which nevertheless killed the dog - but he made his Tough roll.
Kromac then feated as well, cutting himself for 6 Fury (one more and he would have been dead). He cast Rift again, and this time the Wardog was killed. As there was nothing more to do he healed three damage points from the Stalker.
The Stalker warped Strength and advanced, suffering three points of damage due to the Feat. He then attacked Zevannah, barely getting her into mellee range (6mm shorter and he would have missed). He hit (automatically boosted by Wild Aggression) her and caused 15 point of damage. With a forced second attack he killed her.
Aftermath
Bernd (Circle)
This game I was not happy with how I used my Woldstalkers. I should not have moved them in the middle of the table. It would have been much better to move them to my right flank. Then they would have had cover behind the walls.
Another small mistake was that I forgot that my Warpwolves can be forced to regenerate (I forgot this ability in my last three games :D ).
In my third turn the decision of whether to go for an assassination attempt or not was a tough call. The stalker made it into melee range with the witch, but it was really close.
I think moving the which from behind the house in the open was a mistake on Matthias behalf. If the which had stayed behind the house she would have been 100% safe. She would not have gotten as many models in her feat then, but hey, it does not really matter if the warcaster is dead next turn, does it? ;o)
Good game and I'm looking forward to the next, hopefully I will manage to paint some new models till then. :D
Matthias (Khador)
This game went pretty well … until my caster got killed.
I think I handled my right flank really good, preventing the Bloodtrackers from taking advantage of having Prey/ed the Winterguard. With a combination of spells (/Murder of Crows and Iron Flesh) and the Kovniks eloquence, I buffed the grunts and hampered the Bloodtracker's movement, all the while getting closer to them and attacking them.
The center… well… the three 'jacks abreast could have absorbed an attack by the Circle 'beasts and retaliated, I think. But my plan to push the Stalker forward to be charged by the up-Focused Kodiak was flawed from the beginning. First, I forgot that he had Stealth. Second, I would not have been able to Push him forward, because of the Bloodtracker (Push ends with the first model/obstruction touched). Third, Scrapjack was in Kromacs control area, so Bestial would have prevented him from arc noding…
I think I also handled my left flank really good. The Manhunter flanked the Circle forces, and would have been a real threat to the Circle rear. The Marksman single handedly diverted a whole unit (the Stalkers), and killed one of them each turn.
But I again exposed my caster too much… I wanted to maximise her Feat range, and even placed models to protect her … but not enough. I should have moved the left Kodiak in base contact with Scrapjack instead of the Wardog, this would probably have saved Zevannah. As it was, I placed her 6mm to far forwards… Even Bernd was not sure if he would be able to contact her… his risky move would have meant his definite defeat of the game, if the distance would have been to much… but remember, page 5's rule Play like you got a pair! pays off!
But this game again proved the ongoing uselessnes of the Warwolf :-)