Reigniting Old Grudges (Battle Report)

 

"Come and get it!"

Once again The Bob and I convened to conduct a battle in The Old World. This time he chose to play High Elves and I decided to finally introduce my Dwarfs to a battlefield. A classic grudge fight indeed. Bob and I like to set up battlefields that look like battlefields but at the same time seem to also be fair with the cover and higher terrain. Of course with Fantasy we have to also keep it sparse and open so that there is room to fight. 

The battlefield.

Ok, let's check out these lists: 

110 - Mage, Wizard Level 2, High Magic (Spells randomly generated at set-up: Firey Convocation and Shield of Saphory. 

128 - Noble, Full Plate Armour, Shield, Pure of Heart, General, Sword of Might, Talisman Of Protection

197 - 15 Lothern Sea Guard, Shield, Sea Master, Standard Bearer, Musician

138 - 5 Silver Helms, Shield, High Helm, Standard Bearer, Musician

181 - 10 Phoenix Guard, Keeper of the Flame, Standard Bearer, Musician

158 - 10 White Lions of Chrace, Valour of Ages, Guardian, Standard Bearer, Musician

80 - Eagle-Claw Bolt Thrower

The High Elves nuster.

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Helga's Entourage  [999 pts]

Warhammer: The Old World, Dwarfen Mountain Holds, Open War

===

++ Characters [314 pts] ++

Queen Helga [247 pts] 

- Hand weapon

- Full plate armour

- Shield

- General

- On foot

- Master Rune of Adamant

- Rune of Speed

- Rune of Shielding

Special Rules: Ancestral Grudge, Dwarf Crafted, Gromril Armour, Gromril Weapons, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Rallying Cry, Resolute, Stubborn

Thane [67 pts] 

- Hand weapon

- Full plate armour

- Shield

- On foot

- Enchanted Rune

Special Rules: Ancestral Grudge, Dwarf Crafted, Gromril Armour, Gromril Weapons, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Rallying Cry, Resolute, Stubborn

++ Core Units [362 pts] ++

10 Thunderers [110 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Handguns

- Heavy armour

- Veteran (champion) [Handgun]

- Standard bearer

Special Rules: Close Order, Dwarf Crafted, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Resolute

10 Dwarf Warriors [105 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Heavy armour

- Shields

- Veteran

- Standard bearer

- Musician

Special Rules: Close Order, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Resolute, Shieldwall

12 Dwarf Warriors [147 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Heavy armour

- Great weapons

- Shields

- Veteran

- Veteran (champion)

- Standard bearer

- Musician

Special Rules: Close Order, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Resolute, Shieldwall

++ Special Units [105 pts] ++

Cannon [105 pts] 

- Cannon

- Hand weapons

- Light armour

- Rune of Reloading

Special Rules: Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Skirmishers, Stubborn

++ Rare Units [218 pts] ++

10 Irondrakes [218 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Drakeguns

- Full plate armour

- Drilled

- Ironwarden (champion) [Trollhammer torpedo]

- Standard bearer [Rune of Battle]

- Musician

Special Rules: Close Order, Detachment, Gromril Armour, Hatred (Orcs & Goblins), Magic Resistance (-1), Resolute, Runes of Warding, Stubborn

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Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

The Dwarfs muster and review their books of grudges.

We are playing Pitch Battle, and after the roll-off I deployed first, and we took it in turn with placing our units, I finished first which gave me a +1 one on the "who goes first" roll-off. I ended up going first. 

High Elf Deployment. 

Dwarf Deployment. 

TURN ONE. 

The Dwarfs were too far out to hit anything and the cannon missed. 

The High Elves moved up, and repositioned their units while peppering the Thunderers with arrows from the Seaguard and the Bolt Thrower. A few of the Thunderers fell to this cowardly assault, and they shouted defiant curses at the treacherous elves.  

The dwarfs take casualties from shooting.

TURN TWO

Stymied by the High Elf maneuvers the Dwarfs struggled to get into position for either a charge or for shooting. The cannon missed again sadly, but at least now I was getting used to how to use the thing. None of their other shooting managed to eliminate any Elves as the crafty bastards kept making their saves!

The High Elves brought the fight to the dwarfs with the Silver Helms crashing into the Thunderers. Much to my surprise the Thunderers were not killed outright nor did they break. Again, we marveled at how the mounts out-performed their riders. 

The Silver Helms charge! 

TURN THREE

The Dwarfs start out Turn 3 with a pile of dead and no defeated High Elves to show for their efforts. This was about to change. Finally, the cannon hits the Sea Guard killing three of them. The Queen and the Warriors with the two-handed weapons charge the White Lions, Queen Helga issues a challenge to the High Elf Army General, and she manages to fell the High Elf leader in single combat. Despite this awesome event, the unit over-all was out-fought by the White Lions who won his combat. Thanks to Queen Helga's Leadership they did not break. 

Killer Queen.

Not at all stymied by the Dwarfen turn of luck, the High Elves pressed their advantage and continued with their assault. The Phoenix Guard charged into the Thane who was joined with the Warriors with Hand Weapons and Shields. The Thane Challenged the Phoenix Guard Champion to a fight but he wimped out and hid behind the cloaks of his men. Perhaps they were demoralized by that cowardly act, but the Phoenix Guard lost that combat but they did not break. Ok, in reality the 1.5 FAQ that helps out infantry, particularly those fighting with sword and shield, was really the decider here. 

The Phoenix Guard fall (worry not,, they'll rise from the ashes).

Despite that win for the dwarfs, the rest of the turn all bad news for them. The Silver Helms finally finish off the Thunderers, and the Warrios with th e double-handed weapons were wiped out. Queen Helga, now on here own, failed her break test and was ran down by the White Lions. That event alone has earned the High Elves a page in the Book of Grudges. 

TURN FOUR

Oh, not a happy sight for the Dwarfs is it? Clearly the field is being controlled by the High Elves at this point. I tried in vain to get the Iron Drakes into a position which would allow them to be in this game somehow. The Ironwarden did kill a Seaguard with a Troll Hammer Torpedo, but the rest of his lads were out of range. In an act of desperation, the cannon crew fired grapeshot into the approaching White Lions and they actually managed to kill one of them. Pressured by his men, the Phoenix Guard Champion accepted the challenge from the Thane and, as he feared, was slain. 

Not looking good foe the dwarfs.

The White Lions charge the Cannon, and amazingly, one of the crew takes one of the Lions out. It was all in vain though as the White Lions utterly destroyed the cannon and the crew in return. 

Battle foe the battery.

And the Thane with his unit of Warrior wipe out the Phoenix Guard. 

TURN Five

When the Thane looked about he saw that this battle was a disaster. Both of the armies had lost their leaders but the High Elves had many more units still capable and strong. Both armies fired at each other but the few casualties inflicted failed to make a difference. 

Fire fight!

With the dead leader bonuses added, the banners collected, and the dead tallied up, it was a strong victory for the High Elves 764 points to my....well, damn, I didn't record the score for the Dwarfs but it was no where near the High Elf score. 

So what went wrong with the Dwarfs? Mostly my inexperience with them. That 3 Movement is a serious factor against them and I think you have to really pick a point on the battlefield as you start deploying that you are going to defend to the death and just take it. They are not good at maneuvering and none of them have an Open Order formation to assist them. The Irondrakes felt this the most as they were put down to counter the High Elf Calvary who, wisely, were not about to just charge into those waiting guns, As a result they spent much of the game just trying to get into a position where they could participate in the battle. My in experience with the cannon was also on display here but at least I didn't blow it up! The Queen was a rock star, and if it weren't for my failing that break test I think she would have cut down more of the White Lions. My MVP was clearly the Warrior with the hand weapons and shield, they were just stellar. As much as I want to change a few elements of this list, I do think half the battle was lost for me at deployment, so I want to give this list a second shake before I revamp it. 

As for the High Elves, Bob played them very well, and I don't think there is anything he did I would do differently. It's a dice game after all, and they have a way of confounding the most perfect of plans, but this time the High Elves overcame the odds and pulled out a solid win.  But it is worth noting that for the second game in a row, we both saw the Bolt Thrower perform better than the internet says it should. Perhaps they're not using it right? Regardless, the temptation to get one for my dwarfs is indeed very strong. 

All-in-all it was a fun game! We hope you enjoyed this report, and we hope to get another one played soon. 

"There's another one, fire!!!"