MSU-Battle-Reports (English)

Larry the Loremaster, Book of Hoeth, Talisman of Endurance – 315
Bob the Battle Standard Bearer, Heavy Armour, Shield of the Merwyrm, Golden Crown of Atrazar – 124
Noble, Barded Elven Steed, Heavy Armour, Shield, Star Lance, Dragon Helm, Potion of Foolhardiness – 136
Noble, Barded Elven Steed, Heavy Armour, Lance, Enchanted Shield, Dawnstone, Potion of Strength – 145

15 Archers, Full Command – 180
15 Sea Guard, Full Command – 210
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Musician, Bows, Spears – 105
5 Ellyrian Reavers, Musician, Bows, Spears - 105

5 Dragon Princes, Banner of Eternal Flame – 165
5 Dragon Princes – 145
10 Swordmasters, Bladelord – 140
10 Swordmasters, Bladelord – 140
10 White Lions, Gleaming Pennant – 145
10 White Lions, Standard of Discipline – 155

Bolt Thrower – 70
Great Eagle – 50
5 Sisters of Avelorn – 70

Army Total: 2400

As you can see the main change was in the Characters section. Larry and Bob got some new equipment and two (at the moment nameless nobles) were also added to the army. I got rid of the musicians in many units and I also made some compromises here and there in order to accommodate new additions. It is still WiP army and I am sure I will try to tweak it again, after learning a few things during that tournament. But that is a discussion for the Army List topic!

In the next weeks I will try to write the reports from the games I played and hopefully I will be able to provide regular updates. In the meantime a teaser with pictures:

Dwarf Thane, General, Great weapon, Master Rune of Gromil , 2 X Rune of Iron - 146
BSB, Shield, Master Rune of Grungni - 153
Runesmith, Shield, 2x Rune of Spellbreaking , Rune of Stone - 118

28 Longbeards, Shields, Full Command, Ancestor Rune - 442
10 Thunderers, Shields, Musician - 140
10 Quarellers, Shields, Musician - 140
28 Hammers, Shields, Musician, Standard - 440
28 Slayers , Musician, Standard - 356
Gyrocopter - 80
Gyrocopter - 80
Grudgethrower, Rune of accuracy, Rune of forging , Rune of penetrating - 170
Grudgethrower, Rune of accuracy, Rune of forging , Rune of burning - 135

Army Total: 2400

Let's have a look at this army with some more detailed description:

Thane General - with the defensive tool kit he sported 1+ armour, was T6 and had 3 wounds. Quite economic yet efficient version of a general that does not die easily but still provides Ld10 bubble. His Great Weapon can bite too, in particular on the charge. I could also be sure that at least he will hate my own general so these 3 attacks may hit more often.

BSB - with 3+ armour save and 4++ ward from the banner he was quite well protected too. In addition he helped nearby troops by waving his flag high and proud but also giving regiments in 6" radius 5++ against shooting and missiles. As if the toothpicks I had at my disposal were to impress Dwarven warriors much any way

Runesmith - Another well protected character with 2+ armour save and 5++ parry if charged (fortunately for me only for one turn). 2 runes of spellbreaking ensured that once a game that powerful spell could be dispelled and what is more it can be destroyed on a 4+ roll.

All in all quite very reasonable and good price for value set of very useful characters.

Longbeards - anvil unit of the army. Dave chose shields for 4+/5++ saves if charged or 4+/6++ if attacking but thanks to the new rules they have S5 then. Against fragile elves they can deal a proper damage for sure and deflect many blows. The trick to defeat them would be to surround them from as many sides as possible but not from the front where they can use their shield wall. Even then their Ancestor Rune means they can take a single break test on d6 so they might hold their ground and let the other regiments to counter.

Shooters - Both thunderers and quarrellers provided some needed support and small arms fire. With Shields they are again well protected against my longbows and could withstand the charge for a while too!

Hammerers - well, who else to be a better hammer for the Longbeard anvil than Hammerers? With 2 attacks each and S6 or even 7 on the charge these guys can hit really hard. Being Stubborn means they are also extremely good at war of attrition. Such units can only be destroyed if engaged on both flanks and even then the grind match might prove to be very bloody. If I were to isolate them I would also need to make sure they are separated for as long as it takes to kill them all. Probably both units of Swordmasters at full strength might do the job.

Slayers - the unit that can hold against anything but due to lack of armour very vulnerable to shooting and I wanted to use that to my advantage and make these arrows count for something. Of course I was sure they would stay close to BSB to benefit from 5++ ward but it is still better to shoot at them than other two blocks. And I needed to shoot at them also because I might not have enough time to kill them all. Besides, they can hit back hard this time and with their additional Deathblow attack. Since these are resolved with any bonuses for weapons the slayers have I could be in trouble against their S5 attacks. Yet another unit that can hit back no matter what.

Gyrocopters - a priority to be destroyed, possibly with shooting attacks in the first place. They can mess up my movement phase greatly and their steam cannons can inflict a lot of damage on my small units. I wanted to advance in 2 waves to make sure I don't provide safe landing zones for them or to force Dave to risk their loss if he wanted to land behind my lines.

Grudgethrowers - tooled up war machines. Both are super accurate. Both are well protected from unlucky misfires. One has flaming attacks (which does not bother my troops that much) but the other hits with even higher S that can further demolish my small units. It was obvious I had to start the game with Archers and Sea Guard deployed in 2 ranks!

The plan still depended on the terrain and deployment. I expected that Dave would deploy defensively and try to use his fire power to discourage my troops from advancing. I was also taking into account a possibility where he would advance along one of the edges. In both cases I had to move around his flank or flanks fast but at the same time not recklessly and try to pick up gyrocopters and shooters first before engaging any of his big blocks.

War of the Beard - yet another episode!

Deployment of the armies after shy vanguard moves

When I saw the terrain I expected Dave to deploy in the corner with the hill. The option of deploying in the opposite half and use the building was also a good idea. I was a little surprised he chose the middle but it didn't make my life any easier and suggested he might actually move forward too. I had to be careful!

Surprisingly enough I won the roll off and Outcasts were to move to their first battle!

Outflanking!

Moving forward - but don't rush, just yet!

Elves move forward in a controlled fashion. Three big blocks of Dwarven infantry seemed like a castle wall or a rock. But Elves knew that even the most solid rock may be moved by water and started to send little streams of units on the flanks first.

Shooting and magic was not particularly spectacular but it was enough to get rid of one of the nasty gyrocopters and confuse Thunderers with miasma so that their shooting abilities were severely limited.

No need to move when the enemy comes to you!

Gyrobomber attack!

The Rock remained steady. The grudge throwers threw their boulders but even with runes of accuracy they sailed long and wide. Gryobomber made a bomb attack at the cavalry but the bomb also scattered. Fortunately, it hit nearby Lions who suffered some minor casualties.

Dwarven flanks are under attack!

First charges!

Dragon Princes on the East levelled their lances and attacked quarrels. They greeted them with crossbow bolts and quickly locked the shields. Even in small numbers such formation ensured the safety and only few Dwarves were killed by Elves. They also held easily as they remainded steadfast.

Lone Gyrocopter was a little too close to rampaging Lions the Chracians didn't miss the opportunity and charged Dwarven pilot. He had to hold or flee the battle entirely and decided to fight but was not a match to expert axe wielding Elves.

On the Western flank Reavers advanced carefully, Dragon Princes moved through the woods at moderate speed and the rest of the units focused on the Thunderers. They suffered quite a large amount of casualties but as expected, stubbornly refused to move anywhere.

The flanks are still holding

Hammerers change their formation

Dwarven castle reforms slightly to extend their formation and block the clear path towards the artillery. Quarrellers keep fighting and hold the cavalry for one more turn. Unfortunately, grudge thrower engineers can't hit a barn door and more grumbling is heard from among the ranks of the Longbeards.

More charges on the flanks!

Light cavalry charged stubborn Quarrellers and this time Dwarves broke. But Dragon Princes refused to restrain as they wanted to pursue and catch the survivors to make up for their poor performance where they failed to brake the small enemy unit on their own.

On the West second unit of Dragon Princes charged remaining Thunderers, destroyed them and overrun towards the grudge thrower. Nearby Slayers where the target of Elven shooting and somehow the runic standard carried by the Longbeards was not protecting them at all!

Dwarves tighten their ranks

And their artillery finally hits somebody!

Dwarves kept solid formation, only Slayers reformed to be ready to counter the cavalry that seemed to be ready to charge the grudge thrower.

Dwarven engineers, ashamed due to their performance so far, measured the distance accurately and this time a boulder landed right on the top of the elven noble and reduced him and his mount to a nice bloody pulp!

Outflanking continues

Elven cavalry in the back yard!

It was too crowded for the heavy cavalry to get the momentum for the charge and they simply reformed. Other units closed the distance and on the Eastern flank reavers managed to sneaked into the back yard, directly putting grudge thrower in danger!

Larry the Loremaster was trying to engage Dwarven thanes in some mindwars. Previously he did so with the Dwarven BSB but his runic standard protected him. This time Dwarven general was the target and he even got the wound but the magical feedback was not possible to contain and Larry as well as a few of nearby warriors were wounded.

The shooters kept peppering Slayers with bolts and arrows and a few more orange hair fanatics died in not quite honourable way.

Dwarven Rock rolls forward!

Dwarves march towards their enemies. (Edit: I haven't noticed that I didn't reform DP properly on the map so that they cannot see the Slayers and are lined with reavers as above pictures shows. Ups! Sorry!)

Young thane decided it is time he and his unit carries fight to the enemy. Longbeards grumbled that it is a trap. Some other grumbled that it is about time to do business. A few grumbled about those who grumbled. But the unit moved forward in perfect order.

Nearby Hammerers also moved towards their chosen enemy while Slayers reformed once more and blocked some Elves advancing behind their backs.

Dwarven Engineers, seeing that they are about to fight themselves, loaded their grudgethrowers one more time. One of the boulders sailed sure and hit Larry the Loremaster straight into his head! However, instead of explosion or some simple splat-like-sound there was a crack of the barrel and some stinking liquid washed poor Elf from head to toes. As it happened, the Engineers by mistake loaded their last barrel of the finest Bugmans XXXX. More grumbling was heard from the ranks of the Longbeards but at least they had fun looking at an Elf whinging about destruction of his perfect hair and dress!

Artillery is destroyed!

Elves charge again!

Elven cavalry charges both grudgethrowers and finish them both in a vicious combat. Reavers and Swordmasters combine their efforts to destroy the Slayers but they cannot finish them all yet. Even with the help of the Iceshard Blizzard!

Other units manoeuvre to use the fact that the Dwarven blocks are now isolated and picked Longbeards as a target.

Breaking through?

Lonbeards overrun to increase the distance from the elven cavalry

Longbeards charged the lone eagle and overrun to gain as much distance from the enemy. Hammerers also charged the only visible target, White Lions, but failed to reach their enemies.

It was now clear the Elves were in a position to attack Longbeards from all sides. Would that be enough though?

Charge from 3 sides!

Elven speed vs Dwarven Shieldwall!

Many Eelven units charged against Longbeards. Swordmasters with Bob the BSB were a little late and although they could have made it to the combat, Dragon Princes galloped passed them and there was no way they could participate too. Ah well.

Elven Noble challenged Dwarven thanes and BSB picked up the gauntlet. The brave Dwarf fell, however, as Elven Noble aimed true with his magical lance. Half of the regiment perished when Elves swung their blades. The attacks back were miserable in such tight formation but one Sea Guard fell and the Longbeards remained steadfast.

Vicious combat continues!

Ancestors protect!

Hammerers tried desperately to catch some enemies but White Lions didn't fancy meeting them head on. Longbeards fell in droves to the merciless blades of the Elves. In particular Swordmasters were responsible for majority of casualties. Only Thane General and three veteran warriors remained standing. However, when they invoked the power of Ancestors they were filled with bravery and decided to hold on!

Seeing such a determination, Larry the Loremaster decided his enemies fought well enough to be granted his mercy and he ordered the army to disengage.

That Ancestor Rune was worth its price in gold! Longbeards suffered horrendous casualties but held as if they were unbreakable! I must admit I was actually happy Dave made that roll as after his bad luck with grudge thrower (nothing like rolling a 1 to wound when you hit enemy general!) he definitely deserved some epic moment and the dice gods smiled upon him It is also great for story writing! Everybody likes to read about heroic deeds when a few prevail against many having the odds against them!

I was definitely very happy with the victory I have achieved. Dwarves are always hard army to play against. I have great respect for the Shieldwall. It helped a lot in that game and was the main reason I didn't attack with the Archers from the front. However, looking at the situation again I think I could have made that last charge better.

You see, I declared the charge with three units from the rear area. 2 heavy cavalry and Swordmasters. I allowed heavy cavalry to charge in but if I added Swordmasters instead of small DP's then I think that would have been a better move. I didn't count on breaking steadfast and I assumed we will have 2 rounds of fighting. In that scenario more Swordmasters in the fight is definitely better even if DP's have re-rolls and better armour. I also wonder if adding Archers, just for the sake of adding more attacks, would have helped. In general I think it was a powerful charge on its own but could I make it more powerful? I guess so, at least with 2 Swordmaster units.

I missed musicians on 2 heavy cavalry units. Once, when I failed test for restraint I could have simply reformed and move again. I was "lucky" to lose the noble and my small unit had the frontage narrow enough to wheel and move full speed. Second situation was with the unit on the other flank. It was funny because we both thought they are going to charge the grudge thrower but there was not enough space to wheel. So I had to reform only. It was only because the Slayers were in wide formation that they could not charge me shortly after.

I think Dave should have corner with the hill. Not necessarily to castle. But if he moved with one flank secured by table edge it would have made my double envelopment impossible. I also think, after looking at the maps, that he should have reformed hammerers and move them towards the centre. In that way his units would have supported each other better.

In any case I am very happy Dave honoured my grudge and we finally had a game against each other! Once again, well done on that last break test! I am sue the Ancestors are proud!

Doombull , Heavy Armour, Shield, Sword of Swift Slaying, Ramhorn Helm, Dawnstone, Gnarled Hide
Great Bray-Shaman, Level 4, Dispel Scroll - Lore of the Beasts

Gorebull, Great Weapon, Talisman of Preservation
Gorebull, Great Weapon, Glittering Scales
Wargor BSB, Heavy Armour, The Beast Banner

47 Gor Herd, Extra Hand Weapon, FC
5 Ungor Raiders, Musician
5 Ungor Raiders, Musician - Ambush
Tuskgor Chariot
Tuskgor Chariot
5 Harpies
6 Minotaurs, Standard, Musician
3 Razorgor Herd

Quite character heavy army list if you ask me. Let's look at the details!

Doombull - the most dangerous model on the field. He can take care of any of my unit all by himself. With 1+ armour save and re-rolls to that he is very resilient. Single bolt or any of my nobles could harm him, however, especially if he chose to hunt alone. If he was to stay in the unit of Minotaurs there is a better chance for me to contain him though.

Gorebulls - As dangerous in combat as the Doombull but fortunately less protected. They also don't have ASF, in fact, they are ASL with GW so that there is always a chance to sneak a wound or two on them. Since they are pretty expensive at around 200VP each, it may be good idea to direct some attacks at them. Again, a lot would depends how they are deployed. Since they are more vulnerable I thought they would start the game in the unit of the Minotaurs anyway but I should be always careful not to give them a chance to charge some units alone.

Great Bray-Shaman - very respectable spell caster with Beast Lore that suits Beastmen very well. He is not protected at all so if given the chance I should try to assassinate him. His spells can affect his characters in a great way, even more reason to keep them together. Wildform on Gors is awesome too as T5 is their best defence (apart from sheer numbers).

BSB - quite typical choice for beastmen army. His banner affecting gors is fantastic. THey have S4, 2A each and with primal fury they re-roll their to hit rolls. Simply great! However, another naked but valuable characters so I would be looking for a chance to get him down as soon as possible.

Gors - horde of them. Despite no armour there are so many of them that it would be tough to trim them down to the manageable size. With potential Wildform I was looking at a unit that has a very large amount of S5 attacks (as long as Beast Banner is there). However, horde formation also means I can fit more units into their frontage and that they lose rank bonus faster. There is no mistake, however, there would be blood.

Ungors - total opposite to the big hitting regiments, they are there to be annoying and be sacrificed. One unit with Ambush is going to hunt down my Eagle claw. However, it is not known which table edge they are going to enter and fortunately, they cannot charge then. Need to take care of them as they potentially can mess up my movement phase.

Harpies - a very useful unit indeed. They might not be the most disciplined unit around but they fly and skirmish offers some protection from shooting. Again, another annoying unit I need to take care of and with potential to do some damage to some of my less fighty units, such as reavers if attacked to the flank.

Chariots - Always annoying due to impact hits. Pair of them can ensure that small units can be annihilated on the charge. Can be dealt with by heavy cavalry due to longer charge distance but used well can be painful. Also, they accompany other fighting units perfectly.

Minotaurs - second fighting unit. They can deal damage on their own pretty well but with potentially 3 characters in them, Mino-Bus is terrifying opponent to hold. Even their frenzy is not that easy to exploit as they overrun/pursue only d6". On top of that, after each won combat they get additional attacks. Very powerful indeed. I still need to divert them and try to separate them as I cannot fight Minotaurs at full strength and I need time to soften them up with magic and shooting.

Razorgors - quite interesting unit with very good hitting potential, especially on the charge (as they get +1S). despite no armour they are T5 and relatively fast so that I needed to employ my cavalry to hunt them down before they add their powerful attacks to these of gors, minotaurs and chariots.

We played modified Dawn Attack scenario. We deployed as per rulebook but there were additional conditions to regular victory points. If you moved your most valuable unit from the deployment zone you got 200VP. If you hunted down the most expensive enemy unit/character then you get 200VP extra. Finally, if you moved the units with at least 2 ranks to the enemy zone you got 200VP more.

Armies emerging from the morning mist

Deployment after vanguard moves

Dawn Attack is tricky because you don't quite know where units are going to show up. What is more, I won the roll off and had to deploy my army first. I decided that I am going to deploy at the back anyway so that I have more time to act against Adam's Beastmen. I decided to deploy as evenly as possible but some rolls meant my units were leaning towards left flank.

Larry was with Lions on the left flank, Bob joined nearby Swordmasters. The noble with Potion of Strength was in the centre while Star Lance hero guarded right flank.

As expected, Minotaur heroes were with Minotaurs and Bray-Shaman with BSB joined Gors. Support troops of the Beastmen all were lost in the morning mist and emerged on the opposite flank of the deployment zone.

Bastmen Great Shaman had the following spells:

Wyssan's Wildform,Pann's Impenetrable Pelt, The Curse of Anraheir, , The Savage Beasts of Horrors

Adam showed some great skills at rolling dice and promptly obtained a "6" to steal the first turn! Deploying at the back line definitely paid off!

Beastmen in steady advance

Main horde surges forward

Minotaurs and Gors move forward keeping cohesive battle line. Nearby Razorgors keep a little more distance to protect the flank better. Support units do not move much in order to threaten the elven flank or stay safe. They also follow the order to disperse so that demise of any one of them does not panic another.

Small unit of Ungor Riders shows up nearby the Eagle Claw but their poorly aimed arrows do not harm the crew.

High Elves do not remain static

First blood for Elves!

High Elves use the opportunity to redress the ranks and move towards the enemy. On the right flank ellyrian reavers try to shoot at ungors and chase them away but small beastmen managed to avoid casualties. Their brethren near the Eagle Claw were not that lucky and they indeed were not brave enough to stay and fight.

Magic and shooting was focused on Minotaurs and at least one of the brutes were dead after the missiles reached them.

Beastmen are getting closer

Great Bray Shaman prepares himself and his horde for the incoming combat!

Minotaurs and Gors wheeled towards the centre of the Elven battle line. It was clear that the close combat is inevitable. Great Bray Shaman didn't wait any longer. He first was allowed to cast a protective spell on himself and then managed to get Wildform through, to make his Gor horde a very formidable foe indeed.

On the other flank a manoeuvre and counter manoeuvre between support troops continued.

Closer look at both battle lines.

Noble sacrifice by Dragon Princes

Seeing an enemy standard bearer at the head of the formation Dragon Princes moved as one. It was their right to charge gloriously into the thick of the enemy. They knew it was a suicidal charge but they had one mission to accomplish. They all aimed at the enemy army standard. The beast was incredibly tough but Dragon Princes were experts with lances and foul creation of chaos was pierced by the Caledorians. They tried to use the impetus to impale a few more beastmen but the sheer number of the enemy was enough to swallow the whole squadron alive.

The rest of the army formed a line in grim determination to make the noble sacrifice of the knights count. Light troops continued their dance but still could not pin down beastmen skirmishers

Left flank after combat and ...

... bigger picture

Beastmen counter attack!

Beastmen great shaman, outraged at this display of bravado and the demise of his personal standard, ordered his horde to charge. They made contact with small unit of Swordmasters who fought bravely and fell many beastmen but also suffered casualties and had to withdraw. They managed to avoid pursuers who, having not much space to manoeuvre, hit another elven unit without a chance to reform. (Edit: It was peculiar situation as Gors hit one model in the other Swordmaster unit and there was no way for beastmen to wheel to maximise any better, so here they were, touching almost corner to corner )

Razorgors were not fast enough somehow to join the fight and dangerously exposed themselves to the counter charge by elven knights. Minotaurs hunted down annoying eagle and devoured the carcass immediately.

The result of Lions counter attack!

Double pincer charge!

White Lions, using the opportunity, counter charged horde of gors from both flanks while Bladelord challenged Great Shaman to a single combat. Lions hit hard, as was expected from expert huntsmen, and suffered minimal casualties in return. Gors, no unruly due to lack of standard bearer and great shaman being occupied in the challenge, decided to retreat. Fortunately for them, they outpaced pursuing elves. (Edit: Another hilarious situation! With 3 attempts to catch fleeing enemy I failed all of them! What is more, for 2 units I rolled double 1's #-o :lol: )

Fortunately, nearby Sisters could distract minotaurs while razorgors were charged by dragon princes led by one of the heroes. Two razorgors died but the third managed to escape pursuing knights. Just.

On the right flank, a lone hero misjudged the distance to isolated chariot but nearby reavers blocked beastmen from counter charging the noble knight.

Beastmen Gors rally!

Doombull charges alone!

Gors and single Razorgor manage to rally to face the Elves one more time. Gors, despite losing almost half of their numbers, were still in great strength. Great Shaman one more time made them even more wild and mutated than usual, increasing their strength and toughness.

Nearby charioteers considered charging the exposed flank of the elven cavalry but they spotted the elven hero picking up some magic bottle and gulping its contents. After that his form seemed to grow and glow with magical light and they decided they don't want to face him just yet.

In the meantime Doombull, bored with hunting some lesser prey, charged White Lions alone and killed them all to an Elf! Fortunately for nearby Swordmasters, he was distracted by the fresh flesh and blood and didn't use his momentum to hit them too!

On the opposite flank, Reavers drew the chariot into their ranks and sacrificed their lives so that the noble knight could avenge them and destroy the enemy!

Gors still hold!

Elves in another counter punch!

Archers and Lions charged together against the rallied Gors to pin them down. Behind the enemy formation, lone hero charges out from among the Dragon Princes and finishes last Razorgor while his unit reforms and prepares to charge Gors next. Unfortunately, nearby Sea Guard was a little late to join the party (Edit: Needing 4+ I had to roll 1 and 2 )

As the vicious combat started Larry the Loremaster challenged enemy great shaman. That distracted the servant of chaos and as a result elven archers became stronger and tougher while beastmen were suddenly fighting against the cold even they could not ignore. Archers and Lions inflicted huge amount of casualties and defeated the enemy but Gors were filled with some insane, savage courage and held against all odds! (Edit: Adam simply rolled double 1 when he needed it the most!)

Another knightly noble made the successful charge against another chariot this time and destroyed it, avenging brave reavers. Second unit of the fast cavalry finally hunted down some enemy skirmishers.

Tuskgor chariot failed to help

The last attempt to turned the tide by beastmen failed. Their chariot was too late to join the fight and this time defeated Gors were successfully chased down by Archers! Even doom bull failed to reach elven units in the last charge.

Archers tried to reach enemy deployment zone but were a little bit too late

Elven noble hunts down last chariot

With the time for the game reaching its end I only did a few moves to speed it up and finish the game. I charged the chariot with the noble and caught it when it fled. I also tried to reach Adam's deployment with the Archers for extra VP points due to scenario but I was still too far away. I didn't cast any magic as there was no time for it.

With that last move the game was finished!

It was extremely enjoyable game and I would like to thank Adam for the opportunity to play against him. I am very happy we finally had a chance to play against each other and it was a very tense contest but in very positive meaning. We both tried hard to outsmart the opponent and all was decided in a vicious combat rather than by some tricky magic or shooting. Although one has to add that magic did play a very significant role.

I think Adam had bad luck with his support units as he needed them to prepare his advance better. Because he didn't have any screen I could charge his gors with my knights and use the opportunity to assassinate his bsb. That was crucial for the combat as you saw when Beastmen failed their Ld8 steadfast break test. With a bsb alive they would have been there for sure, not to mention the fact that gors would have had S5! It is truly a formidable unit in terms of how much damage it can deal and having them in horde formation meant they could soak up casualties and keep fighting.

That is the reason why I was so impressed by the Archers! I was thinking if I should charge with them or should I simply move more units to positions but it was a good move to attack. It was not guaranteed that I could even win that combat but I guess fortune favour the bold and I could aid my units with timely Iceshard as well as Wildform. Before I tried to chip away a few wounds from minotaurs with small magic missiles but after losing 2 of them Adam could allocate hits and I kept failing my to wound rolls against tougher gorebulls.

There were moments where I took the risk, as with holding against Gors with Swordmasters but I think it was calculated risk. I didn't see them stopping by contacting Swordmasters again. I thought I would be able to receive the charge with archers and add Swordmaster + Lions from the flank and Sea Guard from the front. I didn't expect them breaking while being steadfast either but then Ld8 is not that great without bsb. To balance it out, Adam got the insane courage result exactly when he needed! Not to mention stealing the initiative!

I was very happy with the performance of the mounted nobles as they aided cavalry but also operated as single units themselves, which was very helpful.

I still wonder what would have happened if Adam used his Minotaur heroes separately, say from turn 2. I could try to kill one but probably not two and Doom bull would have been free to go earlier. AS he demonstrated he was capable of killing entire unit in a single round of combat!

In the end I was very happy to gain upper hand after great game and against fantastic opponent! I hope we are still going to have a chance for a rematch!