MSU-Battle-Reports (English)

    Your old armie lists didnt rely on shooting but more in combat because u had Mord impact with ASF in small units which is good because i can learn much more for my ork MSU army which im still training with and theyr "small units still arent the same as high elf units :)

    Into Battle we ride with gods by our side,
    we are strong and not afraid to die!
    -Ensiferum

    Hi guys!


    @ Julius


    Thanks! I am sorry I haven't updated this topic for so long but I hope I will be able to do that as soon as I have new to add. I decided to switch to links because it is quicker. I hope it is not big inconvenience and I am aware it may result in even fewer comments.


    @ Goblinspießa


    It is a very good observation. Back in the days of ASF for all small units were more efficient. At the same time I learnt that having some shooting helps a lot. In any case I am very happy to know that you find these reports helpful for your own games!


    Cheers!

    Hey Swordmaster,
    now that i've read all your latest reports i want to give you another comment on them.
    i liked the last report (against Stardragon) really the most. its very impressive how you even use fleeing for "manuevering". outstanding...:D
    the plot of that battle even accomplished a good story about the caledorians being fooled about their pride and arrogant strength. well done as well i think. :D


    as far as i can see, the MSU concept often relies on taking risks and even "controlled" losses to achieve its goal (e.g. pinning a certain unit or getting effective combocharges). do you think this might work at a smaller number of points?
    with less points in total you have less tolerance to sacrifice units and maybe also more percentage of your points spent in important characters. is there a "limit" in the number of points where you might think, MSU isn't effective anymore?
    (if that is something you have already answered in one of your blog entries please just refer to that. don't want to bore you ;))


    Cheers


    Gruß Julius


    ps: i have no problem at all with your links

    Hi Julius,


    Thank you very much for your feedback!


    I am very happy to know you liked the most recent report. It took quite an effort to get a draw from that game where I was an underdog for sure. I am very glad this flee to better position move worked out as I spotted the opportunity during the game and I didn't plan that from the start. Flying army can reposition itself so quickly it is hard to anticipate where it is going to go so I had to adapt during the battle. I am glad it worked this time but it was still a draw so I need to come up with even better plan to be victorious next time.


    It is a very good question and I haven't answered it yet. In fact, nobody ever asked me one! Please, bear in mind I have never played with MSU army at lower points so my answer is purely theoretical.


    First of all I find it very difficult to scale down the army from 2400 to 2000 even. I have only a few characters so it may be difficult to save points in that department. It means that in theory I need to get rid of 3 units to get 2000 points and it is hard to decide which ones. Without checking the points I would probably get rid of the mounted noble (as I have little experience with him), shadow warriors and trim down the core troops. Maybe going for 2 units of archers simply. That should still give me the numbers to outdeploy more classical armies.


    What is also important to know is that at 2000 points you will have less powerful models such as Star Dragons, for example. It means that some powerful characters/models will not be there and that the number of deadly threats is smaller.


    While it is true what you say that sacrificing troops can be more troublesome, the same goes for the enemy. Their level 4 for example, will be a more juicy target as it is worth higher percentage of the army.


    Would MSU be possible at even smaller points, like 1500? I would like to say yes. Again, some cuts are needed. I think I would have to go for level 2 instead of loremaster then. It would be half the points, more vulnerable but I have to find the points.


    I believe at smaller points the game would also look different. Please, bear in mind that sometimes I sacrifice troops not because I play this way but because there is no room to outflank the enemy and I need to force them to commit. With fewer units but the same space it might not need to be necessary! Or at least I hope so :) One of the challenges I face at 3000, for example, was that I had no space t position my regiments, in particular with certain scenarios!


    However, I would need to play these games first to see if what I think is actually true. I hope my rumblings were of some use anyway!


    Cheers!

    It was a very nice game but not for you sword, a other Empire army i just never seen before thanks for the Battlereport:-)

    7k Kdc
    6k Woodis


    Hossa Baby!

    Hey swordmaster,
    maybe you have another battle report for us? i think we would really appreciate it. :)


    by the way: i tried MSU at 1500 Points and it was a desaster. i made a few mistakes but also the dicing skills of my opponent really kicked me out of the game. dreaded 13th killed the unit with the bsb, sisters ran due to panic because of a killed eagle in first round and warp lightning cannon was effective so after second round only a unit of a few swordmasters was on its way to the whole army of my opponent :mauer:
    very sad, but i'll try again.


    Greetings

    Hi Julius,


    I am very sorry for your defeat but I hope you don't give up as there are always lessons to learn and you get better with each game. If you could provide some more details I am sure we can think about some improvements. For example, what were the respective army lists and what was the initial deployment? I find deployment phase very important part of the game, often deciding on the result before the game even starts.


    There are two things I have collected from your game description:


    1. Eagle panicking units - it is an unfortunate thing to happen but something you can easily address in the future. Simply measure the positioning carefully and make sure that eagle always lands more than 6 inches away from any other regiment. In particular at the start when some of them are close to the edge of the battle field.


    2. 13th has 24" if I remember correctly so it is possible to deploy so that your character and his is not in the range. Again, it is only at the beginning but every round that your opponent cannot cast the spell is good for you.


    I am also wondering in what formation you deployed your regiments as against template weapons such as warplightning cannons it may be a good idea to deploy in a single rank. Thus the template is going to hit 5 models instead of 10.


    Hope that helps!


    Cheers!


    P.S. Unfortunately I haven't played any games since the last against Empire so no new reports at the moment. :(

    Hey swordmaster, thank you for your comment on my conclusion.
    Impressing, how much you get out of my few notes. :)
    I am not at home right now so can't give you the exact list.
    13th has 24 inches, that is correct.
    Hmm and again you gave me good advice and motivation to keep trying. :)


    Cheers
    Julius


    Gruß Julius

    im glad i thought you just forgot about us :)


    always red your BRs on your block :)
    (i was happy as a little child at Christmas AS i saw your "movies" with the Battle chronicler :D)

    Into Battle we ride with gods by our side,
    we are strong and not afraid to die!
    -Ensiferum

    Oh no, I didn't! I just didn't play any games in the meantime and tried to update the blog with old battles. I am half way through!


    I am very happy to know you liked "movies" so much! I like them too and will keep adding them to the reports from now on :) I am already working on game 2 so hopefully I will be able to add it soon.

    Hi, what a nice report. I think you played well but also had some luck with keeping his Ghouls and Vampire in place with your Dragon Prince (Hero of the match). Nice report and once more a demonstration of the strength of your army, I also liked the way you integrated the nobles in your game.


    Waiting for the next one :D

    Universal Battle: Aemkei81


    9k Druchii
    8k Khemri

    A good batrep again, although it wasn't a win for you.
    I think you pointed the mistakes out by yourself correctly. In my opinion this lizardmen army was a really hard match up for your army as it is a really mobile and fast striking concept. As one can see in your nice animation: in the first two turns they kind of just came over you.
    But from this game i think you can learn a lot and i can do too. Thank you for sharing it with us. :)


    Ps: the nobles are really a nice tool. It's a great way of forming different task forces even from turn to turn if needed.


    Gruß Julius

    Thanks, Julius!


    It was a good game and I am happy I recovered (sort of) from the blow to fight back. Lizardmen army was indeed fast and hard hitting but far from invulnerable. It was also different to typical builds and the player knew what he wanted to achieve with it. I am glad you learned something form that game!


    I like the nobles a lot but I need to use them better. Much to learn :)


    Cheers!