Tuesday night came and it was time for the next fantasy battle game. I was not totally in the mood to get rolled over by the Wachmeister again, so I talked another buddy I bringing in his army. Well, when I arrived at the store to set up, I found some other players that I have not seen in a bit there to play. So, change of plan! We ended up doing a Wood Elves vs High Elves battle. We had five players, but one was an old 6th player who wanted to learn the game. We let the two elf players pull out and set up their armies. We then divided the armies amongst the players and got going.
We ended up with a late start (which meant we only got five turns in), but finally got going. I was drafted on the Wood Elves side, as I know that army pretty well. The other two joined on the high elves side. We randomized terrain set up (I really need to download those Square Based terrain cards…). We also randomized the effects. It turned out the ruins were dangerous (as was the Wood Elf woods), the regular forests were difficult and the field was just cover.
The High Elves got the first turn and we were on our way. Both armies were spread out across the table. This restricted the Wood Elves mobility easy in the game, so things started on a defensive stance, with hopes of shooting the gaps later in the game. The High Elves plan seemed to be to press forward with their charges and pressure the Wood Elves to the back of the board and crush them.
The Wood Elves won the first turn and did some minor movement and tried to rely on their shooting. This was mostly ineffective, with the exception of shooting off the High Elf Bolt Thrower, by the scouts. The High Elves took their turn and surged forward. There shooting was a bit more effective, as they knocked the Wold Riders down to fifty percent!
The Wood Elves were up again and shifted the treeman and dragon around to face the High Elf right flank attack. What was left of the Wild Riders charged into Reavers, only to get shot down. One model got to close, but was wiped out by the High Left noble with the Reavers. No the most successful attack! This pretty much conceded the right flank to the High Elves and it would be just a case of slowing them down a bit. On the left, there was some more shifty and shooting, the latter with not much effect. The big fight was the glade riders trying to take down the Elf Chariot. However, it seemed the chariot had magic armor, as the last wound just would to get cleared. On the High Elf turn, the forces surged forward. The Griffen Lord charged the treeman. The treeman lost the fight and fell back, using its stubborn rule. The Griffen followed up. The High Elves then finished off the Wood Elf Eagle and closed on the center. The rest of the High Elves pinned the Wood Elf archers in the woods.
The Wood Elves started their turn with chariots and Silver Helms to their front and a Griffen Lord in the rear, with the left wing archers being pressed by the rest of the High Elf army. The War Dancers decided that the time had come and charged the closest chariot. They won the fight and pursued into the Silver Helms (loosing two to the new movement rule restrictions). The Griffen Lord finished off the treeman (its saves continued to be optional..) and turned to the center. The Griffen charged into the flank of the archers (being challenged off by the champion). The elves managed to fall back in good order and the Griffen opted not to chase. The result was The War Dancers finished their fight with the Cavalry, wiping it out. The High Elves in turn took out half the scouts the center and chased the other group away with heavy losses.
Time was running short, so we only got in one more turn. The Wood Elves started this by charging the dragon into the mage chariot, crunching it in one combat. The dragon then turned towards the Griffen. The other Wood Elves tried to shoot down the attacking Elf Infantry, but with only limited effect…. We stopped the game there.
It was nice to push the Wood Elves again, even if someone else models! We really needed the last turn to see who would have won. I think the Wood Elves would have pulled it out, as the High Elves were down their mage and the Griffen was kind of in a position that they had to try to escape from the dragon, but one never knows what people will do or how the dice will fall!
- Manteuffel