WHFB: Xmashammer 2012 Rich’s view

Byakhee Rich is a very active member on many Warhammer forums, has his own internet stalker, but still managed to surprise us with his Fozzrik’s Folding Fortress made out of brass tape (?) (Hmm I feel another Special Guest Superstar DJ posting coming this way). His Luminark was not ready for the battle but he fielded his demi-Gryphs for the first time. Here’s his take on the two days:

So, a couple of days since Xmashammer 2012 and I’ve finally got my breath back and my thoughts together…

The first thing we all learnt is that you CAN deploy 8000 points of army in a 6’ by 1’ deployment zone, but you SHOULDN’T! Both sides started off with a vague plan, about half way through deployment both realised that there would be a unit in every space on the table – in fact, we waived the 1” apart rule and the Orc / Skaven alliance still hardly fitted on the table.

Smaller armies? No, simply the King in Yellow needs a bigger room and table! [New Kickstarter project, fund my purchase of a bigger house, only £100k needed, and in return you get errr….]

Going first had pros and cons for the forces of Good. Ultimately, taking the initiative and pressing the enemy back into a confined space was crucial. In the short term, any shooting advantage was lost in the swirling dawn mists of Lustria (half range, bah!) and the initial Imperial flank attack was seen off with minimal effort – a crowded table has no place for fast cavalry and scouts to hide!

Despite Evil artillery exploding, missing and generally entertaining rather than functioning, Jim’s Skaven punched through the middle of our armies in short order, and after two turns things looked bleak for the good guys. Especially after the epic duel between the High Elf and Skaven generals ending in victory for the (heavily wounded) Queek Headtaker. With the cream of the Good armies bogged down in difficult terrain and enormous Orc units on one flank, it was a massive relief when the ratmen fled the battlefield at the end of Day One.

Day Two dawned, and suddenly the log jam on the left flank looked like a stroke of genius! The steam tank “Ekaterina” and 20 Phoenix Guard had, with the aid of the ruined temple and jungle, held up about two thirds of the Orc army on their own, with the massed greenskins unable to push past their fellows to get at the enemy. The tank alone held up a gang of trolls and the Orc general for most of the battle! The fleeing Skaven left a huge space in the central plain, and the arrival of the Dragon Princes and Reiksguard Knights allowed the Good allies to reform a battle line beyond the half way point of the field. Conversely the massed Evil artillery made it very hard for the newly arrived Dark Elves and Orc reserves to join the battle in good order. Even on the weak right flank, the arrival of the mighty Eltharion and his Giant Eagles allowed Good to gain ground and secure their objectives.

Key to the eventual good victory was the performance of their Elite troops. The Phoenix Guard eventually destroyed twice their number of orcs and swept into the trolls with their fiery halberds, seeing them off and dispatching the Orc General at last. The flanking SIlver Helms crashed into the Dark Elf Silver Talon regiment, fighting a prolonged battle which helped secure the flank. And then the Talons of the Ulricsberg, just six Empire Knights on their mighty Demigryph mounts, tore into the heart of the Orc and Goblin army, accounting for 120 or more greenskins on their own!

The final acts of the battle saw Emperor Karl Franz enter the fray on the Imperial Dragon. Although he fought in just one combat, crushing a Dark Elf Champion and putting an end to the Silver Talons, his influence was massive as he helped rally the leaderless High Elves (in game terms, covering half the battlefield with Leadership 10 cannot be underestimated!) His dragon also scorched 15 elite Black Orcs, reducing a potent threat to a nuisance level. And in a final desperate bid to salvage the battle, the Orc Great Shaman blew his escort to pieces as the Winds of Magic escaped his control.

After being on their knees after Day One, Good had taken the opportunity to triumph! In secure possession of the ruins of Copalotaothat and the battlefield as a whole, and despite heavy casualties amongst the Empire forces especially, a final score of 5500 to 3000 was estimated!

My….

Humans of the Match: despite other acts of heroism, like the archers who took a flank charge from wolf riders and held, it has to be the Demigryph Knights, who caused carnage!

High Elves of the Match: The Phoenix Guard were good, but you’d expect that. Mention must be made of the High Elf Archmagi who carried the burden of magical support for the forces of good. But the stars of the army were the Silver Helms, who we really never expected to hold up against the Dark Elf Spearmen for so long.

Skaven of the Match: the whole Skaven army was fierce, swamping the enemy with superior numbers and an apparent disregard for amour (does the whole army ignore armour saves and / or make strength 5 attacks? It seemed like it!). Special character Queek Headtaker was certainly special, taking down the High Elf Prince with only a tiny squeak of good luck.

Orcs of the Match: Notlob and his bolt thrower crews. A woeful previous record of 1s to hit and wound was laid aside as Notlob’s boys mowed down Empire White Wolf Knights and High Elf White Lions and put a bolt through all 6 ranks of the famous Weisspanther Spearmen! Hmmm, maybe he likes white targets???

Dark Elves of the Match: There was a rare lack of Dark Elf glory to go around, perhaps the most distinguished was Samaertik the captain of the Silver Talons – at least until he shoved their champion into the path of the onrushing Emperor!
[hey we’re Dark Elves, just what you’d expect]

Dice rolls of the Match:
1 – the Orc General makes 4 consecutive 5+ armour saves to preserve his last wound
2 – Notlob scores a 6 to snipe my Heaven’s Wizard, who is hiding behind an Eldritch Statue
3 – Empire archers roll a 2 and 1 needing a total of 3 or less to stand against the Orc Wolf riders

Player of the Match: Jim for giving us another hard lesson in Warhammer! Well done for taking this one just seriously enough Jim!

All in all it was an epic game, 25 hours of game time from starting unpacking on Day One to finishing packing up on Day Two. It had chaos and confusion and drama and glory, and five people having a good time, which is the main thing. Roll on Xmashammer 2013!

I’m working on extracting commentaries by Jim and Anthony.