WHFB: The Cursed House

Off to the Cursed House for a game hosted by Byakhee Jim. Everytime I go there bad things happen:

• I forget my army list
• I forget my army book
• I forget parts of my army
• I forget to bring any luck
• some, any or all of the above
• I forget the camers so I can’t take funky photos
• I am late arriving and / or otherwise flustered and forget to field a unit

So I carefully prepared my army list on Friday. I got up early Saturday morning, and made sure the army list and army book were first in the car along with the camera and my box of dice and equipment. Next up were the boxes of figures, and the as yet unboxed Manticore and other new monsters in the army.

I arrive on time. And then I find I removed the Black Guard from the army list and therefore did not bring the box labelled Special Troops. Unfortunately, that box also contained the Executioners that I had retained in the army list, and it was also the temporary home of the new plastic Bleakswords unit, AND the Corsairs, which I had also retained in the army list. Fantastic, I am now down about 700 points on a 3,000 point army, and have to improvise with what is in the boxes I brought with me.

Jim and I assess the options, and Jim admits fielding Mengil’s is the most sensible option. I add along a unit of Shades and another Sorceress.

These are not good options when fighting a Skaven Horde army ! (Of course on my return home I find Jim’s e-mail sent that morning informing me what army I’d be fighting.)

Oh well, lets at least use this as a chance to use the new monsters and the new rules in the army book and get an understanding of how the new army works. Jim spent a long time unboxing his horde army so we didn’t “lose” time.

Lots and lots of Skaven slave units acting as a meat shield.

I had won the dice off for choosing table edge, and elected to choose the open side, on the assumption that a Skaven horde would have lots of large units that would all get cramped up and in each others’ way, with the river an added aggravation.

On my side of the table, a square section was defended by what we agreed would be difficult terrain, which we nick named Camp Bastion. I decided to set up my 2×10 RXB units and Silver Talons unit there, with mobile units of monsters, Lords, CoK and Dark Riders. The Dark Riders I placed on the far right flank almost on their own in the hope that I could get in a flank attack/harrasment.

Jim’s set up, as mentioned contained lots of slaves as a meat shield in front of the Screaming Bell amid a unit of clan rats, a large unit of Rat Ogres, and each flank was buttressed by large (30+) Skaven Plague Monks which I had not seen him do before – a very cunning move (T4, frenzied basically tough hombres).

So I had to place Mengil’s and the Shades on one flank against the mad plague monks, and the vanguard moved the Dark Riders up close to them.

The game started with Jim winning first go – I felt a bit like the bowl of petunias in HHGTG (“Oh no, not again“)….

To be cont’d…