WHFB: Xmashammer 2013 – 3 – Day Two

Byakhee Roo, couldn’t make the second day so I stepped in the hustle his remaining beastmen toward the stunties.

The beastmen were jumbled up and constrained in a narrow space. This proved rather important as rather than hitting the enemy with all the units all at the same time, they were fed in piecemeal.

In the middle of the field, the two main Orc regiments were engaged in combat with the stunties.

But their flank was crumbling.

Yup, nearly 40 Rangererers in your face !

The dwarves saw off the orc General, and killed all but the Ogre champion who was locked in a challenge…for the next two turns…holding up the entire unit !

Having defeated Harboth’s, the Dwarf general and his Hammererersers surged forward.

We opted to give the Orcs an additional 500 points of troops (Fyrd, Night Goblins and a stone thrower), and 1000 points to the Dwarves as a stand alone Slayer army from the Storm of Chaos book.

The Black Orcs held out though.

Chaos Trolls waded into the Long Drong Pirate Slayers.

The Dwarf Miners having defeated and run down the Gor Ambushers, then got attached by the Centigors who had finally destroyed the Gyrocopter.

The Chaos Hounds attacked the organ gun, whose crew fought them off !

The Giant pinned the pirate slayers with a flank attack, allowing the Minotaurs to steam in once the Chaos Trolls had been defeated.

The Night Goblins released their fanatics into the Dwarf Longbeards with predictable results, before the Ogre champion finally succumbed.

But the Night Goblins were wiped out by the Hammerers.

At the end of the game (c6pm Sunday) the Dwarves had won. The Beastmen had been constrained due to the scenery and couldn’t get in fast enough, but when they did were very effective. This left the Orcs to take the brunt of the attack. The Gyrocopters caused havoc on the flanks and weren’t picked off quickly enough.

Another enjoyable game !

As oveerseen by the feline controller….

WHFB: Xmashammer 2013 – 2 – The First Day

Initial set ups:

Evil !

T’other end…

Stunty !

Two units of Dwarf Rangers then deployed – one was 40 strong !

The Savage Orcs and Wolf Riders, facing 40 XB armed Dwarf Rangers charge into combat, but bounce off leaving just the Orc Hero to slow down this flank. This leaves 2 Bolt Throwers and 20 arrer boyz in defence. This flank held much longer than expected despite a gyrocopter swooping in.

Flank moves

The Beastmen’s main units get cobbled up and congested behind the scenery. This has a major effect on the rest of the game.

Beastmen ambush the DWarves, to no avail and are quickly driven off.

The Chaos Ogres adided by the Orc General on Wyvern charge into a Dwarven horde.

Some Gors catch 24 Long Drong’s Slayer Pirtates in the flank, but didn’t last long…

The Gyropcopters on the flank mess things up.

Head to head in the centre of the table.

Crunch !

Ambushers turn up

Trolls vs Trolls Slayers – at long last.

Centigors get stuck in to a Gyrocopter.

The centre of the board veers back and forth !

WHFB: Xmashammer 2014 – 1 – SNAFU

The day arrives, our long planned two day Xmashammer extravaganza. 4 players plus myself, each player fielding 5,000 PV armies so people get to bring out lots of toys !

My cleaner had popped round the day before yesterday so everything was spick and span. I’d fixed the toilet even (the builders broke it). I’d set the board up, a mighty 8×4′.

It even passed feline approval from BlackJack.

10.30, a clearly unwell Rich phones up and says he is unwell and cannot attend. Clang, that’s a spanner in the works. Clang, two spanners in the works, because he was going to supply Roo with some figures for the Beastman army.

Anthony arrives, is briefed with the news we’re going to have to make it up on the spot, and he points out he has come with an efficiently packed army and has little leeway for expanding his army. Luckily, I have some stunties and go find them, so at least that wasn’t another spanner in the works.

Gav phones up, and e-mails me his army spreadsheet. Clang, another spanner in the works, the spreadsheet obviously wasn’t saved properly so when he arrives we have to start almost from scratch.

So lots of frenzied re-writes of army lists, and we’re ready to go at 12.00…

As von Moltke commented:

“No plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy’s main strength” (or “no plan survives contact with the enemy,”)

Interestingly, von Moltke was also a wargamer.

Seasonal activities

The weather remains rubbish with low light levels. Today my godson’s electonics kit didn’t work because its light sensor couldn’t pick up enough light today to work properly when he’d wired it up for some process or t’other. I then returned home to find an e-mail from one of my mates commenting on Xmashammer 2012:

I’m keen to nail this down as it dictates what I paint this week – apparently there is some sort of festival thingy about to interrupt my Winterval Painting Holiday?? Tsk.

No update likely tomorrow either, as I am going to the village hall Xmas dinner….to do the 150+ club draw…
Yeah, think of the Church Fete scene in Hot Fuzz…(For the Greater Good)

Our group has planned Xmashammer 2012, a two day extravaganza, with 4 players each fielding 5,000 points of their troops over two days, with a curry in between. And beer. And wine. More to follow on that.

As host I’m being a ref, but will be fielding troops to balance and antagonise and generally cause mayhem between all the players. šŸ˜‰

My own painting plans include more Cold One Knights and Cold One Chariots, and maybe another full scale Giant.
In the meantime some jokes and commentaries from the archives…