8th Ed. 2500 Tourney Report

Well, the plan of the Old Ones was brought one step closer to fruition this weekend as my lizzies surged to victory at a 2500 point tourney. Here is a quick report as best as I can recall (we celebrated afterwards with perhaps a few too many beer

Lizzies:

Slaan BSB/General - fully kitted with diadem of power, lore of life
Scar Vet Cowboy - 1+ re-rollable on cold one with G/W and magical, poisoned attacks
Block of 34 saurus, FC
2 skrox units with FC, 3 krox & 24 skinks each
3 units of 10 skinks with musician
1 unit of 6 chameleons
2 packs of 2 sallies each
ancient steggie

Game 1 vs All Cavalry Empire in Meeting Engagement

4th level life wizard, arch lector, warrior priest, captain on peggie
unit of 10 handgunners
2 units of 10 core knights, one inner circle
2 units of 3 demigryph knights
2 units of 5 pistoliers
2 stanks

This was a tough battle from the start for an all cav list since the table was covered with forests and other terrain (10 pieces although the terrain was later reduced to 6 pieces by consensus from all players) that reduced lanes of attack without risk of difficult terrain. Only one skrox unit went into reserve and I deployed first but the Empire orders must have got lost as 3 units & the 4th level wizard went into reserve. Diagonal for deployment went from close left corner to far right and lizzie deployment was spread mainly around the middle but with a steggie and skrox to create a strong right flank. A unit of pistoliers vanguarded on the rather empty left flank and the remainder was opposite the main saurus block.

On turn 1, the skrox entered on the left flank spread out with near max frontage and sent the pistoliers fleeing off the board with poison shots while the sallies marched to the left flank to try and get into a good shooting position for future turns. Scouts shot up a pistolier in the far left corner and tried to entice a stank to risk a charge. The scar vet marched forward toward the knights (remaining within range of the BSB) while the skrox and steggie marched around a monument on the right to position themselves for flanking charges. Magic was fey as 9 dice and no 4th level defending caster were wasted when the first spell rolled double 1’s. Empire turn 1 saw the inner circle and archlector charging the scar vet and magic did nothing thanks to becalming cogitation (steal 6s from opposing caster) and the extra dice from the diadem that helped dispel an attempted dwellers on the saurus and slaan. Stank shooting at steggie failed to do anything but the pistoliers managed to kill a couple chameleons who then bravely passed panic. Fate shone upon the scar vet as the archlector had the mace of S10 & d6 wounds as he took 1 wound but held.

Moving aggressively, the right flank skrox made a long charge against a stank while the left flank skrox reformed and advanced against demigryph reserves. Magic accomplished little but sallies marched into the rear to threaten the life wizard and handgunners along with the remaining chameleons. The scar vet died a horrid death of 5 x S10 wounds but inflicted one in return against the archlector. This allowed the inner circle to charge the saurus block during the ensuing Empire turn while a lot of skinks used bait and flee in the middle to delay the other knights. Combat became a grind of skrox vs stank and knights vs saurus with casualties on both sides but all forces holding.

Turn 3 saw the tide turning as the left flank demigryphs had a flank exposed to the skrox and fled as a reaction. This led to additional charge declarations vs the demigryphs that bounced them first through their own lines to the right side and then back again to the left where they were within easy reach of the original skrox unit which quickly swooped in and destroyed them. Sensing imminent danger of a flanking attack to the slaan and saurus, a unit of skinks boldly charged a stank and held it up for a couple turns while the skrox unit in the rear right continued to grind away at the other stank. Magic helped protect the saurus and shut down the Empire magic phase (cogitation and the extra dispel dice again dispelling dwellers) which led to the inner circle unit breaking and fleeing although they rallied on the Empire turn.

With both flanks collapsing in, the Empire once again hit the saurus block with its regular knights while the arch lector and captain struck the flank and the remaining demigryphs tried to get into position to help out. As the distant stank blew up with only one remaining wound, the left flank skrox timely charged the rear of the other stank as the last remaining skink died to its front, again pinning the stank and preventing it from hitting the saurus block. In the Empire rear area, sallies cleaned up pistoliers and hand gunners in combat while the wizard was pincushioned by 20 giant blowpipe shots that yielded up 8 wounds!! Combat was a grind but the saurus held on as the skrox pounded on the stank.

Magic buffs for the saurus were abundant due to the lack of Empire defence and shield of thorns actually killed the archlector. This resulted in sufficient victory to break the knights and captain with pursuit running down the knights. In a last ditch attempt, the demigryphs charged the rear of the skrox but it was too little too late as the skrox held. The captain failed to rally and was chased off the table by some skinks. With steggie and the saurus about to hit the skrox/demigryph/stank combat the game was called with a massacre victory for the lizzies.

Game 2 vs Great Host of Chaos

Chaos Lord on daemonic mount, 1+/3+ saves and S8 with giant blade
BSB with 4+/3+ save and extra hand weapon
34 warriors of tzeentch, extra h/w, FC, banner of rage
50 marauders of khorne with GW
5 hounds
18 chosen of tzeentch, halfberds, FC, wailing banner
3 flamers, warshrine, razorgor, & hellcannon

This list was from the Tamurkhan book rules and was very unique in that it had no wizards at all. The mission was blood and glory however so we started only 18” apart which definitely helped Chaos since it was a pure fighting army. Deployment saw disposable skinks going down first, skrox on the flanks, saurus centre right in 3 ranks and steggie on the right. Opposite from left to right were the chaos lord, chosen, warriors, marauders, flamers, razorgor, hell cannon slightly to the rear and hounds. Turn one saw a general chaos advance and 7 dead saurus from a HC shot. The scar vet then charged the flamers while the skrox hit the razorgor. Magic did nothing with 2 dice in the pool and shooting wiped out the dogs on the right flank. Combat resulted in the skrox overrunning 11” toward the HC while ward saves allowed a single flamer to survive with one wound.

Since the scar vet had failed to break through, this allowed the marauders to hit him on the flank while the lord charged the skrox on the left flank. Skinks and sallies fled from other charges, leaving the infantry blocks over on the left, well out of the main combat. The HC killed another half dozen or so saurus, severely depleting the only unit that could realistically expect to take on either of the infantry blocks. The scar vet died from wounds allowing an overrun into a unit of skinks and steggie while the skrox won vs the lord due to static resolution but he passed his break test. Despite more dice, magic accomplished little other than shield of thorns killing some marauders but the right side skrox charged the hellcannon and began to grind it down. Skinks died in droves vs marauders (except for a single one which prevented the saurus from getting into the combat) but a dozen dropped from return strikes and steggie thunderstomped a pile. The chaos lord was broken and the skrox mistakenly pursued, forgetting that the next turn was a chaos turn.

As the chaos lord rallied on the far left flank, the chosen flank charged the skrox. Some skinks held up the warshrine in the middle while the warriors marched toward the saurus. Not surprisingly, the chosen vaporized the skrox unit under the stern gaze of their general. The HC was finally destroyed and steggie had an epic fail. Due to whiffing, steggie lost combat by 1 but was within range of the slaan so LD 9 on 3 dice + re-roll = no problem – or so I thought!! Steggie promptly failed both rolls, was run down and the overrun hit the saurus. A good magic phase helped compensate however as the saurus had all the buffs and between that and a flank charge from sallies the marauders seemed well in hand. The other sallies flamed and the approaching warriors to thin their ranks while the scouts dropped 3 chosen with poison and the warshrine took a couple wounds from regular skink shooting. Combat was a crushing victory and the sallies ran down the marauders while the saurus reformed to prepare for the approaching warriors.

The chosen began their long march back toward the battle while the daemonic mount rapidly brought the general into charge range. The warriors charged the saurus and the warshrine went after a unit of regular skinks. Combat resolved nothing and the next lizzie turn began with a skrox move to intercept the chaos lord. With only 3 dice to work with the magic phase was surprisingly effective thanks to regen and flesh to stone on the saurus, allowing them to beat the warriors and break them. While the pursuit did not run them down, both the BSB and standard were eliminated.

In the ensuing turn, the warshrine hit the flank of the saurus to attempt a pin while the chaos lord obligingly charged the skrox and the warriors rallied. The chosen closed toward the skrox. The skrox beat the lord but he held while the warshrine lost and was run down in a pursuit that brought the saurus within range of the skrox and approaching chosen. A fleeing unit of sallies finally rallied while the other again flamed the warriors, dropping them to well below half their original number. The chosen lost a few more to awakening wood and shooting while the skrox broke the lord but failed to run him down in pursuit. The chosen then hit the front of the skrox and while many skinks died, the kroxigor took a toll on an already depleted unit and held. Magic accomplished little with two dice (2nd time this battle!) and shooting dropped a few more warriors who were now far out of position near the rear of the lizard deployment area.

The final turn saw the saurus charge the chaos lord and other units moving to seize objectives for alternate battle points. Again the lord was broken but not run down while the chosen were ground down to only the champion but held. The end result was a victory for the lizzies but it could have easily been a massacre. Fortunately for chaos, zero victory points were awarded for the fleeing general, the decimated chosen and the beat up warriors that limped away with a half dozen models remaining. Overall, the Great Host of Chaos was surprisingly effective given it had absolutely no wizards at all, an extreme rarity for any 8th edition army.

Game 3 vs Marauder Chaos Army of Slaanesh

4th level Tzeentch, 1st level death, 1st level shadow, BSB of Tzeentch
4 hordes of 40 marauders of slaanesh with FC & great weapons
2 units of hounds
1 unit of 10 knights with FC
2 hellcannons

This was a really cool army to see on the table as it literally filled it from side to side with massive hordes of marauders. The knights deployed in the centre and hellcannnons on either flank. Lizzie deployment was normal but impassable terrain on the middle, centre right of the field provided a key tactical point for the battle.

Turn 1 went to chaos and they advanced cautiously. The magic phase resulted in pandemonium going off. As an important side note, keep extra markers to indicate any spell that is in play if your opponent doesn’t have cards – especially if it is remains in play and especially pandemonium (all doubles = miscast). Also, don’t forget that you can dispel pandemonium at the START of your own phase and then carry on as usual rather than wasting a 10 dice magic phase by simply not casting! Obviously, I was suffering a stroke or some other ailment as all of these key points eluded me until after the mistakes had been made Shooting saw one HC blow itself up while the other missed by a mile – the saurus breathed a great sigh of relief. Chameleon and long range sallie shooting helped thin the right flank marauder horde a little and the scar vet advanced to try and block the knights while steggie, protected by impassable terrain, moved to where it could lend a supporting flank charge if the knights took the bait. Skink shooting made quick work of the hounds.

The knights charged the saurus instead of the scar vet and the chameleons fled, leaving the right flank marauders stuck in some woods. Cogitation shut down the magic phase with a loss of control and the knights beat the saurus but the saurus held. Charging forth, the scar vet went after the 4th level in a block of marauders on a suicide mission while steggie flank charged the knights. On the right, a skrox unit marched forward to block the marauder horde while a sallie pack and two units of regular skinks closed in for the kill. The other skrox carefully moved forward on the left supported by a chaff unit of skinks and a carefully distant sallie pack. The magic phase was very effective as a failed dispel attempt allowed multiple buffs and awakening wood dropped over a half dozen marauders on the right. The same marauders then came under withering fire from sallies and javelins, reducing the horde to less than half. Combat was very successful as six knights died and were broken while the scar vet dropped the 4th level in a challenge by rolling four 6’s to hit (autowound with poison) and even the cold one wounded while the wizard failed all their ward saves.

In the next turn, the skrox beat the marauders and accompanying wizard down to below 25% and sent them packing. In the centre, the rallying knights blocked any supporting marauder charges and hesitation ruled on the left flank as the bait skinks fled and left a marauder horde with little to show for their efforts. Skinks and sallies on the right declared charges against the fleeing marauders, sending them to within inches of the far board edge. Meanwhile, the skrox charged in to aid the scar vet while the steggie again charged the three remaining knights. Without a 4th level caster to defend, the skrox were buffed and shield of thorns helped thin the marauder ranks. On the left flank, a reformed skrox unit of 12 across followed up some very effective sallie shooting to reduce another marauder horde to below half. Combat saw the skrox and scar vet win and run down the marauders while steggie chased the last fleeing knight right into the sole, untouched horde with the BSB.

In desperation, the marauders charged on the left and more fell to poison javelins while steggie held and began thunderstomping marauders into the ground. The left flank collapsed entirely as the skrox handily won combat and ran down their foe and the last remaining wizard, leaving them in position to take out the remaining HC which had been wildly missing with its shots. With the remaining block about to be flanked by skrox and hit over the front by the saurus and scar vet while still under steggie’s stomps, victory was conceded.

 

In terms of effectiveness, skirmish skinks with blow pipes are better since they can march and shoot, put out a higher volume of fire and the skirmish ability makes them more mobile and harder to hit. However, the 10-skink cohorts work well and are "friendlier" for a list with this much shooting already in it. In terms of use, the cohorts have some minor advantage in combat with 6+/6+ saves and can actually have a rank to remain steadfast against big nasties - but not for very long since they do die like flies but they did hold up the stank and war altar thanks to steadfast. Last and not least, the ranked skinks match the army thematically and visually since they line up nicely beside the skrox units.